Monday, May 21, 2012

Los Hilos de la Vida

Aired on NPR's Latino USA on May 18, 2012.

http://www.futuromediagroup.org/lusa/?s=los+hilos+ 

My favorite quilters hit the air again, talking about immigration and religion and becoming artists in rural Mendocino County.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Arcata Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary...and Wastewater Treatment System

Aired on The California Report magazine on May 4, 2012:

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201205041630/b

In most cities, waste treatment plants are unwelcome and often controversial. The concrete and steel facilities can be ugly -- and smelly. But that is not the case up on the North Coast, where the City of Arcata built an eco-friendly wastewater system right on scenic Humboldt Bay. But this system is so popular, people have gotten married on its grounds. 

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

"Tresspass" Marijuana Grows Targeted by NorCal Community Groups

Aired on The California Report on Thursday, April 5, 2012.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201204050850/a

Fort Bragg Councilman Jere Melo loved the woods.  That's why, even after he retired from a career in forestry, he took on contract work patrolling private timberland. He often looked for signs of illegal marijuana grow sites, and he became increasingly concerned about their negative impact on the environment and public safety.  Last August 27, he was on such a patrol, but he didn't find a marijuana garden.  Instead, a mentally disturbed man who was reportedly tending a field of opium poppies shot and killed him.  After Melo's death, his widow Madeline started the Jere Melo Foundation to educate the public about her late husband's passion: keeping the forests free of illegal marijuana grows.  The organization hosted its first public forum at the end of March.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Mendocino Salt Farmers

Aired on The Splendid Table on February 18, 2012.

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/listings/120218/

A couple in their 50s have to reinvent their careers and want to stay on the Mendociono Coast.  What do they take on?  Salt farming, of course.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Funding Cuts Would Keep Rural Kids Waiting for the Bus

Aired on The California Report on the morning of Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201201240850/b

Before dawn on January 24th, two school buses full of students and a caravan of community members from rural Humboldt County began a five-hour trek to Sacramento. They're protesting the decision to eliminate all state funding for school buses as part of the budget-balancing trigger cuts.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Filipino-American Parol Lanterns

Aired on The California Report on December 23, 2011.

http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201112231630/c

Just a few blocks from San Francisco's shopping mania, the Bayanihan Community Center is filled with people engaged in a much more traditional activity -- hand-making star-shaped lanterns out of bamboo and tissue paper. During the Christmas season, many Filipino-American homes display the colorful star shaped lanterns called parols. Parols have a long history in the Philippines, but the holiday symbol isn't so well known in California. Now a community center in San Francisco is encouraging people to reconnect to this tradition, by making their own parols, and sharing them with the community.