NPR News and Cultural Arts
  for the Central Valley

Valley Public Radio is proud to announce that both stations, KVPR, Fresno and KPRX, Bakersfield are now broadcasting in digital HD radio.

You might recall the week of storms back in January…when the station lost power with regularity. The good news is that we continued to broadcast to Bakersfield and the South Valley, although we could not feed a signal to Fresno. The bad news is we sustained damage to equipment at the station and to the transmitter. The production computer, used not only for production purposes, but used to retrieve programs from the national network, sustained major damage. This forced us to rely upon the computer in Master Control for our connection to the network. Production efforts came to a halt.

The storms also caused damage to our transmitter at Meadow Lakes, damage to our receiving antenna and the connecting cables. Following several trips to the mountain top, our engineer was able to get us back on the air. Once we were able to locate another receiving antenna, we had to wait for the weather to clear before the tower climbers could access the mountain top. Finally, it all came together in early February, but not without major unbudgeted costs to the organization.

We took the necessary steps to get the station back on the air with an even stronger signal. However, our production capability remains limited and in jeopardy, until we can replace the computer and secure a back-up to serve both Production and Master Control studios. Now, I know this sounds like a lot of technical information. I share the story to remind listeners that a great deal of what we are able to broadcast and produce relies upon technology, and we must acquire state of the art equipment to keep our broadcast and production efforts strong. This is one more example of how your support enables the station to bring quality content to the Central Valley and beyond.

Moving from storms to blossoms, Spring is about to bloom. Reserve your calendars for Sunday, May 2nd for the annual Valley Public Radio Wine Tasting. Tickets are on sale for $75 through our web-site and you are always welcome to call the station with questions or curiosities. Our list of participating wineries will be updated regularly, with links to their sites. This year, vintner coordinator Barry Bennett invites you to enjoy your favorite wines and to discover new exceptional wines at great value. We appreciate your support for the wine tasting, the silent auction and the raffle, as this event is our single largest fundraiser and (if it plays out as expected) the station is able to keep 75 cents on every dollar raised for the organization. Special thanks to our volunteers, wine tasting sponsors, and Dr. and Mrs. Lester who generously give to our community. I hope to see you on Sunday, May 2nd.

Classical music lovers will want to note the return of the San Francisco Symphony beginning in early April. Check the listings for specifics. We enjoy having the opportunity of making this public radio station a very important community resource. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

May this spring rejuvenate your spirits and bring you new beginnings!

Mariam Stepanian
President and General Manager