Issues & Ideas: Direct Relief, Pacific Crest Music Festival, and Lighthouse Atascadero

KCBX | By Carol Tangeman

Published March 17, 2021 at 7:21 AM PDT

A new book aimed at helping other communities

On this episode of Issues and Ideas: Direct Relief, headquartered in Santa Barbara, has a long history of providing aid for medical emergencies around the world, and you’ll hear from Thomas Tighe, president and CEO, about responding to the Covid19 pandemic here on the Central Coast and abroad. You’ll also meet Cal Poly faculty member Michael Whitson, to learn about Pacific Crest Music Festival, a summer program that takes place in Northern California. Donn Clickard, of the Atascadero Greyhound Foundation talks about how the organization has helped many young people in the community face the challenges of drug abuse through a variety of programs, and now, there's a book aimed at helping other communities find the same success. And finally, we take a quick look back to 2012, when KCBX contributor Tom Wilmer took part in Dublin Ireland's St. Patrick's Day Parade; this year the famous parade is cancelled due to the pandemic.

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Tom Wilmer

Tom Wilmer produces on-air content for Issues & Ideas airing over KCBX and is producer and host of the six-time Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR podcast Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer. Recorded live on-location across America and around the world, the podcasts feature the arts, culture, music, nature, history, science, wine & spirits, brewpubs, and the culinary arts--everything from baseball to exploring South Pacific atolls to interviewing the real Santa Claus in the Arctic.

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Brian Reynolds

Brian Reynolds is a contributor to Issues & Ideas, a weekly show that brings listeners a wide variety of perspectives on KCBX. Brian was born in Visalia, CA, and spent many years in the Central Valley before leaving for college at UC Berkeley. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from UCB, and two Master’s degrees (UCLA and CSU Chico…Library Science and Public Administration). He lived abroad for two years in Spanish-speaking countries (Spain and Nicaragua) and is fluent in Spanish. He spent his career as a public librarian, serving as a Library Director for over 30 years. He retired from the Director position at the SLO County Library in 2013.

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Beth Thornton

Beth Thornton was a freelance reporter for KCBX, and a contributor to Issues & Ideas from 2019 to 2024. She was a 2021 Data Fellow with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, and was accepted by the Center to receive a 2024 California Health Equity Impact grant. Beth has contributed reporting to KQED's statewide radio show The California Report.

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