Problems with our food supply or just Pissed Off Stachios?

A nation wide recall of pistachios from California. No one has been sickened as of yet according to ABC News, but the recall is due to Salmonella contamination that turned up in tests by Kraft Foods. See N.Y Times article. They are telling us not to eat pistachios but not to throw them away either. Pistachios have a long shelf life and they hope to be able to identify the contaminated batches.

Our federal government has a plan, H.R. 875, but watch this short video from Free Speech T.V.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epXNJNjYBvw

The FSTV reporter says the bill contains regulations that criminalize all aspects of organic farming by listing them as sources of seed contamination. Penalties are up to 500-thousand dollars.

Also watch this farmer's rant.

I failed to mention Senate bill 425.

Also see this short video about the possible outlawing of local organic gardening.

It doesn't sound like a good plan and we have less than two weeks to stop it. With stories like these grabbing the headlines, people might be willing to forgo their freedoms for safety.

Oops, we got a little Alex Jonoes

Had a problem with Newsweek tonight. Put in some Alex Jones on KGOE at about 6:15pm.

No one probably heard it due to the 10 minutes of Dial Global technical phone number loop. It's enough to drive anyone crazy. Sorry about that. Hope you caught a bit of Alex.

Rescue at Camel Rock

Other than a lot of wind, it was a beautiful day in Trinidad this Sunday. I took drive down Scenic Drive at about 11 am and saw a lot of rescue vehicles near Camel Rock. The Coast Guard had landed one of their helicopters on the beach.

I was unable to speak to the rescuers at the time. I called CDF and dispatch said an injured surfer was airlifted to St. Joseph Hospital. The injuries didn't appear to be life threatening. They said someone had a dislocated or injured hip. The steep cliffs at the beach made carrying the injured surfer up to the road an undesirable option, so they got an exciting helicopter ride.

That's all the info I have now.

Partly Cloudy?

So much for our weekend forecast on kgoe. We were under the impression that by broadcasting information from the National Weather Service web site that we would give a fairly accurate accounting of what you or I might run into over the weekend, as far as weather was concerned.

To be fair, the NWS forecast was for partly cloudy skies for the next 4 days. In fact the skies are partly cloudy. The other part contains measurable rain. As of this posting 11:00pm ish, we have just under a quarter of an inch of rain since about 7:30 near Trinidad.

It was a great day though and after some weed whacking, I spent a couple of hours trying to get the gas powered push mower to work. It had jelly in the float bowl. The tank was empty from winter neglect and I know better, the lawn tractor was fine and the weed wacker worked and the two generators were in perfect working order but I had over looked the push mower. Used about 2 thirds of a can of carb cleaner and still no luck. I took it apart and cleaned it some more, almost got it to run. It sputtered pretty good before dieing over and over again. Oh well there's always tomorrow when it is supposed to be partly cloudy.

No matter. I have a pork shoulder in the bottom of the fridge in a salt and sugar brine ready for smoking in the morning, rain or shine. It was less than a buck a pound at Winco.

A trimmed yard is nice, but I have my priorities.

If I can get the lawnmower to start, I'll be smoking while cutting the grass at the same time. Life in Humboldt County, it's not heaven, but sometimes you can smell it from here.

Farmers Worry About Proposed Legislation

Published on Friday, March 27, 2009 by The Memphis Daily News

Some Mid-South farmers who sell their products directly to consumers worry that a food safety bill in Congress could put them out of business if enacted into law.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., has introduced legislation that would divide the responsibilities of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and put food under the purview of the Department of Health and Human Services, which would have more stringent guidelines. The legislation is HR 875 or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.
Keith Forrester, the owner of Whitton Flowers and Produce Farms, which is about 40 miles from Memphis in East Arkansas, got worried when he read a summary of the bill. He is concerned the regulations would make it financially cumbersome to sell his products at the Memphis Farmers Market and other venues.
"It will wipe out the direct market aspect," Forrester said. "It's going to put more of the burden of responsibility on so many levels of the government that it's going to make it basically impossible to directly market food, is what it's going to do. You're going to have to be a corporate farm, man. You're going to have to be a corporate farm to make it work. We're not."

More at Commondreams.org

200-Thousand Dollar Remodel Planned For Eureka Co Op

A meeting is planned for tonight at the Warfinger building on the water front to discuss a proposed 200-thousand dollar remodel for the 2 year old Eureka Co op. The building seems fine.

Why a remodel? Concerned citizens and Co op members will meet at 6pm tonight to discuss the issue.

I got word that there is a box for comments at the Co-op and that there will be 3 more meetings on this issue.

Beer & Bread to beat the recruiters

From the Humboldt Herald
Fund raiser for Measure J. Local ballot measure passed by voters to limit military recruitment within city limits to those 18 years and older. The money raised goes to fund defense of measure challenged by the military and D.O.J.
Did I mention, there will be beer?
See the Humboldt Herald for details.

Local Veteran Plans Nation Wide Walk for P.T.S.D.

A Eureka Veteran, former Staff Sergeant U.S.M.C., is asking for help in putting together a walk to raise funds for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
Jamie M. McDavid, age 38, wants to start in Eureka and go north to Alaska then back to Washington state where she plans to head to the east coast, down the coast south and back to California.
Her idea is to meet with veterans groups in the towns she passes through and to raise funds in each town, money raised in each town will stay there and be used for P.T.S.D. treatment and support of those local veterans.
She needs a lot of help. She would like to go by horseback but needs a horse, two if possible, along with saddle, tent, sleeping bag, and other gear for the trek.
She only has a talk tracker type cell phone and has to pay for incoming calls. I am working on getting her pager to use while she puts the trip together and seeks donations. If that works out, I will post the the number on this blog.
Anyone that wants to help in the mean time can leave a message for me, (Tom Sebourn) at KGOE and I will pass it along to her. Our station number is 707-442-2000. Just say you want to help Jamie McDavid and leave your name and phone number and I'll get back to you or pass it along to Jamie.

Tsunami Warning Test Set For Wednesday On North Coast

NOAA to Test Tsunami Warning Communications in
Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino Counties

Federal and state officials in the coastal areas of northern California will conduct a test of the tsunami warning communications system between 10:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, March 25.
During the test, the emergency alert system will be activated and messages will be broadcast on radio and television stations in Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino counties. NOAA’s National Weather Service, in collaboration with the California Emergency Management Agency and the Emergency Services Offices of Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino counties, is sponsoring the test. If there is significant seismic activity, the test will be canceled.
Citizens may receive a test message in one or more ways:
NOAA’s National Weather Service office in Eureka will initiate test broadcasts on NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards and local television and radio stations.
In Humboldt County, several outdoor tsunami warning sirens will sound.
Radio stations that participate in the emergency alert system will broadcast the familiar alerting tone of the Emergency Alert System followed by an audio message describing the test.
Television stations will also broadcast messages with either an audible or text notification that the tsunami warning is a test.
The National Weather Service asks coastal residents who do not receive the alert via broadcast radio or weather radio to inform the Eureka weather forecast office. The public can provide feedback online at http://www.weather.gov/eureka or by calling 707-443-6484.
This test will ensure that the emergency alert system will function properly if activated for a real tsunami. This is the second such test in California and the first to take place in multiple counties. Officials will evaluate the success of the test and correct any problems in the tsunami warning communications system.
In the event of a real tsunami, NOAA’s West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center will post watches, warnings and advisories at http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov, and issue public alerts through the emergency alert system.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov.


On the Web:
NOAA Tsunami Portal: www.tsunami.noaa.gov
Tsunami Test Feedback: http://www.weather.gov/eureka

Antiwar Rally In Eureka Tomorrow

Where? Humboldt County Courthouse. When 3-21-09 at 1pm. Click for more info.

Forget the other New Schedule for KGOE, This Is The Final Cut

O.K., we've been racking out brains here to get the best schedule we can in the time allotted.
Lunch time noon to 3pm will stay the same with Dr. Dean live at 1pm and Dr. Laura on either side. We do have some good news to tell you about, Ed Schultz will be on from 3 to 6pm.

Pictured here, Rachel Maddow is new to our line up and Ed Schultz is making a reappearance.

Here's the line up Monday through Friday.

2am to 3am Dr. Laura (recorded from 1 to 2pm day before)

3am to 5am Bill Press

5am to 6am Rachel Maddow

6am to 9am Stephanie Miller

9am to 12pmThom Hartmann

12pm to 1pm Dr. Laura

1pm to 2pm Dr. Dean Edell

2pm to 3pm Dr. Laura

3pm to 6pm Ed Schultz

6pm to 9pm Mike Malloy

9pm to 10pm Keep My House

(to be replaced by Clark Howard at a later date)

10pm to 2am Coast to Coast am

Once again, everything is subject to change, but this is what we have programmed for Monday.

Transmitter Repair

I had to help one of our engineers do some repairs at one of Bicoastal Media's transmitters.

Our oldies station had a worn tube socket that needed repairs. I was real useful and held the flashlight and took pictures among other things. We used one to verify where everything was before we started, the engineer always makes a drawing but he liked the idea of using my laptop to blow up a digital photo for reference to check against his sketch. It made for a long day, I didn't get home until half after midnight.

The transmitter site above Kneeland is shared with kiem tv, kmud fm and kkhb fm.

It was an interesting thing to do and fun with a digital camera and a laptop, but I really have my work cut out for me for the next few days with March Madness on our espn station, am 1340 in case you're looking for the game, and all of the changes coming on KGOE.

New Schedule for KGOE 1480

Due to the loss of the Peter B. Collins show from 3 to 6pm weekdays, we have to make some changes.
Monday through Friday

12pm-3pm Dr. Laura
3pm - 4pm Dr. Dean Edell
4pm - 5pm Rachel Maddow
5pm - 6pm Clark Howard
6pm - 9pm Mike Malloy
9pm-10pm Keep My House
10pm-2am Coast to Coast AM
2am - 3am Alex Jones * except Mondays (Joe Mazza) eventually will become Alex Jones
3am - 6am Bill Press
6am - 9am Stephanie Miller
9am-11:50 Thom Hartmann
11:50am -12:05pm Gill Gross (formerly Paul Harvey), Change that. I got the word today (3-18-09), from ABC that the segment would be replaced by the Reverend and former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee. A squirrel eating, right wing, anti evolution spouting, fun, energetic, charismatic, bass playing musician. Lovable as he is, we opted out. Now Thom Hartmann will continue till noon, starting Monday with the rest of the new line up. EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT MUCH NOTICE.

Say Goodbye To Peter B. Collins

I got the news this evening that the Peter B. Collins show heard live on KGOE from 3 to 6pm weekdays, has just one more week on the air.

Peter has had a hard time getting larger radio stations to pick up the show and he is self syndicated and pays his own bills. He told me tonight that Friday the 20th. of March is his last show.

Peter B. Collins will make the announcement tomorrow on his show.

I have considered Mr. Collins a good friend in the business and an excelent talk show host.

His style, grace and wisdom will be missed on the airwaves.

He hasn't ruled out doing a weekend show sometime in the future.

Tune in for more info.

Is it 101 and 5 or the 101 and the 5?

I have been called out for referring to highway 101 as the 101. One of our radio listeners on kgoe calls every time I put the in front of 101 or 5. Many of us from Southern California add the to highway names because that's the way they are referenced during traffic reports on L.A. radio. From what I understand it is not necessary to put the in front of the highway number it's just something some of us do. It is also not necessary to add the when saying that someone went to hospital. In England they never ad the there. We, on the other hand, always ad the to hospital as in "I'm going to the hospital".
It seems like a silly thing for one of our listeners to get so wrapped up in, but if this person has such a problem with it, it is likely others are annoyed when they hear the 5 or the 36. My first inclination was to tell the listener to "go play on freeway", but it is not nice to ridicule your customers, so I wrote this blog instead.
How do you refer to our highways, hospitals etc.?

Oops, last minute schedule change on kgoe

Tonight we had some tech. problems with the Keep My House show from 9 to 10pm.
I heard the dead air about 15 minutes into the show and got on the computer and filled the last half hour with Art of the Song, a great kgoe weekend show I had in the can.
If you haven't heard Art of the Song, you should check it out on Sunday at noon.

‘Accidental’ Contamination Of Vaccine With Live Avian Flu Virus Virtually Impossible

From Prison Planet.com
Alex Jones live on KGOE' Coast to Coast AM tonight 10 to 11pm. George Noory says "what about all of those dead microbiologists we reported on?".
Jones says, "Forced massed inoculations are being planned".
Scary stuff.

Last Chance To Give Input On Richardson Grove Tree Removal

Deadline is March 12th. Info. Also see Humboldt Herald

New Show on KGOE -Keep My House

Bicoastal Media has added a new show to it's network of radio stations called "Keep My House".

The show discusses options available to homeowners facing foreclosure, bankruptcy and other problems due to the current economic meltdown.

Show airs from 9 to 10pm, Monday through Friday on AM 1480 KGOE in Eureka Ca.

A Tree Falls In Westhaven

Sometime after noon today, a tree gave up living and laid itself down across Westhaven Drive near Foxfarm Road just north of Westhaven. It landed on the phone, cable and power lines. Power and other services were out in the area until near 4pm today.

Davy came and cut the tree, PG&E did their thing and everything is getting back to normal.

New Air Freshener Looks Like Candy

Renuzit has a new air freshener that looks just like a bowl of candy. Is this a good idea for families that may have children around? It doesn't say if it is non toxic or not. With packaging and container that looks like a bowl of fruit candies, someone somewhere is going to wonder what they taste like.

Unless there is a caution somewhere on the label that warns people about this, (not that toddlers would read it), and unless this stuff is non toxic, this sounds like a bad idea.

The picture to the right reminds me of a serving suggestion.

I don't do photoshop but it seems like a little whipped cream would make a nice topping.

Tickets For North Coast Idol semifinals on sale But This Is Not The Headline You Were Looking For

I saw this story in the local Times-Standard newspaper today. I was searching for something about the 76+thousand dollars raised by the local population Thursday and Friday in a radiothon. Nothing. Compost bins are available in Arcata read another story. I thought that one was news enough to include in my kgoe newscast on Thursday.
Still, is the fact that tickets are for sale for North Coast Idol a bigger news story than local residents giving over 76 thousand dollars to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital? It's not like they were covering who won the contest. I did notice that KIEM was mentioned in the story. They also were absent from covering the radiothon. They are about 100 feet away from the studios where the radiothon was going on. We share a parking lot.
We made it as easy as possible to cover the event. We sent out a press release that could have been copied and pasted in the newspaper just like the N.C. Idol story appeared to have been.

Maybe the newspaper is too small now to include such events. Maybe the story about local firefighters saving cats was more important that local residents saving children. I like cats and don't have any children but I still don't understand the coverage. If we were another radio group we might have gotten a story in the paper like this headline that ran in November, KHUM hosts free stop the violence breakfast at Wharfinger.
I am against violence myself and think that the event was as newsworthy as the St. Jude Radiothon. The fact is that the N.C. Idol story and the breakfast were printed before the events even happened. Before the events were actually news. Now I know I'm being a bit hard on the old Times-Standard and to be fair, the North Coast Journal was nowhere to be seen either.
Maybe our event wasn't North Coast enough for them.
It's easy to overlook local stories when we are all facing cutbacks in the news business. The current economic situation would seem to make the fact that local residents raising over 76-thousand dollars for kids, is a big deal.
I guess it was just a big deal to the residents of Humboldt County, the kids at St. Jude and our radio group.
Is it possible I'm missing something here?

Latest Totals From St. Jude Radiothon

Thank you everyone! We raised $ 76, 572 dollars for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with our 2 day, 3 station Radiothon!

St Jude Radiothon This Thursday and Friday on KFMI 96.3 fm, KKHB Cool 105 fm and KRED Big Red Country 92.3 and 98.3

The Legend, D.J. Pete Meyer of Power 96.3 with Rick from Buddy's Auto Center.

Phone bank volunteers working hard!

Rollin in kred 92.3 doing his best for St. Jude

Rock and Roll Burlyman on Cool 105.5 during radiothon.

Rick from Buddy's Auto Center enjoying some Porter St. tritip.


Above:

Pictures from today during the radiothon.

The St. Jude Country Cares Radiothon is this Thursday and Friday on KRED 92.3 and 98.3 fm.

Call 1-800-795-1800 to donate to St. Jude during the Radiothon.

Rollin Treahearne will be live on the air from 6am to 7pm Thursday and Friday.

http://www.countrycares.org/content/includetextmedia/2007-2008_CC_facts.pdf

Tour the hospital.

Last year we expanded the Radiothon to include KFMI Power 96.3 and KKHB Cool 105.5 fm.
The Legend Pete Meyer will also do two thirteen hour days on Power 96.3.
Cool 105's Rock and Roll Burlyman will be at the helm for the duration on KKHB.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tennessee, St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization.

Study finds universal health care would cost less than bailouts

The biggest obstacle to an enhanced national health care system wouldn't > be money, a study conducted by the Institute for Health and Socio-economic > Policy found. The transformation of America's current health care system > into a single-payer 'Medicare for all' system could cost six times less > than the bank bailouts.>> This week, Barack Obama is expected to start movement on an ambitious > overhaul of the country's health care system. Previous attempts at reform > by FDR, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, and Clinton have proved largely > unsuccessful. 46 million Americans are without insurance, href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Business/story?id=6985561&page=1"> > ABC reports, and the US spends twice as much ..> http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Study_finds_universal_health_care_would_0301.html