City of Davis Archives - Page 430 of 479

Commentary: How Bicycle Friendly is Davis Really?

By David M. GreenwaldMay 9, 2010

This week we had Davis Bicycles! and a host of other groups have a candidates forum featuring discussions on transportation and biking. I have been to a lot of forums in the past two weeks, and this was my favorite of them all. It dealt with a lot of issues that do not get enough attention even as Davis likes to do things like get a Bicycling Hall of Fame, bring in the Amgen tour, and act as though it is the bike mecca of America.

A little known fact about is me is that when I got accepted to graduate school at UC Davis, I came here to visit in April of 1996 by bicycle. That is correct, I biked from San Luis Obispo up Highway 1 to San Francisco and then cut across back roads to ride into Davis on Old Davis Road through the south side of campus.

League Candidates Forum Puts Campaign into Home Stretch

By David M. GreenwaldMay 8, 2010

LWV-Candidates-Forum-003

Friday marked the last of the major candidate’s forums. This one was the League of Women Voters’ forum. In addition to a City Council Candidate’s debate, they also hosted the debate over Measure Q (sales tax) and Measure R (renewal of Measure J). Tomorrow we will cover the ballot measures. For today we focus on the candidate’s debate most specifically the two league questions and several audience questions.

While this debate may have lacked the fireworks of previous debates, it generates its own headline news. Today we will bury the lead and simply report on the answers given. In the future, we will discuss some of the ramifications of today debate more fully.

Council Candidates Talk About the Downtown At the DDBA Forum – PART TWO

By David M. GreenwaldMay 7, 2010

This is part two of the DDBA candidates forum. As a reminder, this evening at 7 pm will be the League of Women Voter’s Forum at the Community Chambers at 23 Russell Blvd in Davis.

This represents the remainder of the DDBA questions and two audience questions.

Police Chief Landy Black A Finalist For Fairfield Position

By David M. GreenwaldMay 7, 2010

The Vanguard has learned through numerous sources that Davis Police Chief, Landy Black, since 2007, is a finalist for the Chief position at the Fairfield Police Department.

Chief Black acknowledged that in part this was due to financial considerations, but also the opportunity for professional advancement. The city is in the process of considering whether to increase the Chief’s compensation in order to insure a continuation of his services.

Council Candidates Talk About the Downtown At the DDBA Forum – PART ONE

By David M. GreenwaldMay 7, 2010

On Thursday night, the five Davis City Council candidates were at it again, this time meeting at a forum with the Davis Downtown Business Association (DDBA). The theme this evening was business, the economy, and the Davis downtown. It gave the candidates and the membership of the DDBA a chance to hear another very different set of issues from the previous forums.

The format here was the first question asking about small business experience was asked to all five, and then the remaining were asked two at a time. For the sake of keeping this somewhat less brief, I have skipped the first question and proceeding to subsequent questions that are more policy oriented.

Are Campaign Ads Effective in Davis City Council Campaigns?

By David M. GreenwaldMay 6, 2010

The other day, I stumbled across Sydney Vergis’ campaign ad. It’s a pretty basic 30 second ad, basically a name recognition piece. Given Davis’ position in the market, one has to rely on doing cable ads on Comcast to reach Davis vmioters. Buying into the Sacramento market is hugely expensive.

So that leaves cable which while cost effective, I just wonder how effective the ads really are. More on that in a moment.

Compressed Timeline For Budget Discussion Problematic

By David M. GreenwaldMay 5, 2010

Transportation Budget and Pavement Improvement Deemed Seriously Underfunded –

Last night, City Manager Bill Emlen and Finance Director Paul Navazio presented the Davis City Council with an overview of the 2010-11 budget. Given previous discussions, there was not a lot of surprises in there, though there are a few nuggets worth looking into.

The biggest issue that has emerged is the timeline. The City is pushing for a May 25 Budget adoption, which means next week there will be a Workshop, on the 18th there will be a public hearing, and on the 25th there will be a budget adoption. That gives the council only a few days to get proposed changes into the city.

Graduate to Change Picnic Policy, Will Not Sell Alcohol Before 11 AM

By David M. GreenwaldMay 5, 2010

In light of picnic day events and public scrutiny, it appears that the Davis Graduate has reviewed its policy on serving beer at 6 am and has now changed its policies. The Graduate became a focus in part because of erroneous police reports that suggested the Graduate the locus for a fight that injured a police officer, but also because many people believed that selling alcohol at 6 am set a bad example and began drinking at an earlier hour than they otherwise might have.

From the Vanguard’s perspective, this became a story primarily because Rochelle Swanson, the wife of owner Charlie Swanson, is running for Davis City Council. She had originally stated that the decision to serve alcohol at 6 am was not a decision she alone could make.

Davis City Council Candidates Discuss Bikes and Transportation Issues

By David M. GreenwaldMay 4, 2010

It was a different setting on Monday night in Davis, as the City Council candidates gathered outside of Bike Forth to discuss bikes and transportation issues sponsored by Davis Bicycles and the Davis Bike Collective.

The format for this one was a bit different, each candidate gave a five minute prepared statement and were asked two questions from the the sponsors and then they opened it up to audience questions. For the purposes of this story, I will discuss their opening statement, the answers to the two questions from the sponsors, and then the answers to a question on Fifth Street and Green waste containerization.

Council To Hear the Budget on Tuesday

By David M. GreenwaldMay 3, 2010

City Decides Public Does Not Need to View Budget Prior to Tuesday’s Meeting –

The most important issue facing the city of Davis in the next four years, is an issue that we have heard thus far during the council debates the least amount about. However, with the first of four scheduled meetings on the 2010-11 budget this Tuesday, that figures to change.

I was hoping to be able to present an early look at the budget prior to Tuesday’s meeting, but when I pulled up the agenda item, instead I got a single page explaining the schedule.

Long Delayed Davis Climate Action Plan Finally Sent to City Council with NRC Support and the Current IPM Plan is Unveiled

By David M. GreenwaldMay 3, 2010

By Alan Pryor –

The Davis Natural Resources Commission (NRC) held their monthly meeting on Monday, April 26 in Community Chambers. The two main items on their scheduled agenda were the hopeful final review of the long-awaited Climate Action Plan and of the City’s annual updated Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.

Climate Action Plan – The presumable final draft of the Climate Action Plan for the City of Davis was presented by the City’s Sustainability Manager, Mitch Sears. Mr. Sears initially reviewed the history of the plan and its development beginning in 2007. Indicating that many cities have a much greater head start than Davis in implementing a Climate Action Plan (e.g. Seattle, Portland, Berkeley, and San Francisco), Mr. Sears said that many of the elements of the Davis plan were drawn from the best features of those cities’ plans. He also acknowledged that he was delayed in completing this final report of the Davis plan which was otherwise approved by the Climate Action Team over a year ago because he has recently assumed many other responsibilities including assistance and preparation of a number of grants seeking funds for the City.

CHA Squanders Chance To Be More than an Astroturf Group for Covell Village Part Deux

By David M. GreenwaldMay 2, 2010

From day one it was apparent to me and many others that the group Choices for Healthy Aging (CHA) was nothing but a front for the Covell Village developers. They made the mistake early on of using the same phone number that the Covell Village developers’ representative used. And it was obviously it was a mere creation of the developers.

However, as their movement and membership has presumably grown, they have opportunities to become something more than that. They sponsored a city council candidates forum. They packed the senior center. A number of their members including Don Villarejo and Mary Jo Bryan among others are well respected members of the community. This was their chance to show that they were more than just an astroturf group, that they could be a broader senior advocacy group that spoke for thousands of Davis residents on a variety of key issues. They could have erased the perception that they were merely fronting for a developer (development?), a synthetic group developed by a powerful interest to create the impression of a mass movement, aka an astroturf group.

Council Ponders Tinkering with Who Becomes Next Mayor

By David M. GreenwaldMay 1, 2010

On Tuesday night, with everyone home and most of them asleep, the clock about to strike midnight, Mayor Ruth Asmundson, herself leaving council in a little over two months, opened discussion to the possibility of having a council discussion as to who becomes the next mayor.

It nearly turned into another late night fight, however, wiser heads prevailed as Don Saylor ultimately by implication put an end to the possibility of toying with the Mayor selection process at this time.

Candidates Lay Out Environmental and Land Use Visions in Sierra Club Forum

By David M. GreenwaldApril 30, 2010

The Sierra Club on Thursday night hosted their annual candidates forum, for the first time the candidates had a chance to answer a host of environmentally related questions following the rash of questions about business and the economy at the Chamber forum and the questions pertaining to the next Covell Village project at the CHA candidate’s forum.

The candidates were asked to submit written responses to a number of questions relating to the environment and then respond publicly last night to five of them. In the second portion, they responded to questions from the public. A future story will cover a couple of those questions as well. Daniel Watts was unable to make it last night and his answers are not available, so it is the other four candidates who this article will feature.

Vote to Assure Davis Food Co-op Democracy

By David M. GreenwaldApril 30, 2010

by Mike Pach –

The Davis Food Cooperative stands out as one of the many outstanding benefits of living here. For nearly forty years the Co-op has consistently provided the community with a wide variety of locally produced, fairly priced, fresh organic fruits and vegetables; a friendly, knowledgeable and customer-oriented staff; and, regular workshops and classes offering tasty and nutritious ways to prepare the many products it sells.

What is most remarkable and unique about the Co-op is that all of these benefits are provided within a member-owned and directed governing structure strengthened by democratic polices, bylaws and procedures reflecting the seven (7) principles adopted by the International Cooperative Alliance.

CHA Fishes for Support For Covell Village II at Candidates Forum

By David M. GreenwaldApril 29, 2010

Group Gets Harsh Reality Check as Jon Li Steals the Show –

Wednesday night’s CHA (Choices for Healthy Aging) Candidate’s Forum started out with a bang as Jon Li lit into the sponsor, John Whitcombe, and by implication Councilmember Sue Greenwald. It seemed like it would be a night of fireworks, however, the end result was a rather dull and uninspired event as the sponsor CHA asked seven questions trying to gather support for their senior housing project and found no takers even from Sydney Vergis.

Jon Li was at least willing to tell the truth when he said, “The problem I have with the series of questions which I think is apparent to all of you is you started with an answer and then you ask us a bunch of questions where the answer that you want to hear is given.” None of the other council candidates took the bait in support of such a project, although there were some interesting gymnastics involved in dodging the core points at times.

Council Unanimously Passes Fifth Street Redesign

By David M. GreenwaldApril 29, 2010

Concerns Arise As To How Committed Staff Is To the Success of the Project –

The Davis City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved moving forward with the pilot project on Fifth Street. The passage comes amidst a few negative public comments from some neighbors and some business owners. It also comes with the acknowledgment that there are a number of technical details that must be addressed up front to make sure that the redesign works and if those are not address there will be problems.

There is a growing concern about how committed staff is to the success of this project, that I will discuss at length below.

A Roadmap for a DACHA Settlement or a Roadblock for Action?

By David M. GreenwaldApril 28, 2010

At last night’s Davis City Council meeting, the City Council announced that they had unanimously voted in a closed session meeting to continue to move towards foreclosure. That attempt has been complicated by legal maneuverings as we reported last week by lawyers for Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation who have filed for involuntary bankruptcy of DACHA.

They have also added the city of Davis to their ongoing efforts to litigate against the city. The Vanguard learned last week that Councilmember Stephen Souza attempted to put an end to conflict between DACHA and Neighborhood Partners and Twin Pines.

Slow Council Campaign About to Heat Up

By David M. GreenwaldApril 27, 2010

Six Council Candidates Forum in the next ten days –

It has been quiet – too quiet – in the Davis City Council campaign. Oh we had a little side discussion last week about Picnic Day, we had a very successful Meet the Candidates Night a week ago, and there was an early candidates forum. But for the most part, most people in this town know about the same amount of information about the candidates as they knew when the campaign began.

The other “big” news has been on the Measure J renewal front. Developer or Developer’s son Joseph Whitcombe has given us the only drama so far when he challenged the ten-year-old standing title of the growth initiative that gives the public the right to vote on peripheral development and land use designation changes. But outside of that drama, even that campaign has been relative quiet.

Small Changes in Commission Review of Development Proposals Do Not Address Core Issues

By David M. GreenwaldApril 26, 2010

Two weeks ago, the Vanguard pointed out that the Commission Review of Development Proposals had shortcomings that had failed to address the key concerns that arose due to the recent Measure J vote.

When these concerns were presented to council and other concerns were mentioned by a member of the public, the council made the decision to pull the item back and make some changes to it. However, from our reading of this item it still lacks two key components. First, there is no provision as to the timeline in which these issues would be heard by a commission. Second, while the new item does expand the purview of required review to include the Budget and Finance Commission, a large step up, there would seem that we could fairly reliably give direction to staff when other commission should review. More on that shortly.

Transportation Budget and Pavement Improvement Deemed Seriously Underfunded –

City Decides Public Does Not Need to View Budget Prior to Tuesday’s Meeting –

By Alan Pryor –

by Mike Pach –

Group Gets Harsh Reality Check as Jon Li Steals the Show –

Concerns Arise As To How Committed Staff Is To the Success of the Project –

Six Council Candidates Forum in the next ten days –

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