Martina Castro

Local musician Kelly McFarling wrote her song “Atlanta” as an ode to her hometown, but she didn’t write it – or any other song, as a matter of fact – until she settled into her current home in San Francisco. In this edition of Bay Area Beats, McFarling tells KALW’s Martina Castro why she credits San Francisco with helping her launch her musical career, and better understanding the idea of home.

Antarctica is officially the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth. At almost one and a half times the size of the United States, 98% of it is covered with thick sheets of ice. With a landscape like that, it seems like it would be a pretty quiet, lifeless place, right? Well it’s not.

We rely on a large dose of passion to do what we do at KALW, so we want to honor those around the Bay who do the same – for their work, families, neighborhoods, etc. Help us find them!

Maybe it's your child's teacher who goes the extra mile, the owner of your local corner store who goes out of his or her way to keep customers happy...whoever comes to mind, let us know, and we might feature them on the air.  

Just leave us your nomination on our tipline at (415) 264-7106. 

This morning, thousands of young undocumented immigrants became eligible for temporary legal status due to the implementation of President Obama's policy, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which is considered the most expansive immigration policy to take effect in the past 25 years. The federal initiative grants access to work permits and temporary protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

There’s talk that we’re in the midst of a second tech boom in San Francisco. Twitter is opening its new headquarters in the Central Market district and residents are buzzing about what’s to come. Mayor Ed Lee has been courting start-ups since he came into office, hoping they’ll bring thousands of new jobs to the city.