California Republican Party Spring Convention. Governor Newsom’s decision to stop doing business with Walgreens over access to abortion pills. The long-time radio voice for the Sacramento Kings achieves a historic milestone. A podcast reveals the effort by indigenous people to return salmon to their homeland near Shasta Dam.
Politics roundup
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was the headliner at the California Republican Party Convention in Sacramento. The convention was a three-day event over the weekend which also included a "Q-and-A" session with local Congressmembers Doug LaMalfa and Tom McClintock. But all eyes and ears were on the Saturday lunch with the newly-elected Speaker of the House. Speaker McCarthy took swipes at several California democrats including Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Adam Schiff (who is running for Senate), and Governor Gavin Newsom. This is on the heels of some big news here at home with Governor Newsom’s announcement last week that he is backing out of contracts with Walgreens over access to abortion pills. CapRadio's state politics reporter Nicole Nixon joined Insight to break it all down for us.
Gary Gerould celebrates 3,000 games
On Sunday, February 26th, 2023, The Sacramento Kings played the Oklahoma City Thunder and won by the score of 124 to 115. In the grand scheme of things, it was a win on the road in the middle of the playoff hunt. But what was truly remarkable that night was that it was the 3,000th broadcast for the “voice of the Kings,” Gary Gerould. Gary has been calling the 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 with a look back at his career and a look toward (what fans hope) is the start of a new era of Kings basketball in Sacramento.
Indigenous salmon podcast
Salmon have been intertwined with California long before water infrastructure bolstered the agricultural landscape we depend on today. The dams, reservoirs, and miles of levees are a lifeline to flood protection and water supply. But water infrastructure, coupled with climate change and drought, also comes at a cost: including near-record low salmon populations in recent years. Native and indigenous communities intimately understand this cost through all that was taken and lost. The Winnemem Wintu Tribe called this state home well before becoming California we know today and salmon are an inextricable piece of their culture and history. Judy Silber is a reporter for “A Prayer for Salmon” which is the latest season of the podcast “The Spiritual Edge.” Silber shares the audio documentary from KALW, an NPR member station based in the Bay Area, walks in the shoes of the Winnemem Wintu people to learn about their clash with Shasta Dam the fight to protect sacred sites along the McCloud River and return Chinook to their Northern California homeland.
