How are budget cuts affecting state parks?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about California parks. Redwood forests, beaches, and some of the state's most important cultural and historic sites are among 70 parks slated for closure. As many as 220 jobs will be eliminated. Will widespread park closures lead to privatization? Join us live or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What should be done to save our state parks and keep them in public hands? It's Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Bonny Hawley, executive director of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

Ruth Coleman, Director of California State Parks

Click to Listen: How are budget cuts affecting state parks?

Why are local public libraries so important?

What's the value of public libraries and what can we do to save them? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about what public libraries mean to our communities. How are they being affected by budget cuts? A number of libraries are cutting their hours and services. Two-thirds of us carry library cards. How often do you visit your local library? Join us live at 10 or send us and email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What can we do to keep libraries open? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Carol da Silva, Division Manager at San Jose Public Library

Teresa Landers, head of Santa Cruz Public Libraries

Robert Dawson, San Francisco Photographer whose projects examine western American water, global water, American Public Libraries, the legacy of the New Deal

Click to Listen: Why are local public libraries so important?

What is the state of America's infrastructure?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about our deteriorating infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave the state of bridges, sewers, roads, and transit a 'D' Grade. They say the US must invest $2.2 trillion over five years to bring the nation's infrastructure to a good condition. What needs to be fixed in your area? Join us at 10 or send an email to feedback@yourcallradio.org. What will it take to make this a national priority? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley.

Gray Brechin, a historical geographer, a visiting scholar in the U.C. Berkeley Department of Geography and founder and project scholar of California's Living New Deal Project.

Click to Listen: What is the state of America's infrastructure?

How should we interact with strangers?

Who is that person sitting next to you on the bus? On the next Your Call, we'll talk about how we interact with strangers in public spaces--the grocery store, walking down the street, navigating the internet... Many of us are taught at a young age that "strangers" are not to be trusted. But why? And who exactly is a stranger? Should kids approach them differently than "adults"? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What cautions should we take as we move through the world? How could we benefit from meeting people outside our normal circles? It's Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Barry Korengold, San Francisco cab driver

Melinda Blau, author of Consequential Strangers

Antonie Del Bonta, program coordinator and instructor for KidPower

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Your Call 042309 Commons - Where can we find silence in our lives?

Where can we find silence in our lives? On the next Your Call we will talk with acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, author of One Square Inch of Silence. Hempton has been an advocate for the dwindling number of places where no man-made sound intrudes. How can we preserve and create silent spaces? Should we be creating sanctuaries of silence? Send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org or join us live at 11 am. How do you find or create the silence you need? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Gordon Hempton in New York
Acoustic ecologist and Emmy Award-winning sound recordist, author of One Square Inch of Silence: One Man's Search for Natural Silence in a Noisy World.

Click to Listen: Commons - Where can we find silence in our lives?

Your Call 061008 Commons Series - Public Spaces

What makes a great public space? And how can we create more of them? On the next Your Call, we'll continue with our series on the commons by taking a look at the evolution of public spaces, which allow social interaction between diverse groups of people. But gentrification, policing, and revitalized urban places are changing them. How have the public spaces around you transformed over time? And what do they mean to you? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Guests:
Gray Brechin, project scholar and writer for the New Deal Legacy Project, which is documenting the physical legacy of the New Deal in California under the aegis of the California Historical Society.

Mona Caron, San Francisco based muralist

Click to Listen: Commons Series - Public Spaces