 You're tuned into the COVID-19 Community Report here on KDRT 95.7 FM in Davis, California. I'm your host, Autumn Lab A. Reneau, and today is Tuesday, April 7th. We're sharing local news and resources, focusing on what's important in Davis and nearby cities in Yolo County during the COVID-19 pandemic. My guests today are Victor Lagunas, President of the Davis Teachers Association, and Winter City Council member Jesse Lauren. On Friday, we'll speak with Yolo County Supervisor Jim Provenza and Davis Mayor Brett Lee. This show airs live at noon on Tuesdays and Fridays and repeats at 5 p.m., both days and at noon on Sunday. You can also listen online at kdrt.org and find a compilation of resources there as well. So I don't focus on the COVID-19 numbers every week, but I do feel it's important to touch base with them occasionally. So as of April 7th, the Centers for Disease Control, the CDC reports a total of 374,329 confirmed cases of COVID-19 nationwide with 12,064 deaths. The California Department of Public Health reports 14,336 cases and 343 fatalities. And in Yolo County also, as of April 7th, our numbers are 50 confirmed cases and one death. But Yolo Public Health also indicates that only 612 tests have been performed in the county. So with numbers expected to peak in mid-May, we are strongly advised, encouraged and veagled to maintain strict physical distancing and to wear masks if we need to be out in public. For local information and links to both state and federal health agencies, you can visit the control panel at yolocounty.org. They have all sorts of information. And over the weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom issued two executive orders related to COVID-19. The first provides expanded access to child care for essential workers. The waiver will allow eligibility for state subsidized child care to prioritize essential workers, including healthcare professionals, emergency response personnel, law enforcement and grocery workers. The order also allows California to take advantage of new federal flexibility to provide pandemic SNAP. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits to Children to Reduce Food Insecurity. The state is expected to release guidelines for the order today. Governor Newsom also launched Project Room Key, a first in the nation initiative to secure hotel and motel rooms to protect homeless individuals from COVID-19. Visit covid19.ca.gov to learn more about the state's ongoing COVID-19 response. And on Friday, one of the things we'll be discussing with Davis Mayor, Brett Lee, is how the city is working in conjunction with the county to protect the homeless population at this time. And folks, the Davis City Council meeting tonight will focus almost exclusively on items related to COVID-19. And you can get there in a variety of ways. You can tune in on Comcast Channel 16, AT&T Menu 99, or online at cityofdavis.org. They're taking viewer comments in advance, and you can also view the meeting by Zoom. And for all the details on that, I'll just direct you to visit cityofdavis.org. And Health and Human Services has new resources to help with unemployment benefits. Call 530-661-2641 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. And unemployment benefits representative is on site to provide help with applications, troubleshoot any issues, and answer general questions. And Yolo County Animal Services can help with cat or dog food and cat litter as well. Call ahead to 530-668-5237 during their business hours, which are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 to 4, and they'll prepare it for pickup. The service is designed for those who are struggling and lack access to affordable pet supplies. On a lighter note, Monday is Teddy Bear Hunt Day in Yolo County. People around the community are placing Teddy Bears in visible locations so that families and others in need of distraction can go on Teddy Bear scavenger hunts. And you can visit the Yolo County Teddy Bear Hunt page on Facebook. As of this report, the group boasts nearly 600 members. And as we're getting ready for our first call, I want to share that in our neighborhood on St. Patrick's Day, they did a similar thing, and it was pretty cute. All right, we're getting ready to take our first call here. All right, area schools were closed weeks ago with the announcement made last week that Davis Joint Unified School District Schools are officially closed for the rest of the school year as the district prepares to launch its massive online instruction module next week. With us today is Victor Lagunas, president of the Davis Teachers Association. Welcome, Victor. Hey, Autumn, thanks so much for having me on the show. It's great to hear your voice. So I want others to know that in addition to your work with DTA, you teach eighth grade social studies and U.S. history at Da Vinci Junior High. So you're in the thick of it at that level, too. So I want to check in. I've seen a number of teacher friends post about long hours of training via Zoom meetings. How's that been for you and how are our teachers holding up? You know, I think that's a great place to start. It really highlights the amount of dedication and focus that teachers have been putting into this. You know, as the situation with COVID-19 continues to grow, what we've done is we've created a long-term plan in expectation for school closure. And that became official, you know, just at the last school board meeting on last Thursday, in which we decided to close down schools for the remainder of the year. And so it's really good that we've been in this discussion as a whole district going through this because we have a long-term plan for what distance learning will look like. And that means that we'll be able to have a framework that we don't need to backpedal off of so we have a clear system to work off of. And so with that, we were current, we've just finished what we called phase one, which like you said was professional development. So really thinking about what does distance learning look like? What are the technology tools that we need to be trained in? And then how do we plan our curriculum differently? You know, instruction is going to impact all of the curriculum that you deliver throughout the year. And so these first three weeks in phase one have all been focused around that so that as phase two, the actual distance learning begins, we have a really solid framework for every teacher to know what it is that they plan to do remotely. So what are some of the concerns about teaching online? And I also want to address, you know, there may be benefits there too, but is there anyone this is going to leave out? What are the impediments to some people participating, those kind of things? Absolutely. You know, one of the things as a union leader, but then, you know, every teacher has expressed these concerns is that there's going to be challenges that we have to overcome for access. And we want to make sure that this is something that's accessible to all that we and that we're delivering equitable and effective learning through distance learning. And so there's a few things that have been done, you know, that the district office has maintained the meals programs that have been offered through a few different sites around the district. And what they've done is they've tagged on to that also the checkout process for Chromebooks. And while the district has been doing that, they've also been looking at how to gain access, because it's not just having the Chromebook, but also having the Wi-Fi. And then as we do that, we're really making sure that the beginning of distance learning is also making sure that all of our students are checking in, that they are able to log on, that they themselves are training through the use of, you know, whatever digital medium, which is like Google Classroom or something like that in order to access the materials, because that's our number one concern is that the accessibility is there for every single student. Yeah, I think one of the things, the situation is highlighting is something I've written about for years, which is the digital divide. And you really touched on it, too. It's not just, you know, do I have a Chromebook or a phone or a device I can do this work on, but does my, can my family afford broadband? Do I have adequate, you know, access to process all this information? Right, right. Yeah, and I think that, you know, when we were rolling this out, that was something that was very clear to us, that we knew that that was going to be a challenge. But then there are varying circumstances for the home lives of individuals, both staff and students that are going to impact what this distance learning looks like, because if we state, hey, let's log on and have like a small team meeting to do like discussion around, let's say, a book topic, right? Well, if a student at home has two siblings, that maybe they are looking after, then they can't log on. Or if there are multiple Chromebooks that need to be used and the bandwidth doesn't, you know, give them access. So we have to also consider that whatever model we roll out is flexible enough to meet all of the needs of all of our students and that they can all access it. Because like you said, that digital divide is something that we're really budding up against right now. Right. So this all goes live next week, April 13th, is that correct? Yeah, that's correct. Yeah. So originally when we, when district staff, as well as Davis Teacher Association, started meeting to collaborate on this rollout, we didn't know whether or not we actually would return on April 13th to classes in the classroom, or if we were playing ahead, assuming that it wouldn't. And now it's good that it's really great that we've taken this kind of slower approach to it because now we have a framework that will last us through the rest of the school year. Whereas, you know, if we had rushed to put something out and had to, you know, edit that process, that that might look a little messier. But we are expected to start right now when we come back from our quote-unquote stream break, which has been a bit extended this coming Monday. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and we're in, you're in for almost two months of instruction online. So this is going to be one grand adventure for everyone. Um, I'm sure wishing all the teachers, as you know, my kids are aged out of DJUSD now, but I am seeing the post online every day of parents trying to homeschool and kids trying to, you know, come to terms with this new reality, and it's just not easy on anyone. Well, I can say that teachers are definitely eager to get back to working with their kids. That's one of the things I hear most of. They're just, they're really ready for it. Yeah. I'm looking forward. Yeah. Well, while I have you here, let's take a couple minutes to talk about Measure G, which it was looking doubtful there for a while, but it squeaked to victory. Yeah. So we are expecting to get the certified numbers or count tomorrow from the county. So the last update that was given, which had Measure G passing at 67.31, was still, you know, it was still preliminary because they were talking about 3000 votes. But like you said, and this is something that I've been trying to remain optimistic of, is that with so many votes and knowing the base of support that we had in Davis, I knew that it was going to continue to close the gap and that we would really be in the running the whole way through. So, you know, we still have to wait for the certified count for tomorrow, but I'm optimistic for the outcome. I saw, you know, a huge number of people and we had, you know, hundreds of volunteers quite literally helping us to get the message out and talk about the importance that Measure G could have on our school district. And I really like that we've been able to show in the most recent count where that support really was. Yeah. And I know you and the DTA and a whole bunch of teachers worked really hard on this and the district as well. And can you, for those who may not be familiar with what we're talking about, can you just provide some highlights of what the measure if passed, it looks like it's apparently going to pass, but we'll know tomorrow, as you said, just kind of recap the highlights of what that will provide for. Yeah, absolutely. So, Measure G is a parcel tax for within the boundaries of Davis Joint Unified School District at $198 per year. And those are paid twice a year, $99 increment. And the idea was that this is money that is directly allocated to teachers and staff within DJUSD. Our school district provides wonderful opportunities for education through the various programs that we have. But one of the things that our state funding formula does is it provides less funding to a district like Davis because of our student population. And when you pair that with the great education offerings, then what you really end up with is a budgetary shortage. And in Davis, what the main point that that looks like is that we have about a three to seven percent compensation gap with neighboring and comparable districts. And so the idea for Measure G was to have a direct source of funding for the purposes of teacher and staff compensation so that we can attract and retain teachers because we can have the greatest program. But if there's not a teacher in the classroom working with the kids, or as we're about to do this online, then that program is not going to be fruitful for the students. And so we want to make sure that we can continue to attract and retain teachers, particularly with the upcoming teacher shortage that's been on its way for some time. The number of people entering the profession is declining. So we need to make sure that we are able to compete for new people in the classroom so that we can keep the practices in Davis benefiting our students because we really do. Right. Well, I hope my congratulations aren't preemptory. But I look forward to seeing those final numbers and and wish everyone good luck as you move ahead. Any final thoughts as you get ready to teach your students online? Well, I have to say that, you know, it's been it's been amazing to collaborate with district staff and our own teachers that have volunteered time for this rollout. And we're really looking to make sure that we're serving every single student and that, like I said before, we really want it to be like equitable and effective across the board. And and the main reason for this is so that people can stay safe, because obviously that's our number one goal. And providing a little distraction from the need to be home all the time will also be a nice secondary effect. So with that, I want to give my thanks to all the people that have put work into this at the district office, the DCA, and then honestly, to the greater community for their patients, for taking time to try and educate their, you know, their own kids at home, trying to take that roll on and doing the best that they can. I think flexibility is key during this time. And and we really are trying to get a little bit of structure back in there. But it's just overwhelming thanks to everybody that's supported. Well, great. I really appreciate your time calling in today. And I want to wish you and all the teachers and all the district staff a lot of luck as as this plan is implemented. And, you know, just really, I've been thinking a lot about the the families and and the students, as I said, my kids are not at that age where I'm having to homeschool them. They're all in college. And it's a boy, it's been mind boggling to watch how folks are trying to cope. And I hope that there will be new respect accorded to teachers to as a result of this process. All right, you take care, Victor. Thanks so much for calling in. Autumn, thanks so much for having me. All right. We're going to be having another call in just a couple of minutes with Jesse Lauren, who is on the Winters City Council. I'm going to read a couple of more announcements, and then I think we'll we'll take a little music break while we wait for Jesse. So here are those losing your job amidst a pandemic is traumatic. Onward CA is a resource that's been rapidly deployed by a broad coalition of companies, foundations and humans who want to help help you get money or groceries or child care. Onward CA.org for more info and it looks like our call is coming through. So Jesse Lauren is a Winters City Council member located 15 miles west of Davis. Winters is a charming small town that's made a name for itself via its restaurants and wineries slash breweries slash distilleries and its small town can do spirit here to update us on how the community is faring is Jesse Lauren who was recently reelected to the Winters City Council. Hi, Jesse. Thanks for joining us. Hi, Adam. Thank you for inviting me. The last time we worked closely together was on the Paradise Campfire in 2018. Yeah, that raising money for all our friends up there in Butte County. Yeah, that's when we first met out at Barry Esa Brewing, and it was one of, I don't know, maybe three fire benefits locally that week. I do remember that. Well, first, congratulations on your reelection. Thank you very much. So I wanted to touch base. I've been doing the show for, this is episode eight today, and I'm slowly trying to get around to some of the communities that surround Davis. I'm talking a lot to elected officials who cover a broader area, but I would love to hear from you, given what I mentioned about the vibrancy of Winters's downtown and foodie scene, really, how are the businesses hanging in there? How are they adapting? Well, it's pretty phenomenal. We had the same day for the stay at home orders, and many of our restaurants are just scrambling for how are we going to adjust to this, and some great innovators stepped up and have had some really great success with their ideas. One of them is the steady eddies along with Turkovich paired up and made AM, PM isolation kits. You can order them online, and they deliver them to your house, and it's a coffee and wine. They also, at Turkovich, they converted their tasting room staff to delivery staff, and if you order a case of wine, they'll deliver it to Davis or Woodland for free along with Winters. They also have pickup hours at their winery, not the downtown tasting room, but the actual winery on Buckeye, and they time it. So if you want to get out and have a walk and then vineyard with your kids, you can, and then they space it out 15 or 20 minutes to the next grouping comes so that everybody's safe and nobody's all there at once. So they're doing that. Steady eddies is doing great service, and most of our wineries are just really doing great. Berry as a brewery has their usual hours Thursday through Sunday, three to five, and you can pick up out there, but they're also in Nugget, the co-op, the Safeway on Covell, and Lorenzo, so you could pick their stuff up there. We're just adjusting and adapting like everyone else and looking forward to the days when our friends from Yolo County and Solano and surrounding counties can come out and have a drink with us and a meal. I'm really missing those lazy afternoons out at Berry as a Brewing because as I think you know for KDRT, this radio station, we pair up with a lot of bands and do a lot of things out there, and the owners have, Chris and Laurie have been so great to all the musicians to the radio stations, so definitely missing that. I do think this situation, I'm seeing a lot of creativity come forth. I'm seeing a lot of good, I'm talking locally, I'm not talking from the national level. I'm seeing a lot of goodwill and people really reaching out a hand, and I know one thing I saw you post on Facebook was that you've been somewhat involved with the food bank deliveries in winters. You want to talk about that? Yeah, I actually have a couple of things I'd really like to get out to people. One is that Yolo Food Bank is doing a phenomenal effort getting food to people in need, and they're delivering over 63,000 pounds of food a week, and 1500 extra people have signed up, so they're coming out to winters and they're getting food to everyone all over town, but they're doing this special thing where the Yolo Bus, they were on the 17th of last month saying, how are we going to employ our drivers, and how are we going to figure this out so that we don't lose drivers, and Yolo Food Bank had a need for transportation and drivers, and they teamed up, they paired up, so some of the drivers from Yolo Bus are driving food bank trucks, and then also Yolo Bus is using their buses and their drivers to get food out to the far reaches of Yolo County, so I think it's really amazing, and I am so proud of Terry, who's the Executive Director for Yolo Bus and of Michael Bish, Executive Director of Yolo Food Bank for just getting the creative juices flowing and solving problems, and we're being really careful about deliveries in town we have healthy people doing the deliveries, we're having people stay inside, we put the boxes on the porch, knock and go so that there's no interaction, and we're just trying to make sure that everybody does things in a safe way, we're really proud that people are staying home, that people are using their sewing machines and making masks and making non-sew masks and supporting businesses, so we're pretty enthusiastic that people are working together and respecting each other's space and winter. Yeah, thanks for bringing in forth that shout out to the food bank, I'm going to have Michael Bish on the show in a couple of weeks here too, so we'll hear from him how that's going, so how is your city council, first of all how are you meeting, and then secondly every local government is going to be dealing with structural deficits and just kind of you know tax revenues will be down and all of that, so how are you beginning to wrap your collective minds around that? Oh it's a big question well and I'm really glad you asked it, first the way that I kind of envision like from 3,000 feet or 30,000 feet is that the trajectory for cities is kind of like a predator, a prey predator map where you know how the rabbit births go up and then coyote births go up and then rabbit births go down and then coyote births go down that kind of mapping. The finances for cities will follow the finances that is financial disasters if you will of what happens to businesses, so getting that cares money out to small businesses, propping up businesses as much as we can, finding solutions so that they're that they could get back in the game as safely and quickly as possible will all help cities, but for us we have two urgency measures tonight or urgency notices that we're going to consider, one is delaying transit occupancy tax from the Abbey House in our new hotel until September and what that will do is allow them to report the amount but not collect that or not turn it in they can collect it and they can keep it and they could use it well in this situation and we also have another urgency notice which is the temporary suspension of water water and sewer late fees and shut off for our residents that way you know people people can pay their property taxes and whatever else they have but we're not going to shut their water off and what we're doing as far as like this city in order to keep people doing things for the benefit of the city we're making sure our employees are safe but we're also on the agenda for tonight is beefing up our sidewalk repair so that when people do come out they'll have a more walkable bikeable safe community so we're we're trying to use the funds that we have in in creative ways and also give relief to our businesses great well thank you so much for calling in today we're we're just about out of time here but it's great to get your update and I'll check back in in with you in a couple weeks or or feel free to send me updates thanks can I have a second first shout out my my baby girl turns 25 Caitlyn's law she's a student at UC Davis she's in grad school now but on Easter and I just want to say happy birthday Caitlyn happy birthday Caitlyn all right Jesse thanks so much take care bye bye all right bye bye thanks for tuning in thanks to my guest today I'll be back on Friday with Yolo County Supervisor Jim Provenza