Ken Devol
All Things Considered Anchor & ReporterKen came to NSPR through the back door as a volunteer, doing all the things that volunteers do. Almost nothing – nothing -- in his previous work experience suggests that he would ever be on public radio.
His resume is nearly Frankensteinian with one disparate job sutured to another: California Department of Parks and Recreation, marina employee, archaeological field technician, electrician, woodworker, furniture import, and 20 years in manufacturing management. He was an English major.
He’s traveled some. He likes to sail and writes fraudulent poetry. And now he’s in radio -- another unlikely part is sewn into the whole. And he loves it.
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PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs were a much more frequent occurrence when they started about five years ago. This year, the company has only turned off power twice. -
PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs were a much more frequent occurrence when they started about five years ago. This year, the company has only turned off power twice. NSPR looked into why there are fewer outages. Also, cannabis is now the top crop produced in Shasta County, and a new law to protect doctors in California from prosecution for sending abortion pills to patients in other states was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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There’s been a spate of magnitude 5 earthquakes in the North State in the last few months: in Humboldt County, Lake Almanor and most recently near Burney in Shasta County. What’s going on? Is the North State becoming more seismically active? NSPR’s Ken Devol asked an expert.
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The small California gray wolf population has grown significantly this year. Within the last few weeks four new packs were reported by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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The Shasta County Board of Supervisors is facing a potential lawsuit for illegally imposing fines on public record access. This is from the First Amendment Coalition and the American Civil Liberties Union, alongside local news outlets Redding Record Searchlight and Shasta Scout. Also, more than 1,000 Tehama County residents are without power this morning after PG&E shut offs due to critical fire weather conditions, and the Chico Police Department is warning residents about a new phone scam.
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Thousands of PG&E customers, many in the northern Sacramento Valley and surrounding foothills, could have their power shut off this evening due to critical fire weather conditions.
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There’s been a spate of magnitude 5 earthquakes in the North State in the last few months. We asked an expert what these recent quakes mean and if the region is becoming more seismically active. Also, protests over Chico’s divisive Valley’s Edge plan are expected outside the Chico City Council chambers today as council members discuss several housing matters, and a controlled burn is scheduled in Shasta County tomorrow between the communities of Shingletown and Whitmore.
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A month after forcibly removing unhoused people from a large encampment at Depot Park, the city of Chico issued notices of enforcement to those camping along sections of Big Chico Creek and the Lindo Channel. Also, a major sweep of 24 unlicensed grows in Siskiyou County netted more than 8,000 pounds of marijuana with a street value exceeding $68 million earlier this summer, and Cal Fire will conduct a controlled burn today in Redding, Igo and Cottonwood.
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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has found four new gray wolf packs in California in addition to three existing packs in Lassen, Plumas and Siskiyou counties. Also, a disaster summit will be held by Cal OES this Friday in Chico to increase community understanding of emergency response systems, and local public health departments are starting to schedule flu vaccine clinics as flu season nears.
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Three years after the Bear Fire, Feather Falls is scheduled to hold its first commemoration this evening at the Goldflake Saloon and Cafe. Also, California State University students may see a tuition hike next year, and PG&E has started undergrounding power lines on part of Highway 70 in Plumas County.
