Hometown California
Hometown California tells the Rural California story through the eyes of those who live, work, and play in the rural communities of the Golden State. Hometown California is a production of the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), a thirty-seven member county strong organization, advocating on behalf of California’s rural counties for nearly fifty years.
Episodes
33 episodes
Episode 31 - The Western Governors Association and the Intersection with Rural California
On this episode of Hometown California our host, Paul A. Smith, sits down for a conversation with Jim Ogsbury, Executive Director of the Western Governors Association (WGA). Together, Paul and Jim discuss the work of the WGA, who they ...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 31
•
23:53
Episode 30 - From Rural California to the State Assembly, A Conversation with Assembly Member Jim Wood
In the latest episode of Hometown California, our host, Paul A. Smith, sits down for a conversation with California State Assembly Member, Jim Wood. Learn about his path to politics-- from dentistry to the State Assembly— and how his experience...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 30
•
26:15
Episode 29- Up Close with Rich Gordon, President and CEO of the California Forestry Association
In this episode of Hometown California, our host, Paul A. Smith, speaks with Rich Gordon, President and CEO of the California Forestry Association (soon-to-be retired). Aside from being at the CA Forestry Association, Mr. Gordon has a long hist...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 30
•
29:37
Episode 28- Meet Patrick Blacklock, RCRC President and CEO
In this episode, our host, Paul A. Smith, sits down for a conversation with Patrick "Pat" Blacklock, the new President and CEO of RCRC. Learn how Pat's journey in the county family began, what led him to RCRC, and his vision for RCRC's advocacy...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 28
•
23:09
Episode 27 - Meeting the Challenge of California’s Perennial Wildfires
On this episode of Hometown California, our host, Paul A. Smith, speaks with Staci Heaton, the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) Acting Vice President of Governmental Affairs, about California’s perennial wildfire...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 27
•
33:48
Episode 26- The Early Days of the 117th Congress
In this episode of Hometown California, recorded in Washington D.C., our host, Paul A. Smith, sits down with Sheryl Cohen and Chris Israel of American Continental Group (ACG), to give listeners a deeper look at the early days of the 117th Congr...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 26
•
48:32
Episode 25- The National Political Pulse in the Early Days of the Biden Presidency
From Washington D.C., our host, Paul A. Smith, checks in on the political pulse in a conversation with Leah Askarinam of the National Journal, Editor-in-Chief of the Hotline at the National Journal. With a new administra...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 25
•
38:02
Episode 24- What Is Up with the Recall Election of Governor Newsom?
Jeremy White, co-writer of Politico's California Playbook, returns to Hometown California to share his insights about the effort to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom. Our host, Paul A. Smith, RCRC Vice President for Government Af...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 24
•
35:13
Episode 23 - Law Enforcement in Rural California, An Interview with Lassen County Sheriff Dean Growdon
In this episode of Hometown California, RCRC Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs, Paul Smith, speaks with Lassen County Sheriff Dean Growdon about the realities of being a peace officer in rural California. In the smal...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 23
•
30:00
Episode 22 - A Conversation with California State Controller Betty Yee
On this episode, RCRC Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs, Paul Smith, speaks to State Controller, Betty Yee. Paul and Controller Yee discuss the importance of the relationship between the State and Counties of California and how the...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 22
•
30:01
Episode 21- An Interview with Bob Stern, An Influencer of California Politics
In the latest episode of Hometown California, RCRC’s Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs, Paul A. Smith, holds a conversation about political reform, the state of California politics, and influential ballot measures in an in...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 21
•
29:50
Episode 20- An Interview with Stacy Corless, Mono County Supervisor
Our host, Paul A. Smith, sits down for a conversation with the 2021 Chair of RCRC, Mono County Supervisor Stacy Corless. After facing a year of devastating wildfires, a global pandemic, and the resulting changes to everyday life, w...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 20
•
27:11
Episode 19- The Intersection of the UC and Rural California, An Interview with Michael V. Drake, M.D.- The 21st President of the University of California
In this episode, our host, Paul A. Smith speaks with the Dr. Michael V. Drake, the 21st President of the University of California about the intersection of the UC and rural communities of the Golden State. For many rural communiti...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 19
•
33:58
Episode 18- Ballot Measure Wrap Up 2020, Insights from Jeremy B. White of Politico
California voters decided the fate of twelve ballot measures during the 2020 General Election this year. In August, our host, Paul A. Smith, spoke with Jeremy B. White of Politico in a two-part series during which we looked at each ballot measu...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 18
•
44:33
Episode 17- Representing Rural California in the Legislature
In this episode, our host, Paul A. Smith, sits down with Assembly Member Frank Bigelow for a conversation about his experience being a representative for rural California in the State Legislature. Assembly Member Bigelow shares abo...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 17
•
35:05
Episode 16- Post-Election Review - The Known, The Expected, and What Hangs in the Balance
On Thursday, as election votes were being counted, our host, Paul A. Smith, spoke with National Journal Hotline Editor-in-Chief, Leah Askarinam about what we reliably know, what is expected based on trends and counts so far, and ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 16
•
53:44
Episode 15- Election Predictions and Early Voting Trends
Just days before the 2020 Election, our host Paul A. Smith, speaks with Leah Askarinam of the National Journal to take one last look at polling and trends leading up to Election Day. With early voting well underway in many ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 15
•
44:19
Episode 14- Managing California's Forests and Wildlands in Trying Times
Our host, Paul A. Smith, speaks with Randy Moore, head of the Pacific Southwest Region (Region 5) of the U.S. Forest Service, about the work of managing California's forests and wildlands in these trying times of record-setting wildfires amid a...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 14
•
21:42
Episode 13- Advocating for America's Counties, A Discussion with NACo CEO and Executive Director Matt Chase
During a visit to Washington D.C. in early October, our host, Paul A. Smith, sat down with Matt Chase, CEO and Executive Director of the National Association of Counties (NACo), RCRC's national advocacy partner, for a conversation about the imp...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 13
•
36:38
Episode 12- An Insider's Look at the Closing Weeks of the 116th Congress
In a typical election year, Congress would break by October 1st, as members hit the campaign trail. But 2020 has proved again and again to be anything but typical. Our host, RCRC's Paul A. Smith, sits down with two of the most respected...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 12
•
38:49
Episode 11- Election Check-In with Leah Askarinam of the National Journal
With less than 30 days until the November election, our host and RCRC’s Vice President of Governmental Relations, Paul A. Smith, speaks with Leah Askarinam for an election check-in. Recorded on the day President Trump was diagnosed with...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 11
•
46:50
Episode 10- U.S. House Races, Election 2020
In the third installment of our opening series about the 2020 Election, our host, Paul A. Smith, once again speaks to Leah Askarinam, Hotline Editor-in-Chief for the National Journal in Washington D.C.. Paul and Leah examine key races for open ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 10
•
25:42
Episode 09- The Battle for the U.S. Senate 2020
In the second episode of our series on the 2020 National Election, our host, Paul A. Smith, continues the conversation with Leah Askarinam, Hotline Editor-in-Chief of the National Journal in Washington D.C.Together, Paul and Leah ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 9
•
35:59
Episode 08- The Race for the White House 2020 with Leah Askarinam
In this first of three episodes about the 2020 General Election, our host, Paul A. Smith, speaks with Leah Askarinam, Hotline Editor-in-Chief of the National Journal in Washington D.C., about the 2020 Race for the White House.Examining ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
44:09
Episode 07- End of Session Wrap Up, The 2020 California Legislature
The California Legislature is on recess as the tumultuous 2020 Legislative Session has come to a close. Tempers flared and the clock ran out as lawmakers worked late into the night on Monday to pass legislation before the midnight hour. After s...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 7
•
36:28