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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.

Author: davisite2

  • Davis Cherry Blossom Festival blooms April 4-5

    CherryBlossom2019 1

    Gregory Wada performs with Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan at the 2019 Davis Cherry Blossom Festival. Robin Fadtke/Courtesy photo

    (From press release) Save the date for the fifth annual Davis Cherry Blossom Festival, April 4-5 at Sudwerk in Davis.

    Presented by the nonprofit Davis Cherry Blossom Festival, Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan, and Sudwerk Brewing Co., the free, all-ages weekend includes music, food, art, culture and beer. The event is from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 4 and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 5 at The Dock, 2001 Second St. in Davis.

    In its fifth year, the weekend is evolving into a regional music festival and cultural celebration. Activities feature music and lots of traditional Japanese drumming on two main stages and a new, intimate third stage. There will be food and arts vendors, a local artists’ gallery, interactive educational and cultural demonstrations, games and more.

    More than 30 musical acts will perform over the two days, including Jessica Malone, The Brothers Reed, Lillian Frances, Katgrüvs and Big Sticky Mess.

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  • Information & Questions about the ARC

    The following comments were submitted by Greg Rowe, member of the Planning Commission, for the February 26 Planning Commission workshop on the Aggie Research Campus (ARC).  They are addressed to the Chair and staff liaison to the Commission, respectively.

    PCmeeting-Feb26

    Matt Keasling speaks to the Planning Commission, 2/26

    Cheryl and Sherri:

    As you know, I'll be out of town for the Feb 26 Planning Commission meeting; I’ll be leaving early Thursday AM. 

    I met on January 7 for over 2 hours with Dan Ramos and attorney Matt Keasling (Taylor & Wiley).  Below are a few of the questions I asked, and their responses.  This information may be relevant to next week's workshop.

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  • Green challenger for Dodd in State Senate District 3 race

    NyhusWrite-in campaign is on the rise

    (From press release) Karen Nyhus, a Green from Sonoma County, is challenging Bill Dodd (D-Napa) as a write-in to the California State Senate’s Top 2 spot on next week’s primary ballot.

    Nyhus, a Stanford grad with a work history in government, education and nonprofits, is challenging Dodd’s status as a self-described “fiscal conservative” for a district that spans her native Sonoma County through Napa, Solano, and Contra Costa, to here in Davis. Nyhus calls Dodd a “blue dog” (conservative Democrat) and points out that he was a registered Republican as recently as 2013.

    Running as a Green, she accepts no corporate donations, and think that’s a weak spot for Dodd. “He has taken money from the wine industry and PG&E, and it shows in his actions,” she wrote.

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  • UCD Grade Strike Starts Thursday

    Screen shot 2020-02-26 at 4.35.10 PM(from press release) Dear Davis community,

    Tonight at our General Assembly, we agreed to move forward in solidarity with the wildcats in Santa Cruz and see through our demands for a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). On Thursday, February 27, Davis graduate students will begin a grade strike for the Winter quarter to demand a COLA and to call on the University of California to rescind its threats of retaliation against wildcat strikers at UC Santa Cruz.

    A grading strike is the withholding of grades by Teaching Assistants (TAs) designed to disrupt the everyday functioning of the University.

    We will be releasing more information, resources, and FAQs in the coming days. Please check out our website and follow our social media for all of that.

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  • Letter: Linda will Lean In

    Deos-for-supervisorIn Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg noted that “[t]he laws of economics and many studies of diversity tell us that if we tapped the entire pool of human resources and talent, our collective performance would improve.”

    Here in Yolo County, it has been a whole decade since any representative from half of our entire pool of human resources and talent—the female half—has served on our Board of Supervisors. It is long past time to correct this lack of adequate representation…and that’s just one of the reasons I’m so pleased to endorse Linda Deos to represent the 4th District on our Board of County Supervisors.

    My other reasons have to do with Linda’s excellent qualifications for the position. Linda has been my next-door-neighbor for nearly 12 years and I know her to be extremely intelligent, knowledgeable, hard-working, open-minded, a great listener, exceptionally friendly and very focused on community. Ours is a more interactive, more informed and more friendly neighborhood now, largely due to Linda’s energy and active presence. I know she has been working even harder in our larger community and that’s why I’m very confident she will make an excellent County Supervisor.   

    I agree with Sheryl Sandberg that “[c]onditions for all women will improve when there are more women in leadership roles giving strong and powerful voice to their needs and concerns.”

    Linda Deos is the right woman for the 4th District’s open leadership role on the Board of Supervisors. Linda will lean in to give strong and powerful voice to the needs and concerns of women—and of all of us—here in Yolo County. Please join me in voting for Linda Deos.

    Belinda Martineau
    Davis

     

  • Letter: Deos will bring new vision

    Deos-for-supervisorOur Yolo County Board of Supervisors is in need of new vision, creative collaboration, diversity, and fresh ideas to deal with the myriad of challenges this county faces.

    Therefore, I will vote for Linda Deos for Yolo County Board of Supervisors. We have a growing climate emergency that has not been addressed adequately by our supervisors. Linda Deos has presented a number of creative policy proposals and ideas to tackle this crisis. Regarding the problems of mass incarceration, cash bail, and the exploding homeless population in our county, Deos has offered solutions which could be implemented if she were to be elected to the Board.

    I have worked with Linda in a number of settings, and find her willingness to listen, her desire and skill in working collaboratively, and her advocacy for the disenfranchised to be exemplary and inspiring.

    It is time that we update the male-dominated Board and add a fresh female voice to our county government. Linda is a proven leader. Please join me in voting for Linda Deos for Yolo County Board of Supervisor.

    Karen Friis
    Davis

  • Letter: Disagree with the Enterprise’s Supervisor Recommendation

    Deos-for-supervisorWhile I agree with the statement made in The Davis Enterprise “Our View” from January 31, 2020, that “We doubt that there is any district in the state that has anyone as qualified as the three candidates who are running for District 4” of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, I am not taking the advice of the all-male Enterprise Editorial Board and am instead voting for Linda Deos. We need diversity, and especially a woman’s voice, on our currently all-male Yolo County Board of Supervisors—and everywhere else in our society as well.

    The Enterprise cites “experience” in the elected position as a reason for their support, but that argument effectively limits newcomers from bringing their diverse perspectives to serving our community. I, for one, do not want to wait for all the males to retire or die before bringing in new, diverse perspectives to help solve our significant societal problems. If not change/diversity now, then when? If not via District 4 voters, then how?

    Please join me in voting for the highly qualified woman running for Yolo County Board of Supervisors: Linda Deos.

    Robert Darragh
    Davis

  • Soroptimists, Girl Scouts collecting diapers

    DiaperDriveSIDavis

    Soroptimist International of Davis members, from left, Crystal Ross O'Hara, Diana Harvey and Maggie Memmott wrap up diaper packages for Yolo Diaper Bank at a recent club meeting at Three Mile Brewing. The diaper bank, founded in 2017 by the daughter of a Soroptimist member, is keeping Yolo County dry – one bottom at a time. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) Soroptimist International of Davis and The Davis Girl Scouts are joining forces to collect diapers for the Yolo Diaper Bank. 

    One in three families in Yolo County does not have enough diapers to keep their babies clean, dry and healthy. The Yolo Diaper Bank collects and distributes diapers to local agencies serving families in need. Diapers and checks made out to Yolo Diaper Bank may be dropped off by March 15 at any of these locations: Avid Reader Active (605 Second St.), Woodstock’s Pizza (219 G St.), Strelitzia Flower Company (4614 Second St. #1), or any Girl Scout Cookie booth (www.girlscoutcookies.org).

    Diapers sizes 1 and 2 are most needed. Opened packages are accepted, as well as pull-ups and baby wipes. For more information, email Lmhansengs@gmail.com or info@yolodiaperbank.org.

    Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. For more information on the club, visit sidavis.org or like its Facebook or Instagram pages: @SoroptimistDavis.

  • New metaphors for new understandings of genomes

    Parking-signsHow genetic modification is like a modification to the parking code

    By Sarah Perrault and Meaghan O’Keefe

    The city of Davis — a town of about 67,000 residents in California and the home of the University of California Davis– is considering changing its downtown parking regulations to add parking fees and limit parking hours. Debates about this proposal have been raging in city council meetings, in local news venues, and in social media. The topics of debate, however, are not about the actual proposal, but about effects on people with mobility limitations; about whether there are enough bike racks in downtown Davis; about whether businesses would be harmed by the change; about whether businesses should have to pay for their employees’ parking; about climate change; about traffic jams and traffic signal timing and public transit and more.

    On the surface, none of this has anything to do with genes or genetic modification but looked at another way, the similarities are striking. At first glance, the small change to the municipal code is just that — a small change of a few sentences in a 42-chapter document — but the consequences come not from the change itself, but from how that code is used, and from effects on civic life that extend into realms not immediately related to the matter of parking.

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  • Picnic in the Park starts April 1

    (From press release) Farmers Market goers will have to wait until April 1 for the start of Picnic in the Park.

    The popular Wednesday evening event previously coincided with daylight saving time. However, the changing climate in recent years meant some growers’ produce wasn’t ready in mid-March. The Davis Farmers Market Alliance board voted to postpone opening till April, going forward.

    Picnic in the Park returns to Central Park, 301 C St, on April 1. Hours are 4:30 p.m. to sunset, every Wednesday through Oct. 28. The sunset closure has vendors packing up as late as 8:35 p.m. during longer summer days. In late September and October, when sun sets before 7, the market will remain open until 7 p.m.

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