Photo: courtesy of stateofthereunion.com

The Tri-Cities are Richland, Pasco and Kennewick—3 cities clustered near one another in the vast plains and deserts of Washington state, to the east of the Cascade Mountains. It’s a region that seems like it would have little to attract newcomers—it’s largely remote, prone to dust storms, not close to any major city. But, over the decades, this area has drawn people from the world over, and, in this episode, we’ll explore how and why.

Photo: courtesy of stateofthereunion.com

Quaint storefronts along Main streets, covered bridges over clear streams, cows from dairy farms dotting green valleys: across the state, these are the iconic images of Vermont. But beyond its pastoral beauty, this is a place that prides itself on its independent spirit. In this hour, we’ll hear a range of stories of the way Vermont’s “small town state” identity manifests: from finding new ways to treat mental health problems, to a gallery with a surprising monthly ritual to dealing with the most devastating natural disaster the state has ever seen.

For more visit stateofthereunion.com

Cleveland, OH. Photo: courtesy of stateofthereunion.com

Cleveland, Ohio is a city that was made by entrepreneurs, but for decades, it’s been known as a city that’s a shell of its former manufacturing-era glorious self. However, Cleveland is being embraced by a new generation of entrepreneurs as a place to put their dreams in motion. This is a now a city of entrepreneurship in a range of incarnations… in their kids’ education, in the environment, even in beer. This is an hour of entrepreneurial stories, taking a look at that go-get-em-seize-your-dreams energy in a variety of forms.

For more visit stateofthereunion.com

Photo: courtesy of stateofthereunion.com

People are few and far between in Wyoming.  Those that do live here prize tradition, self-reliance, and their connection to the land.  So when change comes to the high plains—an oil boom, a minister with new ideas—communities here are tested.   And neighbors have to strike a balance between preserving their independent way of life, and learning to rely on one another. We trek to the small towns and remote ranches of Wyoming, meeting people as they adapt to the New Old West.

For more visit stateofthereunion.com

We would love to hear what you think about our newest episode, Miami – Bridging the Divide. Go ahead, give us what you got! Simply comment below to get the conversation started.

For more visit stateofthereunion.com

John Laird. Photo: courtesy of California Natural Resources Agency

JD Hillard sits down with State Senator Bill Monning to discuss health care policy, CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) reform, unlicensed contractors, and the state of California’s education.

John Laird, California Secretary for Natural Resources, also joins us to discuss new proposals for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan that aim to create & preserve 50-100 thousand acres of wetlands. Critics worry that this amount of land would infringe on established business in the area as well as decrease their access to water that is necessary for their crops. The new plan places an emphasis on creating a balance between conservation and export but without firm knowledge of the impact of this project would bay area citizens see an increase in cost of water? If successful this project would be able to allow a greater amount of water to be exported as well as creating new areas in which to farm fish. Both of these enhancements would allow for an increase in revenue and a decrease of costs but there is no certainty when it comes to environmental restoration.

For more on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Click Here

For more on Bill Monning Click Here

For more visit stateofthereunion.com

Settled by Spanish conquistadors in 1598, the area’s rich cultural past is still evident today in its music, art, and way of life. But changing demographics, along with a shift in the local economy has left many residents without land, water, and a sense of identity. State of the Re:Union travels to the Española Valley of Northern New Mexico to explore the area’s history of dispossession, and to discover what the rest of the country can learn from this still vital region of the American Southwest. From ancient water distribution methods to low riders, SOTRU goes to find out.

For more visit stateofthereunion.com

It isn’t exactly Lake Wobegon anymore… Once known as the home of Midwestern Lutherans and Scandanavian farmers, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are now wildly diverse. They have become cities of immigrants, from Tibetans to Somalis, Iraqis to the Khmer people of Cambodia. In this episode, SOTRU explores the worlds within the Twin Cities, from Ethopian Lutherans to Hmong rappers to a Somali community struggling with a devastating mystery.

State of the Re:Union website

By State of the Re:Union

At one time, Oakridge was considered “The Heart of the Timber Empire,” but by the late 1970s, things started to come undone… the mills began to automate and the layoffs started. Today, the depressed city is a company town without a company – nearly 60 percent of the population consists of Medicaid recipients or is classified as working poor with no insurance and and about one quarter of the town lives in single-wide trailers.

Photo: Courtesy of stateofthereunion.com

Baltimore is a city of many neighborhoods, of intense divides—racial, class, and otherwise– not easily overcome. It’s a city bogged down by a reputation for crime, poverty and dysfunction (thanks, in part, to the acclaimed TV show The Wire)—a reputation not entirely undeserved. But all of that often overshadows the passion and dedication many Baltimoreans have for their city, and for taking on what’s wrong with it in ways small and large.

For article & comments click here

California State Senator Anthony Cannella represents much of the Salinas Valley as well as Hollister and Central Valley cities Los Banos, Merced and Madera. Mark Stone represents much of the coastal Monterey Bay area in the California State Assembly. Both will be working on imp[roving the state’s realignment program to alleviate impacts on local jails absorbing nonviolent prisoners from the Department of Corrections. hey’ll both be involved in changes in CEQA. Cannella hopes to make it easier for businesses and other organizations proposing projects to complete a CEQA review without fear of lawsuits. Stone expressed skepticism about the degree of the problem. Stone also said he hopes to help human services agencies like CALWorks make up some of the ground they lost in budget cuts in the last several years. Cannella hopes to secure Proposition 30 money so that community colleges and universities can keep tuition from rising.

Photo: Courtesy of stateofthereunion.com

A NEW BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPECIAL FROM STATE OF THE RE:UNION
August 28^th, 1963 will forever be tied to Martin Luther King Jr.’s hallowed “I Have a Dream Speech.” This historic moment would probably have never come to fruition if it weren’t for a man standing in King’s shadow, Mr. Bayard Rustin.   Bayard Rustin was a man with a number of seemingly incompatible labels: black, gay, Quaker . . . identifications that served to earn him as many detractors as admirers. Although he had numerous passions and pursuits, his most transformative act, one that certainly changed the course of American history, was to counsel MLK on the use of non-violent resistance.

Rustin also helped to engineer the March on Washington and frame the Montgomery bus boycott.  With such lofty achievements, why isn’t Rustin considered an icon of both Civil Rights and humanity?   Why is Rustin not synonymous with Civil Rights? How could a person who changed the course of American history not be a household name? Was he purposely kept out of the history books? On State of the Re:Union, host Al Letson normally sets out to take listeners to a specific place, but for this special, the program takes the audience to a specific time in history that shapes the way we live now. More than just a Black History Month special, we found his complex story one for all seasons.

Link to State of the Re:Union “Bayard Rustin – Who is this man?”

An editor at Udacity prepares a video of Sebastian Thrun. Photo: Stephen Smith / APR

How Technology is Influencing Higher Education| By Stephen Smith | APM - 

Digital technologies and the Internet are changing how many Americans go to college. From online learning to simulation programs to smart-machine mentors, the 21st-century student will be taught in fundamentally new ways. In this documentary, Stephen Smith asks whether these innovations can help more people get access to higher education and bring down the cost of college without sacrificing learning.

For more information visit American Radio Works

For more information about Planet Cruz and upcoming performances, visit their website.

Photo: Courtesy of stateofthereunion.com

A company town, where the company is government. In a city where one in four households contain a government employee, the crippling state budget deficit, police layoffs, fire engine brown-outs and park closures could easily signal only the bleakest of futures. This is a town where, through sheer force of will, residents and an enthusiastic mayor are keeping their major league basketball team around for another year. Despite the recession gloom, people are figuring out ways , from clothing swaps to home shares, to deal with the hard new economic reality.

Link to State of the Re:Union Sacramento, CA: All Hands on Deck

Photo: Courtesy of stateofthereunion / flickr

After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the area, Mississippi Gulf Coast residents were forced to come together to deal with the aftermath. Just as they were starting to get back on their feet, the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster resulted in millions of barrels of oil being dumped into the water just off their shores. We tell an hour of stories about how the fight for the natural world is bringing Gulf Coast residents together, sometimes with unlikely partners, and how, in some instances, that fight is turning out to be exactly what a community needed to survive.

Link to State of the Re:Union Mississippi Gulf Coast: Defending the Coast

Photo: Courtesy of stateofthereunion.com

With this episode of SOTRU, we tell stories of the internet’s impact on community-building in human terms, on the messy level of people’s daily existence, where its effects are rarely solely positive or negative. In each of these stories, we look at a different way the internet has slipped into our interactions with one another, from wholesale social transformations facilitated by the web, to individual lives reconfigured, to more minor everyday happenings. This is an hour of exploring how the “virtual” has turned into the “real” in people’s lives.

Every day in America, more than 7,000 students drop out of school. In a State of the Re:Union first, this episode combines radio drama and documentary to explore America’s dropout epidemic through the intimate story of one man’s attempt to make a difference in the lives of a group of high-risk kids. Based on the celebrated off-broadway show by SOTRU host Al Letson, this episode chronicles Letson’s journey teaching at a summer camp at the Sanctuary on 8th Street, a community center in an economically challenged neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida.

All photos courtesy of: stateofthereunion.com

This episode we explore a community where when evil rears its head, someone finds a way to set things right, even if they have to make sacrifices and defy the laws of our universe to do it. In this hour we tell the stories of real-life battles between good and evil in the world of comic books, where underdogs often come out on top and fantasy merges with reality.

State of the Re:Union website

The product of two court decisions, Citizens United and SpeechNow.org v. FEC, Super PAC spending is on course to make 2012 the most expensive presidential election in history. These supercharged political action committees may spend and receive unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations, and unions to advocate for political candidates, as long as they are independent of the candidates’ campaigns. How have Super PACs changed the political landscape? Are they good for democracy?

Original show page.

It was 1971 when President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs.” $2.5 trillion dollars later, drug use is half of what it was 30 years ago, and thousands of offenders are successfully diverted to treatment instead of jail. And yet, 22 million Americans-9% of the population-still uses illegal drugs, and with the highest incarceration rate in the world, we continue to fill our prisons with drug offenders. Decimated families and communities are left in the wake. Is it time to legalize drugs or is this a war that we’re winning?

Original show page.

Natural gas, touted for its environmental, economic, and national security benefits, is often thought of as the fuel that will “bridge” our transition from oil and coal to renewables.

No Fracking Way: The Natural Gas Boom Is Doing More Harm Than Good from Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates on FORA.tv

About the Intelligence2 program approach:
The series is based on the traditional Oxford-style debate format, with one side proposing and the other side opposing a sharply-framed motion. Before the debate begins, the audience registers their pre-debate opinion using an electronic voting system. These results are announced later in the program. Alternating between panels, each debater gives a 7-minute opening statement. After this segment concludes, the moderator opens the floor for questions from the audience and inter-panel challenges. This adversarial context is electric, adding drama and excitement. The debaters have one final opportunity to sway audience opinion through their 2-minute closing arguments. The audience delivers the final verdict by voting again whether they are for, against, or undecided on the proposition. The two sets of results are compared and the winner is determined by which team has swayed more audience members between the two votes.

On November 18, Talk of the Bay presented a special program “Keyboard College”  from American RadioWorks.

At the end of the  show Kirby Scudder, Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Institute of Contemporary Arts, speaks with Jake Thomas whose show at the Felix Kulpa Gallery “Dark Fields” combines three series each by a fictional character.

First Santa Cruz County’s Fifth district includes Scotts Valley and the San Lorenzo valley with the communities of Felton, Ben Lomond, Brookdale and Boulder Creek.

Eric Hammer and Bruce McPherson are vying for the seat on Santa Cruz County’s board of Supervisors vacated by Mark Stone, who’s running for State Senate. Hammer owns  Eric Hammer Construction and has served on boards of various San Lorenzo Valley non-profits. McPherson is the former editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, former State Assembly member and Secretary of State.

Since I spoke with McPherson and Hammer, McPherson’s Campaign distributed the charge that Hammer had misrepresented his status as a college graduate. Hammer attended San Francisco State University. The Press Banner reported that in an application to serve on the body that oversees Santa Cruz County’s treasury and in other professional representation, Hammer claimed to have a bachelors of science from SFSU. According to the Press Banner SFSU doesn’t acknowledge awarding Hammer a degree.

In a statement Hammer said he should not have said he had a BS, that he’s working to gain recognition from the University for credits that would earn him a B.S.

Meanwhile, Hammer’s Web site includes a link to a letter arguing McPherson’s claim to support women’s rights is inconsistent with votes he made in the legislature. Specifically on whether insurance companies should be required to cover contraception, and cervical cancer treatments. McPherson’s campaign argued the legislature handles numerous bills on the same policy, many of which are intended to demonstrate other legislators support for various positions. McPherson’s campaign argued that on bills where his vote counted, McPherson’s record shows he protects women’s rights.

Start some fact checking on your own: historical federal spending

One of the selections from the 'Pacific Rim Film Festival - running October 19-24th.

This week on Talk of the Bay, we preview the Pacific Rim Film Festival, learn what cities can get out of bringing in film production and two farmers discuss Proposition 37.

James Cochrane is a pioneer in the farming of organic strawberries. He’s a supporter of prop 37.  Cannon Michael of Bowles Farming in Los Banos opposes prop 37.

This measure on the November ballot would require labels for genetically engineered foods and food made with genetically engineered ingredients. Proponents of the measure argue that genetically engineered food never went through a rigorous scientific process to determine its safety they also argue there is some evidence that genetically engineered crops can cause damage to the environment and consumers’ health. A recent study found rats who ate corn genetically engineered to resist the herbicide Roundup had significantly shorter lifespans and grew tumors more than rats who ate non-engineered corn. The case for this type of regulation is that it applies no direct restrictions on genetically engineered food and simply provides information for consumers.

Yes on 37’s largest donor, health Web site mercola.com donated 1.1 million dollars. Other funders include Dr. Bronners Soaps and the organic consumer’s fund. The measure has opponents: genetically engineered seed producer and chemical manufacturer Monsanto donated 7 million dollars to No on 37 as did Dupont, chemical manufacturer BASF, Bayer Cropscience and Conagra foods. Prop 37s critics say it will make food more expensive. They also pose some arguments you hear often around voter initiatives: that it is poorly written and may include unintended negative outcomes.

Listen to just the Prop. 37 portion of the program here.

Dennis Morton reviews the new film people like us, Jeff Dayton Johnson give us a look at a groundbreaking new jazz album inspired by the civil rights movement, two montery Bay area artists have created a book to teach the Alphabet and a bit about being human and Kirby Scudder speaks with Henry Miller Library director Magnus Toren about the Big Sur Cultural institutions campaign to continue operations. First

In the fiscally precarious world of NASA research projects, is an effort that might make bio-fuels cheaper and less environmentally harmful. KUSP’s Wes Sims spoke with Jonathan Trent, whose ideas got him invited to this year’s TED conference in Scotland

Courtesy: http://montereybay.noaa.gov

First a look at the new gateway to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Then a group in Aromas is gathering signatures to ask San Benito County Supervisors for policy to protect them from oil exploration. Earlier this year Graniterock, the construction materials company that operated the Wilson Quarry in Aromas, confirmed it had conducted seismic studies. This type of stud is sometimes a preliminary to oil exploration. The company says the study was to identify where the granite it quarries at the site can be found on its property. It also says it has no intention of using the oil drilling technique known as fracking. Aromas Cares For Our Environment, a new group that formed after the study was discovered, remains concerned that oil exploration may be in the offing and that it could bring unknown hazards.

Graniterock declined an interview. The company issued this letter in July.

Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute. Photo: Doc Searls / flickr:dsearls

In this week’s show we discuss Woody Guthrie a hundred years after his birth. Woody Guthrie’s daughter Nora discusses the folksinger’s legacy.
And Amory Lovins, Chairman and chief scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute has a plan he hopes could ween the United states off its dependence on oil. He spoke with Kelly O’Brien producer of KUSP’s Life in the Fast Lane.

A Cast of jubilant characters comes to life through the eyes of Little Joey, in the world premiere of the musical ESCAPING QUEENS Playing August 10 - 19 l to r: Adam Stanton, Ariel Buck, Lori Rivera, Darren Dailey, Nadia DeLeye-Lewis, Josiah Frampton, and Wyatt Bernard as Little Joey. Photo courtesy of Cabrillo Stage.

Rick Kleffel takes us through another offering from the Cabrillo Stage, the professional musical theatre company that performs at Cabrillo College’s Crocker theatre. We hear some songs and speak with the cast of the original play Escaping Queens.

Also, in this political season, words are flying building camps and backing up points of view. Though history, visual artists have rarefied or added flesh to politics. At times no media has offered a clearer glimpse of political irony than two-dimensional still art. A show scheduled at the Santa Cruz Art League aims to gather some of the most incisive political art of this age. It’s Juried by sometime KUSP commenter Maureen Davidson. She spoke with Kirby Scudder.

At the top of the show, the summer session just ended for Math and Science Upward Bound. High school students from western states whose parents don’t have bachelors degrees or whose families qualify as low-income spend a month of intensive study on math and science.

In the fiscally precarious world of NASA research projects, is an effort that might make bio-fuels cheaper and less environmentally harmful. KUSP’s Wes Sims spoke with Jonathan Trent, whose ideas got him invited to this year’s TED conference in Scotland

Image: Cabrillo College

Photo: fringefestivalsantacruz.com

By J.D. Hillard

Theater season has hit with a vengeance. Tonight we’ll hear from some of the team putting on Anything Goes, one of several Cabrillo Stage shows this summer. First, Sana Cruz is taking a page from Edinburgh Scotland – Right now we’re in the midst of more than 100 performances in the town’s own Fringe Festival. Kirby Scudder reports.

Visit the Cabrillo Stage site

A view within Randall Grahm's vineyard in San Juan Bautista .Photo: Amy West

Also visit Amy West’s feature on Randall Grahm’s Untamed Garden.

In this week’s talk of the bay: Monterey Bay area’s Medi-Cal administator, Central California Alliance for Health may add as many as 30,000 news clients now that the supreme court has approved the Affordable Care Act; we fact check some claims by an opponent of plastic bag bans; and land trusts are becoming landlords to farmers; and we look at a charter school that has found a clever way to get more kids on bikes.

The Watsonville Community Band performed at the White House and taken its show around the world. For the last 7 years its been conducted by Eugene Smith, a member of the band since 1966. Smith has announced he’s retiring from the band. KUSP’s Wes Sims reports from one of Eugene Smith’s final rehearsals.

Also in the show: Leslie Sunny is the Executive Director of the Food Bank for Monterey County. The food bank has been feeding more people while adjusting from using donated surplus food to distributing fresh fruit and vegetables.

A Sculptor of Monuments, Richard MacDonald

Sea Otter Deaths Lead Scientists to Toxic Algae Outbreak

High Schoolers Learn to Shape Policy

An interview with the Councils Executive Director Greg Pepping.

KUSP Rick Kleffel interviews the Greg Pepping, Executive Director of the Coastal Watershed Council.

Also on the program is a reduce on the past Grammy winning Orchestre  National de Jazz from France, and an archived film review by David Anthony of Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest.

Orchestre National de Jazz

Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers - playing in April 2011. Photo: Stewart Vincient

By J.D. Hillard

The Doobie Brothers continue their long career with a steady schedule of touring.  One of the band’s founders Pat Simmons spoke with KUSP’s Kirby Scudder ahead of their recent performance at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival.

Tuesday offers voters around the Monterey Bay region the privilege to choose county Supervisors or to decide on whether taxes should be levied to make up shortfalls for local agencies. This ballot is also a primary for several legislative offices and the race for United State President. For an overview of Monterey Bay area choices I spoke with Royal Caulkins of the Monterey County Herald and Don Miller of the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Steve Pleich, Occupy participant - in front of 75 River St. Photo: J.D. Hillard

By J.D. Hillard

In today’s program, Santa Cruz’s live-work facility for artists has grown, Rick Kleffel will speak with former Talk of the Bay host, now Tannery Arts Center executive director Rachel Anne Goodman and others.

First, last autumn in the weeks before Occupy Santa Cruz was evicted from the soccer field near Santa Cruz County’s court house, several participants entered a vacant bank building in downtown Santa Cruz. It was during a march. Protesters said they wanted to establish a community center. They were in the building a few days. After they left police found graffiti and other property damage. Some of the protesters were charged with felony vandalism trespassing and conspiracy. We’ll talk with an occupy participant and a prosecutor.

'I Dream of Chang and Eng'

Chang and Eng Bunker were conjoined twins who presented themselves in freak shows in the mid 19^th century. UCSC Theater Arts performs the play inspired by their lives, I Dream of Chang and Eng, from May 25, through June 3. The leading actors and director spoke to KUSP’s Rick Kleffel.

Also on this program, otters nearly went extinct on the California coast. The fur trade of the 19^th century eliminated nine tenths of the original population. Since a few dozen were discovered near Big Sur in the 30′s their numbers grew to about 24 hundred in the last decade, but have declined since. Otter 501 is a new film illustrating their tenuous recovery and the role this animal plays in the relationship between humans and the ocean. The film makers spoke with KUSP’s Kelly O’Brien.