PRESS RELEASE: COMMUNITY RADIO KNSJ 89.1 FM SUFFERED CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE WHEN A WINTER STORM TOPPLED ITS RENTED TOWER

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February 27, 2026

Our volunteers have confirmed that the American Tower Company’s tower on Monument Peak at 6,200 ft. elevation collapsed in the February winter storm due to severe ice accumulation and wind. The tower where KNSJ rented space since beginning broadcasting on July 4th, 2013, is now a crumpled pile of steel and cabling. The tower also hosted two cell phone transfer stations, for AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as several other smaller clients. KNSJ was the only broadcast station on the tower. KNSJ is still streaming online, but restoring our broadcast signal will require urgent funding for engineering, equipment, and a possible new site.

FRIENDLY FIRE with Don Kimball Sat 2pm

A Show For and About Veterans

Joseph Gerson, PhD

Today Don and nuclear arms expert Joseph Gerson, PhD, speak about the recent conference in New York City of anti nuclear activists from around the world. As the Atomic Clock moves ever closer to midnight and The Apocalypse, is there still time for cooler heads on all sides to come together and disarm before it’s too late?

Saturday 1pm

Will the Iran War Cause a Global Depression?

With Professor Richard Wolff

The US war on Iran is leading the world to a global depression. Professor Richard Wolff places the current crisis in the context of the capitalist system and the decline of US hegemonic power.

The global economic impacts of the American-Israeli war on Iran are already being felt, particularly in Asia, through shortages of fuel and other necessities, the closure of factories and the loss of jobs. We are now on a path heading for a global recession, or even worse, a global depression. To sort out what potentially lies ahead and the likelihood of preventing the worst outcomes, Chris Hedges speaks with economist Richard D. Wolff, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Wolff begins the interview by discussing the weaknesses of the capitalist economic system. Since the 1970s, corporations have been moving production to areas of the world where they can maximize profits. This has created fragile supply chains that are vulnerable to changes in the availability of energy and the fallout of political turmoil.

Research demonstrates that capitalist systems result in cyclical downturns every four to seven years. The last economic crisis was five to six years ago, so we may very well be on the edge of another one. Wolff reports that it is too early to determine if that will result in inflation, stagflation or deflation. For the United States, commitments to greater military spending, a historically high debt of $40 trillion and a declining credit rating will force the government to borrow money at higher interest rates, adding to the burden of an already financially stressed population.

Wolff states, “We are living through the end of the empire and that end has been accelerated and brought closer by everything going on in the Middle East.” The United States faces a critical decision. If it chooses to escalate the war on Iran, the risk of a global depression rises. The future appears to be grim. At this time, there is an absence of a functioning international mechanism through which countries can solve the current crises cooperatively. For the United States, there is also denial about the state of our falling empire. Wolff concludes: “It’s not a question of maintaining your dominance. That’s gone. It’s a question of working things out. Our leaders don’t think or talk like that.”

THE WOMEN’S HOUR with Patricia Law Sat Noon, Sun 6pm, Wed 5pm

HUMAN TRAFFICKING LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY

DR. MARISA UGARTE

Dr. Ugarte is the Executive Directfor of the Bilateral Safety Coalition (BSCC)

Marisa’s Story

In 1997 a case manager named Marisa Ugarte was working at a program for runaway teens when she came across a young girl who had been prostituted. Soon Marisa, realized through her work that the young girl, like many of the women and children who walked the streets selling their bodies, were not voluntarily “on the job,” but were victims of traffickers and pimps. The women, children, and men were being commercially exploited.

The traffickers and pimps were predators and they were victimizing the vulnerable in order to commodity their bodies and turn a profit. Unlike, drugs that were only good for one hit, labor, or sex with a victim, could be sold and re-sold an infinite number of times to maximize the profit margin.

As Marisa explored the seedy under world of trafficking she linked up with grass-roots organizations in San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico where she learned that trafficking was not a problem limited to specific boundaries or the perimeter of one country but was as all about the movement of persons from one place to another.

Persons where being transported like cattle and against their will. Much like the trafficking and movement of drugs, human trafficking is controlled by international cartels and is a form of organized crime. Similarly, as Americans have high per capita earnings and access to extensive resources and disposable income, the United States is a destination country for many victims. Sadly, trafficking is often seen a problem of the “other” and the demand for illicit sex and cheap labor in the United States is over looked.

So as Marisa continued investigating, she came across rape camps among the reeds and canyons of San Diego, forced labor in the pruned and pristine agricultural fields, and children turned out in Tijuana’s infamous Zona Norte. She knew something must be done and envisioned a “safety corridor.” Then, through a UNICEF conference on human trafficking, Marisa was introduced to coalition building and the advantages of strategically pulling resources to create a continuum of services for victims.

Thus, 1997 was a landmark year. This was the year the coalition was founded and constituted as a 501(c)3 and began to coordinate services and advocate for victims. Today the coalition encompasses over 150 government and non-governmental agencies in the United States and Latin America who are dedicated to combating trafficking and empowering victims so that they may return to families, friends, and daily life.

As for Marisa, she is now executive director of BSCC and continues to be at the forefront of the fight against trafficking by helping other organizations and coalitions grow and build programs to help victims in both the United States and Latin America.

ABOUT THE BILATERAL SAFETY COALITION (BSCC)

Bilateral Safety Coalition (BSCC) has been a pioneer in the fight against human trafficking for the past 19 years and has a strong programmatic footprint in the San Diego County-Tijuana region. BSCC is a non-profit organization—comprised of a network of over 120 government and non-profit agencies in the United States and Latin America (making BSCC a bi-national organization)—that works bilaterally to combat human trafficking along the U.S.-Mexican border region.

Established as a volunteer coalition in 1997, BSCC was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2002. BSCC coordinates access to services through its member organizations, provides training and technical assistance to other organizations and agencies, and works to increase awareness of labor, sex trafficking, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

BSCC and the coalition is continuously on top of new trafficking trends (i.e., red flags) and responds to the evolving these trends by strengthening their community partnerships to augment services, actively adapting to the increased needs of clients.

During the past nine years, BSCC has assessed over 10,000 human trafficking victim referrals in San Diego County and provided comprehensive wraparound services (2005-2021) to over 2,500 human trafficking survivors. Of the domestic survivors identified from 2008-2014, 117 were sex trafficking survivors (including five minors).

Since 2005, the 91 international survivors served by BSCC include ten men, 65 women, five juvenile males, and six juvenile females. These individuals took part in BSCC’s unique transitioning model called “Victim to Survivor to Thriver” that ensures positive social and community reintegration for survivors.

https://bsccoalition.org

TALK OF THE TOWN LIVE with Mike Aguirre

Call in at 619-790-KNSJ (5675)

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WITH OUR COUNTRYSIDE AND WILD AREAS, BUILDING DEVELOPMENT, CONSERVATION?

JON GREEN WITH PRESERVE ALPINE’S HERITAGE

Jon Green is a restoration ecologist with over two decades of experience managing sensitive environmental lands, restoring habitats, and leading ecologically focused education and stewardship programs. He has been working in San Diego County for the last 15 years and for 10 of those years served as the preserve manager for Wright’s Field Ecological Preserve in Alpine.

Managing Alpine’s nature preserve has allowed Jon a unique perspective of Alpine’s history – both natural and cultural – and how the two have shaped each other over the centuries. History work with local nonprofits like the Back Country Land Trust, Alpine Historical Society, and Preserve Alpine’s Heritage, have provided Jon with a deep understanding and appreciation of the patterns that have shaped Alpine’s community and landscape.

Jon is also the Director of Community Wildlife Habitat for Alpine, serves on the board of directors for the Lakeside River Park Conservancy, and is an avid hiker and backpacker who loves to travel and discover new places – especially if they involve good food, sweeping vistas, or hot springs.

Preserve Alpine’s Heritage

. Preserve Alpine’s Heritage’s mission is to preserve Alpine’s unique natural, cultural, and rural heritage as an integral part of the quality of life of Alpine’s residents.

Alpine’s Heritage email info@preservealpinesheritage.org or follow on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/936459256844144.

https://preservealpinesheritage.org/Preserve

Today’s Morning Lineup

Friday 8am

Thoughtful conversations and a good way to start the day! STOP & TALK dives deep into the themes of purpose and opportunity, guided by the insights of leaders in the arts and culture, health, philanthropy, finance, and innovation fields. Together, we celebrated local achievements and envisioned what’s possible in San Diego County.

https://www.prebysfdn.org

TALK OF THE TOWN LIVE With Mike Aguirre Sat 11am Call in with Questions at 619-790-KNSJ (5675)

WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF WAR?

Guests: Members of Military Families Speak Out

Mike is in conversation with the co-founder and other members of Military Families Speak Out sharing their own stories.

Nancy Lessin is a co-founder of Military Families Speak Out, an organization of military families that began in the fall of 2002 with two military families speaking out to prevent a U.S. invasion of Iraq. Her stepson served with the Marines and was in Iraq during the U.S. invasion in 2003. Within several years of its founding, Military Families Speak Out became the largest organization of military families speaking out against a war in the history of the country, with over 4,000 military families speaking out to end the U.S. occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, bring the troops home, take care of them when they get there, and never send our troops to unjustifiable wars and military misadventures again.

Mary Hladky’s son, Ryan, was an Army Infantry Officer. Ryan served in Zahri District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan for 13 months at the height of President Obama’s surge. His battalion was sent right into the heart of the fight suffering many deaths and injuries. Ryan left the Army in 2013. In 2008 Mary joined Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), which is a United for Peace & Justice (UFPJ) member group. She began her work with United for Peace and Justice in 2010 as a member of the Afghanistan Working Group.  She has been a member of the UFPJ Coordinating Committee since 2012. In her retirement years, Mary now chooses to focus the bulk of her time on the serious and complex issues facing our country and world. She works at the national level through Military Families Speak Out and UFPJ.  Locally, Mary works with PeaceWorks, to promote a world of peace without war and its weapons including nuclear weapons. 

Billie Winner-Davis, a retired Social Worker with more than 26 years of experience at Child Protective Services in South Texas, has dedicated her career to helping others, and has been on the MFSO Board for about 3 years. Billie is proud of her children and their partners/spouses who have served in the Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marines. Currently, her grandson Aiden, is serving in the US Navy and is completing training as a corpsman. Billie is probably best known as the mother of Reality Winner, US Air Force Veteran and Whistleblower, who was imprisoned during Trump’s first term for releasing a classified document outlining the Russian attacks on our 2016 presidential election.

Laurie Loving of Davis CA, is the mother of an Iraq War veteran.  She and her husband Russell Loving co-founded the northern CA chapter of MFSO when her son deployed to Mosul in 2005.  Being so close to the capital, their chapter met with members of Congress, organized protests and press conferences and, along with the MFSO southern and Bay Area chapters, were arrested several times trying to end the illegal and immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now we are regrouping to stop the insanity of yet another unsanctioned war in Iran.  As the parents, grandparents, siblings and other family members of those serving, being critically injured and in over 7000 families, killed, MFSO members are in the unique position to to speak to the true cost of war 

About Military Families Speak Out

Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is an organization of military families opposed to immoral and unjustifiable wars and military actions with loved ones who have served in the U.S. military since 9-11. MFSO was formed in 2002 by two military families speaking out to prevent a U.S. invasion of Iraq. Twenty-four years later we are speaking out to end the war on Iran, the bombing of fishing boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, the deployment of troops to U.S. cities and towns in support of ICE actions, and other misuses of the military that have nothing to do with protection of country and Constitution. 

Military Families Speak Out
P.O. Box 4193
Seal Beach, CA 90740

Phone: 562-833-8035 or 562-522-4241
E-mails: mfso@mfso.org or mfso-oc@earthlink.net

Social Media:
Like Our Facebook Page
Follow Us On Instagram

Website: www.mfso.org

With Don Kimball Wed 7pm, Sat 2pm

Tune in to Friendly Fire a Voice For Veterans tonight at 7pm to hear long-time peace and justice activists Toby Blome’ and USN veteran Nick Mottern. Both of them are with Ban Killer Drones, and were recently arrested for non violent civil disobedience protesting outside Holloman AFB in New Mexico. They both make a passionate, intelligent and moving case for stopping the US drone wars!

THE WOMEN’S HOUR with Patricia Law Wed 5pm, Sat Noon, Sun 6pm

THE STATE OF HOMELESSNESS IN SAN DIEGO

With Guests Mandy Havlik and Katheryn Rhodes

Patricia and her guests are in conversation about those who are unsheltered, reasons, the housing situation, affordability, solutions and more.

THE ELECTRIC PICNIC with Susan Taylor Wed 3pm Sat 7pm, M 8am