Kris Kington-Barker

Broadcast date: 9/27/2018

In 1998, The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County began its mission to provide the local community with an enduring form of local support. Today, 20 years later, this mission continues, by providing leadership and encouraging charitable giving for the issues that improve and enhance lives in the county.  In 2017 through a commitment to philanthropic leadership and the help of forward-thinking donors and community partners, they were able to distribute a record $5 million in grants and scholarships to support a variety of important work in San Luis Obispo.

Broadcast date: 9/13/2018

Constitution Day is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United Sates Constitution and is observed on September 17, the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787. A focus of the holiday is to engage the community in an appreciation of the Constitution so that they are imbued with an understanding and appreciation for the individual rights and civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. 

Broadcast date: 8/30/2018

A revolution for aging better is happening in California.
 Baby Boomers are redefining the aging process. Today, over 90% of seniors in our community want to continue to live independently in their own home. More importantly, they want to stay connected to their community, and to continue to do the things that are important in their lives. Many cannot do this without some type of support system, and in the coming years, this system will become taxed as the Baby Boomers age, and resources become strained.

Broadcast date: 8/16/2018

The 2016 election was marred by an unprecedented disinformation campaign from sources at home and abroad. A recent survey showed that 66 percent of people asked believed that outside groups were actively trying to plant fake news stories in the mainstream media and that it was a serious problem. Since then a central strategy of the current administration is a sustained assault on journalists and news media. In an unprecedented response today close to 350 editorial boards join the Boston Globe in affirming their commitment to a free press and the truth.

Broadcast date: 8/2/2018

Drag has long played a large role in the LGBTQ community. Many believe the first person to throw a brick in defense at the Stonewall Riots, which is often considered the birth of the LGBTQ movement, was a drag queen named Marsha P. Johnson. 

Broadcast date: 7/19/2018

Parents are often confronted with significant barriers to obtaining high quality child care. Among these obstacles are often low wages and high costs.  Quality of care varies greatly, and limited or unexperienced providers are frequently an issue. While many working families continue to struggle to afford the cost of care, a growing body of research shows that quality child care is important to the foundational development of children and their potential to thrive. Whether or not we help working parents in their struggle has the potential to impact our communities for years to come.

Broadcast date: 7/5/2018

More than six months after the #MeToo movement began, its effects continue to be widely felt across the nation. Hardly a week goes by when another media story isn’t published. The movement which began by exposing the abuses of powerful men in the media industry, has now spread to numerous other industries and occupations, including a variety of well-known corporations and educational institutions.

Broadcast date: 6/21/2018

On June 9, 2016 California’s End of Life Option Act (SB 128) went into effect, and the state became the fifth is the U.S. to permit physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. That means that a patient who has been diagnosed as having six months or less to live can then request life-ending medication from their physicians. The law was and remains highly controversial, and now a series of recent court rulings has placed the law in jeopardy, and its future remains uncertain.

Broadcast date: 5/24/2018 

This week on Central Coast Voices in honor of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday we will visit with members of the San Luis Obispo Veterans Service Collaborative (SVSC) about how we can honor the sacrifice of Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, by supporting veterans and active military and their families in our community.

Broadcast date: 5/10/2018 

This week on Central Coast Voices we will be celebrating Mother’s Day! We hope you will join host Kris Kington Barker as we celebrate mom, as well as motherhood, the maternal bond, and parenting, as we discuss the love, strength, understanding, patience, compassion, courage and selflessness it takes to be a mom.

Broadcast date: 4/29/2018 

This past weekend around the world individual’s and cities celebrated Earth Day, which is marked on April 22 every year. This year's Earth Day was focused on ending plastic pollution in the oceans, the land and in our bodies. 300 million tons of plastic are sold each year and that 90% of that is thrown away.  A huge percentage of those plastics end up in our landfills, our oceans, our wildlife and our bodies.  It’s with that concern, that organizations and people around the world are calling on government leaders to take the health risks of plastic seriously and asking them to ban single use plastics and non-recyclable products.

Broadcast date: 4/12/2018 

Talking about your end of life wishes can be difficult but making sure your loved ones and doctors know what kind of medical treatment you want is a very important and necessary step in receiving quality and compassionate medical care if or when the need should arise. National Healthcare Decisions Day is dedicated to helping Americans start conversations about advance care planning, and exists to inspire, educate and empower the public and providers to take action, because avoiding these decisions can lead to unwanted care, ineffective treatments and both patient and family suffering.

Broadcast date: 4/5/2018

This week on Central Coast Voices we will be joined by U.S. Congressman Salud Carbajal who represents the 24th Congressional District of California. The District includes the entirety of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, and a portion of Ventura County. Since assuming office in January of 2017, the Congressman has actively served the Central Coast. He is a member of both the  House Committee on Armed Services and House Committee on the Budget, as well as participates in over twenty caucuses.

Broadcast date: 3/29/2018

Have you ever wondered why practical money management isn't more commonly taught in schools? Have you ever wondered what it would take to help students be good with money? Pockets Change is a new creative way to empower students to change their financial paths, by inspiring financial capability, teaching financial literacy through the universal language of Hip Hop.

Broadcast date: 3/1/2018

As part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week we will be changing the conversation around food, body image and eating disorders. 30 million Americans will struggle with a full-blown eating disorder and millions more will battle food and body image issues that have untold negative impacts on their lives. Eating disorders can affect anyone, anywhere. And no one has to struggle alone.

Broadcast date: 2/15/2018

This week The Center for Service in Action at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is hosting the 16th Annual Change the Status Quo: A Social Justice Conference. This conference aims to empower students to use the Learn by Doing spirit to challenge social norms, ask critical questions, demand solutions and make lasting social change. Through guest speakers, inspiring workshops, and engaging sessions, students will leave the conference with a new-found sense and understanding of social justice, and how they can take ownership of their role in moving the needle with regard to social change.

Broadcast date: 1/18/2018

Momentum is building in many communities to reform the nation's cash bail system. According to a recent report issued by the Pretrial Detention Reform Workgroups the system is “unsafe and unfair,” “exacerbates socioeconomic disparities and racial bias,” and disproportionately advantages those with big bank accounts. However, there is obvious resistance in many communities, and especially from specific interest groups like the bail bond industry.

Although technology does provide many positive benefits for learning, it can also have many negative effects on child development and many believe it can rob children of their ability to function in the "real world." Join Kris Kington-Barker as she and her guests discuss how the Savvy Leadership Academy endeavors to empower today's youth with a foundation of leadership skills and knowledge, cultivating self-confident, well-mannered and prepared leaders of our future.

Broadcast date: 11/30/2017

This week we will continue our coverage of a large national poll by NPR which asks people about their personal experiences with discrimination. We will be joining with other NPR member stations for the series called "You, Me and Them: Experiencing Discrimination in America."

In the poll, about a third of Asian Americans say they have personally experienced racial or ethnic slurs and people making negative assumptions or insensitive or offensive comments about their race or ethnicity. Overall, Asian Americans report numerous personal experiences of discrimination, across many areas of life. Kris Kington Barker will join this important conversation with a local perspective with guests Elliott Gong, with the Central Coast Chinese Association (CCCA), and members of the Japanese Student Association at Cal Poly, BJ Yebisu, past President, and Jarrett Shirouzu, they will discuss discrimination in the Asian American community and share experience and views. They will examine both the state of discrimination in America and discuss issues and attitudes closer to home. You are invited to join the conversation and share your thoughts…we would like to hear from you about your personal experiences with discrimination. Call in a be part of the discussion at (805) 781-3875.

Broadcast date: 11/16/2017

This week we will continue our coverage of a large national poll by NPR which asks people about their personal experiences with discrimination. We will be joining with other NPR member stations for the series called "You, Me and Them: Experiencing Discrimination in America."

Today we will be turning our attention to the experiences and views of Native Americans & Indigenous Peoples. In the new poll, overall, Native Americans report substantial and significant personal experiences of discrimination, across many areas of life.  The report shows that 75% of Native Americans believe there is discrimination against Native people in America today. Kris Kington Barker will join this important conversation with a local perspective. Her guests Violet Cavanaugh, Northern Chumash Tribal Co-Chair. 35th District representative for the Democratic Party and Roberto Monge, Co-founder of City Repair SLO will talk about the experience and views of Native Americans & Indigenous Peoples and examine both the state of discrimination in America and discuss issues and attitudes closer to home.

Broadcast date: 11/2/2017

Have you felt discriminated against in the workplace? In health care? What about interactions with law enforcement?  This week we will continue our coverage of a large national poll by NPR in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health which asks people about their personal experiences with discrimination. We will be joining with other NPR member stations for the series called "You, Me and Them: Experiencing Discrimination in America."

Broadcast date: 10/19/2017 

Suicide is a serious public health problem that causes immeasurable pain, suffering, and loss to individuals, families, and communities nationwide. SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, maintain that nearly 40,000 people in the United States die from suicide annually, or 1 person every 13 minutes. This exceeds the rate of death from homicide and AIDS combined. Currently, more people die by suicide than from automobile accidents. Half of these deaths occur by use of a firearm.

Broadcast date: 10/5/2017

Conscious Aging is a unique program for seniors looking for guidance, meaning making, connection, and community to help fortify themselves for their aging years. The focus of the Conscious Aging workshop series is to invite shifts in consciousness away from self-limitation, lack, isolation, and fear and toward expansiveness, inclusiveness, wholeness, connection, and compassion. People assume that the solutions we’re seeking come from outside ourselves, but it’s important to recognize that some of the problems—as well as their solutions—arise from within us. In other words, it’s about consciousness.

Broadcast date: 9/21/2017

As a leader in the movement to provide an alternative to the negative influences children face every day. The mission of Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation(PRYAF) is to enrich the lives of area youth with free classes in the visual and performing arts in a safe, nurturing environment. They provide over 300 students ages 5–18 with over fifty weekly classes and serve over 1,200 students annually. PYAF is making an impact by encouraging students to stay in school, look toward higher education, stay off drugs, out of gangs and out of trouble.

Broadcast date: 9/7/2017

For more than 40 years, each October the Community of Atascadero Celebrates Colony Days and the reenactment of the original Tent City. What is Colony Days? Why is it celebrated? How did Atascadero begin? Who is E.G. Lewis?

Join host Kris Kington Barker as she speaks with organizers of this unique event, guests Nic Mattson, Colony Days Committee Vice Chair and Greg Ravatt, Colony Days participant and Atascadero Historical Society member as they discuss the history of the Atascadero Colony and the importance of this long standing community event.

Broadcast date: 8/24/2017

Founded nearly 160 years ago, the YMCA is a nonprofit like no other. Today, the Y engages more than 10,000 neighborhoods across the U.S, and 9 million youth and 13 million adults each year. It is the leading nonprofit organization in the country offering programs, services and initiatives focused on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, according to the unique needs of the communities it engages. On the Central Coast the Y is part of movement that serves well over 10,000 families in San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria Valley and Monterrey County and provides financial assistance to hundreds of families in need of Y programs and membership.

Broadcast date: 8/10/2017

As the USDA reports the average age of farmers and ranchers in the United States continues to rise, many fear that there are few if any young people ready to take their place and provide the food this country will need to sustain itself long-term.