Jeff White/ KRML
102.1 FM, 1410 AM, www.krml.com
In the beginning, the FCC mandated radio stations “must use the broadcast medium to serve the public interest.” (Look it up.) Not so with KRML, as it delivers 10 times more PSAs than most stations and limits ads to six an hour, largely in the business owner’s voice. Quick digestible features spotlight finance, restaurants, gardens, sustainability and cooking (wine cometh soon), but the heart of this homegrown beautiful beast is music – cue the intuitive mixes of Johnny Cash, Mumford & Sons and the Fratellis, your new favorite band you hadn’t heard of until Jeff White laid ’em down. As GM Mike Hale says, “He knows his stuff on the air and behind the scenes.” This is what you want in a radio station – even before the hyper popular pop-up concerts like the one that hosted the Wild Feathers on Lovers Point cement pier right before they played Jimmy Kimmel – and this is what founder and owner Scott McKay wanted when he bought the station. The visionary and businessman passed away from brain cancer last summer, but his community-driven mission is more alive than ever.