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Articles from
July 2007
Yamada Assembly Report Out
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 ::
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It is pretty clear to me that this report will generate a great deal of attention in the political world of Davis and Yolo County.
Here is the Yamada report. She is at $103k COH with $14,000 of debt to herself. Net position is about $89,000.
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Montana Meth Project
Monday, July 30, 2007 ::
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Wow. Today I learned about the Montana Meth Project.
What a big deal this is. Check out the ads they use in Montana. They are clearly not screwing around. I watched the first one and then had to see all of the rest.
I have never used illegal drugs but these spots would certainly have an impact on me if I was thinking about it.
I am not sure that I have seen a set of spots that get a message across better than these.
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Come on....a little backbone please
Monday, July 30, 2007 ::
1 Comments
I haven’t been watching this PBID process very closely. We started the process when I was on the City Council and I supported it. A public hearing will be held on Tuesday night by the Woodland City Council to determine how the city will vote for the property they own in the downtown core.
There are numerous reasons to oppose or support the PBID. I understand that and respect those that come to different conclusions than I do.
However let me point out something I think is more than just a trend.
Wayfarer Center
The Yolo Wayfarer Center applies for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money over many years to build a new shelter on 4th Street. There is no doubt in the minds of reasonable people that the second phase will go directly to the north of the first phase.
The Council votes unanimously to approve the CDBG monies for this purpose. We don’t hear any objections about the possible location. We don’t see any restrictions proposed on the grant money. All support.
Then when we get ready to approve the building proposed by the Wayfarer Center we see Brenda Cedarblade and Anita Long come to the City Council meeting to object to the building. Sure enough City Councilman Jeff Monroe objects too. He argues that he wants to build it as large as possible but not at this location – the location that everyone was aware of when the CDBG monies were approves.
So where was he in the months and years leading up to the final decision on phase two of the Wayfarer Center? Answer: supporting the building of it at that location.
Ok. It happens. People learn new information as the study a policy area and alter their position.
Urban Limit Line
Then we get to the Urban Limit Line. The General Plan includes the requirement to establish the line. The City Council approves a subcommittee to study the line. We hear arguments both for and against line. Monroe actually makes both sides of the argument at times.
Even before the ULL discussion begins the Woodland City Council approves numerous plans for the Spring Lake area. I can’t think of a single one that Monroe objects to in any way.
The City Council also adopts a Major Projects Financing Plan that sets out when the city will build infrastructure and where it will be built in the coming decades. I don’t remember any objection by Monroe to the plan or the proposals that involve the Spring Lake area or the remainder area.
So Brenda Cedarblade and Nancy Lea come out against the ULL and Jeff is suddenly the leading opponent. Monroe opposes it because he argues Woodland will become too large. Now consider that the area within the lines includes Spring Lake, the Spring Lake remainder area, and the area north of Kentucky Avenue. This is all area that was within the urban reserve for the City of Woodland.
Now to be fair to Monroe, he did briefly make a point about the land North of Kentucky. He deserves credit for that.
Yet Monroe proposed no alternative plan, just said that he wanted a smaller tighter ULL, despite his votes for other plans that presumed the development of Spring Lake and the remainder area.
So where was he in the years and months leading up to the final decision on the ULL? Answer: supporting it and certainly not proposing alternatives.
PBID
Finally, we have the current debate on the PBID. I am confident that Monroe has voted to go forward on this issue on several occasions. The funding of the study, the formation of the committees, and a number of other things where the City Council had direct input into the process come to mind.
As I understand it Monroe will be objecting to the process on the PBID on Tuesday night. That is fair enough, but why now? Where has the guy been for the past two years while this thing was being prepared?
Well, the common denominator seems to be that Brenda Cedarblade is opposed to the PBID, so now Monroe has a bunch of questions and objections on things he could have dealt with months ago.
Disagree. Object. I am good with all that.
Continue to lack consistency over and over again and it makes you start to wunder….and this does not even include Gateway.
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Needle exchange article from this weekend
Monday, July 30, 2007 ::
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This article in the SF Chronicle came out over the weekend. It could not have come at a better time for my point of view.
We will certainly be discussing this tomorrow when this issue comes up on the Board agenda.
Favorite parts --
When The Chronicle's C.W. Nevius visited some of the park's homeless encampments the other day, he found plenty of new and used needles. It's a problem that's been building for a while: Recreation and Park Department spokeswoman Rose Dennis estimated that "on any day we pull between 100 and 200 needles out of the park . . . because that's where people use them."
The problem is getting back the needles from users once they take off to cloud nine.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who has picked up needles in the park and who co-authored the bill allowing them to be sold over the counter, said it's up to the city to keep the parks syringe-free -- either through more cleanups or tighter controls to make sure needles are returned.
"We need to come up with a better system,'' Mirkarimi said.
After we called City Hall and started asking questions, Newsom agreed.
"You're raising a legitimate question about the program, no doubt about it," Newsom said, adding that he's asked Health Director Mitch Katz to find a better way to collect the used syringes.
"Don't get me wrong, I still support the program," Newsom said. "But so for we've been all about distribution. We need to start looking at collection as well."
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The One Year Birthday of the Vanguard
Monday, July 30, 2007 ::
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So tonight I attended the one year anniversary party of the Davis Vanguard. Nice event.
I am not a "progressive". I am not from Davis.
I told the crowd there that after the Yolo County BOS meeting on the General Plan I was calling off my campaign for Davis City Council. I want nothing to do with it.
For someone that really knows very little about Davis I was able to put some faces with names. That was interesting.
I spoke for a few minutes and tended bar the rest of the time. The folks there were very nice to me and I appreciate it.
Happy Birthday to the creation of Doug Paul Davis.
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Dunk Tank Targets
Monday, July 30, 2007 ::
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The following local leaders have agreed to be dunk tank targets on Saturday at the Backpacks for Kids event ---
- Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig
- Woodland City Councilman Art Pimentel
- Woodland City Councilman Jeff Monroe
- Woodland Police Chief Carey Sullivan
Thank you for agreeing to help the kids from Yolo County that will be starting school with some good gear.
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The Wolf
Monday, July 30, 2007 ::
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I have been a big fan of The Wolf since it came on the scene as the new country station in the Sacramento region. I thought it was really cool when they recently did a broadcast from East and Main in Woodland.
Tomorrow while we are in the Board of Supervisors meeting they will be broadcast from Hoblit-Haynes in Woodland from 12-2. Excellent.
They are even going to be out at Pioneer Park on Saturday thanks to a request by Leticia. Excellent.
We are happy to have the support for the Backpacks for Kids event.
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Yolo Sports
Monday, July 30, 2007 ::
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Check out yolosports.org. I think Woodland will win with this sort of economic development effort.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8/1/2007
Ready…Set…Sports! Yolo Sports!
The Yolo County Visitors Bureau and partners are excited to announce the launch of Yolo Sports. The program has been created to bring the Yolo County sporting communities together to demonstrate a cohesive, inclusive sports product to regional and national sports organizers. We will focus on providing our services while insuring that our knowledge, experience and market expertise are at an utmost level of integrity. Yolo Sports is here to help nurture and promote local sporting events that presently exist while building, positioning and marketing our area to appeal to renowned and prestigious events.
All sports clubs, organizations, leagues and facilities are encouraged to check out www.yolosports.org <http://www.yolosports.org/> on August 1st 2007. The mission of the Yolo CVB’s new Yolo Sports program is to not only help market Yolo County assets and facilities, but to also act as a resource for all sports enthusiasts. So if you are looking to find that special team to play on, club to be a part of, event to participate in, or a volunteer looking to get involved, Yolo Sports is the place.
The Yolo Sports website will be launching August 1st 2007. For further Yolo Sports information please call Aaryn Skaggs (530) 297-1900 or email aaryn@yolosports.org.
Ready…Set…Sports! Make sure you grow with Yolo Sports!
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Blogstapated no more
Monday, July 30, 2007 ::
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I have been paying attention and as usual have opinions about what is going on in Woodland. We had some brief technical difficulties but Super Webmaster Bob was able to get things back up and running again.
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Sports -- maybe the worst week ever
Sunday, July 29, 2007 ::
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I realize that many of you don't follow sports. It happens to be one of my favorite things.
This week was one of the worst, if not the worst, in professional sports history. We saw an star NFL Quarterback accused of being involved in dog fighting, the Tour De France get rocked by another doping scandal, the NBA see a referee leave the sport under allegations of betting on games, and the world cringe at the thought of Barry Lamar Bonds getting close to breaking one of the most respected records in sports with a cloud of controversy surrounding him. This is not good.
Les Carpenter of The Washington Post had an excellent piece today on why some people risk it all.
Frank DeFord writes for Sports Illustrated and does radio on NPR. I have never been able to figure out if I like him or not. Today sealed his fate with me. He argued on Face the Nation that the answer was to legalize sports betting across the nation so the temptation would not be there. That is stupid.
The answer to stopping speeding on El Dorado Avenue in Woodland-- change the speed limit to 120 MPH then no one will be speeding.
I realize that these athletes work hard for decades to reach a certain level in their profession. They have gotten to place that thousands of others have dreamed of reaching. Good for them. I wanted to be a Force Reonnaissance Marine really badly at one point in my life. If presented with the choice of getting there with steroids or not getting there at all I am honestly not sure what I would have chosen.
It is my belief that technology has given some people the opportunity to use it to improve performance but it has also given us the opportunity to detect some cheating that we probably did not know about before.
This entire week has been a disaster for professional sports. Everyone would probably agree.
In sharp contrast to that we are watching the induction of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripkin, Jr. into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It is in sharp contract because Gwynn was the anti-steroid athlete. The press ripped him for his poor conditioning and lack of physique. Yet there he will be standing later today in Cooperstown without Jose Conseco and some of the other power hitters of that dominated his era.
It is a shame that we may be watching Bonds break the career home run record the same week two of baseball's classiest players will take their place in history.
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Backpacks for Kids - Update
Thursday, July 26, 2007 ::
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Arrangements for “Backpacks for Kids” Family Fun Day are coming along great. We are very proud of our community as over 40 businesses, organizations, and individuals have contributed to this worthy event. Today Water Shack offered to donate all the ice needed for the day, and Woodland Health Care will pay for the HUGE 36ft bounce house. We also want to thank the Firefighters Association who has offered to pay for the dunk tank in which Councilman Pimentel as well as Chief of Police Carey Sullivan and District Attorney Jeff Reisig will be our dunkees. Fire Station 3 will be at the event with their fire engine, providing a demonstration and fun for the kids.
All proceeds from the event go to help underprivileged kids throughout Yolo County. Anyone with children knows how expensive it is to purchase backpacks, school supplies and clothes, so please mark your calendars to attend this wonderful event to help our local youth. BBQ, games, contests, prizes, pizza, Jamba Juice, dunk tank, music, face painting, snow cones, firefighter demonstrations, and much more! Bring a backpack or school supplies to the event and receive a ticket for our prize drawing. If you would like to donate to or be a sponsor of the event, please contact Dotty or Leticia at the county office to let us know how you would like to help: (530) 666-8230 or dotty.huber@yolocounty.org / leticia.toney@yolocounty.org
Dotty and Leticia have been doing a great job on this event. This is good stuff for Woodland.
A huge thank you to our generous sponsors. Here is a list of our confirmed sponsors so far:
1. City of Woodland
2. Daily Democrat
3. Woodland Healthcare
4. Knight's of Columbus
5. Sir Speedy Printing
6. WAVE, channel 21
7. Raley's Supermarket
8. Pacific Star Farms
9. Staples
10. Lucinda and Robert Talkington
11. Morrison's restaurant
12. Jamba Juice
13. Bel Air
14. Pizza Guys
15. Foy's Bikes
16. Paco's restaurant
17. 101.9 the Wolf
18. Fire fighter's Association
19. Timothy's Bakery
20. RDM Entertainment
21. Ludy's restaurant
22. Mane Reflections
23. Bob Tedfors
24. Baker's Delight
25. Comic Store
26. Lion's Club
27. Upper Cut
28. Little Caesars on Court St and Gibson
29. Main Event
30. Cuts and Perms
31. Woodlanders for Responsible Government
32. Water Shack
33. Randy Russell
34. Duane and Leticia Toney
35. eLab Technologies
36. Marble Slab
37. Wild Oak Farms
38. Morales Trucking
39. WalMart
40. Vineyards at Cache Creek Ranch
41. Julie and Tim Dachtler
42. Rose Colored Glass Company
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Yolo County Redistricting - 2011
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 ::
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Over the past six to eight months I have heard a great deal about redistricting from political insiders in Yolo County. There seems to be this feeling that since West Sacramento has grown so quickly that it will have two Supervisors in 2011 and Davis will end up with one. That is extremely unlikely.
Let's just assume the following things will be true in 2011. I am using round numbers to make this example easy to follow.
Total population of Yolo County in 2010 ~ 200,000
Each Supervisor District will be ~ 40,000
Davis population ~ 65,000
Woodland population ~55,000
West Sacramento population ~45,000
Winters and Unincorporated area ~35,000
So who is likely to be on the Board of Supervisors in 2011?
District 1 - McGowan is likely if he runs for another term in 2008
District 2 - Yamada's replacement in the 2008 election
District 3 - Rexroad or his replacement in 2010 election
District 4 - Thomson's replacement in the 2010 election
District 5 - Chamberlain is likely since he is running for re-election in 2008
Would it be possible to do what the people from Davis fear and draw a districts that make it unlikely that the people from Davis have two Supervisors? Yes. Is it probable. Not even close.
Redistricting needs to pass with three votes of the Board of Supervisors so three members would have to work overtime to attack Davis at line drawing time.
Here is one possibility. I call it the "Davis Feast or Famine Model"
District 1 - 20,000 people from West Sac, 10,000 from Woodland, 10,000 from Davis
District 2 - 40,000 people in Davis
District 3 - 25,000 people from Woodland, 5,000 from Davis, 10,000 from unincorporated
District 4 - 5,000 people from Davis, 25,000 from West Sacramento, 10,000 from unincorporated
District 5 - 5,000 people from Davis, 20,000 people from Woodland, 15,000 from unincorporated
Davis would get one seat for sure (District 2) and is likely to only have that one seat. If we assume that people vote geographically then the 4th District would go to West Sacramento. Then we get what Davis fears. However, it is also possible under this plan that the quality of the political candidates from Davis is so great that they actually elect Supervisor in all five districts. Joy.
While possible - this plan is unlikely to get three votes.
Here is what is more politically likely to happen:
District 1 - 40,000 people from West Sacramento
District 2 - 35,000 people from Davis, 5,000 from West Sacramento
District 3 - 35,000 people from Woodland, 5,000 unincorporated
District 4 - 30,000 people from Davis, 10,000 unincorporated
District 5 - 20,000 people from Woodland, 20,000 unincorporated
The five Supervisors agree on the lines and they all vote for it.
Is it possible that West Sacramento picks up a Supervisor at the expense of Davis. Yes. Will it happen in 2011? Unlikely. Will it happen in the next several decades with current growth policies. Yes.
What is far more likely is that the 5th District that has always been represented by someone from the unincorporated area of Yolo County ends up being represented by someone that lives in Woodland. That could happen in 2012 when Chamberlain is likely to leave the Board.
That is my crystal ball view for 2011.
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Really..not affiliated with AI?
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 ::
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As many of you know...I love the Yolo County Fair. It is a real Woodland event that defines our community in many ways.
I just read this article online. Great article about the Yolo Idol Search competition. This is my favorite line ---
While the popular Fox Television show American Idol may have inspired this local talent search, Idol Search is in no way affiliated with American Idol.
Really? I never would have guessed.
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Build your way to affordable housing?
Monday, July 23, 2007 ::
1 Comments
Dan Weintraub is one of the best columnists around. I read his stuff almost every day.
On Sunday he went off on the City of Davis and their land use policies. While I am never above taking some good shots at our Inter-Galactic Sister City to the south I think one important point is missing -- we can't build ourselves to affordable housing in California without sacrificing every other public policy principle.
Say Davis and/or Woodland added 10,000 homes next year. What would the price of the homes be? Would it be dramatically less than the prices we have now in these communities. I don't think so.
Could the infrastructure for transportation handle it well? Could our public safety service keep up with the demand? Could the air quality remain at current levels? Could our water supply continue to keep up with demand without a further decline in quality? Could quality schools continue to operate? With a huge influx of people all at once I think the answer to all these questions is no.
If this were the case wouldn't home prices be dropping in some of the faster growing regions of the state like Elk Grove, Brentwood, Riverside County, and Placer County? They are all growing very quickly yet the prices at least remain stable or actually continue to climb.
If the Davis City Council decided to add Oste Ranch and Covell Village to the General Plan would the housing prices drop enough to bring a mortgage down from $4,000 per month to $2,000 per month so that someone with a good job would be able to afford it? Again, I don't think so.
My view is that housing is a regional commodity. People are willing to move in order to get the best value. If the cost of housing rises in Davis then it rises in Woodland too. It may not rise as much but it does go up.
End point for me -- you can't build your way to affordable housing in Yolo County.
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Agustin Aguayo is not a hero
Monday, July 23, 2007 ::
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When I read this story in the LA Times today I just shook my head in disbelief.
Most everyone would agree that a person has a right to object to the war. I have not really considered the idea of conscientious objectors. Even if the conclusion is that military policy will consider these objectors different from the rest of the population I would never allow this status to be claimed by someone that is currently serving in the US Armed Forces. If those are your views then don't join the military.
Ok. The part that really got me was the way this soldier behaved when he was in Iraq.
He said that although he was in Iraq as a medic, he would refuse to load his weapon even on guard duty. What's more, seeing combat close-up in Iraq, Aguayo said, "just led me to understand that even with the best intentions, war is an evil element we need to … change. We need to abolish it, for the sake of humanity. What a great way to protect those around you.
Have your protest. Make your point. Write a book. Whatever....but you darn sure better have your weapon at the ready when you are in Iraq. Your life depends on it but almost more importantly so do your buddies that are making every effort to finish the obligation that they agreed to do.
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Missing Something?
Monday, July 23, 2007 ::
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The state budget in Sacramento is quite a drama right now. George Skelton's column in the LA Times today harshly rips the Assembly for passing their version.
What I don't get is that all the Assembly Democrats, including Lois Wolk of Davis, voted for it. Maybe Skelton is just framing this in a very bad light but I can't imagine that not even one Democrat would not have stood up to vote against this proposal.
The press coverage of the State Senate staying in session all night over the budget and then the US Senate doing the same thing is just stupid. The thing that really got me was that the US Senators actually sounded like they deserved some sort of medal for staying up all night.
My points --
If you have to stay up all night to do your work that usually means you have been screwing around and not getting your work done previously.
Thousands of men and women in the Armed Forces stay up all night on a regular basis. They don't treat it like a big deal. It is part of the job. You make a big deal out of it but they just do their jobs. Cut the press conferences and get back to work.
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Michael Vick -- pretty bad
Sunday, July 22, 2007 ::
2 Comments
Personally I don't know that I have ever agreed with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Animal rights is something that I am not really big on. I certainly view them more as personal property than having civil rights.
It is also interesting to me that the same people that will make a big stink about leather shoes will be the first to call an exterminator to get rats or insects wiped out of their home. They make a major distinction between dogs and rodents. I make a big distinction between humans and dogs.
So I have been following this Michael Vick situation more as a sports story. He is a star. Probably one of the best athletes on the planet right not -- even if he is not one of the best quarterbacks.
Tonight I read the Vick indictment. This is pretty bad stuff. Check out points 17 and 83.
Hate to say it -- but I agree with PETA. If the facts in this indictment are true the NFL needs to suspend him just like they did with Adam "Pacman" Jones. He has made this entire situation one that kind of defines the NFL right now.
This is my usual kind of PETA. Far more likely to be a member of this group. I need a cheeseburger.
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Mythbusters coming to Mondavi Center
Sunday, July 22, 2007 ::
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I have a couple shows on television that I record and watch all at once. Survivorman, Man v. Wild, and Mythbusters are three that I watch every episode. Sometimes it is at midnight but I watch them all.
Well -- the Daily Democrat on Friday had the announcement that the Mythbusters are coming to the Mondavi Center on November 10th. I promptly went the the Mondavi website to buy tickets -- nothing is there.
I am not sure what the live show could possibly be but I want to check it out....when the Mondavi ticket office gets their stuff on line.
On Wednesday Jenn and I will be gong to Arco Arena to see the American Idol Live show. I can't explain this sort of behavior I can only confess it.
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Needle Exchange Program -- again
Friday, July 20, 2007 ::
2 Comments
The Board of Supervisors has dealt with the issue of a needle exchange twice before. Once I lost 4-1 and once I lost 3-2.
It is going to come up again at the end of the month. The reality is that the current proposal is really a needle give away and not an exchange.
When I brought up my objections the first time I was told that a needle exchange was almost unsafe because employees had to count needles and it was not safe. Well, take a look at what Sonoma County is doing. They give a sharps container with the needles so the user and the employee can safely give back the needles when they EXCHANGE them.
I think people kind of laughed at me when I suggested that I wanted to keep used needles off playgrounds. Well guess what. When legislation on this topic was passed one of the things that was included was to make it illegal to dispose of needles on playgrounds. That doesn't do anything for me. We need to stop the kid from getting hurt..that should be the priority.
I even found some literature indicating that most needle exchange programs and one for one exchanges. What we are going to adopt in Yolo County is not an exchange at all. It is a give away program that expects drug users to behave in a responsible way.
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Woodland School Board Elections
Friday, July 20, 2007 ::
0 Comments
The time is getting short for people to file to run for the Woodland School Board. I am not even sure what candidates are running.
I know that is Jesse Ortiz and/or Carol Souza Cole run again I will be supporting them. After looking at the school district website it appears that Jesse, Carol, and Warren Berg are up for re-election.
Here is some information for potential candidates.
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The Daily Show -- Woodland
Friday, July 20, 2007 ::
0 Comments
The Daily Show with John Stewart is one of my favorite shows. I tape it every day.
Could we do one of these in Woodland? If you think of all the stuff that happens in Yolo County I think someone could get enough material for a weekly show. Davis could probably have a daily show.
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Diving Board Day at Mr. Morley's
Friday, July 20, 2007 ::
0 Comments
 One of the cool things about having my kids grow up in Woodland is being able to watch them do some of the things I did.
Today was diving board day at the Morley Swim School. Kids all over town finished a two week session of swimming lessons and get to "graduate" by jumping off the diving board.
When I was little I got to jump off the top of the shed into the pool the Morley's had on the other side of town. Mr. Morley reminded me today that you had to climb the rope to get up there.
Several of our family friends also were excited about diving board day.
You can see Abbie getting ready to go in on the left. She was all fired up and got two jelly beans at the end of the class. Amazing what that kid will do for a jelly bean.
It is a great time of year in Woodland. The Fair is almost here.
Actually, I think Mr. Morley might qualify as one of the Seven Wonders of Woodland. Think about how patient you need to be in order to teach thousands of people to swim.
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S.S. Pauly Sails Again
Thursday, July 19, 2007 ::
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Pauly is back at it for Ferns Park. God Bless her. This is the e-mail she sent around. If you can -- please help her.
Dear Project Play Committee,
Monday, July 23 @ 6 PM the Project Play committee will meet at Ferns Park.
Since we were the ones who were in charge of building the park, Dan Gentry, the P & R director said that we could decide HOW it is to be rebuilt. Thus, this meeting.
To help us make the best decision, John Courtney from RJM Design Group will present how it can be done professionally. Hopefully, Dodie who was in charge of rebuilding the Leathers' park in Natomas will attend. Either a rept. from Leathers or at least much information will be given on how this can be done using community help.
Please respond ASAP. If you know someone who might be interested in attending, please ask them. This is NOT an exclusive meeting! The more attending, the better the decision.
'Looking forward to seeing you at Ferns Park, Monday, July 23 @ 6 PM
Pauly van Muyden
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The Delta
Thursday, July 19, 2007 ::
2 Comments
 Last Friday Dotty and I headed out to take a driving tour of the Delta. It was excellent. To be honest, I have not spent much time out there except to drive through if 680 or 80 had a problem. Our guide was the capable Linda Fiack.
The more I read about the Delta the more I realize how little (basically nothing) I know.
One of the things that was cool about our trip was to go on the ferry just East of Rio Vista. I did not take very good pictures but a couple of them are with this post. One is of the ferry that holds about six cars and runs 24/7. The other is of the western shore where we started from. It is quite an operation that CalTrans runs.
One of the things I picked up was a brochure for Ecotours of the Delta. I can't go to the one on August 4th but I think I will take a break from the Fair and go to the one on the 18th. It is a four hour tour that leaves at 10am. Some information about the tour company is here.
This whole issue is actually pretty cool. Lots of moving parts. Lots of emotion and has a huge impact on the entire state of California. This is the kind of thing I like to learn about.
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So what was the deal wtih UC Davis?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 ::
0 Comments
The General Plan meeting yesterday was important for a number of reasons. It appears that the issue is going to carry on for a while. Maybe not in Davis but in other parts of the community. Others are planning to comment in appropriate places about the meeting and political fall out. I will leave that for them.
The one remaining procedural issue I had from the meeting involves all the letters being passed around on UC Davis letterhead. Several went around the room yesterday. They were written on official looking letterhead by people with important titles that worked for UCD.
So what is the position of the University?
Today in the Davis Enterprise Elisabeth Sherwin quotes someone that works for the Chancellor. The quotes makes sense to me -- but that was not the message implied yesterday at the podium of with supporting documentation.
In the morning I am going to be sending a letter to the Chancellor asking what the official position of the University was. I will be including copies of the letters circulated as examples.
If the policy is that everyone associated with the University gets to use letterhead then from time to time I would like to use my status as a former graduate student at UCD to fire off some rocket with the added weight of an outstanding education institution appearing to stand with me on my position.
This could come in very handy when I announce my candidacy for Davis City Council.
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Sacramento Bee article on General Plan
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 ::
0 Comments
Here is the Sacramento Bee article on the General Plan meeting yesterday.
So the question I have is "What's next?"
What do the recall proponents do at this point? I hope they realize that the attempt against Helen Thomson is a complete waste of time. In the case of Yamada it would also be a waste of time but they can harm her chances of being elected to the Assembly. The recall alone will go nowhere.
One thing that this article mentions is the stem cell advocates that showed up at the hearing yesterday. One of them was even "Miss Wheelchair California" wearing her sash. If these people came to the meeting on on their own -- great. Welcome. If someone recruited these people to come -- Shame on you. I really thought it was offensive.
This was not a stem cell issue. It is a land use issue. The testimony from these people should have been ruled out of order. It had no bearing on the issue at hand.
Surely I will be painted as a bad guy for making this point but I think someone had to step up and make it.
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Book Review: No Excuses by Robert Shrum
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 ::
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 I just finished reading "No Excuses" by Robert Shrum. It is a great book for the political junkie like me. Some of the stories were outstanding. The problem is that I just don't know how many are true.
This is a guy that was deeply involved in Senator Ted Kennedy's Presidential campaigns and political efforts. He jokes over and over in the book how he seemed to be the one man that could not win a Presidential campaign for his part. Shrum is a Democrat.
During the time that President Carter was in office he was on the outs with his administration. When President Clinton was in office he was on the outs part of the time and deeply involved part of the time.
This is a guy that wrote speeches much of the time. He picked the tone and the words used by some of the national most active political actors. He has an amazing place to view the last thirty years of political history.
Clearly his references to John Edwards are not something that the current Presidential candidate wants to see in print. Shrum claims Edwards makes some derogatory statements about homosexuals. When I saw Shrum on Meet the Press a few weeks ago they had a very pointed response to Shrum from the Edwards campaign. It also mentions Shrum shaping the view of Edwards on Iraq.
It is hard for me to determine where Shrum really stands in stature in his party political structure. I would imagine, like anyone, he has his fans and his critics.
My main criticism is that he mentions the "Shrum Primary" several times in this book. That was the "competition" for his services among those Presidential candidates. That is hard to believe considering his record but it may be true.
Overall a well written book but probably only worth reading the 500 pages for the politically active.
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Priorities in the YC General Plan
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 ::
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One of the things that I welcomed about serving on the Yolo County Board of Supervisors was the possibility of serving on a body with a reputation for good land use policy.
Tonight I read through the post and comments from Doug Paul Davis over at Davis Vanguard. He was actually blogging from the back row of the Board chambers. Personally, I thought that was really cool. It appears that quite a few people were paying attention to the blog and watching on streaming video.
One of the comments that really caught me on his blog was that some of the decisions today were easy for me because of my view of county services. That is actually true. I don't deny it.
Some will argue that I don't view county services in the same way Helen Thomson or Mariko Yamada do. That is absolutely true. I don't hide from that. We represent different areas of the county and the people we represent have very different views.
My views on the hearing today were shaped by two primary considerations.
The first was that I think one of the most important services the county provides is protection prime agriculture land and developing appropriately. In fact, I would argue that may be the single most important service the county provides. To me it is more important than lots of other things. I mean it. Instead of viewing this as something that completes with more social services I view it as complimenting them for every resident of Yolo County.
The piece that mostly shaped my view on the Davis proposals is that I am a former Mayor. In fact, I am probably better suited in background and interest to be on a City Council than a Board of Supervisors. The key here is that I believe that the Davis City Council, as crazy and wrong as they may be sometimes, have the right to be wrong.
When I was running for Supervisor, Sieferman criticized my description of my view on this as attempting to be the sixth member of the city council. My goal is not to be the sixth member of the city council and it is certainly not to be some kind of appeals court for those developers that can't get through the process in Davis.
One of the main reasons that I dedicated more than a year of my life purging Sieferman from office is that he truly believed that he served in some kind of greater position than members of the Woodland City Council. I don't think that at all. Being a County Supervisor was not a promotion. It is a different role than being on the City Council but not a promotion.
I am confident that Woodland was well served today during this Board meeting. However, I am also confident that several decisions were victories for those that place a supreme value on the preservation of prime agricultural land and those that feel self-government should apply to the incorporated communities in Yolo County.
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General Plan
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 ::
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What a day today on the Yolo County General Plan. Most of the day involved the area around Davis. I will try to make sure that I include the right results here. Some are a little fuzzy and it was only a couple hours ago.
Clarksburg -- delayed. We will single out a parcel for ag industrial in September.
Dunnigan -- delayed. The proponents wanted to include an extra 500 acres in the analysis.
Esparto - no change
Knights Landing -- went forward. Chamberlain and Rexroad voting no.
Madison - delayed. Rexroad voting no.
Monument Hills - no change
Yolo - no change
Zamora - no change
Elkhorn - actually became larger in the study to include area along I-5 and the river. We will know more in September.
I-505/14 - no change. Chamberlain no.
I-505/12A -- was added to the study. Chamberlain no.
I-505/Road 27 - removed from being studied. Rexroad no.
I-505/128 (Winters) - no change
Davis Northwest Quadrant -- delayed for discussion with City of Davis.. Rexroad and Chamberlain attempted to remove completely. Motion failed.
I-80 Innovation Corridor - delayed for discussion with the City of Davis.
Davis Covell Village - delayed for discussion with City of Davis. Rexroad and Chamberlain attempted to remove completely. Motion failed.
Woodland North - no change
Woodland East (Corn Maze) - removed from study.
Capay Ag District - no change
Clarksburg Ag District - no change
Dunnigan Hills Ag District -- added to the proposal for consideration in September. Chamberlain no.
I will post more later but these were the results.
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Arson in Ferns Park last night
Monday, July 16, 2007 ::
4 Comments
 This morning I got an e-mail from Dotty letting me know that Ferns Park had a fire last night. On my way to work I went by there to see what the deal was.
It is pretty bad. A good portion of the project built with Project Play was lost to a fire. My picture isn't great but it is the only one I took.
Vice Mayor Skip Davies was just rolling up this morning when I was leaving.
I remember a fire problem on some playground equipment at Whitehead Elementary not too long ago. The equipment had just been installed. I don't remember how that was resolved.
It just seems a little funny that playground equipment burning in Woodland seems to happen in the area between Cottonwood, Ashley, West Southwood, and Daniels.
This really is a shame. Lots of people are vested in this park because lots of Woodland people helped build it.
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Board should meet in the evening
Monday, July 16, 2007 ::
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Doug Paul Davis has a post today about the issue of the meeting time of the Board of Supervisors.
I am not sure exactly how the meeting will be run tomorrow but I do know that I would love to have our Board meetings be held in the evening. They would be better attended and probably allow more people to seek office so that they could also work in other ways while serving on the Board.
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Industrial Hemp -- Yolo County
Sunday, July 15, 2007 ::
1 Comments
It has been surprising to me that no one in Yolo County has picked up on AB 684 (Leno/DeVore).
This bill would allow Yolo County to be one of four counties in California to be able to grow industrial hemp.
The Governor vetoed a bill last year that was similar. Here is his veto message.
One group makes arguments against this bill similar to that on medical marijuana. It appears to me that this is very different.
We import products grown with industrial hemp but we just can't grow the hemp here.
The Yolo County Farm Bureau had this item on the agenda last week but did not take a position.
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Best in the newspapers today
Sunday, July 15, 2007 ::
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The best thing is the newspapers today is section C of the Woodland Daily Democrat. Photographer Matthew Henderson went up to Plumas County to find the firefighters from Yolo County.
Great story. Cool pictures. Check it out.
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Classic in the Davis Enterprise this morning
Sunday, July 15, 2007 ::
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It appears that it will not end up on-line but don't miss the story on the front page of the Davis Enterprise about the Davis City Council. Classic.
That kind of a story can't possibly instill confidence among the people of Davis.
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Book Review: the dip
Saturday, July 14, 2007 ::
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 Thank you to Matt Hillis for sending me the dip by Seth Godin. Years ago I remember my business partner sharing with me the story of the purple milk carton. This is the same author.
This book made sense to me for a while bunch of reasons.
First, I used to always assume that quitting was failing. That was the Marine Corps part of my life. Recon School was terrible and I was right on the edge of getting kicked out a couple times but I made it. I made it because the long term gain for me was worth the pain at the time.
Law school while working full time was not the best life for four years. But I knew I wanted to finish what I started -- so I did not quit.
This book however is about a theory that you should quit. If you are not going to be really good at some things quit early. The dip is that period of time after you enjoy some initial success you need to stick with something during which your effort is not getting the results you want or expect. Eventually if you stick with it your return comes back many fold and you become the best in your business.
This book basically tells me to stay off the golf course, don't take up singing, and maybe think twice about my candidacy for Davis City Council.
Great book of 80 pages. It came today in the mail and was done right after the kids were asleep.
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Yolo County General Plan -- What Woodland should care about
Saturday, July 14, 2007 ::
3 Comments
As this General Plan continues to roll on most of the political action has been in Davis. That is the way things work over there.
So what should Woodland care about?
The Spreckles site north of two is set to be designated as industrial. This is a site that needs to be used for something. It is my hope that we can find something that will bring some good jobs to Woodland.
The plan had 30 acres of highway commercial right where the Corn Maze is on Interstate 5. This may have been an effort to try and make something happen. The real estate professionals that I speak with tell me that this land is not viable for highway commercial. There is no interchange there and 30 acres is not going to get much without services. It is in a flood zone. I am indifferent about this largely because I don't think it will be developed.
The one that I had hoped would generate some comment and finally did from Dino Gay at Woodland Journal is the Elkhorn proposal. You can see the map in his post or here.
This is important to Woodland because right now we don't have anything major between the airport and the city limits. This would change that. The proposal you see is lined up with the river. The proposal runs north south. That makes sense -- that is a cool feature in the area. I could argue that it would make sense to line it up with the freeway too. Making it more east west.
These are the three things that seem to impact Woodland the most.
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Harrison Jack Released on Bail
Saturday, July 14, 2007 ::
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The Woodland Daily Democrat today has a story about Woodland resident Harrison Jack being released on bail. What really caught my attention is his smile in the picture. That is truly genuine relief and happiness.
Article and picture here.
I have really struggled with the issue involved in the case of Harrison Jack. I don't know if Jack violated the law or not because I don't know what the evidence is and exactly what the law is. However, on the policy issue of determining if what he is accused of doing should be illegal -- I am leaning toward the point of view that it should not be illegal. This is especially true when it is put in the context of actions taken by other people around the world and the history of the United States.
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Editorial in Democrat today on GP
Friday, July 13, 2007 ::
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Great editorial today in the Daily Democrat about the County General Plan. When I read the title I was sure that I would come to the opposite conclusion.
The editorial is headlined with Davis but brings the issue home to Woodland.
I will link to it here when it is available on line.
Tuesday should be interesting.
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