Hello Davisites
We deeply appreciated those who came to the 3/27 Broadband Task Force Meeting, the community spoke with a unified voice to the Task Force and City Council Member Dan Carson! You wanted community ownership and open access, you want a network that will be a foundation for economic development for the years ahead, you are heroes!
But Big Money is barreling ahead.
by Matt Williams
As members of our community who care passionately about social equity and the achievement gap in the DJUSD schools, I believe you should e-mail the Council members, and tell them that the closed session consideration of trading the current monopoly in the past generation of cable and wired telecommunications (AT&T and Comcast) for a new monopoly in the next generation of fiber communications (Astound/WAVE) is selling our school children down the road. Signing a lease with Astound only makes sense if it is for BOTH the City conduit and City fiber inside the conduit.
If the City owns the fiber, then competition between telecommunications service companies will be promoted. If the fiber is owned by a monopoly vendor like Astound/WAVE, they will not lease space on that fiber to their competitors. That will result in higher telecommunications prices for all Davis households, especially low income households, and service denials in the lower income portions of the City. That "double whammy" is referred to as "The Digital Divide." Good service for the rich. Poor service for the poor. And the quality and affordability of service is a major contributor to the Achievement Gap in schools here in Davis and across the country.
Astound/WAVE is a good company, but in an industry dominated by huge companies (Comcast, Astound, AT&T, Verizon, etc.) pricing always reflects the amount of competition in the market. The lease of City conduit being considered reduces competition in Davis. A lease of City Fiber within City Conduit increases competition, reduces costs to the consumers, and increases the quality of service for ALL Davis residents. That is what the Davis City Council (and the DJUSD School Board) should be fighting for.
Please reach out to the Council members and let them know that they can do better than the lease being considered in Tuesday's closed session.
Follow up to Observed Dangerous Child Safety Problem Caused by Mace Blvd Project
To: Supervisor Provenza:
Thank you for your prompt reply to my email in which I recounted my witness to yet another public safety problem created by the Mace Blvd. “reconfiguration.” For your information, I am attaching the email that I sent to City of Davis officials after the first “fire station” meeting a couple of months ago. That email summarizes a number of aspects of the public safety and traffic crisis created by the “reconfiguration” (with the notable exception, of course, of new problem I called to your attention: the enticing skateboard challenge created by the bike lane barriers soon to be augmented, I understand, by “signage” slalom poles). Despite multiple meetings with and comments from residents, petitions, and "concern" and vows to fix the mess expressed by the City, yet the project continues.
I appreciate your invitation to join your small group for discussing and strategizing about this situation. In my opinion, anyone who was involved in the conception, development, promotion, touting, or defense of this “reconfiguration” has disqualified himself/herself from participating in this matter any further; those who caused this travesty cannot be trusted to effectively undo its damage. Please consider the following as my contribution to your “strategizing” which, in the end is really quite simple, as you will see.
(From Press Release) Friends of Empower Yolo are hosting an April shower for the agency’s domestic violence shelter in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The shower will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at Empower Yolo’s D Street House at the corner of Fifth and D streets in downtown Davis. Everyone in the community is invited to bring a new gift for the shelter and enjoy refreshments.
Staff members will be available to answer questions about the services the agency provides to families seeking safety.
All donations are tax-deductible.
The Davis Friends Meeting (Quakers) will be screening Greenwich Village: Music that Defined a Generation on Friday April 26 at 7 PM. The screening is free and will be held at the Friends Meetinghouse 345 L Street in Davis.
"The 60s folk revival in Greenwich Village sparked lasting political, social and cultural changes. through Poignant interviews, rare archival footage and new live performances, this film tells the story of the great singer-songwriters, performers and authors from Greenwich Village who collectively became the voice of a generation." states a flyer distributed by The Davis Friends Meeting
By Matt Williams
Some Davis residents have pointed to the problems with the Mace Boulevard Improvements (stylized as the “Mace Mess”) and the delays caused by the Cannery grade-separated crossing project on Covell near L Street as two examples of significant contributions to increased traffic congestion in Davis. (see the prior Davisite articles HERE and HERE and HERE, in the Enterprise HERE and HERE, as well as in a Davis Vanguard comment thread.
The difference between the Covell and L project and the Mace project is that the lane reduction due to construction of the Cannery grade-separated crossing is temporary. Once the construction is completed Covell will return to two vehicle lanes each direction plus the enhanced and protected bike/ped lane. In the case of the Mace project, what was originally five vehicle lanes plus two bike/ped lanes will permanently become three vehicle lanes plus four bike/ped lanes.
By Dunn Bobbing
After a short City Council Meeting lasting only 3 days, Davis City Council members managed to wrap 3 issues into one compromising solution.
The Davis City Council has been accused of being out of step with the public in its move to eliminate its street “claw” yard waste pick up, installation of parking meters in the downtown, and its failed attempt to levy a parcel tax for road repair. In all 3 cases the City has faced stiff opposition and name calling, which prompted Council Member Frerichs to chant “I am rubber you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you!” at the recent parking meter Council meeting.
By Char Henwood
A lot happened at the meeting at the firehouse yesterday.
Mayor Lee, Council Member Frerichs and City staff got an earful from the El Macero and South Davis Community about the many problems with the recent Mace Blvd "improvements." After extended comments they looked quite crestfallen.
HELP SAVE MUSIC IN PARADISE, CALIFORNIA! Musicians, parents and relatives of musicians, music lovers, educators, people with empathy and compassion, people affected by the fires, people who know people affected by the fire . . . . . . . so yes, EVERYONE please support musicians from the Davis schools who will come together at:
Brunelle Hall on
Saturday March, 16th from
9 am – 6pm
Raise funds to help rebuild the Music Programs in the Paradise schools.
There will be performances all day!
Local, musician and music educator extraordinaire, Joe Craven, will kick off the final concert, with a few inspired words at 5 pm.
This "Festival Ensemble" led by Robert Schofield, is composed of junior and high school band students from Paradise and Davis. Admission is free! All donations will go directly to the Paradise school music programs to help rebuild facilities, replace burned instruments and music and replace lost equipment. If you can't attend, please donate using the link below. And whether you can attend or not, please share this post with other friends who may support the cause!
Donate $25 and receive a $5 discount at ChickPeas!
Donate $50 and receive a $10 discount at ChickPeas!
Donate $100 and receive a $20 discount at ChickPeas!
(*vouchers will be emailed within 48 hrs of donation)
*******The ChickPeas Food Truck will be at the event and will be collecting donations for the Paradise Schools! So come hungry and ready to donate for this worthy cause!
you can also donate at the GoFundMe Site
by Colin Walsh
Yesterday March 14th the Yolo County Taxpayers Association (YCTA) weighed in on the Downtown Davis Parking Meter Issue with a resounding no thanks.
In Norton hall in the North West corner of Woodland, YCTA members from around the county weighed in on this hot Davis issue. Alzada Knickerbocker, owner of the Avid Reader, and Daniel Urazandi, owner of Bizarro World, made the case against the City of Davis’s proposal to convert a large part of downtown parking to meters.
The presenters noted the long hours 7 days a week Davis will require Downtown visitors to pay to park. The plan’s requiring payment from 10am to 10pm everyday including Sunday was highlighted as well outside the norm for most downtown paid parking schemes.
Davisite 