When I woke up last week early in the morning I could have sworn I heard water dripping in the downspout. But it is August and it doesn’t rain in West Marin in the summer. Au contraire! There was just enough rain that fell to form some small puddles, and get the dog’s feet super dirty, but not enough to skip watering the plants.

Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I have no problem with some rain. Having lived in Olema for the past 22 years, I do have a problem with atmospheric rivers.

If you missed Senator Mike McGuire’s Super El Niño Town Hall a few weeks back, it is worth checking out. It is archived HERE. The presentation features the following panel of speakers:

• Senator Mike McGuire
• Climate Scientist Daniel Swain
• Mark Tamayo, KTVU Meteorologist
• Nate Ortiz from California Office of Emergency Services
• Mark Merrifield, Professor from Scripps Institute of Oceanography

I tuned into this presentation, which I recommend. It didn’t freak me out. It made me realize the scope of how global climate change is influencing research. What is happening with the climate is so unprecedented that predictions are difficult to make. Don’t take my word for it, check it out.

I also attended the West Marin Disaster Council quarterly meeting this past week. We all were in agreement that it has been awesome that we had a pretty mellow winter last year, and that so far, this summer, things have been somewhat chill locally, (knock on wood).  We all also agree that it is easy to get complacent about preparedness when the skies are blue.

The Marin Office of Emergency Management gave a presentation. If you are not signed up for Alert Marin, I recommend that you do so. And if you ARE signed up, I recommend that you sign in and update your preferences, it’s very easy to do. 

Also, sign up for KWMR’s Emergency texts. This will allow you to get a text message of the same information that we are announcing every 15 or 30 minutes (depending) and you will only get a text message (in the language of your choice) when the information is updated.

For more El Niño info and awareness, check out KWMR’s Epicenter this coming Monday and Tuesday, August 24 and 25 at 5PM, when former San Rafael city manager Jim Schutz will present a two-part series on local preparations.

And if you are bored or procrastinating instead of doing something else on your to do list, check out Ready Marin for all kinds of good tips! Truly, I know that I need to do some reviewing on “go bags,” “stay bins” for both the people and the dog.

KWMR will be at the Nicasio Country Fair this Saturday, August 22 on the Square in Nicasio. We will also be at the Tomales Festival on Sunday, September 6. There is another Downtown Hoedown this Saturday as well. Second Street will be closed and there will be music and booths for people to enjoy! KWMR will be there if we aren’t too tuckered out from the Nicasio Country Fair. 

Speaking of drips, I have been making my morning coffee using the pour over drip method for 40 years, and that type of drip works just fine for me!

Sincerely,
Amanda Eichstaedt
KWMR Station Manager and Executive Director

PS: Big thanks to the team at Toby’s Feed Barn (home of the Coffee Bar, Point Reyes Yoga, Point Reyes Mexi-Grill, and the farmer’s market) for signing up to be our newest KWMR Booster Sponsor! Your business or org can support independent local radio by signing up here or email us at [email protected].

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