KUCI: Ask A Leader

Irvine Museum Turns 20 AND BeSmartee Changes the World

Irvine Museum executive director Jean Stern showcases the treasures of the museum's collection, during this celebration of 20 years in the current exhibit, lasting through June 6th, entitled "Lasting Impressions.." irvinemuseum.org posts visitors on regular hours, special events and tours, and gift store offerings for this museum located at 1881 Von Karman Ave. Suite 100 in Irvine. BeSmartee co-founders Tim Nguyen and Veronica Nguyen, with legacies of hard working parents/grandparents from Vietnam/Mexico, respectively, appear in the second half of the show to talk about how they are encouraging new businesses and new business practices to change the world in ever so many dimensions from their Huntington Beach-based company. besartee.com hosts blogs to continue and expand the discussion of how any venture can give back to community.

School Safety AND Radio Plays at UCI

Irvine Unified School District Board Member Gavin-Huntley; University High School Assistant President Michael Georgino; and University High School PTSA President Marlene Vermeer Campbell talk about the district wide response to hazzards experienced on campuses in general, as well as a particular catastrophe that was averted last year at Uni High. In the second half of the show, Professor Vincent Olivieri, of UCI Claire Trevor Bren School of the the Performing Arts, talks about the The Radio Plays to be performed this February 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. HIs special sound design for theatrical productions experience, and Eli Simon's coodirection as well as special creation of one of the three plays, will be presented as world premiers at UCI's Claire Trevor Theater. Not your grandmother's old time radio, watch and listen how MFA student Stephen Swift accentuates all manner of sounds.

UCI Faculty All Stars Roundtable on Obama’s Inauguration Selections

UCI Political Science professor, Katherine Tate; UCI Humanities Chair of Rhetoric and Communication, Virginia Jackson; and UCI Humanities professor of Twentieth-century poetry, Laura O'Connor present a roundtable and interdisciplinary discussion of the prose, poetry, and music offered yesterday in President Obama's second inauguration.

Civic Minded Cycling AND Great Park Redirection?

Cynthia Rose, Director of Santa Monica Spoke (smspoke.org) shows how municipal leadership and local activism translates into the Ocean Park Blvd. Green Street Project; the Santa Monica Bike Center; and over all improvements to how the city's transit infrastructure performs. Watch for: the next CycLAvia (4/21/13) extending all the way to the sea; Santa Monica's Michigan Avenue Greenway; and Santa Monica's Bike Action Plan. More cycling information is available on Bike Talk podcasts. Recently re-elected Irvine City Council Member Beth Krom considers the impact of the new composition of the Council on the further development of the Orange County Great Park and its programs. The Park's Board of Directors no longer seats members at large from beyond Irvine, and is comprised of only the 5 City Council members. The 10 year relationship with the Forde and Mollrich, and Townsend Public Affairs firms is ended. All Park contracts over $50,000 will be auditited. The current vision for the Park is yet to be disclosed. The Council meetings can be viewed on Cox Cable channel 30; U-Verse Channel 99; and ICTV Podcasts on line on the City Council website. Today would have been Martin Luther King, Jr's 84 birthday.

Finances AND Firearms

Deborah Dickson, CPA and President of SmithDickson in Irvine, CA; distills the affects of the American Tax Payer Relief Act of 2012 on individuals and their businesses. smithdickson.com is the website for her firm. Charles Blek, President of the Orange County Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence talks about his wife Mary Leigh Blek's and his activism after their son eldest son Matthew was shot killed in a burglary in 1994. Resources and outlets for future acitivism in a time that Blek considers an important moment for gun control regulation include: orangecountybradychapter@gmail.com and wearebetterthanthis.org

Art for the Holidays and Beyond at: Bowers Museum and Museum of Latin American Art

Bowers Museum Vice President of Development and Marketing, Meagan Martinez; talks about the exhibits, Bowers After Hours, performances, films, and lectures presented over the holidays and into 2013. Located at the corner of 20th and Main Streets in Santa Ana, Bowers also offers experiences for young musuem visitors at the Kidseum one block south of this cultural complex. More information is available at bowers.org Stuart Ashman, CEO and President of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach covers the unique setting's origins as well as the exhibits, festivals, lectures, workshops and gastronomic explorations available. molaa.org offers the latest information. Watch for the MOLAA bus, soon to bring children around the LA region to art. Both Bowers and MOLAA present Target Free Sundays, offering free admission on the first Sunday of each month.

Silver Lake Farms AND Environmental Nature Center

For the sustainable you, two special guests aspiring to introduce more ways to make much more with less. First guest, Tara Kolla, owner of Silver Lake Farms (www.silverlakefarms.com), cultivates produce and flowers in her garden and others with surplus turf to meet the needs of Los Angeles households. The Food and Flowers Freedom Act, a breakthrough in legitimizing home produced goods in the market place, was one of her many victories over barriers she has experienced. Watch for her new product line, Seeds to Ceremony, where she locally cultivates flowers for brides to be. Second guest, Lori Whalen, Director of Education at the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach, joins her colleague Leslie Helliwell to talk about current and future activities and projects in which the public can partake, as the center celebrates its 40th anniversary. Recent events include the art of Furoshiki; Yoga in Nature; Full Moon Walks; Winter Camp; Little Naturalists; and the Science Nerd Series. www.encenter.org gets you more information and 1601 E. 16th Street, Newport Beach, gets you there.

SNAP First Impressions; AND Launching the Vietnamese American Oral HIstory Project

On the way toward Thanksgiving and the Winter Holiday fanfare, Patti Wood talks about how to interpret body language and how to deal with the information. "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body, Language & Charisma," is her book published this year by the New World Library. Her blog takes up additional material at www.snapfirstimpressions.com Dr. Thuy Vo Dang, Project Director of the Vietnamese American Oral HIstory Project at UC Irvine's Dept. of Asian American Studies, talks about this project recently launched in Orange County, collecting the stories of Vietnamese immigrants aged 30 and older from around Southern California. Dr. Dang brings many of these narrators to her radio show airing on Mondays at 3:30 pm on VNCR 106.3 fm. Information about offering or taking these narratives is available at www.vaohp.lib.uci.edu