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I am grateful for the efforts of the Davis City Council in organizing the priority items for the next year in Davis. It’s great to see actions regarding sustainability, resilience, and equity.

I would encourage that climate action be put as item #1 given our very short window of time to act and to create resilient models for dealing with the impacts of climate change. Regarding framing things in terms of “sustainability”, I would like to repeat the words of the visionary Dr. Daniel Christian Wahl, author of the book, Designing Regenerative Cultures:

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By Colin Walsh

On Tuesday night (tonight) the Davis City Council will “Provide direction to staff on new Focus Items for the 2020 calendar year.” This is a time to set the general sweeping agenda for the next Council year. This is an opportunity for the Davis City Council to set priorities for 2020.

With City Council elections pushed from March to November, the current Council will be together a little longer than expected, so how will they set their priorities?

The current expressed council goals are:

• Ensure Fiscal Resilience
• Drive a Diverse and Resilient Economy
• Pursue Environmental Sustainability
• Fund, Maintain, and Improve the Infrastructure
• Ensure a Safe, Healthy, Equitable Community
• Build and Promote a Vibrant City
• Foster Excellence in City Services
• Cultivate Positive Workplace Dynamics

Every part of the Council’s goals deserve a deeper look, but let’s just look at 2 of the goals: the goal to “Pursue Environmental Sustainability and to “Drive a Diverse and Resilient Economy.

The first stated Objective in pursuing Environmental Sustainability is, “Reduce the community's carbon footprint and achieve measurable GHG emission reductions, including reduction of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).” The City goals propose to “Implement the City’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, collaborate with organizations promoting sustainable programs/projects, such as Valley Climate Action Center, Cool Davis, UC Davis, etc.”

The City’s climate action and adaptation plan can be found on the City website and is certainly worth a look. https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/community-development-and-sustainability/sustainability-program/climate-change

The plan was put in motion some time ago and one wonders what the outcomes have been. There is no report or update on the City website.

There is however a March 2019 declaration of climate emergency. But no significant changes in the City’s course have been taken since then.

The Open space section of the sustainability plans seem to have nothing to do with protecting more open space at all – they are more focused on making existing open spaces and habitat areas more usable to people.

By comparison, under “Drive a Diverse and Resilient Economy,” the City is considering adding the Aggie Research Campus (ARC) as part of the goal. Because this project is oriented toward freeway commuting and will have parking for over 4,300 cars this clearly does nothing to further the goal of cutting down on car emissions. Worse, the project had 6-9,000 parking space proposed for it at one time, and it is unclear how the project has been able to reduce parking spaces since there is no transportation plan for the city, innovative or otherwise.

The ARC has such a high need for cars because the City of Davis and UCD has such a high jobs to housing ratio. UCD is a major California employer and is already a regional draw bringing commuters in from all over the Sacramento and Bay Area. If the ARC is successful, it too will draw in many of its employees from around Northern CA. That will mean more exhaust from more cars and more green house gases.

The developer will tell you that the project itself will provide housing, but there are real problems with the developers assertions. 

1. There is no plan for, nor any way to guarantee that people who work in the project would live in the project, though some might.
2. The project doesn’t come close to providing what the project would need.
3. Previously the developer said they were exempt from providing any affordable housing. 

Not to mention all of these additional cars will mean more traffic on Mace and on the freeway.

Furthermore, the Aggie Research center is proposed for prime farm land – and that is becoming increasingly scarce as 40 acres of farmland is paved over an hour in the US.

Is the City really serious about reducing emissions if it is prepared to support a freeway business park like ARC? How does the Council reconcile the disconnect between its sustainability and climate goals with a retrograde car focused project like ARC?

BY LEVI RICKERT 

Republished with permission  from Native News Online.net

Published November 23, 2019

COLEMAN, FLORIDA – Leonard Peltier, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, who is incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Coleman, Florida, for his 1977 conviction in connection with a shootout with U.S. government forces, where two FBI agents and one young American Indian lost their lives.

Peltier, who is considered a political prisoner of war by many, released this statement on Thanksgiving through the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee:

The year of 2019 is coming to a close and with it, comes the day most Americans set aside as a day for Thanksgiving. As I let my mind wander beyond the steel bars and concrete walls, I try to imagine what the people who live outside the prison gates are doing, and what they are thinking. Do they ever think of the Indigenous people who were forced from their homelands? Do they understand that with every step they take, no matter the direction, that they are walking on stolen land? Can they imagine, even for one minute, what it was like to watch the suffering of the women, the children and babies and yes, the sick and elderly, as they were made to keep pushing west in freezing temperatures, with little or no food? These were my people and this was our land. There was a time when we enjoyed freedom and were able to hunt buffalo and gather the foods and sacred medicines. We were able to fish and we enjoyed the clean clear water! My people were generous, we shared everything we had, including the knowledge of how to survive the long harsh winters or the hot humid summers. We were appreciative of the gifts from our Creator and remembered to give thanks on a daily basis. We had ceremonies and special dances that were a celebration of life.

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By Carey Ann Hunt

No one likes to be interrupted.

Cut short or side swiped.

Definitely not hood-winked,

Or have a wrench in thrown in.

Worse, the dreaded fly in the ointment.

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Another example of big development lacking public disclosure is on tonight's City Council Agenda

By Colin Walsh

The City of Davis failed to disclose a significant new 76 unit project proposal on Olive Drive (addresses 1031, 1037, 1041, 1047, and 1055), just down from the corner of Richards and Olive, until a contract for environmental review was placed on the consent calendar for the Nov. 19 meeting. Even then the City failed to disclose ANY of the application information until citizens asked for it. With the documents only released on mid Friday afternoon before a council meeting Davis citizens are left with little opportunity to review the pages of material.

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By Colin Walsh

So my dear neighbors I want to tell you about the flag I just hung on my porch. You probably recognize it. It has been increasingly popular in recent years as more people display it. It has come to be a symbol of pride for many, but others find it surprisingly controversial. I want to tell you why I put it out.

It all started over the last few years. Increasingly there are kids at my house who view gender very differently than my friends and I did growing up. There is really a whole range of ideas that have been represented among the young people that come and go from my house and that is just what I know about.

Sadly, as I have talked with these young people, I have learned that many of their parents are unaccepting of their self-perception. For example, I know one young man coming of age who identifies male, but their father insists on calling them by their very feminine birth name. There are others who, I have learned, struggle with their parents over whether or not it is OK to love or desire the gender they have realized they do. It makes me sad to think of the pain not being accepted by their parents causes them, so I started thinking I might fly a flag in front of my house, so they know they are welcome here.

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By Tom Owczarzak

I’ve been replacing a rotten deck this week. It is a pretty standard task in my world. Replacing rotten things. The fact of the matter is that nature wants to break down non-living things and return them to their cellular state. Once something stops growing, like wood, nature brings a variety of tools to bear to break it apart. Sun, rain, insects – all in the toolbox.

It provides a pretty serious level of job security.

So, when I am working on these projects, I think of myself as part of the toolbox as well. Although I have tools of destruction on my side that speed it up considerably. And like the other natural elements that work toward deterioration, I try to return the material to some form that can be re-used by nature.

I have taken almost every part of a house and re-purposed it into another part of another house a multitude of times. My last house was built almost entirely out of three other houses. Wood, tile, stone, even leftover paint have all been used with impunity.

And it usually makes me think about the cycle of things. How one thing turns into another which turns into another.

When I was teaching in college, I used to tell students that reincarnation was nothing more than composting. The various parts of us eventually become the parts of other things. And in that way, we are reborn thousands of times.

And these days I have been looking around the world at all the things that people are despairing about and thinking the same thing.

There is nothing in this universe that lasts forever. Nothing. Eventually, they will rot and deteriorate or just be worn down and need to be replaced. It is not a tragedy. It is life.

The Buddhists say that most of the grief in life comes from trying to hold on to these impermanent things. And when we can accept the impermanence then we can be freed from this endless cycle of sadness.

I kinda buy into the idea even if I still get attached to things. Not holding on to the people I love is a near impossible task. And their passing brings about tremendous suffering. But I do believe that everything passes and our relationship to that is life defining.

Sometimes I find myself wanting to broadcast some grand message to the world. To try to get a couple things across to everyone. And I mean everyone. Lately it has been this message. That there is nothing permanent in this world. And change is not a tragedy. It is natural.

That we can live our lives without the impending sense of doom or panic. That we can accept the change as it comes – even if we are attached to the things that are changing.

Basically, that all things, good or bad, pass. And, if we have faith, these things will come around again. Not in the exact same way but in some manner.

And, most importantly, that it all works out in the end. I believe that.

Happy Wednesday everyone. I hope you can find some acceptance for the things that change in your life today. Maybe it is something small or maybe it is ground-shaking. But it is all on schedule and part of the glorious ride called life. And if you are having trouble accepting it – that’s cool too. There’s room for that as well. It will all work out in the end either way.

Diminished yard waste pick up proves woefully inadequate

By Colin Walsh

Fallen palm fronds dwarf the organic carts the City has provided to put them in North Davis.

This past August while many were away on vacation the Davis City Council voted to greatly diminish street yard waste pick up that many refer to as "The Claw." For decades yard waste pick up had been routine with The Claw visiting neighborhoods weekly. But over the last few years the City has slowly reduced the service. This last reduction has certainly gone too far.

Arguments made for reduction included cost savings for the City, bicycle safety, and improved general City appearances.

The savings were not fully realized because Recology ended up charging a lot more than expected. As the August 13th report to the City Council states, "The reasoning for the higher rate is the potential that the same volume of material may be collected (occurring during alternate weeks as opposed to every week) and the landfill fees for the volume totals make up the bulk of the per unit rate. In addition, labor costs associated with the pick-ups are anticipated to be higher as it will likely take longer to pick up in one week the same amount of material previously set out over two weeks."

In the last 2 weeks we have now seen that the bicycle safety and appearance goals have not only not been met, the situation has gotten considerably worse. There was a significant windstorm on Sunday 10/27 that left large amounts of debris in yards and on the street. Homeowners fairly quickly responded by pulling the debris into the street in violation of the City's new rules. Under our old Claw schedule pick up would have begun immediately. Under the new schedule debris sat in the streets for much longer. In many places it may be more than 2 weeks.

Informal reports from around the City indicate it is likely The Claw is well behind schedule and yard waste piles are still sitting out in neighborhoods where it was already due for pick up.

What follows is an unscientific photo essay from around town showing some of the problems.

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By Char Henwood

Here’s what it is, folks:  the Mace Mess is a very bad design.  It was bad when conceived in 2010, bad when the design was completed in 2013 (without a traffic study), and bad when installed (against South Davis residents’ strenuous objections) in 2018-2019.  We’ve lived with it for a year, and it is still a bad design.  At least one bicyclist has been seriously injured and ended up with a plate with 10 screws in her forearm.  She was not hit by a car – the bike trough got her. 

Here’s what the Mace Mess is not:  It was not and is not a response to a safety issue.  There were no bicyclist/pedestrian car-involved accidents on Mace in the 10 years prior to the installation of the Mace Mess.  Residents have reported over 120 traffic incidents to the City Council since March of 2019 following completion of the Mace Mess project. From the perspective of South Davis residents, it appears that none of this information has been given to the design team that is theoretically developing an improved design to fix Mace.   It’s a miracle only one person has been seriously injured so far. 

The Mace Mess is/was not an attempt to promote a safe bike route to schools.  The initial Mace project was intended to improve the sidewalks and to repave Mace and the bike lanes.  The safe route to schools rhetoric was tacked on ex post facto to get grant money from SACOG.  With SACOG and BTSSC input, the project was expanded to turn Mace, a major artery for South Davis, into a “residential” street, and to “force residents out of their cars” because South Davis residents are “too car-centric.”  Agricultural businesses South of Mace that use Mace to get their equipment across I-80 were never consulted.  The City admits they did not do a traffic study; they just barged in with a doctrinaire attitude and strong-armed the project to completion.  Now we have a dangerous design that the City would rather not fix because they might have to repay SACOG some part of $3M in grant money.  BTW, South Davis residents have not been able to get answers to questions about SACOG’s position on modifying the current (need I repeat it?) VERY BAD design. 

The Mace Mess is not a pitched battle (as represented by the bike lobby) between young parents concerned about their children’s safety and ancient and vociferous residents who don’t care if other people’s children are injured.  Older South Davis residents sent their kids off to Pioneer and other Davis schools without concern and know that there was never a safety issue on Mace.  The bike lobby seems to want bicyclists to believe that the bike lanes will be taken away if Mace Boulevard is restored.  This is not what residents asked for and it is puzzling when people who are looking directly at proposed corrections with bike lanes represented on the slides react as if the bike lanes will be taken away.  The City has cherry-picked input on the Mace Mess bike troughs, when in fact for every bicyclist who has said they like the bike troughs there have been as many (plus some representatives of bicycling clubs)  who have pointed out that they are dangerous. 

South Davis residents who drive (even the old ones) do not get up in the morning determined to run over bicyclists and pedestrians.  South Davis residents understand how navapps work.  South Davis residents understand that congestion on I-80 and navapps are big contributors to congestion on Mace.  South Davis residents just want Mace redesigned so that congestion clears as quickly as possible.  In short, we want the City to fix what it broke – Mace Boulevard.   It is pretty hilarious (and/or infuriating, take your pick) that the consultants’ possible solution that provides the second-best travel time on NB Mace is close to the original configuration, and that that the possible solution that provides the best improvement in NB Mace travel time is the old configuration plus a traffic light at Montgomery. 

Until the last few months, the City has been reluctant to admit they made a terrible, expensive mistake and to accept the responsibility to fix it.  Claiming that the Mace Mess is solely the result of I-80 traffic and navapps, thus providing the City with a much-desired excuse to not fix what they have broken, is irresponsible. 

And if the Mace Mess isn’t fixed, someone is going to be seriously injured or worse because it’s a VERY BAD DESIGN. 

By Glen Holstein

While collecting signatures at the Farmer’s Market for the initiative to facilitate Davis parking we found most folks taking the time to stop signed.  A few, however, were quite hostile and wanted walking and biking to be the only method of Davis travel by making driving so onerous by means like limiting parking that folks would abandon cars.  This war on cars supported by key city staff and partially enabled by the city council is what’s made our initiative necessary.  Its results are all around us:  traffic clogging structures causing gridlock at Mace Boulevard, meter schemes that reduce parking convenience, elimination of former parking areas, lack of the traffic light synchronization that eases traffic flow in Sacramento and Woodland, and new longer waits at signals that have increased red light running. 

All this has done nothing to eliminate cars.  It has only excluded from central Davis those too disabled to walk or bike and those wanting to use their vehicles to make purchases.  Meanwhile sprawl is facilitated by making free commercial lots at the edge of Davis or in other towns more attractive.

Extremists who want Davis transportation limited to walking and biking claim it’s about climate change, but it’s not.  Diverting traffic from the core to more distant places makes climate change worse, not better.  So does causing vehicles to idle at every red light as they inch across town.  Even those in hybrid or electric vehicles are frustrated by these unnecessary and harassing delays.

What it is about and only about is virtue signaling so the few in their spandex suits can feel morally superior to the rest of us.