Can a smartphone app help freelancers avoid the dreaded “feast or famine” cycle? The creator of Brief says, yes.

For creative freelancers, the sales side of their business is often the most challenging. A new smartphone app, under development here in the North Bay, is out to make that easier for them.

To download the Beta version of Brief, and find out more about it, visit the North Bay Report webpage at krcb.org/news. 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.

Co-working isn’t new, but it’s expanding rapidly in Sonoma County.

As the “gig economy” expands in Sonoma County, new co-working spaces are opening to serve those workers and meet a growing demand.

You can read the EDB’s Co-Working report on the North Bay Report webpage at krcb.org/news. 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.

Individual entrepreneurial enterprise is on the upswing.

Technology and social media are enabling freelancers and other one-person businesses to prosper and proliferate, empowering individuals and changing the nature of employment. In the first of a three part series of reports, KRCB’s Bruce Robinson looks at what’s being called the “gig economy.”

Hear more about this issue on the North Bay Report webpage at krcb.org/news. 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.

Farm workers will soon be enjoying new protections from pesticides.

This week the federal government released new rules extending the pesticide protections enjoyed by most Americans to farm workers. But, the changes in California won’t be as drastic as elsewhere.

Find out more on the North Bay Report webpage at krcb.org/news. 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.

Sweeping bills to boost mental health in America are on the table in Congress, but will they take action on them?

The Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 is one of three similar bills awaiting action in Washington, D.C that have the potential to support and expand mental health services here in the North Bay.

Find out more about these measures on the North Bay Report webpage at krcb.org/news. 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.

Two of the three herds of Tule Elk at Point Reyes National Seashore are flourishing and growing—and that’s creating problems.

The conflict between wilderness and commercial uses of land within the Point Reyes National Seashore is heating up again—this time the focal point is competition for food between cattle and a protected species of elk.

You can read the full Bay Nature article—and hear more form author Alison Hawkes--on the North Bay Report webpage at krcb.org/news. 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.

Saving rainwater is boosting fire safety in the small west county town of Bodega.

A low-tech addition to the new Bodega Fire station is expanding their fire-fighting capabilities, while protecting the town’s water supply.

We’ve got pictures of the Bodega Fire Department’s rainwater catchment system on the North Bay Report webpage at krcb.org/news. 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.

Researchers are finding ways for technology to improve the lives of zoo animals too.

On today’s North Bay Report we hear of a partnership between primate researchers at Sonoma State and keepers at the Oakland Zoo. It's all about making the lives of their lemurs a bit more interesting.

To see pictures of the installation and learn more about the collaboration, visit our website: at krcb.org/news. 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.

Invasive plant and animal species can hurt crops, change landscapes, and alter habitats. But that needn’t mean they are all bad.

From the emergence of animals to the development of agriculture, new species have regularly displaced their predecessors. So it may be time to rethink the viability of restoring lost or disappearing ecosystems.

Hear more from Tao Orion on the North Bay Report webpage at krcb.org/news. 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.

Efforts to root out invasive plants and restore native ecosystems are difficult and expensive. They are also doomed to fail, unless we understand why the new arrivals are thriving.

Tao Orion spoke recently at the Heirloom Festival in Santa Rosa. She’s got more to offer on the North Bay Report webpage at krcb.org/news. 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.