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  • Ada Vox and OneUp Duo to headline Davis Pride Festival

    AdaVox

    Ada Vox (Julián P. Ledezma/Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) Drag queen singer Ada Vox and pop music’s OneUp Duo will headline the June 12 Davis Pride Festival. The music is part of a weekend of activities in downtown Davis that celebrate International LGBTQ+ Month.

    Vox was a semi-finalist in ABC’s “American Idol” in 2020, and the runner up this year on the Paramount+ drag queen singing competition “Queen of the Universe.” The San Antonio-based singer lists her influences as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin and Patti Labelle. Notable performances include The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun,” Jennifer Holiday’s “And I am Telling You I am Not Going,” and Journey’s “Open Arms.” She was the first drag queen in Idol’s history to make its Top 8. She recently released her first single, “Because of You.”

    OneUpDuo

    OneUp Duo (Courtesy photo)

    OneUp Duo is a Detroit-based pop/soul vocal combo comprised of husbands Adam and Jerome Bell-Bastien. The team was a finalist on NBC’s “The Voice” in 2018, serving under coach Kelly Clarkson. The couple rose to fame with their blind audition video of The Spinners’ “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love?” The pair was the show’s first same-sex duo, and known for dynamic, high-energy performances. OneUp Duo’s new single is “TRN IT UP.”

    Celebrate Davis Pride with several events, June 11 and 12 in Central Park, 301 C St. Produced by the Davis Phoenix Coalition, activities include:

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  • Odd Fellows to hold Music for Natalie 2022 on April 2nd

    Nat-cor-grad 1(From press release) The Davis Odd Fellows invite the community to 'Music for Natalie 2022' on Saturday April 2nd from 12 to 5 pm at the Odd Fellows Lodge at 415 Second Street in downtown Davis. The event will be held outdoors at the back of the Odd Fellows and Lyons Realty properties.

    Music for Natalie is free and open to all. As one Lodge member said, “Music for Natalie is an opportunity to celebrate the memory of Officer Corona. Her service to our community was special. We hope our scholarship program will encourage others to serve in similar ways”. There will be Handheld Sweet & Savory Pies, lemonade, a beer garden, and live music by local bands Major Six, Mike Blanchard and the Californios, and the Natalie Cortez Band. The music starts at 1 pm.

    Music for Natalie is held annually and is part of the Odd Fellows’ outreach for the Officer Natalie Corona Odd Fellows Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship program was started to help high school seniors who want to follow in Natalie's footsteps and is funded by an endowment started by the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge. Information about the program and how to donate will be available at the event and also at the link below.

    https://www.davislodge.org/officer-natalie-corona-odd-fellows-memorial-scholarship/

     

  • Old East Davis Requests Review of the Trackside Project Appellate Decision

    Mandala-oednaThe Old East Davis Neighborhood Association (OEDNA) is requesting review by the California Supreme Court of the recent appellate court decision on the Trackside development project, in the case of OEDNA vs. City of Davis.

    We are doing this because we believe that the City should be faithful to the plain meaning of its planning and zoning rules, and because we want to preserve the setting and feeling of our historic neighborhood.

    By convention, land use policies adopted by a California city can be interpreted by the same city when the policies are applied to specific projects. While this sounds logical— giving cities flexibility and local control— if understood too broadly, the conventional view could allow a city to reinterpret planning policies in ways that violate their original meaning and intent.

    In the Trackside case, the Yolo Superior Court found that the City of Davis overstepped its discretion in approving the project, which does not conform to the City’s land use policies for mass and scale transitions between the downtown core and traditional neighborhoods.

    To our dismay, the appeals court reversed the Yolo court’s decision, and in doing so claimed that the City has almost unlimited discretion in the application of its planning policies.

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  • Yolo County District Attorney Forum

    (From press release) Meet the current DA, Jeff Reisig, and his challenger, Cynthia Rodriguez in this public forum.

    DA candidates will answer questions from the Yolo County Taxpayers Association and also from the public. This non-partisan forum will provide a platform to the DA candidates to inform the public on issues important to our vote.

    TIME: Thursday, 3/10 at 7:00 PM

    LOCATION: 1225 East Kentucky Ave., Woodland, CA 95695

    Yolo County Taxpayers Association is a non-partisan, non-profit citizen association dedicated to Efficiency, Economy, and Equality in governmental affairs. Incorporated 1967.

  • Promises Made…Promises Broken!

    Broken promisesHow Ongoing Complacency by the Davis City Council Allowed the Bretton Woods Developer to Renege on Many Election Commitments Made to the Voters of Davis

    Part 1– A Specious Lawsuit by the Bretton Woods Developer, David Taormino as agent for the Binning Ranch Company LLC,  Forces the University Retirement Community (URC) to Abandon Plans to Construct an Enhanced Memory Care Facility at the Project Site. The Developer Proposes to Alternatively Construct 30 Detached Senior Homes which Seemingly Violates the Supposedly Immutable Voter-Approved Baseline Features of the Project but Which Could Result in Millions Dollars of Additional Profits to the Developer.

    By Alan Pryor

    Introduction

    This is Part 1 of a planned series of articles discussing how the City Council is approving entitlements for the Bretton Woods project that violate the project's supposedly unchangeable Baseline Features. These Baseline Features were contained in ballot language presented to voters and upon which the voters relied when the project was approved at the polls in November 2018. The approved entitlements also completely change key provisions of Development Agreement between the Developer and the City that was also very prominently presented to the public prior to the vote.

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  • The Yes on DiSC Campaign is Using a National Telemarketing Firm to do “Push Poll” Telephone Solicitations Disguised as Surveys

    The campaign has retained Dynata, a Texas marketing firm, to repeatedly call thousands of Davis voters over and over until the phone is answered.

    PushpollwordcloudBy Alan Pryor

    Who is Dynata?

    Numerous Davis citizens have reported receiving a "push poll" survey telephone call concerning the proposed "DiSC 2022" project from a firm headquartered in Plano, Texas whose caller ID otherwise identifies the company as "Dynata" from either Hayward or Oakland in the Bay Area. Dynata (https://www.dynata.com/) is a privately-owned online data collection company owned by two private equity firms, Court Square Capital Management and HGGC. ("DiSC 2022" is a 102-acre proposed mixed use business park that would be constructed on prime farmland outside the current City limits, just north of I-80, the Ikeda fruit stand, and the City water tank, and just east of Mace Blvd.  It will be Measure H on the June ballot).

    According to their website, "Dynata, LLC… and their parents, affiliates and subsidiaries world-wide (collectively referred to hereinafter as “Dynata”) provide sampling solutions and technology for survey research, providing clients with access to consumer and business-to-business respondents via internet, telephone (both fixed/landline and wireless/mobile), postal and multi-mode methodologies."

    But the firm is poorly thought of by both consumers and peers in the survey research industry.

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  • Davis Pride Festival set for June

    RobinFadtkeFest2021

    Festival goers enjoy the Davis Pride Festival on June 13, 2021. (Robin Fadtke/Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) The rainbows return to Davis’ Central Park in June for the Davis Pride Festival. Events include skating, a fun run, live music, drag queens, vendors and more – June 11 and 12.

    The weekend of events, produced by the Davis Phoenix Coalition, begins with the Diva Disco Skate Night, starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 11 under the Davis Farmers Market Pavilion. The night will include music, lights and food trucks.

    Sunday, June 12 begins at 8 a.m. with the Run for Equality, a 5K run or walk from Central Park, and a 1K Rainbow Run for children. At 11 a.m., the Davis Pride Festival begins at the park and pavilion, with local and international bands, a drag queen revue, educational booths, food, drink, and vendors in partnership with the Davis Craft and Vintage Market.

    Other events include the rainbow painting of the crosswalks around Central Park early on May 29; a Drink with Pride Night at Sudwerk Brewing Company (date to be determined); and possibly a Bike Party Davis Ride with Pride.

    June is International LGBTQ+ Month. Davis Pride is produced by Davis Phoenix Coalition, a nonprofit that works to foster diversity, eliminate intolerance, prevent hate-motivated violence and support LGBTQ+ youths. The coalition was founded in the aftermath of a 2013 anti-gay attack on Davis resident “Mikey” Partida. Proceeds from Davis Pride support the coalition’s anti-racism and anti-bullying campaigns, support to LGBTQ+ youths and their families, and outreach with area police departments, churches and schools. To donate, go to https://davisphoenixco.org/donate.

    To support the event, be a vendor, volunteer, visit https://www.davispride.org/. To learn more details as they unfold, follow Davis Pride on Facebook and Instagram.

  • Unitrans Turns 54

    Campus and City Bus System Celebrating 54 Years in the Community

    54thAnniversaryFlyer00001 54thAnniversaryFlyer00002(From press release) ASUCD Unitrans, the City of Davis and UC Davis local bus service, is turning 54 on Friday, March 4! To celebrate, Unitrans is running one of our vintage London double decker buses on a special, free campus to downtown lunch shuttle from 11 AM to 1 PM. In addition, Unitrans will host refreshments and giveaway items outside at the Memorial Union Bus Terminal from 11 AM to 1 PM. At noon, to celebrate our community's transit legacy, all three functioning vintage London double decker buses and two new modern double deckers will "parade" through downtown on 2nd and 3rd Streets from the Memorial Union Bus Terminal. The vintage buses have not been in service since March 2020 and Unitrans has used the last two years to refurbish and repaint the buses. Unitrans hopes to reintroduce the vintage buses into limited service in spring 2022.

    https://unitrans.ucdavis.edu/news/2022-02-22/unitrans-turns-54-celebrate-with-us-on-friday-marc/

  • The Sierra Club Sues Yolo County to Demand Sensible Environmental Safeguards in Open Pit Aggregate Mining

    The Sierra Club joins a lawsuit with a local citizens' group, Yolo Land and Water Defense, calling for changes in flawed Yolo County aggregate mining regulations and for appropriate further protection of lands and waters adversely affected by existing mining practices.

    Sierra-club-yolano

    (From press release) The Sierra Club has partnered with local residents in a lawsuit filed today to hold Yolo County accountable for environmental protection and restoration of farmland while continuing to develop sound open pit aggregate mining policy.

    The lawsuit does not seek to stop aggregate mining in Yolo County. Rather, it will simply require the County to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") before allowing Teichert Inc. to develop a new 320-acre mine on prime farmland adjacent to Cache Creek and several miles west of Woodland.

    This would require the County to fully disclose and evaluate the real adverse environmental impacts of open pit aggregate mining as currently allowed by the County and to commit to mitigation strategies to reduce those impacts. Adhering to this process is what the law requires, and indeed, these same requirements apply to every other regulated land use in the County and State.

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  • Local Mom and Climate Activist Juliette Beck Considers Run for Yolo County Supervisor

    BeckJuliette Beck, a lifelong social and environmental justice advocate, mother and caregiver, filed over 200 signatures on Wednesday with the Yolo County Elections office to stand as a candidate for District 2 County Supervisor.

    “I am testing the waters to see if there is community support for a strong progressive, woman candidate and climate champion in Davis and Winters,” said Beck.

    Beck moved to Davis with her husband Nick Buxton in 2008 when she was pregnant with their first daughter to be close to her sister and brother-in-law who had moved to Davis a few years earlier. She loves Davis and is grateful to the community for nurturing their young family over the last thirteen years.

    Beck has been an active parent volunteer at Cesar Chavez Elementary and a strong advocate of outdoor learning during the COVID pandemic. Over the years, she has enjoyed coaching soccer, biking as a way of life, working in the school gardens, supporting the local youth climate strike movement, and raising her family including her two daughters and energetic dog, an “Aussiedor,”  Luna.

    “I want to thank the dozen volunteers that pitched in to collect over 200 petition signatures in less than a week. Juggling family, work and personal well-being is not easy during the ongoing pandemic, but clearly people are concerned about climate change and want to help do all we can to make a difference to our children’s future,” said Beck.

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