The City’s Q&A document on the BrightNight lease option is misleading and factually incorrect – Part 1

By Alan Pryor and Richard McCann

Background

On Tuesday night, more than 20 people called into the City Council meeting to oppose the recent decision by the Council to enter into a no-bid lease option agreement with a solar development firm, BrightNight Energy. The option would allow the company to subsequently lease a 235-acre parcel of City-owned land next to the City’s waste water treatment plant for up to 49-years to develop a 25 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic project.

The decision to award the contract followed an unsolicited bid by the solar company to enter into an exclusive, sole-source lease contract with the City allowing it to build a privately-owned solar system on the land. To say this decision by Council (only Lucas Frerichs voted"No") was highly controversial is an understatement. The extensive citizen complaints centered on the following facts:

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Community Members Encouraged to Contribute Directly to Yolo County Nonprofits

Contact: Jessica Hubbard
jessica.hubbard@yolocf.org                                                                  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Woodland, CA — The Yolo Community Foundation is leading an unprecedented partnership with Yolo County, the City of Woodland, the City of Winters, the City of West Sacramento, and the City of Davis to create the new COVID-19 Nonprofit Relief Initiative. These local jurisdictions are providing staff and funding to support the initiative’s three components: 1) a community-wide campaign to encourage direct contributions to nonprofits; 2) a relief fund to provide grants directly to nonprofits; and 3) technical assistance to help nonprofits through the crisis.

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Dear Davis Friends:

A good friend of mine from the Bay Area who has had a long career in health care shared information about participation in a research opportunity sponsored and managed by Stanford University School of Medicine.

Below the dotted line is a copy of what she sent me.

FYI, I signed up, it was easy.  And the research team will send me a simple check-in reminder each day with just a couple of questions.

Gives me a good opportunity to contribute to the scientific effort being put together to study this epidemic and begin to compile the data to allow public health authorities to make evidence-based public health decisions.  

Will you join me?

John Troidl

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COVID daily symptoms survey

Hi neighbors – Researchers at Stanford Medicine are conducting a daily symptoms survey, which will help inform the response to COVID-19. If you are not already participating, consider joining the survey. It’s really easy (the first survey takes less than a few minutes, and the daily check-ins take as few as a few seconds (literally…2 questions with populated buttons to select your answers) to a bit longer, potentially, if you need to go into detail about either of your answers. And they send you a daily reminder with a link that takes you to your personalized survey. Stay healthy. https://bw3gbcrs.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fmed.stanford.edu%2Fcovid19%2Fcovid-counter.html/1/020000000dg30nn8-hqrj00ob-nbta-s04e-bt1q-j65fkvh7c6g0-000000/plz00nwIw5UuRzRn5CN2bsPDGjU=157

Stanford Medicine National Daily Health Survey for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Your involvement in the Daily Health Survey will hopefully help save lives. As a country, we are all in this together!

med.stanford.edu

 

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Dear Friends,

This link leads you to a 90 minute Q&A session with the top public health faculty at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health who are on the cutting edge of research on the corona virus as well as other vectors for infectious disease.

A half dozen or so faculty with deep expertise answer questions asked by the public regarding the most current and best thinking on this epidemic.  From pathophysiology to public policy, from discussion of medications and treatments, to developing a vaccine…. and a bit of commentary about transferring the virus to your pet…. this is a fascinating session.  

Consider sharing with your family:

https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/03/30/coronavirus-science-and-solutions/

Enjoy,

John

PS  Wouldn't it be cool if we had a school of public health in the Capitol Region?? 

(Reminder:  Have been asked to share that I have training in public health and in management).

Many public health experts believe that South Korea responded to the corona virus properly.  A colleague of mine, the Clinic and Public Health Laboratory Operations Administrator at the San Francisco Department of Public Health shared this ~ 8 minute youtube video of South Korea's successful strategy and lessons for the US….it is quite well done and uses terrific graphics to make clear points. 

Probably something you want to share with friends and family members who are interested in understanding a reasonable path forward.

Regards,

John

(Like the Clinic and Public Health Laboratory Operations Administrator, I am trained in public health and health services management).

By Eileen M. Samitz

In case others may not have heard this, CDC just announced Wednesday new recommendations to help protect essential workers. This has been so needed and likely helped Nugget to take action to provide face masks/ coverings for their employees.

Bravo to Nugget Market for recently implementing these CDC recommendations and I hope that the City and County circulate these new recommendations to have the employers provide these face masks/covering for their employees. Sadly, there have been some reports of essential workers elsewhere in the county succumbing from COVID-19 due to exposure to the public doing their jobs to serve us, without any type of facial mask or covering. So, this likely motivated CDC to finally come out with these needed recommendations. Even cloth facial coverings (since masks are better but the health care workers need them) are better than no facial covering to help deter exposure to the coronavirus.

Likewise, we as a community need to help by doing our part to wear a facial mask/covering to help prevent picking up or passing along the COVID-19 virus, since it is now known that many people can be carrying it, yet have not have symptoms.

Once again, thank you Nugget Market for taking action and setting the example of what our other local essential stores need to be doing for their employees.

Here is the AP article weblink with the CDC recommendations:

https://apnews.com/f2f80ae7f69376c21df6c8dc4cfb585b

New CDC guidance for essential workers during coronavirus outbreak

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidelines for essential workers, such as those in the health care and food supply industries. The guidance is focused on when those workers can return to work after having been exposed to the new coronavirus.

— Do take your temperature before work.

— Do wear a face mask at all times.

— Do practice social distancing as work duties permit.

— Don't stay at work if you become sick

— Don't share headsets or objects used near face.

— Don't congregate in the break room or other crowded places.

The CDC also issued guidance for employers in essential industries.

— Do take employees' temperature and assess for symptoms prior to their starting work.

— Do increase the frequency of cleaning commonly touched surfaces.

— Do increase air exchange in the building.