Question of the Day
Today’s question: If you were to attend Saturday’s Water Forum, what would you ask?Have a question you want to ask? Log onto your twitter account and tweet it to us using the hashtag: #DavisVanguard
Today’s question: If you were to attend Saturday’s Water Forum, what would you ask?
Water Project Opponents File Suit Against City’s Prop 218
Opponents to the surface water project and Measure I have filed a suit against the City of Davis alleging “unconstitutional and illegal conduct” and have filed a lawsuit seeking “relief for Davis citizens.”
According to a press release, a group calling themselves Yolo Ratepayers for Affordable Public Utility Services believes “the City of Davis has defrauded Davis ratepayers for years by failing to pay for any of the City’s own water use as required by Proposition 218.”
Commentary: Process Exposes Union for Being out of Touch
Former Davis City Manager and UC Davis Vice Chancellor John Meyer had it right, it was a strange “new world order where columnists” were essentially sitting at the table, able to ask questions of the city council.
And if anyone wants to understand once and for all why David Greenwald is a blogger, columnist, writer rather than a politician, watch my opening salvo where I point the finger at Bobby Weist for twenty years of delay on boundary drop.
VANGUARD COURT WATCH: Vehicular Homicide Trial Continues
By Vanguard Court Watch Iterns
By Vanguard Court Watch IternsOn Tuesday, Mr. Purcell, finished his testimony. The highlight: It was revealed that the construction project was not handled by Caltrans. Instead, a private construction company was hired by the City of Woodland. Closing a highway lane was not part of the plan for the morning of August 8. Around 7 AM, a vehicle ran into the sand barrels at the site.
This caused a delay in construction and the subsequent decision to close one lane. The construction company had to quickly mobilize staff to set up traffic cones and warning signs.
Question of the Day
This is a new feature. Each afternoon we will have a question that we pose the Vanguard community. Sometimes it will be a local issue, sometimes a national issue, and sometimes a deeper and more philosophic question.Today’s question: Do you believe that the current proposal resolves concerns about immigration? If not, what additional measure would you support?
City Holds Community Information Meetings on Water Rates
The City of Davis will be conducting 5 community meetings during February to provide information about proposed changes in the city’s water supply and water rates. In addition, in accordance with Proposition 218, all property owners will be sent notices about the Public Hearing on March 19, 2013, during which they may offer testimony about the proposed new water rates.
Community Meeting Schedule
Council Goes Forward with Boundary Drop, Changes to Response Time, Puts Staffing Questions Off
At times it was an informative, often contentious, roundtable that saw members of the fire department and representatives from UC Davis at the table with the Davis City Council and city staff. While the city council was able to act on several recommendations, they put off discussion of staffing changes until next month, due to the lateness of the hour.
In a somewhat unorthodox move, the city asked Rich Rifkin and myself to be participants in this roundtable.
Study Finds that Children Driven To School Learn Less
By Sanne Fettinger
By Sanne FettingerIf you drive your child to school, you decrease your child’s ability to learn the rest of the school day.
On the contrary, when children walk or bike to school, instead of being driven in a car, they concentrate much better and the effects last for a while.
Question of the Day
This is a new feature. Each afternoon we will have a question that we pose the Vanguard community. Sometimes it will be a local issue, sometimes a national issue, and sometimes a deeper and more philosophic question.
Today’s question: Do you drink the water in Davis straight from the tap? If not, how do you get your drinking water?
Former Fire Chief Expresses Concerns About Fire Staffing Changes
By Rose Conroy
By Rose Conroy(Editor’s Note: The following response was sent to the Davis City Council. As a public record, we are publishing this in its entirety so that the public can read the other side of the story).
I am writing to you to express my concerns regarding the proposals in the staff report submitted to you by City Manager, Steve Pinkerton.
Misunderstandings Drive 2 In/2 Out Discussion for Firefighting in Davis
It was a different era, when the city of Davis went to four firefighters on an engine in 1999 as a way to meet the new OSHA regulations requiring two men in and two men out in order to fight a fire.
The staff report in 1999, written by then-Fire Chief Rose Conroy, shows at that time the city responded to about 2538 calls for service with four firefighters at the main downtown station and three at the other two stations.
Public Comment Period Begins with City’s Carryout Bag Ordinance
Friday, January 25, 2013 marked the beginning of a one-month public review of the city’s proposed ordinance for a plastic bag ban. The city has prepared an Initial Study/Negative Declaration for the City of Davis Single Use Carryout Bag Ordinance, in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and State CEQA Guidelines.
On September 25, 2012, the City Council directed staff to contract with ESA to do an Initial Study/Negative Declaration for the City of Davis Single Use Carryout Bag Ordinance, in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and State CEQA Guidelines.
Tragedy Focuses Attention on the Power of Prosecutors
“The death of Internet activist Aaron Swartz has generated a lot of discussion about the power of prosecutors — particularly federal prosecutors. This is a good thing. The conversation is long overdue. But the discussion needs to go well beyond Swartz and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,” Radley Balko of the Huffington Post wrote.
The death of Aaron Swartz, who hanged himself after hopes for a deal with federal prosecutors fell apart, has drawn enormous attention. Two years ago, Mr. Swartz, who was an advocate for free information online, used a computer network at MIT to download nearly five million articles from JSTOR (short for Journal Storage), a database of academic journals that charges a large fee unless one is associated with a university.
Question of the Day
This is a new feature. Each afternoon we will have a question that we pose the Vanguard community. Sometimes it will be a local issue, sometimes a national issue, and sometimes a deeper and more philosophic question.
Today’s question: How much trust should we impart in our public officials?
Measure I Forum on Saturday, February 2
People’s Vanguard of Davis and Davis Media Access Invite Public to “Measure I” Forum
The People’s Vanguard of Davis, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and Davis Media Access (DMA) are co-sponsoring a roundtable forum on Measure I, also known as “The Surface Water Project.” Voters will have the opportunity to vote on Measure I in an all-mail only Special Election, March 5, 2013.
Members of the public are encouraged to bring their friends, colleagues and questions to the forum, which will be held at Davis Community Chambers on Saturday, February 2, 2013 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM.
Special Commentary: Tuesday Night We Can Take Our City Back Once and For All
Council Will Discuss Reduction to Three Personnel on a Fire Engine – It was the 2008 city council election campaign that first really focused my attention on the firefighters. Up until that point, they were mainly a side issue. The issue of a fourth fire station seemed, even in the pre-Lehman Brothers collapse days, to be a pipe dream. The issue of pensions and total compensation were just getting on my radar.
The firefighters’ union, for better or worse, ran the city of Davis for the better part of a decade. By the end of the 2008 election, they won two of the three seats. That meant that 7 of the last 9 councilmembers had won with their endorsement.
Joe Friday: Investigating Water Rate Legality
By Matt Williams
By Matt WilliamsBob Dunning in his Sunday column spent a whole lot of words to ask a simple question, “Why is summer peak consumption used in the CBFR calculation?” Bob is smiling right now because his column constructed a very creative scenario using five “stars” of water use, Joe, Dan, Brett, Lucas and Rochelle.
I was somewhat surprised that Bob didn’t refer to them as the Fab Five. The example Bob provides, is a mathematically well-crafted hypothetical with consumption amounts for each of the five “stars,” but everyone in Davis knows that the water system in Davis isn’t built to reliably deliver water to just 5 customers, but rather to over 16,000 customers. So lets put Bob’s five “stars” into the context of the whole Davis “universe.”
VANGUARD COURT WATCH: Fatal Crash Leads to Vehicular Homicide Charges
By Vanguard Court Watch Interns
Thursday’s trial of People v. Quinteros continued with testimonies from witnesses involved in the accident.
Witnesses included a Mr. Rivas, Guadalupe Carrere and Alfredo Ochoa. Mr. Ochoa was not involved in the accident but did film the aftermath on his cell phone. His video of the event displays smoke, fire, and emergency personnel.
Sunday Commentary: Public Trust is the Paramount Value
We live in an age of cynicism. The cynicism stems from a number of different problems – such as a large number of public officials who have either violated the public trust or who have made promises that they were either unwilling or unable to keep.
One thing I will tell all aspiring and current public officials: the most valuable resource that you must guard, against all else, is public trust. For the purposes of this essay, public trust will be defined as the trust that the public has that the claims that public officials make are true.
Analysis: Measure I Opposition Argues for West Sacramento Water Project
The No on Measure I campaign, the opposition to the water project, put forward the argument that “we do have options” and “there are better alternatives.” After a number of false starts within their op-ed, they arrive at an argument for the West Sacramento option.
They begin their op-ed with the claim that “Davis faces the overwhelming burden of paying simultaneously for two projects: a new wastewater treatment plant and a surface water project. This will triple our water rates and result in water/sewer/garbage rates among the highest in the state.”
