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Category: Current Affairs

  • A Tale of Two Crossings: Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’

    * If Nishi can't be built, there's nothing to trade as a mitigation
    * Dedicated bike-ped crossing of the Yolo Bypass was quietly cancelled after years of promises.

    NishiPLcomparison1

     

    Tonight's City Council Agenda item on the 80 Yolo Managed Project was already covered critically and nearly exhaustively last weekend in the Davis Enterprise and yesterday here in the Davisite and in the Davis Vanguard.

     

    A Bridge That Can't Be Built…

    I arrived in town after Nishi 1.0 (retroactively supported a concept that would involve a complete redesign of the 80-Richards interchange inclusive of a parking structure and Park & Ride for regional buses which would have minimal impacts on Richards) and was against Nishi 2.0 because I don’t think that there should be housing (buildings with windows people open!) so close to the noisy and arguably otherwise-polluting interstate, but it’s not why I am suggesting that the proposed “multi-modal” mitigation is a fallacy. I agree with others that no VMT mitigations should happen with this project, and am trying to make clear that the plan of Caltrans and its erstwhile partners are also a mess from a technical point of view. (There's also the sheer ironic delight of trying to facilitate the construction of a project using these VMT credits – as it were – to make the Nishi space noisier and more polluted next to a widened interstate.)

    The 80-railway corridor is a wall for people on bikes, but so is the railway on its own.  See Pole Line over 80 at lower right in the illustration above. It’s incredibly long because it has to go very high over the railway tracks, more so than to get over 80 itself (to better understand this, picture the crossings over 113 which are much lower as they only need to accommodate trucks.) First of all, this – and all the over-crossings of 80 in town – are simply not comfortable and suitable for people on normal bicycles, especially carrying children, and especially if they can make the journey by private motor vehicle or e-bike.   The over-crossings have around a 6 to 7% grade, nearly twice as high as the Dutch standard: So to make it comfortable for hundreds of people to go from Nishi to campus it would have to be nearly twice as long. Look again at the view of 80 at Pole Line: There’s no space for this unless it’s very circuitous and indirect and lands behind the Shrem Museum or just by the entrance to Solano Park from Old Davis Rd. (The red line in the top of the image is only as long as Pole Line, and it needs to be much longer.) And that’s just for cycling. Imagine walking this at least twice a day. Motor vehicles including buses can obviously do this, but that's no one's definition of "multi-modal".

    I feel confident in saying that since a motor vehicle, bus, bicycle and walking connection is part of the agreement for Nishi, and as Union Pacific forbids an under-crossing, there’s no way to build Nishi unless it’s returned to the voters. There’s nothing to mitigate here as nothing can be built for mitigation.

    ***

    A Cancelled Crossing…

    For years a dedicated and new bicycle-pedestrian bridge across the ‘Bypass was promised in the project. In 2020 – when I was still on the Bicycling, Transportation and Street Safety Commission (BTSSC) – the notification that it was dropped some months earlier was only indirectly mentioned in a summary for a BTSSC meeting by the primary liaison for the City of Davis at the time, Brian Abbanat (former City of Davis Senior Planner; now he’s in a similar role for Yolo County and co-presenting Tuesday evening.) A couple of years later when this was mentioned to the other co-presenter, YCTD head Autumn Bernstein, she said it was not funded: I believe that the aggregate truth – to be precise as possible – is that Caltrans dropped it, never told any of the local interested groups about it (e.g. Bike Davis, Davis Bike Club) through their liaison Abbanat and that it wasn’t part of the initial, funded proposal to the Federal Government. Our City, County and State government representatives were silent about this betrayal in our so-called "USA cycling capitol".

  • Welcome to Al’s Corner – “Pouring Gasoline on the Dumpster Fire of Davis Politics” – June 2023

    image from www.sparkysonestop.com

    There MAY not have been a May version of Al's Corner.  People got by.  They posted May stuff in April.  We all lived.

    June's Al's Corner will feature ketchup and mustard on top.  Peace.  Over & Out.

  • Honoring Davis’s Citizen Heroes

    By Roberta Millstein

    As we all grieve and process the events that led to the arrest of Carlos Reales Dominguez, who has been charged with two counts of premeditated murder and one count of premeditated attempted murder, I thought it was important to highlight the role of some of our citizen heroes whose efforts, I believe, were essential to the arrest. 

    Most of them also put their own lives at risk to help their fellow citizens.  They showed not only compassion but the willingness to follow through and act.  Such selflessness is deserving of our highest praise.

    These are all quotes from various Davis Enterprise articles; links have been included for reference.  (While I am giving praise, I’d also like to thank the Davis Enterprise for its outstanding, thorough, and speedy coverage throughout.  Now is a good time to subscribe and support local news if you don't already).

    Thursday, April 27:

    Thursday’s homicide — the city’s first in more than three years — came to light at about 11:20 a.m., when a passerby called police seeking a welfare check on a man seated on a bench on the north side of the downtown park, near a large playground area.

    https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/local/crime-fire-courts/police-warn-public-to-avoid-central-park-after-report-of-a-dead-body/

    Saturday, April 29:

    a resident reported hearing “what sounded like a disturbance,” Pytel said. 

    That resident, who asked not to be identified out of concern for his safety, told The Davis Enterprise in an interview he was in his bedroom when he heard a man cry out for help, followed by a commotion, shortly after 9 p.m.

    He walked toward the park to investigate and saw two people on the ground along a bike path on the park’s side, thinking two cyclists had collided along the darkened path. 

    “As I got closer I put my flashlight on on my phone and asked if they were OK,” he said. At that point, one of the people stood up, grabbed a white hat and a bike and started to leave westbound on the path toward the Highway 113 bike bridge. 

    Confused as to why someone would leave a collision scene, “I chased him for a bit,” the man said. “I got within about 10 feet of him and he said, ‘What do you want, man? Leave me alone.’ ” He had turned his head to the side, allowing the witness to see his profile. 

    The person “sounded like a kid” in his late teens or early 20s, said the man, who stopped chasing him at that point. That’s when he turned around and saw the victim, who was covered in blood.

    “He was not conscious. He was having problems breathing,” said the man, who called 911 and immediately started CPR after removing the victim’s backpack, which was already partially removed.

    As he delivered chest compressions, a woman who’d also heard the victim’s cries for help arrived on scene and lifted his legs to direct his blood flow toward his torso.

    “ ‘Come on, buddy — you’re going to be OK,’ ” the man recalled telling the victim. 

    https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/local/second-fatal-stabbing-in-davis-suspect-remains-at-large/

     Monday, May 1

    Isaac Chessman and Christine Berrios, an unhoused couple whose tent neighbored the victim’s, said they awoke Monday night to rustling sounds, followed by their friend, Kim, screaming for help. 

    “He’s on me! Help! Get off me! The guy with the curly hair!” she yelled. Another neighbor, Larry, lunged at the suspect through his own tent and knocked him to the ground, but he was able to flee, the couple said. 

    Kim remained coherent following the assault, which Berrios said left her with wounds to her hip area. 

    Chessman believes he spotted the suspect earlier that night, lurking behind the trees on the east side of L street across from the homeless camp. 

    He said he called out to the person while shining a flashlight on him, saying “you look like the dude that’s been stabbing people.” Chessman noted he also called police, about two hours before the stabbing, but got no response. 

    “This has to happen for them to show up,” he said. 

    https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/local/third-stabbing-reported-suspect-resembled-ucd-students-assailant/

    Wednesday, May 3

    a man walking through Sycamore Park spotted him sitting alone on the children’s playground. 

    With shoulder-length wavy hair, and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black Adidas track pants, he bore a strong resemblance to the suspect seen fleeing the L Street stabbing scene. 

    “He made eye contact with me and came toward me rather briskly,” said the witness, who asked to remain anonymous. He said he backed off at that point but “kept an eye on him” as Dominguez wandered through the park, then through the neighborhood east of it.

    “He was walking around sort of aimlessly, which I though was odd,” said the witness, who continued following the person from a distance to The Marketplace shopping center, where he briefly lost sight of him. Dominguez later emerged from a store and walked back toward the park area.

    The witness said he called police multiple times as he tracked Dominguez, ultimately flagging down an officer heading westbound on Villanova Drive toward the park. Dominguez began walking more briskly at that point but never tried to run. 

    https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/local/breaking-suspect-21-arrested-in-davis-serial-stabbings/

  • React in haste; repent at leisure

    A few reflections on our recent tragedies

    By Roberta Millstein

    Before I say anything else, let me begin by expressing my deepest condolences to the family and friends of David Breaux and Karim Abou Najm.  Both were important contributors to the community, both with more to give.  The third stabbing victim, is, as of this writing, thankfully still alive.  Although her name has not been released yet, I venture to say that she too is an important member of our community.  I can say that with confidence because I deeply believe that we are all important community members.

    With two of the three stabbing victims being unhoused, I am grateful to see that the City is working toward providing emergency shelter for those who are willing to accept it.  I hope that these efforts are successful; given that the perpetrator(s) have not been found, the unhoused members of our community are clearly more vulnerable than ever.

    Beyond protecting those who most need it, what else can the City do?  Here I will admit to being tired, wrung out, and on edge, so I don’t have the energy to go on at length.  So what follows will be, I am sure, too brief.  But perhaps it will be enough to get people thinking.

    (more…)

  • Letter: To Help Ukraine, Boycott Chinese Goods

    China has taken to aiding with Russia to help support the Russian economy. The trade between China and Russia has escalated and China has taken to buying Russian oil, the most profitable export from Russia. At the beginning of 2023 Russia’s economy has started to show signs of stress but the Ukrainian economy has tanked.

    The UN General Assembly passed a resolution (12/10/2022) by a large majority on Wednesday, calling on countries not to recognise the four regions of Ukraine which Russia has claimed, following so-called referendums held late last month, and demanding that Moscow reverse course on its "attempted illegal annexation".

    Russia voted NO and China abstained

    By propping up a belligerent Russia that nation is committing crimes against humanity. China has Ukraine’s blood on its hands.

    To help Ukraine achieve peace I am joining with others to boycott Chinese goods. China is one of the few countries aiding Russia where a boycott would have effect. Please join me and check those labels when you shop.

    David J Thompson

  • Welcome to Al’s Corner – “Pouring Gasoline on the Dumpster Fire of Davis Politics” – March 2023

    image from www.sparkysonestop.com

    March, like February, starts early at Al's Corner.  We'll start off trashing the Davis Vanguard, as common a theme on Al's Corner as housing articles on the Davis Vanguard.  Recently posted:

    Walter Shwe February 26, 2023 at 6:00 pm

    Has anyone at Davis Vanguard lately tried to comment on an article or replied to a prior comment on an iPhone? The experience is atrocious. Articles always load slowly except late at night. Ads interfere with the top page buttons, particularly the Login button. Most importantly to you the Donate button is inaccessible. Earlier today I had to login by first tapping the Register button. Will anyone at Davis Vanguard ever fix these frustrating issues? I realize that ads help pay for site costs, but this is simply ridiculous.

    Moderator February 26, 2023 at 6:26 pm

    We’ll forward this comment to the webmaster and then remove it in a few hours. Thanks for your feedback.

    Funny, myself and I believe RO and KO all pointed out that since the Vanguard added Newsy and other advertising that it has become an annoying, almost unusable piece of sh*t, and most especially on a phone, where you might as well drop your phone in the toilet and flush.  But no, we were ignored.  Maybe because we also, in not so many words, or maybe in so many words, also called the content of the DV sh*t also.   But hey, you should listen to your critics, because we know what is best for you.  But no, y'all wait until a fan-of-the- blog points out the very same thing.  Good going.

    And one bit of housekeeping to our thousands or hundreds or tens or single-digits or negative-number of fans:  In February we ran over the previously-unknown-to-me 100 comment limit.  This caused a "Page 2" to be created that many did not find, and missed brilliant commentary.  To find Page 2, either dig up the corpse of Paul Harvey, or scroll to the bottom of Page 1 and click on the "Newer >>>" button.   Yeehaw

    Happy Early March Everyone!  Happy Easter!  Happy Passover!  Happy Good Friday, if that is a happy holy day otherwise maybe a solemn one!  And then there are other holidays for all the people of the world and I am now going to list them all and celebrate all of them . . . or not!

  • Will City Council stop broadcasting and recording commission meetings?

    Dear City Council Members,

    I am writing in regard to agenda item 3F “Terminate COVID Local Emergency.” Please pull this item from the consent calendar so you can discuss how this will change commission meetings and consider directing staff to propose methods for continuing to broadcast and record commission meetings.

    While COVID had many negative impacts on our community an unexpected benefit was forcing us to rethink how we held our public meetings. Though the first City Council meeting was some what rocky with the “Zoom Bombers” in the end Zoom meetings created a great benefit for commissions and the public. Thanks to holding Zoom meetings it was easier for the public to attend commission meetings in real time and once the City began making the recordings available on the City website, it meant the public was able to watch meetings after the fact too. This created a excellent example of open government.

    Further, Staff reported that having the recordings from the meetings aided greatly in writing accurate minutes for Commission meetings. Considering at times in the past the city website has lacked minutes for past meetings even over several years times, having the video of meetings raised the bar for public access to public meetings in Davis.

    Now with the local emergency order ending I have learned from staff that there is no plan to continue broadcasting or recording many commission meetings. Letting this opportunity for public access fall to the wayside would be a mistake.      

    I believe the City of Davis can continue to broadcast commission meetings and archive recordings at relatively moderate costs. For several commissions the meetings can take place in conference rooms and standard conference room teleconferencing systems are sufficient to allow staff to continue to broadcast commission meetings over zoom. This would also allow staff to continue to use zoom to record these meetings.

    One question you may ask is does this mean remote commenters must be supported in the future? Using zoom to broadcast and record meetings does not necessitate making remote public comments available, but the council could decide to continue to allow this. There certainly is merit to allowing remote public comment for commission meetings in order to increase public opportunities to comment for people who cannot come to a meeting in person. Whether the council chooses to allow for public comment or not is certainly worthy of council discussion and a good reason to pull this item from the consent calendar for Council consideration.

    In closing let me again ask the council to pull item 3F and direct staff to provide options for continuing to broadcast and record City of Davis Commission meetings. Continuing the enhanced public access discovered under the emergency order is certainly worth council and staff consideration.

    Best Regards,

    Colin Walsh

    Vice-chair of the Tree Commission speaking for myself.

  • Davis Enterprise should promote better discourse

    The following was sent to the Davis Enterprise to be published as a letter to the editor, but as of the time of this posting they have declined to publish it.

    Edit: The letter finally appeared in the 12 February 2023 print edition, but I don't believe that it ever appeared online.

    By Roberta Millstein

    The recent article, "Planning Commission OKs R&D facility for Second Street" elicited a number of comments on the Davis Enterprise's Facebook page where the article was posted. Of these comments, the one that was picked as the "Editors' choice for the web comment of the week" stated "In a town that's absolutely jam-packed with know-it-alls somebody will come up with an objection."

    Why did the Editors pick this comment out of all the others?

    Surely the 2nd Street project is exactly the sort of infill project that most Davisites preferred when they voted overwhelmingly to defeat the sprawling peripheral DISC project. I for one have no objection to it.

    Will someone object? No doubt. Name me one issue that all Davisites agree on. I am guessing that there is no such issue.

    But that isn't really the point of the "Editors choice" comment, is it? The point is to denigrate Davisites who dare to raise objections to developer's projects. Or maybe it's just to denigrate Davisites more generally.

    So, I ask again, why would the Editors choose to reprint this comment in the newspaper? Is this the sort of discourse that the Davis Enterprise wants to promote? And if so, why?

    We can do better and so can the Davis Enterprise.

  • Welcome to Al’s Corner – “Pouring Gasoline on the Dumpster Fire of Davis Politics” – February 2023

    image from www.sparkysonestop.com

    February starts early at Al's Corner !  To kick off the month, here are some ground rules:  at Al's Corner, you are welcome to make (judged by some others to be) glib comments that you think are humorous in regard to articles pertaining to tragic situations !   See below:

    (more…)

  • Please Pick the Side of Democracy

    Democracy

    By Colin Walsh

    Please pick the side of Democracy.

    Tonight, the City Council has the opportunity to set in motion their own private pick of the successor to Lucas Frerichs for the District 3 Council seat, or they can side with democracy and let voters decide.

    I can certainly understand the temptation to save money and sidestep elections and appoint their selected candidate (likely Donna Neville). After all, the council all endorsed each other and almost always votes together. Even our newest council member Bapu Vaitla arrives as a consummate insider with strong relationships with the other council members. I mean really the Davis power clique has dominated the last elections and has every reason to believe their handpicked appointment would win in an election anyway. After all – the inside candidates dominate in fundraising, endorsements, and opportunities in all recent council elections.

    The mechanism for picking might look like this – we would probably see the Council set in motion a process where they would pick the pickers. The council could appoint a committee to go through the process of interviewing and evaluating candidates and then pick exactly the same person the council would pick. After all, the council would surely pick the pickers that would pick the council’s pick of choice anyway – all while the voters of district 3 would be left picking their noses.

    But maybe district 3 would vote differently than the power clique prefers. They certainly should have a chance to pick for themselves.

    Some argue precedent, that the council has picked replacements candidates in the past, but things are different now with district elections. All of the current council members are elected by voters from specific districts and not by district 3 voters. District 3 voters deserve the chance to pick their own council person without interference from the candidates representing the other districts.

    Even if the council chooses an election sometime in the future, but picks an interim council member, it amounts to the biggest endorsement they can give providing a very unfair advantage to their pick in the election. Better to leave the seat open until the voters of District 3 can vote democratically for the council member to fill the remaining term that Frerichs has left behind. Frankly if district 3 voters are upset about not being represented for a period of time, they should send their complaints to Frerichs who abandoned his council seat mid term for a better paying gig.

    Let’s face it, the council has been voting in lockstep on just about every major issue for years now. A vacancy for a few months is not going to make a big difference in outcome. Especially considering the lockstep council would likely just pick another person to join them in lockstep.

    Or maybe the council will pick democracy and district 3 can pick the next council person to represent them. One can hope.