Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Mike Coldani at his Lodi, California ranch, where he and his family farm more than 1,000 acres and produce award-winning, organically-grown olive oil .By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California is an anthology of 250 poems about California’s ecosystems. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer for a chat with Los Osos-based poet Jackie Marcus. Her work is included in the collection, which serves to propel environmental awareness through evocative poetry.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

In this Journeys episode, Sparta, Tennessee-based Olympic freestyle kayaker Eric Jackson talks with correspondent Tom Wilmer about his extreme kayaking passion and simultaneously owning a multimillion-dollar kayak manufacturing company. Rangers at two of Tennessee’s most popular state parks, Fall Creek Falls and Standing Stone , share insights ...…

On this week's Issues and Ideas : Monday marks the transition from Jerry Brown to Gavin Newsom as California's next governor; we'll hear stories about "Brownisms" and Newsom promises. Tyler Pratt reports on a new California prison integration program has inmates' families worried for their safety. And Greta Mart attends a recent public forum on ...…

Correspondent Tom Wilmer continues his reporting from the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from Cookeville, Tennessee, situated in an area of the state known fondly as Upper Cumberland.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

SLO NightWriters is a San Luis Obispo County-based group of authors, poets and screenwriters. Its mission is to "advance quality writing, promote publication, and expand author recognition in a forum that nurtures a spirit of community for all its members," and the group meets monthly in San Luis Obispo. In this segment, correspondent Tom Wilme ...…

The Quick Pickle Kit is designed specifically to generate income for nonprofit organizations and schools via home pickling. Any fresh garden produce imaginable—from carrots to seaweed, along the classic cucumber—is fair game for pickling.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

After two years of construction, the new $39 million San Luis Obispo Airport terminal opened on November 1 , 2017. One year later, the airport has been named the fifth-fastest growing airport in the U.S., and the seventh-fastest growing regional airport in North America, by Airports Council International—North America. Join correspondent Tom Wi ...…

Central Coast winemaker and grower Mike Sinor started working as a cellar-rat while attending Cal Poly State University back in the early 1990s. Today Sinor and his wife Cheri grow organic grapes on the old Bassi Ranch Vineyard near Avila Beach, and operate their Sinor-LaVallee tasting room in uptown Avila, located a block from the beach. Join ...…

San Francisco’s Tenderloin District is one of San Francisco’s least-understood neighborhoods. Long a magnet for homelessness, drug dealers and prostitution, community activists are creating safe spaces and rapidly transforming their neighborhood block-by-block.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

Spud Hilton served as the San Francisco Chronicle’s travel editor for past nine years. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer for a visit with Hilton as he talks about experiencing the legendary Tenderloin District .By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

In our final installment about life on base at U.S. Army Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County, correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with troops assigned to full-time duty at the fort.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

The tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain are in port in Morro Bay, California until December 18. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer aboard the Lady Washington for a visit with Captain J.B. Smith, 3 rd Mate Eric Dowell, and David Livingstone, chief mate aboard the Hawaiian Chieftain.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

Federal firefighters based at Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County are trained to respond to a wide array of emergencies, including range, forest and structure fires, medical emergencies, aircraft incidents and mutual aid response to the surrounding region in Lockwood Valley. Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with firefighters Greg Fryer and Ja ...…

For many artists, finding a way to earn a living is a proverbial struggle. Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with two artists who specialize in expressing their creativity with clay, and both have found divergent ways to make a viable living.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

Sergio Cuadra spent 20 years honing the art and craft of winemaking in Chili before mastering hot-climate grape growing at Fall Creek Vineyards in the heart of the Highland Lakes region of Texas. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer for a chat with Cuadra.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

Texas-based country and western musician John Arthur Martinez has written more than 700 songs, and produced 13 albums including his latest, " San Antonio Woman ." One of Martinez’s songs went cosmic—accompanying the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

The Highland Lakes region of the Texas Hill Country is less than an hour from Austin, but it’s a world apart.By tomwilmer@aol.com (Tom Wilmer).

Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Brian Neumann, Ph.D., a historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair in Washington D.C. Newmann talks about General Hunter Liggett, who was second-in-command of the Army’s World War 1 American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Liggett was a visionary tactician who transformed field tact ...…