Imagining Community

Hosted by Ron Toppi who interviews Aqualliance.net Water Policy Analyst Jim Brobeck

On September 16, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a three-bill legislative package, composed of AB 1739 (Dickinson), SB 1168 (Pavley), and SB 1319 (Pavley), collectively known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). For the first time in its history, California has a framework for sustainable, groundwater management - “management and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained during the planning and implementation horizon without causing undesirable results.”

SGMA requires governments and water agencies of high and medium priority basins to halt overdraft and bring groundwater basins into balanced levels of pumping and recharge. Under SGMA, these basins should reach sustainability within 20 years of implementing their sustainability plans. For critically over-drafted basins, that will be 2040. For the remaining high and medium priority basins, 2042 is the deadline...

Click here for the Department of Water Resources SGMA homepage

Imagining Community continues our coverage of defunding university police with breaking news from California State University Fullerton, as reported by the school's student newspaper the Daily Titan, along with a follow-up interview with Melys Bonifacio-Jerez, co-intern of Students for a Quality Education (SQE) on the campus of California State University, Chico. 

Students for Quality Education was formed in 2007-2008 by California State University students to build a student movement for educational rights in public higher education, with assistance by the California Faculty Association. Today SQE has an active presence on all 23 California State University Campuses providing a student body led voice for change, including organizing statewide actions such as the Northern California Defund the University Police Car Caravan protest held in the parking lot of the University Police Department at California State University, Sacramento on Saturday May 1st.

As aired on KZFR 90.1FM Chico News and Review on the radio, Thursday, May 6, 2021.

"Defund disband, no more cops on stolen land." -- Melys Bonifacio

Imagining Community delves into what "defund the police", means, the marginalized communities affected by police brutality and what police officers, sheriffs and community members think about Defunding the Police. Music from Defund the Sheriff, and several other tracks, are used to relay the strife and passion of the movement to defund the police.

The spotlight feature is from the Saturday morning May 1st California Faculty Association in collaboration with North State Students for a Quality Education caravan protest on the campus of California State University at Sacramento. 17 automobiles and roughly 3 dozen protestors attended the event staged in the parking lot directly in front of the Sacramento State police department. Assistant Chico State Professor Lesa Johnson gave a rousing speech at the start of the event to recognize the courageous work of CSU students towards disarming and abolishing on campus police presence.

As aired on KZFR 90.1FM on Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Imagining Community with a special, Thursday, April 15, 2021 KZFR 90.1FM Chico News and Review radio segment on the successful Sacramento Source to Sea kayak trip by Mount Shasta residents Alyssa Winkelman and Ari Kosel who, along with Alaskan filmmaker Jamie Trapp, completed a 21 day Sacramento River paddle at the Golden Gate Bridge on April 3rd. The crew had to change their plans for rafting from the Box Dam at Lake Siskiuyou, downstream ~25-miles to Sims Flat near the unincorporated community of Castella, California due in large to the low flows below the dam.

Imagining Community talked with Winkelman on Monday, April 12th about the low water levels experienced during the entirety of their trip, her observations on water conservation within the Chico agriculture community and details on the production of their documentary film. 

Please follow and like Imagining Community on your favorite podcasting  platform, and enjoy our imagery on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube  Stay abreast of our 2021 series on Water by signing up for our a monthly newsletter. Until the next time always remember, if you have a roof be grateful.

The crew of Sacramento Source to Sea discusses Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Native American culture with Mechoodpda Tribal member, and TEK educator Ali Meders-Knight at GRUB CSA Farm in Chico, California on day 8 of their paddle. This segment was aired on KZFR 90.1FM on Thursday, April 1, 2021. 

Imagining Community extends huge congrads to the Source to Sea crew for completing their journey to the sea on Saturday, April 3, 2021!

"I see great threats and great opportunities. The threat is that politicians on both sides of the aisle are supporting water projects that are targeting the Northern Central Valley. To supply water, not just to the municipalities, which tend to do a pretty good job on conservation. But also to the agriculture interests south of the delta." -- Jim Brobeck

An in-depth conversation on the proposed poisonous water grab of Sites Reservoir on the premier of the North State Water Report, with Jim Brobeck, watershed policy analyst at Aqualliance.net and Ron Toppi board member of run4salmon.org. This podcast aired on KZFR 90.1FM on April 1, 2021 following a riveting and emotional interview with Ali Meders-Knight, Mechoopda tribal member and Traditional Ecological Educator, by the crew of Sacramento Source to Sea. 

Click here to listen to the radio program as it aired on the radio.

"The salmon in the streams are the indicator of watershed health, in the same way as the canary in the coal mine." -- Jim Brobeck

Imagining Community welcomes you to experience the all women, three person crew of Sacramento Source to Sea, during their layover at GRUB CSA Farm in Chico, California. We start our segment with Francine Stuelpnagel who, along with her husband Lee, hosted the crew for an overnight on their all organic, 25-acre Community Supported Agriculture farm in Chico, California. We transition to Ali Meders-Knight, a Traditional Ecological Knowledge educator and Mechoopda tribal member reflecting on the experience of sharing her cultural and ecological knowledge with the crew of  Sacramento Source to Sea. Our Imagining Community segment concludes with the insights and laughter of the Sacramento Source to Sea Crew as they cover the gamut of Manager the mascot, birds, funny moments, pranks and reflections of the sights and sounds of the upper Sacramento River. Recorded on location at GRUB CSA Farm in, fittingly enough, a barn.

"Connect with your local river and get outside!" -- Danielle Katz, co-founder at Rivers for Change

An Imagining Community conversation with Rivers for Change, a small nonprofit comprised of passionate river enthusiasts dedicated to changing the way people think about and interact with water. With co-founder and board president Danielle Katz and John Dye, Co-founder and Vice-President.

This segment with Rivers for Change was inspired by the three curious and adventurous women of Sacramento Source to Sea who launched onto the Sacramento River below Shasta Dam in packrafts on March 14th tracing its journey to the Pacific Ocean arriving on April 3rd.

Also inspired by Aqualliance.net defending northern California waters, and to challenge threats to the hydrologic health of the northern Sacramento River watershed.

Please follow and like Imagining Community on your favorite podcasting platform, and enjoy our imagery on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube @imaginingcommunity. Stay abreast of our 2021 series on Water by signing up for our a monthly newsletter at imaginingcommunity.substack.com. Until the next time always remember, if you have a roof be grateful.

The latest Shane Grammer mural project titled “The Last Forgotten Flower”, spreading cultural awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, was all set to commence at Fifth and Ivy in Chico, California on Saturday, March 20th, when Grammer's newly formed Hope Through Art Foundation received news the day prior to the installation that the location was a no go. Although the owner of the wall was thrilled to beautify her businesses with the mastery of an artist who gained national fame for his burn-scar murals in Paradise, California, permission to use the lawn of an adjacent fraternity house as a staging area was denied. That's when Ali Meders-Knight, a local native American artist and Mechoopda Tribal member, sprang into action securing an alternative site.

The new site at 2nd and Cedar near downtown Chico was not only a better location visually, it's canvas was much bigger than the original site and allowed local mural artist Christian Garcia to contribute a wolf to the tapestry along with Indian Paint Brush flowers painted by Ali Meder's Knight, all done alongside Grammer's stunning portrait of a native American woman  Let's listen now to all three of the artists sharing thoughts on their collaborative work with Ron Toppi on location for Imagining Community.

The event was attended by some sixty people, including Debra Lucero, Butte County Board of Supervisors for District #2. We include three additional interviews for extended coverage that wasn't aired on Chico News and Review on the Radio for KZFR 90.1FM on Thursday, March 25, 2021.

Click here for Imagining Community photography from the mural dedication.

"What I do, and what my office does, is we study, learn about, monitor and protect the environment and biological resources. Especially around Lake Oroville. A lot of what I do is monitoring projects for the species and ecosystems that are around the lake, and around the Feather River." -- Dennis Finger, a molecular environmental biologist and scientific aid with the California Department of Water Resources

An Imagining Community conversation in Upper Bidwell Park with Dennis Finger. Witnessing Dennis describe his wildlife sightings and the passion he has for the outdoors and watersheds was a joy to behold. Enjoy...