SAN DIEGO ARTS : Radio

Bob Linden is the new program director with KIFM-FM (98.1), which recently expanded its nightly “Lites Out” programming--a blend of New Age and pop-jazz--into the daytime.

John Buffaloe, chief engineer with country combo KSON-AM/FM (1240/97.3), has returned from Central America, where he helped a group of Nicaraguan citizens return the country’s leading Catholic radio station to the airwaves.

Radio Catolica, a church-owned radio station in Managua that had been shut down by the Sandinista government more than a year ago, went back on the air after Buffaloe helped station personnel install new equipment and inspect existing systems.

Buffaloe was recruited for the mission by KSON’s owners, Jefferson Pilot Communications of Charlotte, N.C. The broadcasting firm had been approached by Republican Congressman Cass Ballenger, who organized the privately financed trek in coordination with Cardinal Miguel Abando y Bravo, leader of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.

“I really didn’t do it for any political reasons,” Buffaloe said. “My company has given me a lot, and this was a way for me to give them something back.”