Kathryn Nelson Manages KRCB-FM for Northern California Public Media. She works to ensure the radio station provides Sonoma County with NPR, local news and expertly curated music.
A native Californian, Kathryn was born in Weaverville – in Trinity County, and has resided in Redding and in the Imperial Valley bordering Mexico. She comes to Sonoma County by way of San Diego where she served as Operations Manager at KPBS, the market’s NPR affiliate. Prior to working at KPBS, Kathryn managed commercial music and news stations.
With a family history in journalism and music promotion, Kathryn values community involvement and supports non-profit organizations along with music and the arts. Her first adventure after relocating to Sonoma County was to visit Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve – and plans to revisit frequently.
The Press Democrat's "In Your Corner" Journalist, Marisa Endicott
Our speaker for January 11, 2024, was Marisa Endicott, a columnist for the Press Democrat. Marisa writes the “In Your Corner” column for the PD. “In Your Corner” is an investigative column started at the PD in 2021 and designed to provide hard-hitting investigative reporting to help improve the lives of local residents. She tackles a wide range of topics, including jail conditions, firefighter response, soaring prices, consumer scams, and power outages. Marisa started at the PD in 2021. She formerly worked for Mother Jones, a non-profit progressive magazine focusing on news, commentary, and investigative journalism, CNN, and the Huffington Post. She also worked as a legal investigator for a law firm specializing in environmental law. Marisa graduated from UCSB and obtained a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Marisa was the PD’s Employee of the Month in March 2023.
Marisa’s background in research led her to journalism, and especially investigative journalism. The main ideal behind her column was to use her investigative tools to work on stories that people want to hear about. She gets her “In Your Corner” ideas from readers who write to her, from people on the street, and from what she observes herself. Her article from Wednesday, January 10 was about the PG&E settlement relating to the Dixie Fire. As an example of the investigative tools she uses for her stories, she cited a recent article about Sonoma County jail conditions. The original article was about hunger strikes by prisoners protesting jail conditions. This led to a later story about prisoners subjected to confinement in their cells for more than 23 hours per day. Jail administrators do not voluntarily provide information to journalists, so to obtain the information Marisa sent public records requests and obtained jail policy manuals and information tracked by jail personnel, such as hours out of cells. She then analyzed the date to show that the Sonoma County jail repeatedly failed to meet minimum standards set by the Sheriff’s Office and California administrative rules.
Marisa also mentioned that the expense of funding local journalism projects has led to the creation of the Press Democrat Journalism Trust. Donations to the Trust will be used for scholarships and grants to fund access to journalism education, internships, and news coverage of the communities served by the Press Democrat.
Thank you, Marisa, for highlighting your work with the PD and sharing your background, education, and work. We will be reading articles and, hopefully, submitting ideas for your consideration!
Click HERE to view a limited time recording of Investigative reporting with Marisa Endicott from The Press Democrat
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, therein lies your vocation. These two, your talents and the needs of the world, are the great wake up calls to your true vocation in life... to ignore this, in some sense, is to lose your sole.
Elsie Allen Lobo Marching Band brought Holiday cheers to the Burbank neighborhood December 22. Director Efrain Nava led the students during vacation break to the delight of residents and proud parents. Earlier in the year the band received saxophones and clarinets through a Rotary District Grant.
Elsie Allen Interact students also used vacation time to shop and celebrate teamwork while providing holiday cheer for children at the Valley of the Moon Home.
Twelve Interactors lunched at Stacy's before shopping with Merle and Willie at Ross, Costco and beyond. One adult felt like a deer in the headlights watching the swift skilled teens run up near a grand in loot/gifts for the 23 pre-teens and one year old twins at the Home. Young and older alike gave generously of their time and funds. Willie Billeter, Sunrise Advisor, with his daughter Amelia and Faculty Advisor Doug Gibson added guidance and transportation logistical support.
Norman needed a blood transfusion, but his blood type was not on record, so the doctors asked me if I knew what it was. They urgently needed to know, to save Norman's life. Tragically, I had never known his blood type, so I only had time to sit and say goodbye.
I'll never forget how supportive my Norman was. Even as he was fading away, he kept on whispering to me, "Be positive, be positive!”
The Rotary Club of the Lower Keys, Florida, is known for the Independence Day festival and fireworks display it sponsors in Big Pine Key. At last year’s event, the night had a sweet send-off: the creation of a massive Key lime pie in celebration of Monroe County’s bicentennial. Rotarians joined local chefs Kermit Carpenter and Paul Menta as they scooped free samples of the pie, which spanned a precise 13.14 feet in diameter. The dimension, harking back to the mathematical constant pi, squeezed past a 12.25-foot creation made in 2018 by a Florida business; its producers were awaiting certification of the grand concoction — made of Key lime juice and condensed milk spread atop a graham cracker crust — as the world’s largest. The precise tally of servings was unclear, but club member Keara McGraw says it’s safe to say it was “a lot.”
Brazil
Improper disposal of household cooking oil is not only an ecological hazard, it’s also a missed opportunity to recycle the waste into new products. Oil poured down drains also increases water treatment costs. Members of the Rotaract Club of Penápolis in São Paulo state distributed 400 funnels to help residents collect oil in bottles, along with pamphlets explaining the benefits of recycling and how to do it. Members of a recycling cooperative in Penápolis gather the bottled oil and sell it to be turned into biodiesel, homemade soap, paints, resin, and animal feed. “It’s essential to reduce and prevent pollution in all its forms,” says club member Lucas Silveira de Campos.
This story originally appeared in the January 2024 issue of Rotary magazine.
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The Rotary Club of the Lower Keys, Florida, is known for the Independence Day festival and fireworks display it sponsors in Big Pine Key. At last year’s event, the night had a sweet send-off: the creation of a massive Key lime pie in celebration of Monroe County’s bicentennial. Rotarians joined local chefs Kermit Carpenter and Paul Menta as they scooped free samples of the pie, which spanned a precise 13.14 feet in diameter. The dimension, harking back to the mathematical constant pi, squeezed past a 12.25-foot creation made in 2018 by a Florida business; its producers were awaiting certification of the grand concoction — made of Key lime juice and condensed milk spread atop a graham cracker crust — as the world’s largest. The precise tally of servings was unclear, but club member Keara McGraw says it’s safe to say it was “a lot.”
Improper disposal of household cooking oil is not only an ecological hazard, it’s also a missed opportunity to recycle the waste into new products. Oil poured down drains also increases water treatment costs. Members of the Rotaract Club of Penápolis in São Paulo state distributed 400 funnels to help residents collect oil in bottles, along with pamphlets explaining the benefits of recycling and how to do it. Members of a recycling cooperative in Penápolis gather the bottled oil and sell it to be turned into biodiesel, homemade soap, paints, resin, and animal feed. “It’s essential to reduce and prevent pollution in all its forms,” says club member Lucas Silveira de Campos.