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Month: October 2026

  • Tom Had Huck; I Had Augie

    By Bertie Brouhard

    He died earlier this month. James Chandler Augustine, my dear friend for most of 75 years. Passed on in Gothenburg, Nebraska. Now no longer suffering from COPD that drained his energy and spirit. He was 80 and failing.

    For about a dozen years; ages 6 to 18 we were the tightest of “ buds,” very close coloring each other’s lives, filling in the blanks and spaces that shaped, molded, defined us. His death crowded my aging brain with so many marvelous memories of our youth. This article is not an obituary but hopefully a celebration of his life and perhaps an aid for you in handling the loss of a loved one.

    Of course please don’t waste your time reading this if you happen to be one of the fortunate few who have not suffered such loss. If you’re one please email me or at least start wondering when you might join us. My intent is for us both – you the reader (entertained) and me the writer (needing therapy)  – to benefit from these mostly true tales of our youth.

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  • Yet more lies from the Eric Jones campaign

    By Roberta Millstein

    Fellow Davisites, time and time again I promise myself that this is my last post about Eric Jones. And time and time again, he does something more outrageous and I feel obligated to call it out.

    Now he’s using the more than $15 million of his venture capitalist money — or perhaps it’s his millions of donated tech oligarch money — to tell even more lies about Thompson. (Remember this lie that Rep Zoe Lofgren had to call out?)

    His former campaign staffers are standing by him, though, to correct the record:

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  • Willowgrove – An Exceptional Housing Project

    By Eileen M. Samitz

    Willowgrove is a 232-acre housing project with 1,250 units on Covell Boulevard, across from Harper Junior High School. The project will finally be on the November 3rd ballot as Measure W after many long delays since informal conversations about the project first began over 10 years ago.

    The good news is that the project has benefited from much public input, and the resulting project has been worth waiting for. Willowgrove has many amenities and features that make it a desirable project for Davis. It was designed for Davis with a lot of direct input from the community.

    The Willowgrove project developers have been upfront and transparent from the beginning. This is the first time in Davis history that a project has offered a completed subdivision map before the Measure J/R/D vote, allowing the community to see the final project design before it is approved. In addition, the agricultural mitigation land has been identified and disclosed to the public before the Measure J/R/D vote. This early disclosure is also a first for Davis and hopefully will set a precedent for future proposals.

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  • PoliSci 101A:  Following the Money — Who’s Behind All the Slick Campaign Ads

    Updates to Chapters One and Two—

    BREAKING NEWS!

    Eric Jones Has Now Donated More Than $15 MILLION to his Campaign!

    By F.E.C. Nerd

    Late yesterday (Friday, 10/23/26) Eric Jones’ campaign filed yet another report disclosing even more donations.  This was on top of new reporting the prior day (10/22/26) when Eric Jones’ campaign committee filed its required “Pre-General” report.  That is the final “full” report prior to the election. It covers the period from the last “full” report (which was 7/1/26 to 9/30/26) through 10/14/2026.  In addition, certain special types of reports are required within 24 hours of triggering activities — such as the one filed yesterday.  What do all these reports reveal? 

    Eric Jones’ campaign contributions (boosted by his own $15+ Millions) have now surpassed even Hakeem Jeffries among House candidates nationwide!

    And that doesn’t even include last night’s filing.  Follow along to see the money trail.  Looking at Eric Jones’ campaign filings since the last big report (through 9/30/26 — filed on 10/15/26) there are three.  The two main ones will be reviewed below; those are the two most recent.

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  • Local groups to demand justice at Woodland “ICE out” March and Rally on Oct 27

    Woodland resident Antonio Moreida, who was hit by an ICE vehicle earlier this week, speaks at the Woodland City Council meeting Tuesday night.

    (From press release) Local residents are invited to join the ICE Out Demand Justice rally and march on Oct. 27 at 4pm in Woodland. In response to the recent ICE surge in Woodland, including the hit-and-run crime committed by an ICE agent on Woodland resident Antonio Moreida, participants will march from the Yolo County district attorney’s office at 301 2nd Street, to Rep. Mike Thompson’s office and then to the Woodland Courthouse. For more information: https://yolo.chapters.dsausa.org/ICE-OUT/. 

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  • PoliSci 101A:  Following the Money — Who’s Behind All the Slick Campaign Ads

    Chapter Four:  Slate Mailers

    By F.E.C. Nerd

    I hadn’t intended to write about this topic since Slate Mailers have become rare in this day of social media campaigning.  But a friend from Woodland sent me two examples and asked:  “What gives?”  So, in case you have been getting multi-candidate-multi-proposition mailers, here’s how to figure out what is behind them. 

    History of Slate Mailers:  Decades ago, slate mailers became quite prominent in California political campaigns.  So prominent that the State ultimately passed legislation to regulate them. Why?  Because many commercial slate mailers “impersonated” political party endorsements and led to great voter confusion.  Commercial slate mailer operators would use the words “Democrat” or “Republican” in their names and/or display a Donkey or Elephant logo on the mailer.  There were repeated instances where a commercial slate mailer would use a Party’s name or logo, and include multiple candidates or ballot measures that Party did endorse, but then for some local races the mailer would feature a candidate of the Opposing Party or a ballot measure position the Party did not endorse.  So, a law was passed to prohibit commercial slate mailers from using a Political Party’s name or imitation of its logo.

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  • BREAKING: Jones total contributions to his campaign are now just shy of $15 million

    By Roberta Millstein

    Less than a week ago, I wrote an article here about the $10 million dollars that Eric Jones, congressional candidate in CA’s District 04, had dumped into his own campaign. That contribution made headlines across the district as the largest contribution ever made in a CA congressional campaign, an amount that, together with large-donor out-of-district donations to Jones campaign, put him at #10 in spending across the entire country (remembering that there are 435 seats open and an unknown number of candidates running for those seats).

    But little did any of us know about another contribution, just surfaced on the FEC site, from Jones: $4,800,000.00 on October 1, for a grand total of $14,864,133.10 — yes, almost $15 million dollars. There is no other way to see this but as this recently-resigned Silicon Valley venture capitalist, former partner at Dragoneer Investment Group, trying to buy a congressional seat.

    $10 million was eye-popping. At $15 million, your jaw should be on the ground and your head should should be swiveling on its neck (and don’t ask me what comes after that).

    Fellow citizens of District 4: Californians have a proud history of rejecting multi-millionaires and billionaires trying to buy their way into positions of power, knowing that these people do not have the interests of ordinary citizens in mind.

    Vote for Mike Thompson, born and raised in our district, who is hardworking, honorable, and trustworthy.

    Here is the screenshot from the FEC showing the Oct 1 donation and his year-to-date total:

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  • Eric! Eric Jones, Eric Jones, Eric Jones, Eric Joh-oh-oh-ohnes! He’s got Duplicity, Going On!

    by Alan C. Miller (song parody)

    Sung to the tune of “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul

    🎵 YOU AND ERIC JONES 🎵

    (The Yolo-Sonoma-Colusa-Lake-Napa-Placer-Sacramento-Sutter-Yuba Congressional Blues)

    🎶 You and Eric Jones…
    Eric Jones, Eric Jones, Eric Jones…
    He got duplicity going on…

    Every day he’s changing his tune,
    Left in the morning, right by noon.
    He’ll promise you anything, whatever you choose,
    He’s got ten different positions and nothing to lose.

    🎶 You and Eric Jones…
    Eric Jones, Eric Jones, Eric Jones…
    He got duplicity going on…

    The antizionist radicals all sing along!
    From the farthest left in Davis town,
    They’ve found their man, they’re gathering ’round!

    He’ll tell you what you want to hear,
    Then tell your neighbor the opposite, dear!
    Two different flyers on the very same street,
    One for the right, one for the left to read!

    He’ll even give the Vanguard dough,
    To help his reputation grow!
    Silicon Valley pays the bills,
    While Davis swallows all his pills!

    🎶 You and Eric Jones…
    Eric Jones, Eric Jones, Eric Jones…
    He got duplicity going on…

    Nobody knows just what he’s for,
    But he’ll promise you more, and more, and more!

    🎶 Ohhhh, Eric Jooooones… 🎶

  • A Planning Commissioner’s Enthusiastic Support for Measure W, Willowgrove

    By Greg Rowe

    My involvement in evaluating and commenting on the merits of proposed development projects began in the mid-1980s when I joined the environmental commission of a rapidly expanding city in San Diego County.  I later worked for a Bay Area business association, where I identified the pros and cons of development proposals, and then helped launch housing and commercial projects for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

    My career culminated as Senior Environmental Analyst for the Sacramento County Department of Airports for 13 years, where I studied  the potential aviation impacts of housing proposals near  airports. During the past nine years I have spent countless hours evaluating and suggesting improvements to proposed developments in my role as Davis planning commissioner.

    This background means it takes an extraordinary proposal to garner my unqualified support. For the reasons summarized below, that project is Willowgrove, Measure W on the November 3 ballot. If approved by Davis voters, Willowgrove will transform 232 acres in northeast Davis into 1,250 homes of various types: single-family dwellings, townhomes, condominiums, and deed-restricted affordable apartment units for lower income households. 

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  • PoliSci 101A:  Following the Money — Who’s Behind All the Slick Campaign Ads

    Chapter Three:  Ballot Measure Spending for Ads, Mail, Social Media, etc.

    By F.E.C. Nerd

    This chapter will walk you through how to determine who is pushing/opposing State ballot measures.  First, the Federal Election Commission has no role with respect to California ballot measures.  Instead, the California Secretary of State’s website and the California Fair Political Practices Commission’s website will play a role in our research.  Plus, there are the tag-lines in the ads and mailers we are all receiving.  A sampling is displayed here.

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