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After a staff report that appeared to waffle and stall for time, city staff on Tuesday night found a way forward in the form of a resolution the entire council could agree with.

The resolution was read into the record by Councilmember Lamar Heystek.  The consensus emerged following the public comment of dozens of residents, most of who came forward strongly in support of the project.

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to support Anthony Woods for election to Congress representing the 10th Congressional District. Anthony represents a new generation of young people fully committed to serving our nation.

I invite you to a special fundraiser for Anthony’s campaign on Friday, June 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Palm Court Hotel, here in Davis.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the GOP leadership in the California legislature are making a big issue out of “no new taxes,” a posture which can lead to the most severe cuts in public spending in recent memory, cuts in vital education areas, as well as in all kinds of public services including health, police and fire protection.

But the truth is easy to discover, it seems to me, requiring only a moments analysis: “no new taxes” translates as no increased or new taxes on internet sales, no new taxes on alcohol, no new taxes on legal marijuana sales, no new taxes on “sales” of services by lobbyists and lawyers (or massage parlors), no new taxes on the oil industry, et cetera.

On April 30th Luis Gutierrez was shot in the back while walking home from the DMV. The killing of this 26 year old person has created a ripple effect of questions that have challenged the way city officials are accountable to city residents.

The deeper one investigates the clearer it becomes that interconnecting interests are present in Woodland politics. Woodland is showing symptoms of cronyism; in other words, the case of Luis Gutierrez has stretched the fabric of the political structure to the point that one can no longer ignore the favoritism within politics and indifference with community concerns.

July 1, 2009

Howard Posner, Chair and
SMUD Board Members
6201 S St.
Sacramento, CA 95817

Re: Status TANC Powerline Project

Dear Board Members,

The 30 June TANC/Navigant presentation before the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, and the Board’s reaction, indicates a significant likelihood that the transmission line project needs to be rethought or withdrawn entirely. The meeting did not show the TANC/SMUD organization in a good light, frankly – having none of the SMUD Board present was probably unfortunate, as Jim Shetler was unable to attend at the last minute. It is also unfortunate that no representatives of the Gualco Company were present to answer questions, forcing TANC’s single employee Jim Beck and Navigant Consultant Patrick Mealoy to deal with important relationship questions (explored further below) in this important public agency meeting. The following is a summary of current issues facing the project, which I believe indicates a building consensus against this project.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has given us a signal that he plans to run against Barbara Boxer for U.S Senate in 2010. It appears that he has decided to build up his Republican credentials by abandoning cooperation with the Democrats on the state budget. To be nominated by the increasingly right-wing Republicans he has to try to prove that he is a “no tax” man and is hostile to programs for the poor, disabled, unemployed, et cetera.

The truth is that in seeking to prove his Neandertal GOP credentials he is, in fact, risking another “Great Depression” in our state. We are already at virtually 12% unemployment (not counting those who have given up or who are only working part-time). We are at risk of going much higher if Schwarzenegger’s devastating budget is adopted.

Above is a forecast of Davis water supply demand/capacity projected to the year 2040, as envisioned by City Staff. This pictorial representation was presented at the June 2, 2009 City Council meeting, and discussed in the June 11, 2009 Senior Citizens Commission meeting with Bob Weir of the Davis Public Works Dept. What is striking are the assumptions built into this model. The line representing peak water demand assumes a 1% growth rate in housing development.

Which brings to mind the following observations and questions: