Blogs

This month I’m conducting a series of interviews devoted to the reopening of in-person instruction in the Davis Joint Unified School District. Last week I spoke with DJUSD Superintendent John Bowes, and I have two interviews today: teachers Amy George and Dianna Stommel. Dianna is also the current president of the Davis Teachers Association. Next week, I’ll speak to parents with different opinions about reopening.

Both teachers share what's it been like to teach remotely this year, and how they've worked to build and maintain community in their classrooms. We also discuss what would make them feel safe and valued as the shift to hybrid and in-person instruction commences. Dianna addresses the DTA's position on reopening.

The Davis Joint Unified School Board meets again this Thursday to continue discussions around reopening. In a previous interview, Bowes said the trustees had identified the first week in May as a timeline -- if schools have not returned to in-person instruction by then, they would remain virtual through the end of the academic year.

Tune in live today (Feb. 16) at noon at KDRT95.7FM or kdrt.org.

https://kdrt.org/audio/covid-19-community-report-feb-9th-2021

This month, I'm doing a series on the return to in-person instruction in area schools. This is Part 1, and future episodes will feature teachers, parents, and hopefully students.

My guest for Episode 51, which airs Feb. 9, 2021 is Dr. John Bowes, who has served as superintendent for the Davis Joint Unified School District since July 2016. For the past 30 years, he has led thousands of certificated, classified staff and students throughout the state, working to promote 21st century teaching and learning; to create safe and welcoming campuses; to close achievement and opportunity gaps, and to further the work of diversity, equity and inclusion.

I want to note we recorded this interview last week, on the heels of a school board meeting that lasted until 12:30 am—just one of many long meetings in recent weeks—and in the midst of a several-day website outage that’s part of a widespread external platform problem.

Classic jazz coming up tonight on Jazz After Dark!

Ledisi, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Charlie Shavers and Maxine Sullivan, Dinah Washington, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Gene Ammons, Stanley Cowell, Stanley Turrentine, Piano Connection & Marcs Boogie.

Jazz After Dark broadcasts locally at 8 pm Tuesdays on KDRT-LP, 95.7 FM in Davis, CA.

Replays Monday 11 pm.

Live-streaming at https://kdrt.org/page/listen-now

Show page here: https://kdrt.org/program/jazz-after-dark

Look for us on iTunes (you can listen to the live broadcast via their Radio link; just search for KDRT) or your favorite podcast site.

https://player.fm/featured/jazz

It's astonishing to me that we're at Episode 50, with nearly 85 people interviewed over the last 10+ months. Thank you to all who have listened and/or supported, agreed to be interviewed, and provided feedback. The stories we tell and the narrative we weave about the impact of the pandemic in Yolo County will be an important part of our collective archives. 

On Jan. 30, The New York Times ran a lengthy feature on one community in California and its efforts to model a plan for curtailing the Covid virus. Spoiler alert: that's our community, Davis, CA, and we're on the map as being at the forefront of community engagement and science during the pandemic. One of the benefits of having a world-class university here.

Some jazz classics tonight on Jazz After Dark: Jimmy Knepper, Sonny Stitt (Cocktails for Two), Miles Davis (So What), Dave Brubeck (Take Five), Ella Fitzgerald (Misty), Duke Ellington (Blues in C), Gerry Mulligan (Manha de Carnaval and New Orleans), Al Haig (Never Let Me Go), Hubert Laws (Passacaglia in C), and George Benson (At the Mambo Inn).

Look for us also on iTunes (you can listen to the live broadcast via their Radio link; just search for KDRT) or your favorite podcast site.

https://player.fm/featured/jazz

Lucas Frerichs was my first interview on this program, which debuted March 17, 2020. Since then, he's been re-elected to the Davis City Council to represent District 3, and now serves as Vice Mayor.

It's never an easy job to help govern a city, but of course it's been endlessly complicated during a pandemic. This weekend Lucas and I got together over Zoom and in Episode 49, had a far-ranging conversation touching on virtual governance; testing in Davis; the uptick in cannabis tax revenue during the pandemic, as well as the overall financial situation facing municipalities; traffic, crime, and more. I'm sure we could have talked for hours, but I always appreciate the opportunity to sit down with our local elected officials and touch base about community issues through their lens. Tune in Tuesday at noon on KDRT 95.7 FM, or kdrt.org anytime after that to listen online or download a podcast.

It's Episode 48, and time to check in with  Tree Davis.

As I've said many times during the course of this show, it's not just the pandemic we're dealing with, but the attendant mental and physical health challenges, and dramatic social/political and  economic concerns. As well, things like the climate crisis haven't just disappeared.

That last point became a fascinating talking point in my interview with Erin Donley Marineau this week. As Executive Director of Tree Davis, Erin ovesees an organization that plants trees and does enviromental stewardship in communities around Yolo County, not just Davis. In normal years, she says, 40 Saturdays each year are devoted to working with volunteers in various cities. Obviously that scale of work has not been possible during the pandemic.

Coming up on Jazz After Dark:  Sonny Clark with June Christy, Stuff Smith, Oscar Peterson Trio; bossa nova and Latin jazz from Benny Carter, Cal Tjader, Sergio Mendes, Paul Desmond, Cal Tjader with Carmen McRae, Cannonball Adderley, and performances by Wes Montgomery and Gabor Szabo. 

Jazz After Dark broadcasts locally at 8 pm Tuesdays on KDRT-LP, 95.7 FM in Davis, CA.  Replays Monday 11 pm.  Show page here: https://kdrt.org/program/jazz-after-dark

Look for us on iTunes (you can listen to the live broadcast via their Radio link; just search for KDRT) or your favorite podcast site.  https://player.fm/featured/jazz

I've interviewed many people in the last 10 months. With each conversation, I aim to let people tell their stories--whatever they may be--about the impacts of the pandemic.

Sometimes life is stranger than fiction. Consider the sports editor when there are no games, no practices, no preseason. What's a guy to do? If you're Bruce Gallaudet of The Davis Enterprise, you muddle through and cover the angles you can. Catch our conversation about the status of UC Davis athletics, and the trickle-down effect that happens when high-school youth don't have college-level opportunities to pursue.

Consider, also, the musician who has lost venues, and gigs like bars and weddings. I speak with Joel Daniel of the the Davis Independent Music Initiative (DIMI). In a nutshell: there's $6,500 available to support one local band or musician, and the deadline to apply is in March.

Tune in tomorrow at noon PST on 95.7 FM in Davis, or anytime, anywhere at kdrt.org.