So, what’s your opinion of the Eagles? The band, not the team. How about Emmylou Harris, the unusual pedal steel of the Flying Burrito Brothers, or the pop twang of the Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon”? If any of this resonates with you, or even simply makes you curious, then today’s guest might interest you: Larry Lobre, a retired administrator at UC Davis, a musician, and an instructor whose next class for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Davis in October presents “The Origins and Development of Country Rock Music.” We talk about the genre, what it offers, OLLI, The Flying Burrito Brothers'Gilded Palace of Sin, and the time Merle Haggard, his backseat full of 45 records, drove in to a Signal gas station where Larry was working in Oildale.
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Ryan Collins and Paul Doroshov first appeared on Davisville in July 2019 to talk about homelessness in Davis (“Many homeless people in Davis are finding homes, but more people are becoming homeless”). Today we catch up with developments since then, including the Daytime Respite Center that opened on L Street in February, and the impact of the pandemic. Ryan works directly with homeless people in Davis as the homeless outreach services coordinator for the city, and Paul is deputy police chief for Davis.
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The Palms Playhouse, with no clear end to the pandemic in sight, has gone on indefinite hiatus and isn’t renewing its lease for the location in downtown Winters it has called home since moving from Davis in 2002. However, co-owners Nora Cary and Andrew Fridae are keeping the Palms going as an organization. On today’s Davisville we talk with Cary about the pandemic, the last concert they held on March 7, running a for-profit business with no profit, the magic of a good performance, some favorite moments since she and Fridae bought the Palms in 2016, and what might come next. (Photo shows Peter Case onstage at the Palms in July 2019)
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The new book “Exploring the Berryessa Region / A Geology, Nature, and History Tour” makes clear that there’s much more to see and explore in the area west/northwest of Davis than the Lake Berryessa reservoir--from stunning views and the Hubcap Ranch, to the region’s cultural heritage and the features that make it a hot spot of biological diversity. On today’s Davisville we talk with co-author Marc Hoshovsky, a retired naturalist in Davis, about what’s up there, plus how and when to see it.
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Many public statues are being defaced, toppled or removed this summer, and names taken off buildings, as more of America comes to terms with the ingrained racism in the United States that oppresses African-Americans. Statues of Confederate war heroes or slaveholders are particular targets. But this fight over symbols is not new, nor is it external to Davis; this city has had conflicts over symbols like the statue to Gandhi in Central Park (pictured), and over naming a street for Edward Teller, co-inventor of the hydrogen bomb.
Melissa M. Bender, a senior lecturer at UC Davis, co-edited “Contested Commemoration in U.S. History / Diverging Public Interpretations,” a textbook with 11 essays on topics that go far beyond statues. They vary from movies with an antebellum theme made during Barack Obama’s presidency, to the homes destroyed to create Shenandoah National Park, to the depiction of female U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War, and the fate of a house in Chicago where members of the Black Panthers were killed during gunfire with police in 1969. The subjects today include how to decide what to keep, and why.
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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.
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Each year, UC Davis chooses a graduating senior to receive its University Medal—effectively, the top student from a class that includes many thousands of accomplished students. Today we talk with 2020 medalist Jumana Esau, who grew up in the Bay Area and Jordan, about the award, why she studies climate fiction, the value of her English degree, her work for refugees, the practical power of a good story, and what she’ll take with her from Davis when she leaves.
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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.
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We're about three months into the Covid-19 pandemic, and today Steve Boschken, a Davis real estate and mortgage broker, returns to Davisville to talk about the effects on Davis rents and housing so far. The subjects include lease renewals among students, the uncertainty of in-person classes at UC Davis this fall, where Davis stood before the pandemic hit, the rise in unemployment, prices, and how conditions in Davis differ from other parts of the region.
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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.
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