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

Month: October 2023

  • In Shocking Press Release, Davis College Republicans Oppose Calls of Violence Against People of Jewish Descent

    I found this on the Facebook page of a group calling itself "Davis College Republicans".  This group is stating its opposition to calls of violence against people of Jewish descent and condemns posts by an assistant professor calling for attacks on 'pro-Israel' journalists and their children. 

    Furthermore, this group is doubling-down on its commitment to the principles of free speech and open dialogue, but also believes that there are limits to these principles when the speech includes threats of violence and harm against any group or individual. 

    Most shockingly, this group says that it remains dedicated to upholding the values of civil discourse, open debate, and respectful dialogue, and firmly believes that disagreements should be met with discussion and understanding, not with threats or intimidation.

    Now that we are aware that a group exists on the UC Davis Campus with values such as these, and openly states these values, the question for all of us in Davis is:  what are 'we' going to 'do' about 'it' ?  😐

    If you don't believe me that a group with such values could exist so close to us, on our beloved UC Davis Campus, here is their press release, in their own words:

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Davis College Republicans
    October 23, 2023
    Contact: James Murray, Communications Director
    daviscollegerepublican@email.com

    Davis College Republicans Oppose Calls of Violence Against People of Jewish Descent

    DAVIS, CA- In the past week, Assistant Professor of American Studies Jemma Decristo posted tweets advocating for attacks against, pro-Israel Journalists, and their children. Davis College Republicans unequivocally denounce and condemn these posts.

    On October 10, Decristo posted a tweet containing disturbing language expressing threats to "Zionist journalists" who "have houses with address, kids in school" and "they should fear us more," ending the post with emojis of a knife, an axe, and blood.

    The Davis College Republicans wish to make it abundantly clear that we unequivocally denounce and condemn these posts. While we hold firm to the principles of free speech and open dialogue, we also believe that there are limits to these principles. Threats of violence and harm against any group or individual are entirely unacceptable and fall far outside the parameters of protected speech.

    We stand in agreement with the official statement released by UC Davis, emphasizing the importance of protected speech within our community. However, it is crucial to stress that the tweets in question do not align with this protection, as they promote violence and fear. In order to maintain a respectful and intellectual discourse within our society, we must collectively reject such violent rhetoric.

    Davis College Republicans remain dedicated to upholding the values of civil discourse, open debate, and respectful dialogue. We firmly believe that disagreements should be met with discussion and understanding, not with threats or intimidation.

    DCR is a local College Republican organization dedicated to growing the conservative movement on the UC Davis campus and in surrounding counties. For more information visit our Facebook and Instagram pages @DavisCollege Republicans.

  • Local artists strategize ideas for inclusivity

    AllianceSandra101823

    Sandra Violet Clark adds a sticky note to an idea board at the Oct. 18 meeting of Arts Alliance Davis as Chris Zdunkiewicz watches. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

    By Wendy Weitzel

    Members of Arts Alliance Davis met on Oct. 18, brainstorming strategies for supporting local artists and their programs, boosting big ideas and ensuring that everyone has access to see or partake in the community’s creativity.

    Arts Alliance Davis meetings are open to anyone interested in or involved with local arts and culture. Its most recent gathering, at the City’s Dresbach-Hunt-Boyer House at 604 Second St., drew more than a dozen participants.

    This meeting operated like a mini strategic planning workshop, where attendees took stock of accomplishments, analyzed areas of achievement and looked at ways each person could contribute to a more vital, collaborative, destination-worthy community. After surveying the broader picture, members narrowed the focus to the next year, and two things they hoped to improve on by the end of 2024.

    First, the group wanted to explore how to solve the lack of affordability of artists’ working and living spaces. Many young people and emerging artists cannot afford to live in Davis or set up a studio here, they said. Shelly Gilbride, director of International House Davis said UC Davis is losing out on talent because of the high cost of housing in Davis.

    Costly housing further compounds another problem: the lack of diversity in a predominantly white town. Natalie Nelson, director of the Pence Gallery, said the group has a lot to celebrate “but we also have so far to go. There needs to be a category of where we are failing, like diversity. What do we need to work on?”

    (more…)

  • Ceasefire

    By Scott Steward

    As of yesterday’s UN, report there are over 5,000 dead in Gaza, 14,000 injured,1,000 missing. Instead of a ceasefire, more bombs. The tragedy is leading to a multi-regional war.

    Visiting-garamendi

    Dean Johansson, Karahan Mete (behind the sign) Alan Hirsch (also behind sign) Scott Steward Mohammed Mohammed (not a typo – the name is first and last) and Ed Diggs. I don't know the name of the person in the plaid

    The US has the power to stop this, but if you don’t speak up for peace, you will find we are primed for war. Look at how we declared a war on Iraq under false pretense. We entered Afghanistan after the Russians spent two decades failing to quell anti-west fundamentalism, that before we even started our twenty-year war there also ending in retreat (better that than continue).  

    What amount of good work could have been done with $21Trillion dollars over those 20 years? (the cost of the Iraq and Afghan wars). How much more understanding and common ground could have been gained with people wearing or not wearing hijabs. What amount of good work could we do for Palestinians and Israelites with the hundreds of billions and tens of thousands of lives we are about to lose on a war there?

    For some in the US, the Israeli Palestinian conflict is the way into a war with Iran. US troops are all about the conflict zone and surely some will be killed.  Self-defense could then be cited as the rational for our further involvement.  Correctly or not, Iran will be identified as the source of hostility and loss of life. The Arabophobic hegemony will have its war with Iran. That plan is obvious and stupidly tragic. The lives of Palestinians and Israelis would be an afterthought.  Israelis, Palestinians, Iranians, Americans – everyone needs to condemn this plan.

    (more…)

  • I-80 Whistleblower: Caltrans Steamrolls Eviro-Laws to Widen Freeways

    Caltrrans whistleblower Jeanie ward-waller

    Jeanie Ward-Waller, former Caltrans deputy director of Planning and Mode Development until she noted likely environmental violation on I-80 project

     

    By Alan Hirsch, YoloMobility

    News of a high-level Caltrans whistleblower hit the national media in recent weeks with stories in the Sacramento Bee, LA Times and Politico. But when you meet former Caltrans Deputy Director of Planning and Modal programs Jeanie Ward-Waller, you learn that she was forced out of Caltrans and into a public whistleblowing role by just one action.

    She spoke via Zoom at a meeting of the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) on Thursday 10/19. In her opening remarks she said:

    • She misses her colleagues of six years who are doing good work to evolve Caltrans.
    • “We need good people in government.”
    • Caltrans has an important role in maintaining our existing highways.
    • Achieving a well-functioning transportation system is her life’s work and she misses being engaged.

    She said her demotion and effective firing were a total surprise. Her story of how it happened started when she noted that Caltrans District 3 seemed to have misappropriated extra funds from a pavement rehab project to rebuild shoulders in a wider and more expensive way so that they could be easily converted to extra lanes. Technically it would not count as widening until the stripes for these lanes are painted. Widening the freeway had not been approved by elected officials or undergone the required public and environmental review process.  One thing she didn’t mention: the amount of misappropriated funds in question is likely on the order of tens of millions dollars — part of the $240 million I-80 Yolo Causeway pavement rehab project, which is separate from the I-80 widening project.

    (more…)

  • Think PG&E Rates Are Too High? They Are in Imminent Danger of Skyrocketing Into the Stratosphere

    By Dan Cornford

    Davisites should be aware of what I was not aware of until a week or so ago.  Your PG & E bills are set to go way up and proposals are being made to further dis-incentivize solar power.  We are about to be a hit with a barrage of proposals that took me some time to disentangle.   PG & E and other major utilities are hitting consumers from three different angles.  In two instance the CPUC will likely make a final decision on proposals at its November 2 meeting.  So, if you share my concern, please read this article and take some of the actions I suggest at the end of it—most will take only a few minutes of your time.

    I am sure I need not regale you with info on PG & E moral and legal culpability for a whole series of recent fires going back to 2017, but PG & E culpability for such events ( read the entry on PG & E in Wikipedia) goes back decades not to mention the San Bruno pipeline explosions of 2010 that killed 8 people and injured 58.

    After the rash of major fires, 2017-2022 and findings of PG & E’s legal culpability, there appeared to be some brief prospect of meaningful state intervention by Governor Newsom and the state legislature as PG & faced the prospect of bankruptcy and our governor threatened a public takeover of PG & E.   But this came to nothing, and unsurprisingly in view of the fact that PG & E has regularly made large donations to the campaigns of Governor Newsom and many others in the state legislature.

    https://www.abc10.com/article/news/investigations/governor-newsom-most-state-lawmakers-took-money-from-convicted-felon-pge/103-2414790f-3a19-4411-92c2-fe23b519d646

    (more…)

  • Listen! Peace for Israel and Palestine

    By Scott Steward

    There have been multiple events, locally and regionally, voicing support for an end to violence in Israel and Palestine.  These voices are American voices.  These Americans do not agree with the unwavering support of Israel's government, and they have all condemned the killing of innocent civilians. 

    The recent conflict was sparked on October 7 by Hamas firing thousands of rockets toward southern and central Israel in conjunction with Hamas militants, many on motorcycles, who stormed blockaded areas of the Gaza Strip, shooting at Jewish settlers and slaughtering people at kibbutzim and small towns, reportedly taking Israeli citizens as hostages (source).  Israel has retaliated with massive airstrikes; Palestinian civilians have also been killed.

    Photos of Yesterday's Rally

    Photos of Yesterday's Rally

     

    Rally2

    Yesterday several hundred people attended the Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights demonstration yesterday in front of the State capital.

     

    Last Saturday ten thousand people marched through San Francisco to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza and support the Palestinian people in their struggle against apartheid and occupation.

    On October 18th several community and campus organizations hosted an Emergency Teach In: Palestine Now that was a standing room only event in Young Hall.

    The voices at these rallies all want Israel to exist in harmony. The dominant message peace and freedom for all.  Ultimately it is up to Israeli's and Palestinians and the nations around them to sort out peace.  Our government needs to stop contributing to the long festering conflict. Current policy asks us to reinforce Zionistic goals of racial/religious dominance, and this has greatly reinforced extremism at home.

    (more…)

  • Film screening and immigration discussion is Nov. 2

    Free event presented by UC Davis Global Affairs and the City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs

    FromHere_TaniaSM

    Tania is one of four protagonists in “FROM HERE,” a documentary on the immigration experience screening on Thursday, Nov. 2 at Veterans Memorial Theatre in Davis. (Film still courtesy of With Wings and Roots)

    (From press release)  UC Davis Global Affairs and the City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs Program present a free screening on Thursday, Nov. 2 of “FROM HERE,” a documentary illustrating the struggles of immigration and integration.

    The event is from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Theatre in Davis, at 213 E. 14th St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with several interactive elements for patrons. The film is 90 minutes long, followed by a question-and-answer session with Director Christina Antonakos-Wallace and two of the film’s protagonists, Tania and Sonny. Refreshments will be served. Organizers request an RSVP at http://bit.ly/fromherescreening. 

    Filmed over a decade in two of the world’s largest immigration cities – New York and Berlin – the sensitive and nuanced documentary captures the journeys of four young people caught in the crosshairs of immigration debates. The film is a coming-of-age portrait of people working through migration, citizenship and growing nationalism on both sides of the Atlantic. The documentary seeks to define what it means to “belong” as immigrants.  

    As the U.S. and Europe grapple with rising nationalism and movements against increasing diversity, “FROM HERE” offers a fresh perspective on the issues of immigration and belonging. The film is an intimate yet epic look at the stories of four children of immigrants, Tania, Miman, Sonny and Akim, as they move from their 20s into their 30s and face major turning points in their lives: fighting for citizenship, starting families and finding room for creative expression. See the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/109329686.

    (more…)

  • Did Caltrans Piece-Meal Plan for I-80 corridor violate CEQA, ignore Davis impacts? 

    Caltrans failure to do corridor wide EIR negated transit, wastes billions and did not call out cut thru impacts

    Piecemealing Map I-80 corridor

     by Alan Hirsch, Yolo Mobility  

    Transit works best as a network- you won’t get transit ridership if you just build just 1 or 5 miles of light rail, or upgrade just a few miles of Amtrak to 100mph service. You need to have interconnected regional system, especially with our dispersed land use patterns.  

    Below is a Caltrans map from the long-hidden corridor plan, the “I-80  CMCP” shows the many widenings has planned or started in the  I-80 Corridor. These types of corridor plans, first required by SB1 (2017) reveal for the first time “piece-mealing” of freeway widening, I.E., breaking a corridor widening into  many small separate projects.   Each separate project is studied separately thru alternative analysis/EIR process so to assure transit alternative are small stand-and never pencil. And many of  project are so small they don’t even require at EIR.   

    If fact, this is why piece-mealing is a violation of California Environmental Law. It has been cited by many others including a recent hi level whistleblower as how Caltrans systematically gets around environmental laws designed to address climate change.  

    The corridor plan for I-80 (I-80 CMCP) was not released to public on Caltrans website until May of 2023, over 9 months after the Yolo80 EIR alternative were selected. In fact, this corridor plan did compare transit  vs highway alternatives. It concluded upgrading the Capitol Corridor Rail service to 100 MPH is 15x more cost effective to move people than the entire bundle of freeway widening shown on map (see Vanguard article).  

    With many of the widening construction already are underway, one can wonder how many billions (with a B) of dollars in taxpayer money are being poorly spend because of this setup by Caltrans to preordain a result ? What sort of set back does this represent on meeting the state climate plan that required us to reduce driving and well as shift to electric cars to reduce our GHG’s. 

    One can also note the Yolo causeway “bottle neck” and cut thru traffic in Davis did not just happen:  it was created by Caltrans by widening freeway to the west and it impact on Davis section of I-80  s shown clearly in  traffic studies.   

    As for collaboration with communities in the developing corridor plans, a public record request of Yolobus/Yolo TD found no records in its files it was involved in developing the plan, and Caltrans has never presented the final or preliminary report or involved YoloTD board or Davis City or its Commissions in its development in a substantive way. Yet Caltrans lists these entities, as well as citizens groups like Bike Davis as involved with its development. Caltrans neglect of considering community impact is shown by Caltrans failure to list “reduce cut thru traffic” as a goal/purpose/need for their proposed Causeway widening on its project website. 

    SAVE THE DATE: A Freeway Teach-In Nov 8th  

    Davis Futures Forum on the Future of the I-80 Corridor 

    Wed, Nov 8th 7:00-8:30  Davis Community Church Fellowship Hall, 412 C street 

    I-80 traffic congestion is frustrating even the most patient among us! The Caltrans proposed solution has been to increase the number of traffic lanes, however many Davis citizens have expressed strong opposition noting the need for transportation alternatives. Further, a high level Caltrans executive has accused her peers of violating environmental laws by underestimating the negative impacts of the proposal. And research at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies shows that attempts to address congestion by adding lanes only works for a short time before the lanes are filled again by new drivers. 

    What is the solution? The public is invited to explore this question at a Davis Futures Forum talk and panel discussion. The keynote speaker is Professor Susan Handy, the renowned head of the National Center for Sustainable Development. Her presentation will be followed by a diverse response panel who will give us their thoughts about how best to move forward. The event will be held Wednesday, Nov 8th at 7pm in at the Davis Community Church. Please sign up in advance and you will receive advance material, a link to the real-time zoom and YouTube recording of the teach-in. 

  • It Does Pencil Out

    2 + 2 = By Larry D. Guenther

    We often hear from developers that a building required by existing zoning “doesn’t pencil out” and that they therefore must be allowed to build bigger. Several issues make this claim suspect.

    First, developers never show the math they use to make this statement. Never.

    Secondly, there appears to be no set building size that does ‘pencil out’. Proponents always ask for one more story. If the zoning is two stories, they insist it won’t work, but three will. If the zoning is 3, they need 4. If the zoning is 4, they need 5, etc.

    Thirdly, there are plenty of examples that contradict these statements: the Roe Building on the SW corner of 3rd and C St. (3 stories, mixed use); Central Park West across from Central Park (2-1/2 stories, residential); Pizza and Pints (1 story, commercial); the most recent Ace Hardware addition on 3rd St. (1 story, commercial); The Arbors on C St. (3 stories, mixed use); the building on the SW corner of G and 5th St. (3 stories, mixed use), etc.

    Fourth: developers site the increase in material costs as part of their reasoning (the number 15% is suspiciously common and has been cited before and during the Pandemic). While material costs definitely increase over time, they certainly increase far less than residential rents. Material costs are also a one-time expense, while rental income continues – and increases – for the life of the building.

    (more…)

  • Response from Celebration of Abraham

    Dear Friends,

    We are overwhelmed with grief over the violence in Israel and Gaza. We know that the feelings of many of the members of our community regardless of their religious tradition are raw. Folks are exhausted and confused as we all try to understand the atrocities visited on our brothers and sisters that are resulting from the conflict. As the Celebration of Abraham tried to discern how to respond, we received the International House email that expressed that group’s distress and then affirmed the statement developed by the University of California Davis Cross-Cultural Center. The carefully crafted statement of the Cross-Cultural Center reflected the Celebration of Abraham’s thinking and, so we like International House are choosing to uphold the following statement:

    “While no statement or message can encompass the historical breadth and political depth of this complex conflict, we want to acknowledge that the language and narratives used by media and in various statements can compound and increase feelings of vulnerability and distress.

    We recognize that words matter and are concerned about dangerous rhetoric that can lead to increased anti-Arab sentiment, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia. This impact can include but is not limited to, people feeling unsafe emotionally and physically due to doxxing, surveillance, threats, and fear of voicing their opinion or perspective.

    As a community, we encourage folks to be mindful of where they receive information, apply critical thinking skills when evaluating sources, and be open to deepening their knowledge around multiple perspectives.”

    We, like International House, thank the UC Davis Cross Cultural Center for naming concerns and encouraging thoughtful consideration. We also thank the International House for reminding us that if we work to deepen our knowledge of others and practice deep compassion, we can realize what connects us as humans is stronger than the difference that divides us.

    With a prayer for peace for all,

    Helen Roland Cramer, Chair

    Celebration of Abraham