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Category: Agriculture

  • “Village Farms” vernal pools have been leveled

    California Department of Fish and Wildlife is investigating and an open letter is gaining signatures from concerned citizens

    By Shannon Hickey

    The city’s last remaining vernal pools—the ones on the Measure V (for Village Farms) property that supported a local population of the federally endangered vernal pool tadpole shrimp as well as two rare plant species (alkali milkvetch and San Joaquin spearscale)—were potentially filled, disced, and graded in the week of September 13, 2026.

    The attached photos were taken early Saturday morning, September 19, showing the area where the largest pool existed, now a level surface. To give a little back story, this pool was on a property that has been proposed for development since the early 2000s and actively farmed since circa the late ’60s, according to historical aerial imagery. Despite regular discing, this vernal pool continued to pond because it was protected on two sides by a railroad berm to the west and an irrigation channel berm (Channel A) to the north. The developer has known about this vernal pool and the extremely rare species in it since the last time this project went up for a vote by the citizens of Davis back in 2005. At that time, it was known as the Covell Village project and it was voted down then as well. For both the Covell Village project and the Village Farms project, the associated environmental surveys supporting the EIRs revealed that these species were present.

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  • A Win for Measure W – Willowgrove May Be Our Last Chance to Preserve Our Direct Vote on Local Projects

    By Elaine Roberts Musser and Dan Carson

    Measure W -Willowgrove is the latest housing development to come up for consideration under Measure J/R/D.  This measure is the City of Davis law that requires a majority vote of the public to annex farmland or open space to our city for urban development.

    As you assess the merits of this project, it’s important to understand where we stand today. The state has imposed mandatory requirements for communities like ours to rezone the land needed for additional housing. These requisites include additional units of low income housing, as well as housing for moderate income persons who work in Davis but cannot afford to live here.  Our failure to comply with these mandates would, without question, trigger state intervention to force our compliance with state housing policy.

    That state intervention could even result in state action to override Measure J/R/D itself. The last legislative session saw strongly bipartisan approval in the Assembly of AB 2676. This bill would have curbed the use of local initiatives and referenda, that are widely being used around the state to block cities from meeting their state-mandated housing obligations.  AB 2676 did not pass the Senate, but has momentum, and will almost certainly be reconsidered in some form in next year’s legislative session.

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  • To share: Links to articles about Eric Jones

    By request, here are links to Davisite articles about Eric Jones’s bid to unseat Mike Thompson in the House, plus his recent donation #s (as best as I can determine them), for easy sharing with friends & on social media. I will try to keep this post updated. – Roberta

    *** This is a pinned post — scroll down if you’re on the main page looking for new Davisite articles on other topics

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  • Rep. Mike Thompson Participates in Debate With Eric Jones in Marysville Hosted by the Yuba Sutter Farm Bureau

    (From press release) Yesterday, Congressman Mike Thompson participated in a candidate forum with his opponent, Eric Jones, at the Yuba County Government Center in Marysville. The event was hosted by the Yuba Sutter Farm Bureau. Congressman Thompson, himself a small farmer that grows grapes, hay and olives, discussed a variety of issues facing the Yuba Sutter community in front of a crowd of 250 people. Congressman Thompson and Eric Jones debated for 45 minutes about issues facing Yuba and Sutter Counties and our agriculture community.

    “I was honored to be invited to participate in a debate by the Yuba Sutter Farm Bureau. I was proud to discuss my record of delivering for our ag community and strengthening our rural economies,” said Congressman Mike Thompson “Right now farmers are hurting with reckless and illegal tariffs and I am proud to have worked with the Administration to deliver $9 million dollars in relief to peach growers hit by the cannery closure and will continue to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars for our district for flood control projects.”

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  • Why an Unubstructed Delta Breeze Is Critical for California

    And how the proposed California Forever project threatens livability in Davis and other parts of the Central Valley

    By Dr. Glen Holstein

    Covering 18,000 square miles, California’s Central Valley is the largest nearly flat valley on earth.  It is almost entirely surrounded by mountains and consequently prone to very high temperatures since winds blowing downhill from mountains compress and heat air.  That is why Death Valley, completely surrounded by mountains, has average July temperatures higher than those of any month anywhere else on earth.  Its mean July temperature is 100.9 degrees F while the mean July temperature of Aswan deep in the Sahara Desert but not surrounded by mountains is 91.8 degrees F.  Death Valley even set the all-time scientifically accepted high temperature record of 134 degrees F in 1913.

    But the Central Valley is not entirely surrounded by mountains.  They open up at the Golden Gate to permit a cooling air flow from the Pacific Ocean called the Delta Breeze to significantly lower summer temperatures in the center of the Central Valley but much less so in its northern part called the Sacramento Valley and its southern part called the San Joaquin Valley. 

    The Delta Breeze’s origin is the cold California Current flowing southward from Alaska.  Disturbance where it encounters obstructions like Point Reyes and the Monterey Peninsula causes upwelling from depths that cool coastal water even more.  

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  • Davis Farmers Market Celebrates 50 Years of Community, Connection and Local Food

    (From press release) On Saturday, August 1, the Davis Farmers Market celebrated a remarkable milestone: 50 years of bringing farmers, food, families and community together in Davis.

    The day was a celebration of the past, the present, and future, five decades ago this market started as a gathering place for local farmers and community members to sell directly to customers and has since grown into a beloved Davis institution — a place where generations of residents come to shop for fresh, locally grown food, connect with neighbors, support local agriculture and experience the unique sense of community that makes the Davis Farmers Market special.

    The 50th anniversary celebration brought together market shoppers, farmers, community partners, local leaders and longtime supporters to honor the market’s history and look toward its future.

    “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped make the Davis Farmers Market what it is today,” said Randii Macnear, Executive Director of the Davis Farmers Market Alliance. “For 50 years, this market has been more than a place to buy food. It has been a place to meet your neighbors, celebrate local agriculture, build relationships and feel connected to the community. We’re excited to carry that spirit forward for the next 50 years.”

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  • Davis Farmers Market 50th Anniversary Celebration – Saturday, August 1

    (From press release) For 50 years, the Davis Farmers Market has brought together local farmers, artisans, families, and neighbors, becoming one of the region’s most cherished traditions. Saturday’s celebration will feature special anniversary activities, live entertainment, community partners, and opportunities to experience the vibrant atmosphere of this landmark event.

    Event Details:

    What: Davis Farmers Market 50th Anniversary Celebration
    When: Saturday, August 1, 2026 | 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
    Where: Central Park, Davis | 301 C Street

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  • Eileen’s Update

    No on Measure V Campaign Gratitude

    The No on Measure V campaign would like to express our sincere gratitude to the many Davis voters who voted to reject the Village Farms proposal for the many reasons we explained in our articles, literature, and online at our NoOnMeasureV.org website.

    It is unfortunate that this project divided the community, but ultimately, the majority of voters understood that the project was unacceptable due to its many impacts, including toxics, flooding potential, massive traffic, enormous infrastructure costs, habitat destruction along Channel A, as well as endangerment of the vernal pools and the endangered species of Vernal Pool Tadpole Shrimp, and especially due to the unaffordable market-rate housing and the seriously inadequate affordable housing plan. The housing proposed would have been unaffordable to parents of young kids and would not have yielded hundreds of kids, and the and the long timeline of at least 15+ years did not coincide with the School District timeline, so it would not have helped the schools.

    This issue is now behind us, and hopefully we can come together as a community and work on solutions instead of school closures. This process needs to start now, and the School Board needs to move forward and approve the formation of a parent-based subcommittee, as recommended by California Best Practices, to work on solutions with the School District to avoid school closures without delay.

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  • Village Farms: Too Big, Too Many Impacts, Costs and Unaffordable Housing

    By Eileen M. Samitz

    The Village Farms project, with 1,800 housing units on 498 acres at Covell Blvd. and Pole Line Road, is the largest residential project ever proposed in Davis with the worst impacts. It would take at least 15 years for the buildout, meaning many years of added congestion from construction traffic.

    An earlier version was proposed in 2005 as Covell Village, and Davis voters wisely rejected it because of toxics, the 200-acre floodplain, massive traffic, enormous infrastructure costs, and unaffordable housing. Twenty years later, Village Farms has all the same problems and more.

    The site is seriously handicapped. That is why the current developer, John Whitcombe, and partners including Tandem Properties, acquired the original 386-acre parcel at a bankruptcy auction for a mere $3.2 million. The original Crossroads developers abandoned it because of toxics, floodplain, and unmitigable traffic. Yet, the current developer is again trying to push it through despite the health, welfare, and safety issues, and unaffordable housing.

    Massive traffic and other impacts

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  • Clarifying Affordable Housing commitments (or lack thereof) in Village Farms

    By David J. Thompson

    Almost every day a Village Farms supporter (like Alan Pryor) makes unsubstantiated boasts about VF’s affordability features.

    However, in particular only the words in the Baseline Project Features have legal standing. Those listed components are only changeable by the city or the developer except by a citywide vote. The Development Agreement between the City and the developer can be changed without having to go to a citywide vote.

    As to Section 4 Affordable Housing there are only 9 lines in Section 4 of this 9-page legal agreement. There are no guarantees as to the pricing of any affordable for sale units nor any mention of them at all. 

    The false claims by VF supporters might win votes for the project but they are an empty promise of 1,000 homes starting at $400,000 to $500,000. If we had a commitment from the developer or the city of how many units will be in this sales price range that would be useful, but we do not. So the boasts of VF supporters are not substantiated but the reader is fooled. 

    That wording is nowhere to be found in either the Baseline Features or the Development Agreement.

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