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Airwaves

Radio Stations FRSC 96.3 FM--Free Radio Santa Cruz is an unlicensed underground radio station that broadcasts--when the airwaves are available--independent music and censored news stories. KAZU 90.3 FM--Member-supported public radio featuring musical, community-interest and public-affairs programs for the Monterey Bay. (831/375-7275) KBOQ 95.5 FM--Classical music around the clock. (831/656-9550) KPIG 107.5 FM--The Pig's eclectic blend of rock, blues, country, Hawaiian, Cajun, bluegrass and folk is interspersed with comedy, satire and bracing irreverence. (831/722-9000) KSCO 1080 AM--KSCO is to the right of the dial for a reason--your favorite haranguers from Dr. Laura to Rush Limbaugh take up much of the day, while evenings and weekends are turned over to local colorful characters like "The Nighthawk." Also provides excellent local coverage when the area's many disasters hit. (831/475-1080) KUSP 88.9 FM--The area's long-running public-radio affiliate provides NPR (All Things Considered, Evening Edition, etc.) programming, world music, community affairs, and live broadcasts of area music festivals on public radio. Insider tip: the new GeekSpeak program (Mondays at 6:30pm) combines practical computer knowledge with some impassioned opinions about the industry. (831/476-2800) KZSC 88.1 FM--Community radio from UCSC features eclectic musical programming and KPFA news. (831/459-2811) TV Stations Community Television for Santa Cruz County--Community interest, public access (including council hearings and garage-band rehearsal tapes--and who can tell the difference sometimes?), educational and regional arts and issues programming. (831/425-8848) KCBA 35--The Fox affiliate (Channel 10 on TCI cable) covers the Central Coast, including Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties. Has local news at 10pm nightly. Viewer tip: keep an eye on the complex emotional triad that is developing among anchor Alan Marsden, entertainment editor "Andy" Amador and sports guy Ken Rothhouse. (Santa Cruz news bureau, 831/761-3681) KION 46--A Salinas-based CBS affiliate. (831/784-1702) KNTV 11--San Jose-based news on an ABC affiliate. (831/297-8780) KSBW 8--The NBC affiliate features local Monterey Bay area news at 5, 6 and 11pm. Viewer tip: evening news anchor Dan Green displays a wry side that's going to quip him right out of a job with the station's new owners if he isn't careful. (Santa Cruz news bureau, 831/426-3888) KSMS 67--Spanish-language programming from Monterey. (831/688-7200) Sonic Cable Television--Cable provider for Capitola, Watsonville and points south. 475 Airport Blvd., Watsonville, 724-1030; 706 Capitola Ave., Capitola (831/475-0628) TCI Cablevision--In our mountain-sheltered county, TCI is the about the only way (short of a roof-top satellite dish) to keep current with the Clinton testimony tape-athon on CNN. Corporate behemoth also provides an odd selection of NASA feeds, regional-history documentaries and local-personality profiles on Ch. 3, Cruzin'. (831/439-5000) [ Santa Cruz | MetroActive Central | Archives ]