Bob Dunning: East Davis: the land that all forget

THE STING OF THE BEE … writes Barbara on the Eastside, “I was reading the Davis Community Profile in the Real Estate section of The Sacramento Bee and I was astounded and disappointed to see that there was no mention of East Davis.” … Barbara, Barbara, Barbara, you can’t expect the Major Metropolitan Daily to recognize our $500,000, three-bedroom, one-bath starter homes when writing about the trendy neighborhoods in our town …

According to Barbara, the article went on to quote a local Realtor who said “Housing stock in Davis is extremely well-kept. There are no boarded-up houses and no bad areas.” … yeah, but they did board up East Davis’ treasured elementary school … “The south area of Davis caters to people who work in Sacramento because they can get on the freeway easily from there.” … work in Sacramento? … and here I thought we were a totally “sustainable” community that provided enough jobs for our populace so we didn’t have to burn precious fossil fuels racing across the Causeway to work every day …

“Central Davis appeals to people who want to walk everywhere.” … walk everywhere except East Davis, of course … Central Davis is also “the only area with vintage homes.” … what, my 61-year-old home is the wrong “vintage”? … but wait, there’s more … “West and North Davis are fairly quiet areas.” …

Cries Barbara, “Do we not exist in East Davis anymore? Bob, you have always been our champion. Please make the Bee readers aware of our existence.” … and be overrun by tourists wishing to see our quaint little cottages with thatched roofs and indoor plumbing? … not on your life …

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION … word has it that California state Sen. Mark Leno wants to give voters of this state a chance to lower the threshold on parcel taxes for schools from two-thirds to just 55 percent … why he didn’t suggest a simple majority is unclear, but he probably figured he’d have a better chance of success at 55 percent rather than 50 percent plus one … no matter, it’s a step in the right direction … the two-thirds requirement effectively let’s one-third of the population call the shots when it comes to school parcel taxes …

That may not make a big difference in Davis, where voters have never met a parcel tax they didn’t like, but it many communities, it could be the difference between winning and losing …

INSTANT RICHES … I don’t know about you, but the fact that California has decided to add “Powerball” to our gambling options won’t make much difference in our humble household … it’s not that I don’t believe in gambling, it’s just that I don’t believe in losing … and buying Powerball tickets with the expectation of instant riches is silly in the extreme …

I’ve never understood why ordinary people who wouldn’t buy a Powerball ticket when the jackpot was a mere $100 million are willing to stand in line to buy multiple tickets when it reaches $500 million … is $100 million not enough to tide you over for a few weeks? … officials at the California State Lottery explained the decision to add Powerball by saying it was all “part of a continuing effort to offer new and exciting products.” … thanks, but I already have enough excitement in my life …

FOOTBALL FOLLIES … forgive me for a moment for putting my long-lost sports writer’s hat back on my head, but the just-announced “bowl” pairings prove how bankrupt the college football post-season truly is … let’s see, Northern Illinois — which most people didn’t even realize had a football team — is deemed worthy of a prestigious BCS bowl bid, but Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma are relegated to lesser bowls? … is there something wrong with this picture? …

While “BCS” has become part of the lingo, hardly anyone in the country knows what those initials actually stand for … I think we all know what the “B” and the “S” mean, and for sure, the “C” does not stand for “championship” …

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net