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Category: Money

  • The I-80 Whistleblower was clearly Right

    I-80 causeway 4th lane done 2024 04 14 sketch 2

    By Alan Hirsch

    The Caltrans whistleblower Jamie Wald-Waller accused Caltrans district 3 to beginning widening the causeway illegally- using  SHOPP-money   i.e.  funds reserved to maintain pavement surfaces. If you drive California freeway you know how short we are here on money to maintain what we already  have.

    But not only does this action by Caltrans a the misappropriation of funds,  it is wildly illegal to widen a road without going thru the environmental process.

     You can see it happen in this picture of the causeway= the have repaved the center shoulder it already is a new 4th travel lane. This picture was on West Sac End of the causeway east bound on Sunday  4/14/24.  You can also notice I-80/ Reed Ave  bridge in West Sac is  being widening for the new toll lanes with money that was supposed to be only used for road maintenance.

    Caltrans official I District 3 will likely get away with no consequences.

    Even if you think we need the widening, should it not go thru the legal process—that has enabled added thousand of miles of new lane in the past?

    This reflect a culture of corruption: If Caltrans District 3 is institutionally willing to do, why should anyone trust them on any report or application?

    It seems if you have enough money the law is not an impediment to accomplishing your goals. One can also question who the elected officials in Yolo County who have said not a word as this illegal behavior works to accomplish their goals.

  • Soroptimist financial empowerment talk is April 24

    SueWestwood 1

    Sue Westwood (Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) Taxes & Accounting will be the topic of the Wednesday, April 24 meeting of Soroptimist International of Davis. The free program will be from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the conference room at University Inn and Suites, 1111 Richards Blvd., Davis.

    Soroptimist International of Davis is empowering local women by offering a series of financial literacy talks. The programs are educational and free from sales pitches. They focus on the issues females face in the financial world, including a gender pay gap, smaller pensions than men, and continued patriarchal attitudes.

    Certified Public Accountant Sue Westwood, a partner at Carbahal & Company in Davis, will discuss tax issues that are especially important to women.

    This is the third of a four-part financial empowerment series. Topics have included Women & Investing, and Life & Liability Insurance. The final one, on Estates, Wills & Trusts, will be May 22, featuring Davis family law attorney Raquel Silva. Guests may attend one or all sessions. Lunch is provided by the club, with donations accepted to cover costs. First-time guests are always free.

    Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. It was founded in 1921 in Alameda County. Soroptimist International of Davis was chartered in 1954. Local members join some 75,000 Soroptimists in 122 countries and territories to contribute time and financial support to community-based projects benefiting women and girls. Its core values are gender equality, empowerment, education, diversity and fellowship.

    SI Davis offers cash Live Your Dream Awards to female heads of household seeking education or training, and assists King High students through its Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls program. It also funds high school scholarships, and grants to nonprofits that align with the Soroptimist mission.

    SI Davis members meet twice a month on Wednesdays – once at lunchtime and once in the evening – and connect for other fun activities and service. Learn more at https://www.sidavis.org/.

  • Soroptimist financial literacy series begins Jan. 24

    Jenkukis

    Jen Kukis (Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) Women and investing will be the topic of the Wednesday, Jan. 24 meeting of Soroptimist International of Davis. The free program, open to the public, will be from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the conference room at University Inn and Suites, 1111 Richards Blvd., Davis.

    Women experience a gender pay gap and have smaller pensions than men, yet they live longer. They also spend more time caring for others, which impacts their income and savings. Soroptimist International of Davis wants to empower local residents by offering a series of financial literacy talks. The programs are educational and free from sales pitches.

    Jen Kukis, an Edward Jones financial adviser from Davis, will give the Jan. 24 presentation, Future programs, each led by a new financial expert, will be Feb. 28, April 24 and May 29.

    With five money questions, Kukis will help attendees identify their financial goals and set strategies. Participants will be given tools to assess their financial positions, establish objectives, and begin formulating plans on ways to get there while staying on track.

    Lunch is provided by the club, with donations accepted to cover costs. First-time guests are always free.

    Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. It was founded in 1921 in Alameda County. Soroptimist International of Davis was chartered in 1954. Local members join some 75,000 Soroptimists in 122 countries and territories to contribute time and financial support to community-based projects benefiting women and girls. Its core values are gender equality, empowerment, education, diversity and fellowship.

    SI Davis offers cash Live Your Dream Awards to female heads of household seeking education or training, and assists King High students through its Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls program. It also funds high school scholarships, and grants to nonprofits that align with the Soroptimist mission.

    SI Davis members meet twice a month on Wednesdays – once at lunchtime and once in the evening – and connect for other fun activities and service. Learn more at https://www.sidavis.org/.

  • I-80: No such thing as a Free $86m Lunch

    On Tuesday, let’s hope council is more curious than YoloTD on DEIR

    By Alan Hirsch

    Funds

    Slide from YoloTD slide presentation on I-80 DEIR December 11 when the  board decided it was OK with the DEIR and mitigation plan. It does not disclose that the DEIR requires Yolo commit to $50m/year mitigation spending.

    At the YoloTD board meeting on December 11 the YoloTD staff the presented the I-80 project. After 6 public comment, and 16 ½ minute discussion they unanimous decided to accept the DEIR, it VMT mitigation plan, and the staff recommend alternate 4. HOT3+

    These are the slide staff presented.

    https://yolotd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023-12-11_YoloTD-BoardSlides.pdf

    No one at the meeting unpacked the ongoing financial obligation of mitigation that YoloTD took on as part of the DEIR

    ….. in turn for getting the $86 million in free starter money for the project

    The VMT/GHG  mitigation plan is on slides 15-19—which lists all the 7 mitigation measures.

    Its bit confusing so let me unpack – before the Tuesday council meeting.

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  • Green Finances: Align Your Money with Your Values

    Cathy Cowan Becker headshot2

    Cathy Becker, Green America Responsible Finance Campaign Director (Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) Looking to align your money with your values? Cool Davis will be hosting two online “Green Your Finances” events this winter; the first is coming up soon on Wednesday, November 15th online at 6 pm PST focused on banking and highlighting associations and institutions that offer green banking and credit cards and their associated criteria and benefits. Our presenter is Cathy Becker, Responsible Finance Campaign Director with Green America. Enjoy a discussion between Cathy and our moderator, Cool Davis Board member Rekha Vaitla, Investment Officer for Sustainable Investment and Stewardship Strategies at CalSTRS, with a chance to ask questions at the end. These events were organized in support of the Yolo Earth Day pledge. Email coolsolutions@cooldavis.org for more information.

    Sign up today: www.cooldavis.org/pledge

    Cool Davis will be hosting the second event in January focused on investments. We’ll be busting the performance myth, explaining the difference between divestment and engagement, and clarifying terms such as Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings. Get all the details by signing up for our newsletter at www.cooldavis.org/signup/.

    Explore strategies to make your dollars even greener! A great way you can make a positive climate impact is to be more conscious about where your money is going … especially when you’re not using it. Many financial institutions lend, invest, or engage in projects that contribute to climate change, but you have the power to vote with your dollar by greening your finances.

    Cool Davis works to create enduring community resilience through equitable and inclusive strategies that lower greenhouse gas emissions and help our region adapt to a changing climate. Green America is a nonprofit organization that has been at the forefront of socially responsible investing for almost 40 years. Green America harnesses economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. They offer information, campaigns, and an extensive PDF guide to socially responsible investing (SRI) with a few pages covering banking and credit cards as well.

  • Think PG&E Rates Are Too High? They Are in Imminent Danger of Skyrocketing Into the Stratosphere

    By Dan Cornford

    Davisites should be aware of what I was not aware of until a week or so ago.  Your PG & E bills are set to go way up and proposals are being made to further dis-incentivize solar power.  We are about to be a hit with a barrage of proposals that took me some time to disentangle.   PG & E and other major utilities are hitting consumers from three different angles.  In two instance the CPUC will likely make a final decision on proposals at its November 2 meeting.  So, if you share my concern, please read this article and take some of the actions I suggest at the end of it—most will take only a few minutes of your time.

    I am sure I need not regale you with info on PG & E moral and legal culpability for a whole series of recent fires going back to 2017, but PG & E culpability for such events ( read the entry on PG & E in Wikipedia) goes back decades not to mention the San Bruno pipeline explosions of 2010 that killed 8 people and injured 58.

    After the rash of major fires, 2017-2022 and findings of PG & E’s legal culpability, there appeared to be some brief prospect of meaningful state intervention by Governor Newsom and the state legislature as PG & faced the prospect of bankruptcy and our governor threatened a public takeover of PG & E.   But this came to nothing, and unsurprisingly in view of the fact that PG & E has regularly made large donations to the campaigns of Governor Newsom and many others in the state legislature.

    https://www.abc10.com/article/news/investigations/governor-newsom-most-state-lawmakers-took-money-from-convicted-felon-pge/103-2414790f-3a19-4411-92c2-fe23b519d646

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  • It Does Pencil Out

    2 + 2 = By Larry D. Guenther

    We often hear from developers that a building required by existing zoning “doesn’t pencil out” and that they therefore must be allowed to build bigger. Several issues make this claim suspect.

    First, developers never show the math they use to make this statement. Never.

    Secondly, there appears to be no set building size that does ‘pencil out’. Proponents always ask for one more story. If the zoning is two stories, they insist it won’t work, but three will. If the zoning is 3, they need 4. If the zoning is 4, they need 5, etc.

    Thirdly, there are plenty of examples that contradict these statements: the Roe Building on the SW corner of 3rd and C St. (3 stories, mixed use); Central Park West across from Central Park (2-1/2 stories, residential); Pizza and Pints (1 story, commercial); the most recent Ace Hardware addition on 3rd St. (1 story, commercial); The Arbors on C St. (3 stories, mixed use); the building on the SW corner of G and 5th St. (3 stories, mixed use), etc.

    Fourth: developers site the increase in material costs as part of their reasoning (the number 15% is suspiciously common and has been cited before and during the Pandemic). While material costs definitely increase over time, they certainly increase far less than residential rents. Material costs are also a one-time expense, while rental income continues – and increases – for the life of the building.

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  • Sutter to cut 205 trees to save money

    Picture3City fails to acknowledge health benefits of trees

    By Alan Hirsch  Alan@DavisLorax.org

    On Wednesday, 7/14 the City Planning Commission approved a request by Sutter Davis Hospital to remove an additional 63 mature trees. If you missed the fact the city had already OK’ed the removal of 142 tree for solar panel panels you are not alone: the Tree Commission and Tree Davis were unaware either. City staff revealed at meeting that they had quietly issued permits for the  removal this small forest of  trees two years ago. Sutter claims this location is cheaper than installing them on the roof, but did not discuss how much, or why they couldn’t install the panels in treeless area between Sutter and Communicare Clinic, or the largely  treeless parking lots  in the far north. 

    At the meeting the city defended Sutter and argued that the permits were all  “legal” even though they never ran it by the citizens on the Tree Commission that have legal authority to review all tree removals.

    The relative size of the cutting (205 mature trees) is huge:  the City of Davis only plants 200-500 new saplings a year and they don’t all survive and mature.

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