Dear Folks,
As Yolo County is on the precipice of going in the wrong direction (from the Red Tier to the Purple Tier), we might pause and wonder: Why is Napa County doing so much better than us?
They are firmly in the Orange Tier.
Well, maybe we can look at the dashboards for each county and see what we can find:
Yikes!
That's the message that will be sent out to various types of business and all places of worship next week if Yolo County does not avoid sliding into the "Purple Tier" of coronavirus status.
Question: Which businesses are involved?
Restaurants for sure. Gym/fitness centers. Movie theaters. Might be more but those are for sure. I sure hope that moving to PURPLE does NOT affect the Davis Farmers' Market! The Market Manager there has been very diligent about reminding people about mask wearing and has spread out the physical positioning of booths to reduce risk of virus transmission.
Question: When will we find out?
Next Tuesday, November 10th. The State of California will review our numbers for a two week period and if we are showing bad performance in the key coronavirus indicators, then they will issue a "Move to PURPLE" order. There is some room for negotiation if the numbers from the preceding 10 days are showing improvement.
Question: How do you keep up/find out more?
Hey Folks,
Happy Election Day! Hope you are using your franchise to exercise your voting rights. I have. Feels downright American!!
While we await the results of today's election, we as a community are also awaiting the results of the State of California's determination if we are required, based on the numbers, to move to the more restrictive "PURPLE" category of coronavirus prevention and precaution.
You may have seen the article in Sunday's Davis Enterprise about this…. top of the fold, front page:
"COVID cases, hospitalizations up in Yolo County" By Anne Terns-Bellamy. Anne does a great job of laying out the reasons that we seem to be sliding into purple…. not good news for isolation weary residents or for our local businesses (read: Big part of our tax base).
So, what's going on?
Due to new opportunities for voting, I have already voted. Filled out my ballot, went over to the Nugget Market and dropped my ballot in the official ballot box there. Boom! Another vote for Jim Provenza.
Why did I vote for Jim?
He's smart. He asks good questions. He listens to the answer. And then he makes thoughtful decisions.
During this pandemic he has done a masterful job of balancing the public health needs of the entire community and the needs of businesses. He has helped specific businesses stay open safely and helped many businesses generally by legally facilitating curbside pick up and home delivery for many businesses in Yolo County.
If you have not had a chance to talk to Jim personally… and he is quite personable, check out his performance at the live streamed Board of Supervisor Meetings. Jim does not hog the microphone but you can tell from his questions and comments that he has done his homework, he comes to the meetings prepared and ready to make a contribution.
Jim is competent, conscientious, and committed. And he knows the law. When the pandemic started, messaging from the County was English-only…. several of us went to the Supervisors and said "These communications must be in both English and Spanish because the Latino Community is suffering greatly from the Coronavirus Pandemic"….. Jim worked with the other supervisors and the Yolo County staff to ensure that the messaging was sent out in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
Jim has demonstrated his competence in office…. at this time in our lives and livelihood in Yolo County, I urge you to vote for Jim Provenza for County Supervisor…. he'll work for us, for all of us!
Thanks,
John Troidl
PS If you are still not quite convinced by my endorsement check out the long list of supporters who want to re-elect Jim…. including Helen Thomson, who gave her strongest endorsement to Jim in a facebook posting. Check it out on his candidate FB page:
Jim-Provenza-for-Yolo-County-Board-of-Supervisors
Life is so difficult right now, but we have been fortunate to have Supervisor Jim Provenza’s leadership and experience when it matters most. A man of integrity who puts service above all else, Jim's continued work on our behalf is imperative.
Jim’s style isn’t what one expects in politics. He gravitates toward complex tasks instead of the limelight. As a volunteer with the Friends of the Yolo Crisis Nursery I saw this when the Nursery nearly closed. Jim rolled up his sleeves and made sure our most vulnerable children and their families would be cared for. These children are highly diverse, and in need of equity and inclusion. Jim has been their champion all along.
Under Covid, Jim fast-tracked essential supplies to the Nursery and other agencies serving young children. He also led the way to raise funds to support our fragile nonprofit network.
Over the years, Jim has continually earned my respect and my vote and I hope you’ll join me by voting for him November 3, 2020.
Veronica Stanton
(From press release) Women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families and seek financial assistance to further their education or training are urged to apply for the Soroptimist Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women.
Applications are available at https://bit.ly/LYDA-apply, or by emailing Soroptimist International of Davis at sidavis@soroptimist.net.
The application deadline is Sunday, Nov. 15. This year, the Davis club will present several awards, ranging between $500 and $3,000. The top recipient’s application will advance to regional and international level, where they could receive thousands more (like last year’s winner!). The program culminates with three $10,000 awards. Recipients may use the Live Your Dream Award to offset any costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education or additional skills and training. This includes tuition, books, childcare, transportation or any other education-related expense.
By Elisabeth Robbins with Mark Reynolds
My friend hurriedly evacuated her dream home northeast of Vacaville as flames advanced down the hillside. In the Mendocino National Forest, firefighters burned out a protective barrier around my son’s cabin deep in the woods. That may, or may not, have protected it when Wednesday’s terrific winds swept fire through. As of this writing, we don’t know. At best, “Maybe I’ll have the view I’ve always wanted,” he said wryly.
These fires touch everyone. For too many it’s a personal loss. For others, it’s a loss to someone we know and care about, so it becomes our loss too. We have all lost freedom of movement outdoors because of the highly polluted air.
And the fall fire season hasn’t even started. Already we have seen an astonishing amount of destruction, across the state and right here in Yolo County. Over 2.6 million acres have gone up in smoke, exceeding the 2 million acres burned in 2018. That year, the damage and economic loss from wildfires, according to AccuWeather, came to $400 billion.
Larry 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
Dear Davis City Council,
I am running for City Council in District 2 – the district that the U-Mall is in.
First, I want to state that I believe a mixed-use project can be a good fit for the University Mall location. I certainly remember my mom buying me Star Trek pajamas at Lawrence’s department store there when I was a kid, and more recently I have taken my daughter to shop at Forever 21, also now closed. I have seen a lot of change here, and welcome that it will evolve and change again to better meet current demands.
What I would look for in a project for this site is something that fits better with the surrounding neighborhoods. This project has been compared to the Davis Live project. However, this project is significantly larger in scale because it is 7 stories spanning an entire city block. You can see in the image from Brixmor that the project is 75-80 feet tall (7 stories) across the entire east west axis of the project with almost no set back from either Anderson Road or Sycamore. It is certainly out of scale to the neighborhood University Mall is in. 80 foot tall buildings immediately adjacent to the sidewalk might be expected in a dense urban area, but is out of scale with this neighborhood.
Discussions following the school board’s decision to fill Dr. Pickett’s seat exposed many deep feelings. As I listen, I grow increasingly frustrated that people of color are again repressed from a decision-making position.
Assuming good will, the issues are more deep-seated than what I hear. The trustees who made the decision believe they chose the best candidate. They chose from their perspective, values and experiences. The hidden flaw in all decisions is unconscious bias. We only see what our minds allow us to, unless we choose to uncover our shadows.
The next decision-making piece is the importance of representation. Reflect on these scenarios:
You’re a man, looking at a board of all women. Do you feel your voice will be represented?
You’re a woman, looking at an all-male board. Do you feel your voice will be heard?
You’re white, looking at a board where every member is a POC. Do you feel your voice will be represented?
You’re a POC, looking at an all-white board. Do you feel your voice will be heard?
The last point is choosing the best candidate. As a leadership coach, I encourage clients to consider the best candidate, looking beyond qualifications. What an organization needs when hiring is based on measured results, and accountability to the mission and goals. Start with determining the minimum competency requirements, followed by what characteristics and skills are needed to fulfill the organization’s mission. The most qualified candidate is the one who meets the required qualifications and best matches the characteristics and skills needed to fill those gaps.
Using this lens to fill Dr. Pickett’s seat, what are the board’s gap areas? The final candidates met the qualifications. According to the district, its mission is fulfilled, in part, through a system characterized by a “diverse and inclusive culture.” How can the culture be diverse and inclusive if its board doesn’t represent the students and families? When choosing the most qualified, I believe these well-intentioned trustees missed an opportunity to follow DJUSD’s values and mission.
This only perpetuates a skewed power system. If the board doesn’t diversify, there’s less chance that the administration and staff will. Representation is crucial for young people of color, navigating a world that demonstrates there’s no place for them.
What does leadership do now? It looks in the mirror, admits its blind spots and unconscious bias, and stands up for what’s right.
Tracy Tomasky
Davisite 