AM, I can tell you that Indivisible is a national organization, so this is just the local branch of the national organization. The original goal was to promote blue candidates. It was supposed to bring all the “blue“ folks together under one umbrella, thus indivisible. But frankly, since they sometimes endorse one blue candidate over another, it doesn’t seem to me that they have really lived up to their name. That is true both of the local organization and the national one. As for Yolo People Power, that has been focused more on issues like police, criminal justice, and social justice at a local level.

Thanks, Don.

AM: 🤣

Maybe this? https://www.google.com/maps/place/N+Street+Mini+Park/@38.5494649,-121.7311246,19z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x808529782a1ffa87:0x96832fbd911b576b!8m2!3d38.5496296!4d-121.7308532!16s%2Fg%2F1w8wb78j

Hi Dianne, it was sent to us separately as a press release. We never copy things from the Davis Enterprise without permission of the author.

Keith, ha! I didn't notice or think about that. 😄

I seem to be playing "clarifier" today. DJT's first proposal is to negotiate for mixed use. His second proposal is to invoke eminent domain for housing only, presumably because one has to really make the case for a serious need in order to invoke eminent domain (kind of a nuclear option).

Ron writes, "Commercial sites (especially those outside of downtown) need parking." I think proposal #2 was for a "housing only" project, no commercial at all. Trader Joe's would squawk, for sure. It is true that #1 has already been tried and failed. Perhaps it's worth trying again, I dunno. But this is so close to campus that housing really does seem to make sense and could feed into the retail. I guess the devil is, as always, in the details.

As the press release notes, it put them in conversation with two councilmembers; the DE article elaborate on that a bit further: https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/local/ag-environment/climate-strike-hits-home/ The students have been pushing for more to be done at the city level. I realize that not everyone agrees with that goal -- e.g., David Greenwald pooh-poohed it -- but insofar as that is one of their goals they held an event that brought attention to the issue. It isn't the adults pushing the students here. If anything, it's the other way around, with students trying to get adults to take up the cause. Again, events like this help bring attention and can help get others engaged.

Ron, you seem to be suggesting that the DE didn't cover this incident, but in fact it did, with a pair of articles: https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/local/police-pursuit-ends-in-fatal-crash/ https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/local/driver-in-pursuit-related-crash-identified/

AM, WW wrote about it in her C&G column for this Sunday (https://www.davisenterprise.com/news/comings-goings-armadillo-floods-asian-food-to-exit/): "I have some disappointing news to share. Budget cuts at The Davis Enterprise are reducing the frequency of this column, at least for now. It will run every other weekend, though I will try to adapt the schedule around big news or my vacations. Because I am a freelancer paid by the column –­ not by the hour or word – this saves the paper some money. I will still cover the same amount of news, and basically do the same amount of work, but under fewer headlines. Columns will be longer, and the reports won’t be as timely. I’d love to keep putting it out every week, but not for half the pay. I appreciate all the compliments I get from readers. These kudos – in person and by email several times a week – make me smile. (Those even include the people who stop me on the street to ask me questions without introducing themselves!) You show your love by your clicks as well. Comings & Goings brings more traffic to The Enterprise website than any other regular feature, as seen by the Popular rankings on the paper’s home page. And it was super cool to win two California Journalism Awards last year for columns and business coverage. What can you do? Subscribe and urge your friends to – and purchase ads. In fact, if you or your business would like to sponsor this column to help maintain its frequency, email me and I will help facilitate. (Sponsorship wouldn’t come with special privileges, other than getting to read this weekly like everyone else, and helping our favorite local newspaper stay afloat.) Meanwhile, watch my Comings & Goings Facebook page, along with occasional photos on Instagram." However, since posting that, she wrote on FB: "Stay tuned. Advertisers are coming out of the woodwork!" So it sounds like some Davis businesses are stepping up, as they damn well should. I agree with you 100% about the DE -- even with its issues, I think it's really important, and in no way do I think that ND/VG/Davisite fills the role. I've been a subscriber since I moved to Davis. So I am hoping that this can be sorted out.

AM, your March 03, 2023 at 07:58 PM are well-taken w/r to the impression that the average DE reader would be left with from the quote. However, I would lump this in with a more basic DE problem that they rarely have articles that contain much research. I don't blame the journalists for this -- I blame the DE for not having enough journalists and not paying their journalists enough. Everyone says that newspapers are struggling, but they continue to make profits while at the same time overlooking ways in which they could be bringing in more money. It seems to me that they mostly do what is easy. The most recent and really head scratching example is that they are (as I write this comment) cutting in half the number of columns and the amount of pay of the columnist who writes Comings and Goings. I mean, maybe that is an easy decision, but it really Makes No Sense. Not only is it one of the most popular features in the paper (apparently, the one that gets the most clicks online), but also it features Davis businesses. You know, the ones who buy the ads that keep the paper going. So you'd think that they could figure out how to keep that column going full time... you'd think they would do anything except cut the frequency of that column. But no.... I digress. My point is that the DE isn't being managed editorially or financially as it should be, and IMO what you describe is just the tip of that iceberg. There have been other egregious examples where a small amount of research could have made a big difference.

If we want to make sure that we are not taking quotes out of context, let me quote the DE: Also, the petition states that TPUSA “commentator” Candace Owens “has repeatedly defended the false and racist narrative that George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose, and has been quoted saying that “Hitler just wanted to make Germany great.'” That, I presume (I haven't checked) is factually correct about what the petition states. The DE does not itself make that assertion. Now, perhaps you all think that the DE should check on all the facts of claims made by all the people they are reporting on. But I think that might be above and beyond what journalists usually do? In any case, my point is just to clarify what error the DE committed, if it is indeed an error.

It gets even better, because most of the so-called YIMBYs are actually arguing for building in other people's neighborhoods. So they are really YIYBYs (Yes In Your Back Yard). I would not say that they are mentally ill -- being mentally ill does not make someone selfish or mean -- but they do operate via attack and shame. It's extremely rare that you see an argument for housing that does not contain attacks on those who dare to speak up to disagree with a proposal. It's almost like their arguments can't stand on their own, so they have to try to discredit those who disagree with them.