Blogs

My guest tomorrow is Joe DiNunzio, who wears many hats. For this interview, I'm talking to him 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. I want to thank Joe for taking a break from his family vacation to squeeze in this interview.

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.

Starting with Episode 28 on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, I'm officially doing something I've been unofficially doing: two interviews, the first substantive and directly related to some aspect of COVID-19, and the second, short, sweet, and designed to bring awareness to and lift up an arts/culture organization or individual, noting how they've been affected by the pandemic.

My first guest next week is Jenny Tan, Public Information Officer for Yolo County. You may know Jenny from her weekday daily live video updates on the county's Facebook page. Since the start of the pandemic, Jenny has been incredibly helpful in terms of helping me access COVID-19 information, as well as helping me book county public health personnel as guests for the show. We'll talk about her role within the county and the impact of COVID-19, and she'll have the latest news for us on the numbers within Yolo County, including hospital beds, testing sites, and recent changes to the county's public health orders.

My guest on Tuesday, June 30's show is Dr. Koen Van Rompay. I first met Koen many years ago when he attended a meeting of Soroptimist International of Davis to talk about his work with Sahaya International. Over time I learned about his groundbreaking work helping to develop and test the anti-viral drug tenofovir, used in the prevention and treatment of  HIV. He is another community member we are so fortunate to have access to due to proximity to UC Davis. He is a virologist at the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis with expertise in nonhuman primate models of viral infections, and he'll tell us about his current work collaborating toward a vaccine for coronvirus.

We'll also speak about Sahaya International, the Davis-based non-profit he founded that builds awareness and support of healthcare, education, environmental and socio-economic grassroots programs in developing countries.

As the studio slowly opens up to broadcasting, a reshuffling of the schedule. Replay of High Country Music Radio KDRT 95.7FM has moved from Tuesday evening to Wednesday at 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. High Country will continue to broadcast Tuesday's from 11:00 to Noon.

This Tuesday on High Country Music Radio KDRT 95.7FM we'll hear from John Hartford (thank you UK listener Bill Snooks) and continue with Snap Jackson and the Knock On Wood Players, Tracy Chapman, Kate Wolf, Greg Brown, Sheryl Crow, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Neil Young's recent release "Homegrown" an album recorded in the 1970's and put on the shelf until this past Friday. We'll complete this week's musical journey with Pure Prairie League.

Tune in Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon or 7 to 8 p.m at KDRT 95.7FM, or stream at KDRT.org

Subscribe to High Country Music Radio on iTunes.