The Whole Hog

Aired on KQED's The California Report Friday, February 8, 2008.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R802081630/c

California restaurateurs are bending over backwards these days to include words like "local" and "organic" on their menus. But what about "pig cheeks," "back fat" and "trotters?" The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park recently hosted a gathering of California chefs known for pushing the culinary envelope.

The Golden State: Dell' Arte International Theater

Aired on KQED's The California Report, Friday, January 25, 2008.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R801251630/d

Nestled beneath redwoods trees, the Humboldt County town of Blue Lake is home to about 300 families and a few stores. But since the early 1970s, Blue Lake has also been home to Dell'Arte International, a world-renowned theater company and school. The inspiration for their latest play is the not-so-sunny side of California.

Traveler's Checks: Teacher-Tested Travel Grants

Published on January 9, 2008 on edutopia.org.

http://www.edutopia.org/travel-grants

Educators enrich their profession with globe-trotting experience -- and get funding to do it.

Kingsburg's Santa Lucia Festival

Aired on KQED's The California Report, Fri, December 7, 2007.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R712071630/b

Drive a stretch of Highway 99 near Fresno, and you'll see it: an enormous Swedish coffee pot rising above the vineyards and orchards. It's really a water tower in disguise and it's the visitor's first hint of how the the 12,000 townspeople of Kingsburg celebrate their hamlet's Swedish heritage. I visited Kingsburg as it celebrated Santa Lucia, an icon from the old country.

Farmer Brown

Aired on KQED's The California Report, Fri, November 23, 2007.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R711231630/d

And on American Public Media's The Splendid Table, Saturday, December 8, 2007
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/whereweeat/national_farmerbrown.shtml

About a year ago, The California Report covered the declining number of African-American farmers in California and profiled one farmer in the Central Valley. Now, the show follows up with a story of the relationship between that farmer and a young restaurateur in San Francisco who's committed to sourcing as much produce as possible from California's African-American farmers.

Hula High: Where Everyone is a Doer

Published in Edutopia Magazine, November 2007

A Hawaiian school mixes indigenous arts and culture with academics to create a local success.
http://www.edutopia.org/hawaii-cross-discipline-performance-curriculum

Using a practitioner model to move away from memorizing and encourage depth of learning.
http://www.edutopia.org/how-to-students-as-practitioners

"The Wire" and a Devil's Bargain in Schools

Published on edutopia.org November 14, 2007

http://www.edutopia.org/baltimore-talent-development-high-school
http://www.edutopia.org/the-wire-troubled-students

The heralded HBO show "The Wire" is known for its unflinching look at institutions and urban poverty. In Season Four, it turns its lens on West Baltimore's public schools. I write about how Baltimore students and educators respond to having that gaze fixed on their world, how one school is defying expectations, and how the show forces us to think about reaching the most struggling kids.