This was a piece written by SOTRU Radio Producer, Tina Antolini, about her time in the human-occupied tunnels running under Las Vegas. It’s an incredibly fascinating concept if you were to think of it as a diorama; tourists from all over the world in and out of the monstrous casinos and other celebrated spots that you associate with The Strip directly above people making their homes in the dark, wet, flash flood tunnels that run under the city. It feels more like something from a movie. The episode is fascinating and explores this underground world. You can listen here. Tina’s piece below, originally appeared on our website December 23rd, 2010.

---

I’ve been thinking a lot about tunnels.

Entrances to an underground world, a place far away from sunlight, and, therefore, in our imaginations, they’re places that must incubate things that love the dark. Fearful things.

Culturally, we’re fascinated with the prospect of a subterranean world. Be it the hiding place of Jean Valjean, the hero of Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables” (“…Paris has another Paris under herself; a Paris of sewers; which has its streets, its crossings, its squares, its blind alleys, its arteries, and its circulation, which is slime, minus the human form.”) or the home of monsters in “C.H.U.D.” (that would be for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller), a cult film about flesh-eating underground creatures who prey on the homeless, or, on the opposite end of the cinematic spectrum, the grain-hoarding raincoat-wearing vegans of “Delicatessen.”

The truth is less glamorous and/or frightening… but equally fascinating. Among the stories SOTRU is reporting on in Las Vegas is one of the underground world beneath the casinos, the miles of flood channels that lace their way under the Strip. These are home to hundreds of people.

Many of whom have surprisingly home-like homes.

But most of these tunnel residents are forced down here because of a variety of misfortunes, economic and otherwise. Usually, one does not choose to live 30+ feet underground for the heck of it.

We’ll tell you a lot more about life in the tunnels in our upcoming Las Vegas episode… But in the meantime, I wanted to know: what’s your favorite tunnel story, real or imagined?

Operation New Hope is such an incredible organization and has even become a national model for solving recidivism challenges. It was originally explored in our episode, Jacksonville – The Bold New City of the South? – and SOTRU guest contributor, Alina Kodatt, caught up with the organization’s founder, Kevin Gay, last December to see what had changed for them since the episode. We want to be sure that you didn’t miss it! Additionally, we will soon be starting a new feature on our website called Radio Re:Visit. It will highlight some of the people and organizations that were part of our radio episodes, so that we can get a sense for where they are now and if anything has changed since we last spoke.

Below is Alina’s conversation with Kevin that we originally published on 12.06.10:

---

In State of the Re:Union’s third pilot episode, Al Letson explored his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. In that episode Al introduced readers to Operation New Hope (ONH), an organization located in the historic downtown neighborhood of Springfield. Focused on bringing hope to ex-offenders through employment and rebuilding dilapidated homes in the community, ONH has received national attention for their model of bringing help and hope to their community. We were so inspired by their story the first time around that we recently caught up with ONH director Kevin Gay to get an update on their efforts. (more…)

Marietta Synodis started as an intern for SOTRU and is now our Senior Researcher. She has a knack for finding great stories and in the course of researching for our Los Angeles episode, found an incredibly helpful, community building social media effort called Hidden Los Angeles. Check out Marietta’s post about Hidden Los Angeles and be sure to let us know how you feel about it and about what may be similar efforts in your hometown below.

---

Having grown up in San Diego, I definitely have engaged in anti-LA sentiment more times than I should probably admit. You know, it’s so polluted, cement everywhere, wallets (and bodies) full of plastic, Los Angel-less, and lest I not forget the unbearable traffic, traffic, TRAFFIC!  We all know the stereotypes.  But in doing research for our LA episode, I came across the website Hidden Los Angeles: “embracing the depth beneath the shallow.” OK, interest piqued. And, as is often the case with the internet, I found myself an hour later still looking through all the vintage photos, event listings, and intriguing collateral posted throughout the site. (more…)

The New York Times published an article yesterday titled, “As the Mountaintops Fall, a Coal Town Vanishes.” It discusses the devastating effects of mountain top removal mining, in this case, on Lindytown, West Virginia. In our 2010 Fall Season, we visited Lindytown for the Appalachia Rising episode and discussed in great detail the toll that the town, and the surrounding area, had taken and continues to take as a result of mountain top removal mining.

The thing that really stood out to us at SOTRU, was learning of the passing of Lawrence Richmond who so graciously invited us into his home and spoke to us during the recording of the episode. Rest in peace Lawrence and our deepest sympathies to the Richmond family.

Radio Producer Tina Antolini’s post from October of 2010, about her time in Appalachia seemed appropriate to share upon hearing this news:

---

We all know what it’s like to be homesick—that bittersweet pang of longing for a place so familiar it feels part of us. Estranged from it, at certain moments it seems almost as if we are estranged from ourselves. But what’s it like to feel homesick when you’ve never left home? When, instead, your home has changed around you? (more…)

We are excited to announce that Al and Tina are wrapping things up in warm Miami (Al has been working hard and deserved a balmy climate for our final spring stop), the last city on our 2011 Spring Season itinerary. Al and our all-star team of radio producers have collected incredible stories of community and the resiliency and devotion of people meeting challenges head on . . . and creating solutions. Come along this Spring as we visit:

• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Birmingham, Alabama
• Utica, New York
• Oakland, California
• Miami, Florida

Watch our newest short documentaries shot in Birmingham about the incredible stories of Red Mountain and Scrollworks and read the breakdown of all five upcoming Spring Season episodes on our Season 2 Preview page!

Go ahead, we know you’re a leader, get the conversation started! SOTRU would love to get your thoughts on the episodes when they are made available, our newest documentaries and all things SOTRU and community related.

Water permeates every aspect of life. The chemical substance is essential for survival, covers more than 70% of our planet’s surface, composes anywhere from 55% to 78% of our bodies and epitomizes Bruce Lee’s philosophy on life. It is even a direct connection to the stars, as much of the universe’s water is produced as a byproduct of star formation. It’s amazing that a substance so abundant carries vastly different meanings from community to community.

Some places build their economy around a body of water while for others, the disbursement of water is an ancient, sacred and challenging practice. The needs, uses, esteem . . . all present a vast range. Can you imagine explaining to someone twenty-five years ago what a huge industry bottled water would become? Anecdotes surrounding water are endless.

While it has been a source of division in some cases, it generally is something that brings people together. Think about the times you have spent at your local watering hole swimming, plunging in from a rope swing, fishing or time spent at the seemingly endless ocean just taking in the view, surfing, walking, thinking, bonding.

We Want to Know:

• Besides being a necessity of your survival, what role does water play in your life?
• How important is water or a body of water in your community? Please explain.

Start the conversation by commenting below!

Pictory, a website that captures user’s stories in incredilbe, high-quality photos, did this piece about water called In Deep. We’re looking forward to hearing what you to say. Get the discussion started!

Featured image on home page by Serrah Russell for Pictory.

Utica is not a city that makes many outsize claims these days. There’s a pervasive sense that a lot of the city’s glory days are in the past, that the time when people boasted about Utica with words like “best” and “biggest” are long gone. Except… when it comes to food. Economic hard times or not, this is a city that takes its eating seriously. Maybe that’s because it was home to so many Italians… (more…)

and for the Somali Community in the Twin Cities where autism is so prevalent among its children.

When researching stories for SOTRU’s Twin Cities episode, there was one story that the entire team couldn’t stop thinking about after hearing it: within the large community of Somali immigrants that live in the Minneapolis area, there is an alarming trend of autism among their children.

We told the story of a mother, Idil Abdul, turned activist, and a father, Abdi Hassan, who has dedicated his life to the special needs of his child. In the spring of 2009 the Minnesota Department of Health conducted a limited study. As Al says in the segment, “In some ways, the study created more questions than it answers.” After all, the big question, the “Why of Autism” is something the world is still trying to figure out. The public health professionals conceded that even the baseline of whether someone has autism or not is hard to determine.

The segment ended with Al lamenting how there has been talk of several in-depth studies researching what might be happening with these Somali children, but, at the time, nothing concrete had evolved.

However, we were all recently elated to hear the news this month that there is now an in-depth study set to happen!

We got an excited email from Idil letting us know that on Tuesday Jan 18th, 2011, the  Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Health of Institute (NIH) and Autism Speaks announced a study of Autism and Somali children in Minnesota. As Idil wrote to us, “Any family that has a child or children in our case knows it is no day at the park and no parent should accept autism is an unsolved puzzle.  We must find cause, cure and better treatments.” With this study, there is a chance for progress on that front!

You can read more about the study in the Star Tribune or on the Autism Speaks website.

State of the Re:Union is excited to announce that our Black History Month special, “Bayard Rustin – Who Is This Man?” will be airing on public radio stations across the country during January, February and March.

August 28^th, 1963 will forever be tied to Martin Luther King Jr.’s hallowed “I Have a Dream Speech.” This historic moment would probably have never come to fruition if it weren’t for a man standing in King’s shadow, Mr. Bayard Rustin. (more…)

For Veterans Day, SOTRU produced a special radio hour that goes beyond the news headlines to tell stories of the emotion, challenges and victories that occur when soldiers return home from duty.

From reflecting on their experiences and healing wounds in unexpected ways to providing purpose and support for their brothers and sisters in arms, this episode explores how veterans are serving each with the same bravery and courage with which they served our country. (more…)

In the relatively small public radio documentary world, there is one event that serves as a kind of combination Oscars/family reunion/Christmas morning (at least regarding level of excitement): the Third Coast Audio Festival.  Several hundred of the most enthusiastic radio producers in the country (plus a few international folks too!) descend upon Chicago for a couple of days of workshops, listening sessions, and drinking bourbon (well, perhaps that’s an unofficial part of the conference). Just having returned from this year’s festivities, I’m riding on the thrill of connecting with all these other folks who are just as big radio dorks as I am. (There are others out there! Thank God!) (more…)

New Mexico Nonprofit Helps Small Communities Find Their Voice

When I was in high school, I used to write in a little red journal. Whenever I had some spare time, I’d sit and scribble down musings about my life, my family and my neighborhood – knowing that nobody else would read them, but still hoping to get my thoughts out there in the universe. Like most teenagers, I had a busy mind, but I didn’t have much of an audience to share it with.

A few weeks ago, then, I was thrilled to learn that a few students in Taos, NM, are getting a chance to voice their thoughts on the radio – thanks to a nonprofit organization called Cultural Energy. (more…)