WENNBERG FESTIVAL A WINNER … while some may see music in the schools as an “extracurricular” activity, I see it as essential as mathematics and advanced biology … fortunately, in a town like Davis, I am not alone …

For unknown reasons, perhaps because I played the violin for a couple of weeks as a third-grader at West Davis Elementary, I have been asked to play a small role in the always splendid Bodil Wennberg Music Festival — the 15th annual, no less — taking place Sunday afternoon at the Mondavi Center … the Mondavi does has its standards, so they may have to sneak me backstage with a bag over my head to avoid scrutiny …

It will be my job — and thrill — to introduce some of the most talented musicians ever produced in this town’s public schools, including the Davis All-City Elementary Orchestra, the Emerson-Harper Intermediate Orchestra, the Emerson-Harper Advanced Orchestra, the Holmes Junior High Intermediate Orchestra, the Holmes Junior High Advanced Orchestra, the Davis Senior High Baroque Ensemble, the Davis Senior High Chamber Orchestra and the Davis Senior High Symphony Orchestra … not to mention flutist Margaux Anna Filet, the concert’s featured soloist …

Like so many others in our town, I was fortunate to have known Bodil Wennberg, who was a beloved member of this community who taught music to many students and was also a UC Davis Symphony member … sadly, Bodil died far too young in 1994, but her memory lives on in those she taught and in those who will perform on Sunday … tickets are available at the Mondavi box office or by calling (530) 754-2787 … on a Sunday afternoon in April, it doesn’t get any better than this …

BACKWARD THINKING … my friend Sally on the Westside fired a guided missive my way defending the letter the School District sent out urging a “Yes” vote on Measure A … said Sally: “Given that it came from the District, I think the letter was pretty close to neutral.” … really? … well, let’s just put Sally’s proposition to a little test …

Imagine that the letter said “The week of April 4th you will receive a ballot in the mail and be asked to reject Measure A,” instead of the actual letter that asked us to “approve” Measure A … I think folks would be rightly outraged … or, what about the sentence in the letter that began “The District is seeking voter approval for a parcel tax.” … imagine if that sentence had said “The District is seeking voter “rejection” of a parcel tax.” … there wouldn’t be a person in the house who’d say that wasn’t advocacy …

RANCHO RESIDENTS RAISE QUESTIONS … while School Board President Richard Harris continues to spin the notion that the advocacy letter was sent out only to help seniors obtain their God-given tax exemption, the letter in question actually contradicted itself and left residents of Rancho Yolo wondering just how much tax they might owe if this thing passes …

As my friend Brian on Full Circle points out, in Paragraph 2 the letter states “The amount of the tax will be $200 per parcel or $20 per mobile home,” yet in Paragraph 4 it tells Brian that he is “a senior citizen who owns a parcel of land within the District,” which means his tax would be $200 as a landowner, not $20 as a mobile home owner …

Writes Brian about his contradictory situation that apparently even the District’s own lawyers can’t figure out, “On my tax bill I have a parcel number for the land I don’t own, but rent.” … he says he does own the mobile home, “Yet in Paragraph 4 it says that I own a parcel within the District.” … so much for helping seniors understand their tax bill …

BLOG IN A FOG … according to Jeff Hudson’s excellent Enterprise piece on the District’s advocacy letter, the whole issue has led to “a spirited exchange of online comments posted on The Davis Enterprise website and local blogs.” … one blog, which doesn’t hesitate to print falsehoods if it suits its purposes, had a whole stream of lies dealing with — you’d better sit down — the Above-Pictured Columnist …

Forwarded to me by a kind reader, one blog entry said that Bob Dunning “IS” 65 years old … in blogspeak, if you use all caps to make your point, it means it’s really, really, really true … that lie was followed by a statement that the district’s letter went out only to seniors who had claimed the exemption, which led to the suggestion that Bob Dunning came upon this letter because he received one himself … he IS, after all, over 65 …

And finally, building one lie upon another, came the conclusion that Bob Dunning received the letter because he IS over 65 and took the tax exemption despite the fact he has four young children in the Davis public schools … the cad … which means, of course, that Bob Dunning has to have been over 65 for some time now, since we’re talking about a tax exemption from a previous election …

The Blog Master, of course, could have put a stop to this string of untruths and silly speculation with a simple phone call or email to the alleged 65-year-old in question … probably would have taken all of about 15 seconds … but why break a chain of lies with simple facts? … might ruin the whole idea of having a blog in the first place … (for the record, the Above-Pictured Columnist is not 65, has never been 65, will not be 65 before the exemption deadline passes, hopes one day to be 65, has never taken a parcel tax exemption and would not take one even if eligible) …

— Reach Bob Dunning at [email protected]

Comments

comments