MARK MY WORDS
By Mark Anderson

Marin Scope 4/10/00 Page 4

Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations? Do you remember that expression that goes; "You can lead a horse to water - - but a pencil must be lead?" Do you have the ultimate chili recipe? Do you ever listen to FM Radio? Do you like jazz? If you don’t, then get lost. If you do, then please continue: A couple of days ago, the phone rang ...... ringed; then, when I picked it up, or answered it, that is, I responded to the call. And there it was, the answer, - - to the question...

Who is Radio Sausalito? The jazz programming station on 100.1FM?

At first, there was a little suspicion on my part but I administered the test of why wood floats and he passed. Now revealed as Jonathan Westerling, originally from Cleveland, this creative fellow moved into Sausalito last August, has occupied the field with a truly wonderful, non-commercial - - and legal, low power FM radio station. "Radio Sausalito." The one and only. I hope Jonathan continues, maybe he can get the use of the huge antenna on top of Wolf Back Ridge to broadcast live from Down-town Sausalito. I suggest we encourage him to open a radio station where Broadway Video was located, right across from the ever-expanding Sushi Ran, the center of the known universe.

From "The Ran" you could look right into to the studio while enjoying your sushi across the street, and listen to a jazz format. Ever since KJAZ folded, we - the Bay Area, has always needed a good jazz station. I volunteer to do the New Age and Ethnic Ambient time slot. Maybe some Techno and Indie! I hereby apply as a part-time program coordinator!

Then we can have Stratos, Sausalito’s string ensemble do a regular, contemporary classical interpretation segment. We’ve got lots of local talent. Joe Linus, a local musical genius, can perform non-stop with his extensive repertoire of original compositions. We could even have a moment of silence while "our" mime performs during the "Quiet Storm." Now, let’s have a contest to name the new station: What’s your pick? KSAS for Sausalito? KCAL? For Caledonia Street. Or, KBEE? For Bee Street, home of the world’s smallest station. That’s it: KWSS -the "World’s Smallest Station"!

Operating at a power level of about one-zillionth of a car phone, he has a transmitting range from the Seven-Eleven to the north end of the Sausalito Yacht Harbor. Cool Jazz, from the early days to present, with the perfunctory station identifications. The FCC now actually permits and encourages this type of low power neighborhood micro-station and Jon plans to upgrade it when federal legislation will soon permit a little more power to be used for an expanded neighborhood station, up to less than half the power of a car cell phone.