KBBF

KBBF
Calistoga, California;
Broadcast area	North San Francisco Bay Area, California
Frequency	89.1 MHz
Branding	La Voz de tu Comunidad
Programming
Format	Spanish-English Contemporary
Affiliations	Radio Bilingüe
Ownership
Owner	Bilingual Broadcasting Foundation, Inc.
History
First air date	1973
Call sign meaning	Bilingual Broadcasting Foundation
Technical information
Facility ID	5310
Class	B
ERP	420 watts
HAAT	843.6 meters
Transmitter coordinates	38°39′23″N 122°36′54″W / 38.65639°N 122.61500°W
Links
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	kbbf-fm.org

KBBF (89.1 FM) is a non-commercial community radio station with studios in Santa Rosa, California. Licensed to Calistoga, California, it has coverage throughout much of the north San Francisco Bay Area.^[1] KBBF is owned and operated by the Bilingual Broadcasting Foundation Inc. (BBFI). BBFI was founded in 1971 and KBBF went on the air in 1973, the first bilingual (English-Spanish) community radio station in the United States. It was one of the first FM stations between Santa Rosa and Portland, Oregon.^[2]

History

The Bilingual Broadcasting Foundation, Inc. (BBFI) was created in August 1971 by several Sonoma State University students and community leaders with the specific purpose of operating an educational radio station that would perform public services.^[3] It received funding and support from the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation. The station was deeded property at 4010 Finley Ave in Santa Rosa on land that was part of a decommissioned naval auxiliary air station. Offices and studios were built on the site and a transmitter and antenna were installed atop Mount Saint Helena, located at the intersection of Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties about 15 miles N-NE of Santa Rosa, California. The station went on the air on May 31, 1973.

Throughout its history, KBBF has been a mostly-volunteer organization concentrating on supporting the local Latino population. However, in 2008 the station hit a low point in its long and storied history when its General Manager was discovered to have a felony drug conviction and the station lost its Public Service Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 2010, lightning struck the transmitter site causing severe damage and in 2011 the city of Santa Rosa slapped a $56,000 lien against the station's Finley Avenue property for repeated failures to resolve code issues.^[4] In 2008, a group of concerned community members called "Voces Cruzando Fronteras" sued BBFI, which resulted in a court order^[5] forcing new elections to the Board of Directors. In 2011 the new Board abandoned the condemned property on Finley Ave and moved the offices and studios to rented space in the Community Action Partnership complex at 1300 N. Dutton Avenue. In 2013 KBBF moved again to the present location in the Carpenters' Labor Center at 1700 Corby Avenue in Santa Rosa.

In 2015, the station was pledged $100,000 from an anonymous donor that provided funding for hiring a new General Manager, the first paid employee in several years. Two modern broadcast studios have been constructed at the facility as well as a portable studio for use at events. In 2016 a News Department has again been started to improve coverage of community affairs.

Current Programming

Depending on the day of the week, KBBF offers between 9 and 18 hours per day of locally produced programming,^[6] all of it presented by volunteer programmers. Local programs consist of news and commentary, interviews, live coverage of events and music of all types, including Mexican folk music, salsa, Latin jazz, rock, world music and even classical music "with a Latin connection", among others.

In addition, KBBF is affiliated with Radio Bilingüe and transmits their news and commentary between 12:00 and 2:00 pm every weekday. Other syndicated programs include Bienvenidos a América (information for immigrants), Undercurrents (contemporary music), and political commentary such as the Thom Hartmann show, Ring of Fire, Project Censored, and Democracy Now! both in English and in Spanish.

References

External links

Facility details for Facility ID KBBF ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
{{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
Template:FCC History Cards

[1] "KBBF 'About Us'".

[2] "KZST was the first".

[3] "40 Years of Bilingual Radio".

[4] "KBBF Hits Hard Times".

[5] "California Superior Court records".

[6] "KBBF program schedule".

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[3]

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[6]

v t e Spanish-language radio stations in the state of California
Stations	KAEH – Beaumont KAFY – Bakersfield KATD – Pittsburg KBAA – Grass Valley KBBF – Santa Rosa KBBU – Modesto KBHH – Kerman KBKY – Merced KBLO – Corcoran KBRG – San Jose KBTW – Lenwood KBUA – San Fernando KBUE – Long Beach KBYN – Arnold KCAL – Redlands KCCL – Woodland KCFA – Arnold KCHJ – Delano KCVR – Columbia KEBN – Garden Grove KEBT – Lost Hills KEPD – Ridgecrest KERU-FM – Blythe KEXA – King City KEYQ – Fresno KEZY – San Bernardino KFSD – Escondido KFSG – Roseville KFSO-FM – Visalia KGED - Fresno KGEN – Tulare KGEN-FM – Hanford KGRB – Jackson KGST – Fresno KGZO – Shafter KHCV – Mecca KHDC – Chualar KHHM – Shingle Springs KHMU – Buttonwillow KHPY – Moreno Valley KHSQ – Trinidad KIDI-FM – Lompoc KIQI – San Francisco KIQQ-FM – Newberry Springs KIQS – Willows KIST-FM – Carpinteria KIWI – Mcfarland KJDJ – San Luis Obispo KJOR – Windsor KLAX-FM – East Los Angeles KLBN – Fresno KLOC – Turlock KLJR-FM – Santa Paula KLLE – North Fork KLLI – Los Angeles KLMG – Esparto KLMM – Morro Bay KLNV – San Diego KLOB – Thousand Palms KLOK-FM – Greenfield KLOQ-FM – Winton KLQV – San Diego KLTX – Long Beach KLUN – Paso Robles KLVE – Los Angeles KLYY – Riverside KMAK – Orange Cove KMBX – Soledad KMEN – Mendota KMIX – Tracy KMJV – Soledad KMLA – El Rio KMLM-FM – Grover Beach KMPG – Hollister KMPO – Modesto KMQA – East Porterville KMRO – Camarillo KMYX-FM – Arvin KMZR – Atwater KNTO – Chowchilla KODV – Barstow KOKO-FM – Kerman KOND – Hanford KOXR – Oxnard KPRC-FM – Salinas KPSL-FM – Bakersfield KPST-FM – Coachella KQLB – Los Banos KRAY-FM – Salinas KRCD – Inglewood KRCV – West Covina KRCX-FM – Marysville KRDA – Clovis KRHM-LP – Bakersfield KRQK – Lompoc KRRS – Santa Rosa KSAC-FM – Dunnigan KSCA – Glendale KSDO – San Diego KSEA – Greenfield KSGZ – Greenfield KSEH – Brawley KSES-FM – Seaside KSFN – Piedmont KSJV – Fresno KSMY – Lompoc KSOL – San Francisco KSPA – Ontario KSPE – Santa Barbara KSQL – Santa Cruz KSRT – Cloverdale KSSC – Ventura KSSD – Fallbrook KSSE – Arcadia KSXY – Forestville KTAP – Santa Maria KTGE – Salinas KTMZ – Pomona KTNQ – Los Angeles KTOR – Gerber KTQX – Bakersfield KTSE-FM – Patterson KUBO – Calexico KUFW – Kingsburg KUNA-FM – La Quinta KVMX-FM – Placerville KVON – Napa KVTR – Victorville KVUH – Laytonville KVVF – Santa Clara KVVZ – San Rafael KWAC – Bakersfield KWIZ – Santa Ana KWKW – Los Angeles KWQQ – Hemet KWRN – Apple Valley KWST – El Centro KXLM – Oxnard KXOL-FM – Los Angeles KXRS – Hemet KXSB – Big Bear Lake KXSE – Davis KXSM – Chualar KXTS – Geyserville KXVV – Victorville KXXZ – Barstow KXZM – Felton KZER – Santa Barbara KZNB – Petaluma KZSF – San Jose KZSZ – Colusa
Defunct	KDBV – Salinas KDDF – Mecca KESQ – Indio KFVR – Crescent City KNCR – Fortuna KSKD – Livingston
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in California See also Classical Jazz Religious Spanish Smooth Jazz Other