Got a thought on Davis politics, or a even a single politic? Got a thought on the request to give a donation to the Davis Vanguard so they can fund the replacement of their crappy old website? I have a thought — give instead to the Davis-Ite to replace the D-ite's even older, crappier website ! Underfunded old crappy blog structures: It's the Davis Way !
Davisite 
Comments
46 responses to “Welcome to Al’s Corner – “Pouring Gasoline on the Dumpster Fire of Davis Politics” – August 2023”
Oops. The Davisite doesn’t take money. I think. I know that’s not the case with the Vanguard. They even have a developer’s promo video at the top. Or had. Where’d it go? I dunno. Was it out of the goodness of their heart? I dunno. Anyway, the Davisite will also be converting to a new structure. A few days after Hell freezes over. Or someone decides to do it. Whichever comes first. If either ever does. Happy August.
To clarify — the Davisite doesn’t accept any money. However, if someone were willing to donate their time to help with moving to a different site, we’d be open to that.
Our site may not be the best but at least you can use Google search to reliably find old articles, and you don’t have any ads flashing at you!
Then again, the Davisite isn’t a competitor to the Vanguard. The Vanguard aspires to provide “incisive in-depth coverage of local government on a wide variety of issues.” That is, it claims to be a source of news and uses ads and donations to pay staff, including David Greenwald. The Davisite is a community blog where members of the community can post articles and announcements that they think will be of interest to other Davisites. Two different kettles of fish.
SUBJECT: “Commentary: If We Only Had a Vision… ” DVG today
[DG] was thinking, we often ask the question about city council candidate’s vision for Davis, so [DG] pulled answers from the 2014 campaign:
John Munn: “My vision is that Davis be solvent and affordable. The City needs to get its financial house in order before taking on new projects and expenses. To do this, we need to solve problems rather than talk about them.”
Robb Davis: “My vision is an economically healthy city.” He mentions “City budgets in which the annual growth rates of costs and revenues match one another,” strong businesses, thriving downtown, neighborhood shopping and diversified transportation.
Rochelle Swanson: “My vision for Davis hasn’t changed since 2010 and I don’t think that the fiscal challenges that this community faces will prevent us from achieving our goals. My vision for Davis is a city that continues to be among the best, most forward-thinking places to live in the world.”
Sheila Allen: ““Growth control policies” for residential development are an asset because (1) housing usually doesn’t pay for the services they generate (2) urban sprawl generates infrastructure costs that saddle the public with debt service and maintenance costs, versus smart infill growth, which I support.”
Daniel Parrella: “For the budget I would like to see some transparency… For economic development I want a city that is capable of supporting a business through all stages of its life cycle.”
Bapu Vaitla: “My top three priorities are affordable housing, climate resilience, and community cooperation.”
Dan Carson laid out the funding gap, severe housing shortage, and climate change.
Gloria Partida mentioned land use, economic development and affordable housing.
Kelsey Fortune laid out similarly planning, climate and fiscal responsibility.
Adam Morrill laid out roads and bike paths, urban forest, and affordable housing.
Bapu Vaitla said, “I would just say in terms of our vision overall, we need a general plan update. If we as a city do not say what the character of our city is as far as housing, what we want to see, then we won’t attract the kind of developers, nonprofit developers, affordable housing developers that fit that vision of equity and sustainability.”
Kelsey Fortune lamented that “there’s no vision coming from our community members for the city to follow. And that’s how you get to where you want to be, is you plan. We know we need more housing. How are we going to build it? Will we tell the community, hey, we need a plan that builds more housing and they tell us how we do it?”
Bapu Vaitla also noted, “We are in the middle of setting this 20-year vision for climate action and adaptation. And there are a lot of great elements in the plan. I appreciate the amount of detail that went into it, but also it lacks it lacks the boldness and vision we need.”
Alan Miller: “I see fire. People screaming. Bodies burning. A huge dark creature rising from the Putah Sink east of El Macero.”
RM: The Vanguard aspires to provide “incisive in-depth coverage of local government on a wide variety of issues.”
A bit early in the day for comedy Roberta, don’t you think?
A bit early in the day for comedy Roberta, don’t you think?
Sometimes that coffee needs a spittake.
Roberta wrote:
DG: “When you post line by line responses, I’m either not going to respond or respond to one point.”
I think we just got a “vision” of the “new comment policy”. i.e., more stuff that annoys DG and DS, and they think will improve the comments section and increase participation – but instead, always, leads to more quashing of comments, people and ideas they don’t like, and a more boring comment section.
So now they come after the ‘line by line’ comments. As in “your article is such crap, DG, I had to tear your ideas apart line by line”. So now you’ll have to not criticize the article in detail. Less criticism. Slowly we descend into blog fascism. Or face-ism.
Where have you been SOD? It’s been a long time.
“DG: “When you post line by line responses, I’m either not going to respond or respond to one point.”
This cracks me up. People have been posting like that on the Vanguard for like forever and now it’s all of a sudden a problem? Does DG even hear himself? No wonder the comment section there has been dying a slow death for years now.
In regards to “issues”:
* The Davis Vanguard should hold an event with a solid Lefty activist or writer etc on the issue if it’s doing all its non-profit stuff correctly, and if it should even be a non-profit, and if it should separate its justice-themed stuff from the rest, and the price for admission should be less than $100.
* At the very least I agree that the justice should be separated from the other stuff.
p.s. I had a dream that Al’s Combustible Corner had ended its visit to our realm.
“p.s. I had a dream that Al’s Combustible Corner had ended its visit to our realm.”
That’s called a nightmare because without Al’s Corner we’re stuck with articles with content like putting a dome over I-80 for example.
TLLC: I’m sure DG will get right on that.
” . . . and the price for admission should be less than $100.”
Anyone can stand “outside” of a Vanguard fundraiser for “free”, as long as they bring their own donkey costume.
(Not to be confused with a “jackass” costume.)
🙂
” . . . like putting a dome over I-80 for example.”
I knew it – turns out that the local “heat dome” has nothing to do with climate change.
However, I believe that RFK is the first one who figured that out.
Comment from some article in the Vanguard:
Don Shor: “ Since Prop 13 passed, cities by definition have been unsustainable. In the absence of any viable economic development strategy, raising taxes becomes the only option for keeping funding apace with the increasing costs of providing the services people want. Davis voters have generally been willing to increase parcel taxes. As resources shrink, the voters will have to decide which of the nice things they are willing to let go. But none of that negates the fact that people need places to live and we have a shortage of inventory in nearly all housing categories.”
Um, actually it does negate that. Those parcel taxes will also be passed on to renters, who will have to pay higher rent, unless it is subsidized by everyone else, even more making Davis unaffordable. You can’t fuck with market forces, they will bite everyone in the ass.
Matt Williams: When you find yourself stuck in a deep hole, it is wise to stop digging.
Yeah, DS, it is best to stop digging.
Which is a worse crisis (1) not paying our bills and having Life “foreclose” on Davis by having it crumble around our ears, or (2) having people who would like to live in Davis be able to live in Davis? (2) qualifies as a “nice to have.” (1) qualifies as an “essential need.” (2) is reactive thinking (1) if addressed is proactive thinking.
Yeah, but everyone who wants to live in Davis for super cheap won’t be able to live here. The most important thing on Earth is that everyone who wants to live in Davis can live here, and pay whatever they want to pay!
Someone I really respect recently said “Our community leadership should be thinking and acting 9 to 12 months ahead of City Council. Instead our community leadership is thinking and acting 9 to 12 minutes after City Council.
What is the definition of “Community Leadership” in this context? Old Davis property owners who tell stories about how Davis used to be at the podium at City Council meetings while the Council let’s them drone on and on, while the masses are cut off at two minutes?
Note: I’d answer in the Vanguard, but I committed commenticide there, and DG can’t seem to meet my simple demands for me to un-murder myself. They know what they are missing, and it ain’t pretty. But it is bloxiplongnemukst.
SUBJECT: “If we only had a vision . . . ” DVG 2day
Walter Shwe August 1, 2023 at 1:59 pm
I certainly don’t expect Davis or any city/town to remain the same indefinitely. Things change over time. Every nation on Earth changes over time. Things change whether or not we agree with or like those changes.
Tell us something we don’t know, Mr. Condescending
If you are unsatisfied with where you live, you can always move.
I prefer to stand on the east side of the railroad tracks with a rocket launcher, and keep the enemy on the west side of the tracks. (Note: The reference to a rocket launcher is in the spirit of “If I Had a Rocket Launcher”, a song by Bruce Cockburn; it is metaphorical and should not be taken to imply actual violence).
Throughout my life I have moved roughly 8 times. I don’t ask other people to do anything that I haven’t already done.
I’m going to hold you to that promise 😐
I try to be both reasonable and practical in what I request others to do.
I’m sure your telling others to move would be consider reasonable by almost all residents of Davis. Me? I tell the homeless that all the time 😐
In my mind those are marks of a good leader.
And what exactly makes you a leader? In any sense of the word? And once answered, a leader of what? Of who?
If an alien said, ‘take me to your leader’, believe, me, you are the last person I would take Uncle Martin to see.
“Note: I’d answer in the Vanguard, but I committed commenticide there, and DG can’t seem to meet my simple demands for me to un-murder myself.”
The “demand” might be simple, but it would likely result in having to “pay for” a moderator. Other than one who “extracts” his payment from the ability to disregard the Vanguard’s own commenting rules – depending upon how much he agrees with the commenter.
“If an alien said, ‘take me to your leader’, believe, me, you are the last person I would take Uncle Martin to see.”
LMAO
Alan wrote:
SOD: If the city decided to fill the place tonight they would spend the next couple years talking about the number and location of recycling bins while the place continues to sit mostly empty behind the new fence (don’t call it a wall) they built to keep the crazy people off the bike path.
Is that why they built The Wall?
I thought it was to:
1) Keep the public from seeing the riff-raff hanging out on the lawn (I liked the open connection between riff-raff and public.
2) Keeping the riff-raff from wandering across the bike path, across the Putah Ditch, and continuing South of Davis.
3) They build The Wall to keep us free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yswkmtX8jeo&t=27s
SUBJECT: “No Vision Tonight with My Coffee…”
Posted by David Greenwald
Date: August 02, 2023
TK say: . . . does that make me the ONLY person who has articulated a proactive vision for how we develop our city? . . . I was hoping that if I laid out one potential future, it would inspire others to step forward with their own, hopefully superior, alternatives…. But so far, we haven’t seen it….
I have a vision for Davis. I’ll share it when DG allows me to unkill myself in the DVG comments section by meeting my horribly unreasonable demands. Until then, you can all suffer not knowing my vision. The planet will suffer.
In his latest Vanguard post “Commentary: The MisUse [sic] of Data in the Housing Debate” https://www.davisvanguard.org/2023/08/commentary-the-misuse-of-data-in-the-housing-debate/
David Greenwald once again fails to actually look at or understand the data he is discussing. He states: “Thus the declining population projections are a symptom of, rather than a solution to, the housing crisis. The [sic] are other factors cited including lower birth rates and aging boomers, but the biggest factor is still “high housing costs.”
Had he bothered to actually look the latest round of California DOF population forecasts, he would have seen that declining births and increasing deaths is the main driver of low population growth for the next few decades. While net migration has occurred in the past couple of years, in fact, net migration out of the state is projected to be relatively minimal and declining for 2024 to 2026, with net migration into the state again happening by 2027, reaching 50K/year by 2028, and remaining at similar levels through 2060. On the other hand, while births are estimated to outnumber deaths in 2023 by about 98,000, by the year 2060 deaths are projected to outnumber births by about 118,000.
In other words, Greenwald has no clue about the actual demographic drivers in the population projections and instead myopically cites short-term recent dynamics that are not projected to hold. And then for the cherry on top, he grandly claims that people straightforwardly describing what the projections actually say are “misusing” the data.
In another ego-stroking post of his recently, Greenwald stated “To be honest, I see myself more along the lines of madman in town square….” However, he is instead making a really strong case to be permanently appointed as the Village Idiot.
In another ego-stroking post of his recently, Greenwald stated “To be honest, I see myself more along the lines of madman in town square….” However, he is instead making a really strong case to be permanently appointed as the Village Idiot.
But would the local DA accept his claims of being a “madman”, or just a “village idiot”?
(Either way, I don’t think these two would get-along.)
The article below represents everything “wrong” with handing out pandemic funds.
During the pandemic, California’s community colleges received over a billion dollars in state and federal pandemic relief funds. When enrollment dropped, community colleges and districts started using part of that money to find creative ways to bring students back.
“We may never have this kind of influx of resources again,” said Gabe Ross, chief strategy officer for Los Rios Community College District.
But amidst the flurry of new funding and marketing efforts, Oleg Bespalov is worried that some well-intentioned interventions may have little or no impact.
(By the way, I’d question whether or not this is actually “well-intentioned”, vs. “self-interested”.)
https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2023/08/california-community-colleges-2/
Hey Ron, maybe UCD used some of their COVID relief funds to rent the Golden One Center for graduation exercises so my family of six could attend.
Did that ever occur to you?
Ok, “Rhonda.” 😆
On the other blog:
Walter Shwe August 8, 2023 at 10:41 am
“Have you requested their Form 990 yet or are you are just going to continue complaining they don’t post it on their website? It says upon request. I found their IRS Form 990 for 2021 without asking anyone.”
While federal law requires that “Tax-exempt organizations must make annual returns and exemption applications filed with the IRS available for public inspection and copying upon request”, here’s what happens when you stop by the Vanguard office for a public inspection. Among other things, Greenwald will yell that he is going to call the cops and he’ll attempt to injure you.
https://www.davisite.org/2019/05/davis-vanguard-irs-disclosure-problem.html
Thanks Rik for the link to a very interesting story.
I just went to the Vanguard website and clicked the “IRS Filings” link and here’s what came up:
“The People’s Vanguard of Davis is a 501(c)3 non-profit – 46-3013126
The following are our IRS filings.
IRS Form 990
2018
2019
2020
IRS Form 1023
IRS Letter of Approval”
……..I noticed there are no filings listed for 2021 and 2022……..
KO: ” ……..I noticed there are no filings listed for 2021 and 2022…….. ”
Maybe it’s because their tax filings for the past two years are as vacuous as their news content and opinions.
SUBJECT: “Commentary: Lawsuit Filed against Redondo Beach on Housing – Will Davis Be Forthcoming As Well?” [David Van Guard, Yesterdayish]
WS Say: Thanks David for the tip regarding YIMBY Law. Before now I didn’t know this vital organization existed. I just signed up for YIMBY’s Law’s email list because I am a proud YIMBY.
Have fun being a tool, along with all the other tools.
We now have Davis Pride Day, Proud Boys in Yolo County, and now a Proud YIMBY in Davis, all while the Christian God tells us that Pride is a sin, the original sin I understand. How to unpack all that . . . 😐
WS Say: I have reported the City of Davis to YIMBY Law for not meeting the requirements of its housing plan. I have requested that YIMBY Law consider suing the City of Davis.”
I’m sure the City of Davis and the 83% who voted for Measure J will be pleased to know that you tattled.
WS Say: Usage of YIMBY or NIMBY is in any manner derogatory . . . I meant to say that neither YIMBY nor NIMBY are derogatory terms.
Because you say so? In what value is you declaration to the rest of us? NIMBY is used as a derogatory term all the time, by YIMBYs. So say I.
SUBJECT: “Commentary: Polling Shows Californians Both Divided and Conflicted on Housing”
WS Say: “The people that live in Davis that are calling for no more single family homes likely live in just such residences. That’s blatant hypocrisy. I have a six sense to out hypocrisy where ever it exists.”
But how can you have a sixth-sense about hypocrisy when you, yourself, are a hypocrite, and you can’t even see that about yourself?
And great scientific survey you did there on the ‘fact’ that people calling for no more single family homes also likely live in such homes. So your declaration of a hunch makes it fact? There are two types of science in Davis: ‘evidence-based’ and ‘Shwe-based’.
People who live in apartments can only advocate for apartments. People who live in condos can only advocate for condos. People who live in single-family houses can only advocate for single-family houses. Etc.
No one should recognize the importance of a diversity of lifestyles. No one should act in accordance with the reality of wealth disparity; they should pretend like it doesn’t exist.
The highest principle to act on is that which dictates avoiding even the appearance of hypocrisy.
RM: “No one should recognize the importance of a diversity of lifestyles. No one should act in accordance with the reality of wealth disparity; they should pretend like it doesn’t exist.”
A rose, by any other name. Or Marxism, by any other name.
RM: “The highest principle to act on is that which dictates avoiding even the appearance of hypocrisy.”
The highest principle appears to be to ignore the principle of ignoring what everyone else can see regarding Hippo Chrissy: “Thou doth protest too much”.
#fingersinears#: “La! La! La! La! La! “
DG: ” . . . and not knowing who Legal Services of Northern California is.”
I have no idea who Legal Services of Northern California is.
I must be a dumb-shit.
Any other dumb-shits here?
And DG’s condescending comment didn’t inform, it just intended to ridicule and shame.
Someone else did inform, but not DG.
He’d rather ridicule and shame.
Asshole.
Raising my hand, I have no idea either.
I must be a dumb-shit too.
I had a feeling you were a dumb-shit, too, Keith.
Welcome! 😐
“I had a feeling you were a dumb-shit, too, Keith.”
Shhhh, I don’t want the flea to know.
I’m sure The Flea is NOT a dumb-shit 😐
However, The Fly buzzes around and eats shit 😐
Who is The Fly ?
Riddle me that . . .
By the way, to say something serious, rather than continuing to pile upon today’s Vanguard vitriol (purposefully):
My guess is that all five City Council members would welcome this lawsuit, and welcome the City losing, so they wouldn’t have to deal with Measure JeRkeD anymore and ‘increase housing capacity’ to their heart’s content. And you can post that on the Vanguard, since I cannot. ‘Twood would be entertaining to see what people think of that kettle of fish.
I suspect that the primary way that Measure J could be challenged is if a development WINS approval – at which point the developer might challenge the baseline agreement that voters approved.
Perhaps such approval would then result in a “400 acre builder’s remedy” on farmland outside of current city limits.
But yeah, I’d agree that those on the council are generally not supporters of Measure J. Measure J is the only thing keeping them from pursuing sprawl with abandon.
As such, I suspect that if the war ever comes, it will primarily be up to the citizens of Davis to take action. And if they don’t do so, they’ll get what they ultimately deserve, sorry to say.
But I doubt that Measure J is all that vulnerable, and that any challenge is going to met with resistance of some type.
But again, the letter from Legal Services of Northern California seems primarily focused on Nishi (and whether or not it’s reserved for students) and RHNA approval (in regard to Brixmor’s abandonment of residential development at University Mall).
It was actually some “slow-growthers” who brought up that same issue regarding Nishi, some time ago.
Ultimately, if Measure J is actually vulnerable, there will be no “appeasing” the development a-holes. They’d continue to try to find a way to challenge it, regardless. Or at least, “scare” people into supporting sprawl.
These people (the development activists on the Vanguard) have openly declared themselves to be enemies of those attempting to protect farmland/open space. You don’t give your lunch money to bullies (and expect the problem to go away), and you don’t bring appeasement to a war.
What you do is fight them. And not just one battle, either.
This is ultimately a “war” which has been going on in many locales for at least 50 years. It’s just taken-on new forms (e.g., business-supported YIMBYs).
The development activists, however, are losing the broader war (in regard to their desire for ever-increasing population growth).
Speaking of dumb-shits: remember when David Greenwald had no idea what (and tried to smear) an affordable housing advocacy group was that criticized the WDAACC project? Good times!
Maybe he needs to resurrect that sock puppet “Craig Ross”, though I guess a certain Shrew (or is it Flea) serves much the same function these days.
See my comment calling him out for that (and my comment immediately above too) here.
https://www.davisvanguard.org/2018/10/commentary-strange-letter-punctuates-moment-measure-l-campaign/#comment-397220
“At this point, with the biggest advertiser for months being the West Davis Active Adult Community, and with them being a major sponsor of the upcoming Davis Vanguard fundraiser specifically called out by name in promo material, it’s hard to take seriously any notion that the Davis Vanguard is a “community watchdog” organization. It is a dog that has been fed by rich hands and is only all too happy to curl up with the owners.
If Greenwald was a real reporter/journalist he wouldn’t try to smear the FHCOC with the following “not an official group, but rather a private 501c3 located in Santa Ana with a more official sounding name.” when he could have easily found…
“The Fair Housing Council of Orange County was formed in 1965 in the wake of the civil rights movement that resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Council incorporated in 1968, the same year that Congress extended civil rights protections to cover housing with the adoption of the Fair Housing Act….An operating member of the National Fair Housing Alliance, the FHCOC… has been serving many local jurisdictions in Orange County for more than 40 years working to protect housing rights and opportunities for communities of color who have historically been disenfranchised and discriminated against in housing and employment….”
Ron O August 10, 2023 at 5:44 pm
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Walter: “I have requested that YIMBY Law consider suing the City of Davis.”
Walter’s subsequent comment: “Nice try Ron, better luck next time. I didn’t say they must sue or it was essential that they sue. I choose my words carefully, unlike some other commenters.”
My response to Walter: What a lame defense of your own actions.
Yeah, RO, what’s wrong with you? WS just asked that they consider suing Davis. That’s not the same as must sue or that it’s essential that they sue. #fingerwagfingerwag#
Y’know, just the other day I sent a letter to Putin. I requested that Putin consider a nuclear attack on the United States. I didn’t say he must drop nuclear bombs on us or that it was essential that he drop nuclear bombs on us. I choose my words carefully, unlike you, RO 😐
The phrase “distinction without a difference” comes to mind.
Just in case they don’t post this on the Vanguard:
Ron O August 10, 2023 at 7:54 pm
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
From David’s article: “Of interest here—parking standards including reductions in parking and growth management measures such as Measure J/R/D which they note is not adequately analyzed.”
No problem – I’ll “analyze” this for them (in regard to Measure J):
If sprawl is not pursued, it’s that much more-likely that infill will “pencil out”.
Conversely – if sprawl is pursued, infill will not be.
But if you’re talking about Affordable housing, ask the state how they plan to fund that. But get in line when you do so, as cities across California are asking the same question of the state. Especially since the population has stopped growing (and has actually been shrinking in some areas, such as San Francisco).
It’s too bad that no one seems to be holding the state accountable in regard to their “targets”.
Now that I think about it, I have an “extra” comment to add regarding parking (as mentioned in David’s article).
That is, if sprawl is pursued, you can be sure that plenty of parking will be included as well.
So, here’s a comment from one of the usual suspects in which he repeats the same mistake that David is making:
Richard McCann August 13, 2023 at 3:45 pm
The simple straightforward answer is that net migration is rising because of rising housing prices. The wealthy are not leaving because they can afford to live here and the businesses they run are most vibrant in this state where they have access to a well trained workforce and similar dynamic companies.
And yet, I pointed out that “net migration” refers to INCOMING migration, not OUTGOING migration.
In other words, the data does not match the claim that housing prices are causing folks to leave California. In fact, the data shows the OPPOSITE. More people are expected to migrate TO California (than OUT of), starting in 2027.
The death rate is increasing – more than enough to account for all births and net immigration TO California. THAT’s what’s causing the state’s population to level off for the 40 years or so – per the Department of Finance.
Apparently, neither he nor David even bothered to look at the data or the comment before piping up.
But I’m not “allowed” to respond in that article, since (as usual) Don established a “5-comment limit” as soon as he realized I’d be participating.