A little more than half of Yolo County’s residents are now fully vaccinated, and the phase where thousands of people were eagerly signing up for the vaccine has ended. What’s next? Yolo County Public Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson appears on Davisville today to help us understand the status of the disease in Yolo County as of mid-July 2021. The subjects include herd immunity, the delta variant, answering questions from individuals who are reluctant to get the vaccine, and the ambiguity of not knowing what behavior is completely safe, even when you’re fully vaccinated.
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Tim Keller, a UC Davis alumnus who founded the Inventopia business incubator on Fifth Street in Davis, wants the community to seriously consider adding a lot more homes and population, perhaps to the tune of another 50,000 or 60,000 people over the next few decades. The growth and economic power created by UC Davis require it, he argues, and Davis is behind in meeting that demand. He’s a member of a new pro-growth group, Sustainable Growth Yolo, and explains his reasoning on today’s Davisville. One of his key objectives: Don't sprawl. Build dense.
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June 16 update: Aaron says that in the interview, when he's talking about a restaurant's need to hire employees for re-opening, he inadvertently mentioned the incorrect restaurant. He meant DeVere's Irish Pub, not Delta of Venus.
This week, California ends many of the restrictions that it imposed last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. If you’re not entirely clear on what to expect or do now, you’re not alone. As one way to understand the changes, we talk today with Aaron Wedra, marketing coordinator for the Davis Downtown Business Association, about how this step back toward normal conditions might play out for the businesses, shops, restaurants, and their customers, in the core of Davis.
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If you want clear ideas on how remote learning affected schools this past year, Pamela Mari is a good person to talk with. She was the first principal of Da Vinci Charter Academy, the Davis school district's "new tech" school, so she knows about using technology in education. She also taught in the district, and later worked as its director of student services. Her peers and the school board think so highly of her work and influence that they recently named the new tech hub at Da Vinci after her.
On today's Davisville she talks about Da Vinci, the tech hub (depicted here, and due to open in 2022-23), the shift to remote learning caused by the pandemic, the effect on students, what was lost, and what was gained. She offers advice on what to make of the experience. Students, teachers and parents might find her ideas essential as Davis looks ahead to the full return to classrooms this fall.
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(This program first aired on April 8, 2019) As Davis grows and evolves, what parts of its history should it keep? Scott Miltenberger, a professional historian who chairs the city’s Historical Resources Management Commission, has suggestions.
On today’s program, first aired in April 2019, we talk about what "historical resources" are – the term is not just another word for old – and how the criteria are applied, including recently to the Mad Men-era building at 3820 Chiles that was torn down to make way for housing. We also talk about the closed Freeborn concert hall on campus, how to tell when the desire to preserve history is really just resistance to change, and one of his favorite historic locations in town: the city's first bike lanes (early Davis photo courtesy of Bob Sommer).
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Putah Creek in Yolo County is much better off than it was a generation ago, and Rich Marovich’s job is part of the reason why. He’s the creek’s streamkeeper, and his work has involved him in everything from restoration projects to the removal of trash and derelict cars from the channel. On today’s show we talk about his work, some of the legal clashes in its history, upcoming improvements the public can enjoy, the return of the salmon, and his favorite locations ... and I wonder how Davis might be different today if Putah hadn't been diverted away from our river-less town in the 19th century. Imagine a riverfront in central Davis.
The start of the program refers to the 1969 hit song written by John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival, inspired by his memories of playing by Putah Creek as a boy. Here's more about the song, "Green River."
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You’ve probably heard people refer to southeast Woodland as north north Davis. Ever wonder how that comment plays in Woodland?
Today we talk with Jim Smith, who recently retired as editor of the Woodland Daily Democrat, about our neighbor to the north, how they view Davis, the growing overlap between the two communities, and things about Woodland you might not know (he cites its artists and restaurants).
We also talk about changes in local journalism during the 27 years he edited the paper, and where to find reliable news.
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A small fraction of UC Davis classes—about 100—are meeting in person this spring. What’s the return to in-person learning like, a year after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the switch to remote education? Today we talk with instructor Dr. Andy Jones, whose outdoor writing course is one of the 100, about how he’s conducting the class, what students are telling him, some changes that might outlast the pandemic, and other insights from the past year.
Jones has taught at UC Davis since 1990. He’s also a leader in academic tech on campus, plus you might know him as the quizmaster at de Vere’s Irish Pub in Davis (temporarily closed because of the pandemic) and as a former Davis poet laureate.
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It’s been a nerve-wracking year, so maybe we could use some Nerve Wrackin’ Theatre. And that’s what we now have, thanks to today’s guest and Davis Media Access. In March, DMA began airing a syndicated show by the name of Lord Blood-Rah's Nerve Wrackin’ Theatre that observes the late-night tradition of airing monster and sci-fi movies, sometimes of terrible quality, for fun, humor, diversion, and occasionally an insight or two. Host Frank Wallace-Ailsworth, aka Lord Blood-Rah, hosts the program from his home in the Bay Area.
In Davis, you can find his show at 10:30 p.m. Saturdays on DCTV (channel 15 on Comcast, menu 99 on ATT U-Verse); listen to this interview to find out why on earth you might want to.
For more about the program, including viewing options if you don't have cable, see http://www.lordbloodrah.com/
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Education during the pandemic, the reason why Davis schools enrolls close to a thousand students who don't live in town, the opening of the Mondavi Center at UC Davis, reviews of countless theater and music performances -- Jeff Hudson has written and reported about such subjects for the Davis Enterprise and Capital Public Radio since the 1990s. Today we talk about stories and some of the beats he has covered, and now that he has retired, what he wants to do next.
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