Dear Member,
   As the New Year swings into full gear there are a number of projects underway at KRCB. Some you may have heard about, others may be new; all of them have been developed in conjunction with our community, responding to needs and opportunities.

   We mentioned last month the new emergency generator at KRCB. You’ll see the picture on page 7. Thanks to PBS and the community donors.'

   KRCB Live! is swinging into its second season with two great shows/recordings in January. We caught Darryl Purpose at Main Stage West in Sebastopol and worked with the Green Music Center to present and record Helen Jane Long later in the month. In response to community request that KRCB feature local and visiting artists in a way that is accessible to the entire community, KRCB is presenting these and other artists on television and on radio. And you’ll be able to check out the performances at krcb.org as well.

   As Cheryl Scholar has shared elsewhere in this issue, two other major undertakings are underway. Look for all the different ways we will be introducing and enjoying the poetry of Emily Dickinson in the month of March as well as the imminent launch of KRCB’s Health Connections Initiative.

   Really, loads going on and your support makes it happen. The community that works together, works.

Dear Member,
   By the time you read this, KRCB will be the proud new owner of an emergency back-up generator—delivered and installed. Thanks to PBS and the generous support of some 25 folks in the community, the project is complete.
   But much more than the generator itself, the equipment signals to the entire North Bay area that KRCB North Bay Public Media is ready to serve the entire community in time of an emergency. We know that the storms in early December left thousands without power, roads closed, and a near-miss on flooding. KRCB receives from the schools reports of school closures, and from the counties information on shelters when needed.
   One of the most frightening things about an emergency is not knowing; with this new capacity, KRCB pledges to our community that we will do everything we can to provide you with accurate and timely information. We also encourage you to meet with your immediate neighbors and exchange contact information so you can support one another at your very local level.
   Accurate, timely information in an emergency; we’re here for you.

Dear Member,
   This has been an incredibly productive and exciting year for KRCB as we seek to chart a new course for North Bay Public Media. Of course, we continued our 20-year tradition of extensive election coverage in both June and November; thanks to huge efforts by News Director Bruce Robinson we interviewed the candidates in all contested City Council races throughout Sonoma County.

   The year brought another Emmy for our Natural Heroes and a record number of PBS stations carrying the series.  Our series on “Watersheds in the North Bay” has met with very positive responses, and our live presentation of the opening weekend concerts at the Green Music Center went off without a hitch. And the premiere of our coproduction Rebels With A Cause is being followed by film festivals and screenings (details opposite page).

   Our Health Connections community and programming initiatives are taking shape as we work with the County of Sonoma, KBBF-FM, and Community Action Partnership.  We are reaching out to the business and philanthropic community for support for this multi year initiative building on the good work of the County’s Health Action Council.

All in all, we feel we are charting a course into a new future for public media, expanding the nature of our service to community.  Your continued support and contributions will help bring this vision of the future into reality.

Dear Member,

   We have been absolutely thrilled and overwhelmed by the reaction to our co-production of the documentary film, Rebels With A Cause. Inspired by Marty Griffin’s book Saving the Marin Sonoma Coast, and produced by the brilliant team of Kelly-Yamamoto, the premiere was held at this year’s Mill Valley Film Festival, where the reactions ranged from “awesome” to “inspired.”

   To make the premiere even more special, many of the “Rebels” were with us. The audience brought the house down when these incredible visionaries were
introduced. Not a dry eye in the house.

Rebels exemplifies all the best of KRCB: an important local story that many have been forgotten or never known; celebrating individual accomplishment on behalf of (not on the backs of) local community; and remarkable cinematography. It is accomplishments such as this that your support makes possible.

   We ask that, as you are considering year end gifts, you remember the remarkable fact that we in the North Bay have our own PBS and NPR stations dedicated to the quality of our lives and our communities. As always, your generosity is valued and appreciated.