VANGUARD COURT WATCH: Yolo Prosecutor Throws “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” Under the Bus
By Charmayne Schmitz
In closing arguments, Deputy District Attorney Brandon Finn told a jury: Beyond A Reasonable Doubt “is a term us lawyers come up with.” This is the second trial where I’ve witnessed a Yolo prosecutor take liberties with the basis for a criminal conviction in our country’s judicial system.
Finn’s statement was at the tail end of a contentious 2-day trial. Pablo Campos was accused of driving with a suspended license after a traffic stop on March 30, 2012. Deputy Seja testified about pulling the vehicle over on I-5 to check for an expired registration. Mr. Campos was found to be the driver. The deputy issued a ticket for the expired license and the defendant signed it.
It was just last year that the city of Davis released a less-redacted version of Bob Aaronson’s investigative report into the fire department, that followed a 2008 Grand Jury report with findings that included a hostile work environment and retaliation against dissenters within the department.
by Rob White
by Antoinnette Borbon 
The Davis City Council approved unanimously on Tuesday night the funding and budgeting strategy for pavement maintenance, in concept, for the multi-year effort in which a huge amount of money would be spent up front with smaller ongoing payments.
When the city of Davis originally entered into a contract with their professional labor negotiator on December 6, 2011, the contract with Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai, LLP, authorizes negotiator Tim Yeung to serve as chief labor negotiator to provide labor negotiation services for the labor negotiations with all the employee groups. It was originally set at $50,000.
A month or so ago, the Vanguard suggested that the school district look into bold and innovative ways to move forward as it embarks on a strategic plan. The question, of course, is what that bold and innovative path might look like.
By David M. Greenwald
Yesterday, we responded to the op-ed by Glen Byrns, the Davis resident who recounted his story about the garage fire.
By Terri Leonard
by Catherine Woodward 
Date: May 19, 2013
I will start with a few huge qualifiers – I am a big Kings fan. When I arrived in Davis in 1996, the Kings were not much to speak of but I was intrigued by how much people were still into the team. A few years later, they made the critical trade to get Chris Webber and built a team that was an unlucky rim bounce (which turned into a game winning three) and a refereed thrown game from a possible championship.
Current district plans include the extension of a GATE Master Plan with the inclusion of a lottery to select among GATE-identified students, until a new plan can be developed. The name will change to Alternative Instructional Model program.
This week I got into an interesting text exchange from an old friend challenging me on Obama’s less than acceptable record on civil liberties. The problem that my friend had is that I largely agree with him on the President’s record on civil liberties. However, I do not see the scandal on Benghazi or even the IRS.