California Groundbreakers

We're doing a specific group of podcasts in July -- conversations focused on what systemic change looks like, particularly here in California, in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Each conversation has two people: a young leader who has galvanized others by speaking out and leading demonstration and campaigns, and a "veteran" activist/ decision makers who has been working on race equity and justice issues for decades.

For this podcast, we're looking at some proposed laws on racial justice and equality that the state legislature will be voting on, and also that California residents will be voting on in the November ballot.

Talking about them are a 19-year-old college student who helped to get 15,000 people protesting on the streets of Oakland last month about police brutality, and a state politician who proposed some of these new laws and is getting them in front of the state legislature and on the election ballot for votes.

SPEAKERS

* Xavier Brown, Oakland native and UCLA student (in photo above)

* Kevin McCarty, California Assemblymember representing the 7th District, which includes the city of Sacramento

PODCAST PLAY-BY-PLAY

* 0 to 3:40 min - What's the purpose for doing these podcasts

* 3:40 min - How Xavier Brown helped get 15,000 people out on the streets of Oakland to protest against police brtuality

* 8:10 min - How being biracial made Kevin McCarty see race and racism, and influenced his role in politics

* 11:30 min - What is the California Black Legislative Caucus, and what it's working on right now

* 14:50 min - Proposed bills about use of force and holding law enforcement officials accountable (Assembly Bill 1506 Deadly Force Accountability Act, and AB 1185 on officer oversight in the Sherriff's Department)

* 26:20 min - Affirmative Action on the ballot: good intentions, but is it a good thing to bring back to California (Proposition 16)

* 38:30 min - Giving parolees a better chance to thrive in their post-prison world (AB 2342 in the State Legislature and Proposition 17 on the November election ballot)

* 43:20 min - Reparations: How should California remedy inequality and discrimination?(AB 3121)

* 50:25 min - Ethnic Studies classes in colleges and high schools as a requirement to graduate(AB 1460)

* 52 min - Brown and McCarty have some questions for each other

SONG CREDIT:

"Be the Difference" by Izreal Graham, a.k.a. Sacramento PD Officer Filmore Graham (youtu.be/xaRXwnndydg)

PHOTO CREDIT:

Alejandro Lazo / The Wall Street Journal

** This conversation was recorded on July 13 **

We're doing a specific group of podcasts in July -- conversations focused on what systemic change looks like, particularly here in California, in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Each conversation features two people: a young leader who has galvanized others by speaking out and leading demonstration and campaigns, and a "veteran" activist/ decision maker who has been working on race equity and justice issues for decades.

This conversation is focused on police reform, so we put together two people who may often look at law enforcement from opposing sides: a former police chief, and an activist whose brother's death at the hands of police officers made national headlines and led to California's groundbreaking police-use-of-force law.

This conversation could have gone in any direction -- listen to find out how the two men agree on some things, disagree on others, and decide where to take this conversation next.

SPEAKERS

* Stevante Clark, a human rights activist in Sacramento (in photo above) who just started the I AM SAC Foundation, in honor of his brother Stephon Alonzo Clark (www.iamsacfoundation.com)

* Bob Harrison, police office for 30 years, former chief of police for the City of Vacaville, and current course manager for the California Peace Officer Standards and Training’s Command College, a graduate program for law enforcement managers.

PODCAST PLAY-BY-PLAY

* 0 to 4:25 min - What's the purpose for doing these podcasts

* 4:25 min - Stevante Clark explains how "passion without direction is chaos" and how he's steering his passion into a new direction

* 12:35 min - Bob Harrison explains what police departments are focusing on now, and how they're responding to the current spotlight on police reform

* 18:30 min - Drilling down on what community policing, the need for more mental health assistance, and defunding the police means

* 21: 15 min - How Clark and Harrison view protests, and policing them

* 25:50 min - California's "Stephon Clark Law" on the use of force by police: how is that working out?

* 31:30 min - What Clark thinks of Attorney General Javier Becerra's recommendations for police reform

* 34:10 min - Harrison's thoughts on how to turn police from "warriors" into "guardians"

* 42:55 min - How to get more people of color into the still majority-white police departments

* 48:25 min - Clark asks Harrison how he would have handled the Stephon Clark shooting if it had happened in his police department

* 49:45 min - How Clark and Harrison plan to keep this conversation going

SONG CREDIT:

"Be the Difference" by Izreal Graham, a.k.a. Sacramento PD Officer Filmore Graham (youtu.be/xaRXwnndydg)

PHOTO CREDIT:

Xavier Mascarenas / Sacramento Bee

** This podcast was recorded on May 18 **

NOTE: Forgive us for the spots of glitchy audio in this one -- they're worst in the first 4-5 minutes, and then it gets better. Such is podcasting during Pandemic Time!

After nearly two months in lockdown, restaurant owners got their first concrete guidelines for opening up again when the state of California issued a 12-page document with 99 new regulations covering everything from physical partitions and closed bars to dishwasher goggles and table wait times.

How will these guidelines change the way restaurants look and operate?

Will they guarantee safety of staff and customers?

How much will the new regulations raise restaurants’ costs of business, and how much of those costs will be passed on to customers?

And will those customers even be eating out again when they’re allowed to?

Listen to our conversation with Brad Cecci, chef of the Sacramento restaurant Canon, and Jot Condy, CEO of the California Restaurant Association, about what eating out will look like in the New Normal.

PODCAST PLAY BY PLAY

* 0 to 4:30 min - Intro to California Groundbreakers

* 4:30 min - How different Cecchi's restaurant, Canon, will look once it reopens

* 6:50 min - How reopening is looking like around California, and will it be the same for different types and sizes of restaurants?

* 12:20 min - How friendly are landlords being to their struggling restaurant tenants?

* 17:10 min - How to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission between staff and customers during a meal

* 23:35 min - How to track sources of outbreaks if a diner falls ill -- and how to address liability risks

* 29 min - How will the "fine dining experience" be different, and how do you convince people to come out and pay for it?

* 35:35 min - Running a restaurant will become more costly -- what changes will owners make to keep costs low, and what costs will be passed on to diners?

* 41:30 min - What types of restaurants will survive, even thrive, and which ones will become obsolete?

* 50 min - Restaurants have been around since the 1600s - what aspects of them will stick around, and what New Normal changes will happen after reopening?

In this episode, we’re talking about how to keep our mental health and our sanity intact during Pandemic Time.

Dr. Peter Yellowlees, Chief Wellness Officer at UC Davis Health System, has been writing a newsletter called “Good Stuff” about how to keep one’s mental health in good shape. He started writing it when the pandemic began, specifically for essential workers on the frontlines at UC Davis Medical Centers. But because his advice is applicable to other people stressed out by the current situation, we got him to sit down and offer mental health tips and strategies for the rest of us.

PODCAST PLAY BY PLAY

* 0 to 4:45 min - Intro to California Groundbreakers, and why we're doing this episode right now

* 4:45 min - How to think about what we can control, what we can't, and how do we accept that

* 7:30 min - How to approach day-to-day living in "the bubble," and how to handle relationships

* 10 min - How people, both living solo and living with kids and significant others, can maintain their sanity

* 13 min - Advice for helping kids keep mentally upbeat

* 15:55 min - Handling money and job stresses during this economic crisis

* 20:25 min - How to make positive change, make good decisions, and making them stick

* 25 min - What Dr. Yellowlees has learned about his mental health while sheltering in place

* 30:10 min - The Crystal Ball question: What will we learn from sheltering in place, for better and for worse?

* 34:20 min - Resources for those who want to reach out for help

READ Dr. Yellowlees' Pandemic Time reading pick ("The Great Influenza" by John M. Barry) and his "Good Stuff" newsletters at https://health.ucdavis.edu/clinician-health-and-well-being/Program/Good-Stuff-Newsletters.html

LISTEN to Dr. Yellowlees' podcast, "Joy of Medicine," talking with physicians about what they do and why they love it - http://joyofmedicine.org/joy-of-medicine-on-call-podcast/

WATCH the show -- all 23 seasons of it -- that Yellowlees and our parents have become addicted to during the shutdown (available on Amazon and Hulu) - www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007y6k8

FIND HELP and resources at these websites:

* Centers for Disease Control - www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html

* UC Davis MIND Institute - https://health.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/resources/covid-19.html

* Mental Health America - https://mhanational.org/covid19

* National Alliance on Mental Illness - https://www.nami.org/covid-19-guide

If you’re running out of things to watch on streaming TV or favorite podcasts to listen to, have we got suggestions for you.

We talked with a few people who read books, watch TV and produce podcasts for a living, and they gave us great suggestions for what to tune into during this “Pandemic Time." Listen to their picks for current news, "comfort food" selections, for kids, learning new skills and hobbies, and episodes that will make us escape from reality, connect with others, and celebrate life.

PART ONE: STREAMING TV

Michele Foss-Snowden (pictured in photo), a professor of communication at Sacramento State University also hosts her own podcast, The TV Doctor, in which she offers Television "prescriptions" to help cure whatever is ailing you.

Her picks range from "Nailed It" and "Making It" to "Schitt's Creek" and "Star Trek Discovery"

PART TWO: PODCASTS (at the 36:50-minute mark)

Rockwell Felder, co-founder of Squadcast, a startup that makes podcast-creation software startup, and Sacramento podcast host/producer/consultant Johnny Flores, gave us their top picks for easy listening during these tough times. Their picks range from "Science Vs" and "Wow in the World" to "Flexitarian Feast" and "Hardcore History"

PART 2.5 - Podcasts for Kids

Johnny Flores asked Sasha, his girlfriend who is a Sacramento librarian, for kid-friendly podcast picks, and here's what she recommends:

- Ear Snacks

- Eleanor Amplified

- Stories Podcast

- The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

PART THREE: BOOKS

We interviewed Heidi and Ross Rojek, owners of Capitol Books in Downtown Sacramento, for top book picks, but sadly the sound quality of our interview wasn't great. So we're going to list their picks here, and you can buy them from Ross and Heidi by going to their website at https://capitalbooksonk.com

* Coronavirus-Themed Fiction

- "The Stand" by Stephen King

- "Wanderers" by Chuck Wendig

* Solace Reading

- "Copy Boy" by Shelley Blanton-Stroud

" Untamed" by Glennon Doyle

" That Is All" by John Hodgman

- "Wow, No Thank You" by Samantha Irby

- " Becoming" by MIchelle Obama

* Travel Getaways

- "From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home" by Tembi Locke

- "In the Kingdom of Ice" by Hampton Sides

* Cooking Books

- "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" by Samin Nosrat

- " Bread Baking for Beginners" by Bonnie Ohara

- " Tartine Bread" by Chad Robertson

- "Dining In" and "Nothing Fancy" by Alison Roman

For the Kids

- The "Ivy and Bean" series by Annie Barrows

- "Where's Waldo? the Boredom Buster Book" by Martin Hanford

- The "Dogman" series by Dave Pilkey

- The "Hilo" series by Judd Winnick

** This Q&A was recorded on May 8, 2020**

We’re taking a look at California’s grocery stores -- how they’ve handled becoming the “public square” that everyone is still allowed to go to, and all the stressful issues that go along with it, from ensuring the health and safety of their front-line employees, to making sure there’s enough toilet paper, flour and beef cuts on the shelves.

And now, with more people using e-commerce to get their groceries delivered, and cooking more meals at home than ever before, what’s the New Normal for grocery stores and how people will shop for their food?

We’re talking with Chelsea Minor, a top executive at Raley’s, the California grocery store chain headquartered in West Sacramento, about how grocery stores are handling the coronavirus crisis, and how the lessons they’re learning today will shape the way we all get our groceries in the future.

PODCAST PLAY BY PLAY

* 0 to 4 min - Intro to California Groundbreakers, and why we're doing this episode

* 4 min - When Raley's Supermarkets realized things were going to change, and what actions they took first

* 5:50 min - How the supermarket supply chain works normally, and how it works in Pandemic Time

* 11:45 min - Price gouging: Where, and why, the food costs are going up

* 14:15 min - What food shortages should we be prepared for now?

* 17:05 min - Deciding what health and safety measures to put in place for store employees working on the front lines

* 22 min - Why grocery stores are hiring so many people, and where they're working

* 24:55 min - Is online grocery shopping here to stay?

* 26:45 min - What grocery stores are learning about human behavior and psychology these days

* 31:30 min - Predicting the future of grocery stores in the New Normal, and the way people will go shopping

* 35:05 min - Minor's recommendation for an essential kitchen tool since we all have time to cook

In this episode, we’re taking a look at California’s food supply chain – how it’s under stress, and even breaking, because of the coronavirus crisis. We’re talking with a couple of people who are literally “in the field” and seeing how pandemic-induced glitches in the food supply chain are playing out.

First is Evan Wiig, communications director for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, which is helping California’s small farms get through the pandemic by matchmaking them with food banks, school districts and other food hubs that need supplies.

In the second half, we talk with Dave Daley, chair of California Cattle Council, a fifth-generation cattle rancher, and a just-retired professor of animal sciences at Chico State, about the meatpacking-plants shutdown, why he supports President Trump ordering them to stay open, and how this will play out in the butcher shop and the supermarket.

PODCAST PLAY-BY-PLAY

Part One: Evan Wiig

* 0 to 5:30 min - Intro to California Groundbreakers, and why we're doing this episode

* 5:30 min - What's literally going on in the ag fields right now

* 8:40 min - Why it's not so easy for farmers to pivot from their original clients to new ones

* 13:55 min - Federal and state aid to farmers -- who gets it, and will it be enough?

* 22:20 min - Community-supported Agriculture (CSA) is doing gangbusters right now -- will it last?

* 28:15 min - Matchmaking farmers with food banks and other big hubs that need their food now

* 32:45 min - The future of farming, for better and for worse

* 37:30 min - How can Californians help farmers out in the New Normal

Part Two: Dave Daley

* 42:45 min - The steps in the supply chain of raising a cow from birth to grocery-store product

* 48:50 min - What happens when there's too many cows, and few to no places to send them to?

* 51:30 min - How will the current situation shake out the cattle industry -- and beef/dairy prices at the supermarket?

* 54:20 min - Was President Trump right in using the Defense Production Act to keep meatpacking plants open?

* 57:50 min - Dealing with the other New Normals: wildfire season and the rise of Impossible Burgers and other "fake meats"

* 1 hr, 1:10 min - The best cut of meat to put on the BBQ for dinner

In this episode, we’re taking a look at California’s restaurant industry – the efforts happening now to keep it going, and what it will look like after the pandemic is over.

Our guest to explain all that today is Patrick Mulvaney, chef and owner of Mulvaney’s B&L in Sacramento. Like many other restaurants, Mulvaney’s B&L closed its doors once the shutdown started, but that’s when Patrick Mulvaney started cooking up his biggest project yet: serving thousands of meals to Sacramento’s most vulnerable people. And now his project is scaling statewide.

Join us as Mulvaney talks about his new project, how it can help both California restaurants and residents stay afloat, and what he predicts the dining scene will look like after the pandemic ends.

PODCAST PLAY-BY-PLAY

* O to 4:20 min - Intro to this podcast, and to Patrick Mulvaney

* 4:20 min - When Mulvaney realized he had to shut down his restaurant for the first time in its 14-year history

* 8:05 min - How he came up with the plan for "Family Meal"

* 14:08 min - The commentary Mulvaney wrote about Family Plan that caught fire statewide and in Washington D.C.

* 21:10 min - What "opening up" looks like for Mulvaney's restaurant

* 24:05 min - What he predicts the post-pandemic restaurant scene in Sacramento will look like

* 29 min - How eating out at a restaurant will be different

* 32:50 min - How can we Californians help?

* 35:25 min - What Mulvaney wants to have happen when his restaurant is open again for business

SUPPORT FAMILY MEAL at www.SacFamilyMeal.com

READ THE COMMENTARY Mulvaney and fellow chef Brad Cecchi wrote that got Gavin Newsom's attention and sparked a statewide initiative at https://is.gd/IaGAah

READ THE ESSAY in the New York Times by NYC chef Gabrielle Hamilton wrote about the decision to close her restaurant, Prune, and her predictions for restaurants at https://is.gd/vMtpSO

In this episode (taped April 19), we’re talking with a couple of everyday people who are doing amazing things in this New Normal -- and got their local communities to step up by offering volunteer time, skills and financial support.

First up: Cris Stellar, owner of Dry Diggins Distillery, who pivoted from brewing spirits for cocktails to making hand sanitizers and disinfectant sprays for California medical and law-enforcement workers.

In the second half, Alan Puccinelli talks about his Operation Shields Up, an organization entirely run and funded by volunteers to make protective face shields for hospital workers, first for Sacramento-area hospitals and now nationwide.

Listen to Stellar and Puccinelli explain how and why they’re doing these altruistic efforts, what they’ve learned along the way, and how you can help out, too.

NOTES:

* Cris Stellar says ramped-up production of his sanitizing products means he can now start providing them to workers in elder-care facilities and nursing homes. If you're one of those, or know workers in that area, contact Stellar by phone at (530) 313-4000 or email [email protected]

* Operation Shields Up still needs help in various ways. Find out how you can lend support at its website - www.opshieldsup.org

PODCAST PLAY-BY-PLAY

Part One: Cris Stellar

* 2:30 min - Intro to this episode, and to Stellar

* 5:10 min - How Dry Diggings switched from spirits to hand sanitizer

* 7:10 min - How Stellar made sure his new products were legit and good enough for medical workers

* 9:35 min - So how do you make hand sanitizer anyway? (Hint: what you're making at home probably isn't the right type)

* 11:45 min - Who he started giving these products to, and who he has added on along the way

* 16:30 min - Where the community stepped up to support - and why three gallons of glycerine was so crucial

* 20:15 min - So can we all buy Dry Diggins sanitizer spray along with our bottle of gin at the tasting room in the future?

* 24:05 min - What Stellar has learned in the past few weeks since the pandemic started

Part Two: Alan Puccinelli

* 27:55 min - Puccinelli explains what he did post-pandemic, and what he started a month ago

* 32:15 min - Who uses the shields he makes, and how he guarantees that they meet the safety requirements needed for frontline workers

* 36:50 min - What it takes, in plain English, to make a face shield, and how one maker multiplied to two, to four, to a community effort

* 43:05 min - Where Puccinelli still needs help, "because we're still feeding a bottomless pit"

* 46:25 min - And how he keeps his health and sanity while creating 1,000 shields a day

* 49 min - Will Operation Shields Up still be up when the pandemic is called over?

* 56:25 min - What Puccinelli has learned personally and professionally since he started his efforts

Over the next few weeks – or however long it takes before we are allowed to leave our houses again – we’ll be looking at the ways our coronavirus-affected lives are changing over the short- and long-term, and talking with Californians making significant change in this New Normal.

In episode #1 of this series, we talked with a UC Davis epidemiologist about how COVID-19 got its start. In this episode, we‘re asking the question: How will it meet its end? How close are we to a vaccine? Will it kill it, or will it mutate and come back? In the meantime, should we start giving out "immunity passports?"

Telling us what they know so far about all this are two UC Davis medical researchers who are part of the global team working round-the-clock on the race to create an effective vaccine.

Listen to our talk with:

* Chris Miller, core scientist in the Infectious Diseases Unit at UC Davis National Primate Research Center

* Nam Tran, professor of clinical chemistry in the UC Davis Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

about how they’re fighting COVID-19, what methods they’re testing to stop it in its tracks, and whether we can hope for an ultimate cure.

PODCAST PLAY-BY-PLAY

* 0 to 3:55 min - Intro to California Groundbreakers, and why we're doing this series

* 3:55 min - Who these guys are, and how they"fell" into their fields of research

* 5:40 min - Why Tran called Miller and told him to "drop everything" and join his team to create diagnostic testing and a vaccine for COVID-19

* 9:20 min - Where UC Davis fits into the global race and collaborative efforts of scientists to create a vaccine

* 13:50 min - In visual terms, what would a vaccine look like, and how would it act, to effectively attack COVID-19?

* 17:15 min - What they know -- and what they know they DON'T know -- about COVID-19

* 24:10 min - What is serology testing, and are "immunity passports" a good idea?

* 29:25 min - Two types of experimental drugs getting a lot of media attention -- what is their potential for being the wonder vaccine?

* 33:30 min - In the race to create this vaccine, how safe will it be to try options on human "guinea pigs"?

* 45 min - Annual shot or the ultimate end-it-all cure: Trying to predict the future of COVID-19