Lauren Spates

Napa Valley Register — Lovingly tended in the vineyard. Delicately blended in the lab. Carefully hand-bottled at the winery and discerningly tasted in the classroom — then pumped down the drain, trucked off to be distilled or offered to a bioreactor as worm food. For 145 years, every drop of student-made wine from UC Davis met this fate, including any made from Napa’s famed Oakville American Viticultural Area. But no more. For the first time since 1880, a limited quantity of wine made by Davis students is available for sale, some under a department-centric brand named Hilgard631 and the rest under a series of student-designed labels, akin to a traditional winery’s special releases. This new offering exists thanks to a change in California law and an accompanying course in which students can take their blended and bottled wine to market, instead of the sink.

The Weekly Calistogan — Calistoga City Manager Laura Snideman resigned after city department heads and the fire chief raised concerns about her leadership.

KRCB-TV (Rohnert Park, CA) — Every summer for the past 20 years, biologists with Sonoma Water don their waders and boots, not to catch fish but to count them. A reliable population estimate is the goal for biologists and conservationists dedicated to salmonid proliferation.

KRCB-TV (Rohnert Park, CA) — Part III in a series illuminating how federal budget cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will affect Sonoma County's coastal economy.

Napa Valley Register — Some La Onda fans sought to simply enjoy the Napa festival's second day. Others cheered and supported a song by ERRE that confronted the anxieties of many Latinos head-on.

The Napa Valley Register — Political-angle coverage of Festival La Onda, Northern California's largest Latino music, food and culture festival.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — My piece starts at the 5:26 mark in First News program. "Lakes Mendocino and Sonoma face federal cuts to NOAA funding" focuses on the lakes' use of Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations, a program piloted on Lake Mendocino that uses federal data from NOAA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies to manage the flow of water for flood control, consumption and recreation. Federal cuts to agencies including NOAA could have significant impact on reservoir operations and, ultimately, residents of the Lower Russian River Valley.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — What could happen to our forecasts — and to us — if Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency continues cutting jobs and from those agencies? This piece features sources from the California Nevada River Forecast Center, National Weather Service's Monterey office, and Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chair Lynda Hopkins.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — Piece begins at 5:14. Forestville residents voice concerns about Canyon Rock quarry's plan to expand into hot asphalt production.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — Piece starts at 5:09. A Sonoma County commission voted unanimously to allow two historic west Sonoma County fire departments to merge this summer into the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — Begins at 3:09. Radio piece teasing a Sonoma County government meeting where commissioners will decide whether Monte Rio Fire Protection District will merge with the Gold Ridge Fire Protection District.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — 5-minute radio feature covering non-profit in Cazadero.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — 6-minute radio feature covering Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa's support for the immigrant community.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — 5-minute radio feature covering west Sonoma County wastewater system upgrade options.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — 7-minute radio feature covering Presidents Day protest in Santa Rosa.

KRCB (NPR affiliate, Sonoma and Napa counties) — 6-minute radio feature covering Sonoma County residents emotional state on Election Day.

Kirkus Reviews — Kirkus awarded "Inflamed" a coveted starred review. The reviewers said: "[Inflamed is] a harrowing saga that pits corporate pusillanimity against dogged courage under the most difficult circumstances..." "There’s cowardice in this dramatic narrative, but at heart it’s about ordinary people displaying extraordinary grace under extreme pressure, all conveyed in intense, atmospheric prose.... The result is a moving re-creation of a nightmarish disaster that tested the character of all those in its path." by Anne E. Belden, Paul Gullixson, Contributing Author/Editor Lauren A. Spates

KRCB (NorCal Public Media/NPR) — 1:47 mix of atmospheric river coverage that ran during the 5-6 p.m. hour (newsbreak from "All Things Considered.") Sources: county supervisor, local convenience store clerk

KRCB (NorCal Public Media/NPR) — KRCB's Sonoma County First News ran my 1:47 mix highlighting the effects of an atmospheric river on the west Sonoma County town of Monte Rio, on the lower Russian River. My piece ran from 1:48-3:35 in the Jan. 6, 2023, morning news podcast. Sources included Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins and the clerk/manager at Monte Rio's local convenience store.

KRCB (NorCal Public Media/NPR) — Northern California Public Media — A gallery of Russian River photos taken in Monte Rio during the Jan. 5, 2023, atmospheric river.

NPR — Chronic Catastrophe is a four-episode podcast about the impacts of cumulative climate change-induced disasters on our minds, bodies and spirits. Ultimately, we ask the question: Is it worth the risk to our mental and physical health, and to our psyches, to continue to live in places where disaster is unrelenting? This nationally syndicated podcast started as a grant through California Humanities' Democracy and the Informed Citizen Emerging Journalist Fellowship Program, awarded to Santa Rosa Junior College's student news media, The Oak Leaf. I wrote the first three episodes and edited the fourth. I narrate the trailer and episode two, The Body.

The Press Democrat — "Sonoma Strong" the signs proclaim, memorializing the community ethos we have trotted out after every environmental disaster since 2017. In Sonoma County, we care about each other, and we persevere. But this Fourth of July, I fear we're not Sonoma Strong. We're being Sonoma Stupid.

The Oak Leaf — The Oak Leaf is calling for a hybrid education model in which class material is presented both online and in-person, not only for the fall semester or until the COVID-19 pandemic is under control, but in perpetuity. Allowing students to learn in the environment that best suits their personality and personal circumstances would ensure SRJC is meeting its mission statement while benefiting students in various ways.

The Oak Leaf — Student presenters at Santa Rosa Junior College's third annual Climate Action Night called on attendees to channel their climate-related anger and anxiety into action by pressuring state and local officials to encourage clean energy, ban fracking and all but eliminate single use plastics for takeout meals, among other topics.