Woodland news, politics, commentary, analysis

Past Woodland Priest booked on suspicion of child molestation

Eric — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:05:10 +0000

December 1, 2011

Priest booked into Sacramento jail on suspicion of child molestation

By Bill Lindelof and Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

A priest lauded only two years ago by his diocese as having a lot of potential has been arrested on suspicion of molesting a minor.

The Rev. Uriel Ojeda, 32, a priest assigned to Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Redding, turned himself in to Sacramento police authorities Wednesday night. Ojeda was a priest at Holy Rosary Parish in Woodland until being transferred in the summer of 2009.

Ojeda is one of the youngest priests in the diocese. His youth is evident in his wearing of Converse tennis shoes, liking of Spider-Man comics and bass-playing in a church band.

It was at Woodland’s Holy Rosary, one of the largest churches in the diocese, that he became known for his involvement in community. He also offered free guitar and drum lessons to parishioners, even buying instruments for needy congregation members.

Bishop Jaime Soto said the diocese learned of the allegations against the priest on Tuesday. He encouraged other possible victims to come forward.

Soto said that his staff contacted child protective services officials. He said the investigation is on-going and the diocese is cooperating with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office.

Soto said Ojeda will be arraigned on Friday.

“I have personally spoken to the family involved,” Soto said at a noon press conference. “They are in great pain. What they endured has been difficult. I grieve for what they have suffered and what they are suffering. Yet, I also admire the courage with which they have come forward to bring this to my attention so that we can bring this to the attention of authorities.”

Soto said he assured the family they would get all the help that they needed. He said an announcement would be made in parishes where Ojeda has served.

“Anyone who believes they have been a victim of Father Ojeda or has information about possible abuse needs to contact the Sacramento Police Department,” Soto said.

Photo caption: Father Uriel Ojeda meets with members of the community at his parish in Woodand on May 22, 2009. Photo by Lezlie Sterling / lsterling@sacbee.com

Categories: *Location, Sacramento County

Occupy Woodland Meeting with WPD-100% Peaceful Non-Violent Gathering

Eric — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 06:40:34 +0000

Occupy Woodland

Eric — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:22:39 +0000

I apologize for the sabbatical, I will be posting as my schedule permits.

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past year, the “occupy” movement has been gaining momentum. The movement is an organic manifestation of societal frustrations, grievances and a sense of an impalpable political system.

For those Woodlanders who support the “occupy movement”, I’ve included a flyer i was sent.

Occupy Woodland

Daily Democrat inserting typos to Opinion Letters?

Eric — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:01:15 +0000

Do you know how sometimes socks disappear from your dryer. You are doing laundry on a Sunday and you discover that you have mysteriously lost one sock; leaving a useless single sock. You start to doubt yourself, whether you actually washed completed pairs of socks—eventually you get tired of dealing with such an arbitrary task that you just give up.

For a while, I have wondered how I have missed spelling/grammar errors in my writings. Let me explain. I can be rushed writers, making mistakes here and there. But when I write in a public forum, I’m usually careful to double check, sometimes even triple check my syntax.

A long time ago, I began to doubt myself….well my ability to check my writing. An opinion piece published in the Daily Democrat (written by me), had many spelling errors. After checking my original email exchange with the newspaper, I found out the mistake took place from their end.

Spelling errors were added to my opinion pieces by the Daily Democrat. Was it to discredit my opinion? Was it to defuse the message I wanted to share?

I thought I was the only one.

Until…..Exhibit 1.

Notice the comments, typos were inserted.

Link there:

Odd Call to End “Latino Secrecy” from Woodland Daily Democrat

Eric — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:20:28 +0000

I was reading the Daily Democrat, my favorite newspaper in the world, when I stumbled on to a very odd piece. The article is either an opinion piece (letter to the editor) or a staff editorial. The article only mentions that it is published by the Daily Democrat, no additional name or contact information is provided.

I was very interested in the article, not because of its validity, but because it was published anonymously. The article itself is nothing short of a conspiracy theory/tea party rant; Because it is aimed at Latino’s specifically (not politicians in general); my instincts tell me this was a racially motivated article.

Did the Daily Democrat not print a name to protect a racial bigot? Did Jim Smith (editor of the daily democrat) write this anti-Latino piece?

I’m not making accusations. but it would be nice to have the Daily Democrat identify the authors of “articles” they publish.

The Irony of this article, end “Latino Secrecy”…How about we end “Woodland Secrecy”….who wrote this article???????

~~I think Jim Smith wrote this.~~

End secrecy for Latino Legislative Foundation

Published By Daily Democrat

Created: 07/08/2011 12:31:52 AM PDT

Unnecessary secrecy in government is the enemy of public trust. That is a fundamental reality that California’s Latino Legislative Caucus is ignoring.

The group of 23 Democratic Latino state lawmakers established a nonprofit foundation in 2004 that promotes Latino culture and community events. While these are worthy causes, there is reason for public concern about the foundation’s refusal to identify its donors.

If the foundation were a private, nonprofit charitable organization, we would have no problem with such nondisclosure. However, the Latino legislators’ foundation has an obvious political element. There is little doubt that donors to the foundation are seeking political influence with the growing Latino caucus.

Until 2008, the caucus disclosed donors. Among them were key players in Sacramento, including the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and several large corporations such as AT&T, Oracle, Verizon and ConocoPhillips.

In an effort to promote government transparency, state elections law requires lawmakers to disclose political donors. However, nonprofit groups are not required to do so.

There is an exception to the nonprofit disclosure rule that requires individual lawmakers to reveal donations above $5,000 that they solicit for community or charity groups.

Unfortunately, the law is not clear on whether lawmakers have to disclose donors if they act as part of a group or

http://tap2-cdn.rubiconproject.com/partner/scripts/rubicon/emily.html?rtb_ext=1&pc=5833/7750

legislative caucus. Regardless, the Latino Legislative Caucus should return to its earlier practice of disclosing the names of donors to its foundation.

Whenever there is secrecy in political activity, one has to wonder why. What is the Latino caucus trying to hide if its only purpose is helping Latino causes?

Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, who led the Latino caucus in 2009 and 2010, defends the secrecy by saying it does not violate California law.

That is questionable. More important, Cedillo ignores the crucial principle that the people have a right to know how their elected representatives operate. No wonder the public’s perception of the Legislature is at an all-time low.

We encourage Assembly Speaker John Perez to step forward and urge full transparency by the Latino caucus, something he should already have done.

Several government watchdog groups have called upon the Latino caucus to once again disclose the names of donors to its foundation. We wholeheartedly agree.

We also urge the Legislature to close the loophole in California’s disclosure rules so that all solicitations by lawmakers are fully transparent regardless of whether donors give directly to legislators or to nonprofits controlled by lawmakers.

There is no place for secrecy by those who are doing the public’s business.

Daily Democrat: Woodland Police Dept. K9 Mondo honored as Woodlander of the Month

Eric — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 20:43:52 +0000

A k9 was honored as Woodlander of the Month….Dogs pay taxes to the city of Woodland?

Also, Congrats to Pioneer and Woodland High graduating Seniors.

Woodland Police Dept. K9 Mondo honored as Woodlander of the Month
Published By Daily Democrat
Created: 06/11/2011 02:30:49 AM PDT

Mondo was selected the “Woodlander of the Month” for June as part of his service to the Police Department and citizens. (Deo Ferrer/ Democrat)
Far more interested in a two-foot mammoth smoked bone than in the City and County officials gathered to honor him, Police Service Dog Mondo gratefully accepted his recognition as June’s “Woodlander of the Month.”
Mondo was selected to receive the award for his courageous apprehension of a suspected car thief last month.

According to his trainer and partner, Woodland Police K9 Officer Brian Olson, who was injured while taking the suspect into custody, Mondo would say “I was just doing my job like any other member of the police force.”

“We have honored a lot of great people as ‘Woodlander of the Month,’ said Yolo County Supervisor Matt Rexroad, one of the co-sponsors of the monthly award. “But without a doubt, Mondo is the coolest recipient we have ever had.”

Mondo, a pure bred German Shepherd, was born June 4, 2005, in the Czech Republic. His full name is Edmond Bohemia Abakan. He was imported into the United States for the purpose of becoming a police K9.

In early 2006, Olson had the opportunity to evaluate several high quality dogs for a K9 partner.

“Mondo was only a year old at the time, but we bonded immediately,” said Olson. “My only hesitation in selecting him was his age, as 18 months is usually the lower end of the range for starting police K9 training. I knew that selecting such a young dog would present some challenges during our initial training, but there was just something special about this dog. Mondo came home with me that day.”

Graduating

from Police Patrol K9 training in August 2006, Mondo made his first apprehension shortly after being certified. After a vehicle pursuit that ended with the pursued vehicle crashing and the driver fleeing on foot, Mondo and Olson apprehended the suspect in hiding — the driver deciding to give up rather than take his chances with Mondo.
In 2007, Mondo and Olson completed their certification as a K9 Narcotic Detection Team. They train almost every day, and when not working, Mondo lives at home with Olson. They enjoy watching Sunday morning football together and playing with the neighborhood kids.

The “Woodlander o the Month” award is presented to individuals who show outstanding service and volunteerism to the Woodland Community. The award is co-sponsored by representatives of the City of Woodland, Yolo County, and The Daily Democrat.

Daily Democrat: Stabbing might be gang related, says Sgt. Dale Johnson

Eric — Sun, 15 May 2011 06:36:58 +0000

In 2009, Luis Gutierrez was shot in the back by undercover sheriff deputies. Sgt. Dale Johnson was one of the deputies involved. According to the sheriff’s office Luis Gutierrez was a big time gang member; I lived blocks away from his home, and although I did not know him personally, I saw him regularly. He didn’t seem like a gang member to me, but then again I’m not a gang expert.

According to gang experts from the Woodland Police Department, Luis Gutierrez was not a gang member. The woodland police department has the city of Woodland as jurisdiction, the sheriffs patrol the outskirts.

Both department gave conflicting reports. But only one was in charge of directly protecting Woodland, the WPD.

Here is the problem:

1. I bet this article was written by the District Attorneys office, or the Sheriff’s office. The Daily Democrat has a really bad habit of doing this; misleading if you ask me.

2. The District Attorney used to be in charge of the Yolo County Gang Task Force, which is now passed along to the sheriffs department. federal funds are received to fight gang here in our county.

The more gang members we have, the more money the crime fighters get.

3. I would like to see HOW these people are gang members. I am not saying they did not commit criminal acts, I am saying the sheriffs department and D.A’s office have a pretty bad record.

Term of the day:

Gang stipulations: 5 to 8 years (roughly) can be added to any criminal sentence if those involved were gang members. (example: same reason why hate crimes have a longer sentences than non hate crimes)

Dear Woodland Daily Democrat,

Can you stop printing press releases, if not, I can contribute one press release a day to help you guys out.

PS: This blog is back.

__________________________________________________

Cops: Stabbing might be gang related

By Democrat Staff

Created: 05/14/2011 02:30:57 AM PDT

The stabbing of a 21-year-old Knights Landing man may have been gang related, authorities say.

The attack occurred on Friday, May 6, around 7 p.m. It was not reported until Friday morning.

According to Yolo County Sheriff’s deputies, the man — who has a history of gang activity — was attacked by three men and three boys on Fifth and Mill streets, Sgt. Dale Johnson said.

All six suspects have since been arrested and were from Woodland, Johnson said.

The victim has since been treated and released from UC Davis Medical Center for a stab wound.

Authorities are still investigating why Surjit Singh, 19, Israel Rodriguez, 18, Manuel Gonzalez, 26, and three boys attacked the man but believe the attack may have been gang related, Johnson said.

“That’s where the investigation is leading us right now,” he said.

All six were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit a crime. The three adults also face charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Singh, who has a record of theft, is being held on a parole violation.

A Surjit Singh, then 18, was arrested in April 2010 on suspicion of car theft. Before that, in February 2010, police reportedly found a Surjit Singh, 18, riding in the back of a vehicle stolen out of Stockton.

Johnson was not immediately able to confirm all three were the same Singh.

Yolo Judicial Watch: With Three Graduates in May, Is Drug Court Failing in Yolo County?

Eric — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:42:44 +0000

Written by David Greenwald

Thursday, 10 June 2010 05:08

In the fall of 2008, Judge David Rosenberg and Judge Janet Gaard wrote an op-ed that appeared in both the Woodland Daily Democrat and the Davis Enterprise. In it, they were arguing against Proposition 5, which was the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act, which was supposed to reduce the costs by pushing nonviolent drug offenders away from prison.

In that op-ed that focused mainly on the particulars of the proposition, they argued, “We believe in drug courts and the real possibility that drug courts can help people escape addictions and turn their lives around.”

Read the full article at the Davis Vanguard:Yolo Judicial Watch:

Commentary:

This is a very sobering look at Yolo’s Drug court and how our D.A (Jeff Reisig) prosecutes for simple possession.

Woodland Record: LWV: Pro and con of Measure V

Eric — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 09:27:24 +0000

LWV: Pro and con of Measure V
Courtesy article 07.JUN.10

From the League of Women Voters:

VOTE YES ON MEASURE V
By Gary Sandy

VOTE NO ON MEASURE V
By Bill Long

Click Here to Read arguments on Measure V

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Opinion: Personally, I will not be voting for measure V. Although I strongly value public services, I cannot take part in raising taxes for a city council who is belligerent in governing our town.

More money added to our general fund will only perpetuate the problem. We can solve this by voting people out; raising taxes wont solve the reckless way councilmen spend money.

I dont know if this is true, but I’ve heard “rumors” that the senior center might be/will be closing down. I also heard a rumor that the senior center sign cost more than 100,000 dollars. Has anyone else heard this?

Don’t forget to Vote Tomorrow June 8th

Eric — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:44:46 +0000

The readership of this Blog has increased tremendously over the past months; so I’m going to take this time to make a public service announcement.

Please vote tomorrow. Educate yourself on the candidates and policies, then vote. Simple as that.