KCLU Radio

01/25/2025

Here's one of the top stories KCLU covered this week:

"Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate."

These are the words then-US President Ronald Reagan used in 1987 to call on the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

And, in the shadow of his final resting place in Simi Valley, the former president’s name is emblazoned on the newly opened Academy of Communication and Leadership, here at Sinaloa Middle School.

"The partnership with the Reagan is phenomenal," says Dr Angelica Chavez, the Co-Ordinator of Professional Learning and Civic Engagement for the Simi Valley School District.

Chavez says the school’s partnership with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute will bring the students a unique experience.

"All of our students will have opportunities to engage at the Reagan. They'll be able to go to any of the programing that they have up there for free, including bus transportation," said Chavez.

"We will be hosting some of the Reagan events here, such as some of their Medal of Honor speakers, survivors of the Holocaust, where our students will get to engage with their survivors and different dignitaries. We'll have debates in there. We have an updated broadcasting sound room. It's just such a unique experience for them," she said.

Chavez said that it makes "all the difference from reading something in a book to being hands on creators. The learning is this takes it to a whole other level."

For the full story visit kclu.org

01/24/2025

ShelterBox traditionally works in places like Morocco, Somalia, and Ukraine, but in recent weeks it’s been helping fire victims in Southern California.

"It's quite different, but a lot of times the basic needs remain the same, whether it's in Palestine, or the Palisades, or Altadena," said Kerri Murray, who is President of ShelterBox USA.

"There are people still living in the backs of their burned-out homes...people sleeping in cars," said Murray,

Murray was part of a ShelterBox team providing aid to victims of the Eaton Fire. She talked about some of the essentials they've been distributing.

ShelterBox giving out solar lights, blankets, personal hygiene kits and other essentials.

01/24/2025

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying 23 communications satellites into orbit. Clear skies made the 6:07 a.m. launch visible throughout much of the region.

It was the second SpaceX flight this week from the base. It was also the 23rd flight for the reusable first stage booster, which landed on a barge off the West Coast.

It's the second SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base this week.

01/24/2025

"The partnership with the Reagan is phenomenal," says Dr Angelica Chavez, the Co-Ordinator of Professional Learning and Civic Engagement for the Simi Valley School District.

Chavez says the school’s partnership with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute will bring the students a unique experience.

"All of our students will have opportunities to engage at the Reagan. They'll be able to go to any of the programing that they have up there for free, including bus transportation," said Chavez.

As well as the opportunities for learning, the school’s rose garden is being updated to include plantings from the Reagan Library which former First Lady Nancy Reagan had selected.

The new Ronald Reagan Academy of Communication and Leadership opened on Friday in Simi Valley.

01/24/2025

A Red Flag Warning for high wildfire danger remains in place in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties until 10 a.m. Friday, but relief is coming the form of rain.

The Santa Ana winds have eased, but they are still in the 20-30 mile an hour range, with some gusts topping 50 miles an hour.

A storm working its way down the coast could bring light rain Saturday into Monday.

Santa Ana winds easing, but a Red Flag Warning for Ventura and Los Angeles Counties remains in effect until 10 a.m. Friday. Rain expected this weekend.

01/24/2025

The Laguna Fire started at around 8:30 Thursday morning on Round Mountain, just west of Cal State Channel Islands. The fire grew quickly, with gusty wind in the area. The CSUCI campus was evacuated. The fire burned west, away from the campus.

Ventura County Fire officials say the fire didn't get near the campus, and no structures were threatened.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

No structures were threatened, but the campus was evacuated as a precaution.

01/24/2025

"Swatting" is the use of false 911 calls intended to bring armed law enforcement officers to a particular location.

Federal prosecutors say Kya Christian Nelson and his co-conspirators gained login information to some home Ring cameras. They used them to gather information about their victims, and then made false 911 calls.

The 23-year-old man is potentially facing up to 15 years in federal prison when he's sentenced for his three felony guilty pleas.

Federal prosecutors say Kya Christian Nelson of Wisconsin was responsible for multiple incidents across the country.

01/23/2025

What's being called the Laguna Fire has burned about 15 acres, and could end up being around 30 acres.

As a precaution, Cal State Channel Islands was evacuated, but the campus is not directly threatened. The fire was in the hills west of the campus, and was burning away from the university.

Blaze has charred 15+ acres on Round Mountain. Final number could be around 30 acres.

01/23/2025

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office is sending a team of its victim advocates to a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center set up in West Los Angeles.

The advocates can help people with things like replacing lost documents, applying for disaster relief loans, and making referrals for counseling.

The City of Los Angeles asked for help because of the large number of fire victims.

City of LA asked for help because of large number fire of victims.

01/23/2025

A group of philanthropists headed by Ben Romo bought some of the assets of the Santa Barbara News-Press after it filed for bankruptcy in 2023. They wanted to preserve the newspaper’s historical digital assets. The Santa Barbara Historical Museum bought the physical archives.

The digital assets also included the more than 150-year-old newspaper’s name, trademark, domains, and other related intellectual property.

The group announced it will donate the News-Press to a non-profit group called NEWSWELL, which will restart the paper as a local online media news outlet.

It would be a reincarnation of the Santa Barbara News-Press, the community's more than 150 year old newspaper which folded in 2023.

01/23/2025

Smoke from the Hughes Fire near Lake Castaic started blowing into Ventura County soon after it started late Wednesday morning. It created alarm in the county, but the fire has been in LA County.

The Red Flag Warnings have been extended until 10 a.m. Friday for much of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Wind is predicted to be in the 20-30 mile an hour range, with gusts to 50 miles an hour.

Wind not expected to be extreme, but could still hit gusts of 50 miles an hour.

01/23/2025

The county’s air is being classified as “unhealthy.” People are being urged not to take part in strenuous outdoor activities, to close windows and doors, and to stay inside as much as possible.

If you have to work outside, you’re being urged to wear an N-95 mask. Depending with what happens with the wind, the smoke conditions could get worse, or improve rapidly.

Ventura County's air quality at the "unhealthful" level Wednesday afternoon.

01/22/2025

California is home to an estimated 180,000 idle oil and gas wells, some of which may be emitting methane and other hazardous gasses.

"The scale of the problem is huge," said Dr. Derek Manheim, who is a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo researcher studying the issue. A Cal Poly team conducted a three-year research project on emissions and just received a million dollar state grant to expand its efforts into studying oil and gas well related greenhouse gas emissions.

Manheim says the fact is we don’t know how many orphaned and abandoned wells exist in the state. He says the studies are intended to help us learn more about the threats emissions from old wells can pose.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo team completed a three year study and just received a million dollar grant for expanded research.

01/22/2025

The Hughes Fire is burning northeast of Castaic Lake. It started just before 11 a.m., and by 12:45 charred more than 3400 acres of land. It's forced some evacuations in the rural area near the lake.

Wind pushing to the west has blown smoke over Ventura County, creating concern in communities like Fillmore, Santa Paula, Moorpark, and Thousand Oaks. But, the fire is nowhere near the county, and is to the north of Interstate 5.

The Hughes Fire is northeast of Castaic Lake. It's pushing plumes of smoke into Ventura County.

01/22/2025

"It is triggering. But I'll tell you, the silver linings are really about resilience. Teamwork. Goals, clarity and using resources in yourself that maybe had been dormant, maybe had not been honed, or maybe had not seen the light of day. And that's really the beautiful part of how great losing that house was," Martha Collins says.

They hope that by sharing their story, it can offer hope and a metaphorical hand hold, as others are faced with that same arduous task.

Martha and Michael Collins lost their home when the Tea Fire destroyed 210 homes in Montecito in 2008.

01/22/2025

Simi Valley officials say Mayor Fred Thomas passed away in his sleep early Tuesday morning.

Thomas lived in the city for more than three decades, and was a businessman who had a direct mail marketing company and a commercial printing company.

There’s no word on the cause of death. Thomas was 67 years old.

Fred Thomas was well known for his community service. He was just reelected as Mayor in November.

01/22/2025

A Red Flag Warning for extremely dangerous wildfire conditions in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties was cancelled at 10:00 Tuesday morning. There’s still a traditional warning in place for the region until Thursday night.

There’s the potential for another burst of Santa Ana winds Wednesday afternoon into Thursday evening. Meteorologists say the event isn’t expected to be as strong as the one which just ended, but there could be gusts in the 50 mile an hour range.

A traditional Red Flag Warning continues. Around 50,000 Southern California Edison customers in Ventura County could be hit by precautionary outages.

01/22/2025

The Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force base at 7:45 a.m. It had been delayed multiple times over the last few days, including a last minute hold when an aircraft accidentally ended up in restricted airspace for the launch.

The 27 satellites are the latest additions to the Starlink network, which is providing internet and cell phone service to underserved parts of the world.

Reusable first stage booster landed on a barge off the West Coast