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Why does Davis have so many Thai restaurants? Why does it have so many restaurants, period? Mark Anderson (pictured) helps explain these and other apparent puzzles of the local restaurant business on today’s Davisville.

Anderson has been a reporter since the mid-1990s for the Sacramento Business Journal, where he writes about areas of the regional economy ranging from banking and venture capital to tourism and hospitality--and restaurants.

On Davisville, he discusses elements common to such food trends as Thai, frozen yogurt and bagels (appealing, and hard to make at home); why public inspections help independent restaurants (you no longer need a recognized brand to assure cleanliness); and the connection between Davis and Sacramento restaurants. Many Sacramento restaurants are opening locations in Davis, but as Anderson points out, many restaurants that started in Davis have also expanded to Sacramento.

Matthew Harral paints – with coffee, at present – and depending on where you buy books or coffee in Davis, you might have seen his art. He first exhibited at Logos Books last summer. From November 2011 through January 2012 he has shown his work at the Cloud Forest Café (the painting shown here, Unsinkable, comes from that display). His work is also available at the Pence Gallery, and more exhibits are pending.

Harral, who also plays guitar, has lived a varied life. He left his hometown, Redding, for Davis at 18 to help a friend illustrate T-shirts in Old Sacramento. He has worked as a limousine driver, karaoke host, in radio, in landscape design, and as a cosmetics salesperson at the Arden Fair Sears. After nearly dying in a car crash three years ago, he decided to start showing his work. On today’s Davisville, Harral talks about why he paints, why he uses coffee, his work and themes, what draws him to Davis (he currently lives in West Sacramento to save on rent), and what's coming next.

One of the first major civic questions facing Davis in 2012 is Measure C, the latest local tax measure to benefit Davis public schools. If at least two-thirds of voters approve it--the election occurs by mail in February and March--then Measure C will replace two existing parcel taxes that expire in June. The new levy would raise $6.5 million per year.

Numbers are a big part of this subject, but the larger story concerns the size, variety and nature of public education in Davis. Susan Lovenburg, president of the Davis school board, comes by Davisville to discuss the numbers, and what they mean for the district’s 8,400 students.

The mornings are cold. Dusk arrives at a time that would barely qualify as late afternoon in July. The holidays are diverting the usual business of life, bringing people back home for celebrations or visits, in memory if not in practice. It’s a fine time for stories. And so, for the last Davisville of the year I asked three people with some of the best voices in town to read out 2011 with a story, or part of a story, that means something to them.

We hear from:

• Rebecca Plack (right), a classically trained singer and voice teacher who grew up in Davis. She chose part of a story that she often re-reads in December.

• Jeff Hudson, a freelance reporter whose venues include Capital Public Radio, and who chose poems by California poet Robinson Jeffers.
• Anne Hance, a co-founder of the Explorit Science Center and former teacher. She selected a recent short story written by an author who is, like her, from Great Britain.

I thank all three for helping Davisville end the year well—and I thank all of you for tuning in. Happy new year, and see you again in 2012.

Today’s guest is Derrick Bang, a film critic and author who lives in Davis, pens reviews for his Derrick Bang on Film blog and the Davis Enterprise, is an expert on Peanuts, and recently finished writing a biography of jazz musician Vince Guaraldi. We talk about movies this December, the film festivals in Davis, his book, and his take on the state of movie-making in general.

Archive alert: Bang last visited Davisville for a two-part interview a year ago, where the topics included his previous jobs--as entertainment editor for the Enterprise and as owner of the downtown store The Game Preserve--and a legend-worthy Davis publicity stunt: the giant Monopoly game he staged on a city block 30 years ago, where the Farmers Market is now. Part 1 and Part 2.

Hank Shaw has written an unconventional book that takes a primal approach to obtaining food. His “Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast” says we should consider foraging, fishing and hunting for more of what we eat, not to fulfill a social agenda or political movement, but because it’s a healthier, satisfying, and more vivid way to live.

The book struck me for its clear, persuasive writing, diverse appeal, and insight into the outdoors. When he writes, “North America is home to so many native fruits that all but the most obsessive of foragers will never taste them all,” that sounds like Eden. I haven’t thought of our continent that way.

On Davisville we talk about foraging – including good places in the Davis area – the thrill and horror of hunting, how much time he spends hunting/foraging/fishing during the average week (about 8 hours), and the fact he hasn’t bought meat in a store, except for pork fat, since 2005. We talk about the

Occupy Wall Street began in New York as a protest against greed. Then it spread and came to Davis in October, complete with a camp in Central Park.

Like many folks, I wondered … why Davis? Is Occupy Davis pursuing specific changes in Davis, or is this only a local expression of a protest occurring elsewhere? The Davis Wiki page has a good discussion (although the discussion falls off sharply after mid-October), and there’s more on the Davis Occupy Facebook page. The Enterprise, Aggie and Vanguard have all published articles and comments about Occupy Davis. Clearly, an interview with some Davis participants could be useful.

And that’s what this edition of Davisville is: a discussion with UC Davis students Artem Raskin, left, and Sean Zweifler, right. They talk about Occupy Davis--what they and other participants are doing, how the group works, how it connects to the larger movement, its size, and, among other subjects, the purpose behind the campout. Which, now that the weather has turned cold and wet, includes a big tarp over most of the tents.

This show is a Halloween treat. UC Davis instructor Sarah Juliet Lauro (pictured), who co-edited the new book "Better off Dead: The Evolution of the Zombie as Post-Human," appears on Davisville this week to talk about the book, zombies, how she got interested in zombies, what our interest in zombies says about our culture – and why she came to UC Davis to get her PhD in English.

The book’s essays range in tone from seriously scholarly to accessible for non-academics. The chapters discuss zombies in old radio shows, zombies in movies, public zombie walks, the evolution of zombies (there are nine types), the origin of zombies – unlike Frankenstein and Dracula, for instance, they did not originate in Europe. If you tune in, you’ll learn why.

We cover a lot of ground in Davisville this time out. That’s no surprise, considering how much territory guest Barry Melton has covered over the years, and how easily he talks about it on this week’s show.

In Davis, there are two main reasons you would have heard of Melton: he’s an attorney who spent 10 years as Yolo County public defender, and he’s an accomplished musician who, when he was still a teenager, co-founded Country Joe and the Fish as the lead guitarist. He continues to play, and on Oct. 20 he’ll perform at the Odd Fellows Hall in a benefit for Habitat for Humanity.

A few weeks ago, Michael Bisch and Rosalie Paine wrote an article in the Enterprise that backs plans to build a parking garage and 12,000 square feet of new shopping space between E, F, 3rd and 4th streets. Today's show focuses on the idea.

The basic question is why downtown needs another parking garage when it already has two; plus lots at the Amtrak station, behind the former Border’s, and next to the E Street Plaza; plus street parking; plus the tree-shaded lot that exists (see photo) where the new garage would be built. The answers lie in a discussion of where downtown is headed, in terms of growth (UC Davis’ plan to add 5,000 students in five years is a factor), civic policy, and other development ideas. Those other ideas include creating a new E Street promenade which, in one version, would close E to cars from 1st to the new garage.