North Bay Report 3

The “Maker” movement was born in Sonoma County and has flourished here.

Sonoma State University has just opened a newly enlarged and enhanced “makerspace.” If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s a place where people can use a variety of tools – from sewing machines to laser cutters to 3-D printers – to collaborate creatively. The National Science Foundation provided a large grant to set up the space in the SSU library – and physics professor Jeremy Qualls provided leadership to get the project off the ground.

SSU physics professor Jeremy Qualls spoke with KRCB news director Steve Mencher about the university’s new maker space. See some photographs of the ribbon cutting 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Through appearances in scary stories, we’ve come to fear bats. That’s despite the fact they help with pest control and rarely threaten humans. Dress as a bat for Halloween if you like, but know they are our friends.

All the flying mammals in the world are bats: the pollinators, the blood-sippers, and the insect-eaters. In Northern California, most bats spend their nights hunting down the kinds of insects people regard as pests. Reporter Sarah Reith tells us more about these voracious nighttime creatures.

Thanks to member station KZYX in Mendocino County for that report – see a bat 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

San Francisco is a company town – with tech and the so called sharing economy determining the details of daily life. A new film covers the political battle to save the last pockets of middle class life in the city.

Filmmakers Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman chronicle a Board of Supervisors race in San Francisco – a race that became something of a last stand for those fighting gentrification in the city. Kaufman and Snitow spoke with KRCB news director Steve Mencher about their film.

Their film Company Town airs on KRCB Monday night at 9. There's 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Our series of conversations with Vietnam veterans continues today. Bob Young was a medical corpsman – and has grappled with PTSD.

On November 9th, KRCB will host a screening of highlights from the Ken Burns Vietnam documentary. As part of this ongoing project, we’ve been talking with local veterans, like Bob Young – who enlisted in the Naval Reserve as a hospital corpsman at the age of 19. Steve Mencher talked with him about his service.

For other Vietnam stories and to reserve a seat for our November 9 screening in Sebastopol, go to krcb.org/Vietnam. There's 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Imagine it’s the late 19th century – and Chinese workers have found their way up the Mendocino Coast. One historian is uncovering their secrets.

In the latter half of the 19th century, the village of Mendocino was home to one of the few large Chinese communities on the Pacific north coast. Mendocino’s Chinatown burned in 1910. But historian Jeff Kan Lee has been documenting the community there. He gave reporter Sarah Reith a tour of the Chinese Taoist temple in Mendocino one recent Saturday afternoon.

This report comes to us from station KZYX in Mendocino County. See photos of the Kwan Tai temple 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

When we hear about services available to those in crisis after our fire event, it seems simple to connect. But those who are stressed the most may not be able to find the help they need.

The psychological toll from our local fires is very much on our minds today, as people return to their neighborhoods to find homes that are destroyed, damaged or unscathed. News director Steve Mencher visited the Santa Rosa Veteran’s Memorial Building and the Sonoma County Fairgrounds yesterday afternoon and has this report.

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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Bright colors and new works of art are featured in Museum of Sonoma County’s Dia de los Muertos exhibit.

The traditional mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos - or Day of the Dead, is still a few weeks away. But the Museum of Sonoma County is getting a head start on the festivities with a new exhibition that opened this week. KRCB’s Tiffany Camhi reports.

Dia de los Muertos is open now at the Museum of Sonoma County. Find out more about the exhibition 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

The financial and legal aspects of growing cannabis are on the agenda at a seminar tomorrow (10/6).

You can’t yet major in Cannabis Studies at Sonoma State. But SSU is getting serious about sharing information on the burgeoning industry. Tomorrow, the school hosts a seminar focused on Cannabis Finance, Investment and Investment Law. News Director Steve Mencher talked with Jason Snyder, who is leading the cannabis initiative at SSU, about his background and tomorrow’s event.

Find links to Friday’s Cannabis in California seminar and to an in depth article on Sonoma State’s cannabis plans 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Santa’s Rosa’s new Housing First homeless plan is cleaning up and clearing out encampments across the city.

First the city of Santa Rosa vacated and cleaned out the tent city at Farmers Lane and Bennett Valley Road - also known as Homeless Hill. Now the city is targeting the sixth street encampment under the 101 highway. KRCB’s Tiffany Camhi reports these cleanups are part of Santa Rosa’s new homeless strategy...

Find out more about Santa Rosa’s new approach to end homelessness 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.

Marin County is looking to become a carbon-free community and help reverse climate change.

For environmentalists, the term "drawdown" refers to the point when greenhouse gases start to decline yearly. To reach that goal, Marin County is launching Drawdown: Marin. It’s a campaign that looks to drastically reduce greenhouse gases - like carbon dioxide. KRCB’s Tiffany Camhi spoke with Marin County Supervisors Kate Sears and Damon Connolly about the project.

Find out more about Drawdown: Marin 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. Comment, share and give us a like there. Follow the North Bay Report on Twitter @KRCBNews.