Davisville

(This program first aired in August 2018)

About 16 million Americans served in World War II. Today, 73 years after that war ended, perhaps 3 percent of those veterans are alive. Among the survivors, an even smaller number lived through infantry combat during the war—and today’s guest is one of them. Francis Resta, who lives in Davis and was born in 1925, was a mortar-man and machine gunner in the 102nd Infantry Division, and fought in Europe. Today we talk about his experiences, living through “insane” and “endless” combat, post-traumatic stress disorder, why many combat vets shun the idea they’re heroes, and why he wants to talk about it all now.

More than 383,000 people boarded or exited a train in Davis in fiscal 2018, mostly while using the Sacramento-Bay Area Capitol Corridor service. The Capitols are one example of how regional train travel can work, and other ideas are in play – from the high-speed line that’s getting at least partially built in the Central Valley, to Virgin Rail’s venture in Florida.

Meanwhile Amtrak, the national railroad passenger carrier, is trying to figure out where it fits in; CEO Richard Anderson has backed off his idea of replacing the middle part of the Los Angeles-Chicago train with an overnight bus, but his plans for the future of Amtrak’s 15 long-distance trains (two serve Davis) are unknown. George Chilson, a California member of the Rail Passengers Association Board of Directors, talks about these subjects, and how to solve Amtrak’s chronic problems, in a return visit today to Davisville.

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.

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.