Original Village Farms proposal but showing locations of the Old City Landfill and Sewage Treatment Plant, Channel A, and the UATA site.

By Eileen M. Samitz

The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) has been released for comments on Village Farms, on a parcel outside city limits, is the largest project ever proposed for Davis with 1,800 units on almost 500 acres. The DEIR was rushed and is inadequate since it’s missing  important details and makes unwarranted assumptions and conclusions.

The project has a multitude of problems primarily because it is a seriously handicapped land parcel. The site’s serious issues include a 200-acre flood plain, being located adjacent to the unlined Old City Landfill and Sewage Treatment Plant with a long history of leakage into the ground water of toxics and other chemical contaminants (now including PFAS “forever chemicals”), enormous traffic issues already at Covell Blvd. and Pole Line Rd., access issues because it cannot be accessed from F St. due to the railroad tracks and there’s questionable feasibility of a Pole Line undercrossing, massive impacts on habitat, and enormous costs of the infrastructure and services needed.

The following was emailed to [email protected] and [email protected] on Feb 7, 2025 with a request that the memo be forwarded to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors

From:  Alan Pryor, Chair – Sierra Club Yolano Group
To:       Yolo County Planning Commissioners
Date:   February 7, 2025
Re:       The Gravel Mining Companies Operating Adjacent to Cache Creek are Continually Violating Numerous Provisions of the Yolo County Surface Mine Reclamation Ordinance

On behalf on the Sierra Club Yolano Group, attached please find a report in which numerous violations of Yolo County’s Surface Mining Reclamation Ordinance are disclosed and documented.   Download Yolo County Gravel Mining C

Further, these violations were not disclosed last year to the Planning Commission when it was charged with certifying the 2023 Annual Compliance Report regarding off-channel gravel mining as required by County Code.

Instead, as explained in the attached report, false representations that all of the mining companies were in compliance with the provisions of all applicable mining ordinances in the State and Yolo County were made to the Planning Commission in Findings of Fact statements.

The ongoing failure by the County to enforce the provisions of the applicable mining ordinances in Yolo County has resulted in continued production and bioaccumulation of methyl mercury to excessive levels in fish in most of the impoundment pits on the mining sites and required Lake Management Plans to remediate the problems have not been implemented. These compliance shortcomings have also resulted in the ongoing failure by the mining companies to fully restore formerly mined farmland back to its pre-existing soil quality and crop productivity. 

This is fully explained in the attached report entitled, “Yolo County Gravel Mining Companies are Continually Violating Numerous Provisions of the Surface Mining Reclamation Ordinance_2-7-25”.

We request that the Planning Commission refrain from wrongfully certifying that mining companies are in compliance with Yolo County mining ordinances in the future. We additionally request that the Planning Commission not permit or entitle any future new mines or extensions or expansions of existing mines in Yolo County until such mining companies are in full compliance with all existing ordinances.

Toward that end,  we ask that the following questions be addressed with detailed written answers.

Davis is a city that prides itself on being a welcoming, forward-thinking community. Yet, as many as 25,000 people who work in Davis—including teachers, firefighters, police officers, UC Davis staff, and service workers—are unable to live here due to the high cost of housing. Instead, they are forced to commute from surrounding areas, contributing to traffic congestion and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

The average price of an older detached home in Davis is a staggering $850,000,  and new 2-bedroom houses start in the mid- $700,000’s (see Bretton Woods). Duplexes and townhouses, on the other hand, sell in the mid- $500,000’s (3-bedrooms, 2-baths—see Zillow).  These “missing middle” housing options are critical for keeping our workforce in the community, yet there is a glaring shortage of such products in recent development proposals. Will Davis step up to build them?

The rental market is no better. Many new apartments are leased by the bed, catering primarily to students. This leaves non-student workers and families with limited rental options. Larger, family-friendly rental units with play areas are desperately needed to accommodate those who contribute daily to the vitality of our city.

Interfaith Housing Justice Davis is committed to just and equitable housing for our community, including ensuring that our workforce is not priced out of living here. Providing the people who serve our city with the opportunity to live here strengthens our community and our schools, while reducing environmental impacts from commuter traffic.

Alex Achimore and Barbara Clutter, Interfaith Housing Justice Davis

By Roberta Millstein

On January 7, the City of Davis released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Village Farms Davis Project for public review.  The approximately 497.6-acre project site is located north of East Covell Boulevard, east of F Street, and west of Pole Line Road in a currently unincorporated portion of Yolo County, California.  The City has invited public comment on this document for a 45-day period extending from January 7, 2025 through February 25, 2025. (Sorry for the late notice, but there is still time to submit comments).  EIRs are part of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process.

The DEIR materials can be found within the ‘CEQA Documents and Information’ tab at: https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/community-development/development-projects/village-farms-davis

It's a very long document, but citizens can start with:

• 1_Introduction
• 2_Executive Summary
• 3_Project Description
• 4.0_Introduction to the Analysis

And then, you can peruse particular areas of interest or concern:

By Nate Huntington
Solano Together Coalition Member

Thank you to those who showed up last week at the Suisun City Council meeting to voice your concerns about the discussion on expanding city boundaries and exploring land annexation.  

In Short: Last Tuesday, January 21, the Suisun City Council voted 4-1 to “provide direction to staff to explore strategic opportunities for expanding Suisun City’s boundaries and advancing the goals outlined in the Resiliency Plan.”

Right before the meeting, Solano Together sent out an action alert urging supporters to attend and voice their concern for the lack of government transparency and the intention to expand boundaries into parcels in the Sphere of Influence—defined as a boundary that shows the probable future service area and physical boundaries of a local agency. We also had representatives in attendance for public comment.

Sitting-friendly does not mean the same thing as "Joy Priority, Expressed with Convivial Design".

Join me on G Street...

I'm not discussing here the fight to make it happen, the politicians who voted against it, the free car parking entitlement, and the process to get us to this point...

I visited early on Saturday afternoon, January 25th, 2 days before the ribbon cutting..

Please see photos with captions.  

It's incomplete and it's not clear why they are doing an opening event at this time. But I will say that the only clear positive thing about it is that it's much quieter than the rest of Downtown at that time of day. At the time I compared it to the corner of 2nd St and E St, where one could barely hear the sound of a violin over all the engine noise. Nearly all of Downtown is like that, vibration pollution squashing any notion of genius loci.

Unfortunately, a significant proportion or perhaps the majority of people will drive to get here.  The title of what I'm writing at you now refers to "bicycle-friendly", our City's delusional compliment about itself: It's designed for cars, but bikes are accepted in some places. 

Comments:

The varied types of seating seem to be well used, though demand is very low right now. 

There's only two intentional ADA compliant seating spaces, in the typical 3/4 configuration, but it's not clear if people will be able to move to a free table if a space is needed and there's no space for a couple using wheelchairs, which may also be a oversight of ADA, but it reflects an ugly assumption. 

The bicycle parking is reduced compared to the prior configuration and it's nearly all full now, which is a problem since there's hardly anybody here... Most of the bike parking is at the south end. There's nothing specifically for larger bikes such as cargo bikes or bikes with trailers.

As I understand it, restaurants here will be able to rent spaces on the platforms and displace existing furniture and spots to sit in... If I have this correct, it means a lot less general public seating. This will create conflicts if the exclusive seating is empty and the public seating is full.

The total number of proper seats at tables is well less than the number of Commissioners which were eliminated in the recent Purge led by the mayor. 

Tables, for example, in Central Park allow groups of perhaps eight people to sit together. The tables here only allow four.

The wood and cube formed feeding block things encourage climbing, which means that they'll be filthy very quickly and not very conducive to seating for many. Certainly, kids should not be discouraged from climbing, but there's not any climbing specific equipment here.

There's no food available at windows on the sidewalks. There's a coffee shop and a tea place, but it's not clear if they or the restaurants etc. will platform-ize.

There's a provision for sun shades only on the tables and it's not clear who will put these up and take them down everyday, or if they will be locked in place overnight during the summer... The other seating has no shading at all 

It's not clear to me how the unshaded seating will perform when it's in the sun for hours during the summer. The platform material will likely create an issue.

The existing street surface is incredibly ugly and actually forms a centerpiece for the whole thing. One of the videos at the link is 180° shot of the street street. From the perspective one of those yellow two-person one-sided tables. It's all ugly, asphalt and parked cars.

The white colored pavers or whatever on the platforms show dirt really easily and will look like crap immediately. 

Bright headlights from cars coming north from 2nd Street and turning left or right from southbound G Street at 3rd Street will all pierce the eyeballs of everyone sitting at both ends or actually most of the street. I had actually made a specific point about this to city staff months ago but got no reaction.

There's an absurdly insufficient number of trash and recycling receptacles. 

The vertical poles holding up the string lights are dark and may have insufficient contrast from the street etc. Especially at night. This might be an ADA oversight. Some high curbs were eliminated, which is positive.

What's happening with the two empty store fronts?

Thanks for reading!

(From press release) On February 2, the twenty-first annual Celebration of Abraham will meet and explore Finding Strength to Move Through Challenges. The event will be held from 3 to 5 pm at the Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, 1701 Russell Boulevard in Davis.

This past year has been very hard. We had one of the most contentious elections in decades. The consequences of the election will mean that many in our state face potential deportation and family separation. The fires in Southern California, which have burned over 40,000 acres, are more evidence of the devastating effects of climate change. Our world feels increasingly fragile.

Religious traditions offer insight into how we can face these challenges with kindness and decency. The Celebration’s speakers and the training and table exercises in how to listen to others will offer insight into how the three Abrahamic traditions can help us face the difficulties in the next year. The three speakers this year are Mairaj Syed, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Middle East/South Asia Studies Program at University of California Davis and a founding member or the MUSLIM DEAN; John Katonah, Congregation Bet Haverim and President of the Yolo Interfaith Immigration Network; and the Very Rev. Pamela Dolan, Rector, the Episcopal Church of Saint Martin, Davis.

This year the Celebration of Abraham is raising funds for two nonprofit groups--Sahaya International https://sahaya.org/ and the Yolo Interfaith Immigration Network https://www.yiinyolo.org/. The Celebration acts as the fiscal sponsor to collect these funds. The Celebration provides donors with a tax receipt.  All funds that are donated  will be divided equally between YIIN and Sahaya.

To register for the event, please use this link  https://bit.ly/COAstrength . The link is case sensitive. You can also use this link to donate.

by Alan C. Miller

Note:  Read Jonathan Greenberg’s article, below this article, before reading this!   Both my and JG’s articlse are in response to the Davis Enterprise article by Kevin Wan at:  https://www.davisenterprise.com/forum/commentary-ddba-addressing-downtown-safety/article_b2cc9648-d81e-11ef-9fb7-17ed56e5d85f.html

If you know a downtown business owner, encourage them to go to the DDBA meeting at Natsulous Gallery this evening at 5pm to vote Heather Caswell, Ezra Beeman, Shelly Ramos and Kellie Palmerto the Board.  It’s time to clear the board and start with a fresh slate that isn’t blinded by embracing an outdated belief in a failed ideology.  

Gloriously, Tuesday’s piece in the Davis Enterprise by Kevin Wan (KW) says that accusations have been leveled against the DDBA that it doesn’t address public safety, then goes on at length to claim that DDBA does address public safety (in the ways that are OK to KW).  KW continues that the purvue of DDBA is “marketing, promotion, and economic development” and adds, “Law enforcement and security is not within our purview.”

So according to KW, the DDBA deals with “public safety” all the time, but “public safety” isn’t within DDBA’s purvue. In other words, KW doesn’t agree with the proposed safety plan, so he makes claims that DDBA doesn’t have the prevue of public safety then explains how they deal with public safety every month.  Why not just say you don’t agree with the proposed program instead of opening the article with a glaring contradiction?

KW claims DDBA has, “devoted time every month to tackling the challenges of crime and homelessness facing our downtown community”.  If that’s true, why have the tactics you have used so far rendered the current state of things downtown and in adjacent neighborhoods with the effects from the so-called “homeless” the worst they has even been in many years?

If you question my statement, let me tell you I can see downtown out my living-room window.  I live adjacent to the railroad tracks by the Amtrak station.  I have so-called “homeless” encampments both 200’ to the east of me and 200’ to the west of me, and the associated piles of garbage that are always associated with these encampments. Myneighbor and I have repeatedly cleaned up this garbage ourselvesmore times than I care to imagine.  We’ve also spent countless hours and thousands of dollars in deterrence measures.  

Since DDBA has been working so hard, as you claim, and clearly utterly failing, why attack people who are willing to try something new, taking the matter into their own hands to do it themselves when the City and the current DDBA board cannot, or will not?   

KW goes on to claim that the proposed program could pose liability to DDBA regarding privacy, trust, discrimination, etc.  Yet the program has been presented to Yolo Countt DA Jeff Reisig, and he has given support to the idea as beneficial in deterring crime.  Ask yourself, who might know more about the legal consequences of a crime-deterrence program:  the Yolo County district attorney, or the owner of a restaurant?

KW seems very concerned about what harm may come to DDBA from this crime-deterrence program.   But do you know what reallyhurts the DDBA and downtown businesses?  Crime!  

All we are SAY-ing, is give S.E.N. a chance!  #sing-it!#  

All we are SAY-ing, is give S.E.N. a chance!

S.E.N. is the Safety Empowerment Network.  The idea is to use security cameras to identify repeat offenders, and a database so downtown businesses can identify these repeat criminals efficiently and report their findings to law enforcement.  It’s similar to talking to each other, but must faster and far more efficient.

KW continues, “we can address safety concerns without compromising our values” and sites the need for “balancing accountability with compassion”.  Who’s values?  Compassion for who?  No one is questioning the societal compassion of sheltering a mom who lost her job and couldn’t pay the rent.  But I hold nocompassion for those who trash our downtown and its adjoining neighborhoods and commit crimes even to the point of threatening and even punching people.  

The implication at the end of the article seems to be that Heather and Ezra and others who support S.E.N. will be implementing something illegal, destructive to DDBA, and somehow lack compassion.  These implied accusations are ridiculous and borderline offensive.  Heather and Ezra are good people -- they are very good people.  I’ve known Heather for decades.  She owns and runs one of the longest-running independent businesses in downtown Davis.  I’ve known Ezra as a good neighbor for near a decade.  He owns a consulting business based in downtown and lives in the adjacent neighborhood.  He is concerned not only for the safety of downtown, but for the safety of his daughters, and the safety of others in nearby neighborhoods.  

What is KW expressing concern about? . . . “our” (his) “values” for “compassion” towards . . . who exactly? . . . criminals who threaten people downtown ?

This so-called “compassion” that KW brings up needs to be examined more closely.  This is what the professor and author Gad Saad has termed "suicidal empathy": the excessive, self-destructive form of compassion where individuals or societies prioritize the well-being of others to their own detriment. “Suicidal empathy” occurs when empathy is taken to an extreme, leading to decisions or behaviors that harm oneself or one's group in the name of helping others.  Saad argues that while empathy is an essential human trait, it becomes dangerous when it blinds people to the negative consequences of their actions. Overly empathetic policies or attitudes may enable harmful behavior, sacrificing rational self-preservation or fairness in favor of misguided moral virtue.

The advocates of the Safety Empowerment Network will of course address issues of liability, privacy, trust and discrimination in order to make the program successful and fair, within the framework of the program.  It is highly disingenuous to use fear mongering tactics to imply that the program will itself cause any of these things.  The purpose of the program is the safety of Davis businesses and Davis residents.  And as Jonathan Greenberg rightly points out, the biggest threat to those who are living outdoors who are NOT criminals is those living outdoors that ARE criminals.

I am personally interested in the S.E.N. Program to help deter issueswith the effects of the so-called “homeless” in the downtown-adjacent neighborhoods and other neighborhoods near parks, drainage ditches, bicycle paths and railroad tracks.    It is my hope that if the database and camera system is successful for use by downtown businesses, this could be used as a tool in protecting our neighborhoods as well -- from these same and other criminals found amidst the so-called “homeless” population.

A neighbor of mine, myself and a nearby business have used CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) concepts to make the area around our homes less conducive to crime and criminals.  This is needed because of the over-abundance of so-called “homeless” that congregate nearby.  We have spent countless hours and thousands of dollars doing this, with, I believe, a degree of success.  No, we shouldn’t have to spend our time and our money doing this.  However, we have learned through experience that the City isn’t going to do this for us.

Similarly, downtown businesses and the DDBA must fend for themselves, because the City isn’t going to do it for them.  Downtown businesses must take matters into their own hands, as we did, and the Safety Empowerment Network is an important tool to help empower downtown businesses against crime.  Apparently, Kevin Wan and other members of the current board aren’t interested in even trying this program to see if it works.  Therefore, it is time to vote Heather Caswell, Ezra Beeman, Shelly Ramos and Kellie Palmer to the DDBA Board.

Alan C. Miller is nearly 40-year resident of Old East Davis, a friend to a few good people, and a source of great annoyance to many others.

By Jonathan Greenberg

It is unfortunate that Kevin Wan, as Chair of the DDBA, resorted to lies and distortions in defense of a board majority that shamefully refuses to take an active part in responding to the worst public safety crisis in Davis history.

In his column in yesterday's Davis Enterprise, Kevin is lying about the Davis Safety Empowerment Network system that my wife, Heather Caswell, owner of the Wardrobe, have spent three meetings discussing with the DDBA board. We propose to empower Davis businesses with an innovative system that would help them more effectively prosecute the small number of mentally unstable, dangerous men who repeatedly terrorize downtown businesses and their customers (especially women and seniors), without consequences, by a “catch and release” process that allows them to stay out of drug treatment, mental institutions or prison. 

Kevin wrote in the Enterprise that we propose “a PUBLIC database of POTENTIAL criminals.” 

Yet we have told Kevin that the system would be accessible only to participating DDBA businesses, not the public. And that it would ONLY include people whose images were taken from security cameras of DDBA businesses AFTER they ACTUALLY COMMITTED CRIMES in Davis stores and restaurants, such as threatening peoples’ lives, as one did twice, without consequences, to Heather. 

The database would provide the names of these dozen or so repeat criminal offenders, and add PUBLICLY AVAILABLE but difficult to access Davis Police Department incident reports, as well as past arrest records and local restraining orders against these individuals. 

The Davis Police have told us that 10 to 20 people are responsible for almost all criminal incidents downtown, and that the police themselves have a dossier with the record of each one. But that the government is unable to share this information with businesses, because it might taint prosecutions. These same mentally disturbed or drug addicted men also terrorize the 240 other unhoused people in Davis. Removing them from our streets would make life safer-and more compassionate-for everyone. 

Yet Kevin, and the DDBA Board members are more concerned with prioritizing what he misleadingly cites, in his column, as the “civil rights” and “privacy” of these repeat violent offenders over the rights of our community’s most vulnerable citizens, women, seniors and children, to be protected against violence by a small number of dangerous, mentally-disturbed unhoused men.

DDBA is clearly part of the problem when they cite the illusory rights of criminals as more important to their organization than the rights of those who are victims of violence, week after week. Many women, especially seniors, have told us that they no longer feel safe in downtown Davis. Some downtown businesses have even shortened their hours because their female employees do not feel safe in the evening.

Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig reviewed and supports our program and does not question its legality. He wrote, “I think any business association that is able to improve information sharing with each other AND police as described would be very helpful. Our success in policing and prosecution would absolutely be enhanced by better information sharing among businesses/retailers on prolific offenders." 

Indeed, most successful criminal prosecutions by businesses rely on store video footage. Every store has a right to video its premises for security, and use those videos to protect themselves. The incident and past offense and restraining order data that this system would aggregate are all public information, but very difficult to access. This system would empower a network of DDMA members with the information about the past records of the criminals who repeatedly terrorize their customers and employees, allowing them to prosecute them more effectively.

Multiple companies sell records of past arrest records for businesses to run background checks when hiring.  And for generations, businesses have provided employees with photos of repeat offender shoplifters. This solution brings this strategy into the 21st century.  

Kevin also distorts reality when he writes, in his Enterprise column, that “for the past year, we have been working tirelessly with the Davis City Council and Davis Police Department to restore the presence of a dedicated, downtown-based police officer.”

Heather Caswell, and I participated in the last three DDBA meetings to urge the DDBA to take an active role in helping member businesses address crime. Not a word was mentioned of supporting a beat cop at any of these meetings. Nor can any mention of it be found in the DDBA minutes for the past 12 months.

Instead, it was Heather who, on December 16, after a special meeting with Council Member Donna Neville and Chief Todd Henry in which a new position assigned to the downtown was discussed, wrote to Kevin Wan and the Board to urge them to quickly pass a resolution supporting the new funding allocation at the next day’s city council meeting. Even though the December 17 full council meeting was the first to discuss how $11 million in new sales tax revenue would be spent, the DDBA Board and its Executive Director Brett Lee had no plan to mention the beat cop position to the city council. Heather convinced the DDBA board to pass a resolution overnight, and for Brett Lee, DDBA’s executive director, to join her in making a statement supporting the position. 

Davis businesses deserve better from the Chair of the DDBA. That is why Heather, along with Ezra Beeman, Shelly Ramos and Kellie Palmer, are running to replace the existing DDBA Board leadership with a women majority board that is willing to take an active part in resolving the most important problem facing every Davis retail business, restaurant and resident of Davis today: public safety. 

Jonathan Greenberg is a widely published investigative legal and financial journalist, and the founder of Progressive Source Communications.

Suisun City, Suisun City’s sphere of influence and Flannery Associates land parcels. Map by Solano Together using QGIS. Datasources: OSM Standard, MTC/ABAG Data Library, Solano County parcel data

Nate Huntington 
Solano Together Coalition

This Tuesday, January 21, at 6:30 p.m., we urge you to attend the City of Suisun Council Meeting, where there will be a discussion on potentially expanding Suisun City limits.

What? Suisun City Council Meeting
When? TODAY - Tuesday, January 21, at 6:30 p.m.
Where? Suisun City Council Chambers, 701 Civic Center Boulevard, Suisun City, CA – or
Zoom Meeting Information:
Link: https://zoom.us/join
MEETING ID: 829 2890 4906
CALL IN PHONE NUMBER: (707) 438-1720

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Late Friday evening, the City of Suisun City released the agenda for today’s City Council meeting. Agenda item number 17 is inconspicuously titled, “Vision for Suisun City: Building Resilience and Expanding Opportunities.” This appears to be a plan by the City of Suisun to annex land owned by California Forever and work with them to develop outside of existing city limits. California Forever is continuing their secretive, behind closed doors approach even after committing to a public process.

In the agenda packet, starting on page 179, the item discusses the city’s economic “Resiliency Plan” and suggests “the Resiliency Plan’s ultimate success depends on increasing the city’s population and strategically expanding its boundaries.”

The trial date is approaching for PITTS vs. CITY OF DAVIS.

Theodore Pitts the widower of Jennifer Comey who was killed by the limb of a City of Davis Tree in Slide Hill Park will get his day in court in attempt to seek compensation for the death of his wife. A jury trial date has been set for February 3^rd, 2025 with a trial readiness conference to be held on January 27^th.

Ms. Comey died when a large tree limb fell on her in Slide Hill Park while she watched her toddler play in a sandbox during a windstorm in 2021. She was survived by her child and husband Theodore Pitts.

The trial will take place in Yolo County Superior Court in Woodland with Judge Fell presiding. Mr. Pits is represented by Sacramento attorney Roger A. Dreyer and Anthony J. Garilli of Dreyer, Babich, Buccola, Wood and Campora. Both are accomplished attorneys having successfully won millions for their clients at trial.

The City of Davis is represented by Kevin J. Dehoff of Angelo, Kilday and Kilduff of Sacramento. His website lists “Public Entity Defense” as his first Practice Area.

Davey Resource Group, Inc and West Coast Arborists, Inc were also named as defendants in the case. But earlier this month Judge David Rosenberg made a tentative ruling granting Summary Judgement for West Coast Arborists excusing them from the case. Davey Resource Group’s similar motion was denied leaving them as a defendant in the Case.

West Coast Arborist is a contractor for the City of Davis that handles wide ranging tree trimming duties in the City.

Davey Resource Group is a Ohio based Company that provides wide ranging tree and urban forestry consulting to the City of Davis.

If the City and/or Davey Resource Group is found responsible or negligent Pitts could be awarded millions in compensation for the tragedy that befell his family.

By Heather Caswell and Jonathan Greenberg

Commentary

January 18, 2025

Since writing my December 18 Enterprise column about the public safety crisis in downtown Davis, I have heard feedback from dozens of my customers, most of them older women.

Some, like former Assembly Member Helen Thomson, asked how they could support the effort. Many thanked me for paying attention. Nearly all of them told me that they now feel unsafe in downtown Davis for the first time in their lives.  

Who are we, as a community, when we cannot protect our most vulnerable members? After decades of progress in curtailing violence against women, how is it that our legal system today tolerates mentally unstable younger men menacing women, children and the elderly with violent threats, week after week, with no consequences?

By Alan Hirsch

The Enterprise "editor's choice" of the top ten Davis stories of the year ran on January 1st as it always does. Five of the top ten stories seemed to me involved sad but fleeting incidents—crime or auto accidents—some of which even occurred in Woodland.

So, here’s my alternative list of top stories, things that I believe will have a lasting impact on the Davis community—with a bit of foreshadowing into 2025. Only two of my list of stories are on the Enterprise’s "top ten" list.

1. Local impact of Trump’s election: With Davis voting over 85% for Harris, her loss had a profound psychological effect on residents, especially given the “culture war” aspect of the race. Beyond this, the presidential campaign involved hundreds of local residents in what surely was likely the biggest single volunteer effort of 2024: Davisites made tens of thousands of phone calls and texts, over 30,000 postcards were handwritten to encourage others to vote, and residents traveled repeatly to Nevada or a Central Valley “purple” congressional districts to register voters and get out the vote. The best qualification of the unprecedented election involvement is that Davisites donated over ten times more money to campaigns compared to 2016. Apart from the volunteering, the looming impacts of Trump’s policies will be profound in Yolo County. Trump’s promise to deport 11 million residents (~1.5m in California) will likely impact 8-12% of Central Valley/Yolo families- at least with existential fear even if Trump fails to fulfill his deportation policy. With UC Davis being an internationally connected institution, I expect xenophobic/America First policies like the reinstatement of the Muslim ban will others too.
   
   
2. K-12 Schools are the core of Davis, so Spring 2024 voter approval of DJUSD Parcel Tax Measure N should be a top ten story. N’s goal was to retain our DJUSD teachers by allowing an overdue salary increase so we can continue to attract and retain the best teachers. The steady decline in the number of Davis-resident students in our school system is also very important story, as is the addition of many new DJUSD buildings which seems to have gone unnoticed. The Trump’s culture war on schools is also on DJUSD's radar (see story #10 below). The Enterprise's failure to retain a dedicated DJUSD reporter is probably part of the reason for what feels like a news blackout here.
   
   
3. Death of Delaine Eastin: To me, this was a notable passing of a beloved figure.
   
   
4. New Davis law allowing Food Trucks at events and locations other than the farmers market.
   
   
5. The New Library in South Davis and the tax increase vote to operate it.
   
   
6. Plans for thousands of new Davis homes & apartments: The Council has been working diligently on a number of development proposals, with a bias toward affordability (small or subsidized) and higher density they hope will reduce GHG & traffic impact of these developments. Two large apartment complexes in south Davis along the freeway are due to open up soon. Collectively, these will profoundly change Davis.
   
   
7. I-80 widening: This is the main access to Davis given the anemic (slow and expensive to use) regional transit options local electeds have provided us. Last spring, funding for phase 1 of this controversial $465 million widening was approved—the largest public works project in Yolo for the next decade. I expect I-80 widening will remain in the news as a) construction will continue for at least another 3 years, b) additional funding to complete it might be contingent on the results of an environmental lawsuit, and c) sticker shock & social inequity: UC Davis experts forecast it will recongest within ten years unless drivers can pay what electeds say will be a $5-10/peak hour one-way toll on the new lane. I would also top-rate the passage of an increase in city sales tax (~$10 million/year) which can be used to catch up on overdue street repair.
   
   
8. Streamlining Davis government (or reducing community participation?) In the winter of 2024, the Davis Council decided to reduce citizen oversight Commissions by 25%—and reduce their independence by monitoring what is on their agendas. Now they are reframing the commission role from oversight to “ambassadors” to the community. This is a bit of an “inside the beltway” story, but the issue is still generating op-eds & letters to the editor ten months later. That it is still an issue is indicated by Mayor Chapman announcing he was stepping down from the council Commission Subcommittee due to the continuing controversy. This meta story is important as it impacts all city decision-making going forward. The Enterprise lists only one political issue as a top story—the November election of 3 members of the city council and a new County supervisor for East Davis. But this was largely an affirmation of the status quo governance as all these new electeds are insiders. The passage of the sales tax increase, though a significant bump in city revenue, is seen by its advocates as an affirmation of continuing the status quo, so to me less than top news, like the fact electeds three of whom ran unchallenged.
   
   
9. Homeless situation: Certainly, this is one of the biggest challenges our and other communities are dealing with. There has been many meeting on this, and a Davis law change on encampments drew an unusual 20 speakers to a city council meeting to comment.  
   
   
10. Culture War Comes to Davis with the election of Trump: Is it a pandemic of Jew-hate from the left or the beginning of an anti-antisemitic red scare? Are both true? A big story in Davis 2024 was the protests of US support of the Gaza/Israel war—which at times morphed into questioning the legitimacy of the existence of Israel as a Jewish state – and its governing “from the River to the Sea.” There is no new protest encampment at UCD this scholastic year, but other civil disobedience continues: sporadic protests on campus continue to illegally disrupt speakers' events, But weekly protests for a ceasefire at Congressman Thompson’s local office in Woodland continue --legally -- without  incident after 15 months. Meanwhile a number of Jews in Davis have accused protestors, seemingly en masse, of being “radical antisemites,” lawbreakers, or even connected to Iran.  UC Davis was hit, as were many colleges & universities, by a Title VI Civil Rights suit by national Jewish groups for allowing an antisemitic climate to exist—i.e. not shutting down the protests or (somehow) not stopping individual acts of antisemitic graffiti & vandalism, and microaggressions toward Jewish students. They seem to hold Davis schools responsible for some social media threats against Jewish students from unidentifiable sources while ignoring the removal of moderation of X (aka twitter) by Elon Musk that used to eliminate antisemitic posts.
    
    In 2025 this conflict looks to morph, especially for Davis, into something bigger with the election of Trump and his takeover of the Department of Justice and the FBI. The GOP and Christian Right are culturally appropriating the charge of “antisemitism” against the left and academia, escalating any questioning of Israeli policy in Gaza into the equivalence of attack on Jews in general, and even support of terrorism. (Google the Heritage Foundation’s follow on to Project 2025 “Project Esther”). The grounds are set for a “red scare” about antisemitic terror. But you can find dichotomous thinking among many on both sides.  I would expect to see more legal pressure on UC Davis and even DJUSD:  Harmeet Dhillon, the lawyer for Davis’s own notorious culture warrior/anti-trans activist Beth Bourne is slated to be the head of the Trump DOJ Civil Rights division that supports Title VI complaints against schools.

To sum it up:  “May you live in interesting times.”.

***

Alan Hirsch can be seen in the Saturday Farmers Market passing out “Love your Neighbor” and “Support Science” lawn signs.

Master Gardener Peggy Smith teaches volunteers about propagating perennial plants in Central Park Gardens

Application Deadline: January 10

(From press release) Are you passionate about the environment and looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Tree Davis, in collaboration with Central Park Gardens, is excited to announce its Green Volunteer Training program, inviting individuals to take an active leadership role in nurturing sustainable green spaces in Davis.

Through this program, volunteers will have the unique opportunity to contribute to the beautification and sustainability of local parks, gardens, and trees. Tree Davis and Central Park Gardens welcome all who want to make a positive environmental impact, whether they are an experienced gardener or someone eager to learn.

Following a Zoom orientation session on January 23rd from 6-7 pm, the training will be held on Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm on January 26, February 2, and February 9. Hands-on training with expert instructors will include planting, pruning, and weed management for the care of young trees and a variety of native and drought tolerant garden plants. Trainees will also learn leadership skills and tips for engaging volunteers in landscape improvement and stewardship projects.

After completion of the training, volunteers will be asked to commit to volunteering at least once a month for a year with either Tree Davis or Central Park Gardens. Both organizations offer flexibility in scheduling with options for assisting as a team leader for weekend events or working more independently on weekdays.

Apply today

Don't miss out on this opportunity—apply now to secure your spot and be part of this impactful program! Have questions? Contact Hope from Tree Davis at [email protected].

Become part of the Central Park Gardens and Tree Davis volunteer teams and help maintain and enhance the city’s greenspaces, playing a key role in creating vibrant urban landscapes across Davis.

Learn more and apply by January 10 at https://www.treedavis.org/green-volunteer/. A $20 training fee is requested to cover materials.

By Scott Steward

There has been a significant outpouring of support and media coverage for the class action lawsuit filed Dec. 19th to hold Reps. Thompson and Huffman are accountable for illegally funding war crimes, including genocide. 

What is the case about?  At the core of the lawsuit is the argument that Thompson and Huffman ignored clear evidence of war crimes committed with U.S.-provided weapons, effectively forcing their constituents into moral complicity. Plaintiffs describe profound emotional and moral injuries resulting from their representatives' actions, emphasizing the ethical responsibility to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding human rights violations.

A recent December 30th "Law and Disorder Radio" podcast features the Taxpayers Against Genocide case. Heidi Bohhosian and Stephen Rohde host the episode "Taxpayers Against Genocide: Lawsuit Filed Against Congress Members For Approving $26.38B In Military Aid To Israel". (first 28 minutes)

https://lawanddisorder.org/2024/12/law-and-disorder-december-30-2024-2/

I know a lot of us started asking our representatives to stop funding Israel with weapons over a year ago. We are traumatized by the horror of all the killings, especially month after month of the deliberate annihilation of Palestinian, Lebanese, and now Syrian civilians. Ceasefire and aid are asked for and illegally denied by our representatives.

For your New Year's Resolution, after you have had a look at the rationale for holding Thompson accountable for illegally using our tax dollars to fund war crimes, please consider joining the class action suit as a member. Taxpayers Against Genocide (TAG) is a grassroots, non-partisan, multi-peopled volunteer effort presently including just Congressional Representatives Thompson and Huffman’s districts. 

Taxpayers Against Genocide (TAG) "Sign-On," Donation, Press Coverage, Endorsements, Instagram, X, and BlueSky links at the touch of a button. https://linktr.ee/taxpayersagainstgenocide

Many other congressional districts are now asking how to start their own class actions to hold their Federal Congressional and Senate representatives accountable. Questions and interest can be sent to [email protected]. Please join the lawsuit or form your own.

Help Brighten Our Community!
When: Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, 5-8 p.m.
Where: UC Davis Memorial Union (MU) Quad Flagpole
RSVP: UC Davis Campus Safety Lighting Walk

(From press release) UC Davis Facilities Management invites all students, faculty, staff, and community members to participate in the annual Campus Safety Lighting Walk on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, from 5-8 p.m.

For 15 years, the Campus Safety Lighting Walk has been a proactive community tradition at UC Davis.

Participants assess lighting conditions around campus, identifying areas with low light, non-functional lighting, or obstructed light sources — such as those hidden by plant growth. Insights gathered during the walk will help guide repairs and improvements.

Why Attend?

• Make a Difference: Your observations will contribute to safety upgrades and future planning.
• Free Food & Swag: Enjoy complimentary pizza (while supplies last) and snag free swag if you’re among the first 100 participants.
• Volunteer Hours: Earn volunteer credit—perfect if you’re looking to meet service requirements.
• Community Spirit: Join fellow Aggies in a fun and purposeful evening outdoors.

The evening will kick off at the Memorial Union Quad Flagpole. Teams will be organized to cover various zones of campus, equipped with flashlights provided by event organizers. Please wear comfortable shoes and a warm jacket for the walk.

Apply by Monday, Jan. 13

(From press release) Are you passionate about nature, eager to learn new skills, and ready to give back to your community? The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden invites you to join its dedicated team of gardening volunteers in 2025!

Volunteering with the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is an opportunity to connect with others who share your love for the outdoors, gain hands-on experience in sustainable gardening practices, and enjoy perks like early access to plant sales at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery, and seasonal events. It’s a rewarding way to spend your time while contributing to one of UC Davis’s most beloved spaces.

Gardening volunteers work alongside expert horticultural staff to maintain and beautify Arboretum and Public Garden landscapes and work in teams that focus on specific areas. Each week, volunteers and staff collaborate to ensure these landscapes remain vibrant and inviting for the community.

Key Details:

• Application Deadline: Jan. 13, 2025
• Commitment: One year, with weekly team shifts of two hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday mornings (flexible schedules accommodated).
• Training Program: A comprehensive training program will be held in winter 2025. Classes include expert instruction and hands-on projects covering topics like plant identification, pruning, tool care, and weed management.
• Training Dates: Thursdays, 9 a.m.-noon (Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13, Feb. 20, Feb. 27, March 6).
• Training Fee: $20 materials fee, payable on the first day of training.

Apply Today

Space is limited, so don’t wait to secure your spot! Have questions? Contact UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden Headquarters at (530) 752-4880 or [email protected].

Join the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden weekly gardening volunteer team and help them continue to create beautiful, thriving landscapes that inspire and engage the community.

Learn more and apply by January 13, 2025:  https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/volunteer

The sirens on the night of Wednesday the 18th sounded eerie and odd. The emergency vehicles weren't moving fast. A muffled, highly amplified voice penetrated the foggy night. Was it an evacuation, a flood, a wall of fire, a killer on the loose? I hadn't heard such confusing and scary chaos in Davis since the evening Natalie Corona was killed.

I ran outside and saw three emergency vehicles in the distance winding slowly onto my street a few blocks north, then slowly winding off of it. The muffled warnings continued, inaudible and invoking concern. None of this was helped by the sonically-delayed echoes of the sirens and muffled voice off the recently-constructed 5-story student apartments behind me.

I ran towards the vehicles, hoping to hear what the emergency was and what we should do. Finally I heard:  "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas".

First of all, I'm Jewish. But no, I was not offended by the lack of a menorah on the hood.  Celebrate Christmas all y'all want.

But I have rarely experienced such a display of tone-deaf foolishness from a local government entity. I mean, nothing says "Peace on Earth" like sirens and emergency lights and what sounded like an amplified public emergency warning. You already got your Davis-subsidized ladder-truck because y'all were awarded for not cooperating with UC's fire department, and now you want a new fire station and the rebuilding of another.

To gain public respect and support please considering how some residents of Davis may react to a "well meaning" act that included the extended presence of emergency vehicles, emergency lights, sirens and amplified warnings in our neighborhoods.

Bah Humbug

OB-GYN Carol Darwish will discuss and answer questions about menopause at the Wednesday, Jan. 8 meeting of Soroptimist International of Davis.

The meeting is from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the conference room at University Inn and Suites, 1111 Richards Blvd., Davis. Open to the public, this is one of a series of talks on women’s health that the club plans for its 2024-2025 year.

Darwish is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist in practice for more than 20 years. She completed her medical training at Tulane University in New Orleans. She practiced at Kaiser Napa Solano for 11 years and at Sutter Davis for four years. For the past nine years, she has worked in hospital settings throughout the Bay Area, Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes, and most recently in Santa Cruz County, Woodland and San Francisco. She lives in Davis with her family.

Lunch is available for $15. First-time attendees are free. Please RSVP by 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 6 for lunch by emailing [email protected]. Guests are welcome to bring their own lunch.

Soroptimist is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. It was founded in 1921 in Alameda County. Soroptimist International of Davis was chartered in 1954. Local members join some 75,000 Soroptimists in 122 countries and territories to contribute time and financial support to community-based projects benefiting women and girls. Its core values are gender equality, empowerment, education, diversity and fellowship.

SI Davis offers cash Live Your Dream Awards to female heads of household seeking education or training, and assists King High students through its Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls program. It also funds high school scholarships, and grants to nonprofits that align with the Soroptimist mission.

SI Davis members meet twice a month on Wednesdays – once at lunchtime and once in the evening – and connect for other fun activities and service. Learn more at https://www.sidavis.org/.