Blogs

This week's session of Celtic Songlines features the Celtic banjo of Adrian McAuliffe with Cathal Flood, the Bothy Band, Hannah Harris, Donovan, Julie Fowlis, boudran player Colm Phelan, Men of Worth, Iona-Pan American Celtic band, Boys of the Lough, Eliza Carthy with Martin Carthy, Beoga, Kerfuffle and Molloy, Brady and Peoples.

Tune into Celtic Songlines at KDRT 95.7 fm or stream at kdrt.org each Tuesday 11 to Noon, Wednesday 1-2 p.m, Thursday 6-7 p.m. and Sunday 4-5p.m.

Epsiode 62 is the final episode of this series. I want to thank everyone who has listened, participated, shared, and supported this effort.

If you have enough food, you tend to take it for granted. Mealtimes happen at regular intervals, grocery stores and local markets are nearby and readily accessible. If you've ever experienced food insecurity, however, food looms large as one of the biggest problems in need of a fix. It's hard to take care of other basic needs if you're too hungry to think clearly, or if you're worried about where the next meal comes from.

Since launching this show on March 17, 2020. I’ve interviewed just shy of 100 people representing a breadth of experiences across Yolo County. We’ve heard from elected officials ranging from Congress to school board; from Yolo County’s public health staff, and from teachers, students, and parents. I’ve interviewed artists and musicians; journalists, businesses, and nonprofit leaders. I’ve focused on the science, interviewing epidemiologists, virologists, and hospital administrators. We’ve talked about mental health, homelessness, hopelessness, and resiliency. And through it all, I’ve tried to illustrate that the pandemic has meant many things to many people, and to highlight the ways it has illuminated the holes in our safety net, and the extra burdens borne by marginalized communities. Today I’ve pulled out what I thought were particularly poignant passages from the past 13 months.

As I am winding down this series (last show airs April 27), I wanted to circle back with someone at the county level, and I chose Don Saylor, whom I last interviewed in June 2020.

Supervisor Saylor represents District 2, including the cities of Davis and Winters, the campus of the University of California at Davis, and the farm land of southwestern Yolo County. His public service career spans over 45 years and includes 25 years elected in office, administrative, planning and analytical positions in local government and both the legislative and executive branches of California state government.

We’ve spoken a couple of times over the course of the pandemic, but it had been a while, and much has happened. Join us for  conversation spanning his key takewaways from the pandemic;  how the American Rescue Act funds wil be used; and how the county is grappling with a  mandated overhaul of the juvenile justice system, envisoning new approaches and new purpose for the Juvenile Justice Facility.

Tune in live Tuesday, April 13 at noon PST on KDRT 95.7 FM, or catch the show in my archive anytime, anywhere.

 This month I’m touching base with folks in a few key sectors - business, local government and nonprofit - to talk about what’s next as we begin to emerge from the pandemic.  My guest today is Heather Caswell, who’s celebrating 34 years operating The Wardrobe in Downtown Davis. We’ll talk about business during a pandemic, what she’s learned in more than three decades of operating a small business in Davis, and what her work is centering on now, including the Davis Community Vision Alliance.

Also, I  want to announce that I’ll be wrapping this series at the end of this month, with the last episode airing April 27. I started the show more than a year ago, thinking I’d continue it for a few months. It’s been purposeful work, and I hope it’s been of service, and  I need to begin reclaiming the chunk of time it takes to produce live public affairs radio each week. Thank you to all who have taken the time to speak with me, listened to the show, and provided feedback. I am truly grateful on many levels. As need dictates, I may offer up an occasional interview as a podcast only, but I’m freeing up this spot for someone else.

This past year, Anne Ternus-Bellamy and I have sent each other occasional notes of encouragement as we've both covered the pandemic and its impact here in Yolo County. I talk to people about their experiences, while Anne has been deeply immersed in the phenomenal rate of daily information generated by public health agencies and local government.

Anne grew up in San Anselmo, CA, where she first started writing for newspapers. She graduated with a degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and afterwards headed to Sacramento to work for a legal newspaper covering the state Capitol and courts. She took a long break from working full time — about 10 years — to stay home with her kids, though she still freelanced for the Enterprise and other publications and spent many years volunteering with Davis schools.