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Davisite Banner. Left side the bicycle obelisk at 3rd and University. Right side the trellis at the entrance to the Arboretum.

Month: April 2020

  • Valley Clean Energy Seeks Local Renewable Contracts

    VCE(From press release) Valley Clean Energy has announced that it plans to purchase renewable energy from qualifying local projects. The solicitation, “2020 Local Renewable Request for Offers,” is now public and can be found on VCE’s website at https://valleycleanenergy.org/solicitations-rfps/.

    As the name implies, the solicitation is focused on procuring energy produced very close to where it will be used — in Yolo County or the six adjacent counties.

    This local request for offers is consistent with VCE board direction and the agency’s vision to pursue procurement of cost-effective local renewable energy. The solicitation also aligns with VCE’s procurement goals, which seek to provide 80 percent renewable energy by 2030, with up to 25 percent of that provided by local resources.

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  • Wow! They are going to test everybody in LA!!

    Dear Friends,

    I can only imagine you saw this exciting headline in the LA Times or other paper (Davis Enterprise?): https://lat.ms/3aPlyaX

    L.A. County and city announce free COVID-19 testing for all residents

    This is terrific!

    Meanwhile, how are we doing in Yolo County?  The Health Department updates the Yolo County Covid-19 Dashboard daily.  (Thank you!).  Here it is:

    https://www.yolocounty.org/health-human-services/adults/communicable-disease-investigation-and-control/novel-coronavirus-2019/dashboard-and-documents

    The Dashboard shows that 1990 tests have been done and since we have a population of 220,500 (how did we get THAT big?!) as of 2019, that means that slightly less than 1% of the population of Yolo County has been tested.

    Oh.

    Can we do better than that?

    There have been 16 CV associated deaths in Yolo County (11 of residents of Long Term Care Facilities) and 163 confirmed cases (96 outside of Long Term Care Facilities).

    So, that's 96 non-institutionalized cases in a population of 220,500.  Or .04% of the Yolo County population.  That is NOT 4% but four one hundredths of one percent.  

    I am quite confident that more testing would reveal more cases… for one thing, the dashboard shows we have had cases all over the County.

    Can we please do more testing?  

    Regards,

    John

    PS  If Yolo County does not have the resources to do SIGNIFICANTLY more testing, perhaps we could join other Sacramento Metro health districts and scale up across the region.

     

     

  • Yolo County – UCD COVID-19 planning needed now

    By Eileen M. Samitz

    I, like many, are grateful to hear that Yolo County has recently required face coverings for the public including essential workers. Many Davis residents have been requesting it, so appreciation goes to Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Ron Chapman for implementing this new face coverings policy.

    However, I am very concerned about the County’s current plan of how overspill from our two local hospitals would be handled should we have a COVID-19 “surge” locally. As things stand now, overspill patients from our small Sutter-Davis (48 beds) and Woodland (156 beds) hospitals would be sent to Sleep Train Arena (formerly Arco Arena) in Sacramento. Since we only have these two small hospitals in Yolo County, and although some extra capacity has been planned, it is very possible we would exceed that limited capacity. Davis alone has over 69,000 residents and Yolo County has over 220,000 residents.

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  • Abramson Accepts Seat on City of Davis Natural Resources Commission

    DAbramson IMG_3292
    for immediate release 4/27, 2:08PM

    Serving the City of Davis Natural Resources Commission and Paying Homage to the Original Peoples of This Land

    or

    Abramson Accepts Seat on City of Davis Natural Resources Commission

    I am very excited to be joining the Natural Resources Commission and to have the opportunity to work with the other commissioners, City Council & Staff, the community in Davis and Yolo County, and indigenous peoples to move towards a healthy future with clean air, clean water, healthy soil, food security, renewable infrastructure, resilience in a changing climate, and a transition to economies that protect our most sacred resources and sustain life.

    I thank the City City Council for putting their faith in me as a commissioner. As I expressed in the commissioner selection City Council meeting on 2/25/20, my consideration and selection for this commission should represent a commitment by our City Council to work to implement a rapid transition towards a healthy future and to meet this crucial moment.

    The time to act is now and we are moving far too slowly. How we should proceed is not entirely obvious, but I have faith that through working together we can come into the right relation with the lands that we call home for the next generations of life to come.

    As I accept this call to duty and service to my community, I would like to honor the Patwin people who stewarded these lands before being violently removed and subjected to disease and genocide by our cultural predecessors right here in the place we now call Davis.

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  • Why the Bakersfield Doctors Should Not Be Believed

    Screen Shot 2020-04-28 at 1.28.07 PMBy Robert Canning

             Two physician-entrepreneurs who own a string of urgent care clinics in Bakersfield claim the data they have collected from testing for coronavirus proves that the current “stay-at-home” and physical distancing orders need to end and that COVID-19 is “just like the flu.” Their YouTube video interview from last week has been viewed more than five million times. It has garnered attention from the likes of Elon Musk who tweeted “Docs make good points” and Fox News host Laura Ingraham who played excerpts Monday night. But their claims have sparked wide controversy from experts in academia who say their assumptions are flawed, their sample biased, and their extrapolations “implausible.” The Kern County health office has stated it does not agree with their claims. And yesterday their original video was removed for what YouTube says are violations of its “community guidelines.”

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  • Yolo Democratic Socialists of America Night School: Understanding Capitalism

    YoloDemocraticSocialistsOfAmerica(From press release) The newly-formed, fledgling Yolo Democratic Socialists of America is hosting its first ever Night School on Tuesday, April 28th at 6:30pm and we’d like you to join us! This is a reading group and political education initiative composed of Yolo community members. Our first discussion will be based on a short reading from “The ABCs of Capitalism” by Jacobin writer Vivek Chibber. We’ll discuss key concepts of political economy and relate theory to action in the real world, informing our strategies for collective action and transformational change.

    Yolo DSA is radically inclusive. Anyone from any background can participate at no cost, as often or as little as they like. Which is to say, we really hope that if you’re interested you’ll be there! You can sign up at tinyurl.com/yolodsasubscribe or check out our Facebook page for more information.

  • Responding to Lee-Carson OpEd on BrightNight Solar Deal

    Brightnight-greatdealBy Matt Williams

    The commentary by Mayor Lee and Councilmember Carson in the Sunday Enterprise really does not address the core concerns that have consistently been raised by the community. In summary, those concerns are that the city used a non-competitive process which resulted in a low-offer and thus left money on the table while failing to go through a full public process that might have identified deficiencies in the offer by BrightNight.

    After reading the Lee-Carson OpEd, I (and I'm sure many others) now have one additional major concern … that it does not appear that the Council Majority has actually listened to the Public Comment voicemails, or actually read the Public Comment e-mails they have received.

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  • Hop on your bike for fun, exercise and exploration – even now

    BikeBasketGroceries

    May is a great time to use your bike for essential errands like grocery shopping. (Adobe Stock photo)

    May is (still) Bike Month

    By Wendy Weitzel

    Social distancing might keep us from hosting in-person events, but it doesn’t stop us from getting out for solo bike rides or trips with other members of our household.

    Hopping on a bike is a great way to enjoy the spring weather, get some exercise, and feel mentally refreshed. The practice not only relieves stress, it may start a healthy habit worth keeping down the road. And it’s absolutely allowed during the shelter-in-place order, as long as you maintain at least 6 feet physical distance.

    Wearing a face covering is not required while engaging in outdoor recreation such as walking, hiking, bicycling or running. However, anyone engaged in such activity must comply with distancing requirements. Everyone should carry a face covering with them, to use if needed.

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  • Don’t Miss Out on your Utility Rate Discount

    VCE(From press release) The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on everyone in Yolo County. Some are able to shelter in place, work from home, and continue to receive a paycheck. Others are providing services to others — sometimes at personal risk. Still others have been laid off from their jobs and are having trouble paying for rent, food and utilities.

    “If your income has suffered in the past months, we’re urging you to check on your eligibility for a utility rate discount during these trying times,” says Valley Clean Energy board chair Don Saylor, a Yolo County supervisor.

    California utilities provides rate discounts to income-qualifying customers. In Yolo County, these programs include the California Alternate Rate for Energy Program (CARE), which provides a discount of 20 percent or more for electricity and natural gas, and the Family Electric Rate Assistance Program (FERA), which provides an 18 percent discount for electricity. Valley Clean Energy and PG&E offer the same special rates.

    Local residents whose income has changed significantly due to COVID-19 may now be eligible for these rates, even if they weren’t able to qualify before the pandemic.

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  • Zoom Out of Memory

    The Staff decision to not regularly record and distribute Commission remote meetings is both inappropriate and a lost opportunity.

     


    Zoom in. Zoom Out. Zoom is out of memory. Zoom out of memory.

     

    By Todd Edelman

    At the beginning of the Bicycling, Transportation and Street Safety Commission’s (BTSSC) first remote meeting on April 9th, we were informed that the meeting was being recorded. I asked and was told that it would be available “within a few days”. I followed up on April 10th by email to Staff but have never received a response. In the email I acknowledged that there might be some technical changes, e.g. there was not a formatted specific place for these – all Commissions – on the City’s website, as there is for City Council and the Planning Commission, (There is, however, an “Other” category…) 

    At the City Council meeting on April 14 during the approval of the Consent Calendar, Mayor Pro Tempore Partida said she had questions about comments made during General Public Comment a few minutes earlier. Mayor Lee said that Council could not respond as the Comments were on non-agendized items, and asked Staff to do this.

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