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  • Response to Davis Enterprise Article on December 6, 2023: “City, County, UCD Gather for Annual Meeting.”

    By Greg Rowe

    A recent Davis Enterprise article described the annual meeting of the Davis City Council, Yolo County District 2 and 4 Supervisors and UC Davis administrators, held on December 5.  UCD’s on-campus student housing construction program since 2018 was glowingly portrayed by the university representatives. The reality is that UCD had for years resisted building an adequate supply of on-campus housing to meet the needs of its continued enrollment growth, and literally had to be dragged kicking and screaming into agreeing to finally address the problem.

    Evidently forgotten amid UCD’s self-congratulatory presentation were the herculean exertions between 2015 and 2018 by a small alliance of dedicated citizens who committed countless hours working toward the goal of convincing UCD to address its student housing needs in a meaningful way. Those efforts focused on educating the Davis City Council and the Yolo County Board of Supervisors about UCD’s long-standing failure to provide on-campus student housing on pace with escalating enrollment, and the resulting negative community impacts. The group wrote countless articles, letters and a comprehensive “white paper,” met with UCD planners and elected officials, spoke at meetings of the UC Board of Regents, and documented the superior student housing accomplishments at other UC campuses. 

    Early drafts of UCD’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) proposed to only marginally increase the percentage of students living in campus residence halls between 2018 and 2030. The university’s initial intent was to simply redevelop existing campus housing rather than aggressively increasing bed capacity with new construction.

    It also appeared that UCD intended to dodge its housing responsibilities by continuing to “master lease”  apartment complexes in Davis for exclusive occupancy by UCD students. This “band aid” approach meant fewer apartments were available to workforce families. It also allowed apartment owners to avoid paying property taxes because the lessee, UCD, is tax-exempt.

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  • Help ‘Stuff the Bus’ With Food, Other Essentials

    Flyer_StuffTheBuss(From press release) Unitrans and the Davis Food Co-op invite the community on Dec. 16 to “Stuff the Bus” with food and some of life’s other essentials for The Pantry, which serves UC Davis students in need.

    One of Unitrans’ vintage double-deckers from London will be ready to take aboard donations for the seventh annual collection 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. in the parking lot of the Davis Food Co-op, 620 G St.

    The first 50 donors will receive a Unitrans pass good for 10 rides on the campus-city transit service and a $10 coupon for the Davis Food Co-op. Everyone is invited to have some fun by climbing to the top deck of the bus.

    Nonperishable food items — including easy grab-and-go snacks — dominate the list of needed goods at The Pantry, which is a unit of the Associated Students of UC Davis. Staff said toiletries and hygiene products are also a high priority.

    Some of the specific items on The Pantry’s wish list are canned, ready-to-eat meals; cooking utensils; healthy snacks; gluten-free foods; canned soups; peanut butter; jam; fruit juice; and baby formula.

    “Pretty much anything that’s reasonably healthy, we’ll take it!” said Sergio Bocardo- Aguilar, director of The Pantry. “Things we’d like to avoid are sugary foods and non- nutritious food.”

    Starting in a living room in 1972, the Davis Food Co-op has grown into a full-service grocery store owned and operated by more than 8,000 households. It features natural, organic and local foods but strives to offer a full spectrum of groceries to serve the entire community.

    Unitrans has been serving the community for more than 50 years with a fleet of red buses that includes new and vintage double-deckers and, more recently, electric, single-deck buses.

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  • Mom’s for Liberty Sues Yolo County Library – Let’s Talk About It, Davis! (An Al’s Corner Exclusive) Boogity Boogity

    Yup.  It's happening!   Mom's for Liberty is suing the Davis Library for violating their first amendment rights.

    And what better place to discuss it than on the free Davis bloglet that hasn't banned a bunch of people from its comment section:  Al's Corner!!!

    Welp — Unlike David Greenwald I'm not going to copy most of the article source material and nest that within a few badly-written sentences of my own.  Nope, I'm just gonna give you the link, and you can read it yourself 😐

    Moms for Liberty-Yolo County v. Lopez

    https://adfmedia.org/case/moms-liberty-yolo-county-v-lopez

    Mostly I wanted to scoop the Davis Greenwald on a major breaking local story.   And I don't even get the paltry drippings of a salary to do so.

    But even More Mostly:  let's talk about it, Davis!   This is major shit.

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  • Experts at Only Pro/Con Teach-in on I-80 widening

    Thursday December 7th  at 7pm, Davis Community Church 413 4th street

    Image001 1601(From press release) The first (and only) public discussion of the pros and cons of the widening of the I-80 freeway is set for this coming week. The discussion has been organized by the Davis Futures Forum with help from Cool Davis. The public will learn about the Draft Environment Impact Report (DEIR) just released.

    The hybrid meeting will include a background by project advocates Yolo Transportation District staff, followed by a keynote from UC Davis Professor Susan Handy, the renowned Director of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation.  This will be followed by a diverse response panel and a Q&A for those in person.

    • Autumn Bernstein YoloTD – history of project.
    • Nailah Pope-Harden, ClimatePlan, (equity issues, transit)
    • Stephen Wheeler, UC Davis Professor – DEIR issues; alternatives
    • Don Mooney, CEQA Attorney — writing effective DEIR comments.
    • Moderator: Daniel Sperling, formerly of California Air Resources Board

    This is a hybrid event.  Sign up at Cool Davis for advance materials and a link to the YouTube live/recording site. Please note that the registration link is in the upper right corner.

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  • Al’s Corner – December 2023 (was some blah blah blah about “Taking Tuesday”)

    SUBJECT:  "Support the Vanguard on #GivingTuesday"  [Monday's Van Guard]

    I have a rule for Taking Tuesday — if someone asks me for money, or even uses the cringe phrase "Giving Tuesday", I never give them any money ever, and furthermore attempt to take money from them.  On Monday, the Van's Guard mentioned giving Tuesday, with open comments.  Did someone not consider that closing comments would be a good idea, given past experience?  Oh, yeah, you got rid of that pesky Alan Miller guy.  Still . . .

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  • Gift Basket Central returns to the Davis Farmers Market

    BaileyMorrisGBC

    Bailey Morris shows a completed Davis Farmers Market gift basket in December 2022. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) The Davis Farmers Market’s Gift Basket Central is back, offering free baskets and wrapping of market items on Saturdays.

    Every Saturday until the new year, shoppers can compile items for custom gift baskets, and have them wrapped for free at the market’s Gift Basket Central station. There are red, green and blue tissue options, neutral and red baskets, cellophane wrapping and various colored ribbons. The service is available to anyone who purchases three or more items at the Davis Farmers Market, at 301 C St. in Central Park.

    The market is open regular hours (8 a.m. to 1 p.m.), every Saturday through the holidays. It will be closed on Wednesday, Dec. 27.

    Looking for ideas? Besides the abundant produce, market sellers offer preserved jams and sauces, lemon curd, honey, balsamic vinegars, olive oils, dried herbs, nuts and nut butters. There are sweets like dried fruit or chocolate-covered almonds, pistachio brittle, and local wines. Other items include handmade soaps and lotions, wreaths, hats and scarves. Enjoy coffee and hot food, and peruse artisan crafts, market-logo merchandise, and surprising local ingredients for gift baskets.

    There’s also “The Davis Farmers Market Cookbook, Revised Edition,” which features seasonal recipes from market produce. Also at the Market Shed, there are shopping baskets, market-logo aprons, hats, totes, mugs and T-shirts. Shoppers have access to an ATM, and the Market Shed accepts credit and debit cards.

    Still need inspiration? Market staffers are prepared with a list of gift basket ideas for chefs, bakers, party hosts, chocolate lovers, and youths, or with themes like breakfast or relaxation.

    The rest of the year, the Davis Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Wednesday hours are 3 to 6 p.m. through mid-May, and 4 to 8 p.m. Mid-May through early September for Picnic in the Park.

    For more information, visit https://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/ or visit it on Facebook or Instagram.

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  • Farmers market plans extended Pre-Thanksgiving event

    BrusselsStalk

    Brussels sprouts on the stalk are a popular item at the Davis Farmers Market's annual Pre-Thanksgiving Market, set for Nov. 22. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) The day before Thanksgiving, the Davis Farmers Market extends its hours. This year’s annual Pre-Thanksgiving Market will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Central Park, 301 C St., Davis.

    On Wednesday, Nov. 22, the market will have a bounty of seasonal produce, flowers and table décor, olive oil, nuts, honey and wine from two wineries. Several bakeries will have fresh-baked items like pumpkin, apple, pecan and berry pies and pumpkin cheesecake; breads, rolls, stuffing mix and cookies. There will be dips and Kettle Corn too.

    The rest of the season, visit the market from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. It will be closed on Wednesday, Dec.  27. For more information, visit https://davisfarmersmarket.org or visit it on Facebook or Instagram.

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  • Open letter to Mike Thompson, as growing Yolo numbers demand advocacy for an immediate cease-fire

    On Tuesday, dozens of us gathered to demand that our Representative, Mike Thompson, acknowledge global and local opinion in opposition to the continued attacks on Gaza. As his constituents, we reiterated our expectations that our views will be represented in calling for an end to the Israeli bombing of Palestinians. With signs, and dolls representing Palestinian deaths (most have been children), we raised our voices in support of peace and justice for the Palestinians living in Israel. Our action is part of the world-wide opposition to Israel’s horrifically disproportionate response to the Hamas attack on October 7.  Mike Thompson, as our representative in Government, we will continually call on you to recognize the global opposition to what Israel is doing to the Palestinians which cannot continue and must be opposed. We call on you to represent our views and act in our name by advocating for a Ceasefire Now.

    We understand that Israel is a sovereign nation, and that the United States has little power to influence its decisions except through withholding arms and money. (We realize that Congress just took military aid to Ukraine and Israel out of the new bill to fund government spending, so part of that decision has been made for now.) But public opinion is critical.  In aligning itself with Israel’s disproportionate response to the events of October 7, the U.S. is risking its position in the court of global public opinion. And this alignment will further erode whatever good standing we may have to exert an influence elsewhere and in the future.

    We know that the US historically has seen itself as a country representing the new idea that people of every  religion, race, and ethnicity could live together in a society based on concepts of individual freedom and justice, with a system designed to provide checks and balances for those in power. Our constitutional rights of speech, of expression, of the press, of worship, and of the right to criticize government represent a standard of freedom and justice upheld by law, admired as a model for democracy around the world. Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is grossly antithetical to these standards. Continuing to align ourselves with the Israeli Government considering their cruel and inhumane treatment of Palestinians is deeply hypocritical and signals to the world that we are unwilling to abide by the very ideals on which we say our own country is built.

    Mr. Thompson, as our representative, and as a United States Government official, we call on you to uphold the values this country enshrined in its foundational documents, and repeat our demand that you advocate for Israel to immediately, unconditionally and permanently stop the bombing of innocent Palestinian civilians. 

    Nora Oldwin & Dean Johansson

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  • Can Local Caltrans Office be Trusted on DEIR’s Traffic-GHG Forecasts?

    By Alan Hirsch, YoloTD

    As you read this, the lengthy draft Environment Impact Report (EIR) for the widening of I-80 has been released for public review (see I-80 Widening draft EIR now available). It was first promised in early 2021.

    Readers should be warned not to take its results as truth, but rather as a forecast that has not been peer reviewed. The goal of public review of an EIR is to correct the deficiencies before the final document is completed and a decision to approve the project is made. If done accurately, the conclusions should inform government decision makers if the $330 million project‘s benefits outweigh the impacts.

    These background facts and past Davis Enterprise reporting might be useful as you read the draft EIR:

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  • I-80 Widening draft EIR now available

    (From press release) I-80 Yolo Widening project’s draft environmental documents, including the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), are now available for public comment. This project is to improve mobility in the I-80 corridor and this environmental study compares cost/benefits of alternatives, primarily focused on adding 16 miles of freeway lanes in each direction between Dixon and the 50-80 split.

    The draft environmental documents are available for review through the State’s CEQA Clearinghouse here: https://ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2021060117/4

    The public is encouraged to comment on the scope, alternatives (were enough considered?), assumptions, and methods of the analysis as described in these draft study documents. For example, were traffic noise and localized air pollution addressed and mitigated? Were impacts appropriately described and effectively mitigated? These draft documents include the first Caltrans EIR in Northern California that must conform to new state law SB743 (Steinberg). This new law requires environmental impact studies to focus on the climate impact described as the GHG from the changes in vehicle miles traveled. Traffic congestion is no longer considered an important factor in the environmental analysis.

    The draft documents will also be posted on the Caltrans “Yolo80 Improvements” webpage: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-3/d3-projects/d3-i80-corridor-improvements. Yolo Transportation District (YoloTD) will post a link as well: www.YoloTD.org.

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