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Category: Trustworthiness

  • Sierra Club and Environmental Council of Sacramento Sue Caltrans over Environmental Deficiencies of Yolo I-80 Freeway Widening Project

    I-80 Widening Logo
    (From press release) On May 29, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) filed a lawsuit against Caltrans alleging legally inadequate environmental analysis of the I-80 freeway widening project through Yolo County.

    The lawsuit’s goal is to stop Caltrans from widening 17 miles of the I-80 freeway from six to eight lanes between Davis and Sacramento through the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area until Caltrans conducts a valid analysis of adverse environmental impacts threatened by the project and implements appropriate mitigation for these harmful effects.

    Caltrans’ Environmental Impact Report (EIR) grossly underestimates increased vehicular travel, which would emit far larger quantities of greenhouse gases (GHG) and air pollutants than claimed. The EIR fails to consider viable alternatives, such as increased public transit or alternate tolling strategies. Therefore, the project neither adequately manages demand nor produces adequate revenue to fund needed transit alternatives. Also, Caltrans’ proposed mitigation is woefully inadequate to offset the resulting increased GHG and air pollutant emissions.

    Caltrans violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by failing to acknowledge that freeway widenings do not produce less congestion but, in fact, result in increased traffic — leading to worse congestion and pollution – due to “Induced Demand”.

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  • CTC joins Davis in rejecting science & climate realities and funds Yolo 80

    CTC's $105M highway widening grant shows it has lost the plot when it comes to following Governor Newsom’s and the Legislature’s stated climate directives.

    By Carter Rueben (NRDC) and Alan Hirsch

    On May 16 the California Transportation Commission (CTC) approved $105 million from the State’s Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) to widen a stretch of Interstate 80 from Davis to Sacramento. In the room and on the Zoom feed, dozens of Davis and Sacramento-area and statewide advocates called in to ask CTC to reject the funding and push Caltrans to provide real congestion relief and reduced environmental impacts.

    NRDC identified TCEP in a 2023 report, "Closing the Climate Investment Gap," as the state program that most heavily invests in highway widening in contravention of our state’s climate goals.

     A study commissioned by the California State Transportation Agency came to a similar conclusion. 

    By NRDC’s latest estimate, CTC has granted over $2 billion total to more than 50 highway expansion projects since the TCEP program was created in 2018, even though the program is able to fund projects that are wins for both goods movement and the environment, like truck and train electrification projects and rail grade separation projects.

    We're at a pivotal time when the state’s climate laws require the state to dramatically scale up rail lines, bus routes, and active transportation corridors, while investing in electrification efforts that zero-out tailpipe pollution. Yet, the TCEP highway widening projects are doing just the opposite – collectively adding hundreds of millions of additional vehicle miles traveled (VMT) across the state per year. This is a trend we can and must reverse, as our friends at NextGen Policy detailed in their report, California at a Crossroads.

    The Yolo 80 project is indicative of the systemic issues at Caltrans and CTC and retro-thinking by Yolo County and city elected officials that reject their own climate action plans drawn up by 5 local citizen climate to enable Caltrans.

    What makes the Yolo 80 highway widening particularly striking?

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  • Transparency is Part of Inclusivity & Diversity

    YoloTD cac false equity 1

    What message will the CTC send Thursday?

    By Alan Hirsch

    Letter to California Transportation Commission CTC@catc.ca.gov

    Chair Carl Guardino and Members,

    CC  CTC Equity Committee  Chair William Walker

    Re: Disagreeing Better on Transportation Projects

     

    Mr. Guardino:

     

    Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan used to say:

        “You are entitled to your own opinions. But you are not entitled to your own facts.”

    The California Public Records Act (and the Brown Act) were designed so we work from the same facts—that there is sharing of information – so in dialog agencies don’t strategically withhold information to put electeds official as well as the public at an unfair disadvantage in reviewing projects.

    Transparency is Inclusivity.

    However, I want to bring to your attention a situation where Caltrans seems to be strategically withholding information from the public on a $1/2 billion project.

    In June 2023 the CTC staff report recommended NOT to fund Yolo80 toll lanes out of TCEP funds, rating it medium priority. In that staff report CTC staff rated Yolo80 31st out of 48 projects.   Caltrans rated Yolo80 last in priority (24th) out of 24 of their projects. (extract from June 2023 staff report attached)

    This of course raises question why it is now rated a priority for advance funding. In the CTC discussion on 5/16. Would not you and other commissions like to know? 

    In fact 11 months ago, I tried to find out.

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  • Yolo officials like Diversity & Inclusion– except when big money is Involved

    YoloTD cac false equity
    By Alan Hirsch

    DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) is given lot of lip service in progressive circles in Yolo County. But it can turn performative – especial if those in power have already made up their mind on a solution and don’t want to be contradicted- i.e. surface and take in to account diverse opinions.

    That is what has been at play for Yolo County on Yolo80 widening with local electeds having made up their mind 3 years ago to add toll lanes to a 17 mile stretch of I-80.  After that they have worked to turn the legally required public process into a  check the box exercise, excluding diverse view point from being considered– even when the diverse  viewpoints are backed by top transportation experts from UC Davis.

    We are now at the end-stage where Davis Mayor/Yolo Transportation District Chair Josh Chapman is overtly discouraging public participation: he said openly it don’t matter what members of Davis public think — hiding the fact the project is not yet fully funded and public input to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) can still make a difference.

    This DEI hypocrisy in Yolo County will continue unless people call out the hypocrisy. The  public can be heard at the CTC’s Equity Committee meeting Wednesday. It is especially focused on this behavior like this by  in local transportation jurisdictions.

    Emails are needed to the “CTC-EAC” (California Transportation Commission- Equity Advisory Committee) to note the performative nature of Yolo80 Environmental process (Caltrans District 3 and YoloTD) – and also to oppose funding the new toll lanes  until the process is made truly diverse and inclusive in the search for a solution.

    Write to  CTC@catc.ca.gov   Subject: Equity and: Funding widening Yolo80 with Toll Lanes.

    Issues to note to the Equity Committee: (cut and paste into email?)

     

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  • Final I-80 EIR released – an embarrassment of errors that sets up Caltrans for Legal challenge

    I-80- causeway narrower lane cross section
    By Alan Hirsch

    On Wednesday May 1, the 1971 page (plus 345-page appendix)- final EIR for yolo80 was released. The 139 comments take up nearly 71% of the pages.   – 108 of the 139 were from individuals, not government agencies, cities or  environment groups with paid staff.  This highlights the  fact this science-defying proposal from Caltrans has become “the most controversial freeway project in the state.” 

    ———————–
     NOTE: The last chance to comment on the funding will be at California Transportation Commission Meeting Thursday May 16, By Tuesday send any comments. (esp inadequately funded mitigation plan, induced demand negates any congestion relief, no environmental justice plan for tolls)
    to CTC@CATC.CA.GOV
    Subject: Widening I-80 with a Expensive Toll lane.
    Pro-Tip: use 14 or 16 pt font for short email.

    ————————–

    The EIR concluded that despite the widening the freeway will generate 158M more miles of driving (VMT) a year…equal to adding over 11,000 more cars to the road and should be built based on “Statement of  Overriding concern” as it has benefit to reducing congestion- Even  though everyone agree this is wrong as congestion will return within less than ten years.  It is also strange given  their VMT Mitigation plan only offsets 55 Mil VMT miles year of the additional driving and ignores the nearly 50Million of additional a truck.

    Adding capacity via toll lanes only guarantee richest member of community- and groups of Tahoe travelers  never faces congestion.

    The EIR also ignores any analysis of increased danger from narrowing lanes and permanently removing shoulders. (see diagram)   

    The ability of the proposed mitigation plan to provide a carbon/VMT offset is taken to higher degrees of absurdity to somehow claim the project tolls will fund adequate mitigations- and have money left for a social equity/environmental Justice  program into perpetuity.

    Public not told about public hearing on toll levels.

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  • Open Discussion: Bob Dunning Terminated by Davis Enterprise Owners (an Al’s Corner Exclusive)

    Adfc46d7-dadc-4553-a16a-0777ff3b922bIn a bozo move by the owners of the Davis Enterprise, Bob Dunning was terminated without so much as a thank you after 55 years of service to the paper (and Davis).

    Shelley Dunning pays a very sweet tribute in a 7-minute video on her Facebook page:

    facebook.com/shelleydunning

    She also outlines how cold the termination was.  I doubt that will sit well with the Davis community.

    Bob's column will continue at: 

    thewaryone.com

    Please share your thoughts here in comments regarding this poorly-handled move by the owners of the Davis Enterprise.

    Full disclosure:  Bob Dunning once wrote a column about how I should be on the City Council 😐

    Note:  Pardon the pictured haircut, Bob, this is what A.I. gave me when I described the incident!

  • Al’s Corner – MAY the Farce be with Ewe

    F0c1e298-a6b9-4787-8d01-7b930495390cWelcome to MAY on Al's Corner.  Where you MAY discuss the clown-show that is Davis politics.  At 5:30pm on Tuesday, the AWARDS will be given out.  Maybe we'll finally learn who the person nominated is who does "good" and "bad" according to at least one commenter, and what "bad" they did. 

    But I doubt it.

    So talk about anything 😐

  • Why Are People Dancing Around Some Unspoken Issue Regarding a Human Relations Commission Award?

    Unspoken-BSomething scandalous appears to be going on with the choice of a Thong Hy Huynh Award by the Human Relations Commission.  If you're looking for the answer, you won't find it here.  But that's not because I'm dancing around the issue, it's because I honestly don't know what the issue is, and for some reason those who do know what it is only want to imply to the public that there's a issue, but they don't want to say what person they have an issue with, why, or give any details.

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  • Mike Thompson’s Bombs at Work

    By Scott Steward

    Stop the massacre

    photo in front of Mike Thompson's (CA4) office in Woodland

     

    Today will be Twenty Tuesday vigils. Five months 28,000 more Palestinians dead since the first Children's Ceasefire Vigil was held in front of Mike Thompson's office in Woodland on October 26th, 2023.   You can add your voice to Yolo4PalestinianJustice (Tuesday 4:30 – 5:30 pm) and demand Mike Thompson end the violence. 

    Thompson can't seem to read, hear, or do much of anything but repeat his loyalty oath to the extreme authoritarian state of Israel. A state where this post would put someone in jail, get their house bulldozed, and likely they would be shot before they made it to interrogation.

    A terrible attack occurred on October 7th, but why do we see no change in Thompson's words in his February  14th Enterprise letter, "the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust….raped women…..Hamas broke the ceasefire," It's been five months of complete war on an occupied territory.

    Thompson says "No one wants peace more than I do." the same 5 month old platitude (his November 12th press release.)?  Those of us at the vigil, and around the world, don't believe in the sincerity of this representative.   As a representative of the most powerful nation on earth, you cannot want peace and humanity and fail to force the delivery of food, water, and medicine to a civilian population, a population at the complete mercy of your "ally."

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  • Zero Sum Game? Council Member Vaitla on Commissions & Community Engagement

    by Alan Hirsch

    Transcribed remarks from  02 20-1924 Council Meeting… Link to Video:  https://davis.granicus.com/player/clip/1665?view_id=6&redirect=true   Time stamp begins at 1:40:06.

    Davis counicl Bapu Vaitla

    Councilmember Bapu Vaitla

    Council Member Bapu Vaitla comments on community engagement he envision for the General Plan, and his plan to consolidate commission have been in the news including a paraphrased  interview in  Enterprise 2/24 and a critique by Elaine Roberts Musser.  I present this word for word transcript of his remarks. This is a more complete transcript than appeared in Vanguard.

    1:40:26…  I mostly want to talk about the community engagement piece .(for general plan a process).  But I want to say a few words about the staff involvement…. Both during the commission restructuring process, of which there was extension staff engagement in fact,  and the council retreat, It became apparent to me that there actually aren’t that many opportunities for staff to participate in long term visioning. That primarily because they are working so hard all the time in an understaffed city to try to get the work done day after day after day.  So when you provide some space, given their professional experience, given their expertise, what could Davis look like, in our most ambitious vision, 20 years into the future. 50 years in to the future That’s a rare opportunity.

    And I don’t think the community, the community (air quotes)  at large  is that worried about transparency about staff, I think  there is a small group of people who are always pointing fingers at staff, that is  not a community wide concern, I think when you do surveys about satisfaction with staff they regularly receive very high marks for their performance and their transparency. And their collegiality, their willingness to interact and answer questions to the community.

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