Meet Lindsey Black, a Disney vet who came to Davis for her degree
Mon, 03/12/2012 - 5:30pm | Bill Buchanan
Lindsey Black, 20, is a Regents Scholar and transfer student who is studying the classics and history at UC Davis. She’s also a veteran of the Disney Channel series “As the Bell Rings,” a high-school comedy presented in 5-minute episodes. She played Lexi in 2008-09—in the cast photo she’s holding here, she’s third from our right. This year she appears in “16-Love,” a movie that Variety called a “lightweight, tween-targeted indie sports drama.” On today’s Davisville, Black talks about why she chose Davis for college, why history engages her, life on campus, her pursuit of an academic career, advice for others who want a shot at Hollywood—and what it’s like to work in an industry that’s so focused on appearance, she felt it prudent to ask her manager if it was OK to grow bangs.
Today’s guest is Dave Kemp, Davis’ new bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. He moved to Davis in February from Fort Collins, a Colorado college town where he earned a degree in recreation and tourism. He was bike coordinator there too. So what can “the bicycle capital of the United States” do for bicycling that it hasn’t done already? A lot, Kemp says, and in this edition of “Davisville” he discusses some of those ideas. One possibility is bike boxes—specially marked green zones at the front of a traffic lane to make bikes more visible at certain intersections. He also talks about how he works; his views on the Fifth Street “road diet,” which he says has worked elsewhere; the pedestrian side of his job; and different approaches to bicycle planning taken by vehicularists and facilitators.
Today’s guest is Robert Luke, 84, one of the approximately 1,550 men imprisoned at Alcatraz during its 29 years as a federal prison near San Francisco from 1934 to 1963. Not many are still alive. Alcatraz, now part of the National Park System, is legendary. Difficult prisoners were sent there. Books, TV programs and movies have been created about Alcatraz--Fox recently launched a new fictional TV show set there--and tours of the island often sell out. Since Luke’s release he has been a waiter in San Francisco, helped manage a resort, installed draperies, and worked as a marshal on a golf course, among other jobs. In 2011 he wrote a book, “Entombed in Alcatraz,” from which these photos are taken. And in January 2012, he came to Davis to speak about life in Alcatraz to the campus Entomology Club. To learn his Davis connection--and to hear him describe his five years at Alcatraz--listen in.
Matthew Harral paints – with coffee, at present – and depending on where you buy books or coffee in Davis, you might have seen his art. He first exhibited at Logos Books last summer. From November 2011 through January 2012 he has shown his work at the Cloud Forest Café (the painting shown here, Unsinkable, comes from that display). His work is also available at the Pence Gallery, and more exhibits are pending. Harral, who also plays guitar, has lived a varied life. He left his hometown, Redding, for Davis at 18 to help a friend illustrate T-shirts in Old Sacramento. He has worked as a limousine driver, karaoke host, in radio, in landscape design, and as a cosmetics salesperson at the Arden Fair Sears. After nearly dying in a car crash three years ago, he decided to start showing his work. On today’s Davisville, Harral talks about why he paints, why he uses coffee, his work and themes, what draws him to Davis (he currently lives in West Sacramento to save on rent), and what's coming next.
One of the first major civic questions facing Davis in 2012 is Measure C, the latest local tax measure to benefit Davis public schools. If at least two-thirds of voters approve it--the election occurs by mail in February and March--then Measure C will replace two existing parcel taxes that expire in June. The new levy would raise $6.5 million per year. Numbers are a big part of this subject, but the larger story concerns the size, variety and nature of public education in Davis. Susan Lovenburg, president of the Davis school board, comes by Davisville to discuss the numbers, and what they mean for the district’s 8,400 students.
The mornings are cold. Dusk arrives at a time that would barely qualify as late afternoon in July. The holidays are diverting the usual business of life, bringing people back home for celebrations or visits, in memory if not in practice. It’s a fine time for stories. And so, for the last Davisville of the year I asked three people with some of the best voices in town to read out 2011 with a story, or part of a story, that means something to them. We hear from:
Hank Shaw has written an unconventional book that takes a primal approach to obtaining food. His “Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast” says we should consider foraging, fishing and hunting for more of what we eat, not to fulfill a social agenda or political movement, but because it’s a healthier, satisfying, and more vivid way to live. The book struck me for its clear, persuasive writing, diverse appeal, and insight into the outdoors. When he writes, “North America is home to so many native fruits that all but the most obsessive of foragers will never taste them all,” that sounds like Eden. I haven’t thought of our continent that way. On Davisville we talk about foraging – including good places in the Davis area – the thrill and horror of hunting, how much time he spends hunting/foraging/fishing during the average week (about 8 hours), and the fact he hasn’t bought meat in a store, except for pork fat, since 2005. We talk about the 
Occupy Wall Street began in New York as a protest against greed. Then it spread and came to Davis in October, complete with a camp in Central Park. Like many folks, I wondered … why Davis? Is Occupy Davis pursuing specific changes in Davis, or is this only a local expression of a protest occurring elsewhere? The Davis Wiki 