The Arts in Our Future

Funding for the arts in California schools is better than it used to be, thanks to funding that started in the 2023-2024 school year. But it still isn’t enough.

This series of articles illustrates the creativity of teachers, parents and administrators to encourage the creativity of students.

“Writing Our Future” features an independent creative writing program call 916 Ink.

“Playing Our Future” includes music programs for students at several locations.

“Painting Our Future” offers perspectives of artists and educators on the value of empowerment for young artists.

Written for Solving Sacramento and published by The Observer and Sacramento News & Review, 2024.

A u-pick-it farm with a World War II connection

Pumpkins in the fall. Strawberries in the spring. And fresh produce any time you want to pick it.

The Tanaka family has been feeding and educating the Irvine, CA, community for four generations.

They made it through the Covid pandemic by meeting their customers’ needs.

They also made it through World War II’s internment of Japanese-Americans, when many California farmers lost their homes and their farms.

This was a featured segment in the second episode America’s Heartland Season 18. The series is produced by PBS KVIE and aired on PBS affiliates around the US.

Written and voiced for America’s Heartland. Released 12 August 2024

Black Farmer Grows Dates Near Palm Springs

Farmer Sam Cobb is a pioneer. He is proud of his unique role in the date industry.

He is even more proud of his family and his legacy.

This was a featured segment in the first episode America’s Heartland Season 18. The series is produced by PBS KVIE and aired on PBS affiliates around the US.

Written and voiced for America’s Heartland. Released 5 August 2024

Writing our future: 300 books, 5,000 published authors … and an octopus

916 Ink encourages young writers - lots of them - and publishes their work.

As they say, “A writer is a person who writes.”

Four well-known writers weigh in on the kids’ unique experience.

The story wouldn’t be complete without the octopus. Read it. You’ll see what I mean.

Published by Sacramento News & Review 5 August 2024

Cancer Patients Inspire Creativity

Three cancer diagnoses led to sparks of creativity.

Nat Rosen applies his “Natitude” to a blog that inspires other patients.

Steve Caputo’s artistry shines through his photography and writing about his experience.

Ann Bancroft wrote a novel to explain how patients can enjoy life.

These patients want other people with cancer to find their muse.

Published by NextAvenue.org, 8 July 2024

Courageous Contemplation

Caregiving comes with a full range of emotions.

Dawn E. Shedrick, a lecturer at Columbia University, licensed social worker and caregiver, has developed a therapeutic toolbox in the form of a journal, entitled Courageous Contemplation.

She offers hope, sanity and relief, one page at a time.

Published by NextAvenue.org, 18 January 2024

Don’t Tell Zina

Zina’s family had a secret. It wasn’t in family documents or in official records kept by the county or the church.

Leslee Sambor, Zina’s granddaughter, turned an important piece of family history into a novel that offers food for thought to all amateur genealogists.

Published by ScripType 29 February 2024

Tales of the Urban Wild

Wild animals have to cross roads, too.

Conservation scientist Tiffany Yap shares the tale of a young puma as he navigates freeways, wildfires and unkind ranchers.

She explains how we can help wild animals and respect their space.

For mid-sized kids and their families.

Published by ScripType, 19 January 2024

Woman Life Freedom

The death of Jina Mahsa Amini in Iran in 2022 sparked an international revolution. Men and women took to the streets to protest bias and abuse.

A year later, an anthology of art, photography and essays brought light to Iran’s creative community. This article features Malu Halasa, who edited the anthology.

Published by NextAvenue.org, 14 November 2023

Video: Endives - A Gift from Belgium

Endives are not endive. They are spelled the same, but there is a world of difference.

Endives originated in Belgium, where almost two centuries ago, a chicory farmer found out, quite by accident, that long-term cold storage of chicory plants would produce tender, tasty leaves.

Written and voiced for America’s Heartland, produced by PBS KVIE and distributed across the US, Summer 2023

A Mindful Military During and After Service

A connection between mindfulness and military leadership can be traced to the fifth century BC.

It makes sense. A soldier who can eliminate mental distractions is more focused on his surroundings and better equipped to disarm his enemy.

Mindfulness research and programs are available for veterans in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

Published by NextAvenue.org, September 2023

Bringing Animals From Crisis Into Care

RedRover is a little different than other national animal organizations. Although they specialize in large-scale cruelty seizures and natural disasters, they also build facilities for pets at domestic violence shelters.

And they are always looking for volunteers across the U.S. and Canada.

Published by MSN.com and NextAvenue.org, August 2023

It’s Fire Season … Still

Fire season is now a year round event in California, with recent fires impacting older residents in unique ways.

California’s experiences provide lessons that are useful to locations around the world in which wildfires are increasing in frequency.

Published by MSN.com and NextAvenue.org, July 2023

A Holocaust Survivor with a Mission

This was the second time I interviewed Dr. Irene Butter. She is now 92 and more committed than ever to teaching empathy to people of all ages.

From WWII work camps to a prestigious position at a major university, Irene never forgot her past. But she didn’t speak up for several decades.

Irene told me about her inspiration and the one thing we can all give to young people.

Published by NextAvenue.org, May 2023

Opting for End of Life

Ten states in the US now permit Medical Aid in Dying (MAID).

Why do patients request to end their lives early, and how do medical providers make sure they mean it?

Published by NextAvenue.org, May 2023

The End of Life Debate

More states and countries are enacting laws to let terminally ill patients in great pain decide for themselves when to die.

Published by MSN.com and NextAvenue.org, May 2023

Judging Anxiety

We expect the person at the front of the courtroom to exude calm, patience and control in legal proceedings.

Judge Tim Fall lives up to that expectation, even with a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder with depressive episodes.

"Mental health issues do not disqualify," Fall says, and his career is evidence.

Published by NextAvenue.org, February 2023

Have Laptop, Will Travel

Brent Hartinger and Michael Jensen have been digital nomads since 2017. They made the decision in response to politics in the U.S.

"I turned to Michael, and I said, 'Why don't we sell our house and leave the country?'" Hartinger said. "And Michael thought about it for about five seconds and said, 'OK.'"

A few months later, Jensen discovered some intriguing details about the lifestyle. "One Sunday morning, I was reading the New York Times, and there was this article on this thing called digital nomads. I started reading it, and it was like, 'Oh, that's what we're talking about doing.'"

The couple committed to a timeline, sold their house in Seattle and never looked back. Other nomads have done the same.

Published by NextAvenue.org, 12 January, 2023

Writing Vietnam

"Write hard and clear about what hurts." — Ernest Hemingway

What is that place where we store our memories? Is it a virtual file cabinet filled with sounds and pictures and smells? Does it stay in permanent storage, or do we visit from time to time to honor or mourn what happened long ago?

For military veterans who served in Vietnam, the past few years have been a time to open the memory vault. Their ages and their situations motivate them. Decades after their service, they feel free to document and publish their experiences.

Two Vietnam vets talk about their experience as authors. A mental health professional explains the benefits of writing about military service. And a look back at veteran/authors from the Civil and Revolutionary Wars.

Published by NextAvenue.org, Veterans Day, 2022

Photos of Manzanar: 80 Years On

After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States government forced tens of thousands of Japanese-Americans from their homes along the West Coast and placed them in rural incarceration centers. One of those was at Manzanar, now an interpretive center of the National Park Service. The government hired several renowned photographers, including Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams, to document the transition.

The photographers who now visit Manzanar are often documenting their family history. The interpretive center welcomes tours of visitors, many of whom are descendants of those who were incarcerated.

Four young photographers with roots at Manzanar meet an interpretive ranger and learn why Japanese culture places high value on the connection between generations.

Produced for CapRadio for the 80th anniversary of the opening of Manzanar as an incarceration center, June, 2022

Vietnam: Because Our Fathers Lied

Craig McNamara had to come to terms with his father’s role as Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam conflict.

His memoir is a love story that pulls no punches.

Published by NextAvenue.org, 2022

Widow Maker Leads to Poetic Outcome

If it hadn't been for a cardiologist's expertise, her husband might have died.

And if it hadn't been for her habit of documenting her life in poetry, Pamela Anderson-Bartholet might not have written "Widow Maker."

A life and near-death in 26 poems.

Published by NextAvenue.org, 2022