Voices: River City

Voices: River City

By VOICES: River CityNewsNews CommentaryPolitics
Download on the App Store

Voices: River City episodes

  • TEASER: 124 - Fascism Week (1.15.2021)

    [If you want to hear/see the full episode, become a Patron here.]

    This week we're discussing what to expect when you're expecting Proud Boys.

    Oh, and did we mention that the Sacramento region is opening back up, despite being in the throes of the worst surge in the coronavirus pandemic to date? 

    Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune

    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

    3 min
  • 123 - The spirit of mutual aid, with @sacfridge4all (1.12.2021)

    We're joined this week by Brandon of Sacramento Community Fridges, a mutual aid project designed to help neighbors in need during the coronavirus era keep food on their tables. In just a few months, @sacfridge4all has done a lot of incredible work, with four fridge and pantry locations established throughout Sacramento, and two more opening soon. 

     
    This is one of many mutual aid resources to gain traction throughout the region in a time where state and local neoliberal governments have proven themselves incapable of caring for Californians in need. Each of these groups builds off of a proud history of US mutual aid organizing dating back to the 1800s, when marginalized and working class communities began banding together to protect one another when the oligarchy and elected officials refused to help.  
    We also take a moment to discuss last week's incident in which a man working for Forensiclean, a company hired by the city of Sacramento to illegally roust and demolish homeless encampments, pulled a knife on demonstrators and community journalists.
     

    Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune

    Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity

    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

    1 hr
  • TEASER: 122 - The one with the failed far-right coup (1.8.2021)

    [Wanna see/hear the whole episode? Become a patron here.]

    The crew discusses President Trump's last-gasp failed coup.

    We then talk about the Democrats' Senate wins in Georgia, and how that has local implications.

    California Attorney General Xavier Becerra will almost certainly be the next head of the US Department of Health and Human Services. That leaves the state's top cop position open, with rumors circulating that Sacramento's Mayor Darrell Steinberg is on a very short list of nominees (read :2) being considered by Governor Gavin Newsom. 

    If Steinberg ends up in that position, do Sacramento progressives have the time to launch a meaningful bid for mayor? Who might they rally behind?

    6 min
  • 121 - The ADEM elections, with Evan Michael Minton (1.5.2021)

    In a state defined by single-party rule, it is increasingly important to know how power is won within the California Democratic Party.

    Yet very few people are aware of the Assembly District Election Meetings, known as ADEMs, which choose grassroots delegates to help guide the state's policy.

    First time hearing about the ADEMs? You're not alone. Despite California being home to over 10 million registered Democrats, only 40,000 of them voted in 2019's elections.

    Today we're joined by activist Evan Michael Minton, who is running in Assembly District 6 with a slate of progressives. Evan shows us the ins and outs of the ADEMs, and shares why he's making a run for a delegate spot.

    Interested in voting in the ADEMs? Go to ADEMelections.com now and request your ballot. (Even if you're not a Democrat, you can register and get one.)

    Voting in the ADEMs and wondering who the progressive-vetted candidates in your region are? The Progressive Delegates Network has you covered: https://www.adems2021.vote/.

    Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune

    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

    1 hr 1 min
  • 119 - Housed for the holidays (12.29.2020)
    It appears that organizing efforts have paid off, and the holiday eviction notices given out to the residents of Hawthorne Suites have been rescinded. This is one of those few instances in which the city did the right thing in fighting the corporate landlord Ezralow Company. But a whole lot more credit goes to the Sacramento Eviction Defense Network for their fearless, tireless efforts. And even more to the the fearless tenants who stood up for themselves in a very traumatic moment.
     
    The moral of this story? Organize! (Then fight! Then win!)
     
    Speaking of housing and homelessness, Shannon gives us an update on Sacramento's endless warming center saga. Restrictions on opening them have been eased, and nights are consistently approaching the freezing point. Will the centers finally open?
     
    Dr Flo then discusses California's vaccine rollout. Nearly 300,000 vaccines have been administered to the state's medical workers on the frontlines, and by the end of the week we ought to have been shipped, in total, nearly 1.8 million vaccines. We discuss who is next in line, and what that means for Californians waiting for their turn as cases continue to soar.
     
    We finally discuss Governor Newsom's appointment of California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to replace Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate, and Dr. Shirley Weber's appointment to fill Padilla's office.
     
    Special thank you this week to our friends at B Street Theater, who reached out with some concerns over a discussion we had that included them last week. We learned a good bit about some of the other great work they're doing to serve the community through the pandemic.
     

    Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune

    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

    1 hr 9 min
  • TEASER: 118 - The Lady Bird episode (12.25.2020)

    [Become a patron to listen to or view the full episode here.]

    "Anybody who talks about California hedonism has never spent a Christmas in Sacramento." - Joan Didion

    For our Christmas episode we're discussing the film Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig's love story for her hometown, Sacramento.

    6 min
  • 117 - The case for American land reform (12.22.2020)

    In a weepy swan song for outgoing District 4 Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen, Sacramento Bee columnist Marcos Breton still cannot seem to wrap his head around why people voted Hansen out and Katie Valenzuela in--despite all of us repeatedly telling him the reason.

    Renters living in precarious housing situations simply do not see Hansen as an ally--particularly after he and council tried to kill real rent control this year, with his office famously trying to smear one of rent control's biggest champions, Michelle Pariset (who is now, in a wonderful twist of fate, Valenzuela's chief of staff).
     
    Thanks to neolibs like Hansen, Sacramento--along with all of California--faces an eviction tsunami during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.
     
    First among these fights is Hawthorne Suites, where at least 38 residents received eviction notices from the Calabasas-based Ezralow Company. As friend of the show and longtime housing advocate Alison B mentioned on a viral Twitter thread, Sacramento leaders like Hansen have set us up for a Hooverville future, in which thousands upon thousands of renters will end up unhoused and we'll be forced to plan and scale formal encampments throughout the region.
     
    Speaking of which, Monday was the winter solstice. And every year on that day the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness holds a ceremony reading the names of everyone in the county who died in the streets. In 2020, we lost over 90 neighbors. Shannon attended the ceremony, and shares with us some of her reflections.
     

    Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune

    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

    1 hr 5 min
  • 116 - The Final Surge (12.18.2020)

    Friday episodes are supposed to be patron-only, but this one is all about coronavirus updates. And since we always push newspapers to take their public health reporting out from behind paywalls, we figured we'd make this one free for everyone.

    First, the good news: An FDA panel endorsed Moderna's coronavirus vaccine Thursday afternoon, and it appears that this one is somehow even more promising than the Pfizer vaccine. We talk about what that means for California, and who is next in line to get their shots.

    This news could not have come at a better time, as the virus is surging throughout the state. Southern California has the worst of it. In a region serving some 20 million people, hospitals are now officially out of ICU beds.

    The state is now looking at what it would look like to make the vaccine available first to populations that have endured the most injustice in the past. While some in the indigenous, Latino and Black communities may have trouble trusting a US government that has given them every reason not to trust it, this could also serve as a solid example of what reparations-minded policy looks and feels like.

    Sacramento County is at it again. The same people who gave $104 million of the county's CARES Act funding to the sheriff's department now want us to trust them with a new shell game. Faced with the need to spend the remaining $65 million before the year's end, county representatives plan to "temporarily" allocate some $50 million to the sheriff's and probation departments. When presented with pushback and concerns by community members, supervisors took on a deeply condescending tone.

    Not a great first step in regaining your constituents' trust.

    Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune

    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

    1 hr 4 min
  • 115 - A Gaze of Vaccs (12.15.2020)

    The first batch of coronavirus vaccines are arriving throughout California, with some 15,000 doses coming to Sacramento. And while the county's Health Services director position will be vacant soon in this deeply important moment, there is already a community push for public health officer Dr Olivia Kasirye to take the position.

    The debate over defunding the police continues through the coronavirus pandemic, but the city of Sacramento appears to have already made up its mind, increasing the police force despite signs of decreased revenue in the coming years.

    All of this is happening in the backdrop of the Sacramento Police Department continuing its weekly practice of protecting fascist Proud Boys against anti-fascist counter-demonstrators, while targeting mutual aid groups such as Queers United in Community Care.

    The day after the weekend's demonstrations, police shot and killed a man experiencing a mental health crisis. On their Facebook page, they posted a picture of a bloody knife to defend their behavior.

    Meanwhile, law enforcement continue to harass and assault independent media. On a national level, the Freedom of the Press Foundation noted a 1,200% increase in police arresting journalists this year.
     
    Oh, and if you're curious about what we're looking at in the intro, follow this link.
     

    Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:

    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune

    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.

    1 hr 11 min

About Voices: River City

From the publisher's feed

Voices: River City is an independent, socialist news podcast based out of Sacramento, discussing California politics. Local radio listeners can hear us Tuesdays at 5 pm on KUTZ 103.1, with a second…