City Offers Contract to Develop a New Core Area Specific Plan (270)

From The Davis Enterprise, August 11, 2017

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Nextdoor Seeks Venture Capital Salvation in Real Estate Advertising (269)

The web marketing organization Nextdoor has been of interest from its start as an enterprise with a great deal of venture capital looking for a way to make real money and not just spend venture capital. After several years, we are now told that it has settled on real estate advertising as its money-making salvation! (Among profiles created on Nextdoor, real estate offices were first, followed by pet sitters, we are told. Go figure.) Details from a Nextdoor tweet and a CNBC report follow.

Eleven Trackside Center Visuals (268)

In recent debates over the proposed Trackside Center, I have noticed relatively few visual representations of it. Because much of the focus is on policy and its violation, the appearance of the building itself qua object seems to me to be relatively neglected.

So I thought I would attempt a modest corrective to this situation by collecting visuals appearing on the internet. I went to the City website on this topic and screenshot all the visual depictions/projections of it I came across. By my count, there are ten of them (and I may have missed some). And I found an additional view in a Vanguard article.

We need to appreciate that the developer has provided all eleven and this might mean a skewing in what is represented and in the particulars. So, it would also be good if we had critiques of these eleven visuals from opponents and visuals drawn up by opponents. And also, obviously, proponents might want to provide additional visuals and to respond to opponent visuals and critiques, if any.

I am happy to publish on this blog all additional visual materials and discussions of them sent to me.

1. Looking Northwest - 1 

Reprint of Davis Vanguard Op-Ed “What Should We Do About Trackside?” (267)

David Greenwald’s Sunday op-ed framing of the Trackside matter is, I think, very much on the right track. Together with his elaboration in today’s Vanguard, he reaches toward a significant shift in our conception of the physical contouring and direction of Davis. With his permission, I reprint the Sunday version.

Classic Fire Hydrant Decapitation Accident at 5th & E, July 10, 2017 (266)

I live on E Street not so far from 5th and over the years I have become accustomed to cars on E attempting to cross 5th from the south to the north being smashed in the side and driven onto the fire hydrant at the corner, sometimes snapping off the hydrant. 

It happened yet again a week or so ago. These events are so repetitive and similar that I sometimes no longer walk over to see what happened. I almost did not bother in this case, but the new ONDNA traffic-calming project prompted me to think some snaps might be helpful. Here they are.

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Two Car Smashup At 6th & G Saturday Afternoon July 22, 2017 (265)

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I was on my way to the Coop Saturday afternoon, July 22 when I came onto two cars in smash-up disarray at the northeast corner of 6th and G streets.

Whatever may have happened, the large-scale displacement of the bench at the corner is quite striking.

This post consists of five selected and edited photos from among those I took at the scene.

ONDNA Website Reports Possibility of Newman Center Church Demolition (264)

The News section of www.oldnorthdavis.org is reporting that a City Official at a recent Historical Commission meeting spoke of the City being in “ongoing contact” with Newman Center officials about the future Newman Center and another said there is apparently a plan to demolish it.

This story is here:

http://www.oldnorthdavis.org/city-officials-reports-there-are-plans-to-demolish-the-newman-center-church

Excerpts from that story follow.