COVID-19 Community Report

In a time of physical distancing, access to local news and information became more important than ever. Autumn Labbe-Renault went live on the air with the "Covid-19 Community Report" on March 20, 2020, and remained on the air through April 2021, producing 62 episodes and interviewing close to 100 people during a time of unprecedented public health crisis. Please scroll down below this description for the archives of all previous 62 episodes available to stream.

 

Podcast
Music programs are only online for two weeks after they are broadcast.

COVID-19 Community Report Episode 36: A Visit With UC Davis Chancellor Gary May - Sep 22nd, 2020

Today''s guest is UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May, who happens to be the most-requested interview from a poll of community members asked to suggest future guests. Some 24,000 UC Davis students are expected to be living here for the fall quarter, which starts Sept. 28, with the vast majority living in apartments and single-family homes in Davis and surrounding cities. What impact will this have on our COVID-19 numbers? How is the university managing its approach to COVID?

COVID-19 Community Report Episode 35: Davis AquaMonsters and Davis Arts Center Describe How Their Summer Programs Adapted - Sep 8th, 2020

Each week on the "COVID-19 Community Report," we share local news and resources, focusing on what’s impacting Davis and nearby cities in Yolo County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today on Episode 35, I'll interview Koren Motekaitis about her longtime role co-directing youth swim program Davis AquaMonsters. We'll discuss impacts of the pandemic on youth sports, including how it's narrowing future options for recognition and scholarships.  I'll also talk with Stacie Frerichs, executive director of the Davis Arts Center, about how they've had to pivot and change during the pandemic.

COVID-19 Community Report Episode 34: Speaking with Sara Gavin, Chief Behavioral Health Officer at CommuniCare Davis and Melanie Carr of Tuesday Table- Sep 1st, 2020

This unparalleled time we're living through affects not only our physical health, but our mental health as well. Today I speak with Sara Gavin, LMFT/LPCC. She serves as Chief Behavioral Health Officer at CommuniCare Health Centers, overseeing a 100-person team of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder services in Yolo County,  and also sits on the Board of Directors of National Alliance for NAMI-Yolo. We'll speak about current mental health challenges, and what kinds of local resources are available.  In our second interview, I chat with Melanie Carr, a Davis resident who's been offering a "Tuesday Table" through the pandemic, a "take what you need" offering in one Davis neighborhood.

COVID-19 Community Report Episode 33: Dr. Larissa May, Interim Yolo County Public Health Officer, on August 25, 2020

This week's guest is Dr. Larissa May, MD, MSPH, MSHS, who began serving as Yolo County's public health officer this month. Dr. May is a professor of emergency medicine and a public health expert at UC Davis Health. She is a board-certified emergency physician, and her work often focuses on the epidemiology and management of infectious diseases, including best practices for diagnostic testing, outbreak response, and infection prevention. We'll discuss the COVID-19 pandemic at this moment in time, how we chart a course forward through school reopenings, testing, vaccine development, and more. Dr. May explains how Yolo County has increased its infrastructure for contact tracing; UC Davis is currently participating in a Phase 3 clinical vaccine trial as part of a worldwide study.

COVID-19 Community Report Episode 32: Da Vinci Junior High Teacher Leonie Pickett Speaks about Zoom Classrooms - Aug 18th, 2020

This week we speak with Leonie Pickett, who teaches History, English, Geography and Leadership to 7th, 8th and 9th graders at Da Vinci Junior High in Davis. A parent of teens as well, she walks us through what the start of this most unusual school year looks like for her.  We hear about how teachers spent their summers preparing for teaching on Zoom again, how to best engage students, concerns about social development, and other pros and cons with this current mode of reaching students and parents.

Last week, I did an informal poll on Facebook, asking listeners who they'd like me to interview. I received an incredible number of responses, and one thing that emerged was the desire to hear more from everyday people: teachers, kids, parents, business owners. I will continue interviewing  leaders from our local institiutions and organizations, because I believe that's still important, but I've committed to bringing forth some of these other voices, as well.

COVID-19 Community Report Episode 31: West Sacramento City Councilmember Martha Guerrero - Aug 11th, 2020

Today's featured guest is West Sacramento City Councilmember Martha Guerrero, who was elected in 2018 after having previously served on the city’s Planning Commission. She is running for mayor in the current election cycle.  We'll talk about the impacts of COVID-19 on West Sac, community resiliency, and economic recovery.  I reached out to her because she’s been a leading source for information about West Sacramento on the COVID-19 Yolo Response Facebook Page.

As Los Angeles County’s Legislative Representative in Sacramento, she has dedicated over 19 years in public service covering legislative strategy and advocacy, public administration, strategic planning, and legislative and budget analysis. Also a licensed clinical social worker, Martha has received a Commendation by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for her legislative leadership and dedication to foster children.

COVID-19 Community Report Episode 30: Joseph Fletcher - Vibrant Community Role for the Veteran's Memorial Theatre

We’re doing a deep dive into local theatre arts today, and we’ll hear how one longtime community venue is working to survive and remain vital during the pandemic, and ready for whatever comes next.  My guest today is Joseph Fletcher, who is nearing his one year anniversary as the Theatre Manager for the City of Davis at the Veterans Memorial Theatre.  Joseph talks about a variety of projects that can be done during the pandemic including physical updates to the space and its equipment and increasing its capacity to provide tech support.  He also shares some of his visions for increasing the use of the space by community organizations and new creative partnerships, and recreating an original vision for the theatre as a "community hub".

COVID-19 Community Report Episode 29: A Talk with Joe DiNunzio - Updates from Davis School Board to Chamber of Commerce - Jul 21st, 2020

Today's guest is Joe DiNunzio, who wears many hats. For this interview, we speak about the impacts of COVID-19 on two organizations where he has a leadership role: the Davis Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees, and the Davis Chamber of Commerce. The DJUSD Board of Education meets this Thursday, July 23 at 11:30 a.m. for a special meeting in which they'll hear more about the plan for opening schools online beginning Aug. 26. We talk about the recent school board appointment, the concerns about equity and accessibility for different types of learners, and how district staff, teachers, and families have been communicating and working through this difficult time. As a reminder, DJUSD board meetings are recorded and aired through a partnership between City Media Services and Davis Media Access, and can be watched live on Channel 17 on the Comcast system in Davis, or streamed at DJUSD.net, where they are also archived.

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Comments

Thank you so much for keeping our local community informed and engaged!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/17/2020 - 12:24pm

Thank you for listening!

Submitted by Autumn Labbe-Renault on Fri, 05/01/2020 - 6:33pm

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