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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

  • Leaf blower ban – contact City Council today

    By Todd Edelman

    City of Davis people… why has there not been a ban on use of leaf blowers in the nearly month-long wildfire fallout event?

    Why do feel the need to remove every leaf and bit of dirt from our landscapes?

    Why do we allow ourselves to send dust clouds and noise to our neighbors when we might not even know their names?

    Why do some falsely portray a ban as an assault on a largely Latino workforce?

    WRITE the City Council NOW!

    Agenda – September 15, 2020

    Item 6 (8:15)
    Natural Resources Commission Recommendation on Updating/Strengthening Leaf Blower Ordinance and Request for City Council Direction (Public Works Utilities & Operations Director Stan Gryczko/Management Analyst Adrienne Heinig)

    Recommendation:

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  • Letter: Vote for Guenther for transparency and procedural reform

    GuentherVote for Larry Guenther for City Council. The Council needs more voices committed to more transparency and procedural reform. Larry Guenther is committed to being that kind of voice. The City needs a healthy balance of the "expert" recommendations of staff and the considerable real subject matter expertise of the community and its Citizen Commissions.  

    The Cannery project, with its litany of developer miscalculations and repeated applications for reconsideration of their ever-changing plan, is a text book example of failure in transparency and procedure. Cannery is just one example of a continued pattern of failure that is a huge problem for the city and its residents. All across the city we have been saddled with  months-long traffic problems and extra expenses without meeting our need for low income housing.

    We need a city that does not regard the General Plan as an invitation to developers to come in with a half-baked request for an exception. The City Council needs to represent its electorate. There is a long history of the City Council's development decisions that documents its failure to do so. This goes all the way back to the saving of Central Park and the great Farmers' Market we now have there. If the City Council had had its way in 1986, we would have a three-tiered shopping mall, with incalculable damage to downtown business, crawling traffic and more climate carbon footprint.

    We really have to get past the "business as usual" mentality, and Guenther will help us do that.

    Don Price

  • Darrah Runs Unopposed for Seat on DJUSD Board Area 2

    Lea-Darrah2(From press release) Lea Darrah, an advocate for children for more than 20 years, will be representing the Davis School Board as Trustee for Area 2. Under recently adopted policy, the Davis Joint Unified School Board election process established five trustee areas. As Darrah was the only person to file for candidacy in Area 2, she will be appointed to the office and her name will not appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, per CA Elections code 10515.

    Darrah's term as the Area 2 representative is scheduled to begin in December. The district's Area 2 map consists of some neighborhoods in north to east Davis. But, as part of the full board, she represents all students in the DJUSD.

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  • League of Women Voters offers look at health-care reform options

    Uncertain about the difference between a single-payer system and a public option linked to the Affordable Care Act?

    The League of Women Voters Davis Area will offer an educational program on Zoom from 7 to 8 p.m. Oct. 1 to help voters understand and compare the two choices. “Health-care Reform: Demystifying Future Health-care Options” aims to help voters better understand candidate positions in upcoming presidential debates and election forums.

    The online event will feature two speakers: Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a statewide health-care consumer advocacy coalition, and Jodi Reid, executive director at California Alliance for Retired Americans, a statewide senior advocacy organization working to improve quality of life for seniors.

    Speakers also will discuss the challenges Yolo County residents and providers have faced before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    To help speakers address questions from the public, please submit them in advance to komalh@lwvdavisarea.org. Audience members will be able to submit questions at the forum as well.

    Use the following link to register for the event:  https://bit.ly/351CSuc. A Zoom link will be sent two days before the event.

    The League of Women Voters Davis Area is a non-partisan organization committed to voter education and voter registration. To learn more, go to www.lwvdavisarea.org.

  • Letter: A breath of fresh air

    Walsh-photoBy John R. Pike

    This is in reference to the forthcoming election on Nov. 3, and not the change of climate caused by regional fires. I mean the election of Colin Walsh to District 2 of the City Council.

    For the past four years, the incumbent has reigned over the following events in Davis, each of which has contributed to a deterioration of public services:

     
    • Increased crime with particular reference to bike theft.
    • Chronic degradation of road conditions.
    • The Council approval of the U-Mall development despite a 7-to-0 opposition by the Planning Commission.
    • The BrightNight project, in which the city made a bad deal on valuable city-owned land.

    Each of the above suggests a changing of the guard is needed at City Hall to encourage greater public participation and transparency over important decisions that affect our City and lifestyle.

    Colin Walsh offers a ray of light in addressing these issues and more as we strive to re-engage our citizens with improved decision making and public services.

  • League of Women Voters to showcase local school board and city council candidates via Zoom

    Davis-LWVJoin the League of Women Voters Davis Area and Davis Media Access for a Zoom forum from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27 for five candidates vying for three spots on the Davis Joint Unified School District Board of Education.

    Zoom forums will also be held on Sunday, Oct. 4 for the nine candidates vying for three seats on the Davis City Council. The District 2 forum will be at 1 p.m., followed by District 3 at 3 p.m. and District 5 at 5 p.m.

    This is the first time candidates will compete to represent specific city council districts and school board areas, which are different.

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  • Two Virtual Candidate Forums to Focus on Race and Equity Issues

    YCDIEThe Yolo Committee for Diverse and Inclusive Elections (YCDIE) will be hosting two virtual candidate forums on Saturday, September 12th. The first will run from 10 am to 12 pm and is for candidates running for the Davis Joint Unified School District and Los Rios Community College District boards. The second forum will run from 2 pm to 4 pm and is for candidates running for Davis City Council and the Yolo County Board of Supervisors (4th District).

    The purpose of these candidate forums is to allow the voters of Davis to learn more about the candidates running for various local offices in the November election. The forums will focus on issues of equity, inclusion, social justice, and race as they pertain to local issues.

    Both forums are free to the public, but attendees must pre-register using the links below. Questions about the forums can be directed to ycdiedavis@gmail.com.

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  • Virtual Townhall With Colin Walsh Sept 9

    Walsh-logoColin Walsh, a candidate for Davis City Council 2020 District 2, is hosting a Zoom Town Hall on Wednesday, September 9 at 7 p.m. Members of the community are invited to this opportunity to get to know Colin and share your thoughts on Davis. Details at Walsh4Davis.com.

  • Sierra Club Endorses No on Measure B – No on DISC in Davis, CA

    Sierra Club endorsedCiting grounds of “excessive traffic, greenhouse gas emissions, and poor land-use and planning”, the Sierra Club announces its opposition to Measure B in Davis CA on the November 2020 municipal ballot.

    Measure B is a vote to allow the annexation of approximately 200-acres of Prime farmland on the northeast periphery of the City and the development of a business park along with a 850-unit housing development. The project site is now farmed and serves as foraging habitat for numerous Special Status Species including Burrowing Owls, Swainson’s Hawks, and White-Tailed Kites.

    The endorsement of the opposition to this ballot measure follows an extensive evaluation process by the local Sierra Club Yolano Group, the Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter Political and Executive Committees, and the Sierra Club California Local Measure Review Committee.

    The Sierra Club has long-standing official policies designed to minimize urban sprawl onto farmland and habitat and maximize intensive infill development. These include planning policies that further conservation of open space and preservation of natural areas and agricultural lands. The Sierra Club opposes sprawl as a pattern of increasingly inefficient and wasteful land use with devastating environmental and social outcomes.

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  • Letter: Vote for Larry for City Council

    LarryLarry Guenther is the most honest man I know in Davis.

    He has the instincts of a reformer, and the energy to move reform forward. He believes that the local expertise we enjoy on our city commissions is being superseded by non-transparent decision-making at City Hall.

    If you live in District 3 and want this to change, vote for Larry for City Council.

    Mark Grote