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Articles from
March 2007
The Roundup
Friday, March 30, 2007 ::
6 Comments
I have been getting questions about some of the different news sources I look at each day. That is a pretty long list.
One news update I really like getting early each morning is the Roundup. It is free and comes via e-mail. My friend Anthony York is the guy that puts it all together. He is a really funny guy that writes well.
You can check it out here.
Sign up for the e-mail in the upper right hand corner.
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Wirelessless no longer
Friday, March 30, 2007 ::
0 Comments
When I got to the County Admin Building today I turned on my computer. When I looked at the wireless connections available I saw a new one titled "public". Now we are talking.
There is now free wireless available at 625 Court Street. This should serve the public well and make the facilities here more functional to groups using the atrium and other rooms.
Yolo County is taking baby steps to become more technology friendly. This one small step allows people to be able to use wireless devices when inside the county buildings.
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Costco -- 2 weeks
Thursday, March 29, 2007 ::
1 Comments
I have been told that they should be breaking ground on Costco in two weeks. That will also include In-n-Out in the same complex.
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Karl Krist - Letter to the Democrat
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 ::
15 Comments
Karl Krist has an interesting letter to the editor in the Daily Democrat today. I have not yet been able to figure out where I am on his main point on anonymous blogging.
Generally, I think that those that blog anonymously are nothing more than an electronic version of Sound Off. Even though we all know exactly who Martin, Judy, Leslie, and others are -- they still choose to try and hide behind the anonymous nature of their blogs. Why not just sign your name?
Several people have approached me about placing various pieces of opposition research regarding local candidates on the web. Basically creating websites with "stuff" that is anonymously placed there. I have never done that sort of thing before and am inclined to continue that policy. It just seems weak to me.
Clearly everything on this blog is my responsibility. I accept that.
I guess I still have an issue with being able to create a blog in ten minutes and then having it get widely circulated by the newspaper or other media outlets.
Have I commented anonymously before? Yes. I have and regret it. After I thought about it I determined that it not something that I will do again. If I have something to say... I am going to sign my name. This will cause me to take some heat but I can live with that.
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Cabaldon supported by Heather Fargo
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 ::
0 Comments
West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon has added the endorsement of Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo in his race for the State Assembly.
The endorsements are becoming fairly one-sided here.
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Yolo County General Plan
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 ::
0 Comments
We had a long Board of Supervisors meeting today. The key topic of the day was the Yolo County General Plan.
The key points were that ---
The area between Davis and the causeway is going to be studied for economic development.
The Woodland proposal did not change much.
The agriculture districts were limited to naming only Clarksburg and Capay Valley. I voted against this because I think we should leave our options open. The motion passed 4-1.
I also lost 4-1 on studying Madison to include anywhere from 80-1000 homes. It just does not seem smart to me to keep adding people to the problem there.
We voted 3-2 to continue the plan in Knights Landing. I voted in favor of this but was very reluctant. I came very close to voting no.
We passed a motion that I helped craft on Dunnigan. This put the scope of the EIR on Dunnigan to include 5,000 to 7,500 homes. It increased the acres by 500, and did away with the density requirement of 8 units/acre. I wanted to change the way the jobs language was crafted but was not quick enough on my feet. This motion passed 4-1 with McGowan voting no.
What I liked about the meeting is that we had coalitions being built all over the place. I think Duane, Mike, and I all lost on 4-1 votes at some point along the way. Then we got over it and tried to build the next coalition for the next item. That is the way it should be.
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Vote for the Worst
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 ::
0 Comments
No. This is not related to my pervious post on Provenza or Sherwin.
It has to do with American Idol -- something really important. I am not officially (and pathetically) addicted to this stupid show.
I am watching only to see some 17 year old kid named Sanjaya Malakar get kicked off. There is no reasonable judge of talent that would even think this dud needs to be on the show for another week. Yet websites like this one Vote for the Worst are being promoted by people like shock jock Howard Stern to keep him on the show.
He really is bad. It is like watching a car accident -- I just can't help but watching. Jenn now is watching it too.
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Jim Provenza
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 ::
0 Comments
Today I got the opportunity to meet Jim Provenza. He came to watch the madness that defines County Board of Supervisor meetings. He seems like a really nice guy.
The readers here seem to favor Elisabeth Sherwin. Since she is now at least a candidate with great potential someone needs to do a story on Elisabeth. Shall we draft her?
I wil tell you one this -- if Elisabeth were on the BOS, we would have a good time.
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Calling it now
Sunday, March 25, 2007 ::
0 Comments
This article in the Oakland Tribune about disparities in the population of California determined by the state and federal government is a bad sign.
I predict this issue will become one of the biggest political and governmental issues in the coming years. That is why I am calling the shot now. The numbers they are talking about now means billions of dollars and could mean another Congressional seat for California. As we approach reapportionment in 2011, this will become a bigger deal.
Population numbers are important for many reasons. For a state like California, it means billions...and maybe control of Congress.
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Yamada's Replacement = Provenza?
Saturday, March 24, 2007 ::
1 Comments
On Friday, Davis School Board Trustee Jim Provenza announced he will be running for the Board of Supervisors.
I don't know the guy. I do hope he is reasonable.
Many people in Davis seem to think he is the one to beat. Bob Dunning even wrote a column last week declaring that the race may be over before it started. Dunning does not have a very good record on this sort of thing. I think he took the same column he wrote about Rob Roy when he ran for City Council and inserted Jim Provenza. If Dunning is betting one way --- the easy money is to bet the other way. Bet with your brain ...not your heart.
There is quite a bit of information on Provenza out there. Here are some of his issue statements when he ran for school board. He currently serves as a lobbyist for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. That tells me he knows the law, county government, and the Legislature. That is a pretty good skill set. His service on the school board looks like an added bonus.
Some of the other candidates who have been mentioned include Richard Harris. Harris is someone I know pretty well. He is also a lobbyist who used to be the Chief of Staff for Congressman Vic Fazio. Harris writes a regular column in the Davis Enterprise.
Some guy who works for State Senator Ducheny (D-San Diego County) is also mentioned as a possible candidate. We will see.
It would be hard to imagine that anyone could have a clean shot at a seat on the Board of Supervisors...but crazy things happen all the time in Davis.
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Woodland Flood Control
Thursday, March 22, 2007 ::
1 Comments
Tuesday was an important day for Woodland in the drive for a flood control solution.
I don't need to detail the painful history of the attempts to provide flood control. It would just be fair to say that the City of Woodland and several individuals (including me) have pretty much spent all our poltiical capital on the flood control issue. We were back at square one until Tuesday.
The Executive Director of the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District is Tim O'Halloran. He has the confidence of most opion leaders in the region. More importantly, he has the knowledge and skill to help guide this process.
Two weeks ago the City of Woodland and the Flood Control District each committed to $100,000 a year for two years to have someone focused on finding a flood control solution for Woodland. Having a well-trained person wake up every day lookign or a flood control solution for Woodland is what we have needed for a long time.
The County added $200,000 on Tuesday. This means that $600,000 is directed at finding a solution to this major problem.
Tim and his organization are the right people to guide this process. First of all, they are in control of much of the water from the time it leaves Clear Lake. Second, since the solution probably will involve a sum of the parts effort -- they are well situated to deal with the "up creek" issues. Finally, the district has done a great job with administering their programs over the years and have solid good-will in the community.
The reason Tuesday was important is that the County finally did more than hold a listening session on the issue. They commited to $200,000 worth of effort to finding a solution. I'm thankful that all four of my new colleagues supported this effort. Tuesday was a big day for Woodland.
It is absolutely true that we are not too far away from where we started on square one. However, for the first time since I can remember, we seem to have everyone acknowledging that we have a problem and willing to spend resources on solving it. Amen.
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I'll match your Eastin with an O'Connell
Thursday, March 22, 2007 ::
0 Comments
Assembly Candidate Christopher Cabaldon is going to announce the endorsement of State Superintendent of Instruction Jack O'Connell today in front of the Davis Center of Sacramento City College. Then they are headed to Fairfield to announce that they made the real announcement in Davis.
This whole endorsement announcement thing is going to get a little old soon.
Yamada went with former SPI Eastin so Cabaldon answered with current SPI O'Connell. That is a good one because education is going to be a key issue in this race. This is also key for Cabaldon becasue the CTA loves O'Connell.
Several people have told me that Cabaldon is making huge inroads in the labor community. Interesting.
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Dueling Endorsements -- Yamada and Cabaldon
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 ::
0 Comments
The two Assembly candidates anounced some dueling endorsements yesterday.
Here is the deal ---
Christopher Cabaldon announced --
Assemblyman Anthony Portantino
Alan Flory and Xavier Tafoya, Woodland Community College
Kay Albiani and Ann Blackwood, Los Rios Community College
Phil McCaffrey, Tony Ubalde and Denis Honeychurch, Solano Community College
Yamada announced --
Former Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin
Dr. Cirenio Rodriguez, Yolo County Board of Education
Jim Provenza and Sheila Allen, Davis Joint Unified School District
Trustee Rogelio Villagrana, Woodland Joint Unified School District
The key thing to note here is that Cabaldon is working outside his base in Yolo County. Yamada is still esablishing hers.
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Movies in Yolo County
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 ::
10 Comments
I just learned of a couple more movies filmed in Yolo County. Now I need to build a list to make sure that I have seen them all.
I knew of Ruckus with Ben Johnson, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Bloodsport. We also had Farewell Bender filmed in Woodland last year. The website is here.
Now I understand that Prize of the Pacific has scenes from Yolo County in it as does Letters from a Killer with Patrick Swayze.
If you know of others please send them my way.
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Roundabout came down to one statement from CalTrans
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 ::
0 Comments
 The last couple months has included a passionate debate about the installation of a roundabout in Woodland. Some of the debate has centered on emotion. Some of the debate centered on facts.
The one person that deserves credit for doing a tremendous amount of serious homework on the issue was Woodland City Councilman Bill Marble. This issue demonstrated to me the reasons he was perfect for the City Council.
Today at the Yolo County Board of Supervisors meeting the roundabout in Woodland was dealt a final blow when a CalTrans engineer answered a question from Mike McGowan.
When McGowan asked the state engineer if CalTrans would do wahtever they wanted if nothing was decided at this time by Woodland and Yolo County the guy said yes. That made everything clear to me and I think everyone in the room.
The nature of the intersection at Road 98 and Kentucky should be decided at a local level. It should not be decided by some folks at CalTrans that will not have to use it on a regular basis.
Today I voted to take a signalized intersection at no cost to the county today instead of having some other solution forced down our throats by a state bureaucracy a few years from now.
It was great to see Woodland Mayor Dave Flory in the audience for this dicussion. A few hours later the City Council voted 5-0 for signalizaiton of the intersection.
Continual communication between the City and the County worked very well here. It's a sign of good things to come.
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Sister Cities -- Sponsors
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 ::
0 Comments
The Yolo County Sister County Advisory Committee is coordinating a visit of six people, including a governor, from Lithuania next month for six days. They are trying to locate home stays for each person.
It would be from Monday, April 16 through Friday, April 20. They are asking anyone who may volunteer their home to provide dinner and breakfast for their guest. We do not yet know how well the visitors speak English, but they come from a variety of backgrounds including:
1. Mr. Alvydas Sedzius, Governor of Siauliai County.
2. Mrs. Dalia Dijokaite, Director of Regional Development Department of
Siauliai County Governor's Administration.
3. Mr. Petras Simavicius, General Director of Siauliai County Hospital.
4. Mr. Darius Jakubauskas, Architect, author of the most significant
objects in Siauliai County, member of Architects Association of Lithuania.
5. Mr. Andrius Sedzius, Director of private company "Siauliai County
Television".
6. Mr. Vidmantas Japertas, Director of private company "Siauliai
Agricultural Machinery". The main activities of the company - trade of
building materials, auto spare parts, agricultural machinery, equipments,
garden inventory, and services of general and special constructional works.
If anyone has any questions they can contact Patricia Valenzuela at 666-8227.
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Priorities -- a law school?
Monday, March 19, 2007 ::
0 Comments
I subscribe to a service that sends me the stories at 8pm that will appear the next day in the Sacramento Bee. It is great. It means I nolonger need to read the newspaper in the morning. I know what is there.
Dan Walters has a great column in the paper tommorrow about UC Irvine getting a new law school. He comes to the same conclusion I came to about ten years ago. California does not need another publicly funded law school.
California doesn't need to subsidize legal education in the state. Instead, they should subsidize the practice of certain kinds of law and other professions.
I have a couple really good friends that went to UC Davis Law School that are pulling down $300,000 plus a year in Sacramento area law firms. Good for them. Why is it that California taxpayers needed to subsidize their legal education? They shouldn't in my opinion.
California professional schools (medical, dental, law, and business) should charge the true cost of the service provided. The money should then be used to pay the loans of those people that practice certain types of medicine and law are more needed than others. Pubic defenders and general medicial practice doctors in rural areas could then be compensated for the service they provide.
Law schools in particular are something that allows private providers to enter the market easily. We don't need to be taxing California families to provide a subsidized legal education to those that are going to be able to earn an income that more than justifies them to invest the full cost of their education.
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Webmaster Bob and The Realist
Monday, March 19, 2007 ::
1 Comments
The photoshop skills of Webmaster Bob are on display over at woodlandjournal.com. You can see their creative work here.
For the record --- that is my ugly mug but that was not the way the sweater looked when I put it on. The picture is from first grade at Holy Rosary. People still in Woodland that were in my grade there include Bob Dettling, Laura Davis, Deanna Daily (Stark), Derek Winn, Jim Dahl, and Lori Martinez. I am sure to have forgotten someone.
I think pity over the picture is what is driving the vote for me to be the next Mayor.
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Area-based credit unions
Monday, March 19, 2007 ::
0 Comments
The Sacramento Business Journal has ranked Yolo Federal Credit Union as #8 in the area in terms of total assets. They listed total assets at $162 million.
Good to see a Woodland based organization doing well.
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Uh.....missing the point?
Sunday, March 18, 2007 ::
1 Comments
This morning I read the newspapers early. (Mostly becasue I have the best newspaper delivery person on the planet. Today it was less than 2 feet from my door at 0730.)
When I read the article on the roundabout I took it all in. Then I read the editorial and I was shaking my head. I started to doubt my own information. After I just read the staff report again I don't think I have missed the point at all.
First, I think the four way traffic signal that I support is actually cheaper for the city, county, and CalTrans. The staff report that I have for the meeting Tuesday indicates the following --
"Caltrans has stated that they will cover the local match requirements for both the City and the County, so there is no cost to the County for signal construction."
Further, that staff report indicates that the cost of the roundabout is $1.8 million v. the cost of the signalization is $1.5 million.
Second, the transportation money that is being used for this intersection is from a different pot of money than the money being used for I-5/113 and other projects. I don't have any doubt that CalTrans will have the money to finish this project.
Doing nothing is not an option. I am not opposed to roundabouts. I am opposed to one in this location. There probably will be another fatality at this intersection if we leave flashing lights. That is why I plan to support signalization on Tuesday. This is the safest, cheapest, and most effective policy option available to us. The people of Woodland elected me to seek out policy options that meet this criteria. Signalization of the intersection is that option.
I don't have my scanner here at home -- otherwise I would scan this thing in for you all to read.
Note: Bob Huber's wife is really on it. Not two hours after I posted this I got the text version on the staff report via e-mail. You can see it below.
roundabout_staff_report.pdf
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Early Presidential Primary
Saturday, March 17, 2007 ::
1 Comments
The Legislature passed and the Governor recently signed SB 113 (Calderon) to move the Presidential primary in California to February 5th.
You can read the analysis of the bill here.
Unfortunately, the Governor, Senator Machado, and Assemblywoman Wolk supported this measure.
This bill is bad for local government and bad public policy. The cost of this idea is about $90 million. The people that voted against this bill in the Assembly did it for the right reasons. They did not oppose moving the primary. They wanted local governments to be compensated for holding a third statewide election in 2008.
Here is the other issue. This election is not really about moving the primary. It is about the opportunity to put a measure on the ballot that would change term limits and allow legislative leaders to extend their time in Sacramento.
If this was really just about moving the primary for President to allow California to play a more active roll -- great. Then move the legislative primary too and save the $90 million.
I am annoyed at the waste of money but I am more annoyed that the people that support this won't be straight up about it.
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High Risk Sex Offenders
Saturday, March 17, 2007 ::
0 Comments
On Monday I am going to be attending a conference in Sacramento on the issue of High Risk Sex Offenders. The Governor will be the speaker at lunch.
You can see more about the event here.
I will be one of the people representing the California State Association of Counties. My committee assignment in Adminstration of Justice -- so this is the kind of thing that falls in our scope. Woodland Police Chief Carey Sullivan has been very active on this isssue. If you look at the suggested reading he is one of the people that served on a committee to craft the main report on this issue. Chief Sullivan will also be presenting at this conference on Monday.
This is a big issue. I will be looking forward to a very frank discussion on this issue.
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A beautiful day in Woodland..those Disney people are smart
Saturday, March 17, 2007 ::
0 Comments
 Today couldn't have been more beautiful in Woodland. The parks were full and people were outside doing all kinds of cool stuff.
Jenn and I decided the thing to do this morning would be to head to Woodside Park. Jenn could run with Adam in the jogger while Abbie and I kicked a soccer ball around. We would bring food and have a picnic.
Well, I realized that we don't have a soccer ball anymore. No idea where mine is.
So Abbie and I head out to Big 5 in order to pick up a new ball--the soccer ball that I will teach my kids to play with. You know, the black and white kind. I am old school.
So we cruise into Big 5 and head to the south wall with all the balls. Abbie and I both see the ball we envisioned at the same time. I saw a #5 classic at eye level. I said "perfect". Abbie yelled out "Princesses!" I looked in horror as she reached for another ball at her eye level. It was a pink ball with all six princesses on it. They only had one and it was perfectly placed at her level on the second shelf. Ugh.
I've complained before about Disney coming into my home and dominating the way my daughter thinks. Now they have gone too far. These people are even trying to take over the sporting good store. This is ground that should be sacred.
In the picture here you will see Adam with his effort to eat carrots today at Woodside Park. That did not go so well for us. In the background you will see this blasted pink ball that is now in my home.
These Disney people are really smart. They know what we want before we want it.
The worst part is that they even own ESPN. That is what I want. They have Princess stuff for my daughter. That is what she wants.
I hope you all had a great day in Woodland - it was beautiful. Now I am off to watch the Tourney. At least it is on CBS. I will still watch Sportscenter later tonight.
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An Inconvenient Truth -- Leake Room
Saturday, March 17, 2007 ::
2 Comments
I have not yet seen An Inconvenient Truth but plan to.
Tuleyome is an environmental group out of Davis (with HQ in Woodland) that is going to be airing a slide show about the movie (not sure I understand this 100%) at the Leake Room a week from Monday.
Information is important. I would encourage lots of people to check out this presentation to learn more about it. Could be good. Could be bad.
I would like to make it but will have to wait and see about a couple other meetings. More information is below.
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Big Board of Supervisors Meeting on Tuesday
Saturday, March 17, 2007 ::
0 Comments
The agenda for Tuesday is full of significant items.
The important ones include --
1) Supervisor Yamada's request to do a full meeting with both the Davis City Council and the Yolo County Board of Supervisors
2) My report on the environmental efforts being considered by myself, Dirk Brazil, and John Mott-Smith
3) The creation of a new Parks and Resources Department
4) Huff's Corner Levee improvement -- in stream efforts this time
5) Intersection of Kentucky Avenue and Road 98
6) Guinda bridge replacement
7) Flood management pilot project with the City of Woodland and the Flood Control District
8) Ag conservation easement program ordinace
9) Gravel mining ordinance
Lots to think about. More later tonight when the kids are sleeping.
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Art Pimentel for City Council
Saturday, March 17, 2007 ::
0 Comments
 Jenn and I have decided to support Art Pimentel in his effort to be re-elected to the Woodland City Council. I will be contacting my supporters to encourage them to support Art in 2008.
There is no doubt that Art and I have a very different view on national politics. We also disagree on some local issues involving housing. Despite that, I think Woodland needs him to serve another term on the Woodland City Council.
The key reason why I support Art is courage. He has it.
I want a member of the City Council to be well prepared, willing to work hard, capable of grasping issues, taking a point of view more global than just making the people happy who are in the audience that night, and willing to fight for what they believe in. Art personifies this standard.
Previously, I advocated a standard in selecting the best choice for Woodland when selecting the best Democratic candidate for the Assembly. It was to pick the person you most wanted on the other end of the phone in Sacramento when Woodland has a problem. When I have a city problem I want to be able to call Art Pimentel.
There are plenty of examples that I could provide for you where Art has distinguished himself. He has made several obsrvations in the middle of meetings where he has saved Woodland money. An example of that would be when Woodland would have been charged more money for LAFCO fees because the way the city had financed some things in Spring Lake. Art identified the problem and the way to fix it.
The key point here is that he advocated the way to fix it. We have plenty of elected officials run around and point out problems. Those who I respect take the next step -- they figure out how to fix it.
When Art took on the issue of the Los Corporales lease of city property he was at his best. His efforts were guided by the best interest of the taxpayer. His efforts on this issue came at a great political cost to him. I respect him tremendously for his efforts here.
When you have political capital -- spending it is the only way you really make things happen.
This is a post that could go on for many pages. Art Pimentel is going to be running for re-election and I will be supporting him with more than just my endorsement. Art is certainly one of the best three people in the community to serve on the City Council.
He has the full support of my family.
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Taxpayers Association Annual Dinner
Saturday, March 17, 2007 ::
0 Comments
Last night I went to the Yolo County Taxpayers Association Annual Dinner. It was a nice event...I had good company at my table.
They had quite a few local elected official there as well including Woodland Vice-Mayor Skip Davies, Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, Woodland Mayor Dave Flory, and Supervisor Duane Chamberlain. Others in the audience included Bob Huber's wife, former Mayor Dudley Holman, former Mayor Harry Walker, former Mayor Elaine Rominger, former Sueprvisor Lynell Pollock, former Senator Jim Nielsen, and Assembly candidate Jason Larrabee.
Congressman Wally Herger was the keynote speaker.
Nice event. I got there late because Adam would not cooperate at all by going to sleep.
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Roundabout History
Thursday, March 15, 2007 ::
1 Comments
I am told that CalTrans has backed off on the roundabout. They are now encouraging the placement of a four way traffic lights.
I'll get more information and post it later today.
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WRG Forum with Freddie Oakley
Thursday, March 15, 2007 ::
9 Comments
WRG is really going to start mixing it up.
They have scheduled a forum with Freddie Oakley.
On April 18th See announcement here.
Great. That means the folks at the Church of the Divide will be back.
Who can Josh marry this time? My vote is for Art Pimentel.
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Yolo County Archives
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 ::
3 Comments
In a tour somewhat arranged by chance, Dotty and I headed over to the Yolo County Archives office on Buckeye Street. I had never been there before.
Our tour guide for the day was Mel Russell. This is a county employee that is truly excited about her job.
The stuff they have there is amazing. Property records, marriage certificates from the late 1800's, church records, census records, old copies of the Woodland High School Orange Peel, and lots of old pictures of Woodland.
They have newspapers like --
Knights Landing News 1859-1864
Dixon Tribune 1883-1891
Yolo Democrat 1889-1916
Mail of Woodland 1890-1951 (gaps)
The location of the building is where you might overlook it quite easily. However, there is a bunch of really cool stuff in there about Woodland.
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If only she had her ID Card
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 ::
0 Comments
Here is a ruling by a federal appeals court on the medical marijuana issue.
This federal judge -- and pretty much any federal judge -- probably did not want to hear about Prop 215 when it is conflict with federal law.
See article here.
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Woodland Firefighters
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 ::
0 Comments
On my way to work today I got a call from someone asking about the firefighter situation in Woodland. In fact, all three calls on my way to work today involved the firefighter situation.
Personally, I'm sure the fire fighters are going to get a raise in this round of negotiations. No doubt at all. What it will be -- I don't know.
Here are some of the factors that I see impacting the situation.
- The leadership of the Association is constantly changing. The President is now Jim Dahl. He is a great guy that I have known since first grade at Holy Rosary. The problem is that I think Jim would be the fifth of sixth President in the last five years. That's not good when you are trying to negotiate. I will say that the leadership now probably is the most representative of the true leadership of the rank and file than it has ever been in the past. That is a good thing.
- Picketing in my opinion is a mistake. Firefighters are held in the highest esteem by the general public. That is a huge advantage for them. When they picket -- they become more like any other labor union. They then lose that advantage. I am not their advisor. That is just my opinion.
- Financial uncertainty. This is never going to go away. Ever. That is the nature of local government.
- All of the city employee contracts came up for review at the same time. None of the associations want to get less than the others. Some of this is posturing.
- With the City Manager and Assistant City Manager retiring in the next few months it causes some uncertainty in the structure of city government.
In the end I predict that the Firefighters will get a raise that will be substantial but it will not be in the range of 17% that they are asking for currently. They will agree to a contract. There will be one City Councilmember (no matter how much the raise) that will say privately that he would have supported much more.
Now that the Woodlanders for Responsible Government is going to hold a forum on the issue the pressure will really be turned up on the City Council. More about this here. This is a smart move by the firefighters because they know that the City Council can't show up in that forum.
Actually, with the exception of the picketing, I think the firefighters are playing this very smart, The new website they have is something I now look at a couple times a day. See it here.
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Taxed and Fees --- Incentives to Change Behavior
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 ::
1 Comments
As tax time approaches and we all start writing big checks to the government it is an appropriate time to think about what we tax and how we adminster taxation.
Just this past November there were several proposals on the ballot by groups that hoped to tax cigarettes and oil in order to change certain behavior. Part of the equation is raising a revenue stream to fund a program the proponents find desirable. The other part is increasing the cost of something to the point that people do not want to buy it.
So what do we tax in the United States and in California? We tax productivity. We tax income. California hits people twice with a tax on income and a sales tax on consumption.
It is time for those people that advocate taxes on socially undesirable products to admit that taxaton impacts human behavior in all things. It is not limited to gasoline and tobacco.
In that, taxing people when they are productive is a mistake. We should be taxing people when they consume goods with a national sales tax.
I actually think that every true environmentalist should be advocating a tax on consumption as opposed to income.
This does come with some downsides. Some goods (I would include food) would need to be exempted. If not structured properly it will hit lower income groups harder than others. The national economy would probably shift away from the consumerism driven one we have now. That transition would be painful in the short run.
Instead of a consumerism economy, with an anticipated increase in the savings rate people would tend to invest more in infrastructure like their homes. Interest rates would drop because of the increase in the supply of money.
It is time for a national debate on the topic of how we fund our government. Adminstration of the taxation system is also an issue that needs to be considered. Right now we spend billions of dollars just preparing our taxes. I love my accountant but think it is amazing that it takes someone with that much training to understand the tax system. Americans probably pay as much to avoid taxation as they do to figure out how much to pay.
Right now many Americans look at tax time as the opportunity to get a big refund check back. They view it as a sort of savings account. When the government is holding your money for a year-- that is not a savings account at all. Silly.
Finally, I would like to see people have to write a check to city, county, state, and federal government each year instead of witholdings on each pay check. If people had to actually write a big check they would demand more accountability from their government.
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Gravel Mining in Yolo County
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 ::
3 Comments
The biggest issue that few people are talking about right now is gravel mining. It has not been in the newspaper except for letter to the editor by Bob Schneider.
The county and the gravel miners are in the process of completing the ten year review that is part of the landmark 30 year agreement that was negotiated over several years in the mid-1990s and was the subject of a couple ballot measures on the issue.
I've not found the issue to be as complex as much as I have found determining the facts and understanding what the agreement actually is to be difficult. Contracts was not my favorite topic in law school but it has come in handy.
On the whole, I've tried hard to allow the county negotiators to do their job without interfering. My job is not the negotiator. My job as a Supervisor is to provide guidance to the negotiator as to what I find to be acceptable.
You may also notice that this is the first time I have mentioned the issue on this blog.
Now that the Planning Commission has considered the issue and it is set to be on the agenda at the end of the month I think it is apropriate to comment. Daily Democrat readers were also provided with this letter to the editor from Bob Schneider.
This issue is of great importance to the Cache Creek Conservancy and to the people of Yolo County. It will probably be voted on this month by the Board of Supervisors. I hope to provide you with more information as allowed.
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Follow up on Yolo Kicks
Monday, March 12, 2007 ::
0 Comments
 Thank you for all the e-mails on YoloKicks.
Also, thank you for this picture of Judy Tischer, former Supervisor Frank Sieferman, and Leslie Marcus. You readers are killing me.
As was pointed out by Charlie below, I guess part of Yolo Kicks is Judy Tischer. At least Judy has the courage to put her name on the profiles part of her blog.
This sort of partisan stuff was what sank Sieferman in November.
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Yolo Kicks: I love it
Monday, March 12, 2007 ::
2 Comments
So I get this e-mail from someone about the website Yolokicks. This is a free website that was created on blogspot.
I have even listed them on my blog roll here on the site. The more information the better.
When this e-mail told me was that this is all an effort by folks active in the local Democratic party to discredit local elected officials that are part of another political party. They site proof as being the fact that YoloKicks has a link to WallyWatch on their site. They also cite some other information that is pretty silly.
Whatever. I find these partisan attempts in local politics to be quite comical. These are the same people that can create all kinds of free blogs now but could not get the former Supervisor from the 3rd District to do it.
In the end, I don't care what these folks do. I 'm going to keep this site as current as a possibly can, with the help of Webmaster Bob, and let the chips fall. The people of Woodland are not going to shape their view of my service as a Supervisor based on the Iraq war or my support of Senator John McCain.
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Army Surgeon General -- Fired.
Monday, March 12, 2007 ::
0 Comments
CNN is reporting that Army Surgeon General Lt. General Kevin Kiley has been fired.
See the story here.
I am sure this is difficult for him and his family. That is too bad. He has his health, a medical degree, and a large pension to collect. The people under his care at Walter Reed have none of those things.
It was best for the US military that he be fired.
This isn't an issue that should go away any time soon until these service members are treated right. If it takes firing more people that are going to collect full military pensions the day their terminal leave expires this summer -- then let's keep going. More people are responsible than just the three that have been tossed so far.
Yesterday I watched a piece on the Washington Post website that indicated the response the military has been making. I want to know what members of the Administration (Military, VA, White House) and Congress (Individual Members, Committee Staff) have visited these rooms and haven't done a thing.
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Plainfield tries to save Gardening Teacher
Sunday, March 11, 2007 ::
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I have added an item to the community needs list. The parents and teachers out at Plainfield are trying to raise $3,200 to keep their gardening teacher employed until the end of the year.
You can see Jeff's post on the subject here.
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Keith Richman on public employee pension benefits
Sunday, March 11, 2007 ::
1 Comments
I've never been a huge fan of Keith Richman. He is a former Assemblyman from Los Angeles County.
He has an opinion piece in the Sacramento Bee today. Read it here.
I point out this piece because it is very relevant to the debate going on in Sacramento and in Woodland regarding public employee benefits.
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An afternoon with Senator John McCain
Sunday, March 11, 2007 ::
0 Comments
This afternoon in Sacramento I had the opportunity to meet with Senator John McCain. It cemented my view that he is the best choice to be President of the United States in January 2009.
The thing I liked about him the most is that it was just all right there. As we came down the elevator he walked right into the room, shook hands with those that were there, grabbed a cup of coffee for himself and then sat down to talk. He made a pretty compelling case to me on why he is the right guy to be President in the coming years. Then he took some fairly pointed questions and responded evenly and appropriately.
Pretty impressive man. Even though I disagree with him on some key issues I think he is the best choice.
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Blog in Elk Grove: The Eyes of Argus
Friday, March 09, 2007 ::
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Please take a look at this blog from Elk Grove. This guy dominates his area.
Someone is going to step up and supply this sort of information in Woodland and Yolo County. The best part is that I think it will be a group of people with different views and styles.
That is key for the community.
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Record Day
Friday, March 09, 2007 ::
1 Comments
The audience for this site is usually a late night group. Generally, a big chuck of you come to this site after 8pm.
Today we are close to a record for number of viewers for the day -- and it is not even 5pm yet. Thank you for reading. I am honored.
Semper Fi!
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Once again .. I am not running for the State Senate
Friday, March 09, 2007 ::
1 Comments
Let me make this perfectly clear. I'm not running for the State Senate.
What do I have to do to convince people? I still have debt from my race for Supervisor. I have a young family. I have a job as Supervisor I am still trying to get a handle on. I have not opened a legislative account...nor will I.
My focus is on Woodland. Thank you for the kind words but that is not what I see in my future.
The guy that needs to run as the Republican nomination is this man. He has the experience, can raise the money, and has a large base to start his effort. He will have my full support if he runs.
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Running and walking for Assembly
Friday, March 09, 2007 ::
0 Comments
Part of the campaign for Assembly will be to show regional leadership.
West Sacramento Mayor was endorsed by there regional leaders --
Senator Tom Torlakson
Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier
Assemblyman Jared Huffman
People in Yolo County may not care much about these endorsements but the people in Solano County do. Cabaldon is raising lots of money and locking up good endorsements. At this point, I'll bet that at the June reporting deadline he will have more money in the bank than Lois Wolk and John Garamendi, Jr. More endorsements in the district (and the region) is a given.
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