Davisville

Bill Buchanan
  • 5.0 (2)
  • News
  • Updated Semimonthly

Davis has interesting people, ideas, connections, and events. On Davisville, host Bill Buchanan presents stories that have some connection to Davis. The program has won 17 Excellence in Journalism awards from the San Francisco Press Club since 2018, including first place in radio/podcast public affairs programs for 2025, plus a national Hometown Media Award for excellence from the Alliance for Community Media in 2024, and first place nationwide in news/public affairs programs among small stations from the Public Media Journalists Association in 2026. Contact: davisville @ dcn.org

  1. 2d ago

    Davisville, July 27, 2026: Where business and academia cross paths in Davis

    Tim Akin spent 26 years at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, which gave him a large window on the business world. He retired as the school’s executive director of marking and communications in June, and today on Davisville we talk about what he has seen and learned over the years. The topics include whether he thinks business is ready to manage AI, what the school brings to the different worlds of business and academia, and the value of business education that includes other areas of study, and doesn’t just focus on itself.    The photo shows Tim, with a few items he once kept on his desk at UC Davis, in KDRT’s studio on July 25.

  2. Jul 14

    Davisville, July 13, 2026: Davis and Bob Dunning ‘saved my career’

    Editorial cartoonist Jack Ohman is good at skewering whatever he targets in his cartoons, a talent recognized by the honors he has received, including the Pulitzer Prize a decade ago and the Herblock Prize this year. Most people in Davis know him for the cartoons he drew for the Sacramento Bee for a decade. But Davis and longtime local journalist Bob Dunning also helped Ohman save his career, he says today on Davisville. Three years ago McClatchy, which owns the Bee, fired Ohman and the company’s two other editorial cartoonists, saying it didn’t want to run daily editorial cartoons anymore. Ohman, then 62, joined the San Francisco Chronicle part-time as a columnist and cartoonist, and a larger recovery followed when he launched You Betcha!, a Substack home in 2024 for his cartoons and columns. He got advice from Dunning and others — Dunning, of course, launched his own Substack after the Davis Enterprise cut him loose two years ago, and quickly surpassed the salary he’d lost. Other topics today: How Ohman works; developing a meta sense of San Francisco from regular meetings with Willie Brown; fishing; becoming a political columnist; and his project, currently idle, to write a graphic personal memoir of the Apollo 11 moon landing 57 years ago this month.

  3. Jun 30

    Davisville, June 29, 2026: Measure V, unsafely dark streets, a lovely place to live, and other opinions of Davis

    Today we talk with two accomplished people at different stages of life about their experiences of Davis: Ken Wagstaff, a former mayor who moved here in the 1960s, and Adithi Sumitran, who just graduated from UC Davis and heads to law school at UC Berkeley this fall. The subjects include Davis, the recent defeat of the Measure V housing measure, and what they think the community needs more of, and less of. Davis has a “big issue of safety, and the feeling of safety in Davis, that maybe we don’t talk about enough,” Adithi says. She cites the sense of menace created by the fatal stabbings (article might be paywalled) during her freshman year, and more recent incidents like the indecent exposures along Olive Drive, where she lived. Davis needs to improve street lighting, improve late-hours transit, and add policing in areas, she says. Ken says Davis’ dark skies ordinance is a point of pride, but supports adjusting it when needed for safety. We also talk about what drew each to Davis (“it’s a lovely place to live,” she says), what Adithi will miss about the community, and Ken’s concluding appreciation for “people like [her], who comes here and sees the benefits and sees the things we’ve created, and we sort of take it for granted. So I hope you come back, Adithi, I hope we’ll have places for you and your friends to enjoy.” She says yes. (The photo shows the tracks at the Davis train station near sunrise this spring.)

  4. Jun 16

    Davisville, June 15, 2026: House prices are rising, and it’s a good year for renters in Davis

    2026 is a pretty good year for renters in Davis. The city’s vacancy rate has continued to grow, to around 10 percent, says real estate professional Kit Boschken on today’s Davisville. Rents are down from last year. Parts of the market are shifting, she adds— students are less interested in sharing a large house as a place to live, and students coming out of campus housing want leases that start in July or mid-June, instead of the Davis standard of Sept. 1. “Next year we may be lowering rents a little bit again,” she says during today’s program. “I think we’re equaling out and trying to figure out where rents fall in this town, with the university having built a lot, and now [it] has housing for freshmen and sophomores. That really affects the Davis community too.” As for single-family houses, prices are up about 4 percent from last year and the median price has hit about $915,000, says Steve Boschken. “Over a third of our properties in Davis are selling for a million or more, which obviously makes it very challenging for younger families, younger people, to get into a home,” he says. About 40 homes in Davis are below $700,000. Steve and Kit Boschken are real estate brokers with many years of experience in Davis. I invite them onto Davisville about once a year, and today we talk about what they see in the Davis housing market as of summer 2026. (The photo shows new houses being built off of East Eighth Street in Davis, June 2026)

  5. Jun 2

    Davisville, June 1, 2026: In bike town Davis, e-devices have altered traffic safety

    Almost anyone listening today is likely to have an opinion about the topic — namely, how well are bicycles, powered scooters, e-bikes, vehicles and pedestrians co-existing in Davis? In terms of safety, courtesy, observing the rules … and what are the current laws for powered scooters and bikes? Probably not what you think, and the Legislature is looking at changing them. Two people have been hit and killed while riding bicycles in or near Davis so far in 2026. We likely all have stories of seeing drivers who only slow for a stop sign, powered motorbikes in the bike lane as they zip past cars, or people walking into the street while focused on their screens. Hopefully, we’ve seen people make room for each other on the streets, too. Today we talk about city statistics, the emergence of e-bikes and e-scooters, the laws so far, what the city is doing, and what individuals can do, with Davis Police Chief Todd Henry, and Ryan Chapman, the city’s director of public works engineering and transportation.

  6. May 19

    Davisville, May 18, 2026: Adding homes in Davis that more younger families could afford

    Today on Davisville we talk with two of the five people who recently wrote “A Long-Term Pragmatic Plan for a Livable and Sustainable Davis.” Don’t let the dry title dissuade you — the article is clear, light on jargon, usefully specific, and all about Davis. Their ideas include developing denser homes along transit corridors in Davis, including along Anderson Road (pictured), over several decades. Alex Achimore, an architect and urban planner, and Richard McCann, an environmental policy consultant, talk about the ideas, methods and reasons behind their approach on today’s program, including what they mean by density — think more along the lines of townhomes, duplexes and stacked flats, not apartment towers.

  7. May 5

    Davisville, May 4, 2026: Dating by painting at the Arts Center

    There are lots of ways to get to know someone you like, lots of ways to date. What if your outing consisted of you painting pictures together with your friend, partner, perhaps prospective spouse? Call it a paint date. The Davis Arts Center offers a Paint Date workshop as one of its events this spring, on May 16. It’s a clever idea for getting people to think about taking up a paint brush in front of an easel, plus there’s a social side. What do people paint, when they have an hour to paint something, in the presence of a friend? Are there any stories here? Today on Davisville we talk with the Paint Date instructor, Roshelle Carlson, sometimes known as Miss Rainbow, and Sam King, executive director of the arts center. We’ll also hear about what else the center is doing this spring, and how it’s doing in this, its 67th year. King says they’ve come back strong from the pandemic, and she explains how they did it. The photo, courtesy of Roshelle Carlson, shows two paintings from a previous Paint Date.

  8. Apr 21

    Davisville, April 20, 2026: Look closer before deciding to close any Davis school, skeptics urge

    With enrollment in Davis schools declining, the Davis school district is looking at shutting at least one elementary school. So far, two concepts have emerged — to close Patwin and possibly also Birch Lane — and to move programs and shift attendance boundaries. The School Board expects to decide in spring 2027, with any closure starting in fall 2028.  Colleen Zern, a local attorney and UC Davis lecturer, is among the Davis parents opposing this idea. Today on Davisville she talks about process, the new-home development projects that people in Davis will vote on this year, the petition to form a citizens group to look at options to handle declining enrollment, and how she wants the district to proceed. (Related program: "Davis faces choice between more homes, fewer schools," May 12, 2025)

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Davis has interesting people, ideas, connections, and events. On Davisville, host Bill Buchanan presents stories that have some connection to Davis. The program has won 17 Excellence in Journalism awards from the San Francisco Press Club since 2018, including first place in radio/podcast public affairs programs for 2025, plus a national Hometown Media Award for excellence from the Alliance for Community Media in 2024, and first place nationwide in news/public affairs programs among small stations from the Public Media Journalists Association in 2026. Contact: davisville @ dcn.org

Information

  • Creator
    Bill Buchanan
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    50
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
  • Show Website
    Davisville