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 14^th 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.

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I respect and support our local businesses

By Colin Walsh

Now is not the time to put the retail that has managed to survive in Downtown Davis in jeopardy by instituting parking fees.

CNBC reported today that nationally, “Already, 4,810 store closures have been announced by retailers in 2019, according to Coresight Research.” Only 5,524 store closing were tracked by Coresight in 2018. 2019 thus far is proving to be a fatal year for retail. (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/08/these-retailers-have-announced-store-closures-in-2019.html)

It is clearly a challenging climate for physical stores, and the City of Davis should be careful not to make it any more difficult locally.

In Davis we are very fortunate to have a vibrant downtown that includes several independent and locally owned retailers. In Davis we still have the choice to shop at locally owned hardware stores, bookstores, and more. These stores have disappeared from the landscape in most cities. Locally owned stores like this do more for the local economy by keeping more money locally. Large chains and online stores literally siphon money out of the community to pay CEOs and investors and offer only a few low paying local jobs in return.

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By Ron

In the "other" blog today, there's a suggestion that the Lincoln40 developers were more considerate of the neighbors, than the Trackside developers. And, presumably by extension, this means that Lincoln40 should have been approved, but not a 4-story Trackside.

It certainly is possible that the Lincoln40 developers were more considerate of neighbors than the Trackside developers. (Of course, this ignores the fact that Trackside is IN the neighborhood, while Lincoln40 is separated by the railroad line.)

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Mayor Lee informs commenters they may not affect decision process.

By Colin Walsh

On Tuesday March 5^th 2019 The City Council heard from about 50 people in public comment on the City’s plan for paid parking in downtown Davis. Comments ranged from unequivocal support to disgusted opposition with a wide range of complaints between. Few speakers were ready to accept the plan as currently proposed and most opposed the plan altogether.

At midnight everyone was exhausted by the several hours long display of democracy, most especially the City Council. It was then that Mayor Brett Lee gave an unusual speech from the dais that is being called “condescending,” “undemocratic,” “arrogant” and “offensive” by some.

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