Dustin witnesses history as Beckett records number 10,000! (Not)

On page B2 of today's hard copy of the Daily Demotypo: "Beckett gets 10,000th strikeout as Sox roll."

That would put him 4,286 past the great Nolan Ryan. It seems like just yesterday when I listened to the radio broadcast of Ricky Henderson becoming Ryan's strike out victim number 5,000. The fete would also be extraordinary considering Beckett is only in his eighth season and has pitched a total of 1055.2 innings. Over nine K's per inning is highly unlikely... I guess it's possible, but that's a lot of passed third strikes.

Actually, Josh Beckett ended up with his 1,001st career strike out. That moves him up to number 419 on the all time list, tied with Arthur Rhodes of the Seattle Mariners. The Red Sox won the game against Detroit, 5 to 1. Dustin Pedroia of Woodland went 1 for 5 at the plate, keeping his season average over the .300 mark (at .301).

You can watch Josh's historic 10,000th strike out - uh, I mean 1,000th strike out - by clicking the title of this story.

As expected, it's 4 to 2 in favor of stupidity. Let the recall begin.

Even a packed house, and apparently no outside support, could not convince at least one of the four steadfast trustees to apply reason to this unpopular pursuit of leasing-purchasing the Blue Shield building.

Last night trustees Carol Souza Cole, Bill Beerman, Rosario Ruiz-Dark and Elaine Lytle voted to spend $7.6 million for a $3.6 million building. Simple math should have told them they were buying an oversized building for $4 million more than its value. In one fell swoop, the four trustees also approved spending $1,000,000 per year on rent. All this upon the advice of superintendent Jacki Cottingim, who has orchestrated the debacle for more than a year.

Voting against the ludicrous expenditure were trustees Frank Glover and Rogelio Villagrana. Warren Berg was absent.

A recall hotline has been established to oust at least two of the four proponents of this ludicrous real estate deal. Email wjusdrecall@yahoo.com for more information.

Mighty wits clash in give-away

"I don't want it, you take it."

"Well, I don't want... you keep it."

It's no secret that the school district has a hard time with gifts, but here's one for the record book. Below are some excerpts from an article entitled "District rejects lights from Dubach park for Pioneer" that appears in today's Daily Democrat (click the title of this story to access):

Parents went to the April 24 Woodland school board meeting to find out why the Woodland Joint Unified School District turned down about $500,000 in donated stadium lights.

Woodland resident Duane Tony said he was informed by Parks and Recreation Director Dan Gentry that the city offered to donate 16 stadium lights from Dubach Field to the school district.

"The Pioneer High School soccer field is in need of lights," he said.

"The soccer boosters at Pioneer have contractors that are willing to go out there, take them down and take them to Pioneer and take them in," he said. "All this was known to the school district, but they declined."

According to a "Friday Facts" memo by Assistant Superintend Kelly Morgan, Jimmy La Grand, director of maintenance, operations and facilities, visited the park and inspected the lights, fence and bleachers on March 11. La Grand noted that the lights were more than 20 years old and the bulbs and fixtures of the lights were not energy efficient.

In addition to being old, the district would of run into other construction issues if they chose to accept the lights. [I left this in just so you could see the Democrat's grammar]

"We understand that people have good intentions, but there are restrictions that we have as a school district, that parent groups may not be aware of, like meeting state requirements," Morgan said. "A project like this has to be approved through the Department of the State Architect and would involve architects, engineers, an inspector, etc."

End notes:

• Don't believe the $500,000 value (it's city budget-speak, remember)
• The term "lights" must refer to all the fixtures and poles considering the later statement about "construction issues"
• Please note that a school has a need and the city has some free stuff to partially fulfill that need
• There are community volunteers ready to help
• 20 year-old metal poles can last 20 more years, probably a lot more
• New energy efficient bulbs and fixtures can be purchased... or not, considering replacement costs might be higher than energy costs
• "A project like this has to be approved..." - okay, so have it approved.

Summary:

"Eew! It's old. I don't want it."

"Fine. I'll just throw it away, then."

New downtown group meets tonight, announces candidate forum

From the new Historic Woodland Downtown Merchants:

This month's meeting will be held at 6 pm., tonight (May 8), at Woodland Comics and Cards at 505 Main Street. For more information call 661-9596 (The House Dresser) or Woodland Comics and Cards (662-2550).

Please plan to attend the City Council Candidate's Forum to be held at 7:30 pm. on Monday, May 19, at the Woodland Opera House. If you have any questions to submit to the city council candidates, you need to submit them by May 12. Questions can be delivered to Anita Long at The House Dresser, 617 Maint Street (661-9596) or to Jeff Kean at the Woodland Opera House (666-9617).

Four trustees to approve spending $7.6 million for a $3.6 million building

Or... the headline could read: Four trustees to approve spending $1,000,000 per year on rent.

The extravaganza, commonly known as the WJUSD Board of Trustees meeting, will begin tonight at 6 pm. Either of those headlines will prove to be true unless one of the four trustees can pull off an Amanda-like coup (from last week's Survivor episode on CBS). The four trustees who have blindly followed the lead of superintendent Jacki Cottingim are Carol Souza Cole, Bill Beerman, Rosario Ruiz-Dark and Elaine Lytle. It really has been a series of side-shows, culminating in tonight's affair.

For the benefit of Mrs. J., there will be a show tonight. The four trustees will all be there (the opponents of the lease-purchase agreement will miss trustee Warren Berg). Perhaps spectators might even be entertained by horses, hoops, garters, and a hogshead of real fire! The fabulous four may dance and sing - don't be late. The band begins at 6 pm. when Mrs. J. performs her tricks without a sound, and the four "trustees" will demonstrate ten somersaults. A splendid time is guaranteed for all... and tonight Mrs. J. is topping the bill.

Yes, Virginia... there are psychedelic delusions.

Here is the bank robber

This man is suspected of robbing Bank of the West, 186 Main Street, last Saturday at 12:21 pm.

The white man, wearing a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans and a black Pittsburgh Penguins hat entered the bank and demanded cash from the teller. Witnesses described the man as 5 feet 11 inches tall, about 200 pounds and with a short, light brown beard. The suspect fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.

Click the title of this story to read the Daily Democrat article.

Repeated mantra brings up unexplained issue

The Daily Democrat published two articles today about the school district's administrative offices:

First: "Contamination" being used as excuse to move from Cottonwood building, Health concerns cited as reason to get out of lease

Second: School board looks at lease/purchase plan for old Blue Shield site

There was a third article printed on April 28 called A general air of uncertainty.

Here are excerpts from each:

First: "The district was going to buy the building originally for $5.6 million ($600,000 more than the appraisal). But due to a complaint filed to the Yolo County Grand Jury, the district canceled the original contract and opted for a lease-purchase option which is currently under discussion."

Second: "Originally, the school board opted to buy the building for $5.6 million but the purchase was canceled after a complaint was filed to the Yolo County grand jury. Unable to show that jury investigation wouldn't affect the contract, the school board agreed on a lease/purchase agreement."

Third: "After a complaint was filed at the Yolo County grand jury against the WJUSD, the district was unable to show that litigation would not affect their purchase of the building. Because of this, the board opted for a lease-buy option."

This brings up an issue that has gone under the radar... and the Democrat just repeats the mantra without any explanation for it. Did Government Financial Strategies, Inc. tell the district that the mere filing of a complaint is justification to stop selling Certificates of Participation? Did Premiere Commercial? Did Miller, Brown, Dannis or Schutze & Associates?

In a Woodland Journal article called More on the school board: Foursome is scolded, "Cottingim suggested that she and the trustees do not know why, or what, the investigation is about. She also indicated that the Grand Jury has refused to tell her the purpose of the investigation."

So... if Cottingim and the trustees don't know what the investigation is about, then how can advice be given to stop the sale of the COPs? If that advice was given, where is the documentation? You won't find any reference to it in any of the minutes.

Dog Gone! Have you heard about this one?

Here's a Friday deadline that snuck up on prospective design firms. The city is requesting qualifications for planning what's dubbed as "Downtown Plaza" and/or "Main Street Plaza." I just now stumbled upon this RFQ (Monday at 6:30) while looking for any updated council minutes. (Note: The city's Web site is still stuck on September 4, 2007.)

I hope the tight, under-played deadline won't exclude truly qualified planners.

There's no mention of Dog Gone Alley in the RFQ notice, but the site in question is on Bush, between College and First. Dog Gone Alley runs through it. By the circuitous description, you would think the proposed plaza is on Main Street. Despite the late notice and meandering description, this project could be an exciting addition for downtown. Click the title of this story to access the RFQ.

Here are some excerpts from the online document:

REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF WOODLAND
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Historic Downtown Woodland
Main Street Plaza
Design and Feasibility Analysis

INTRODUCTION

The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Woodland (Agency) seeks proposals from a multi-disciplinary firm for the design and development of a new outdoor courtyard behind the retail businesses along Main Street in Historic Downtown Woodland. This request is to use outside expertise in defining the details of a potential feasible project.

Proposals should be submitted to:

Redevelopment Agency of the City of Woodland
520 Court Street
Woodland, CA. 95695
Attn: Cynthia Shallit, Redevelopment Manager

Proposals are due no later than 3:00 on Friday, May 9, 2008

THE SITE

Just one block to the west of the Opera House is the area site of the proposed project. It is located in the section identified as the “Downtown Core” district between Elm and Third streets in the Downtown Specific Plan. Included in this area are key landmarks such as the Hotel Woodland, the Porter Building, the Opera House, Dead Cat Alley, the Chinatown site, and Heritage Plaza.

This is a 2.61 acre site - a full city block. It is characterized by 14 storefronts along Main Street and five businesses along First
Street. Behind the buildings is some open space, but most is taken up by the American Legion building and an old car dealership building that was historically referred to as the Meier Car Dealership Building. The building, approximately 20,000 s.f., was constructed in the Moderne style in 1921 and is now mostly vacant except for some storefronts along College Street.

There may some significant infrastructure constraints on this site. Though the utility systems are currently considered adequate, any change in density of use could overburden the infrastructure, or renovation may cause damage. Furthermore, a large condominium project proposed just to the west of the project site may cause proposed near this Project Site consisting of 171 condominiums may cause this block to be inadequately served. For example the Downtown Specific Plan suggests that the existing galvanized water service laterals will need to be replaced with copper pipe. Any unlined pipelines will need to be cement-coated or replaced to improve flow capacity. The sewer line may need to be replaced. Several have commented that the overhead wires are particularly unsightly on this block and every effort should be made to underground them if possible.

A project of this size can be costly to the surrounding property owners and to the Redevelopment Agency. This is why it seems prudent to solicit ideas on the best practices and best approaches to financing redevelopment on this block. Such an analysis has to include considerations of the current economic market, Woodland’s future economic growth and the cost of improvements. Since no one source of funds nor one property owner can expect to improve this area as a single entity the other property owners and stakeholders will need to be brought into the process. Ideally this RFQ will solicit firms that have experience with this kind of project and can apply that knowledge to Woodland.

THE VISION

This block has long been viewed as underutilized with potential for development as a public plaza or parking area. An outdoor courtyard could be created behind the buildings between Main and Bush streets and between College and First streets. It is the Agency’s hope that this would enhance the Downtown’s street life and nightlife by creating a lively, vibrant courtyard area that will support neighboring businesses, especially restaurants and cafes. This could be a pedestrian-friendly environment with connections to Main Street which in turn would increase foot traffic in the area and patronage of local shops/restaurants. It could be the venue for community events such as a Farmer’s Market. Its potential as a dynamic urban destination location is enhanced by the historic buildings adjacent to the block, particularly the Hotel Woodland and the historic Elks building which together create a strong historic fabric.

Because of the long narrow buildings, many of which have functional separate spaces in the back, there might be opportunities to transform this area by providing new entries in the rear of the buildings and possibly a pathway (paseo) linking the courtyard directly to Main Street. Ultimately, this courtyard could consist of outdoor dining opportunities and build on the existing successes of some of the establishments there. Opening up this area could require demolishing the American Legion building and/or possibly the Meier Car Dealership Building.

Woodland Farmers Market will open at new location

From their Web site (click title of this story to access):

The Woodland Farmer's Market is where food and fun meet!

A great place to get the highest quality produce for reasonable prices in a fun, festive atmosphere. There's always something new happening at the Woodland Farmer's Market and this year - we're moving to a great new location!

After 12 years at the County Fair Mall, the Woodland Farmer's Market is coming to downtown Woodland. The new home is Freeman Park (on Main Street between 4th and 6th streets.

Opening Saturday May 31st at 9 am - you'll find the Woodland Farmer's Market underneath fabulous heritage oak trees, next to the playground perfect for kids and the big white gazebo debuting great family entertainment.

This new location promises a fun-filled summer matched by the gorgeous high-quality produce and food that you can only find at the Woodland Farmer's Market.

The Woodland Farmer's Market will be open every Saturday from 9 am to noon, and every Tuesday evening from 5 to 7pm.

District ready to approve lease-purchase agreement despite upside-down numbers

Here's what you can expect in the yet-to-be-posted agenda for the Thursday, May 8, WJUSD Board of Trustee's meeting:

Item I. Board Action 1-B Approve Lease Agreement with Option to Purchase for property located at 435 Sixth Street, Woodland, CA (Parcel No. 006-122-07) [a.k.a. the Blue Shield building].

Under this item, yet another district stooge might present to the trustees a cardboard box filled with lame props. This time, however, it won't be rubber balls or antiquated slides as part of the amateurish sideshow. It will be a foolish display of numbers that will leave all reasonable citizens shaking their heads. The only ones applauding the presentation orchestrated by the jester (a.k.a. superintendent Jacki Cottingim) will be a small band of irrational marionettes (a.k.a. trustees Carol Souza Cole, Bill Beerman, Rosario Ruiz-Dark and Elaine Lytle).

Proponents Souza Cole, Beerman, Ruiz-Dark, Lytle and Cottingim will finally get their magical castle after more than a year of smoke-and-mirrors. They will take advantage of the expected absence of trustee Warren Berg, one of the three opponents of the lease-purchase agreement. Please note the recent strategic delays of the item caused by proponent absences.

Frank Glover and Rogelio Villagrana are the other trustees who oppose the lease-purchase agreement. When you see the numbers culled from the contract, you will see why:

Assessed valuations of the property: $3,609,056

Purchase price of property in First Option Period: $5,430,000 (Base Price)
Period ends on January 1, 2009 or city certification of occupancy, whichever occurs earlier

Purchase price of property in Second Option Period: $7,670,000 (Base Price plus Total Project Costs - Tenant Improvement Costs of $2 million and Leasing Commission of $240,000) plus any prepayment penalties.
Period includes three years following expiration of First Option Period.

Purchase price of property in Third Option Period: $7,670,000 (Base Price plus Total Project Costs)
Period includes 90 days following expiration of Second Option Period.

Purchase price of property in Fourth Option Period: $8,670,000 (Base Price plus Total Project Costs plus an additional amount of $1 million)
Period includes four years plus 90 days following the expiration of Third Option Period.

Tenant improvement costs financed by owner: $2,000,000

Leasing commission reimbursed to owner through rent: $240,000

Security deposit paid to owner: $250,000

Rent: Lease years - annual rent (monthly rent)
1 - $445,000 ($37,083 monthly)
2 - $458,300 ($38,192)
3 - $472,101 ($39,342)
4 - $508,586 ($42,382)
5 - $523,844 ($43,654)
6 and 7 - $539,559 ($44,963)
8 to 12 - $581,131 ($48,428)
13 to 17 - $673,691 ($56,141)
18 to 22 - $780,992 ($65,083)
23 to 27 -$905,384 ($75,449)
28 to 30 - $1,018,424 ($84,869)

Yes, you've figured correctly. The term of the lease shall be for thirty years. It will commence on July 1, 2008. The current lease of the Cottonwood building, present home of the district offices, is about $234,000 a year. Owners of the building previously stated that they would have extended the current lease if the district had requested it.

Information added on Sunday, May 4, 2008:

Cottonwood Plaza square footage: 30,000
Blue Shield square footage: 40,000 (133%)

Approximate full time employees at district in 2008: 88
District estimation of needed employees in 2015: 111 (126%)

Comparison: Turlock's population is 69,321, about what Woodland will be after the Springlake build-out. Their student enrollment is 13,944. They have 44.1 FTE admins (Per Pupil: 316.2) and 42.9 FTE Pupil Service staff (Per Pupil: 307.3). That's 87 FTEs in the district office. Currently, WJUSD has about 48.1 (Per Pupil: 222.2) and 39.6 FTE Pupil Service staff (Per Pupil: 269.9). That's 87.7 FTEs in the district office. Turlock serves over 3,000 more students with the same amount of district office staff.

Ferns Park listed on PDGA Web site

Disc Golf enthusiasts can find 125 California courses listed on the Professional Disc Golf Association's Web site, including John Ferns Park. In fact, disc golfers can find listings for all 50 states. Or... if you're inclined, you can even find course information on such global places as Reykjavik, Iceland - where the Gufunes course has 18 holes for a total of 4,800 feet. Tee types are natural there.

On the PDGA site, potential Disc Golfers can learn that the Ferns Park course was established in 1980. It has nine holes with concrete tees - eight holes under 300 feet and one hole between 300 and 400 feet. It's described as a "City park that is very well manicured. Awesome for rollers!" It has restrooms.

For something a little different, but still close to home, Disc Golf seekers can also find information on the Oxford Circle Park course in Davis - "Nice and short, weaving through small city park. Variety of shots required. *5/08 #7 basket missing."

For rules of the game, you can access the PDGA site or the Disc Golf Association Web site.

Click the title of this story to access the course information on Ferns Park. You can also click here for an Inside Woodland story about Ferns Park "Frisbee" course (using the brand "Frisbee" is a no-no in the Disc Golf world). This story made possible by a tip from former Woodlander Kirk Cortopassi.

What's going on at the district?

This is a post about nothing. Many would argue such is the case with most WJ stories.

According to a trustee, there was to be a special board meeting on Tuesday, April 29 - no agenda was posted at wjusd.org (click title of this story). The lease-purchase agreement for the Blue Shield building was to be on it.

The April 3 board meeting minutes "Will be available after May 8, 2008 Board Meeting" according to wjusd.org
.
Beerman and Lytle absent on 4/24 board meeting - that explains why they couldn't decide on the lease-purchase agreement at that time.

The Daily Democrat reported on a phantom board meeting yesterday. Here's a quote from the article about a plan to improve performance: "(The plan) represents hundreds of hours of work and the collective intelligence of all of the minds in our district," said Superintendent Jacki Cottingim."

No response from the recall people after several inquiries.

No word on the Yolo County Grand Jury complaint.

Sorry, folks... I got nothin' (maybe it's the calm before the storm).

Candidate Lopez releases ballot statement

The following is the ballot statement from the Web site Woodland City Council candidate Alfred Lopez:

Alfredo 'Fred' Lopez
Age: 43
Occupation: Business Owner

I am running for Woodland City Council because the many serious issues that are currently facing our city have gone unchanged by our current & past city council members. Some of the these issues are the city's budget, crime & drugs on our city streets, and not giving enough attention to our seniors & our children.

The Woodland City Council needs more fiscal accountability, transparency with the public, and better planning for our future.

When elected as your city councilman, I will enact city ordinances that will add additional support to our law enforcement so that crime and drug offenders will be easier to prosecute.

Our budget should not rely solely on property taxes to fix many of the shortfalls that we are facing right now. This can be accomplished by developing 'trendier' downtown businesses, repairing the downtown vacancy dilemma, bringing in larger recreational facilities, and promoting more activities to the Woodland area.

The senior citizens population of our city is growing and they require special needs. We need to make sure that these needs are met. We cannot forget our senior citizens for they provided the building blocks of our community by their past hard work. And we must honor that by taking care of them and providing what they need. Our children are our future. And we must do everything in our power to make sure that they have good schools that provide a safe environment, good local community colleges to provide them the next step in their education, and good local jobs.

These are only a few of the issues that I would improve or change, but these changes can only come about if you vote for me on June 3rd. I would like to thank all of those who vote for me. A vote for me is a vote for change that is desperately needed.

Click the title of this story to access alfredolopez.org

Note: This post was revised on May 2.

Woodland City Council candidate Web sites

Click the candidate's name to access their Web site. Statements are taken from each site.

Martie Dote

From Martie's home page: "I am running for election to the Woodland City Council and I am seeking your support. I raised my family here. My stepsons attended Woodland schools and played Woodland sports. With my husband, I help run a family business here. I volunteer here. I enjoy living in Woodland because of its people and I value our way of life."

Fred Lopez

From Fred's biography page: "In the late 1990s, he began taking interest in state and local politics. In 2004, he served on Woodland's Advisory Committee for the Planning Department. In 2006, he was appointed as a commissioner for the Yolo County Housing Authority until 2007. The training he received as a commissioner gave him a unique insight to the federal and state governments' role in future public housing; this knowledge has been very useful in forecasting trends for housing. He was also appointed to several non-profit organizations, such as New Hope CDC and Nueva Esperanza, where he served as a board member until 2007 as well."


Jeff Monroe

From Jeff's home page: "Serving on the City Council has truly been a privilege. I recognize that our community is at a crossroad. I believe there will always be room for improvement and the need for a committed community leader on the Council. I assure you that I would work full time as a conservative steward of taxpayer dollars, a watchdog over city projects and a champion for improved quality of life for all Woodland Residents. Over the last 7 years, I have worked hard at being a consensus-builder who brings all sides and great diversity of interests together through open dialogue in order to accomplish our common goals."

Art Pimentel

From Art's home page: "Since my election to the Woodland City Council in 2004, I have been an advocate for public safety, smart growth, fiscal accountability, and economic development. I have also encouraged a more transparent government, as well as promoted efforts to develop Woodland’s downtown. In addition, I am privileged to represent the City of Woodland as the current Chairman of the Yolo County Transportation District and as a board member for the Yolo-Solano Air Board."

Note: This post was modified on May 2.

From the The Friends of Art Pimentel Committee: Fundraiser on Friday

You are cordially invited to a fundraiser to help re-elect Art Pimentel to the Woodland City Council.

Host Committee: Dr. Cirenio Rodriguez, Trustee, YCOE, Yolo County Supervisor Matt Rexroad, Woodland Mayor Dave Flory, Dr. Jesse Ortiz

Friday May 2nd, 2008
5:30-7:30PM
La Finca De Rivera Restaurant
534 Bush St.
Woodland, CA 95696

Tickets: $50
RSVP: 530-669-7781

Remit checks to:
The Friends of Art Pimentel Committee
1305 Fremont Street
Woodland, CA 95695

To access the computer generated ticket and sponsor form, click the title of this story. Sponsorship levels are available at $1000, $500 and $250.

Contributions to the friends of Art Pimentel Committee, ID#1301822, are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal tax purposes.

You may also order lawn signs at ArtPimentel.com.