Yolo Progressive Democrats of America will sponsor a demonstration to boycott Arco/ampm on Thursday, June 24 between 4:30 PM and 6 PM at the Arco/ampm station at Russell and Anderson. Arco and ampm are retail brands of BP.
While we await action on the disaster in the Gulf, we can play our part. We can stop rewarding BP. It is our purchases at Arco Stations that give BP its profits and power.
We are supporting Barbara Boxer’s re-election to the Senate. That is why we are co-sponsoring a reception for her June 18 here in Davis (the invitation is at the bottom of this page). If you need more information about her or simply want to be reminded of what a superb representative we as Californians have in the Senate, read on. If you just want to be a part of sending one of the finest elected officials in the nation right back where she can fight for us, go to this link!
For 18 years Barbara Boxer has been among the most progressive Democrats in the U.S. Senate. A tenacious fighter on many issues, she has been a strong leader on climate change, clean energy, environmental protection, health care, education, reproductive rights, and financial reform. We really appreciate Senator Boxer’s support and protection for wild places. She is one of the few members of Congress to consistently achieve a perfect score of 100 on Americans for Democratic Action’s annual ratings of Congress.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is holding public hearings on PG&E’s proposed rate hike.
The meetings for our area will be on June 9 at 10 AM and 7 PM at Hampton Inn and Suites, 2060 Freeway Drive, Woodland.
In the final days of the campaign, PG&E has increased their war chest from $35 M to $50 M. Despite the obvious self serving motives of this proposition, massive corporate spending can effectively turn public opinion. Just recall how we lost out on the greener, cheaper SMUD option four years ago and the selling of “safe” tobacco, despite all knowledge to the contrary. In contrast, the opposition hasn’t had funds even for yard signs, let alone multiple flyers and TV spots. With PG&E planning a $4 billion rate hike (The Utility Reform Network, 5/27/10), we can’t afford to grant PG&E a monopoly as our “forever” utility.
On their regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Monday, May 24, the Davis Natural Resources Commission (NRC) heard from Mike Lindquist, a civil engineer with the City of Davis Department of Public Works, on various wastewater treatment plant upgrade options currently being considered by the City.
Currently, Davis processes about 5.5 million gallons per day (mgd) of wastewater and discharges secondary treated waste water to wetlands eventually emptying into the causeway under permit from the Sacramento Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). Mr. Lindquist explained that the city is not currently meeting wastewater discharge requirements for certain minerals such as selenium as well as for total dissolved solids in the wastewater. Although the current limits are not being enforced because the City has obtained temporary waivers from the RWQCB in the past, these will certainly expire at some point in the future which could result in fines of up to $10,000 per day. Mr. Lundquist did not specify a deadline by which these upgrades must occur.
Alice Rothchild will be speaking at the Davis Avid Reader on Thursday, May 20 at 7:30 PM….
The sorriest thing about Prop 16 (the New Two Thirds Requirement for Local Public Electricity Act) is that it demonstrates the brute force of corporate money over our lives. Today, I received an e-mail with videos opposing Prop 16; they were the voices of ordinary people speaking for the interests of citizens. The email asked us to show these videos in homes because the opposition couldn’t afford to buy media time.
In contrast, PG&E, the sole funder of this proposition, has a war chest of $35 million. It could afford to pay professional teams to collect the thousands of signatures required to place this measure on the ballot and then to constantly broadcast its misleading television ads.
As a local small business in Davis, CA we wholeheartedly oppose the 2010 proposed water and sewer…
Renowned Author Norman Finklestein will be in Davis Friday, May 14th, 2010 in the Science Lecture Hall 123 at 7:30pm.
For more information, please contact Amna Sultan (530) 601.0786.
The Davis–based government reform group, Saving California Communities ( SCC ), will sponsor its second annual day-long forum, Saving California Communities: Next Steps? on Saturday, May 15 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. The purpose of the forum is to assess the current state of affairs and to help chart a course for the future of communities throughout California . Admission is free, and all members of the public are welcome to attend. Continental breakfast and lunch are included.
Saving California Communities consists of a local coalition of elected representatives and a wide cross section of community members. Members of the group are united voices for strong, healthy communities in Davis and throughout California .
On April 16, 2010 UC Davis athletics administrators announced that they will cut the women’s rowing, men’s wrestling, men’s indoor track, and men’s swimming and diving teams this summer in order to address a $1.79 million budget cut to the athletics department.
The UC Davis student and alumni community have protested the cuts of these teams as unnecessary and unfair.
“Community media helps connect people to place and time in a tangible way,” said Autumn Labbé-Renault, DMA?s executive director. “That localism is particularly important during elections, because the larger media markets don?t focus on smaller communities like Davis.
***PRESS EVENT! PRESS CONFERENCE AT 2:00 PM SUNDAY, MAY 9TH***
WHEN: On Sunday, May 9th (Mother’s Day) from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (2:00 pm press conference) we will be having the grand opening of the Decimation of the Public Education System art show, and Mother’s appreciation pancake brunch (also coinciding with the revise of the State Budget).
WHERE: Luna Room at Sol Collective Art Gallery: 2574 21st Street (2574 is between T and U streets) – Sacramento, CA 95818-2523. Call Amy Hines at 916-508-6951 for directions or details.
Davis Bicycles! and the Davis Bike Collective will be sponsoring a transportation voter forum to be held…
Prop 16, the New Two-Thirds Requirement for Local Public Electricity Act, is on the June 8 ballot in California. If passed, a two thirds majority vote of the electorate will be required for public agencies to enter the retail power business. The current threshold for passage is a simple majority of 51%.
City Council candidates Joe Krovoza, Jon Li, Rochelle Swanson, Sydney Vergis and Daniel Watts are competing for two council seats in the June 8 election. At the forum, they will be asked to describe how they believe the City Council should respond to the current and future needs of the city’s seniors.
A recent 5-4 Supreme Court decision (Citizen’s United) has alarmed many advocates of democracy by empowering private corporations and unions to participate directly in political campaigns through the direct expenditure of funds. This disputed decision ultimately rests upon several prior opinions equating money with “speech” and giving corporations the status of “persons.”
The meaning of the term “person” in the U.S. Constitution is a fundamental issue. Can Supreme Court justices erase or ignore the clear constitutional meaning of “person” in order to advance a partisan or class agenda?
The Sierra Club Yolano Group is hosting a City Council Candidate Forum on Thursday, April 29 at 7 p.m. in the Community Chambers, 23 Russell Boulevard, Davis. City Council Candidates will answer questions submitted in advance by the Yolano Group Management Committee on important environmental and community issues and will also respond to questions from the audience. The forum will be taped and broadcast by DCTV on our local government channel.
Forums are a great opportunity for participating in the political process. The environmental forum is intended to be educational and informative, addressing issues important to the Davis community. The public will have the opportunity to participate in the forum by submitting their own questions in addition to those submitted to the candidates by the Management Committee.
“We are easy marks for those who want to control what we believe. So, we must be on guard, questioning our own assumptions and watching for the tricks of manipulators….we should be cultivating more humility and less certainty.” – Sherman K. Stein
Have you ever been listening to the news, and the statistics in the story don’t make sense to you? Sherman K. Stein would say you’re on the right path – at least, you’re questioning what you hear.
In his new book, Survival Guide for Outsiders: How to Protect Yourself from Politicians, Experts and Other Insiders, Stein offers wide-ranging information to the layperson on how the media, government and other organizations use fuzzy math and data to push their agendas. Dr. Stein is a professor emeritus of mathematics at UC Davis.