Davisville Archives

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Davisville, May 6, 2019: If Davis adopts this flag, Aidan Ramey says he’ll tattoo it on his skin

For most of the last two years, Aidan Ramey, a third-year electrical engineering student at UC Davis, has been promoting the idea of creating a flag for Davis—or a new flag, depending on how you regard what the city has now. Why? What would you use it for? Why this design, which has earned the best response among the designs presented so far? And why does this mean so much to him? We get his answers today on Davisville.

Davisville, April 22, 2019: Former Rep. McCloskey, now of Rumsey, wants Democrats to focus on legislation, not on impeaching Trump

Pete McCloskey, 91, has done a lot, and has known a lot of people. He’s a Marine combat veteran of the Korean War, and a former Republican congressman from the Bay Area. He helped write key environmental laws, opposed the Vietnam War, and ran against President Nixon for the GOP nomination in 1972. In 1973, after the Saturday Night Massacre, McCloskey was the first member of Congress to call publicly for Nixon to resign—which Nixon did, in 1974. After 59 years in the Republican Party, McCloskey joined the Democrats in 2007. Today we talk about the Mueller report, McCloskey’s advice to Democrats to pursue “progressive” legislation instead of impeaching President Trump, and why he and his wife Helen live in the Capay Valley. They have friendly feelings for Davis—two of his four children went to the UC campus here.

Davisville, April 8, 2019: How to decide if something is historic ... or simply old

As Davis grows and evolves, what parts of its history should it keep? Scott Miltenberger, a professional historian who chairs the city’s Historical Resources Management Commission, has suggestions. On today’s program we talk about what "historical resources" are – the term is not just another word for old – and how the criteria are applied, including recently to the Mad Men-era building at 3820 Chiles (pictured in 2015) that will be torn down to make way for housing. We also talk about the closed Freeborn concert hall on campus, how to tell when the desire to preserve history is really just resistance to change, and one of his favorite historic locations in town: the city's first bike lanes.

Davisville, March 25, 2019: The places where food comes from

Farming is a big deal around here. Yolo County is home to one of the best academic ag programs in the world at UC Davis, and the Capay Valley north of Davis is an organic showpiece. Besides, we all eat! We all use materials that come from agriculture. Today’s guest is Brad Hooker, recently of UC Davis, and now the associate editor and founder of the new California bureau in Sacramento for the Agri-Pulse news organization. We talk about water, Silicon Valley’s interest in farming innovations, cannabis as a legal crop, UC Davis research, the importance of data, and other subjects from the ag beat.

Davisville, March 11, 2019: Snowbound on a train, with a ukulele

Today’s show is a story about a train with 183 riders that never reached its destination. The reason why it didn’t is also why this train became a national story – and it’s a story for Davisville because the train normally stops in Davis. My guest was one of the people aboard, my daughter, Megan Buchanan (I was onboard too). She’s also the young woman whose kid-entertaining ukulele playing in the lounge car was recorded by another passenger and went a little viral. No injuries were reported from this trip, the power, water and food held out, and a lot of people were helpful – but that’s not to say this was an anxiety-free sojourn in the woods. The story starts on a Sunday evening with snowflakes falling at the train station in Eugene, Ore., as the Seattle-to-L.A. Coast Starlight began what was supposed to be a 13-hour overnight trip to Davis. Instead, the train spent more than 36 hours stuck in a small mountain town.

Davisville, Feb. 25, 2019: Yolo County wants to know your priorities

You probably don’t spend much time thinking about the government of Yolo County. Even so, the county does things we need them to do—in areas like public health, the environment, the jail and roads—and decides policies that govern the area. So, the work matters. This spring the county is working on its plan to guide the next few years, and they want your ideas and suggestions on what should be in that plan. Today’s guest, county Supervisor Don Saylor, talks about the information they’d like to get, and how they’ll use it.

Davisville, Feb. 11, 2019: Standup comedy in Davis with Ean and Erick

Ean Kimura & Erick Fierro, both second-year students at UC Davis, are part of the standup comedy scene in Davis. It’s not a big scene—Yelp’s list of 10 top comedy clubs in Davis stops at nine entries, and lists just one location that's actually in town—but we learn more about it on today’s show. We also talk about why Fierro and Kimura enjoy making people laugh, the UC Davis standup comedy club (possibly the same one Hasan Minhaj started), what makes good standup comedy, what happens when you bomb onstage, and more, including the t-shirt cannon bit they presented on the first edition of their KDVS campus radio station show In the Meantime (8 a.m. Mondays).

Davisville, Jan. 28, 2019: Pain and comedy with Karma Waltonen

Comedy and chronic pain might not seem to have much in common, but on today’s program, they do. UC Davis Continuing Lecturer Karma Waltonen teaches seminars on writing & performing stand-up comedy, among other subjects, and on Jan. 31 she’ll present her one-woman show “Chronic Pain: A Comedy,” at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center in Sacramento. Waltonen has wonderfully eclectic interests – her expertise ranges from The Simpsons to Margaret Atwood – and her sense of humor and comic timing, backed by her clear respect for the serious aspects of her subject, make this an engaging interview.

Davisville, Jan. 14, 2019: Winter is here, and the shelter is open

Like other cities, Davis is home to people who have no home. And so each year the Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter, a project of Davis congregations (mostly churches), offers overnight shelter and food to the homeless for a week at each of 10 locations. It runs from December to mid-March. Linda Scott, co-chair of the shelter and a longtime volunteer, talks about how it works, what it offers, recent changes, the main cause of homelessness among the people they serve, and the contributions of their 1,500 volunteers. The shelter helped about 140 people last year.

Davisville, Dec. 31, 2018: Bob Dunning

Bob Dunning moved to Davis in the early 1950s, began writing for the Davis Enterprise in 1969, and started producing his daily column in 1976. At that pace, he has probably written more words about Davis than anyone. Ever. On today’s show we talk about the column, the idea that the Enterprise could use additional local voices like his from a greater variety of people in Davis, what he thinks Davis needs most, and his memories of sharing a stage with Bob Hope at the legendary comedian’s fundraiser for the Davis Senior Center in the 1980s. 

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