In recent months, the city of Davis has issued a large amount of proclamations, such as We Are All Sikhs Day and Poem in Your Pocket Day. The most significant upcoming event in May is Bike Month, which was proclaimed so by Mayor Joe Krovoza on behalf of the city council and the citizens of Davis.
“I do hereby proclaim the month of May 2011 as May is Bike Month,” Krovoza said in his proclamation, “which will be a time to use bicycle transportation to minimize our impact on the earth, a time to celebrate our community and a time to work together for the health of ourselves and our planet.”
In accordance with May is Bike Month, various bicycle related activities will be taking place, such as the UC Davis bike auction, the Davis Bike Club’s Double Century and Davis Bicycles!’s Bike Loopalooza.
Proclamations are given to signify upcoming events and are also occasionally given to people within the community to recognize their efforts for the city. Proclamations do not carry any policy weight and are truly ceremonial in nature.
“The Mayor tries to bring proclamations that are of communitywide interest to the council,” said Kelly Stachowicz, deputy city manager. “Proclamations are a really nice, low cost way for the council to publicly acknowledge someone or something and to recognize people in the community or specific events.”
According to Stachowicz, upcoming proclamations include Public Works Week, which will be announced at the May 3 city council meeting, Older Americans Month, which will be announced on May 17, as well as an awards ceremony for human rights awards. July is National Parks and Recreation Month, but various unannounced events will most likely pop-up in between.
At last week’s city council meeting, community members Lynne Nittler and Judy Moores were issued proclamations for doing work for the environment. Each of the women was recognized for their work in encouraging people to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of the Cool Davis Initiative.
“My efforts as part of the Cool Davis Initiative have been focused on engaging the city of Davis in lowering its overall greenhouse gas emissions,” Nittler said. “I am so grateful to live in a city that gives an award for environmental work, and I am deeply honored to be the recipient.”
Moores expressed a similar sentiment.
“I feel quite humbled by this award, and a responsibility to continue to work for Earth,” she said. “The most important thing about the award is that the word gets out that we need everyone to help reduce our collective carbon emissions.”
ANNABEL SANDHU can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
