City of Davis

City Continues to Withhold Full Fire Report from Council and Public

City Continues to Withhold Full Fire Report from Council and Public

By David GreenwaldMarch 2, 200911 comments

Redacted Version is Heavily Censored Revealing Little New Information

On January 13, 2009, the Davis City Council listened to investigator Bob Aaronson and City Manager Bill Emlen discuss very different interpretations of the Mr. Aaronson’s investigation into allegations present in the June of 2008 Grand Jury Report.

It was a report that the elected members of the Davis City Council did not get to read in full. The Vanguard subsequently filed a California Public Records Act Request for both the full unredacted report and a redacted report. The city of Davis, as expected has denied the Vanguard access to the full version of the report.

Judge Orders Defendants to Cease Delay Tactics in Buzayan Case

Judge Orders Defendants to Cease Delay Tactics in Buzayan Case

By David GreenwaldMarch 2, 20096 comments

It was summer of 2005 when then 16 year-old Halema Buzayan was arrested by Davis Police Officer Pheng Ly. Much has happened since that time both within the city and the police department. But one thing that has not happened is that the Federal Lawsuit filed by Ms. Buzayan’s family has not gone to trial. That may finally change shortly as a Federal Judge last week ordered the defense to quit stalling and allow the case to move forward.

Halema Buzayan and her family allege 16 causes of action against the Davis Police Department, individual police officers, the Yolo County District Attorney and several individual’s from the DA’s Office, and the City of Davis. Specifically the list of defendants include: City of Davis, former Davis Police Chief James Hyde, Assistant Police Chief Steven Pierce, Officer Pheng Ly and Ben Hartz, Former DA David Henderson, Deputy DA Patricia Fong, and Counsel for Yolo County and the City of Davis Douglas Thorn who is himself a defendant in this case.

Westlake Grocery Deal in Doubt As Owner Allegedly Reneges on Handshake Deal

Westlake Grocery Deal in Doubt As Owner Allegedly Reneges on Handshake Deal

By David GreenwaldFebruary 25, 200951 comments
imageWestlake Plaza

In an interview with the Vanguard, the Davis Advocates for Neighborhood Groceries (DANG) say they thought they had a deal. Consultants for Farrokh Hosseinyoun, the majority owner of the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center on Lake Boulevard in West Davis had found a suitor for the Westlake Plaza’s empty grocery store spot.

Enter the Delano Family, owners of eight Bay Area Grocery stores bearing the same name. They operate Delano’s Markets in San Francisco, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Fairfax and Novato, many of them very upscale in appearance. Adding to the intrigue is the versatility of their product and the vast experience of the Delanos in the grocery business and their genuine interest in coming to Davis and Westlake Plaza.

Vanguard Analysis: Davis Fire Has High Cost Per Service Call

Vanguard Analysis: Davis Fire Has High Cost Per Service Call

By David GreenwaldFebruary 24, 200952 comments
imageDavis Fire

One of the big questions facing the Davis Fire Department is the issue of staffing and the issue of whether or not the fire department needs a fourth fire station. Data presented by the Davis Fire Department has often shown that Davis has a relatively low number of fire fighters per thousand people, a high population per station, and a low cost per capita.

The Vanguard’s analysis largely confirms those findings that would seem to suggest that davis is in need of more fire staffing, an additional fire station, and that it is run relatively cost effective.

Guest Commentary: Addressing Safety Concerns and Design Changes to Fifth St Corridor

Guest Commentary: Addressing Safety Concerns and Design Changes to Fifth St Corridor

By David GreenwaldFebruary 19, 200925 comments
imageCity of Davis

by Steve Tracy
This past Tuesday evening the City Council considered changes to the design of the 5th/Russell corridor, between A and L Streets. Opportunities to put missing bike lanes on the street and deal with ongoing safety issues have been missed in the past. We hope this time the community can learn from the experience in other similar situations, set aside fear and emotion, and support a decision to create a safer street that will serve everyone better.

In February of 2005, the timing of the traffic signals was modified at the intersections where F and G Streets meet 5th Street. The new timing, called “split-phase” in traffic engineer vernacular, allows only one direction of traffic on 5th Street (eastbound or westbound) to flow at a time.

Word To The Wise: The Foreclosure Nightmare

Word To The Wise: The Foreclosure Nightmare

By David GreenwaldFebruary 19, 20092 comments
imageCity of Davis

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!–PART 1

By E.A. Roberts

As more heartsick seniors come to me as a volunteer attorney for advice on foreclosure options, I feel compelled to comment on the following issues as I see them:

  • Reasons for the plight of our vulnerable older adults;
  • How we as a nation arrived at a “mortgage meltdown” scenario;
  • Possible solutions to resolve the mess, on a global and more local scale.
Inside the Numbers: A Further Examination of the DPD Turnover Rate

Inside the Numbers: A Further Examination of the DPD Turnover Rate

By David GreenwaldFebruary 18, 200913 comments
imageCity of Davis

Yesterday’s Sacramento Bee ran an article that found that Citrus Highets and the Davis police departments have the highest staff turnover rates among other law enforcement agencies in the region.

To add fuel to the fire, the Bee recessitates old charges that the climate in Davis involving complaints of racial profiling and the Halema Buzayan case were the prominent if not primary culprits for this turnover rate.

“High-ranking officials from the two departments blame a variety of factors ranging from a new department’s normal break-in period to the way a racially charged incident was handled.”

The Bee quotes Assistant Chief Steve Pierce discussing issues involving the arrest of Halema Buzayan, then 16 in 2005, along with accusations of racial profiling.

Davis Finds Itself in Growing Fiscal Hole

Davis Finds Itself in Growing Fiscal Hole

By David GreenwaldFebruary 16, 200917 comments
imageCity of Davis

The city of Davis now faces a large and growing budget deficit. Due to the continued decline of the economic conditions in Davis, the current year’s budget deficit is projected to grow from the November estimate of $1.54 million to $2.37 million. Next year the budget deficit will range from between $3 million to $3.6 million depending on the city’s negotiations with the employee bargaining units.

From the city staff report for Tuesday’s City Council meeting:

Why Do We Need a New General Plan?

Why Do We Need a New General Plan?

By David GreenwaldFebruary 11, 200916 comments
imageGeneral Plan

The Davis City Council last night began to embark upon their discussion of how the General Plan update process should proceed. There was considerable discussion as to whether it should even go forward at this point given the current economic situation, given the costs of proceeding, and given the uncertainty of our times.

The consistent question that arises and is never really answered by those councilmembers who support going forward with an update is why we need to do so now, rather than take the Housing Element that has already been adopted and perhaps modifying the plan with more modern and general principles of sustainability.

General Plan Updating Process Begins

General Plan Updating Process Begins

By David GreenwaldFebruary 6, 200920 comments
imageGeneral Plan

On Tuesday night, the Davis City Council will start take steps towards developing a plan of attack for the next General Plan Update. According to the staff report:

A General Plan update would potentially address all of the Council goal categories of: Infrastructure; Fiscal stability; Downtown Davis; Housing; Sustainability; Safety and Health; Organizational Strength; Civic Engagement; and Long-Term Visioning.

Commentary: The limits of Open Government and the Council’s Right to Know

Commentary: The limits of Open Government and the Council’s Right to Know

By David GreenwaldFebruary 5, 20099 comments
imageOPen Government

A few weeks the Davis City Council was trying to decide to what extent they had the right to demand to read the Ombudsman’s Investigation into the Yolo County Grand Jury report. In a lot of ways it was a strange discussion. Let us forget for a moment about the content of that report and focus only on the process at hand.

City Attorney Harriet Steiner ruled two things. First, that the city manager had the right to determine whether or not the council could see something. Second, that if the council did view these personnel matters or a report deemed to cover a personnel matter, it could subject the city to liability. In essence, the city attorney deemed that in a city manager model, the council has no more right to view personnel records than members of the public.

Basically the city council hires the city manager. They are responsible for evaluating his performance. It was that evaluative process that led to the city manager’s new contract that was approved last week in open session. However, as councilmember Sue Greenwald and Councilmember Lamar Heystek asked, how is the council supposed to evaluate the city manager, if they cannot review his work product. If they are in the dark about certain reports deemed “personnel matters,” how can they determine how well the city manager has done his job?

Read My Lips… No New Taxes?

Read My Lips… No New Taxes?

By David GreenwaldFebruary 3, 200928 comments

City Needs To Solve Its Fiscal Problems First Before Going to the Taxpayers for a Renewal of Existing Taxes  

imageAt the risk of sounding somewhat well… Republican, there is something to this at least from the standpoint of local government. It is really not that I am opposed to new taxes, it is that there needs to be some incentive for the city to negotiate hard this with the various bargaining units. Let us back up a few steps first here.

 
Vanguard Analysis: Enterprise Obscures Where It Should Shine A Light

Vanguard Analysis: Enterprise Obscures Where It Should Shine A Light

By David GreenwaldFebruary 1, 200914 comments
imageCity of Davis
The vote on Tuesday night on the B Street project was admittedly a bit confusing in its conception. However, the Davis Enterprise article made it more so, not less so.

The title of the article was “Project will get another chance.”

In a technical sense, that may be true. Council by a 3-1 vote passed a motion that would allow the applicant Marie Ogrydziak to bring her project back without having to pay additional fees. However, the motion directed her to work with the neighbors (who were overwhelmingly against the current project) and change her plans.

City’s Budget Hole Grows–Unmet Needs Will Go Unaddressed

City’s Budget Hole Grows–Unmet Needs Will Go Unaddressed

By David GreenwaldJanuary 30, 200930 comments
imageCity of Davis

A year ago the city basically identified around $13 million in what it called unmet needs. These were needed projects in a variety of departments that the city needed to undertake but lacked the available money to pay for them. As the Vanguard has mentioned previously, some of these are quite basic road repairs and other vital services.

Right now the city is projecting a growing budget deficit for the foreseeable future. It begins at close to $1.5 million for the current fiscal year and doubles to $3 million next year.

Councilmember Souza and the Council Put a Stop to a Rehearing on 233 B

Councilmember Souza and the Council Put a Stop to a Rehearing on 233 B

By David GreenwaldJanuary 28, 200922 comments
imageCity of Davis

As we reported on Saturday, the City Attorney Harriet Steiner suggested that she erred in her assessment that Councilmember Sue Greenwald was not conflicted out of a vote cast on November 4, 2008 against a redesign of the 233 B Street property. Therefore the city staff determined that the applicant could request a rehearing without going through the normal reconsideration process.

The council will meet at a later point to modify and correct conflict of interest policies. We have discussed this at length already.

City Facing Budget Crisis, Cutback on Youth Programs and Award Honoring Slain Teen

City Facing Budget Crisis, Cutback on Youth Programs and Award Honoring Slain Teen

By David GreenwaldJanuary 27, 200929 comments
imageCity of Davis

In a letter from Mayor Ruth Asmundson pasted on the city’s page for the Golden Heart Awards this year, it reads:

“As a result of the death of Andrew Mockus in April 1992, the City of Davis Recreation and Park Commission expanded its commitment to the youth of our community. Forums were held throughout the community to discuss the problems of youth and to brainstorm on how the community could do more to meet the needs of youth.