Why Are Those Pesky Students Sleeping on the Streets?

sleeping-bagby Bernie Goldsmith

Have you gotten the one-page vote-yes-on A Nishi development scare piece delivered to your door yet? A micro dorm might move in next to you. These filthy students are living on the street in RV’s. Here’s a picture of one of these urchin dwellings. They could move in next to you. Our housing prices are in danger.

I’ve never seen such abject demonization of impoverished students. I’ve never seen such naked and unmitigated spite towards the innovative minds that make the garbage, slapped-together housing stock in Davis worth anything at all.

We need to start approaching our elected officials and ask them to condemn this hate-mongering or step out of office.

We need to track down the scumbag developers and their scumbag political consultants and let them know that attacking our most vulnerable residents is not a way to get a project approved.

We need to start approaching our NIMBY neighbors and advise them to move to Woodland if they want to see what their housing is worth without those loathsome students packing themselves four to a room for the honor of living in this town.

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Breaking News City of Davis Land Use/Open Space

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26 comments

  1. If there’s a point to this article, it was lost on me.  I can’t tell if it’s supposed to promote Yes on A, No on A, or is just an unfocused rant against developers, political consultants, homeowners and elected officials.

  2. Bernie

    I find myself confused as Jim Frame seems to be. Granted, I have not seen the flyer in question which might clarify, but nevertheless, I am confused.

    It is clear to me that you disapprove of the tactics of the developers. What is not clear to me is whether your article is against the tactics only, or if you are also against the project. It is also not clear to me what you favor.

    1. Do you favor more housing for students in Davis ?

    2. If so, where do you favor it ? On campus only, on Nishi, on Olive Drive, on 5th Street ? All of these ?  If on Nishi, would you prefer that it be done by UCD or by a private developer in conjunction with the city, just not this proposal ?

    3. Who would you suggest provide this volume of housing if not the current developers ?

  3. A micro dorm might move in next to you.

    Students are living in sheds, converted garages.  I suspect these sorts of accommodations are legally uninhabitable, i.e. they don’t provide basics like heat, air conditioning, hot and cold running water, electricity, free from insects and vermin.  No one should have to live in substandard housing.  The micro dorm issue arose because someone put 12 students in a house not designed for that many people.  12 students in a home causes problems for both the students and neighbors.

    1. Students should not be here if they cannot obtain the needed funding for housing.  That may require delaying school while you save the needed money, another student loan or winning a scholarship.

  4. in the 70s I was a UC student on PELP and was involved in the local cult of the time…..we had TWELVE people living in the Nishi farmhouse…

    It was cheap….the lovely old historic farmhouse had a full attic AND a basement…..  most of us were working 24/7 for the cult with little renumeration….

    that was the number of people who lived there and there were often overnight guests…I mean it WAS the 70s…   LOL

    I would love it if anyone could pull up what the circumstances were around that “suspicious” or ” not suspicious” fire which took down that lovely historic house…..

    Something should be done about mini-dorms however then one also impedes onto the private usage of space…

    PS>  Back in the days when I arrived to UCD< NO student ever had their own room, and bathrooms were shared between 4 people.  THAT was standard….

    Thus, my 3 bd/ 2b house could easily hold 6 people, or even 9 based on UCD “triples” for the master bedroom,   or  8 people, for the bathroom situation….

    As soon as I move to the country, my 3/2 will be fixed up a bit, and rented….lessee….wow!!!

    Of course, did you know that if you have a nice house in a desirable location, you can get $250/night renting it out…..lessee  that is how much per year…..  🙂

     

     

  5. Many of the original neighbors who lived on the border of the Ricci farm, aka woodbridge, have since moved away or died….No kidding…  FOUR have died in recent months….

    My old friend, Debbie Patterson, who moved after her husband passed from early onset Alzheimer’s, and she left and came back to her house several times over the last decade,  because her house was not selling…and I were just discussing that.

    Some of our neighbors who recently died were original owners of the El Macero Vista neighborhood which backed up to the farm.

    Back in the day, that farm was conventionally sprayed by cropdusters……my sons played outside in the yard and also on the farmland, as we had no fence…

    Many of the people who grew up bordering that sprayed farm are having health issues.  My neighbors across the street, Mike Allen and Cathy Allen both passed from cancer….Mike first some 8?  years ago….he didn’t like doctors and keeled over one day….he was only in his early 50s.   His wife Cathy or is it Kathy?  was battling stage 4 cancer prior to Mike keeling over ….she died in the last couple of months.

    Janet Day and her family also bordered the Ricci Farm…..her son, cannot remember the name, the one who owned the wine shop passed way too young recently.

    Two neighbors to the house on one side both passed in the last year, one in recent months….they both got dementia in their old age…

    Two houses down on the other side, the man recently died of Huntingtons…..his wife was Carol and I’m just not that good with names but they also had a couple of kids.

    Debbie’s grandson is having some health issues also….and I, who hadn’t needed an aspirin in many decades, have been battling an immune disorder.

    Toxins in the air, the land, the water and so forth are killing us.

    We are not far from 80…..  our house is a bit farther to 80 than the Nishi proposed housing…

    The land on Nishi is full of conventional toxic chemicals as is/was the Ricci farm..

    I am moving to the country where we will have our own well, and surrounded by organic farms…  I am now a water system distributor….not because I need the money…but because I see that it is helpful to my friends and family……

    Marina Kalugin (Rumiansev)

     

     

    1. Marina wrote:

      > I am moving to the country where we will have our own well,

      > and surrounded by organic farms…

      After you move you will find out that even in the country with organic farms some people have health issues and/or die young (just like the people that live near you in Davis)…

      1. Ricci was CONVENTIONAL and crop dusting…so is NISHI>

        and with Monsanto running amuk and so forth, and because the GMO seeds are contaminating all nearby crops, one truly has to take other matters into one’s hands to keep the toxins out of the system, or clear them when they get situated in one’s body…

        I have no conventional farming or spraying within miles around…still the birds and pollinators will spread those seeds and have the spray contamination on ther legs and feathers….

        glyphosate (roundup and so forth)…is found in high levels with those who have breast cancer and testicular cancer.

        same with very high levels of BPA   (stay away from ALL plastics if you can…but the latest number 7s are the deadliest….the “replacements” for BPA whatever the initials on the BPA free “plastic bottles”…BPS …doesn’t matter…all are WAY worse than the BPA>>>just newer and not tested enough…

        I also have a backup plan in a nearby way better country…if the USA goes belly up….

        In my  spare time I am a survivalist and always dreamed of leaving society and living on the land…wherever…..

         

         
        [moderator] Hi Marina. You need to stay on topic.

        1. [moderator] Hi Marina. You need to stay on topic.

          You’re just getting there now, mod?  How can you even tell, one way or the other?

      1. that was a joke….I make no money but I am giving away clean and filtered water to those who are sick and otherwise need it..    LOL

    2. If “back in the day” you mean 1940’s 1950’s, maybe crop dusting… since 1970 or so, I strongly doubt, and actually believe it to be a lie… but I get it… it’s a soviet/communist/nazi thing… tell a lie frequently enough, and it gets accepted as fact.

      Give one shred of evidence… just one credible shred of evidence… otherwise, STFU…

  6. Bernie is right on the mark. Let me restate and clarify for those of you who are confused.

    A POX ON ALL YOUR HOUSES.

    That is right, Bernie is excoriating all of you for treating students as second class citizens. Right on Bernie.

    1. Bernie is excoriating all of you for treating students as second class citizens.

      Who specifically is doing that, how specifically?  I’m a bit lost on what “all of you” is doing here.

  7. Bernie is my friend and truly someone who is my friend…

    If not for the sad state of my crapped up Davis house, we could have had some of his crew living in our house in Davis….

    Ask Matt Carmichael, the Chief of Police why he stopped talking to me right after I copied HIM on my letter to the DE just days before the Napo gave the Chancellor HER demand for her to resign.

    He and I were working on fixing the homeless issue in the SLB…..and after THAT copy on that email, he no longer returns my calls and emails.

    WE, were friends…I even had his personal cell number….and did HE return my call when I found out what the Napo did?   NOOOOOOOO

     

     

  8. most staff live in Woodland…fortunately I was a reentry student when I bought my first house in Davis…would never be able to afford it as a single mom for most of the decades I was on staff..

    and, yes, if I did it now, I would NEVER buy in DAvis….TOO expensive and it is faster to get to my office from “north, north Davis…aka Woodland”  than the 80 from my house in Soda…

    way better construction and a fraction of the cost…..and, one can still attend Davis schools…if one wants to…

    I was the only one in my office for decades as a lowly whatever I was who still had a house in Davis…..even as a Manager, on my income I would not have qualified for the low income houses that have been built over the years…

  9. we almost closed on a place in Winters…much closer to Davis than Capay…but Cecelia is in bed with PGE>>>>

    had to run further than Winters….

  10. PS>   Vote Bernie…vote Yamada  vote Matt Williams….vote for Saylor

    NO on A…and no on NISHI>>>>not needed and it will NOT be what is promised…

    whatever they promise don’t believe THEM – same old cronies

    PS>  no Frerichs and no Wolk

    Sorry Will, you belong to a family of developers.

    Vote Matt and only Matt if you want Matt.

    I like Brett also….but six of one half dozen of the others….

    and, the only way Matt will win is if HE is the only you vote for…the others will split the difference..

    It’ll be a start to take back the city council to the PEOPLE>>>>   LOL

  11. back in the 70s the Davis police gave motel vouchers to people passing through town…

    many passersby stayed overnight and then joined this cult….

    I asked Matt C.  COP….about why that is no longer done…

    He didn’t know….

    For decades students AND staff have been sleeping in the buildings….now the homeless are taking baths in the sinks at any building they can get in and hide in

    The problems are way bigger than Nishi….and that is why I was working on ideas with Matt C…

     

     

     

  12. Dear Bernie G.

    When I transitioned to my current department from the prior one, there were some long-time staff who were trouble.   They had that kinda attitude towards students…they also had that kinda attitude toward faculty, other staff and pretty much everyone else……and yet, they sat and barely did some work at their 8 to five with hour lunches, 2 20 minutes breaks,  and great benefits and so forth..

    Some didn’t have enough to keep themselves busy…they were generally the faculty with no grants and poor teaching reviewa and low service levels….they spent THEIR days gossiping and throwing stones at the two NAS members in our tiny department..

    WE had some staff who spent all their time on the phone…or otherwise “no-one” knew where they were…

    One was even a V P of UPTE>>>>>>wow…..h/she did tech support for my former AND my new department…..when I was at EVE, they all thought h/she was busy at Mic…..at Mic they all thought EVE was using up all the time..

    I used to find him/her doing union business 24/7…..if h/she wasn’t drunk or stoned…..

    oh gosh, did I REALLY say THAT?????  notice you have no idea of the timing or when….

    finally, the “significant other” of this person got tired and threw said person out…

    then staff started complaining that this person was sleeping in the teaching or research labs…

    smelled like drugs or alcohol, and was not even responding to any service calls…

    of course, the drug/alcohol abuse escalated….I tried to help said person get help…but no luck.

    the person didn’t want to admit to anything….and how can one be helped if he/she doesn’t even think there is a problem….

    finally, we had to find someone more competent and with greater programmer skills and were fortunate to find someone with stellar skills to take our lowly prog 3 position….that was all we could afford and only if we “shared” with another department..

    I’ve seen your name around Bernie G……I have loved your letters to the editor on occasion….and I am not sure whether we have met in person…but I always loved it when you stood up and talked or wrote…

    love this wry jewish humor of yours Bernie G……..as my counselor and  also my husband are both “old jewish farts” as they like to call each other fondly…..

    I guess those who are put through the most have to laugh as what else is there when one is on the holocaust train….or being deported to sure death….

    one becomes a comedian to reject the absurdities and injustices of life…

    to entertain and be entertained….I was the serious brainy girl who attracted the idiots and class clowns who made me laugh and yet I rejected them…

    I didn’t have time for such nonsense….

    Then I married one of those class clowns..second marriage and late in life…..and found out that beneath that crazy behaviour was a brilliant attorney wanna be….

    Many of my jokes fall flat here when people are discussing the gravely important and life/death issue of measure A….   really?

    Marina Kalugin (Rumiansev)

     

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