Conservation Corps

Job training and education go hand in hand for Conservation Corps North Bay, the rebranded Marin Conservation Corps which has recently expanded to serve Sonoma County, too.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Marilee Eckert, Executive Director of the newly renamed Conservation Corps North Bay, says it is well-positioned to grow into a regional service agency.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Eckert anticipates bringing many of the programs the organization has already established in Marin into Sonoma County under their new banner, such as their youth recycling crew, which is already at work at some Sonoma County parks and schools.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

KBBF Election

Even after a court-monitored election for a new board of directors, Santa Rosa's non-commercial and bilingual radio station KBBF remains deeply divided as it struggles to survive.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Former KBBF interim general manager Jesus Lozano (right) resigned his position when his legal history became public locally.

In a bit of broadcasting license legerdemain, KBBF has agreed to swap its official FCC-registered legal hometown in Santa Rosa with Sinclair Broadcasting's KSXY-FM (now broadcasting as Y98.7, an adult top 40 station) in Calistoga. KBBF attorney Gregory Wonderwheel explains what the change means for the station.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Wonderwheel adds that the payment from Sinclair to KBBF will help the noncommercial Spanish-language station pay for some repairs and improvements that were ordered after the City of Santa Rosa annexed the property where the KBBF studios stand.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Water Agency Governance

After 20 years as a director of the Sonoma County Water Agency, departing Sonoma County Supervisor Tim Smith thinks there's a better way to govern that key department.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

It is unclear if anyone on the new Board of Supervisors is prepared to take up this issue and champion it, but if and when someone does, Smith says some of the political groundwork has already been laid.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Smith says the Sonoma County Transportation Agency could be used as a successful model for a more broadly shared governance of a similar agency dedicated to managing all the county's water infrastructure and related endeavors.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Business Resolutions

New year's resolutions aren't just for individuals; local businesses also can, and quite possibly should, pledge to take fresh actions in 2009.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Ben Stone, Executive Director of the Sonoma County Economic Development Board (above) offers this advice to business owners as the new year begins:

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

For workers, 2009 will also likely be an unsettled year. In the following audio clip, Stone suggests some creative approaches to keeping paychecks coming for those who may find themselves "downsized."

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!