A kit full of items to calm overstimulated kids on the autism spectrum is now available at a few Sonoma County restaurants, with more expected to follow.

Dining out with children who get overstimulated or impatient can present challenges for any parent; even more so for parents of children on the autism spectrum. A new program, being introduced in a few Santa Rosa area restaurants, is addressing that situation.

Find this story on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

A unique Marin County art gallery specializes in showcasing bad art.

Have you ever gone into an art gallery and seen a particular work of art and thought... "Huh?" For one Marin County couple that’s the exact effect they want to get. KRCB’s Tiffany Camhi reports.

Find a link to the online gallery and photos of some of the art described in the story on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

“Of One Soul” is an interfaith initiative in Sonoma County.

The local grass-roots interfaith effort to countermand anti-Islam rhetoric is gaining momentum, support, and recognition.

Find a link to the “Friendship Not Fear,” letter, as well as details about the Sunday event on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

A new book dissects the problems that led to rock and roll’s most notorious concert: Altamont.

The Rolling Stones’ infamous 1969 free concert at the Altamont speedway has become mythologized as “the end of the 60s,” a symbolic counterweight to the romanticized images of peace, love and Woodstock. But a detailed new book from veteran San Francisco music writer Joel Selvin shows that the full story of the event is much more complicated.

Joel Selvin will talk about his new book at Copperfield’s in Petaluma tomorrow night at 7 pm. He’s also got more to say about Altamont on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

From an unusual electronic instrument to the acoustic piano and back again, Marin composer and Musician Suzanne Ciani’s career has come full circle.

Bolinas-based composer Suzanne Ciani has achieved success and earned five Grammy nominations for her New Age piano music – but her body of work goes far beyond that one category. Ciani was an early pioneer of the Buchla – an unusual electronic instrument developed here in the Bay Area in the 1960’s. Now thanks to renewed interest… and a recent music reissue…Ciani finds herself returning to her analog sounds. Katie McMurran has her story.

Two of Suzanne Ciani’s live performances from 1975 were recently released on Finders Keepers label. You can hear excerpts and see pictures of the Buchla on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can also find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. You can comment, share and like us there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Sonoma State’s new president, Judy Sakaki, introduced herself to the college’s students and faculty at the yearly convocation Monday morning.

Dr. Judy Sakaki, the newly installed 7th president of Sonoma State University, greeted the campus community yesterday at the annual convocation, which marks the beginning of the new academic year. KRCB’s Bruce Robinson was there, and filed this report.

We’ve also posted the audio of President Sakaki’s entire speech on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can also find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. You can comment, share and like us there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Sea snails in tide pools may be a helpful indicator of the consequences of ocean acidification for lower forms of ocean fauna.

Increasing acidity in the world’s oceans is affecting far more than coral reefs. A local researcher is studying how changing pH in seawater may alter the balance of life in tide pools along the North Coast.

See pictures of the snails and their predators on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can also find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. You can comment, share and like us there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews. This story is part of our North Bay Bountiful initiative.

Cannabis is already big business in Sonoma County, so local officials are scrambling to enact needed regulations for it before the industry grows even bigger.

With new legislation at last providing uniform statewide guidelines for medical marijuana in California, and the possibility of legalizing recreational use on the November ballot, cannabis is attaining new visibility in the business community. But that is accompanied by a great deal of uncertainty, which was a big part of the discussion at a Cannabis Impact conference in Rohnert Park this week. Bruce Robinson reports.

Hear more from the Cannabis Impact conference on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can also find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. You can comment, share and like us there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews. This story is part of our North Bay Bountiful initiative.

An important early member of KRCB’s growth and development passed away early this week.

Dyan Ellis Foster was the first Volunteer Coordinator for Chanel 22 Public Television, but had moved on to other creative social and educational projects by the time Radio 91 signed on. One of those was the creation of an innovative charter school, the Arts and Ethics Academy. She talked about it with News Director Bruce Robinson as the doors were about to open in August of 2007.

Dyan Foster, a native of Sonoma County, and a lifelong advocate and leader for at risk youth, was 56. A funeral service and memorial will be held Sunday afternoon at Community Baptist church in Santa Rosa. Find out more on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can also find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. You can comment, share and like us there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews. This story is part of our North Bay Bountiful initiative.

Petaluma’s World Centric receives recognition for its work to raise awareness of social and environmental issues. Find out why they do it on the next North Bay Report, airing at 6:18 and 8:18 am and 5:30 pm. Or find it online at krcb.org

Most people recognize Petaluma based World Centric as a provider of compostable packaging to cafes, restaurants and retailers. But the core value of the company is to educate the public on environmental, sustainability and global world health issues. KRCB’s Tiffany Camhi reports on how that work is being recognized.

Find out more about World Centric’s products and local events on the North Bay Report webpage at KRCB dot org/news. Hear this story on demand with our free KRCB mobile app. You can also find this and past stories on our new North Bay Report Facebook page. You can comment, share and like us there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews. This story is part of our North Bay Bountiful initiative.