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By Eric Johnson
Published Sep 09, 2024

The council chambers in Santa Cruz City Hall has been the scene of countless heated political battles, and at least one melee. The council chambers in Santa Cruz City Hall has been the scene of countless heated political battles, and at least one melee. Image credit: Crystal Birns, Contributed

It Takes a Village to Run a Village: Leadership vs. Partisanship

In November, 2021, more than 2,000 people gathered in the bucolic Silicon Valley suburb of Los Gatos for what was called the United Against Hate March. They did so in part because the town's mayor and elected council had been subjected to a slew of attacks in the wake of vaccination mandates and policies promoting diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI). Similar incidents had already happened during public meetings throughout the state and nation, and they have continued ever since. And last Jauary, my friend Fred Keeley, mayor of Santa Cruz, received a death threat following a contentions city council meeting during which protesters stormed the council dais and broke windows in the chambers.

Last month, the Los Gatos town council voted unanimously to cancel its November election because nobody filed to run against the incumbents for two seats that would have been in contention. We've noticed that the same thing has happened in multiple towns and cities throughout Northern California. In this week's edition of The Newsletter, Chris Neklason examines the trend and posits some reasons people might find running for a public office or advisory board—an admitedly serious conmmitment to civic duty—increasingly daunting.

But first, Chris talks with Ryan Coonerty, a former veteran Santa Cruz elected official and, not incidentally, co-host of the podcast "An Honorable Profession," which is about (you guessed it) elected public service. 


The Business Community Steps Up

When we talk about how California works here at CALocal, we frequently point out that the civic infrastructure in most cities and towns is made up of a multitude of individuals beyond elected officials and public employees. They include, for instance, the employees and volunteers at nonprofit community groups. In every instance I know of, the local business community is also involved in the work of civic betterment.

One of the best examples of business leaders stepping up to nurture community involvement are local programs such as Leadership Santa Cruz—there are similar organzations in many counties throughout California and beyond, and they are generally founded by local Chambers of Commerce. 


Building a Civic Engagement Pipeline

Democracy works better when more people actively participate.
We look at one of many local efforts to cultivate the local civic engagement talent pool.

The Simmering California Public Service Crisis

Democracy is all about having a seat at the table.
What happens if you have a democracy and nobody shows up?


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Yolo County's Homepage

Direct your browser to https://yolo.californialocal.com/ to catch up on the latest news in California and Yolo County. Bookmark the link and visit often, there's a lot happening in your community!


Recipe of the Week

Our friends at Sacramento Digs Gardening publish a recipe from their gardens every Sunday, which we feature here so you can start your week with some yum.

See more recipes in their Taste Fall! cookbook.


This fruity syrup makes most of late-season harvest

A mix of berries, plus a few other random summer fruits, go into the fruit syrup.
New! Very Berry Syrup mixes strawberries, blueberries, blackberries -- or whatever you have


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Get to Know a Group

Big Brothers Big Sisters logo Big Brothers Big Sisters

Big Brother Big Sisters provides children facing adversity with strong, enduring, professionally supported mentorship. The chapter serves Sacramento and Yolo counties, as well as southern Placer County.

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From Our Media Allies

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West Sacramento News Ledger logo Yolo County Board of Supervisors Recognizes Women’s Equality Day

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution at their Aug. 27 meeting, designating Aug. 26 as Women’s Equality Day in Yolo County.

West Sacramento News Ledger logo Yolo County Office of Education Launches School Resiliency and Sustainability Project

It is the first County Office of Education in the U.S. to move forward with the operation of its own independent microgrid.

West Sacramento News Ledger logo Tree Ordinance Under Review

Taking down a tree is not as easy as it sounds in West Sacramento.

West Sacramento News Ledger logo West Nile Virus Risk Continues

While Labor Day is the last holiday of the summer, mosquito activity and the risk of West Nile virus continue for all area residents.

West Sacramento News Ledger logo Moving Yolo Youth Forward

A decade ago, a small group of Davis residents teamed up to make sure that Yolo County’s foster youth had the furnishings and household items they needed to create a home when they moved out on their own.

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Recent Local News

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• A Look at the Notable Increase of Yolo County Homeless

The Daily Democrat takes a close look at the 2024 Point-in-Time Count of local Yolo County homeless and local homeless programs.

(09/07/2024) → Daily Democrat

• Yolo County 2023 Agriculture Report Show Increased Production

The 2023 Yolo County Agriculture Report shows an production increase of almost 25% over the previous year with a value of $901 million.

(09/07/2024) → Daily Democrat

• Candidates for Sacramento Hold Debate

Learn what candidates for Sacramento Mayor had to say in their September 5 debate in this CapRadio report.

(09/06/2024) → CapPublicRadio

• Respiratory Problems in South Sacramento Under Investigation

CapRadio reports on an air monitoring program seeking to determine the cause of respiratory illnesses in South Sacramento.

(09/05/2024) → CapPublicRadio

• Woodland Aims for ‘Pro-Housing’ Town Designation

In an effort to be in line for more low-income state housing funds, the City of Woodland is considering the policies and initiatives necessary to be designated as "pro-housing."

(09/05/2024) → Daily Democrat

• Woodland Proceeds With Aquifer Water Storage Project

In their September 3 meeting, the Woodland City Council gave approval for city staff to apply for $2 million in U.S. Bureau of Reclamation funding to begin the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Well 31 Project to add capacity to the city water supply.

(09/05/2024) → Daily Democrat

• New Classroom Construction Begins in Davis

Construction began on a new transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classroom building project at five Davis Unified School District schools.

(09/03/2024) → Davis Enterprise

• Davis Firefighters to Encampment Fires

On August 3, Davis firefighters were dispatched to two separate fires at homeless encampments.

(09/03/2024) → Davis Enterprise

• Davis Opens Public Comment Period for Palomino Place EIR

The draft environmental impact report for the Palomino Place project in the City of Davis is available for public comment through September 23.

(09/03/2024) → Davis Enterprise

• Yolo County Library Offers Free School Resources

Find out more about the free student and educator resources available through the Yolo County Library.

(09/03/2024) → Daily Democrat
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Recent Statewide News

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• California "30x30" Conservation Efforts Make Progress

The California state goal to conserve 30% of its land and coastal waters has advanced, with conserved lands reaching 25% and coastal waters 16%.

(09/08/2024) → Los Angeles Times

• Reparations Supporters Plot Comeback After Bitter Defeat in California Legislature

The controversial idea of cash reparations divided even Black advocates in the legislature this year. Here’s what’s next.

(09/06/2024) → CalMatters

• CA Rent Control Battle Goes to the Ballot

Amid a Southern California heat wave, about 300 advocates for rent control — with two 10-foot “greedy landlord” puppets — rallied Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, chanting: “The rent is too damn high!”

(09/06/2024) → CalMatters

• Should California Community Colleges Offer Bachelor’s Degrees in Nursing? Universities Say No

Lawmakers approved two bills to allow some community colleges to provide bachelor’s degrees in nursing. That’s setting up another conflict with the California State University, which already offers these bachelor’s degrees.

(09/05/2024) → CalMatters

• Are CA Gig Workers Getting Promised Pay and Benefits?

California voters passed Proposition 22 four years ago. The ballot initiative, backed by Uber, Lyft and other gig companies, promised the state’s more than 1 million gig workers new benefits, such as guaranteed minimum earnings, health care stipends, occupational accident insurance and accidental death insurance.

(09/04/2024) → CalMatters

• More Extreme Heat + More People = Danger in These California Cities. ‘Will It Get as Hot as Death Valley?’

Inland communities with big population booms will experience the most extreme heat days under climate change projections. The combination puts more people at risk — and many cities are unprepared.

(09/04/2024) → CalMatters

• California Schools Release a Blizzard of Data, and That’s Why Parents Can’t Make Sense of It

Information about how the state’s K-12 students are performing is located on several sites and is difficult to understand, a new report finds.

(09/04/2024) → CalMatters

• California School Dashboard Lacks Pandemic Focus, Earns a D Grade in Report

The California School Dashboard makes it hard for the public to see how schools and districts are performing over multiple years, concludes the report's lead author.

(09/04/2024) → EdSource

• California Has Spent Billions on Homelessness but Lacks Hard Data on Outcomes

California has allocated more than $20 billion to alleviate the state’s homelessness crisis since Gavin Newsom became governor in 2019, but there’s precious little data on how the money was spent and what effect it’s had, other than the number of unhoused people has continued to climb.

(09/04/2024) → CalMatters

• Health Care in California: How the State Made Almost Everyone Eligible for Coverage

Almost everyone in California has health insurance. That trend reflects about a decade and a half of policymaking designed to expand access to health care. The state’s average uninsured rate has dropped from nearly one in four Californians in 2009 to less than one in ten today.

(09/03/2024) → CalMatters

• CalFire Deploys New Air Tanker

CalFire received the first of five planes promised by the federal government, a former Coast Guard C-130 Hercules air tanker.

(09/02/2024) → https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article291844345.html

• California’s Economy Lags Behind Other States, Here’s Why It’s So Sluggish

California’s unemployment rate, 5.2% of its labor force in July, is no longer the nation’s highest after months of having that dubious distinction.

(09/02/2024) → CalMatters
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Government Announcements

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Image of State of California seal. State of California   (09/06/2024)

Cecilia M. Aguiar-Curry CA Assembly 04:
Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry Applauds Governor's Regulations to Protect Public from Intoxicating Hemp Products

Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry Applauds Governor's Regulations to Protect Public from Intoxicating Hemp Products beltrala Fri, 09/06/2024 - 12:01 John Ferrera Chief of Staff 916-402-8900 John.Ferrera@asm.ca.gov Friday, September 6, 2024 SACRAMENTO, Calif. Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D- Winters) and key stakeholders, including the California Cannabis Industry Association and United Food and Commercial Workers, applaud the Governors proposed emergency regulations to …
Image of City of Woodland seal. City of Woodland   (09/04/2024)

Sustainability Advisory Committee Hosts “Green Drinks” Event on Friday, September 13

Quarterly event promotes community and discussion around sustainability and climate change
Image of State of California seal. State of California   (09/03/2024)

Bill Dodd CA Senate 03:
Legislature OKs Sen. Dodd’s Government Ethics Bill

Sunday, September 1, 2024SACRAMENTO The California Legislature on Saturday approved legislation from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that would update conflict of interest laws to ensure local governments and other parties can more effectively implement and follow the law to prevent corruption or the appearance of corruption. This bill builds on the states local government ethics safeguards by focusing in on …
Image of State of California seal. State of California   (09/01/2024)

Bill Dodd CA Senate 03:
Legislature Approves Sen. Dodd’s ‘Willie Mays Highway’ Bill

Sunday, September 1, 2024SACRAMENTO The California Legislature approved a resolution from Sens. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and colleagues statewide to name a portion of Interstate 80 in San Francisco after the late baseball icon, Willie Mays. This is an absolute homerun, Sen. Dodd said. Willie Mays endeared himself to generations of San Francisco Giants fans, including myself, …
Image of State of California seal. State of California   (08/30/2024)

Bill Dodd CA Senate 03:
Legislature Approves Sen. Dodd’s Camp Coombs Park Bill

Friday, August 30, 2024SACRAMENTO Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, announced today the California Legislature has approved his measure to allow the state of California to sell land at Napa State Hospital known as Camp Coombs to Napa County for inclusion in Skyline Wilderness Park. This new parcel, when combined with the adjacent and much larger Skyline Wilderness Park, will be a …
Image of United States seal. United States   (08/30/2024)

Hickory Hollow Jerky Recalls Ready-To-Eat Jerky Products Produced Without Benefit of Inspection

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2024 - Hickory Hollow Jerky, a Eufaula, Ala., establishment, is recalling approximately 6,229 pounds of ready-to-eat jerky products that were produced without the benefit of federal inspection...
Image of City of Woodland seal. City of Woodland   (08/29/2024)

City Welcomes New Chief of Police

Chief Derrek Kaff to Retire in October
Image of State of California seal. State of California   (08/29/2024)

Bill Dodd CA Senate 03:
Legislature Approves Sen. Dodd’s Elder Fraud Protection Bill

Thursday, August 29, 2024SACRAMENTO The California Legislature today approved a measure from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that would strengthen elder and dependent adult financial abuse protections by clarifying the duties of banks and financial institutions to safeguard against fraud. Today we take an important step toward underscoring what steps a bank or credit union should take to protect against senior …
Image of State of California seal. State of California   (08/29/2024)

Bill Dodd CA Senate 03:
Assembly OKs Sen. Dodd’s Defensible Space Bill

Thursday, August 29, 2024SACRAMENTO Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, today announced the California Assembly has approved his measure to enhance wildfire safety by improving standards for creation of defensible space. With more destructive and frequent wildfires, we must take every opportunity to protect ourselves and our communities, Sen. Dodd said. One of the best things we can do it to clear …
Image of State of California seal. State of California   (08/29/2024)

Bill Dodd CA Senate 03:
Assembly Approves Sen. Dodd’s Campus Harassment Bill

Thursday, August 29, 2024SACRAMENTO Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, today announced the California Assembly has approved his legislation that would build on efforts to safeguard students from sexual misconduct and violence on California college campuses by adopting new requirements recommended in a California State Auditor report and by extending those rules to the University of California, California State University and community …