North Bay News

After years of pushing enrollment under the Affordable Care Act, California could lose billions for low-income health care if the Graham-Cassidy bill passes.

Today's reporting by Sammy Caiola.

ALSO: California has filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s border wall. The suit says plans to begin construction in San Diego and Imperial Counties could harm the state’s sensitive environmental resources.

Find more Politifact California fact checks HERE.

Today's reporting by Chris Nichols and Jean Guerrero (KPBS).

The Vietnam War – the documentary series from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – continues on many PBS stations Sunday night. We’re reaching out to Vietnam vets in our area to tell us about their service. Ken Holybee is President of the Santa Rosa chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America. When he talked with News Director Steve Mencher, he remembered feeling confused when he returned home from his service as a fuel truck driver.

Do you have a great idea that could improve education in Sonoma County? A new fund will provide grants up to $2,500 "to kick-start efforts to make a difference in the lives of students... by thinking outside the box." Reporter Steve Mencher talked with Dan Blake, Director of Innovation and Partnerships at the Sonoma County Office of Education about the grants.

Submit your application through this link.

ALSO: Four California counties are preparing for an overhaul of how they conduct elections, before voters head to the polls next year.

Today's reporting by Randol White and Ben Bradford.

Beginning at sunset September 20, the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah ushers in the High Holidays and the Jewish New Year. Many local congregations have a full slate of activities planned between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which begins at sunset September 29. Steve Mencher talked with Reb Irwin Keller of Ner Shalom in Cotati about the meaning of these holidays.

ALSO: A new U.C. Berkeley study finds a quarter of registered California voters have considered moving out of state because it costs so much to live here.

Today's reporting by Ben Bradford and Ben Adler.

Last week, we met local Vietnam veteran Martin Lesinski. We heard his poetry and learned about his acute sense of responsibility for men under his command. Today he tells reporter Steve Mencher about his own injuries.

  Campus Pride released the 2017 Shame List of colleges and universities that openly discriminate against LGBTQ students. Find out which California campuses made this year’s list.  

  Also, the nation continues to mourn the death of Edith Windsor, the courageous woman who took on the Defense of Marriage act in 2013 and won.  Her case set the foundation for the 2015 landmark marriage equality case.

Outbeat Radio News can be heard as part of Outbeat Radio every Sunday evening at 8 pm on KRCB FM Radio 91. 

ALSO: Getting to California’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 won’t happen without changes in people’s behavior, a new UC Davis study found.

Find all Politifact California fact checks HERE.

Today's reporting by Chris Nichols and Amy Quinton.

ALSO: A push to move back school start times in California has stalled in the state Assembly.

Today's reporting by Ben Bradford.

Yesterday we met Vietnam veteran Martin Lesinski  and heard a poem he wrote about coming to terms with his wartime experiences. We continue with that interview today. As a sergeant, Lesinski  felt keenly responsible for the safety of his men. As he told News Director Steve Mencher, it was a burden that grew as the war wound down in the early 1970s. A warning: some of his descriptions of battle are very graphic.

ALSO: The California Legislature has voted to let K-through-12 students who return to the U.S. after leaving the country when their parents were deported to also return to school.

Today's reporting by Ben Adler.

Vietnam is once again pushing its way into the national conversation – courtesy of an 18-hour film about the war by documentarians Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. It starts on many PBS stations on Sunday night; KRCB will be airing the entire series at a later date. The film inspired us to connect with local Vietnam veterans – including Martin Lesinski, a Nicasio-based photographer and poet.

ALSO: California lawmakers are once again trying to expand job-protected family leave to new mothers and fathers who work in small businesses.

Today's reporting by Julia Mitric and Ben Adler.

With the school year beginning, special programs that focus on nontraditional approaches to education are also getting underway. One such innovation brings free weekly music lessons to a local elementary school. As Steve Mencher reports, the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts is building on a successful pilot.

As the school year progresses, we'll hope to visit the classes, and showcase some of the student compositions right here. Below, see a performance from the pilot phase of the project.

ALSO: California lawmakers are set to make a few last-minute edits this week to rules governing the state’s cannabis industry. Among the changes, the bill would allow stores that sell medical marijuana to also offer recreational pot come January.

Today's reporting by Ben Bradford and Daniel Potter. 

The National Heirloom Exposition returned to Santa Rosa last week. You may have seen photos of the enormous piles of squashes that have become the event’s calling card. But the fair is about more than simply showing off the shapes and colors of fruits and vegetables. It’s about growing food that’s tasty and also fits a sustainable worldview, as Steve Mencher reports.

ALSO: University of California campuses would be prohibited from conferring with the UC Office of the President when answering requests from the state Auditor’s office under a bill that passed the Assembly Thursday.

Today's reporting by Sammy Caiola and Ben Adler.

Many national organizations consider the politics of food or water, or necessary changes to our use of fossil fuels--but few take a holistic look at all three. Wenonah Hauter, the founder and executive director of Food and Water Watch, stopped by our studio yesterday to tell us what her organization is working on--and how she’s helping people make connections to heal the systems that nourish us.

ALSO: An effort to close a loophole in California law that’s allowed concealed carry permit holders to bring guns to schools is one step away from Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

Today's reporting by Daniel Potter and Ben Adler.

In Santa Rosa Tuesday evening, about 60 people gathered in solidarity with "dreamers," those young people brought to this country as children, who were granted rights to work and study here under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.  This followed the announcement earlier in the day that President Trump was ending DACA and asking Congress to make new rules for the 800,000 or so dreamers. Steve Mencher reports.

ALSO: A California L-G-B-T rights group is the latest to challenge the Trump administration’s recent ban on transgender people enlisting in the military.

Today's reporting by Julia Mitric and Ben Bradford.

Yesterday we told you about how a growing number of severe mentally ill adults are ending up in emergency rooms and jails. Today we look at what the county is doing to better care for this population. KRCB’s Tiffany Camhi spoke with Press Democrat Health Reporter Martin Espinoza about a patient named Russell who is currently seeking care.

Martin Espinoza's series on Sonoma County's mental healthcare system is archived online on The Press Democrat website. Read the series here.

ALSO: Scientists at U.C. Davis have found a genetic distinction between chinook salmon that migrate in spring and fall. That has a Northern California tribe calling to make spring chinook an endangered species. But some farmers are skeptical...

Today's reporting by Ben Adler and Daniel Potter.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about four percent of adults in the United States suffer from some form of severe mental illness. Here in Sonoma County that's as many as 20-thousand people to take care of. But a recent investigative report by The Santa Rosa Press Democrat revealed that many mentally ill adults are ending up in emergency rooms or in jails.

Some physicians say parents should be screening for scoliosis, even if California schools aren't. Shriners Hospitals put out a new app to make it easier.

Today's reporting by Sammy Caiola.