Voices: River City

Voices: River City

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Voices: River City episodes

  • 66 - The Reckoning (6.19.2020)

    The crew discusses how politicians, newspaper editors and other institution leaders are simply not ready for the reality of the new world we live in.

    But they better get ready.

    Thanks for listening and, as always:

    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity

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

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

    1 hr 16 min
  • 65 - Measure You (6.16.2020)

    We discuss Flo's incredible back-and-forth with Mayor Steinberg during this week's Measure U Committee meeting, which the city almost succeeded in canceling in hopes that the public would not learn of the mayor and Sacramento City Council's abhorrent misuse of Measure U funding.

    Remember: Republicans are evil, but California's Democrats are in no way here to help you either.

    Thanks for listening and, as always:

    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity

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

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

    54 min
  • 64 - Feed the Pigs (6.12.2020)

    Much like police forces across the nation, the violent Sacramento Police Department costs the city a whole lot of money. Just last year they had to pay out millions for killing Stephon Clark in his grandmother's back yard, and then for illegally kettling and arresting demonstrators protesting against District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert's refusal to press charges against the officers who ran into Clark's yard and killed him.

    So, naturally, the city of Sacramento is paying the cops even more this year. And they're doing it with money that they promised would go to inclusive economic development during a global pandemic that has killed people and harmed small businesses.

    Measure U revenue is down to $80 million, so the Sacramento Police Department is now getting fully half of the funding. Inclusive economic development spending—which should account for 50% (or $40 million)—is now down to $4 million (or 5%).

    Adding to the fuckery, the city has not been allowing the Measure U citizen oversight committee to meet in the last few months. You know, the time of year that the city sets its budget.

    We also discuss California continuing to open, despite concerns of new coronavirus cases throughout the state. If you're reading this, Sacramento's bars are now open. Are you going out for a cold one? Or will you join us in staying in for a bit longer?

    Thanks for listening and, as always:

    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity

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

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

    1 hr 1 min
  • 63 - Defund the Police, with Dr. Jane Mantey (9.9.2020)
    We are joined this week by Dr. Jane Mantey, Associate Director of Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies at Texas Christian University, to discuss what people mean when they say, "Defund the police," and what a society that values community-oriented responses rather than punitive policing as a method for ameliorating society's ills might look like.
    Jane may live in Texas, but she's a longtime Sacramento scholar, politico, journalist and activist who knows the region well. She guides us as we go over the first two chapters of Alex S. Vitale's 'The End of Policing' (which Verso Books has made free to download, should listeners want to read along with us).
    We cover a whole lot of ground, but the premise of this episode is to show people what things like "defund the police" or "abolish police" look like, and what we can do to get there.
    American policing and police brutality are inextricable from their racist, xenophobic and capitalist history. While liberals continue to try to re-legitimize the system by tinkering with new training, body camera policies and changes in police protocol, progressives and leftists recognize that the entire system needs to go. We go over the arguments that many white liberals make in defense of policing, and also discuss the cowardice and lack of imagination displayed by local politicians like Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
    Along with Vitale's book, we recommend that listeners get acquainted with the #8toAbolition movement. 
    Thanks for listening and, as always:
    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity
    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune
    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.
    1 hr 24 min
  • 62 - Tifanei Ressl-Moyer of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights (6.5.2020)
    This episode we are excited to be joined by Tifanei Ressl-Moyer, the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Fellow at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. She breaks down the police violence we've been seeing in the streets of Sacramento, as well as the deeply unjust legal system in the region.
    In light of Mayor Darrell Steinberg instating an unconstitutional curfew on the city of Sacramento, we have seen an uptick in police harassing and arresting demonstrators, then hitting them with trumped up felony charges in order to tag them with unrealistic bail price tags that will keep them in jail as long as possible.
    Even when demonstrators have money to bail others out, the Sacramento County Jail has worked overtime to make the process impossible -- deleting the option to pay bail on their website and refusing payment methods when people show up in person. Tifanei shares all about the region's racist and immoral criminal justice system, and what people can do to fight back.
    Sacramento law enforcement has been terrorizing Black and brown communities ever since the police forces were around. But with Mayor Steinberg's unconstitutional curfew in place, we are witnessing their brutality in new spaces. A Sheriff's deputy shot a peacefully demonstrating Black teen through the mouth with a rubber bullet. Another peaceful protester shot multiple times by police -- including two rubber bullets and a gas canister to the head -- now needs extensive surgery (you can support them here).
    "I honestly believe that Sac law enforcement were trying to kill me, because they went for my head," they said from the hospital.
    We've even seen police violence against National Lawyers Guild legal observers and journalists -- third-party entities out there for the purpose of documenting the events.
    Nevertheless, demonstrators continue to come out in remembrance of George Floyd and in support of Black lives, while the police appear more fatigued by the day.
    Thanks for listening and, as always:
    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity
    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune
    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.
    1 hr 14 min
  • 61 - George Floyd, Mayor Steinberg's violence and white fragility, and special guest Conrad Crump (6.2.2020)
    You may have seen the footage from Sunday morning of a Black man pressing Mayor Darrell Steinberg on his racist policies, such as taking $10 million each year from Measure U funding that's supposed to go to underserved communities and giving it to a violent, irresponsible Sacramento police force. That man's name is Conrad Crump, and we were lucky to have the longtime community organizer join us for this episode.
    This past week has been a long year. So it's fitting that we recorded just as the mayor's 8 p.m. curfew went into place, and as police joined up with 500 National Guard troops to terrorize hundreds of peaceful demonstrators holding a ceremony for George Floyd in Cesar Chavez Park.
    This is a long episode, but it's one of our best yet.
    We discuss the events that took place in the week since a white police officer in Minnesota killed George Floyd: How demonstrators took a police precinct from Minneapolis police and burned it to the ground, how Sacramento joined cities across the nation in demonstrations seeking justice, how American police forces showed the world just how violent and craven they are, and how politicians -- particularly Democrats -- failed their communities.
    In particular, we take a look at Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg. He failed when Conrad pressed him in front of reporters on the immoral use of Measure U funding (to the tune of $10 million per year) on the police. He's failed when folks press him on his inability to understand the Black experience, shouting back in a classic display of white fragility, "You don't know me!" And he's failed by bringing in the National Guard and imposing a curfew on a city in grief.
    We also discuss a lot more within the context of a George Floyd America: White Nonsense Roundup, mainstream media's history of credulity and deference to police forces, and what comes next in the fight to neutralize the Sacramento region's violent police forces.
    Thanks for listening, Black Lives Matter, and, as always:
    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity
    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune
    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.
    2 hr 4 min
  • 60 - The Fight to Rest (5.30.2020)
    This episode doesn't cover George Floyd, but the next one sure as hell will. We recorded before demonstrators in Minneapolis wrested a police station from cops and burned it down, before the cop who killed Floyd was arrested, and before some 2,500 Sacramento demonstrators marched for him, raising a #BlackLivesMatter flag on the pole outside a Sacramento police precinct Friday evening. Tune in Tuesday for more on all of that.
    We do cover a long overdue lawsuit brought forth by homeless advocacy groups against multiple city and county leaders, including Mayor Darrell Steinberg, County Supervisor Phil Serna, Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones and public health officials. Many people experiencing homelessness have experienced police harassment and illegal sweeps, and they're seeking justice.
    We also discuss the deep-seated racism at the #ReopenCalifornia protests.
    Thanks for listening and, as always:
    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity
    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune
    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.
    1 hr 3 min
  • 59 - Broke-Ass Sac (5.22.2020)
    Looks like it wasn't a great idea for the city of Sacramento to put taxpayers on the line to help fund the Kings arena, after all.
     
    Now that the pandemic has sufficiently dried up parking revenue, the city is looking at cutting some of its central services in order to continue honoring bond debt incurred to pay for the new Golden1 Center. We take a look at which services will be on the chopping block, such as police (#DecimateSacPD) and things like parks, libraries and street work.
     
    We also discuss the fact that much of these debts will be paid with Measure U dollars. What a joy it is to have the chair of the Measure U oversight committee as a co-host to give us the details on what that means.
     
    Listeners interested in the history of the arena tax dollars can read this great piece by Cosmo Garvin in 2012.
     
    Oh, and did we mention that the Sacramento region is starting to reopen, just in time for Memorial Day weekend? We discuss county health officials' dissonant messaging, as well as the plight of the local gym owner. What to do?! 
    Thanks for listening and, as always:
    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity
    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune
    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.
    1 hr 16 min
  • 58 - Garlfield? (5.19.2020)
    We were worried that a budget episode may be a bit of a snooze-fest, but this one got weird real fast. Boomer memes, nudes, cannabis freak-outs and a theory on why the Silent Generation always TYPE IN ALL CAPS.
    Once we settle down, we eventually get into which programs got the chopping block and what was spared in Governor Newsom's revised, pandemic-responsive California state budget. The good news? A lot of the money originally earmarked for tackling homelessness is still there. But that doesn't mean all sorts of holes weren't torn into the state's social safety net. California is run by austerity-minded neoliberals, after all. In the Los Angeles Times, columnist George Skelton showed this week how the budget leaves behind the state's elderly, blind and disabled residents. We dive a bit deeper into other vulnerable populations being left behind in the name of austerity.
    All this while the state's 165 billionaires go untaxed.
    If California were a country, it would have the third most billionaires in the world -- behind China and ahead of Germany. These folks are worth a combined $723.7 billion, yet they have no urge to do their part in the social contract. The state's Democratic supermajority legislature appears reticent to tax them and put that money toward helping our impoverished residents. Wonder why.
    Thanks for listening and, as always:
    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity
    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune
    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.
    1 hr 12 min
  • 57 - Feelin' Special (5.15.2020)
    Democratic state Assemblymember Christy Smith lost to California GOP darling Mike Garcia this week in a special election over Katie Hill's vacated #CA25 congressional seat.
     
    This wasn't your everyday special election (and not just because of the story behind Hill deciding to step down). Santa Clarita residents had to cast their votes in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic. Paul Mitchell of Political Data, Inc. broke down what we can take away from the race this week on Twitter (hint: not much), but it does leave some big questions for November, when the two will be going at it for the seat once more.
     
    Hill won this seat in 2018 by nine points against Republican incumbent Stephen Knight on a progressive platform that included Medicare for All. Smith, on the other hand, went the moderate tack in 2020 -- going for the 'centrist' voters, and not supporting M4A. (We did an episode back in December on her abysmal housing rights record at the state Capitol.) Can Smith win in November? It's possible. Bit it might behoove her to run on winning issues that actually excite voters in the district -- such as Medicare for All.
     
    Here in Sacramento, restaurants are now looking at reopening with expanded outdoor seating options. We take a look at what this will mean for our homeless community, which has been, by and large, left behind by Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
     
    We also discuss how the office/retail space industry is going to plummet in the coming months. Twitter, for instance, is going to let employees work from home 'forever.' With remote employment looking to be the new normal, we revisit the idea of fashioning these vacant spaces into affordable/mixed-use housing.
    Thanks for listening and, as always:
    Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity
    Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune
    And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.
    1 hr 10 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…