Davisite logo
Davisite Banner. Left side the bicycle obelisk at 3rd and University. Right side the trellis at the entrance to the Arboretum.

  • Argument in Favor of Bee Wash

    DavisBee33PARODY – see note below

    Vote for the Bee Wash to approve the Davis Bee Ecosystem because it enhances and advances more of what we love about our city.

    Bee Wash gives voters in Davis an exciting opportunity to:

    • build affordable housing for the next generation of Davis’s beneficial insects; 
    • protect endangered species and permanently preserve nearly two acres of wild land;
    • provide good bee jobs close to home, for UC apicology graduates and others;
    • produce more sweet internship opportunities for Davis high school and college students;
    • preserve Davis’s quality of life without raising the price of honey.

    DavisBee22

    Bee Wash is supported by residents, business leaders, students and environmentalists, because it advances Davis’ community values and provides opportunities for everyone. Bee wash will build on Davis’ commitment to bold environmental and agricultural leadership by attracting next-generation companies focused on solving the world’s greatest challenges, like climate change, food supply, and water scarcity. And Bee Wash will be a carbon-free model for California, requiring 100% renewable power onsite.

    Bee Wash will improve existing trails and add new bike and pedestrian paths and a safe overcrossing of Mace Boulevard for flying insects. An objective, independent study confirms that flying will reduce commute times near the Mace/I-80 interchange by up to 3-1/2 minutes.

    Bee Wash improves the amenities that matter to Davis. It creates new greenbelts and trails, native habitat, and soccer, softball and other recreation fields — all at no cost to taxpayers. Bee Wash brings millions of dollars a year to the City budget and for support of Davis schools, while generating $29 million in one-time revenues to fix our infrastructure and help pay for a new South Davis bee hive, honey library and community center.

    Bee Wash is endorsed by the entire City Council, the Davis Chamber of Commerce and UC Davis student associations. Learn more at Beewash.com VOTE YES on Bee Wash!

    DavisBee11

    Signers:

    Gloria Beekeeper – Mayor of Davis

    Pamela G. Honey – Founder Marrone Bio

    Joseph “Buzz” DiNunzio – DJUSD Trustee

    Gerald Beeswax – Member, Valley Clean Energy Community Advisory Committee; Member, Davis Utilities Commission

    Ruth Uy Honeycomb – Former Davis Mayor

    ******

    Parody notes: This article is based on images used for the proposal for the car wash at 480 Mace Blvd and text of the Yes on H (DISC 2022) ballot argument.

    Posted by

    Tuvia ben Olam

    on

    in

    |

    2 comments on Argument in Favor of Bee Wash
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.

  • Odd Fellows to hold Music for Natalie 2022 on April 2nd

    Nat-cor-grad 1(From press release) The Davis Odd Fellows invite the community to 'Music for Natalie 2022' on Saturday April 2nd from 12 to 5 pm at the Odd Fellows Lodge at 415 Second Street in downtown Davis. The event will be held outdoors at the back of the Odd Fellows and Lyons Realty properties.

    Music for Natalie is free and open to all. As one Lodge member said, “Music for Natalie is an opportunity to celebrate the memory of Officer Corona. Her service to our community was special. We hope our scholarship program will encourage others to serve in similar ways”. There will be Handheld Sweet & Savory Pies, lemonade, a beer garden, and live music by local bands Major Six, Mike Blanchard and the Californios, and the Natalie Cortez Band. The music starts at 1 pm.

    Music for Natalie is held annually and is part of the Odd Fellows’ outreach for the Officer Natalie Corona Odd Fellows Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship program was started to help high school seniors who want to follow in Natalie's footsteps and is funded by an endowment started by the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge. Information about the program and how to donate will be available at the event and also at the link below.

    https://www.davislodge.org/officer-natalie-corona-odd-fellows-memorial-scholarship/

     

    Posted by

    davisite2

    on

    in

    , ,

    |

    No comments on Odd Fellows to hold Music for Natalie 2022 on April 2nd
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.

  • Old East Davis Requests Review of the Trackside Project Appellate Decision

    Mandala-oednaThe Old East Davis Neighborhood Association (OEDNA) is requesting review by the California Supreme Court of the recent appellate court decision on the Trackside development project, in the case of OEDNA vs. City of Davis.

    We are doing this because we believe that the City should be faithful to the plain meaning of its planning and zoning rules, and because we want to preserve the setting and feeling of our historic neighborhood.

    By convention, land use policies adopted by a California city can be interpreted by the same city when the policies are applied to specific projects. While this sounds logical— giving cities flexibility and local control— if understood too broadly, the conventional view could allow a city to reinterpret planning policies in ways that violate their original meaning and intent.

    In the Trackside case, the Yolo Superior Court found that the City of Davis overstepped its discretion in approving the project, which does not conform to the City’s land use policies for mass and scale transitions between the downtown core and traditional neighborhoods.

    To our dismay, the appeals court reversed the Yolo court’s decision, and in doing so claimed that the City has almost unlimited discretion in the application of its planning policies.

    (more…)

    Posted by

    davisite2

    on

    in

    , ,

    |

    No comments on Old East Davis Requests Review of the Trackside Project Appellate Decision
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.

  • Yolo County District Attorney Forum

    (From press release) Meet the current DA, Jeff Reisig, and his challenger, Cynthia Rodriguez in this public forum.

    DA candidates will answer questions from the Yolo County Taxpayers Association and also from the public. This non-partisan forum will provide a platform to the DA candidates to inform the public on issues important to our vote.

    TIME: Thursday, 3/10 at 7:00 PM

    LOCATION: 1225 East Kentucky Ave., Woodland, CA 95695

    Yolo County Taxpayers Association is a non-partisan, non-profit citizen association dedicated to Efficiency, Economy, and Equality in governmental affairs. Incorporated 1967.

    Posted by

    davisite2

    on

    in

    ,

    |

    No comments on Yolo County District Attorney Forum
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.

  • What should Davis’s “Resilience Hub” be?

    The City Council approved spending of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds at its most recent meeting, including $400,000 for "climate resilience hub/climate action needs." This being the only money they allocated related to climate change, it seems especially important to think about what such a hub might look like. Below are relevant documents from the City's Utility Commission.

    ~~~~~~~

    From: Resilience Subcommi1ee
    To: Utilities Commission
    Re: More definitive vision of Resilience Hub Date: October 20, 2021

    The Resilience Subcommittee offers the following ideas and questions to the Utilities Commission to help formulate a vision of how a Resilience Hub could be beneficial to Davis and the specific qualities we would like to have in a Davis Resilience Hub.

    ——————————————————————————————————————————————

    Resilience is the ability of people and communities to anticipate, accommodate and positively adapt to and thrive amidst changing climate conditions and emergency events.

    Resilience Hub is a local facility to enhance community resilience by providing reliable essential services when emergency events occur and other community benefits under normal conditions. A resilience hub typically:

    (more…)

    Posted by

    Roberta Millstein

    on

    in

    ,

    |

    1 comment on What should Davis’s “Resilience Hub” be?
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.

  • Promises Made…Promises Broken!

    Broken promisesHow Ongoing Complacency by the Davis City Council Allowed the Bretton Woods Developer to Renege on Many Election Commitments Made to the Voters of Davis

    Part 1– A Specious Lawsuit by the Bretton Woods Developer, David Taormino as agent for the Binning Ranch Company LLC,  Forces the University Retirement Community (URC) to Abandon Plans to Construct an Enhanced Memory Care Facility at the Project Site. The Developer Proposes to Alternatively Construct 30 Detached Senior Homes which Seemingly Violates the Supposedly Immutable Voter-Approved Baseline Features of the Project but Which Could Result in Millions Dollars of Additional Profits to the Developer.

    By Alan Pryor

    Introduction

    This is Part 1 of a planned series of articles discussing how the City Council is approving entitlements for the Bretton Woods project that violate the project's supposedly unchangeable Baseline Features. These Baseline Features were contained in ballot language presented to voters and upon which the voters relied when the project was approved at the polls in November 2018. The approved entitlements also completely change key provisions of Development Agreement between the Developer and the City that was also very prominently presented to the public prior to the vote.

    (more…)

    Posted by

    davisite2

    on

    in

    , , ,

    |

    12 comments on Promises Made…Promises Broken!
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.

  • The Yes on DiSC Campaign is Using a National Telemarketing Firm to do “Push Poll” Telephone Solicitations Disguised as Surveys

    The campaign has retained Dynata, a Texas marketing firm, to repeatedly call thousands of Davis voters over and over until the phone is answered.

    PushpollwordcloudBy Alan Pryor

    Who is Dynata?

    Numerous Davis citizens have reported receiving a "push poll" survey telephone call concerning the proposed "DiSC 2022" project from a firm headquartered in Plano, Texas whose caller ID otherwise identifies the company as "Dynata" from either Hayward or Oakland in the Bay Area. Dynata (https://www.dynata.com/) is a privately-owned online data collection company owned by two private equity firms, Court Square Capital Management and HGGC. ("DiSC 2022" is a 102-acre proposed mixed use business park that would be constructed on prime farmland outside the current City limits, just north of I-80, the Ikeda fruit stand, and the City water tank, and just east of Mace Blvd.  It will be Measure H on the June ballot).

    According to their website, "Dynata, LLC… and their parents, affiliates and subsidiaries world-wide (collectively referred to hereinafter as “Dynata”) provide sampling solutions and technology for survey research, providing clients with access to consumer and business-to-business respondents via internet, telephone (both fixed/landline and wireless/mobile), postal and multi-mode methodologies."

    But the firm is poorly thought of by both consumers and peers in the survey research industry.

    (more…)

    Posted by

    davisite2

    on

    in

    |

    2 comments on The Yes on DiSC Campaign is Using a National Telemarketing Firm to do “Push Poll” Telephone Solicitations Disguised as Surveys
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.

  • Davis Pride Festival set for June

    RobinFadtkeFest2021

    Festival goers enjoy the Davis Pride Festival on June 13, 2021. (Robin Fadtke/Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) The rainbows return to Davis’ Central Park in June for the Davis Pride Festival. Events include skating, a fun run, live music, drag queens, vendors and more – June 11 and 12.

    The weekend of events, produced by the Davis Phoenix Coalition, begins with the Diva Disco Skate Night, starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 11 under the Davis Farmers Market Pavilion. The night will include music, lights and food trucks.

    Sunday, June 12 begins at 8 a.m. with the Run for Equality, a 5K run or walk from Central Park, and a 1K Rainbow Run for children. At 11 a.m., the Davis Pride Festival begins at the park and pavilion, with local and international bands, a drag queen revue, educational booths, food, drink, and vendors in partnership with the Davis Craft and Vintage Market.

    Other events include the rainbow painting of the crosswalks around Central Park early on May 29; a Drink with Pride Night at Sudwerk Brewing Company (date to be determined); and possibly a Bike Party Davis Ride with Pride.

    June is International LGBTQ+ Month. Davis Pride is produced by Davis Phoenix Coalition, a nonprofit that works to foster diversity, eliminate intolerance, prevent hate-motivated violence and support LGBTQ+ youths. The coalition was founded in the aftermath of a 2013 anti-gay attack on Davis resident “Mikey” Partida. Proceeds from Davis Pride support the coalition’s anti-racism and anti-bullying campaigns, support to LGBTQ+ youths and their families, and outreach with area police departments, churches and schools. To donate, go to https://davisphoenixco.org/donate.

    To support the event, be a vendor, volunteer, visit https://www.davispride.org/. To learn more details as they unfold, follow Davis Pride on Facebook and Instagram.

    Posted by

    davisite2

    on

    in

    , ,

    |

    No comments on Davis Pride Festival set for June
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.

  • Unitrans Turns 54

    Campus and City Bus System Celebrating 54 Years in the Community

    54thAnniversaryFlyer00001 54thAnniversaryFlyer00002(From press release) ASUCD Unitrans, the City of Davis and UC Davis local bus service, is turning 54 on Friday, March 4! To celebrate, Unitrans is running one of our vintage London double decker buses on a special, free campus to downtown lunch shuttle from 11 AM to 1 PM. In addition, Unitrans will host refreshments and giveaway items outside at the Memorial Union Bus Terminal from 11 AM to 1 PM. At noon, to celebrate our community's transit legacy, all three functioning vintage London double decker buses and two new modern double deckers will "parade" through downtown on 2nd and 3rd Streets from the Memorial Union Bus Terminal. The vintage buses have not been in service since March 2020 and Unitrans has used the last two years to refurbish and repaint the buses. Unitrans hopes to reintroduce the vintage buses into limited service in spring 2022.

    https://unitrans.ucdavis.edu/news/2022-02-22/unitrans-turns-54-celebrate-with-us-on-friday-marc/

    Posted by

    davisite2

    on

    in

    ,

    |

    No comments on Unitrans Turns 54
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.

  • Four Car Washes Near 80 & Mace?

    Car wash center sign

    Poorly-Photoshop'd modification of "Davis Auto Center" sign on Chiles next to I-80

    I have been engaged for a couple of weeks on the subject of the proposed car wash at 480 Mace (at Cowell Blvd.), and have written about it.

    I am not sure when the following items appeared on the City's website, but I see now that there's also a plan for a "new service station, a convenience store and carwash, a separate retail building, and related site improvements" at 4810 Chiles AND to "maintain the existing carwash [and] construct a new 2,832 square-foot convenience store" and implement related features at 4480 Chiles, which already has a car wash.

    My concerns are:

    1) The public notification and project documents for the 480 Mace proposal make no mention of the simultaneous process for 4810 Chiles, for which Mr Njoku says he's aiming a hearing on March 23, 2022, though I believe Sherri Metzger said at the PC meeting tonight that this was not guaranteed – nor for 4480 Chiles, which Mr Lee says will have a hearing "soon". This is two weeks after the re-scheduled Planning Commission hearing for 480 Mace. What's the CEQA comments deadline for 4810 Chiles? The sum of this seems to be that perhaps a week before the re-rescheduled Planning Commission hearing on 480 Mace, the residents of 4735 Cowell Blvd who received the 500 ft notice that proposed car wash will receive another for the second car wash at 4810 Chiles, as will other commercial addresses within the 500 ft radius BUT significantly also the Ellington Apartments, which have their main entrance on El Cemonte, and a small shared border with 4810 Chiles. Is the 4810 Chiles applicant going to be making the same mistake as 480's in regards to a lack of outreach. (The letter about the requested continuance from the 480 Mace applicant which was shown at the PC meeting tonight thanked Staff for circulating the announcement and mentioned they were doing similar on NextDoor. Nothing else.

    Car wash plan mapOn the left the two existing car washes; on the right two proposed.

    Note that proposed ones are directly adjacent.

    2) The Traffic Studies for 480 Mace and 4810 Chiles make no mention of each other. I had already written about my concerns for the overlap for design and signalling changes for 480 Mace proposed mitigations and the Mace Re-Design non-approved plans, and this makes me even more curious.

    3) The Traffic Study for 4810 Chiles seems to show egress from NB Mace, but it's not clear if it's open, one-way etc. The Study mentions no mitigations for it.

    4) The available documents for 4810 Chiles include maps which marginally at best show El Macero Village and Ellington as "Apartments", not e.g. perhaps 500 people or more within 500 ft.

    5) The documentation for 480 refers to the proposed buildings having visual elements similar to those nearby, but this is not inclusive of what's proposed for 4810 Chiles, which looks objectively remarkably different (and subjectively incredibly generic and ugly.)

    Circle K

    Proposal for 4810 Chiles… yeah, ugh…

    6) I understand the current zoning, the district plan already referred to by Staff as "out of date", but don't see how it makes sense to have a total of four car washes in close proximity to each other (three mentioned and the one behind the Chevron station at Mace and 2nd St.) and why it's been encourage or allowed to be pursued. Given the very close timing of 480 Mace and 4810 Chiles including the lack of time and effort for community input for 480 Mace, it also seems like a race. Perhaps the Planning Commission won't approve them but what if it does, because…

    7) Two of the proposed car washes are so close that their vacuums – or loud stereos played by customers – may be able to be heard by visitors to the other location, and more critically by the apartment complex that lies partially directly in between them, El Macero Village Apartments, where I live, except during the times that the sound of I-80 is louder, but then this all has at least a subjective cumulative effect.

    8) Fehr & Peers has done the Traffic Studies for both 480 Mace and 4810 Chiles, and also the design plans for the Mace Re-Design. For the former two they are working for the applicants and for the latter for the City (and County?). It's not clear if their work for the City for the Re-Design of Mace has been used for 480 – or also 4810 Chiles – but it seems so as in the Study for 480 they suggest mitigations for areas – namely, the intersection of Mace and Cowell – for which they've also proposed concrete design modifications at the direction of the City. Is this all perfectly normal?

    Posted by

    Tuvia ben Olam

    on

    in

    , , , , , , ,

    |

    3 comments on Four Car Washes Near 80 & Mace?
    Davisite logo

    Did you enjoy reading this article? Then subscribe to the Davisite for free and never miss a post again.