Evaluating California's Clout in D.C.
As the dust settles from the presidential inauguration, the Obama administration turns to the work of transforming rhetoric into actual policy. The deficit, immigration and gun control are all on the front burner. Thursday, California Senator Dianne Feinstein unveiled legislation to ban military-style rifles and large ammunition clips. What will it take to get that legislation passed, and what role will California's Congressional delegation play on that and other issues?
Regulators Overlook Climate Threat to Dams
The implications for California posed by climate change are huge. Much of the state's electricity comes from hydro-power projects, taking advantage of steep terrain and gushing mountain rivers to churn out cheap, clean power. But climate change threatens that dependence on heavy snow in the winter and heavy runoff in the spring -- and it's a problem federal regulators have chosen to ignore.
Marine Base a Haven for Endangered Species
Southern California's coast is one of the most densely populated places in the nation, and over decades development there has eaten up wildlife habitats. But there's one big exception: 125,000 acres of open space that's become a kind of Noah's Ark for the coast's endangered species, the last place many of them can live -- and they've got some unlikely landlords.
Pop Music Review: Camper Van Beethoven's 'La Costa Perdida'
In the '80s, the band Camper Van Beethoven came out of Santa Cruz with wry and musically witty observations of scenes around the state. Like the bluegrass-Balkan-ska-punk song "Take the Skinheads Bowling," for example. According to pop music critic Steve Hochman, the band's first album in nine years, "La Costa Perdida" has all those early qualities, and more.
The Making Of... The Digital El Camino Real
San Francisco's Mission Dolores is one in a network of 21 missions connected by El Camino Real, the historic route stretching 600 miles between Sonoma and San Diego. An Oakland-based company called CyArk is creating a digital version of El Camino Real, and helping communities preserve the history of the missions.