Davisville

Most people would probably agree that one of the key public problems this fall—for the last several years, really—is the scarcity of jobs. To size up the local prognosis, today’s show interviews Rick Reed. He has surveyed area employers several times a year since 1992 for what is now a quarterly employment forecast, the Pacific Staffing Employment Trends Survey. He last appeared on Davisville a year ago, when he correctly forecast job growth for the region. According to the California Employment Development Department, the Davis unemployment rate was 6.7% in July, down from 7.6% in summer 2011; Yolo’s rate was 10.5%, down from 11.8%; and regional unemployment was 10.7%, down from 12.3%. Of course, those numbers are still much worse than they were in 2006. On today’s show we discuss why the job market has improved since 2011, plus the most promising sectors for growth. Reed also looks ahead. ... “There is an optimism among employers that there wasn’t, even a year ago.

Summers are busy for Acme Theatre Co., the Davis nonprofit run by high school students that promotes “serious theater, for the fun of it.” In August the 31-year-old troupe is staging Treasure Island, plus its annual By The Seat of Our Pants, the set of short plays they write, stage and present in 36 hours. You can detect the “serious fun” DNA in this interview with four members of Acme: Jake Kelly and Margaret Starbuck, center, who talk about the play, Acme itself, and related topics: and Eden Tomich, far left, and Emmett Barnes, who read a scene from Treasure Island for Davisville. Tomich plays lead character Jim Hawkins. Barnes plays Ben Gunn, a marooned pirate unhinged by years of isolation. Tomich and Barnes recorded the scene in one take; you can hear it about halfway in. You might think you're hearing more than two voices, but you're not.

The second floor of Court ’N Cedar on G Street near Third has been one of downtown's neglected corners, but that’s changing. On Davisville this week, Michael Bisch, co-president of the Davis Downtown Business Association, and artist Marieke de Waard discuss the Open Door Art Studios now taking shape at that location. Based on the Torpedo Factory near Washington, D.C., Open Door seeks to turn a sleepy downtown upstairs into an artists’ hangout, where artists can rent space (this photo shows one of the studios) and work among their peers, and the public can observe and engage the artists. With some work, the downstairs courtyard could become a performance venue. The venture is part art, part economics, and part public attraction—and the latest example of how commerce and art can interact to support downtown Davis.