Davis' Mayor Urges Law in Quest to See the Stars Lights: Official urges regulations, saying that people shouldn't have to leave town to see constellations and meteor showers. By AMY PYLE, Times Staff Writer
AVIS, Calif.--In the urban context, where residents religiously equate better-lighted streets with less crime, this mayor's idea would be heresy: Turn down city lights at night so people can see the stars.
There is a precedent for the mayor's musings. A few municipalities, including San Diego and Tempe, Ariz., have established laws against light pollution to limit nighttime glare.
But those cities have important observatories to protect. The city of Davis just has a mayor who respects everyone's right to walk out the door and spot Orion or witness a meteor shower. She thinks it will make people happier too.
"It's one of those awe-inspiring, celestial, beautiful experiences we should be able to have every night; it makes you feel full of wonder . . . think about 'Why am I here on Earth?' And that's good to think about from time to time," said Davis Mayor Julie Partansky, whose "dark skies" ordinance cleared its first council hurdle last week.
In Partansky's Central Valley town of about 54,000 and growing, where toads already have their own specially designed tunnel and the sister city is an impoverished town in El Salvador, preservation of celestial views is sure to attract ridicule.
This mayor is accustomed to ridicule. She is a Green Party member who lists among her vocations artist, teacher, masseuse, painting contractor and "house restorationist."
Lights: Official urges regulations, saying that people shouldn't have to leave town to see constellations and meteor showers. 
AVIS, Calif.
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