Moving&shaking
But is Shaye on All My Children?
It used to be that TV stations had plenty of local shows. But news, particularly local news, is not a big money-maker, so local coverage in small cities nationwide has eroded. KNVN Channel 24 is turning back the clock with an 11 a.m. weekday program called Your Show Live, or YSL.
“I like to call it ‘back to the future,'” said Jennifer O’Rourke, who left a job with ABC News in Los Angeles to produce the show because she wanted to do something more creative, with a down-home feel to it.
Broadcast in the middle of a live audience from the Mount Shasta Mall in Redding, YSL was conceived as “a combination of The Today Show and Regis and Kelly,” O’Rourke said. “It’s all very interactive.”
Regis, I guess, would be host Michael King, who previously was the technical wizard for KNVN and KHSL, not an on-air guy at all. He was interviewing candidates for the female co-host and really hit it off with Shaye Leeper, a pastor’s wife who was “discovered” after going from Mrs. Redding to Mrs. California. “They are completely, totally unknown for this type of environment,” O’Rourke said, and that’s a good thing.
O’Rourke said the program includes news as well as some “light and fluffy” stuff. Two recurring themes will be the history and the future of the Northstate.
I caught part of the second show, on the 12th, and they were asking people in the audience what stumps them about technology. Then people from Kangaroo Kourts and Beverly Health Care came on to talk about their businesses. Very local.
They like you; they really like you!
Chico State’s student government officers sometimes feel unappreciated in the midst of a community that can be hostile toward the very students who make the town vibrant and economically stable. As of this week, they’re over it.
At the Associated Students Governmental Affairs Committee meeting Nov. 12, a group of longtime residents showed up with a surprise: flowers for the ladies and pies for the men. The students were, in their parlance, “stoked.”
“We want to welcome you into our city,” said Bev Knudsen. “We really appreciate you college students here.” She praised the student leaders for providing alternative activities for Halloween and added that the community particularly appreciates the diversity the students bring to Chico. Joining Knudsen were her husband Tom, Gary Vercruse and Kathy Herbert (wife of Chico mayor Dan Herbert).
I thought the students were going to cry. “We certainly didn’t expect any of this this morning,” said Monica Chesini, the A.S. director of university affairs.
“They don’t hate the students,” grinned longsuffering A.S. President Jimmy Reed.
On alert
The Amber Alert system that puts bulletins about missing children on highway billboards is great, but some local techno-whizzes have taken it a step further. By signing up online through the KPAY radio station, you can receive free Amber Alert updates on your e-mail, pager or cell phone.
Anthony Watts, the part-time KHSL and KPAY meteorologist who was just elected to the Chico school board, is in on it. He developed the local notification system, along with a WeatherWarn feature that will let subscribers know of emergency weather situations, and even health or terrorist threats.
Dino Corbin, general manager of KPAY, stated in a press release that, in the case of tornado and thunderstorm warnings, "seconds can save lives."
