Station Archive

It's Episode 48, and time to check in with  Tree Davis.  As I've said many times during the course of this show, it's not just the pandemic we're dealing with, but the attendant mental and physical health challenges, and dramatic social/political and  economic concerns. As well, things like the climate crisis haven't just disappeared.

That last point became a fascinating talking point in my interview with Erin Donley Marineau this week. As Executive Director of Tree Davis, Erin ovesees an organization that plants trees and does enviromental stewardship in communities around Yolo County, not just Davis. In normal years, she says, 40 Saturdays each year are devoted to working with volunteers in various cities. Obviously that scale of work has not been possible during the pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic is about a year old. The first vaccinations have been given, and better days are ahead, but we’re months away from normal, and the county health officer even said this month that we're “probably about to enter one of the darkest times of the pandemic so far.” The deaths and illness are the biggest impact, followed by the damage to jobs, business and the economy. Today we talk with Cory Koehler, executive director of the Davis Chamber of Commerce, about how Davis' 2,500 businesses are faring this far in, different ways they’re coping, and what might be ahead. The chamber hosts its annual State of the City event online on Feb. 3, and the consequences of the pandemic are sure to be front and center.