April 2013 - Davis Vanguard

Commentary: The Cost of Speaking Out Against the Firefighters

By David GreenwaldApril 30, 201330 comments

weist

Fire Policies Aimed at Fourth Fire Station Endangered the Public – It was not a complete shock when yesterday’s column on fire staffing and calls for service was met with a post by a retired firefighter that represented a veiled threat to myself and the Vanguard. After all, it was the summer of 2011 when the Vanguard learned that the firefighters were boycotting the Westlake Market due to their advertising on the Vanguard.

In 2008 when I spoke out against the firefighters during the city council campaign, my wife, who was running for council at the time, dared to call 3% at 50 unsustainable. The union president, Bobby Weist, we would learn, responded by trying to get my wife and some others fired from their jobs.

Commentary: An Opportunity and Imperative to Change Our Schools

By David GreenwaldApril 30, 201378 comments

This weekend, a Stanford professor of education and sociology wrote a provocative editorial entitled, “No Rich Child Left Behind.” Except, of course, it was neither provocative nor particularly surprising.

Professor Sean Reardon opens by writing, “Here’s a fact that may not surprise you: the children of the rich perform better in school, on average, than children from middle-class or poor families. Students growing up in richer families have better grades and higher standardized test scores, on average, than poorer students; they also have higher rates of participation in extracurricular activities and school leadership positions, higher graduation rates and higher rates of college enrollment and completion.”

VANGUARD COURT WATCH: Trial Set To Begin in Murder Trial For Gross Vehicular Manslaughter, Driving While Intoxicated

By David GreenwaldApril 30, 20130 comments

By Ibrahim Baig

On the morning of Monday April 28, 2013, the Honorable Judge Gaard heard motions for the upcoming trial of Ryan Baird.

Among Mr. Baird’s serious charges are murder and gross vehicular manslaughter.

Vanguard Analysis: Few Major Incidents in Davis

By David GreenwaldApril 29, 201318 comments

Yesterday’s article laid critical groundwork arguing for the moving of the central fire station, north from its current location on Fifth Street to Covell Blvd., to take advantage of the city-UC Davis agreement to drop boundaries between the two departments.

As we showed yesterday, by enacting boundary drop, UC Davis’ fire station could serve much of the core area within a four-minute travel time. By moving the existing Davis fire station northward, it would be able to cover northern Davis, including Wildhorse Ranch, within existing response time parameters.

Eye on the Courts: Assessing the Power of Prosecutors

By David GreenwaldApril 29, 20130 comments

A few days ago, Ross Ramsey, a columnist with the Texas Tribune, argued that Texas prosecutors are no longer “unassailable.”

“An elected prosecutor used to have one of the most respected jobs at any level of Texas government,” Mr. Ross writes. “Running a political campaign against a sitting prosecutor in Texas was a job for egotistic dunces and legal-minded Quixotes. Even weak DA’s were invincible.”

Sunday Commentary: City Should Move Central Fire Station to North Davis

By David GreenwaldApril 28, 201318 comments

Vanguard Analysis Demonstrates that Public Safety Was Sacrificed in An Effort to Show Necessity of Fourth Fire Station – On Tuesday night, the Davis City Council will hear yet another iteration of the fire staffing report. This time, it will be in the framework of a broader budgetary discussion.

The Davis firefighters are organizing some in the community around the idea that reductions in staffing from 12 to 11 will risk public safety by increasing response times and delaying entry into buildings that are on fire.

Commentary: Is Due Process and Rule of Law a Principle Worth Dying For?

By David GreenwaldApril 28, 201317 comments

This week, I was amazed about how quickly we hearkened back to a time from a decade ago, where fear and uncertainty once again cloud our better judgment and restrain our finer angels. It is for these times of uncertainty that we have a Constitution, a rule of law, and if we do not adhere to our principles when it is difficult, they are not principles at all, they are simply platitudes.

The Associated Press reports that Federal Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler went to the hospital and convened a court hearing in the hospital room of the accused bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, about 16 hours after a complaint was filed in her court.

REMINDER: Vanguard Court Watch Council Meeting TONIGHT

By David GreenwaldApril 28, 20132 comments

Today (Sunday, April 28, 2013) from 5:00 to 7:00 PM in Woodland at the Celebration Center Church (100 Woodland Ave), the Vanguard Court Watch Council of Yolo County (VCWCYC) is inviting the public to come forward to express their concerns about the judicial system, providing testimony and giving personal accounts of contemporary cases in the Yolo County Court system.

“The public has an opportunity to tell of their experiences in the Yolo County judicial system. Experiences that normally are not covered in the newspaper,” said David Greenwald, Executive Director of Vanguard Court Watch. “The Council will take public comment, testimony from invited speakers, and then deliberate in closed session to determine our course of action.”

My View II: Schools Should Think Big and Grand in Strategic Planning Rather than Short-Term and Parochial

By David GreenwaldApril 27, 201331 comments

While the beginning of the Strategic Plan discussion came from the wrong impetus – the examination of reconfiguration – it nevertheless presents this community with an amazing opportunity. The reconfiguration discussion was destined to fail from the start – too many in this community felt it was something being forced upon them rather than coming from a place of need.

But, from the ashes of reconfiguration – and let us call it now, reconfiguration is dead for at least a generation – comes the promise of strategic planning. The challenge that I put forth to the school district is to use this opportunity not to tweak the district around the edges, but to think big.

My View: Economic Development Bogged Down by Politics and Ridiculous Conspiracy Theories

By David GreenwaldApril 27, 201327 comments

Politics runs in interesting cycles. Just under 20 years ago, right after the Republicans in 1994 took over Congress and Newt Gingrich came forth with his revolutionary idea of shifting government back to the states, Republicans found themselves in the area of being innovators looking for new ways to do things and relying less on the federal government.

At the time, even though it was a vision that I disagreed with, Republican ideas looked fresh while Democrats fighting the rear guard battle looked reactionary and stale. Twenty years later, the Republicans seem stuck in the same place: they were out-organized in the last election, their demographics are working against them, and the freshest and most innovative ideas are not coming out of their camp.

A Reasonable Campaign to Fluoridate Our Drinking Water

By David GreenwaldApril 27, 201360 comments

By Tia Will

On Tuesday, Alan Pryor and Pam Nieberg submitted an article in opposition to fluoridation of our drinking water. They stated their opinion that the proponents of fluoridation were using stealth tactics and attempting to stifle debate and consideration of other points of view. This is demonstrably inaccurate as was seen at the April 25^th meeting of the WAC when the proponents gave their formal presentation on the advantages of fluoridation in a public, televised forum.

There is one point on which the opponents and I fully agree. Any public policy decision should be based on a full consideration of the risks and benefits of the planned action. All points of view should be heard and all concerns should be addressed. However, this is where we part company. As a doctor, I believe in evidence-based decision making using the best information sources available. The opponents of fluoridation do not seem to support this approach.

Youth Activism Night at City Council: Students Speak Out For Fluoridation and in Favor of Plastic Bag Ban

By David GreenwaldApril 26, 201361 comments

It was a rare site on Tuesday night as a number of high school students came forward to speak in support of a proposal to fluoridate the city’s water supply, and UC students from CalPIRG came forward, speaking in favor of a proposed plastic bag ban.

A senior at Davis High School, speaking at public comment, spoke of the option of putting fluoride in the city’s water as “not just sensible but obvious.”

Regional and Federal Activity Fuel The Opportunity for Economic Development in Davis

By David GreenwaldApril 26, 201311 comments

The effectiveness of Davis’ effort at the recent Capitol-to-Capitol event will not be known for some time. Early reports are promising, however, that Davis, long considered a sleeping giant in the region because of its proximity to UC Davis and its access to world class scholars and a highly-skilled workforce, has gotten the attention of many, both in the region and in Washington.

One leader clearly paying attention to these developments is Congressman John Garamendi, who not only praised the efforts of Davis, but continues to promote them.

Proposed Legislation Would Bring Back the Gas Chamber in California

By David GreenwaldApril 26, 20130 comments

By Jeanne Woodford

GUEST COMMENTARY – What do the gas chamber, state secrets and illegally manufactured drugs all have in common?

They are all in Senator Joel Anderson’s preposterous new bill, SB 779, sponsored by the California District Attorneys’ Association.

VANGUARD COURT WATCH: No Cells in “Mayberry” When a Defendant Wants Jail Time

By Vanguard Court Watch InternsApril 26, 20135 comments

By Charmayne Schmitz

On Thursday, we heard the closing arguments in the case of People vs. Madderra. The defendant was charged with selling cigarettes to a minor in a sting operation. It was her second day of work as a cashier.

Deputy District Attorney Kyle Hasapes stressed that the law is the law and every law has consequences. The defendant made a bad decision. It doesn’t matter if she did not have the experience or the knowledge.

Commentary: STEAC’s Powerplay May End Up Backfiring

By David GreenwaldApril 25, 201327 comments

Why Insist on a Five-Year Site When they Could Have a Twenty-Year Site Free of Cost – In some ways, it would appear that the Davis City Council gave in to the demands of the popular community organization STEAC, as not only did they uphold the staff recommendation but they increased the size allotment back to the preferred 80-foot modular building. But just beneath the surface, it became clear that this was not nearly as clear-cut a victory for STEAC as they may have liked.

What becomes clear here is that, while the council did not want to outright deny STEAC their preferred spot at 5^th and D, the city views this land as extremely valuable from their perspective of redevelopment, and a majority on council made it very clear that in five years’ time, there is a good chance that the city will have other plans for this land – particularly if they can find a way to move the fire station to north Davis, freeing up the entire plot of land lining 5^th Street.

Reflections on 2013 Capitol to Capitol Trip

By uptownstudiosApril 25, 20138 comments

By Rochelle Swanson and Rob White

April 25, 2012 (Davis, CA) – It has been about a week since we returned from Washington DC and the Davis/Yolo County legislative advocacy trip that was done in conjunction with the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s 2013 Capitol-to-Capitol program. Portions of the team have met up to debrief and work on sorting through the long list of potential action items that came from the trip and team meetings are scheduled for the weeks to come. Thank you letters have been started, follow-up calls have been made, and strategy sessions have been calendared.

It is important that we take time up front to thank the people that invested their time and effort to make this a reality. As you may remember from earlier posts, the representatives that were part of the Davis/Yolo County team that went out in advance of the Cap-to-Cap program included officials from the City of Davis, Yolo County, Davis businesses, Davis Chamber of Commerce, and UC Davis. Everyone on the team paid some part of the trip out of their own funds, and some paid for the entire trip on their own. That is a testament to the engagement by the team and the importance of our efforts. Additionally, the team members spent many late hours and very early mornings before the trip preparing briefing papers, working on handouts, and identifying some of the key policy areas that are important to the Davis and Yolo communities.

The Stealth Campaign to Fluoridate Davis Drinking Water

By uptownstudiosApril 25, 201367 comments

by Alan Pryor and Pam Nieberg –

Water, Social Justice, and Environmental Considerations – The last time fluoridation of Davis potable water was considered was in 1990 when the then current City Council rejected the proposals based on citizen opposition. Davis Citizens Against Fluoridation (DCAF) was very recently formed to oppose the latest efforts to fluoridate Davis drinking water. The founders of DCAF include both supporters and opponents of the surface water project. Despite obvious differences between us as to the perceived need for surface water in Davis, we all agree that the current proposal to impose mandatory fluoridation of our drinking water supply is not based on the latest scientific information on the lack of fluoridation efficacy in reducing dental decay and fluoride toxicity.

Further, the campaign to fluoridate our drinking water is now being conducted in a manner specifically designed to seek a hasty approval from the City Council as soon as possible to minimize open and extended public debate. If the controversy surrounding the surface water project showed us anything, however, it is that Davis citizens care deeply about the quality of their water they receive and demand to be actively engaged in the community debate surrounding this issue.

VANGUARD COURT WATCH: Gangs: Is Yolo County Protecting Kids Or Throwing The Gang Card At Each Incident?

By Vanguard Court Watch InternsApril 25, 20131 comments

By Antoinnette Borbon

On Wednesday in arraignment court came the short testimony of a woman, who testified to the character of a defendant in custody who is being linked to “gang activity.” Attorney Lawrence Cobb is defending the young man.

In a statement to Commissioner Janene Beronio, Mr. Cobb argued that the defendant is a good kid who has no criminal record and has people in his neighborhood who can attest to his character being reliable and responsible. He is a young defendant, already a father, as we learned today.

Vanguard Analysis: Davis Firefighters Near Top in Compensation, Police Near Bottom

By David GreenwaldApril 24, 201325 comments

According to new data that the Vanguard has received from the city of Davis, a comparison of Davis to ten other regional communities plus UC Davis found that the city of Davis firefighters received, both in salary and total compensation, more than all but two other communities (Fairfield and Vacaville), while their police counterparts received less than both average and median income and total compensation. Only Sacramento and West Sacramento police received less among cities.

These data continue a trend that the Vanguard has reported on since the seminal May 2009 article that asked, “Why Do Firefighters Make Substantially More Than Police Officers in Davis?“

Month: April 2013