August News from Our Inbox to You

Howdy Fellow Davisites!  Hope that you are enjoying this gloriously mild summer weather. Summer in our little college town is a little quieter than other seasons and August takes the cake for calmest month on the calendar. Many Davis citizens plan August vacations to escape the heat and traditionally our elected and appointed government officials dim the office lights.  For that and other reasons, we’ve been pretty inactive over here at your favorite local blog… but the poetry from Warren Jones sure has been a nice change of pace, eh?

We keep getting press releases though, so below find a bunch of local news that I’ve shamelessly cut and pasted into this post.

Interested in sharing news, commentary or opinion about anything remotely related to Davisville? Send 300-600 words to kemblekpope (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll publish you!

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Mellon Grant to Expand Classical Music Initiatives at Mondavi Center

The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis has been awarded a three-year, $580,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to engage more students and other audiences in classical music. This is the single largest foundation grant awarded to the Mondavi Center in the 10-year history of the organization since the Center for the Arts Campaign, which funded the construction of the venue. The grant will support initiatives designed to deepen the experience of classical music for artists, audience members and UC Davis students.

“We have a longstanding belief in the power and beauty of classical music to enrich lives,” said Don Roth, executive director of the Mondavi Center. “This generous grant will give us the opportunity to deepen our work to engage audience members with classical music by supporting nontraditional and less formal concert formats; building artist residencies that bring community members and artists in closer contact; providing online audience engagement activities; and pursuing strategies to connect UC Davis students to the power of classical music.”

The grant will fund initiatives in four areas of focus:

• Programming: presenting new and challenging classical works in non-traditional spaces, such as the Mondavi Center’s Studio Classics series presented in a “night club” cabaret setting.
• Artist residencies: bringing established classical artists and orchestras onto campus and into the community.
• Audience engagement: providing accessible enrichment tools that give context, connection and feedback opportunities.
• Student engagement: launching the Aggie Arts Classical Music Initiative, a student-driven program to build UC Davis student attendance at classical music events.

“The funds will allow us to pursue aspirations and initiatives that otherwise would not be possible to implement in the current economic environment,” said Roth. “We are grateful that the Mellon Foundation has been willing to invest in such ideas and that they retain a belief in the importance and power of classical music.”

The grant to the Mondavi Center will count as part of The Campaign for UC Davis, a university-wide initiative to inspire 100,000 donors to contribute $1 billion in support of the university’s mission and vision.

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Register Now for the World’s Greatest Bicycle Parade on October 2nd, 2011

“In 2011, the Davis community set a new Guinness World’s Record for the longest single line of bicycles with 916 bikes and riders,” said Odd Fellows spokesman Dave Rosenberg.  “Now we’re ready to break our own world’s record.  The new bike parade will start in front of the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge Hall on Sunday, October 2, 2011, at precisely 10:02 a.m.  I suggest you start oiling your spokes.”

Folks who wish to register to ride in the parade and help set a new World Record for Davis can now do so.  The on-line registration opened on July 1, and participants have already begun to register for the effort to set a new Guinness World record.  Registration this year will remain open for only the first 1,500 bike riders.  At 1,500 registrants, registration will close as the route will not be able to accommodate more riders.

Register HERE.  Volunteer HERE.  Facebook HERE.  Guiness World Record Rules HERE.

Registration on line takes just minutes, and one member of a family can sign up the entire family at one time.  Cost to register for the parade is $10 per person.  If registrants wish to have a commemorative bike parade logo T-shirt, the cost will be $20 for registration and the T-shirt.  All proceeds from registration, after expenses, will be given to the Davis Schools Foundation for the benefit of Davis schools.

The parade will be followed by a family-friendly Festival in Central Park, complete with food and drinks, a beer garden, musical entertainment, and a “Kid’s Zone” for the children.  The Festival in the Park will begin around 11 a.m.

Participation in the parade is open to the general public with a minimum age requirement of 7, and the Odd Fellows invite bike riders from throughout Northern California to join the parade, break the record and help raise money for the Davis Schools.  A bike must travel the entire parade route, start to finish, to count.  In 2010, people registered from Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento, Sacramento, Winters, Dixon, from throughout the Central Valley, Nevada, Washington and Oregon.

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Melanie Glover Hired as new DDBA Director

Melanie Glover, DDBA Director.

The Davis Downtown Business Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Melanie Glover, 2nd Friday ArtAbout Coordinator and Davis Art Center Publicity Coordinator, has been hired as the new DDBA Director. She will leave the Art Center to begin her new job on August 22.

Melanie looks forward to advocating and marketing on behalf of Downtown businesses to ensure economic growth and sustainability for the Downtown region as a whole. Her fresh marketing ideas and strong background in community outreach and public relations will be a valuable asset to DDBA. Her office hours will be Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Be sure to come by, say hello, or shoot her an e-mail with any questions, concerns or feedback regarding Downtown events, initiatives and procedures: melanie@davisdowntown.com.

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All-Mail Ballot Local Elections Coming to Yolo County

AB 413, a bill authored by Yolo County Assemblymember Mariko Yamada allowing an all-mail voting pilot project in Yolo County, was signed into law on August 8th by Governor Jerry Brown. The new law will analyze the effects of all-mail ballot voting on local elections and report the findings back to the Legislature.

“We are very pleased to have this bill signed on its third attempt, and with bipartisan support,” said Assemblymember Yamada. “A defining feature of this pilot elections program is in its study element. The data collected on the effects of all-mail ballot voting may help guide the future of elections in California.”

The administration and cost of traditional poll voting has become increasingly burdensome to local districts during this period of economic difficulty.  At the same time, with each election, more and more voters are choosing to exercise their right-to-vote by choosing permanent Vote by Mail (VBM) status.  Voting by mail is also emerging as a more efficient way to conduct an election.

The Yolo County Clerk-Recorder can now conduct up to three (3) local elections using mail ballots as the primary voting system.  These elections would not be held on the same date as general or statewide elections.  At least one polling location per city will remain open on Election Day to accommodate those who are unable or prefer not to vote using a mailed ballot.  Secure ballot drop off locations, established by the county, will also be available to make it easy and convenient for the voter to deliver his or her ballot.

Yolo County will then be required to report the outcomes of the all-mail ballot elections to the Legislature.  The report will include statistics on cost, the turnout of different populations, the number of ballots that were not counted and the reasons why they were rejected, any voter fraud problems and any other problems that became known to the county during the election.  The report will compare the success of the all-mailed ballot elections to similar elections not conducted as all-mailed ballot elections in Yolo County.

Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed two similar bills by Assemblymember Yamada, AB 1228 of 2009 and AB 1681 of 2010.

“I appreciate Assemblymember Yamada’s perseverance and hard work on this legislation on behalf of Yolo County,” said Yolo County Clerk-Recorder Freddie Oakley.  “We look forward to conducting this study and expect to find that these elections save money and improve voter turnout in local elections.”

AB 413 will go into effect on January 1, 2012 and sunsets on January 1, 2018.  The report must be delivered to the Legislature within six months after the date of the final all-mailed ballot election outlined in the bill.

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Film Premiere: Farmers’ Markets: Love at First Bite, Sunday, September 18th, 7:30 pm at Varsity Theatre

Sunday, September 18th is the world premiere Farmers’ Markets: Love at First Bite, a 26-minute documentary by filmmaker Mike Lee, highlighting the nationally recognized Davis Farmers’ Market.

The event will begin at 7:30 p.m in front of the Varsity Theatre in Davis with a reception featuring food and drinks from Davis Farmers Market farmers and sellers. Doors will open at 8:30 for the premiere, and immediately following the film will be the Watermelon Awards–an award presentation honoring people and organizations who have been champions of the Davis Farmers Market. Bob Bowen, City of Davis PR Manager, will emcee the event.

Filmed at the Davis Farmers Market in October 2010, Farmers’ Markets: Love at First Bite is a unique and in depth look at the fun and importance of farmers’ markets. The documentary features locals such as: Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor, Anne Evans, co-founder of the Davis Farmers’ Market, and Georgeanne Brennan, renowned, award-winning cookbook author. The film also delivers an inside peek into what makes farmers markets so appealing and shines a spotlight on local farmers, food advocates, and Davis Farmers’ Market lovers.

The film will also highlight the remarkable growth of farmers’ markets in the United States. In the last ten years, farmers markets have multiplied from about 2,500 markets in 2001 to over 6,000 markets today. The film promises to highlight the four reasons fueling the rapid expansion and growing popularity of farmers markets, with an emphasis on what makes the Davis Farmers Market uniquely special.

Tickets for the premiere are $10 and go on sale for Friday, July 29 at brownpapertickets.com. You can watch the film’s trailer HERE. DVD’s will be available for purchase after the premiere at the Davis Farmers Market information booth and UC Davis Book Store Downtown for $20. For more information, go to www.DavisFarmersMarket.org.