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Community radio in the U.S. received a large boost in January when President Obama signed a billed that will permit establishment of an estimated 800 to 1200 new local community radio stations About 800 of the non-commercial community stations are already operating and providing music, health, education, and local information, news, and sports. The stations are run by community organizations, churches, and other civic groups, typically staffed by volunteers, and dependent upon donations from organizations and listeners. Community radio operations tend to provide information about community and civic organizations that are overlooked by commercial broadcasting, focus on social issues in communities, and provide services to minority, ethic and immigrant groups. Programming on community radio is distinctively different from commercial radio and tends to be more local than, and providing alternative content to, that of public radio stations. The stations operate on low power, making them u

This week The Business releases regular Businessmen Alex Koll and Chris Garcia to other comedy duties, and welcomes three special comedy guests in their place: Mary Van Note, Andy Wood and Zach Coulter! Mary Van Note is no stranger to The Business, and she should not be to you either. She has stormed the city, the nation and the internet with her charmingly awkward and sexually blunt stand-up. She has her own web-series on IFC....com, and she is the owner of an impeccable sense of fashion: http://maryvannote.com/blog/ ...and that's just the tip of the Van Iceberg. Catch her prior to her SF Sketchfest show over the coming weekend. Andy Wood is truly Portland's Finest. As a comedian he has performed with the best around, including at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle and the legendary Bentzen Ball in D.C. As a producer and founder of The Bridgetown Comedy Festival, he has brought the best around to Portland for one of the best and well stocked comedy festivals in our modern wor

UPDATE: When racing resumed today, after a snow day, the rails to the outer track remained closed while horse were on the inner track. Gotta give credit to NYRA for moving quickly once the problem was pointed out to them. With apologies to Bob: Yes, ’n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows That too many horses have died? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind Bob Dylan, Blowin’ in the Wind, from The Freewheeling Bob Dylan, Copyright © 1962 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1990 by Special Rider Music One unnecessary death of a thoroughbred is one too many. Yesterday at Aqueduct there was almost another one. Luckily, and no thanks to NYRA, the horse escaped injury. Since it was my – and my partners in Castle Village Farm’s – horse, I guess I take it personally. Here’s what happened. Our horse, Iguazu, was entered in Aqueduct’s 3 rd race, a $35,000 maiden claiming sprint on the Aqueduct inner track. Iguazu, a four-year-old by Smoke Gla

Years ago, a grizzled old oilman found a baby lying abandoned in a basket. That young boy became the oilman's nominal business partner, adding a veneer of respectability to his shady operations. Later, he grew up to be rising local comedy star Chris Thayer (Funny Party, SF Sketchfest), who returns to The Business this Wednesday as part of an unstoppable oil fire of comedy. We've still got Alex Koll, Chris Garcia, Bucky Sinister a...nd Sean Keane, who have agreed to let Mr. Thayer plunder their comedy fields for this evening. Oh, the comedy will be deafening! The jokes will beat you over the head like an old alcoholic wielding a bowling pin! Will the show be loosely based on Upton Sinclair's "Oil"? (No.) The show starts at 8 PM. There's no BYOB, but feel free to drink a milkshake during the show. Or even the milkshake of someone sitting nearby who won't agree to let you buy out his milkshake rights. Five-dollar admission, and don't forget your 2 for 1

2010 went out with a big bang for The Business, with a sold-out house and a drop in visit from our good friend Sheng Wang. The only way to follow that of course, is to do it again at the first Business of 2011, with another full house and sets from Julian Rodriguez and Ali Wong. With such a big push/kick into the new year, we can only imagine what it will bring. We have some tricks up our sleeve, so keep an ear to the internet tracks and keep coming out to the show. See you there! Sincerely, The Businesmen