"We support the expansion and renovation of the State Theatre"

From the Woodland Record – Letter to the editor:

Dear City Council Members, City Manager and Redevelopment Manager:

We do NOT support the Petrovich theatre development proposal, as it does not fit into the Downtown Specific Plan well at all. The Downtown Specific Plan, with which we became intimately familiar while working on affordable housing issues, was painstakingly created in order to preserve and enhance our city's downtown.

Mr. Petrovich's plan will not only destroy the historic Electric Garage building, but will result in another cookie-cutter theatre complex that will blend into and enhance our existing downtown about as well as his Rite Aid will enhance the Wiseman Building and the "gateway to the downtown" that was so painstakingly designed and implemented a few years ago at Main and East Streets.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

WILLIAM CHARLES SHINN

From Task Force Omega:

Name: William Charles Shinn
Rank/Branch: Staff Sergeant/US Air Force
Unit: 40th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron Udorn Airfield, Thailand
Date of Birth: 07 July 1948
Home of Record: Woodland, CA
Date of Loss: 28 January 1970
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 180200N 1053300E (WF582048)
Status in 1973: Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: HH-53B "Super Jolly Green Giant"
Other Personnel In Incident: Gregory L. Anderson; Leonard C. Leeser; William D. Pruett; William C. Sutton (missing); Holly G. Bell (remains returned). F-105G: Richard J. Mallon; Robert J. Panek, Sr. (remains returned)
Remarks: MIG HIT - EXPLODE - SHRT BEEPR - J

Read the synopsis at TaskForceOmegaInc.org.

Friends of the State Theatre group forms as local developer plans renovation and expansion of the historic asset

From the Woodland Record:

Local historian David Wilkinson has followed the lead of developer Ron Caceres (another Woodlander) and has formed a group called "Friends of the State Theatre." The mission of the group is to support the renovation and expansion of the historic State Theatre according to Project 105 of the City of Woodland’s Downtown Specific Plan. The goal: To save the State Theatre as the only historic movie house in the historic downtown district.

In a prepared letter, Caceras stated, "The State Theatre is a cultural icon and the City of Woodland’s only downtown theater. The theater dates back to 1937 and is a example of Streamline Moderne (Art Deco) architecture that is rarely seen in Woodland. My interest is in preserving the architecture and heritage of this building. We have a unique and immediate opportunity to preserve and restore the State Theatre for generations to come. If ever we want to do something, now is the time." Now is the time because the Request for Proposals (RFP) for a downtown multiplex that the city's redevelopment agency (city council) issued is due on June 10. The RFP was released on May 5.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

Photo: The historic State Theater opened for business in 1937. It was designed by the famous architect S. Charles Lee who designed Los Angeles movie palaces in addition to small town theaters – many of which have already been closed or demolished. Photo by Paul W. Hollingshead, courtesy of Bill Hollingshead.

Gateway II: Democrat paints picture of done deal

Excerpts from the Daily Democrat article "Woodland's Gateway IIinches [sic] into Woodland:"

Following the presentation of the final EIR to the City Council, city staff will then have to begin jumping through the legal hoops associated with officially annexing the 154 acres into the City of Woodland.

"The city and county will need to develop some kind of tax sharing agreement, and then go to LAFCO to submit and application for annexation," Norris said.

LAFCO, or the Local Agency Formation Commission, is an independent agency which deals with government organizational issues such as city annexations and boundary changes.

Assuming things continue on as planned, Norris estimated it could be as soon as six months before actual construction begins on Gateway II, but noted that the final decision would rest with the developers themselves.

Read it before they pull it.

Best sign dancer?

We might have the best sign dancer right here in Woodland. If you have driven by the intersection of Pioneer and Gibson, then you have probably seen this guy. I can't help myself, but I crack up every time I see this guy. He is hilarious. He REALLY gets his groove on!

Has anyone else seen this guy?

Infielder Ryan Williams selected to All-West Region Team, batted .356 for SF Gators

From the San Francisco State University Web site:

SF State baseball players’ Pat Haugen (Cayucos, California, Cuesta College) and Ryan Williams (Woodland, California, Yuba College)were named to the 2010 Daktronics Division II All-West Region Baseball Team as announced [on May 13].

Williams played in 49 of the Gators’ 54 games and started in all 49 of them at either first base, third base, or designated hitter. He led the Gators with his .356 batting average, 38 runs batted in, and 13 doubles. Williams also had 6 home runs while scoring 28 runs and had 58 hits. The Woodland native had a .971 fielding percentage, .546 slugging percentage, and a .449 on-base percentage.

Read the rest at SFGators.com.

Shortstop Mica Romero named First Team All-NWC, batted .355 for Willamette

From the Willamette University Web site:

Mica Romero (So., SS, Woodland, CA/Woodland Christian HS), Jessica Barry (So., OF, Cupertino, CA/Monte Vista HS) and Kelli Snyder (Fr., C, Longview, WA/Kelso HS) were each named First Team All-NWC.

Romero hit .355 this season and earned a .645 slugging percentage. She has now hit .366 in her career at Willamette, while earning a .605 career slugging percentage. This season, she led the team in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, RBIs, doubles, home runs, total bases, walks and sacrifice flies.

Read more at Willamette.edu.

Despite lease or buy contract, trustees to look at alternative sites for district office

WOODLAND JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2010
REGULAR BOARD MEETING AGENDA - REVISED

F. INFORMATION
1-B. Financial Status Report 10-13
2-B. Report on Certificates of Participation 10-21

Subject: REPORT ON CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION
Reviewed By: Mark Bonnett, Associate Superintendent, Business Services
Prepared By:Sherri Brown, Administrative Assistant, Business Services

On Agenda As: INFORMATION

Recommendation: This item is presented to allow for discussion and direction from the Board of Trustees.

Background: In May 2008, the Woodland Joint Unified School District entered into a "Lease Agreement With Option To Purchase" with Blue Ice, LLC for the District Office building located at 435 Sixth Street. Information was recently presented to the Budget Advisory Council regarding options to house the District Office. Three alternatives were reviewed: purchasing the District Office; building a modular District Office at Willow Spring and; converting a portion of the warehouse to a District Office (attached). With this information, I looked at financing one of the alternatives. Attached is a DRAFT spreadsheet comparing existing lease payments with a fixed rate Certificate of Participation (COP) and variable rate COP. The fixed rate COP saves $5.5 million and the variable rate COP saves $9.1 million compared with the existing lease.

Jon Armstrong from KNN Public Finance will be available at the meeting to answer any questions from the Board of Trustees.

WPD and other agencies arrest Vigil for parole violations and three armed robberies in Woodland

From the Woodland Record – Badge Blotter:

On May 26, at approximately 12:30 pm., officers from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Fugitive Apprehension Team and Special Service Unit, the Stockton Police Department, and the Woodland Police Department apprehended Robert Vigil without incident during a vehicle stop in Stockton, California.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

Lee Middle School repeats as YCAL Track and Field Final champions

From the Woodland Record - Sports:

Lee Middle School’s Track and Field team repeated as YCAL champions last week (Thursday, May 20). Lee beat seven other Yolo County middle schools to take the title. The other schools competing were Douglass, Emerson, Holmes, Harper from Davis, Winters, Esparto and C.A. Jacobs from Dixon.

This is the track team’s second win in a row and five wins in the last six years. The Wildcats won two of the four divisions (7th grade girls, 126 points, and 7th grade boys, 122 points) and finished with a team total of 443 points. Douglass Middle school finished in fifth place with 177.5 points and had a strong showing by their 8th grade boys to win the division with 128 points.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

Mary Mast and Jordan Banwarth fight to the finish in the 8th grade girls 800 meter race. Courtesy photo.

SacBee: City of Woodland owes $127,000,000

Region's officials in debt headlock

Local government debt balloons (chart)




Yolo County owes $26,900,000.

City of Woodland botches Harris' Spanish ballot statement

From the Eric Alfaro blog posting "Did the City of Woodland violate the rights of Woodland city council candidate Bobby Harris?:"

In this post I am going to address two issues I have with the way city officials have been responding to the Bobby Harris translation incident.

The first issue is regarding whether the City of Woodland should have to pay to send out a translated versions of the ballot statement in an effort to correct the ballot mistake. The second issue is one I have heard from many people (also a Woodland city council member who will remain unnamed); that Skip Davies and Bill Marble paid to have their ballot statements translated; but Bobby Harris did not, therefore he does not deserve a translated ballot statement on the June 8th voters guide.

Lets start with the latter of the two issues...

Read the rest at EricAlfaro.wordpress.com.

Domino's Pizza rocks

I am really impressed with Domino's Pizza. I had heard about their great deal, 2 medium pizza's for $5.99 each, so I figured I would give them a try. I logged onto their web page www.dominos.com just so I could locate the nearest store to call and order. When I logged on I saw that I could order right online. So I did. Wow! It was super easy, took me less than 2 minutes, paid online with my credit card and had my pizza at my front door in less than 30 minutes.

The coolest feature was the online tracking. Yep, they emailed me a link to track my order online. It told me the exact minute my pizza left the store and even the name of my driver.

Very cool, give it a try!

"Fill the Ball" fund raiser to save middle school sports is today

In December the WJUSD school board voted to eliminate all coaching stipends for the next school year because of severe cuts to educational funding from the State of California. In response to this, the Booster Clubs from both Lee Middle School and Douglass Middle school have come together to raise the money to save the middle school sports programs. The goal is to raise $50,000 to cover the costs of the coaching stipends for both schools.

The first kick off event, “Fill the Ball,” is today (Friday, May 21) from 4:30 to 6:30 pm.

Athletes and concerned community members from both schools will be standing in the parking lots of various businesses around Woodland with empty athletic balls. The public is asked to “Fill the Ball” with monetary donations that will go toward supporting middle school sport’s stipends. Please join our efforts to save middle school sports for Woodland.

For more information or to make a donation please contact Kim King at 521-9368, kfam4mkme@sbcglobal.net, or Suzie Winn at 304-6390, suzqwinn@sbcglobal.net.

Photo: Members from Lee and Douglass girls and boys soccer teams are coming together this afternoon to “Fill the Ball” to save Middle School athletics. From top left: Connor Wright, Christian Castro, Alexis Ayala, Alma Romero, Angelica Santos, Stephanie Doss, Amy Kochera, Ashlee White, Rylie Carlier, Nancy Gutierrez, Andrea Medina, Alex Ayala. Front Row: Kristin Ward, Emily King, Mary Mast, Phoenix Kelly, Kendall Winn, Evelyn Bibriesca and Marco Mendoza

$310,000 lost in courthouse land deals; another $65,000 won't be reimbursed for professional services

From tonight's Woodland City Council meeting agenda item "L. JOINT CITY MANAGER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT" (No. 13.):

Adopt Council Resolution and an Agency Resolution Authorizing the City Manager and the Executive Director to Execute a Memorandum of Understanding between the Woodland Redevelopment Agency and the State of California Administrative Office of the Courts; Authorize an Allocation of Redevelopment Bond Funds in the Amount of $3,109,370 for Acquisition of Sites for the Woodland Courthouse Project

Report in brief:

Since discussions were first initiated regarding the consolidation of the Yolo County Superior Courts, representatives of the City of Woodland have been in the forefront to encourage the state to construct the new courthouse in Woodland and not relocate this important facility to some other community. To achieve this goal, the Woodland Redevelopment Agency has been assisting the State Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) in acquiring parcels at an appropriate location in downtown Woodland.

In order to facilitate this project, it was agreed that the Agency would conduct certain technical analysis and studies of the proposed site and acquire the parcels from the private landowners. In return, the AOC agreed to reimburse the Agency for certain costs associated with the acquisition process. These conditions have been summarized in the attached Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

Wastewater treatment status: State threatens $60 million in fines if compliance is delayed

From the Public Works monthly report to Woodland City Council:

Wastewater Treatment Plant/NPDES Permit (5 Year Renewal)

Status: In February 2009 the final NPDES permit was issued by the RWQCB. The new permit requires the City of Woodland to move to an improved source water supply. It also requires significantly more testing and studies that will substantially increase operating costs. The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) has petitioned the adopted NPDES to the State Water Board and requested the State Water Board to hold the NPDES in abeyance for an unspecified period of time. The immediate impact on the permit is unclear at this time. But CSPA wants limits imposed on: Oil and Grease, and Settleable Solids. CSPA has also requested a complete rewrite of the NPDES permit. The State Water Board will hold a hearing to make a decision at some point in the future.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

Amgen Stage 2 starts in Davis today, cyclists will race through Winters

From AmgenTourofCalifornia.com:

STAGE 2 TODAY:
Monday, May 17 – Davis to Santa Rosa (109.5mi/176.2 km)
Start Time: 11:45 a.m. PT
Estimated Finish Time: 3:30-4 p.m. PT
Satellite Feed Time: 4:50-5 p.m. PT
(Coordinates can be found at http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/news/media-info.html)

The 2010 Amgen Tour of California route from Davis to Santa Rosa for Stage 2 of the race, sponsored by Nissan, will provide plenty of scenic settings for both the cyclists and spectators. Beginning in the city of Davis, which recently was named the best cycling town in the United States by Bicycling Magazine, the route includes evenly spaced climbs throughout the stage and spectacular views. After 20 miles of flat roads, the riders will meet their first climb up a short, but steep section leading up to the Monticello Dam. This short climb is followed quickly by the difficult "Cardiac Hill." Another long, flat section along Lake Berryessa will take the riders to their third climb up Howell Mountain Rd., followed by a fast descent into Napa Valley. The race will pass some of the most well-known vineyards in Napa Valley along the famous Silverado Trail. After the day's final climb up the Oakville Grade, followed by a steep descent down Trinity Grade, the cyclists will finish the race in the hometown three-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer – Santa Rosa. In previous years, Santa Rosa fans have set the mark for one of the largest and most enthusiastic crowds of the entire race.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

LWV to hold city council candidates forum, Harris vs. Marble vs. Davies

From the Woodland Record:

Last day for voter registration is May 24

Woodland’s League of Women Voters will hold a Woodland City Council Candidates Forum on Wednesday, May 19th as voters prepare for the June 8th election. The event, intended to increase voter knowledge and participation in the election process, will be held in the Woodland City Hall Council Chambers starting at 7:00 p.m.

Three candidates will vie for two vacant seats on the Council [Bobby Harris, Bill Marble and Skip Davies.]. All three candidates have confirmed their participation and will begin the forum with individual statements supporting their reasons for seeking election and their qualifications for office. Each candidate will answer three questions prepared by the League.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

Late endorsements don't help

Why would so many groups wait so long to make political endorsements? I read in the Democrat today that the League of Women voters has announced their candidate forum for next week. The Latino Community council just made their endorsements and I have yet to hear about the Democrat.

Here is a news flash: Your to late to make any difference. If you feel like helping your candidates, why would you wait until it is too late. First of all, material has been printed, precincts have been walked and mailers have gone out, all without your support or your endorsement listed.

Second, the absentee ballots have already been mailed out and most likely have been filled out and mailed back in like mine has. You just missed a very important part of the election and minimized any influence you tried to have.

These endorsements and forums need to be done much sooner to have any impact at all!

An invitation to visit the farmstead and Gibson House on Sunday

From the Woodland Record:

Come visit the farmstead and Gibson House Museum on Sunday, May,16, from 10 am to 4 pm. It is free of charge and open to the public and is located on 512 Gibson Road, Woodland.

40 booths from fresh produce to succulent native plants are for sale,and locally handcrafted gift items are yours to purchase and enjoy.

Visit the demonstrations, and listen to the variety of muscians and enjoy the dancing. Bring your collectibles for evaluation. Children's activities and buttermaking are "a must" and you will enjoy the variety of foods and refreshments.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

Douglass teacher arrested for child porn

I received a phone call from WJUSD stating that a teacher at Douglass Junior High was arrested by the FBI for distributing child Pornography. More details will be given as soon as we can talk to the school district.

Click here to listen to the message from WJUSD.

UPDATE:
CBS 13 news has released the name and court documents.

The teacher is Christopher Tomsett, a seventh grade English teacher and soccer coach at Douglass Middle School.

Read their story here!

Check out the court documents here.

Cinema West backpedals on letter calling WR story a joke

From the Woodland Record - Letter to the editor:

Regardless of our differing positions, it was refreshing to see you publish my comments in their entirety concerning a new theatre in Downtown Woodland [see WoodlandJournal.com]. I didn't expect so many personal attacks, but I can see that your readers are passionate about their opinions.

Your readers should also have the benefit of being more informed about what has transpired over the years and our experience in Woodland. Eight years ago, we started our search for a new theatre location.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

Two armed robberies downtown within 12 hours

From the Woodland Record:

Two men robbed at gunpoint near Lincoln and McKinley

Another armed robbery downtown, this time in broad daylight

After RFP is issued, Cinema West insinuates Third and Main theater is a done deal

From the Woodland Record - Letter to the editor:

Your story about the Woodland Cinema Complex and Paul Petrovich are a joke. I've been working with Mr. Petrovich on the theatre complex at 3rd and Main for over 5 years now. I can assure you that any surveys you claim to have are meaningless and don't properly represent the situation.

No resident of Woodland should be made to incorrectly understand that somehow the business owners in the core of Downtown Woodland would prefer that the State Theatre be remodeled instead of having a new complex where there are other businesses and parking. We closely looked at the State alternative and rejected it as unfeasible. If you knew anything about how the theatre business works, you would agree.

It looks like your agenda has nothing to do with where the right place to put a movie theatre should be. Your underground grassroots upheaval serves no productive purpose.

The City will be proud of its new theatre once completed and shame on you for making a mockery of it.

Dave Corkill
Cinema West
Petaluma

Harris gives council an "F" on tenants' sign ordinance

The following is the text of Bobby Harris' public comment made before Woodland City Council approved the tenants' sign ordinance on May 4. It was televised by News10 that evening.

Woodland City Council needs to feel more political urgency about very many matters, among them being timely address for serious deficiencies in our democratic process. Free speech rights of Woodland’s tenants, basic and long ignored, should have been an important City Council priority during the months preceding an election campaign.

Tenants comprise a very large portion of Woodland residents, whose right to display political signage consistent with city policy for land owners has never yet existed. This primitive political condition resembles a medieval relic of serfdom, constraining civil involvement of the lower classes and denying them basic integrity and political equity.

Read more at WoodlandRecord.com.

City releases RFP for downtown mulitplex, skews criteria to favor Petrovich

From the Woodland Record:

The City of Woodland Redevelopment Agency (city council) approved the release of a Request for Proposals for a cinema complex to be located in the Historic Downtown Woodland. The RDA will only entertain proposals for two specific areas that are listed in the Downtown Specific Plan as potential sites for a multiplex.

One of those sites, known as the Hoblit site at 801 Main Street, has been the favored site of planners since then-city manager Richard Kirkwood began scheming with developer Paul Petrovich six years ago to combine a multiplex with a downtown garage and the new Woodland courthouse to be built by the state.

In the RFP, the agency/council states, "The Agency is expected to subsidize the cost of the move of the [Hoblit] dealership. It is hoped that any proposal submitted will consider relocation as part of the theater project in terms of project financing and development schedule."

The Hoblit auto dealership leases from Petrovich, the property owner.

View the RFP here.

yolocountyjusticecoalition@gmail.com sends anonymous "press release"

Two days before a scheduled event, an anonymous emailer sent the Woodland Record an announcement that "On April 30th 2010, the community of Woodland and Yolo County will gather in memory of Luis Gutierrez and demand that his memory be respected. A vigil will take place at 7:00 PM at the very scene where deputies ended the life of a Mexican farm worker in broad daylight. The Woodland Community will demand a meeting with Police Department and Demand the release of the Gutierrez investigation for public inspection immediately."

I replied to request that the sender state his/her name and address before we publish the announcement. The sender did not reply, but I did find this information at EricAlfaro.wordpress.com:

Yolo County Justice Coalition
530.723.6607
P.O Box 8901
Woodland CA 95695

Even that information (an unpublished cell phone number and a post office box number) was not included in the email sent to the Record. The email stated, "The Woodland Police Department claims that Gutierrez was not affiliated with gangs."

Harris on Measure E: House of cards built by misrepresentation

City staff may jump from a sinking ship

Excerpts from the Yolo Sun opinion piece "City Council Violates Measure E Ballot Advisory:"

City council members are avoiding an explanation to Woodland’s voters about the — monetary meltdown of Measure E — and the violation of its ballot advisory measures — prior to the June 8 Primary Election — where it has placed yet another sales-tax measure (Measure V).

It has engaged in a pattern of publicly misrepresenting the basic nature of “ballot advisory” policy related to the legal status of Measure E (in reality, a general-fund measure) — and at the very same time — it is scrupulously busy abridging this identical “ballot advisory” policy — underneath the civic carpet.

Senior city financial staff exclaim that: They’ll “resign,” if again asked to build the sort of overly pooled and over-leveraged house-of-cards out of public sales tax, as has occurred with Measure E money and Deven adds that he would surely . . . “follow them right on out the door.”

Most of Measure E’s short-term (ballot-advisory) eggs and many long-term (ballot-advisory) eggs were — with that upbeat outlook — placed into one — pooled and leveraged pecuniary basket — which was duly crushed by the dead financial weight of the Great Recession of 2008 – 20??.

The city council tied an awesome anchor onto Measure E, and then sent it out into a perfect storm.

Read more at YoloSun.wordpress.com.