North Bay Report 3

Today we conclude our conversation with Sonoma County Sheriff candidate, and current Santa Rosa City Councilmember Ernesto Olivares. KRCB news director Steve Mencher asked Olivares how he plans to improve diversity within the county sheriff’s office.We’ll hear from candidates John Mutz and Mark Essick in coming days.If no candidate receives a majority of votes on June 5, a runoff will take place in November. Find more on this and other stories at KRCB.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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Yesterday, we talked with Santa Rosa City Council Member Ernesto Olivares. He’s one of three candidates for Sonoma County sheriff. Today, news director Steve Mencher continues that conversation.The first phase of the election happens June 5 – a runoff will take place in November if no candidate receives a majority of votes. More at KRCB.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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Sheriff Rob Giordano will be handing the keys to the jail and other trappings of his office to someone else next year.

With a primary scheduled for June 5, we’re going to be talking over the next few weeks with all three candidates for Sheriff of Sonoma County.

Ernesto Olivares is a Santa Rosa city council member whose long service on the Santa Rosa police department prepares him, he says, for the role of Sheriff. There’s another part of his background that makes him unique, as he told KRCB News Director Steve Mencher.

More from Santa Rosa City Council Member and County Sheriff candidate Ernesto Olivares tomorrow. Find more at KRCB.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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Today is the final day of a three day meeting on the Sonoma State Campus called – Living with Fire in California’s Coast Ranges. Today is for field trips, while the first two days were packed with presentations on the science, behavior and history of fire. Speakers emphasized information on protecting our homes and communities from fire. News director Steve Mencher attended one of the sessions and has this report.

Find more on fire recovery and prevention at KRCB.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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

According to Mayor Chris Coursey, one part of Santa Rosa has supplied more than 90 percent of its city councilmembers. That’s about to change.

This fall, the Santa Rosa City Council begins a process that will eventually result in every councilmember representing a specific geographic area. Currently, they are all “at large.” Mayor Chris Coursey is one of those standing for election this year – and he spoke to KRCB news director Steve Mencher about how the new district system will work.

There are 4 remaining districts which will elect their representatives in 2020. More, at KRCB.orb/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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

There was wide agreement that the White House doctor didn’t have the skills to lead the country’s second largest agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs. So what would it take?

After the failed nomination of Admiral Ronny Jackson to lead the VA, we invited an expert on the veterans’ healthcare system to talk with us. Suzanne Gordon told KRCB News Director Steve Mencher what experience she believes is needed to lead the VA – and what is at stake in the choice.

Suzanne Gordon’s next book, due out this fall, is Wounds of War – How the VA Delivers Health, Healing and Hope to the Nation’s Veterans. Find a link to Suzanne Gordon’s latest book at KRCB.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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Behind the nomination of the White House physician to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, there was the suspicion that the president was looking for an ally in privatizing veterans’ health delivery.

Suzanne Gordon is a journalist and author who often writes about health. Her latest book is The Battle for Veterans’ Healthcare. Gordon spoke with KRCB News Director Steve Mencher, and suggested who might benefit if long-standing conservative plans for privatization take hold.

Find a link to Suzanne Gordon’s latest book at KRCB.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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat earned a Pulitzer Prize this year for its gutsy and wide-ranging coverage of October’s fires. As he celebrated that achievement, the paper’s Editorial Director, Paul Gullixson, was leaving after two decades to become Associate Vice President of Strategic Communications at Sonoma State. He talked with KRCB News Director Steve Mencher about the P-D’s proud moment.

Paul Gullixson describes his new gig at KRCB.org/News, where you’ll also find links to fire coverage from the Press Democrat and from KRCB. 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Six months after the North Bay fires, experts will converge on Rohnert Park next week for a Symposium aimed at improving our understanding of fire ecology.

“Living with Fire in California’s Coast Ranges” – that’s the title of a Symposium at Sonoma State beginning Monday May 7. For three days, experts from throughout the West will talk about fire in the region – including ways we can mitigate the damage it causes during catastrophes like October’s Wine Country fires.

Two of the women helping organize the Symposium joined KRCB News Director Steve Mencher for a preview of the event. Claudia Luke is with the Sonoma State Center for Environmental Inquiry.

You can find a link to registration for the event on our website at KRCB.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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Napa County may not have been hit as hard as Sonoma by the October wildfires, but it was the second major disaster in the county in four years. On today’s North Bay Report, we conclude this week’s Fire Recovery Series by looking at how an earthquake helped the Napa Valley Community Foundation prepare for the 2017 Wine Country fires. J. Mateo Baker files this report.

Find out how to connect with the Napa Valley Community Foundation by visiting krcb.org/news where you can also find links to more of our stories about the fires and the ongoing recovery. 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.