Tonight at 6 p.m. PT on KDRT 95.7FM, it's the latest edition of The Electric Compost Heap, featuring new tunes from the Black Lips, the Smashing Times, Delicate Steve, and the Beths, whose new album, Straight Line Was a Lie, just came out today! We'll spin lots of other musical detritus from the last 100 years as well. Hope you can join us on the radio or online at KDRT.org!
Heads up: This live recording comes with a few “authentic” technical hiccups (let’s call it character, not static). Luckily, the enthusiasm more than makes up for it—it practically jumps through the speakers.
In the studio with me are Richard Jia and Gray Eby of MyDavisCalifornia, chatting—sometimes loosely, sometimes wildly off-track—about their website and the quirky little town we all love, Davis.
Now, this isn’t your average “local blog where someone posts about their cat and favorite burrito joint.” Nope. MyDavisCalifornia is a full-on content playground: stories, visuals, collaborations, insider tips—the works. Born in 2021 out of sheer enthusiasm (and possibly too much coffee), it’s become the digital buddy you didn’t know you needed for exploring Davis.
Today's topics: more on Brussels sprouts and other brassicas, redhumped caterpillar on redbud, tomato sunscald, plants with fragrant foliage, morning glories, and more.
You are cordially invited to join KDRT volunteers, friends, and fans for Suds & Sounds at Armadillo Music, 207 F St. in downtown Davis, on Wednesday, August 27, from 4 to 6 p.m. Grab K-DiRT stickers and swag, enjoy live music with Christopher Cassels, procure your beverage of choice from the Bootleg Bar... This gathering repeats every month on the last Wednesday — mark your calendars!
On tonight's show:
About 7 percent, and maybe as much as 10 percent, of rentals in Davis are currently vacant, says Davis real estate broker and manager Kit Boschken on this week’s Davisville. That's highly unusual for Davis, especially in August. The rate was under 1 percent a few years ago.
Why is the rate this high now? Kit lists several reasons on today’s program, where she’s joined by her husband Steve and their son James Boschken — they are a family of real estate professionals in Davis — to discuss Davis’ current real estate market. We also talk about home sales — prices and inventory are up from last year — the local impact of interest rates, the effect of the Trump administration’s cuts in research on demand for rentals and commercial space, the increase in student housing this decade, and even the allure of living in midtown Sacramento for Davis upper-division students who only need to be on the UC Davis campus a couple of days per week.
Kit Boschken believes rents will come down in Davis next year. She said she doesn’t know how much. “I think it’ll be a slow progression downward to a point. I don’t think we’re going to go from $1,000 a bedroom to $700 a bedroom. It’s not going to be that big of a drop,” she said. “But owners are going to have to be more realistic on what they want for rent, and are going to have to put some money into the properties.”
This past Wednesday was National Radio Day, the annual celebration of radio broadcasting. The date commemorates the first daily broadcast by the station 8MK in Detroit. Set up in the Detroit News building and operating under an amateur radio license, 8MK's daily "Detroit News Radiophone" broadcast news interspersed with music from phonograph records. Early broadcasts also included updates of the Jack Dempsey/Billy Miske heavyweight boxing match and play-by-play updates of the 1920 World Series. 8MK eventually received a commerical license with the call letters WBL and then WWJ, under which it broadcasts to this day.
On this week's Audio Ecotone, we celebrate our favorite broadcast medium with selections from Joy Division, The Blasters, Steve Early, the Southern Mountain Boys, Raphael Saadiq and more! Tune in live Friday @ 3 p.m. Pacific on 95.7 FM in Davis or kdrt.org online. Replays on Saturdays 6-7 p.m. and Tuesdays 7-8 a.m.
This week on The Russ Tolman Goodtime Hour, it's our First Anniversary Special. Yes, time it do fly so quickly, don't it?! Hear tracks from Big Star, Lambchop, Nick Drake, Nick Lowe, Van Morrison, and more! Tune at 9 p.m. PT on KDRT 95.FM + KDRT.org + thereafter on the podcast apps.
Today's topics: Brussels sprouts, comparing new tomato varieties for flavor, our winter climate and subtropicals, Don’s grass seed blend, grassy plants under trees, virus and thrips, getting rid of bamboo, and more.
It's getting close to In the Key of Folk time, so tune in your radio or rev up your electronic device and tune in. Today we'll be featuring some new tracks by Sam Robbins, a Grammy-nominated folk musician. We'll also be playing tracks by Patrick Street, The Milk Carton Kids, Richard Thompson, Robert Earl Keen, and even more! So tune in today at 2 p.m. PST on KDRT 95.7 FM, Davis, or KDRT.org worldwide. Then sit back, relax, and enjoy.
