North Bay Report

For employers and independent contractors in California, AB5 has sparked some confusion and controversy. The new gig worker law went into effect January 2020 and many independent contractors are still unsure how the law will affect their business. Pamela Lorence went out in search of some answers.

(Photo: An Uber car in San Francisco. Increased benefits for ride-share drivers are at the center of the controversy – Wikimedia Commons)

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Crack open a bottle of wine for Valentine’s Day today. Local grape growers, faced with declining production, will thank you.

David Cook, who manages vineyards for a number of local producers, was in our studios on other business this week. But we took the opportunity to ask him about a headline we’d seen – that the 2019 grape harvest was down significantly in the county. He didn’t seem too concerned, as he told KRCB News Director Steve Mencher. But he has a theory about the decline…

David Cook will be back with us next week – as he advocates for his candidacy for Sonoma County Supervisor from District One.

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Lynda Hopkins is defending her District 5 seat on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Hopkins holds a master’s degree in land-use policy from Stanford and is running for her second term as supervisor. She joined KRCB’s Steve Mencher at the end of January to talk about her accomplishments and priorities.

Listen to the full-length interview.

(Photo: Supervisor Lynda Hopkins speaking on a panel about women in leadership at the Paradise Ridge Winery – Steve Mencher) 

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Mike Hilber is challenging incumbent Lynda Hopkins for the District 5 seat on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Hilber has a master’s in electrical engineering from Stanford and worked in the defense industry in Southern California. In the early 1990’s he moved back to his childhood home in Roseland to care for his mother. KRCB’s Steve Mencher spoke with him about his priorities and previous experience in Sonoma County politics.

Listen to the full-length interview.

(Photo: Mike Hilber, District 5 Sonoma County Board of Supervisors candidate.)

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Marin and Sonoma County voters will soon decide whether to extend a sales tax supporting the SMART train until 2059. Campaigns on both sides of the issue have each received over a million dollars in support of their positions. Reporter Will Houston from the Marin Independent Journal has been following the issue closely. KRCB’s Adia White spoke with him over the phone to find out why this measure is so controversial.

(Photo: The SMART train at the downtown Santa Rosa station – Wikimedia)

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Lisa See launched her literary career with the non-fiction book “On Gold Mountain.” The story chronicles her great-great grandfather’s journey from China to California and follows multiple generations.  

She’s written ten novels since then. See spoke at the Sonoma Valley Regional Library about her latest work, “The Island of Sea Women“. The book takes place on Jeju island in South Korea and spans multiple decades. KRCB’s Adia White spoke with about her inspiration for the novel. 

Listen to the full-length Interview

(Photo: Lisa See – Adia White)

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Fair housing laws can mandate change. But they must also take into account historic discrimination in real estate and banking, and other ways people of color have been disadvantaged.

Last week a group of public policy makers and advocates gathered at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to learn about new fair housing laws that went into effect this year in California.

The meeting was hosted by the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative and the nonprofit law firm Public Advocates. Pamela Lorence went to find out about these new laws and what they mean for local governments in the Bay Area.

(Photo: Alex Bierwagen on Unsplash – used with permission)

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Since 2017, some Sonoma County schools have lost more than three dozen instructional days due to wildfires, floods, power shutoffs or other disasters. New legislation being proposed by State Senator Bill Dodd, could help students make up that time during the summer. In part two of the interview, KRCB’s Adia White spoke with Ricardo Cano about how the legislation could help schools recover funding and lost instructional time in the wake of disasters. 

Read Ricardo Cano’s Disaster Days series on Calmatters.org.

(Photo: U.S. Air Force photo – Airman 1st Class Tammie Ramsouer) 

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At the beginning of the school year, over 360 schools in California had to close for at least a week due to power outages, wildfires, or other crises.  That’s according to Ricardo Cano, an education reporter at the state-wide news outlet CAL Matters. Cano published a series of articles on school closures called Disaster Days. KRCB’s Adia White spoke with him about how wildfires are affecting students’ education in the North Bay and around the state.

 Read Ricardo Cano’s Disaster Days series on Calmatters.org.

(Photo: U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Tammie Ramsouer)

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Sonoma County set a goal of clearing the Joe Rodota trail by today. County officials switched their policy to enforcement mid-week and began issuing warnings and citations to those still camping there. KRCB’s Adia White talked to people camping on the trail Thursday to find out where they planned to go next.

For more on homelessness visit norcalpublicmedia.org

(Photo: The Joe Rodota Trail as of Thursday, January 30, 2020 – Adia White/NorCal Public Media)

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