Insight With Vicki Gonzalez CapRadio

Health officials are concerned about a possible resurgence of MPOX during PRIDE month. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is not seeking a third term. Donna Apidone’s “Drivetime Meditations.”

Possible mpox resurgence

Pride Month has returned as a celebration, activism, and allyship for the LGTBQ+ community and the right to love and live as one’s true authentic self. But with a number of events already underway, and larger festivals still to come, state public health officials are worried about a resurgence of MPOX (the disease formerly known as Monkeypox). Although MPOX cases have declined in California since their peak last summer, the head of the state’s public health department issued a warning to healthcare providers to remain vigilant to prevent a possible resurgence. CapRadio’s Healthcare Reporter Kate Wolffe joined Insight to tell us more about the state’s concerns and how the LGBTQ+ community in Sacramento County is making access to vaccines easier.


Mayor Darrell Steinberg

 

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg discusses his decision to not run for a third term. The mayor explains why he is closing a chapter in Sacramento city government, how he views his accomplishments and setbacks, what he would have done differently, as well as what he hopes to still get done as mayor. Steinberg also opens up about possible opportunities he may pursue, and his initial thoughts on the current candidates running for mayor.


Drivetime Meditations

A beloved familiar voice returns to Insight. Interviewer, writer and author Donna Apidone, who is also CapRadio’s former Morning Edition host, stops by to share how she’s expanding her latest book, “Drivetime Meditations” into an audio series and therapeutic project, as well as continuing her mission to help others find purpose. And those are just two of the many things she’s up to.

 “Best of Insight”: An independent journalist based in Sacramento returns from his latest reporting trip from Ukraine. Also, an 80-million-year-old plant fossil discovered in Placer County has helped fill a significant gap in the fossil record.

Ukraine

You can measure war by atrocious loss, from lives to livelihoods, and a way of life rooted in familiar comfort that is ripped away beyond repair. In Ukraine, the death toll and diaspora at the hands of Russia cannot be ignored. But you can also understand the toll of war by what and who remains.  Their stories capture the heart of what once was as well as the drive to endure the painful costs of a war with no end in sight.  Martin Kuz is an independent journalist based in Sacramento. His father fled Ukraine following WWII, never able to return. Martin spent the past 12 months traveling to his father’s homeland, first arriving in the days leading up to the invasion, and then returning again in the summer during an all-out war that continues today.  Kuz’ reporting from last year can be found in SacTown Magazine and The Christian Science Monitor from August and April. Insight spoke with Martin upon just landing back in California from his latest three-week reporting trip this time in Eastern Ukraine. We sat down and talked on the one-year anniversary of the official start of the war.


Fossilized fruit in Granite Bay

More than three decades ago, construction workers unearthed something unusual while building new homes in Granite Bay. They discovered a fossilized plant buried for eons. The ancient plant was collected by researchers at Sierra College and preserved in its Natural History Museum in Rocklin. There it sat for decades, and only recently has its scientific significance been realized. A curious professor from the University of Kansas took a closer look at the fossil, and after careful examination, released a study suggesting this discovery has helped close a critical gap in the fossil record. It reveals the ancestors of an incredibly diverse family of flowering plants that we enjoy today, including close relatives of coffee and potatoes which evolved during the last days of the dinosaurs. Insight sat down with Richard Hilton, professor of earth sciences at Sierra College, and Brian Atkinson, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Kansas, who shared the fascinating story of this fossil tens of millions of years in the making.

 “Best of Insight”: A vocational program at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center is helping incarcerated women gain skills to succeed in the coffee industry. Also, Ben Jealous discusses his book “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free.” Finally, friends and family in Sacramento remember Tyre Nichols.

Redemption Coffee

Reducing reoffending through coffee. Jamie Mason, the Program Director for Redemption Coffee, shared more details on this vocational program offered by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center for incarcerated women. Students enter a specialty coffee training program, and upon completion, gain the skills to succeed in the coffee industry. Mason was joined by Legend Hightower, a successful Redemption alumna who went from jail in 2022 to a full-time job as a coffee roaster.


Ben Jealous

Ben Jealous is arguably most well-known as the youngest person to lead the national NAACP.  But in addition to civil rights and social justice, his roles also span journalism, academia, politics, and the environment. All of which he would argue are intertwined. Jealous is now leading another legacy non-profit rooted in activism, becoming the first African American to lead the Sierra Club. Ben joined Insight about his new book “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing.”


Remembering Tyre Nichols

The city of Sacramento is honoring Tyre Nichols. The 29-year-old died in January after being hospitalized following a brutal beating by Memphis Police. Five officers are facing second-degree murder charges in addition to the firing of a sixth officer and three medics with the Memphis Fire Department. But before Tennessee, Tyre called Sacramento home and would regularly skate at the Regency Community Park in North Natomas. Sacramento Councilmember Lisa Kaplan said the city is in the process of renaming the park the “Tyre Nichols Skate Park.”  That announcement came over the weekend during a celebration of life ceremony at Sac Ramp Skate Park, sharing memories of the father and avid skateboarder.  Insight Producer Victor Corral Martinez met with two of Tyre’s friends, Ryan Wilson and Jerome Neal, and put together a remembrance in their own words. 

“Best of Insight”: A conversation with NPR’s Nina Totenberg and her book “Dinners with Ruth.” Also, the long-time radio voice for the Sacramento Kings, Gary Gerould, achieves a historic milestone during a remarkable, overdue season.

Dinners with Ruth

Since 1975, we’ve heard Nina Totenberg’s voice on National Public Radio. The longtime legal affairs correspondent is considered a founding mother of NPR at a time when Nina says that she, Cokie Roberts, Susan Stamberg, and Linda Wertheimer were not trying to break a glass ceiling, but just trying to simply get a foot in the door.  In the nearly 50 years since Totenberg has cemented herself as a journalist with an unparalleled perspective of the law and its highest court. Vicki Gonzalez spoke with Nina Totenberg back in January about her book “Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships." The memoir includes a nearly five-decade friendship with the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a friendship that began before Nina’s time at NPR and when Ginsberg was a college professor. Nina shared how the book is about more than one friendship, but beloved relationships that have anchored and shaped her life.  


Gary Gerould

Gary Gerould has been calling Sacramento Kings games since the very first game in Sacramento back in 1985. The “G-Man” himself has seen it all: the good, bad, and yes, those ugly, dark seasons. But through thick and thin he is one of the few broadcasters who have stuck with the same team their entire professional career. Gary or “G-Man” joined Insight back in March with a look back at his career as he crossed a huge milestone– broadcasting his 3,000th game– with a look toward (what fans hope) is the start of a new era of Kings basketball in Sacramento.

CalFire provides an outlook on this year’s wildfire season. A settlement has been reached between SCUSD and the Black Parallel School board over claims of segregation and discrimination for students with disabilities. Comedian Keith Lowell Jensen’s upcoming show.

Wildfire season outlook

After this winter season’s barrage of atmospheric rivers, it’s really anyone’s guess as to what California’s wildfire outlook will be like.  Will the saturated foothills and Sierra mountains be able to dampen the chance for catastrophic wildfires?  Or will our super blooms turn into super combustibles and make our already volatile landscape even more dangerous? Chief Daniel Berlant, CalFire’s Acting Fire Marshal, joins Insight to talk about what the agency is doing to get prepared for wildfires, how this year’s near-historic storms may impact the threat and what everyone should do to get ready, regardless of where they live.


SCUSD lawsuit settlement

The Sacramento City Unified School district settled a class-action lawsuit with the Black Parallel School Board and district families first filed in 2019. The lawsuit alleged the district mishandled the needs of students with disabilities (especially Black students) and ultimately impacted them at a disproportionate rate. The Black Parallel School Board is a grassroots non-profit group that supports the growth and development of African-American families within the school district. Their claims also included that students were segregated and excluded from classrooms, disciplined and suspended wrongfully and disproportionately, and students with special needs were not given important resources in the district’s special education program. The settlement, which the district calls “a step forward”, requires Sac City Unified to appoint an independent monitor not employed by the district to review and improve the district’s special education program and policies. That independent monitor will also implement an Action Plan to bring SCUSD in compliance. Mark Harris, Sac City Unified Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Monitor, Darryl White, Chairperson of the Black Parallel School Board, and parent advocate Larayvian Barnes, all joined Insight to discuss the settlement and the next steps.


Comedian Keith Lowell Jensen

Comedian Keith Lowell Jensen joins us ahead of his performance at Punch Line Sacramento on June 4 and the release of his latest special.

A study has found nearly 1,700 state child care facilities have exceeded the allowable amount of lead in drinking water. A Placer County LGBTQ+ youth group faces threats following a controversial video. The Sacramento Zoo welcomes a critically endangered orangutan. 

Toxic lead levels

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates there are more than 9 million lead pipes (which is a significant source of lead contamination) in drinking water across the United States.  It’s a problem that gained a national spotlight after the Flint, Michigan water crisis which began in 2014. Shortly after, California became the first state in the country to make a commitment to remove all of its lead service lines. But the lead pipe problem still persists. That problem is highlighted in a new report mandated by state law and focuses on potential lead contamination in the drinking water of state-licensed childcare facilities. The report revealed that drinking water at almost 1,700 childcare facilities across California (roughly 1 in 4) exceeded the amount of lead the state allows in drinking water. It suggests some of California’s youngest may have been exposed to contaminated water for decades. To gain a better understanding, Insight invited Susan Little with the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit that sponsored the report, onto the program.


The Landing Spot

Pastor Casey Tinnin created The Landing Spot a decade ago as a non-religious safe space for LGBTQ+ youth when there were few resources in Placer County. This year, the organization came under intense controversy, following an edited undercover video painting Pastor Tinnin’s work as dangerous for children. The video is from Project Veritas, a group that calls themselves activists known for undercover stings. The civil rights non-profit Southern Poverty Law Center describes Project Veritas as a far-right propaganda group. The video’s release led to death and bomb threats to The Landing Spot and Pastor Tinnin’s home, as well as being disbanded from collaborating on school campuses. Insight previously had Roseville Joint Union High School District to explain their decision in cutting ties with The Landing Spot. Pastor Tinnin now joins Insight to explain his side, and how the aftermath has shaped the work that The Landing Spot continues to do today.


A baby orangutan is born

Big news from the Sacramento Zoo!  Earlier this month, the Zoo celebrated the birth of a critically endangered Sumantran orangutan.  It’s the first birth of an orangutan at the Zoo since 1981.  This historic birth was the culmination of a lot of planning, preparation and round-the-clock care.  Melissa McCartney, Sacramento Zoo’s Senior Manager of Animal Care and Veterinary Health Services, joins us to discuss the importance of orangutan’s birth, the team of experts and volunteers involved and the worldwide effort to keep the Sumantran orangutan’s existence alive.