Richard W. Johnson Jr — “An Activist Journalist”

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Few people in Mendocino County who are not elected officials have created as much enmity and as many disruptive relationships as has Richard W. Johnson, Jr., the owner, editor and publisher of four local newspapers under the banner of Mendocino Country, since 1984. Johnson, who characterizes himself as a community organizer, lives in his office in downtown Ukiah, CA, overlooking Courthouse Square; he claims among many other things to be the original organizer of California Certified Organic Farmers, the Recipient of Walking Stick Award from Mendocino Environment Center in 1992 for promoting Ocean Sanctuary off the Mendocino Coast, and the original proponent of Measure G on the 2000 ballot. When I invited him to visit Radio Curious he said he would like to discuss “the amazing but little understood and seldom appreciated Richard Johnson, his life and times.” We touched on those and a few other topics in this conversation, recorded in the studios of Radio Curious on February 19, 2008, and began when I asked him about some of the areas where he would like to be better understood.

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Francis Moore Lappe — “Toward Understanding the Predicament”

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There is a lot of discussion about hope in this time of the pending election for president.  Francis Moore Lappe, author of, “Diet for a Small Planet,” discusses the need to give up certain old assumptions in her new book, “Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad.”  One path to abandoning old assumptions comes from curiosity, which is also a guiding principal for this program.  When I visited with Francis Moore Lappe on Feburary 20, 2008, from her office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, we discussed curiosity and her reflection that she should have included “curiosity” in her title of, “Getting a Grip.”

The book she recommends is, “The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe,” by Lynne McTaggart

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Frank McMichael & Richard Shoemaker — Local Government v. the People- Part 2

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Can rural, local government actually run smoothly and meet the changing needs of the community?  It is slow to happen in Mendocino County, California.  In this two part interview about the politics and development possibilities in Mendocino County, specifically in the North end of Ukiah, where a large shopping center is proposed that would be 700,000 square feet with 3,800 parking places and approximately 28 restaurants, we’ll be talking with Frank McMichael and Richard Shoemaker.  Both of these men were members of the Ukiah City Council and representatives of the Ukiah area on the Mendocino County board of Supervisors, serving consecutively, ending in 2005. Frank McMichael served a one year-term, and Richard Shoemaker served a two-year term. This program was originally broadcast on March 12, and March 19, 2008.

Richard Shoemaker recommends, “Longitude,” by Dava Sobel. Frank McMichael recommends, “Coercion: Why We Listen to What ‘They’ Say,” by Douglas Rushkoff.

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Frank McMichael & Richard Shoemaker — Local Government v. the People- Part 1

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Can rural, local government actually run smoothly and meet the changing needs of the community?  It is slow to happen in Mendocino County, California.  In this two part interview about the politics and development possibilities in Mendocino County, specifically in the North end of Ukiah, where a large shopping center is proposed that would be 700,000 square feet with 3,800 parking places and approximately 28 restaurants, we’ll be talking with Frank McMichael and Richard Shoemaker.  Both of these men were members of the Ukiah City Council and representatives of the Ukiah area on the Mendocino County board of Supervisors, serving consecutively, ending in 2005. Frank McMichael served a one year-term, and Richard Shoemaker served a two-year term. This program was originally broadcast on March 12, and March 19, 2008.

Richard Shoemaker recommends, “Longitude,” by Dava Sobel. Frank McMichael recommends, “Coercion: Why We Listen to What ‘They’ Say,” by Douglas Rushkoff.

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Michael Shuman — “Keeping the Culture of Small Towns”

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Years ago, before the myriad of things to buy were as available as they are now, retail businesses were most often locally-owned and operated, often for generations. This all began to change in the middle of the last century, as many of the items in the Sears Catalogue became available in towns and cities across the nation for consumers to feel and touch. But, it wasn’t until approximately 25 years ago when Wal-Mart, Target and other big-box stores appeared nationwide in small communities, to the detriment of locally-owned businesses and the social and economic benefits those businesses provided to their communities.  Michael Shuman, an attorney and an economist, is the author of, “The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition.” This book addresses the issues and problems of locally owned businesses and how they can successfully compete with the big-box stores owned by corporations foreign to the region. We began our conversation, which occurred on January 21, 2008, when I asked Michael Shuman to describe how a corporation comes into being, as a basis to understand some of the problems of locally owned businesses in competition with the big box stores.

The book he recommends is, “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work,” by John Gottman.

 

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Beth Wenger — Jewish Americans: Three Centuries of Jewish Voices in America

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North America, as we have known for millennia, has been populated by ethnic groups looking for a new place to live. Beginning in the early 17th Century and through the present time, Jewish people from around the world have seen North America as a favored place to live and in waves of migration over time have come here to make a new life as part of the American fabric. In the winter of 2008 the Public Broadcasting System presented a major six hour television series: “The Jewish Americans: Three Centuries of Jewish Voices in America.” A companion book to this series with the same name, written by Beth Wenger, the Director of the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania, is a collection of first person stories about lives of American Jews who maintained their own culture as they became part of the American culture. Our visit with Beth Wenger in January 2008, by phone from her office at the University of Pennsylvania, began when she described the distinctions and similarities of the Jewish American experience as compared to other immigrant groups. This program was originally broadcast January 30, 2008.

The book she recommends is, “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union,” by Michael Chabon.

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Dan Hamburg— “Rule By Fear Or Rule By Law”

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In this edition of Radio Curious, our guest is Dan Hamburg, a long time political activist, a former member of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors and a former member of Congress who represented the North Coast of California. In our conversation, recorded in the studio of Radio Curious on February 26, 2008, we discuss the concept of, “rule by fear or rule by law,” and what rules at the national level and legislative level, as well as at the local level.

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Sherrif Tom Allman — “Marijuana In Mendocino”

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In the continuing saga of marijuana politics in Mendocino County, we visit with Sheriff Tom Allman to talk about what has happened since our last visit in June 2007.  We discuss the uncertainty of the existing marijuana laws in Mendocino County, the prospects for change based on the upcoming June election (which may allow a variance to Measure G that was adopted in 2000) and about methamphetamine.

This interview with Tom Allman, the Mendocino County Sheriff, was recorded on January 15, 2008.  The book that he recommends is, “Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself,” by Alan Alda.

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The War and Other Issues with Congressman Mike Thompson

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Mike Thompson represents the First Congressional District of California, including the North Coast and Mendocino County, the home of Radio Curious, in the United States House of Representatives. In this interview recorded in his Washington, D.C. office on October 11, 2007, we discuss the war, its funding, medicare, marijuana and children’s health insurance. The House of Representatives was not able to overturn the president’s veto of the children’s health insurance program in a vote that occurred after this interview. This program was originally broadcast October 24, 2007.

Mike Thompson recommends “Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army,” by Jeremy Scahill.

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Jim Wattenburger- “Who Should Control Rural Growth, Corporations or Citizens?”

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Should a shopping mall and a large residential development occur adjacent to the city of Ukiah, California? The city and many people fear this development will result in the loss of a unique, rural small town in northern California.  Mendocino County Supervisor Jim Wattenburger discusses his position in support of these projects, and about the legalization of marijuana in two programs recorded September 23, 2007, and the broadcast September 26, and October 3, 2007.

Jim Wattenburger recommends “Undaunted Courage,” by Stephen A. Ambrose.

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