Summers are busy for Acme Theatre Co., the Davis nonprofit run by high school students that promotes “serious theater, for the fun of it.” In August the 31-year-old troupe is staging Treasure Island, plus its annual By The Seat of Our Pants, the set of short plays they write, stage and present in 36 hours. You can detect the “serious fun” DNA in this interview with four members of Acme: Jake Kelly and Margaret Starbuck, center, who talk about the play, Acme itself, and related topics: and Eden Tomich, far left, and Emmett Barnes, who read a scene from Treasure Island for Davisville. Tomich plays lead character Jim Hawkins. Barnes plays Ben Gunn, a marooned pirate unhinged by years of isolation. Tomich and Barnes recorded the scene in one take; you can hear it about halfway in. You might think you're hearing more than two voices, but you're not.

The second floor of Court ’N Cedar on G Street near Third has been one of downtown's neglected corners, but that’s changing. On Davisville this week, Michael Bisch, co-president of the Davis Downtown Business Association, and artist Marieke de Waard discuss the Open Door Art Studios now taking shape at that location.

Today on Davisville we talk about Measure D, a parcel tax renewal on the city’s June ballot that would raise $1.37 million per year for parks maintenance in Davis. It is the second tax measure in the city this year, the first being the school tax that voters approved in March. The guests are Charlie Russell, a local businessman and chair of the city Recreation and Park Commission, and David Luckscheider, park manager for the city. Among other subjects, we look at why the city kept the rate at $49 per house, how the city ended up supporting park maintenance this way, and what the money pays for.

San Francisco jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (right, with characteristic handlebar moustache) wrote music for “Peanuts” specials, influenced countless musicians, and created one of the top-selling Christmas records ever (“A Charlie Brown Christmas”), but in-depth appraisals of his career are scarce. Davis author Derrick Bang has fixed that with “Vince Guaraldi at the Piano,” an account of Guaraldi and his music. Bang holds a copy of his book, left.

Picnic Day returns on April 21. For the last two years, the event has meant two things. One is the traditional UC Davis open house, with attractions like the chemistry magic show, dachshund races, parade, music, and booths like the splash tank pictured here. The other is a surge in drunken and obnoxious public behavior, mostly in and near downtown. The campus and city have acted to curtail the trouble while preserving the better side of Picnic Day, and although last year still had problems—some downtown retailers reported “a lot of mayhem,” and the number of arrests and citations rose—conditions generally seemed better in 2011 than in 2010. The question now is what to expect for 2012. Two members of the student board that runs the event, Picnic Day chair Jennifer Mappus and publicity chair Achsa Rothe, came by Davisville to talk about the attractions and plans for 2012. The board intends to reduce the bad side while sustaining and improving the good, and Mappus and Rothe discuss how they’re pursuing that goal.