Marijuana Legalization and Race

(This is the first installment of Small Closet Radio, Local Dirt's summer substitute.)

California's marijuana laws could change soon. In November, California voters will decide whether to legalize, regulate, and tax adult recreational marijuana use. The decision, it turns out, has class and race implications that many don't recognize. In this show, we explore these implications.

Debate. Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness and retired Orange County judge James Gray discuss the details of CA Prop 19 and explain their hopes and concerns.

Race. Sociologist Harry Levine, co-author of the report "Targeting Blacks for Marijuana,"
explains that because of the way that policing works throughout the U.S., marijuana prohibition leads to tremendous racial and class inequality -- that, on average, people of color use marijuana less than white people do, but get arrested far more.

Listen here. Use the player below to hear the show, or click "divShare" to get the mp3.


Music credit: "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground" by The Asylum Street Spankers (God's Favorite Band on Yellow Dog)
Photo credit: Aliza Hausman, FrumSatire.net

Small Closet Summer

Hey! As you might have noticed, Local Dirt's taking a break for the summer. In its place, I'll be producing one-hour radio pieces on a variety of topics, and they'll air every other week as "Small Closet Radio". On the alternate weeks, we'll play Bioneers, an internationally syndicated series about solutions to environmental problems.

I hope you'll like it -- feel free to let us know what you think!

Natalie

Methyl Iodide in California

Methyl Iodide. California's Department of Pesticide Regulation is just days from a final decision on whether to permit growers to use methyl iodide, a dangerous new pesticide. First, we hear from Anne Katten of the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. Back in September, as California's EPA was commencing its scientific review process, she discussed her concerns about methyl iodide with Local Dirt listeners. Nine months later, the EPA has approved methyl iodide use but will accept public comments through Tuesday. Paul Towers of Pesticide Watch updates us on the situation and possible state and national ramifications. To learn more about methyl iodide, read here. To tell the Department of Pesticide Regulation what you think about methyl iodide, email mei_comments@CDPR.ca.gov. (Photo credit: http://energyhealing.blogspot.com)

Endosulfan Ban. Paul Towers said that the U.S. EPA has recently taken some actions to protect Americans. This press release describe one example, this month's endosulfan ban.

Listen. Use the player below to hear the show, or click "divShare" to download the mp3.

Music Playlist.

"American Rivers" Tom Russell (Blood & Candlesmoke on Shout Factory)

"Deeper Well" Wailin' Jennys (Wailin' Jennys EP on Red House)

"Long Hot Summer Day" Sara Watkins (Sara Watkins on Nonesuch)

"Waiting on a Train" Jimmie Rodgers (Early Years 1928-29 on Rounder)

Whose University?

This week, we bring you a special program, one that I've worked on all year. It's a four-act radio documentary investigating the public university -- what it is, who it's for, and how we understand it, especially right now. To try to answer these questions, we look closely at UC Davis. The show's got money that's blood, a school that's a corporation, plus vampires, factories, a double-decker bus, and an elephant (sort of).

Listen. Use the player below to hear the program, or click on "divShare" to download the mp3.

For a full list of notes and citations, download here.

This piece is covered by a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike copyright. Feel free to send links or re-post the mp3. If you'd like to rebroadcast it (in whole or in part), please contact me at ncyahr@gmail.com so that I can ask permission from my interviewees.

Extraordinary thanks to KDVS and UC Davis American Studies for making this project possible.

May the university be yours,
Natalie

Capay Organic and Appalachian Community Radio

Capay Organic. Tucked away in the Capay Valley is Capay Organic, a medium-sized organic farm that operates a community supported agriculture (CSA), a wholesale operation, sells produce at local Farmers Markets and to local restaurants and institutions. Capay Organics also operates the retail operation, Farm-Fresh-to-You Store, in the San Francisco Ferry Building. Thaddeus Barsotti, one of three brothers who operates Capay Organic, came on to talk about the history of Capay Organic, the business behind organic agriculture, their focus on education and the successes of Capay Organic's business ventures.

Capay Organic will be hosting their annual Capay Tomato Event on Saturday, July 10th 2010 out at the farm. Join in on the community celebration centered around heirloom tomatoes. Live music, including the West Nile Ramblers, tomato tastings, activities for kids and families and farm tours will fill the afternoon. Photo courtesy www.farmfreshtoyou.com.

Covering Coal on the Radio. WMMT Mountain Community Radio in Whitesburg, KY serves a community whose members are seldom portrayed accurately in the mainstream media, says station manager Cheryl Marshall. On Local Dirt, Cheryl discusses the needs and interests of the station's audience. She explains how the coalfield station covers coal-related issues, acknowledging that coal plays a variety of roles in the lives of WMMT listeners. To hear WMMT, listen to the stream online or find a specific past show of interest to you. (Originally aired June 9, 2009.)

Listen. Listen to the show by using the audio player below. To download the mp3, click on the 'divShare' logo.



News.
A Mud More Complex Than the Garden Variety by Henry Fountain, New York Times, May 27, 2010.

Music Playlist.
"Hallelujah" by Martha Scanlan
"Big Bird In A Small Cage" by Patrick Watson on Wooden Arms, Peacefrog Holdings Limited
"Double Wide" by the West Nile Ramblers
"Minneapolis" by Lucinda Williams on World Without Tears, UMG Recordings Inc

Student Projects: Demystifying Raw Milk and Whole Earth Festival

This week's Local Dirt show features student projects as part of an Action Research Team for the UC Davis Education for Sustainable Living Program.

Demystifying Raw Milk. Guest co-host Gina Drioane, talks about the basics of raw milk with dairy farmer Mark McAffee from Fresno's Organic Pastures. Mark goes into detail about the history of milk production and why raw milk may be considered nutritionally superior and more sustainable compared to pasteurized milk. To learn more about Organic Pastures and raw milk, visit the Organic Pastures website. Photo courtesy Organic Pastures.

Capturing Whole Earth Festival Excitement. Guest co-host Scott Birkestrand, covers the Whole Earth Festival live during the events that happened the first weekend of May. Photo courtesy Whole Earth Festival.

Listen. You can listen to the show in the mp3 player below, to download the show click on the 'divShare' logo.


Announcements.

- Looking for a cool UC Davis class for Fall 2010? Check out CRD 20: Food Systems, which has received rave reviews from students. For more info, read here or listen to this Local Dirt segment (about 36 minutes in).

Music Playlist.

"I Met Him on a Sunday" Laura Nyro & LaBelle (Gonna Take a Miracle on Sony)

"Teeth in the Grass" Iron + Wine (Our Endless Numbered Days on Sub-Pop)

"Orphan Girl" Tim & Mollie O'Brien (Away Out on the Mountain on Sugar Hill)

Music, Art, Environmental Education and Composting at the UC Davis Memorial Union

Music. Art. Environmental Education. AshEL Eldridge from Communitree, Art in Action, Green for All and the Alliance for Climate Education join us on Local Dirt to talk about his work with environmental education, his educational background at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. AshEL will be performing live on Saturday May 22nd at Music on the Green, starting at 5:00pm in Davis Central Park. Interested in supporting this event? AshEL is looking for a DJ to spin while he performs his spoken word pieces. Contact AshEL (seasunz3 at gmail dot com) for more information. During Music on the Green, AshEL will be performing works from his latest album - Earth Amplified. AshEL Eldridge performs as Seasunzs.

Composting at the UC Davis Memorial Union. Antonina Shapovalova and Serene Musallam from the UC Davis Honors Challenge joined Will Klein from the Campus Center for the Environment to update us on the compost pilot program that is currently happening at the UC Davis Memorial Union. The DHC students' initial study showed that over 70% of waste at the Memorial Union was compostable. Their work with ASUCD Project Compost, the ASUCD Senate and Campus Center for the Environment as well as Memorial Union staff and administrators within the UC Davis office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability has pushed the project forward. Photo courtesy Deeba Yavrom.

Listen. You can listen to the show in the below mp3 audio player; to download the mp3, click on the 'divShare' logo.


Music Playlist.

"Pagan, Pay Gone" by Midnite (Ras Mek Peace on Wild Child)

"Born Secular" by Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins (Rabbit Fur Coat on Team Love)