"The music will be heard in stereo on one of three public access channels and tunable on any TV or VCR," said Westerling. "Carrying local radio stations on the public access channels will help fill the huge void left when Comcast removed their FM service earlier this year."

The radio station has come a long way since Westerling started transmitting with less than 0.1 watt and a range that barely reached half of Caledonia St. The station started when KJAZ went off the air, leaving a jazzless void in Sausalito.

"The enthusiasm and community support for Radio Sausalito has been astounding from the beginning," said Westerling. "The positive feedback began flowing in immediately."

Prior to starting Radio Sausalito, Westerling was the weekend morning announcer for NPR's 50,000-watt Cleveland flagship, WCPN, and before that he was a classical DJ at WICN in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he had his first solo airshift at age 16.

Running his own station introduced him to the iron hand of the Federal Communications Commission.

"Running a radio station is expensive and technically challenging," said Westerling. "The FCC has an entire chapter of rules devoted to what Radio Sausalito can't do. Keeping our broadcasts within the strict legal specifications and sounding good is a constant chore for me and the engineers."

These days, with the FCC responding strongly to the Janet Jackson and Clear Channel fiascoes, Westerling said he is very careful to play by the rules since complaints from large broadcasters have kept many smaller stations off the air.

"That just seems to be the current political environment," he said.

A unique aspect of Radio Sausalito is that it's not in it for the money, which means it has never had advertising and, according to Westerling, never will.

"We are funded by generous donations from people and businesses who believe in what we do and enjoy the station" said Westerling. "We also never do marathon fund drives like other stations."

Another defining aspect of the operation is the staff, which is made up of volunteers and high‑tech computer programs.

"Last year our volunteers, most of whom had no prior radio experience, completed over 300 unique radio programs for our listeners," said Westerling. "I also wrote 57 computer programs specifically for Radio Sausalito, which play the shows that air on the station. It's pretty high tech."

Today, the station is as much about Sausalito as it is about jazz. The station provides rundowns of the live music playing around town each day, it broadcasts the day's tide schedule five times each morning and hundreds of Public Service Announcements for local nonprofits every year.

In his free time, Westerling is the communications officer for the Volunteers in Public Safety and serves in the Marin County Office of Emergency Services.

"Radio Sausalito has no growth plan, no revenue expectations and no stock options," said Westerling. "Micro‑radio is not about making money or influencing people."

Radio Sausalito is currently working with the support of the Sausalito City Council and Emergency Management Authorities, to install an emergency generator and broadcast system to keep Sausalito informed when emergency strikes. Moreover, an agreement reached this spring with the Sausalito‑Marin City School District will bring the stationÕs broadcast opportunities to the children and residents of Marin City beginning this fall.

"We're here to add good music and a local flavor to the Sausalito radio dial." said Westerling. "There are only three radio stations left in Marin County; we're proud to be one of them."

 

Jonathan Westerling (wearing tie) is pictured here with the legion of volunteers who help him run 100.1 FM, a Sausalito radio station known for its jazz music. If Comcast approves the current deal on the table with Marin County, Radio Sausalito will reach every cable subsriber in Marin. Photo: ND Koster www.ndkoster.com