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Humboldt County’s sculpture race is the ‘triathlon of the art world’
Humboldt County’s sculpture race is the ‘triathlon of the art world’
Blend Burning Man and Nascar and you might get something like the art sculpture race held every Memorial Day weekend in Humboldt County.
Mike McPhate
May 31, 2018
A cathedral of capitalism on California’s Central Coast
A cathedral of capitalism on California’s Central Coast
William Randolph Hearst not only ruled over a sprawling media empire. He wielded power as a congressman, a Hollywood heavyweight, and a…
Mike McPhate
May 30, 2018
6 fascinating facts about California: hero orangutan and dirtbag dope edition
6 fascinating facts about California: hero orangutan and dirtbag dope edition
An orangutan at the San Diego Zoo once gained national fame as a serial escape artist. Born at the zoo in 1971, Ken Allen outwitted…
Mike McPhate
May 24, 2018
How California’s newspapers line up on the June 5 ballot
How California’s newspapers line up on the June 5 ballot
On June 5, Californians will face a ballot posing some crucial questions about the future of the state.
Mike McPhate
May 23, 2018
California’s last volcanic eruption
California’s last volcanic eruption
With floods, wildfires, and earthquakes, Californians have plenty to worry about. But don’t forget the raining lava.
Mike McPhate
May 21, 2018
6 fascinating facts about California: therapy pig and peach king edition
6 fascinating facts about California: therapy pig and peach king edition
1. San Francisco International Airport has a therapy pig. It’s become fairly common for volunteers to walk therapy dogs around terminals as…
Mike McPhate
May 17, 2018
A California high school where students pretty much run the show
A California high school where students pretty much run the show
Tucked in a grassy canyon along the Central Coast is a high school where students chop wood and tend livestock between their history and…
Mike McPhate
May 16, 2018
Snowshoe Thompson was the Paul Bunyan of the Sierra Nevada
Snowshoe Thompson was the Paul Bunyan of the Sierra Nevada
Two centuries ago, delivering mail across the icy Sierra Nevada was virtually impossible during the winter — until the arrival of a…
Mike McPhate
May 14, 2018
What happened to the California drive-in?
What happened to the California drive-in?
There was a time in California when pretty much everybody went to the drive-in movie theater.
Mike McPhate
May 9, 2018
6 fascinating facts about California: Glass Beach and gay marriage edition
6 fascinating facts about California: Glass Beach and gay marriage edition
San Francisco and Oakland are the nation's capitals of same-sex marriage. According to figures released in 2016, San Francisco had the…
Mike McPhate
May 8, 2018
In a state of many Humboldts, recalling a forgotten father of environmentalism
In a state of many Humboldts, recalling a forgotten father of environmentalism
In California, a county, a bay, a university, and a state park all bear the name of Alexander von Humboldt, the Prussian naturalist whose…
Mike McPhate
May 7, 2018
The sad saga of the bear said to be depicted on California’s state flag
The sad saga of the bear said to be depicted on California’s state flag
Two centuries ago, an estimated 10,000 grizzly bears roamed as rulers of the California wilderness.
Mike McPhate
May 2, 2018
6 fascinating facts about California: Clint Eastwood and credit cards edition
6 fascinating facts about California: Clint Eastwood and credit cards edition
California's Central Valley used to be so watery that you could take a boat between San Francisco and Bakersfield. Long since vanished…
Mike McPhate
May 1, 2018
The Chandelier Tree is a beacon for romance in Los Angeles
The Chandelier Tree is a beacon for romance in Los Angeles
When Adam Tenenbaum hung a few chandeliers from a tree in the front yard of his Los Angeles home, he worried about how people would react.
Mike McPhate
Apr 30, 2018
A century ago, a Sicilian immigrant carved a subterranean wonderland in the San Joaquin Valley
A century ago, a Sicilian immigrant carved a subterranean wonderland in the San Joaquin Valley
When an immigrant from the Mediterranean island of Sicily arrived in Fresno around 1905, he found the summers brutal.
Mike McPhate
Apr 25, 2018
6 fascinating facts about California: Badwater and baby carrots edition
6 fascinating facts about California: Badwater and baby carrots edition
California is home to the contiguous United States's highest and lowest points: Mount Whitney (14,505 feet above sea level) and Badwater…
Mike McPhate
Apr 24, 2018
When the California sun turns green
When the California sun turns green
Legend has it that if you behold an elusive flicker of green light above the setting sun, you will acquire telepathic powers.
Mike McPhate
Apr 23, 2018
The alien clouds of Mount Shasta
The alien clouds of Mount Shasta
Some people have wondered if the strange sky formations around California’s Mount Shasta were UFOs, or perhaps some kind of cloaking device…
Mike McPhate
Apr 18, 2018
San Diego’s Chicano Park, a treasure and a battleground
San Diego’s Chicano Park, a treasure and a battleground
Under a bridge in San Diego is an unlikely wonderland of colorful murals known as Chicano Park.
Mike McPhate
Apr 17, 2018
Ansel Adams’ pictures of Los Angeles recall an era of war factories and 10-cent hot dogs
Ansel Adams’ pictures of Los Angeles recall an era of war factories and 10-cent hot dogs
We’ve all seen Ansel Adams’ luscious black-and-white images of Yosemite. Lesser known are his pictures of life in World War II-era Los…
Mike McPhate
Apr 16, 2018
A tribute to Prince has turned a quiet street in Citrus Heights into a pilgrimage site
A tribute to Prince has turned a quiet street in Citrus Heights into a pilgrimage site
An unlikely pilgrimage site for Prince fans has bloomed on a residential street in a nondescript suburb of Sacramento.
Mike McPhate
Apr 12, 2018
A statue debate in tiny Arcata is drawing fury from national conservatives
A statue debate in tiny Arcata is drawing fury from national conservatives
The national conservative media has been riveted by a political skirmish in the small North Coast city of Arcata. At issue is the fate of a…
Mike McPhate
Apr 11, 2018
Finding beauty in detritus in the Mojave Desert
Finding beauty in detritus in the Mojave Desert
In the Mojave Desert, a post-apocalyptic menagerie of 100 or so sculptures rises from the dust.
Mike McPhate
Apr 10, 2018
When California ruled auto racing
When California ruled auto racing
Southern California was once the throbbing heart of auto racing.
Mike McPhate
Apr 9, 2018
Burning Man is getting a major national showcase — a gallery exhibition at the Smithsonian
Burning Man is getting a major national showcase — a gallery exhibition at the Smithsonian
Burning Man hasn’t always been taken seriously by the tastemakers of high art. Now, 32 years after its founding, the hedonistic art party…
Mike McPhate
Mar 29, 2018
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