8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY June 15-21, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com The age of consolidating corporate media hasn’t been easy on community radio. After KUSP went bankrupt in 2016, the religious broadcast chain K-LOVE swooped on the station’s 88.9 FM frequency and began playing contemporary Christian music. KAZU 90.3, which began as a community radio station, is now owned by CSU Monterey Bay and broadcasts primarily NPR content (plus some global news shows like the BBC World Service). “It kind of eradicated a community station that was accessible to the community,” says David Bean, host and board member of the Santa Cruz-based community radio station KSQD. In 2019, a group of local radio “refugees” banded together to create a new station that would reflect the community it exists in, with local news, traffic and weather, plus music and talk shows hosted by locals. The group acquired 90.7 FM in Santa Cruz and began broadcasting KSQD (K-Squid). From the beginning, KSQD was looking to expand. As irony would have it, K-LOVE owner Educational Media Foundation, which had gone on a bit of a shopping spree, was ready to part with 89.7 FM and 89.5 FM. Nonprofit Natural Bridges Media, which runs KSQD, began fundraising and by February had raised the necessary $400,000 to purchase the frequencies, pay licensing fees, rent broadcasting towers, etc. Altogether, the three frequencies will allow KSQD to expand beyond Santa Cruz to Prunedale and Watsonville, as well as Salinas, Seaside, Monterey and Carmel in Monterey County. “I think it’s reflective of the desire of communities to have their own media in a very nationalized environment,” KSQD chair Rachel Goodman says of the support the station received. KSQD’s programming includes some nationally syndicated shows like Democracy Now! and The Kitchen Sisters, as well as re-broadcasts of other station’s shows like KALW’s Your Call. The rest of the mix is locally hosted and produced on a volunteer basis—ranging from local news on Talk of the Bay to music like Bean’s New Squid in Town (which focuses on playing music by local bands and bands passing through the Central Coast on any given week). KSQD runs on the work of 130 volunteers (many of whom appear on the air), plus two half-time staff members. The station’s expansion into Monterey County will mean more Monterey County voices on the air— both as guests on existing shows and, down the road, as hosts of new shows. (If you would like to host your own community radio show, there’s an application available at ksqd.org.) For more than two years, the city of Del Rey Oaks has been in settlement discussions with attorneys representing the California Native Plant Society, who filed a lawsuit against the city (and the now-dissolved Fort Ord Reuse Authority) in June 2020 regarding the planned realignment of South Boundary Road. The settlement was reached in midMay, and on June 2, was filed with the Monterey County Superior Court. At issue was a 4.6-acre parcel of land containing endangered and threatened plant species (Seaside’s Bird Beak being the endangered one), established in a contract between FORA, the city and CNPS in 1998 as a mitigation for the General Jim Moore Boulevard project. But in 2010, FORA proposed a South Boundary Road realignment project to make the intersection with General Jim safer, and also add underground utilities—water, sewer, etc.—that would unlock the development potential of Fort Ord lands owned by Del Rey Oaks and the city of Monterey. The problem was, the realigned intersection would pass through that 4.6-acre parcel. The lawsuit CNPS attorneys filed in 2020 states, “FORA and Del Rey Oaks have destroyed or lost public records that are pertinent to the CEQA mitigation.” Whether or not the road ever gets built is an open question. When FORA dissolved, it gave Del Rey Oaks $8.845 million to build the road and intersection, which City Manager John Guertin says will not be enough to cover the cost, though it’s not known by how much. So for a cashstarved small city, it’s not clear how they can make it happen. Guertin hopes the city can partner with Monterey. Realigning the already approved realignment further north, to avoid the parcel, will require a new environmental assessment, and perhaps an environmental impact report. So while a hurdle has been cleared, many hurdles remain. More Squid Radio station KSQD buys two frequencies, expanding into Monterey County. By Tajha Chappellet-Lanier news We the People The city of Soledad will be moving to a district election process for City Council, and hosts a virtual session to inform the public. Find out what the transition means and how it will be carried out; there will also be a chance to provide community input. 6pm Thursday, June 15. Via Zoom, using meeting ID 899 114 1882. Free. cityofsoledad.com. Clean Up Crew Keep Pacific Grove beautiful, and volunteer to help clean up Chautauqua Hall. A group will be weeding, pruning, and raking leaves in the area. Gloves and tools are provided, but you can bring your own tools too. 10am Friday, June 16. Chautauqua Hall, 16th Street at Central Avenue, Pacific Grove. Free. 648-3130, acolony@cityofpacificgrove.org, bit.ly/ChautauquaHallCleanup. Weed Whacking The Monterey District Natural Resources Volunteers are heading to Fort Ord Dunes State Park with Salinas Valley Pride Celebrations. The group will continue removing invasive mustard plants, and free burritos will be provided. To RSVP or if you have any questions contact Sam Winter at Samuel.Winter@ parks.ca.gov. 9am Saturday, June 17. Fort Ord Dunes State Park parking lot, 8th Street west of Highway 1, Marina. parks.ca.gov. Father’s Day Photo Fathers, grandfathers, and families are invited to celebrate Father’s Day on the wharf. In addition to a day by the water and a great lunch, Monterey Bay Photo Booth will be providing prints to visitors who stop by. Commemorate the day and have a memory to take home. 1:30-4:30pm Sunday, June 18. Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey. 238-0777, montereywharf.com. Apartment Notes There’s still time to take part in King City’s multi-family train-the-trainer program, to help apartment building owners, managers and tenants comply with new state recycling laws. In partnership with Salinas Valley Recycles, you can tune into a free and virtual training and apply what you learn to your apartments. Topics include fighting climate change and avoiding fines. Noon Thursday, June 22. Free. Virtual event; register online at svswa.org/ commercial/multifamily-recycling. Tough Road A legal settlement could unlock development potential for Del Rey Oaks and Monterey. By David Schmalz KSQD board chair Rachel Goodman hosts a regular radio show. The station will celebrate its growth with a ribbon cutting at 1pm on June 21 at Window on the Bay. e-mail: publiccitizen@mcweekly.com TOOLBOX A group of local radio “refugees” banded together. Shmuel Thaler
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