Davisville

You’ve heard songs from this genre—if you’ve watched enough TV or old movies, you could probably hum at least a few (think Dragnet, Shaft or Mission: Impossible). But although crime and spy jazz produced iconic melodies, says Davis writer Derrick Bang, these days the style is largely dormant. Bang has written two new books, “Crime and Spy Jazz on Screen” (they cover 1950-70 and 1971-present), to help bring the music out of the shadows. On today's show we define crime jazz, talk about the way it draws your attention, sample two of its popular songs, and learn the value of a killer opening theme—and why the style faded. The movie Easy Rider was a factor, as was the growing number of commercials on TV.

2020 is an eventful year, and Gloria Partida is about to become mayor of Davis right in the middle of it, in July. She appears on Davisville today as she gets ready to begin her term, and the subjects include the killing of George Floyd in police custody, the difficulty people have talking honestly about racism, and the pandemic, plus the latest Davis development questions, and the job itself.

The Covid-19 pandemic has closed or curtailed most stores, with the Davis Food Co-op and other grocers among the few exceptions. So what has it been like to work in the Co-op during the pandemic? Has the experience changed as shoppers adjusted to new conditions, are there insights here as other Davis stores prepare to re-open, and why are flour and toilet paper rarely on the shelves?

My guests today are two employees of the Co-op: Madison Suoja, the co-op’s education and outreach specialist, and Laura Sanchez, the store’s operations manager. A few items from the interview: Sales for the second quarter are up almost 11 percent from a year ago, shoppers are buying significantly more items per trip (and lately, making fewer trips), and the Co-op just started offering online shopping, with curbside pickup.

We’ve entered a recession, and don't know yet how bad it will be. To get some perspective, I talk today with Bob Leland, an expert on municipal finance with the Management Partners consulting firm who began his career in the 1970s. He compares the current downturn to the Great Recession 12 years ago, lists some possible responses, and estimates the size of the revenue loss facing Davis – “it’ll probably be about a 6 to 8 percent loss for the year that will be ending June 30,” with the financial damage concentrated in the last few months.

Read that carefully—the plunge since March has been steep enough to take the results for the entire fiscal year down by 6 percent or more.