City of Davis

Guest Commentary: Response to Davis Enterprise on Senior Housing

Guest Commentary: Response to Davis Enterprise on Senior Housing

By David GreenwaldJanuary 12, 200914 comments
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Special to The People’s Vanguard of Davis

By Elaine Roberts Musser

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It was with some disquiet that I read Claire St. John’s Jan. 2, 2009 article in the Davis Enterprise, entitled “Senior Living”. I immediately fired off a clarification of my position to the Enterprise that same day. I wanted to make clear the reader understood 1) I was speaking as an individual and not in my capacity as the Chair of the Davis Senior Citizens Commission; 2) the issue of how much senior housing is considered necessary in the future was left completely out of the article.

Former Davis Mayor Julie Partansky Passes Away

Former Davis Mayor Julie Partansky Passes Away

By David GreenwaldJanuary 11, 200930 comments

My friends, I have sad news to report tonight. Julie Partansky, a friend, an ally, and an all-around wonderful person passed away last night after a brief battle with lung cancer. She was just 60.

Ken Wagstaff, her friend and colleague on the City Council shares a few thoughts with the community:

Julie Partansky was a unique and sensitive person. Her personality combined whimsy and serious purpose, creativity and practicality, fun and hard work.

Council Wants To Study Wood Burning More, Will Revisit Recommendations in April

Council Wants To Study Wood Burning More, Will Revisit Recommendations in April

By David GreenwaldJanuary 7, 200913 comments

Dr. Tom Cahill has been working with the city since October on establishing guidelines for wood burning that will be based on solid scientific foundations that enable people’s health issues to be addressed while at the same time respecting people’s rights to the fullest extent possible.

The city council last night heard from a wide variety of experts, many of whom have been in countless hours on the issue of wood burning.

City Can Better Utilize Hunt-Boyer Mansion with a Restaurant

City Can Better Utilize Hunt-Boyer Mansion with a Restaurant

By David GreenwaldJanuary 6, 200935 comments

Back in December, the city council met to decide the future reuse of the Dresbach-Hunt-Boyer Mansion. Currently city staff are located in that building, however, they will soon be relocated to other city facilities and the city now has the choice as to how to use the building.

The city hired a consultant to do a feasibility study and consider reuse options which were narrowed down to a restaurant or a visitor’s center. At the December 9, 2008 council meeting, the majority of the city council concurred with the staff report “that the visitor’s center concept is a better fit than a restaurant for this historic structure, as it would have the least physical impact on the building and would be far more economical to implement.” However, in a compromise, Councilmember Stephen Souza constructed a motion that would allow the city to at least test the restaurant option.

Unfortunately by putting out a RFP (Request for Proposal) for only two months during these economic times may not be doing far enough in terms of actually allowing a potential restaurant owner to use the site.

Coverage of Target Issue in Bee and Aggie Stands in Marked Contrast To the Enterprise

Coverage of Target Issue in Bee and Aggie Stands in Marked Contrast To the Enterprise

By David GreenwaldJanuary 5, 200925 comments

This morning residents in Davis wake up to more coverage of the Target issue. However, in marked contrast to the article two weeks ago in the Davis Enterprise, the Sacramento Bee and California Aggie present largely balanced arguments weighing the concerns of the local citizen’s groups against the stance of the EPA.

On Monday December 22, 2008, the Vanguard broke the news that local group, Frontier Fertilizer Superfund Oversight Group (FFSOG) was concerned about the discovery of new detection levels of TCP at the Target Superfund site. The group was asking for new testing before Target was set to lay the foundation for the new store on January 5, 2009 (coincidentally today).

Enterprise Pushes For Senior Housing On the Covell Site

Enterprise Pushes For Senior Housing On the Covell Site

By David GreenwaldJanuary 3, 200992 comments
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Last night, the Davis Enterprise ran a full-1200 word front page special on the push by the Covell Partners to re-package their failed 2005 project as Senior Housing. The push which began with a new proposal before the HESC (Housing Element Steering Committee), continued with a letter writing campaign that eventually nullified the HESC workshop, and continued this fall with a number of handpicked Seniors coming before the city council asking for a senior housing facility at the site formerly known as Covell Village.

The Enterprise article features Janice Bridge, the former School Board Member, who has been on the fore of pushing for a senior housing project. Of course those with a fairly good memory will recall that Janice Bridge was one of the leaders of the Covell Village project as well, serving as Secretary of the group Neighbors for Covell–a very different project that did not offer the senior housing and scale-down options that just three years later Ms. Bridge is now pushing for.

Davis Residents Gather For Peace in the Middle East

Davis Residents Gather For Peace in the Middle East

By David GreenwaldJanuary 1, 200952 comments

On New Year’s Eve in a very foggy Central Park in Davis, nearly 100 residents gathered for a peace vigil. The precipitating event was the recent bombing and killing of civilians in Gaza but members of the community deplored the violence and killing of innocent life on both sides of the tragic Middle East struggle.

As we once again begin a new year, it is helpful to use this moment to reflect on the struggle for peace across the world. Once again, I am reminded of the U2 song, “New Year’s Day.”

The Rise of New Investigative Reporting

The Rise of New Investigative Reporting

By David GreenwaldDecember 27, 200818 comments
imageOPen Government

Back in November the New York Times had an interesting article, the focus was on a San Diego blog–Voice of San Diego.

Writes the New York Times:

“Over the last two years, some of this city’s darkest secrets have been dragged into the light — city officials with conflicts of interest and hidden pay raises, affordable housing that was not affordable, misleading crime statistics.

A look at Deep Throat, Investigative Reporting, and the Role of Deep Throat in Watergate

A look at Deep Throat, Investigative Reporting, and the Role of Deep Throat in Watergate

By David GreenwaldDecember 26, 200810 comments
imageOPen Government

Given that it is the day after Christmas, I thought we would talk about something a little different from what we usual talk about. As a fan of and a recent practitioner of investigative reporting, the story of Deep Throat and Woodward and Bernstein has been intriguing to me. Woodward and Bernstein’s investigative reporting during Watergate started a new era and inspired young journalists in hopes of becoming the next muckraking reporter.

The past week marked the passing of Mark Felt at the age of 95. Mark Felt in 2005 revealed that he was in fact the mysterious Deep Throat, Bob Woodward’s deep background source in the early Watergate stories. Much controversy surrounds the actions of Deep Throat, even to this day. To many who considered Watergate an appalling abuse of power and a true threat to the very fabric of democracy, Mark Felt is a hero and a whistle blower who put the country first. Others consider him disloyal for leaking at best secret information available to him at his position as the No.2 man in the FBI.