March 2013 - Davis Vanguard

Harrington Files Amended Complaint Against City – This Time on Wastewater

By David GreenwaldMarch 31, 201332 comments

Just when it seemed that the Measure I campaign was over and that the lawsuit would expire due to lack of service to the city, Michael Harrington, on behalf of John Munn and the group Yolo Ratepayers For Affordable Public Utility Services (YRAPUS), has filed an amended complaint, bringing forth new allegations.

In addition to the previous contention that the Prop. 218 process was unconstitutional under the provision’s proportionality clause, and the continued charge that the city has failed to pay for its own water use, the suit claims that in May of 2008, when the city established wastewater rates based on a “winter water usage” calculation, the rates established were “not rationally related to the amount of wastewater used by a particular property owner.”

Sunday Commentary: Not in Our Town

By David GreenwaldMarch 31, 20136 comments

Last week we described the reactions of a number of people on the street who expressed the belief that anti-gay attacks, like the one that appears to have occurred when Clayton Garzon allegedly beat Mikey Partida while yelling anti-gay epithets, do not happen in our town.

As Jonathan London, a Davis resident with a periodic Sunday column in the Davis Enterprise, amply notes there is a prevailing sentiment that “this kind of crime does not happen in Davis: This is not who we are.”

Commentary: Rexroad Comments on Dev Case Miss the Mark

By David GreenwaldMarch 31, 201317 comments

Supervisor Matt Rexroad has stirred these waters before. Nearly two years ago, responding to an effort to petition his office, among other elected officials, Mr. Rexroad posted this description: “This summary was put together for me and others regarding the case of Ajay Dev.”

He then added, “The facts below are exactly why I will not be asking for an investigation into the case.”

Commentary: Strange Decision on Wastewater and No One Asking the Tough Questions

By David GreenwaldMarch 30, 201313 comments

It is very evident, and understandable, that the public would be fatigued on the water issue. After all, not only did we just have an election that ended less than four weeks ago, we had a long run up to that election, with extensive discussion in the fall of 2011 with regard to the referendum and a year-long discussion of the Water Advisory Committee and their findings.

However, I wish the public would engage for a bit longer and ask some tougher questions on wastewater. It may be that, at the end of asking these tough questions, we end up in the same place, but at least the deal will have been scrutinized.

My View: Parish Blames Everyone But Himself For His Undoing

By David GreenwaldMarch 30, 20139 comments

Last year when Clinton Parish was running for a Yolo County judgeship against Judge Dan Maguire, he made a critical mistake that, in the heat of the moment, is easy to make – he thought his political team had properly vetted an attack ad that they were recommending he launch against sitting Judge Maguire.

He was wrong, they had not, and the allegations turned out to be embarrassingly false. The mistake cost him his dignity, his election, and ultimately his job. He had to move his family from the place they had lived for over ten years.

Commemorating Cesar Chavez Day – Remembering Doña Adela

By uptownstudiosMarch 30, 201322 comments

by Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald

Editor’s Note: This column is re-printed from one published on April 1, 2007.

On August 18 of 2000 state legislation was signed to establish Cesar Chavez Day in California. For many farm workers it was finally an opportunity to honor a man who organized them, led the largest grape industry boycott and formed the United Farm Workers requiring growers to bargain with farm workers who vote for unionization. For many it’s a day to show respect to a man who demanded respect for those, who like him, toiled in the fields day after day.

For me however, it is one out of 365 days, in which I remember a woman, who like Cesar, had motivation sufficient to act. She had “ganas.” A woman who thought of others. A woman who fought for the rights of others in the fields in injustice. A woman who led a strike with her co-workers, marched in on the boss and demanded that cold water, toilet paper and paper towels be provided at all times or they would walk. A woman who got what she wanted because Don Pedro knew that although he could get others to do the work they would not be as dedicated, hard-working, and honest as a woman named Adela Cardona Muñoz Escamilla, lovingly called Doña Adela by my four brothers and three sisters.

Garzon Out on Bail, Denies Hate Crime Allegation

By David GreenwaldMarch 29, 201323 comments

It took Clayton Garzon less than a day after his bail was increased to 520,000 dollars to make bail. He is also free on bail, pending his preliminary hearing set for mid-May in Solano County.

That means that Mr. Garzon, who is alleged to have beaten 32-year-old Davis resident Mikey Partida in the early morning hours of March 10, is out of custody.

Confusion Continues on District’s Intentions For 9th Grade Reconfiguration

By David GreenwaldMarch 29, 20138 comments

A new DJUSD Parent Group was formed on Facebook and already has over 200 likes. The parent who created it explained, “I am a parent in the district (and) my main objective of creating this page is so that we, as parents, can connect (and) communicate directly with each other.”

“I hope we can gain true transparency in the process of educating our kids and rather than rely on rumors or guessing, we can share facts, knowledge, ideas (and) solutions,” she wrote.

Roots of Empathy

By Matt WilliamsMarch 29, 20134 comments

by Matt Williams

Several months ago we had a lively discussion here on the Vanguard about empathy . . . what it is, and what its value is. This Vanguard article is a follow-up to that discussion.

Anyone who watched the PBS Newshour last night on KVIE saw a very thought provoking segment that delved into the issue of teasing and bullying in schools, and an educational program called Roots of Empathy that is designed to address that significant challenge in our schools . . . and schools worldwide. I sincerely hope that the Davis School Board, District Administration and Faculty members all saw the segment. It is the kind of program that I believe Davis should move swiftly to implement in our schools.

VANGUARD COURT WATCH: Ganthner Child Molestation Trial

By Vanguard Court Watch InternsMarch 29, 201310 comments

By Charmayne Schmitz

On Monday, March 25, John Timothy Ganthner’s mother testified that her son Tim had very little experience interacting with or caring for small children. Public Defender Allison Zuvela then called the defendant to the stand.

Tim and Tina, Zane’s grandmother, had been living together for about 5 years. Zane’s mother, Vanessa, was homeless. At the time of the incident, Vanessa and Zane were living at a shelter on Power Inn Road, but Vanessa didn’t stay at the shelter every night with Zane.

Court Sets Bail at 520,000, Orders Ankle Monitor on Hate Crime Suspect

By Vanguard Court Watch InternsMarch 28, 201330 comments

by Antoinnette Borbon

The small courtroom of Department 9, Yolo Superior Court Commissioner Janene Beronio presiding, was packed full of Yolo County residents Wednesday. Some were friends and family of the victim, with a few family members of the defendant. All of them were anxiously awaiting the arraignment of the young man accused of beating a Davis resident.

Clayton Garzon, accused of beating a 32-year-old Davis resident and allegedly using the f-word in referring to the victim’s sexual orientation during the attack, is now facing felony charges along with three enhancements for a hate crime to each felony charge.

Commentary: Dev Appellate Brief Puts Forth Strong Evidence of Unfair Trial

By David GreenwaldMarch 28, 201342 comments

I was not always sold on the innocence of Ajay Dev. It was the summer of 2009 when I received an email from Mr. Dev’s sister-in-law about the case. Mr. Dev had just been convicted, and he had not yet been sentenced to the stunning 378-year sentence.

Little did I realize that this would be a pivotal moment in my life, as I headed out to the Roseville home of the Devs and heard their story. I didn’t know what to think, I had not seen the case, had not heard the evidence, and I was in a position of having to take their word for it.

Commentary: Is the Court Set to Strike Down DOMA and Prop. 8?

By David GreenwaldMarch 28, 201320 comments

I was in Washington, DC, when DOMA was being passed in September of 1996, overwhelmingly by Congress, and immediately President Bill Clinton fought to move the right to outflank conservatives and win re-election. Only 67 Representatives in the House and 14 in the Senate would vote against it.

A few weeks later I would move to Davis for the first time. That is nearing 17 years ago, although it does not feel that long. And yet the world has shifted remarkably on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Council Eschews Regional Approach on Wastewater, Arguing for Local Autonomy

By David GreenwaldMarch 27, 20132 comments

The Davis City Council in considering their options on Tuesday night, voted 3-1, with Mayor Joe Krovoza dissenting and Mayor Pro Tem Dan Wolk absent, to stick with the local alternative on wastewater treatment.

Councilmember Lucas Frerichs led the way on moving forward with the local option, arguing that, while the idea that Davis was not interested in collaborating was false, he had concerns about the governance structure for a proposed Woodland-Davis project.

Same-Sex Marriage Arguments Go to the Supreme Court

By David GreenwaldMarch 27, 201343 comments

Mayor Krovoza Signs onto Mayoral Opposition to Prop 8 – It has been more than four years since California passed Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. In August 2010, a federal district court invalidated Proposition 8 on the grounds that it violated the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, by taking away the right of same-sex couples to marry without a sufficient governmental interest.

U.S. Federal Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker, in a 136-page ruling, said “Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.”

Parish Responds to Bar Allegations, Pinning Mailer Decisions on Consultants’ Advice

By David GreenwaldMarch 27, 20136 comments

In February, the State Bar of California filed disciplinary charges against a Yolo County attorney for allegedly failing to comply with ethical rules while seeking judicial office. Clinton Parish, 41, is accused by the California Bar of making misrepresentations about himself and his opponent in the May 2012 election for Yolo County Superior Court.

According to the complaint, in May of 2012, Mr. Parish was seeking judicial office against incumbent Judge Dan Maguire when, through campaign advertising, he made a number of misrepresentations regarding his opponent.

Should the City Go to a Regional Wastewater Treatment Option?

By David GreenwaldMarch 26, 20139 comments

Last December the city of Davis was already set to move ahead with their wastewater treatment plan when, they were approached by the city of Woodland with an offer to spend half a million dollars to study a regional wastewater treatment project.

The council would reject that approach but considered another one in February. The plan would call for the piping of Davis’ wastewater to Woodland where Woodland’s existing plant capacity would be expanded. That proposal, city staff believes, could save about $30 million over the currently proposed project that would cost around $95 million.

Report: CalPERS May Hike Rates 50 Percent Over Next Six Years

By David GreenwaldMarch 26, 20139 comments

A report from Ed Mendel from last week’s CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) board meeting indicates that the board tentatively approved an employer rate hike of about 50 percent over the next six years. This will replace the current policy which kept rates low during the recession, building up unfunded liabilities in hopes that the plan could be fully funded within 30 years.

“Any addition to the schools (rate) is likely to result in layoffs to employees,” said the board president Rob Feckner. Mr. Feckner requested options for a longer time horizon for phasing in the rate increase, which would soften the blow to employers.

Vanguard Analysis: Ajay Dev’s Appeal, Legal Arguments – Part II

By David GreenwaldMarch 26, 201331 comments

Three years after the conviction of Ajay Dev for the multiple counts of rape of his adoptive daughter and his sentence of 378 years to state prison, he and his attorney have filed their appeal.

Their appeal attacks both the facts of the case as well as the legal rulings used by Yolo County Judge Timothy Fall that the defense claims denied Ajay Dev of his right to a fair trial. This includes, most notably, the inclusion of the alleged victim’s interpretation of a 50-minute pretext call that meandered between English and Nepali, the judge’s failure to properly instruct the jury on the law, and the judge’s refusal to allow potentially exculpatory evidence.

STEAC on the Agenda For Tuesday, But Staff Report Unavailable

By David GreenwaldMarch 25, 20137 comments

City Increasingly Lax in Complying with Thursday Deadline for Council Agendas – Last year, council adopted a policy setting a Thursday noon goal for the release of the city council agenda. As time has gone on, the city has been increasingly slow in getting the meeting agendas out to the public.

This calendar year there have been eight city council meetings, and for six of those the agenda was not sent out by the city until Friday. Only for the meeting on February 12 and March 19 were the agendas received by the public on time.

Month: March 2013