western news

Someday decades from now, California's sprawling coastal cities could draw their power from floating windmills that bob on the sea like buoys, far from shore.

Their blades would spin over deep ocean water, turning in winds that are steadier and stronger than they are on land. Undersea cables would send their electricity to shore.

Despite a recession that has seen a drop in new car and truck registrations, motorcycle registrations in California boomed by 6.6 percent in 2008.

The state is home to 841,081 registered motorcycles, along with a riding community estimated to be well over 1 million people.

It's the kind of statistic that makes radio talk show hosts drool:

California is home to about 12 percent of all Americans -- and more than 30 percent of all Americans on welfare.

Critics of the state's welfare program, called CalWORKs, say the statistic provides clear proof that the system is flabby and overly beneficent, particularly as compared to other states.

Bill Patzert calls it the "great wet hope."
"You say 'El Nino' and everyone's eyes light up," said Patzert, a climatologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

A trend toward using bicycles for errands and commuting appears to have outlasted last summer's gas price hikes, some cycling industry experts observe. And the industry is responding by introducing more models adapted to the new type of cyclists.

Keep that towel handy. California parks officials can enforce a ban on nudity at any state beach, even in areas that have been informally designated as "clothing optional," a state appeals court says.

Two environmentalists who study fire ecology say community leaders shouldn't be applauding U.S. Forest Service firefighters' quick work to contain a recent wildfire, no matter how much smoke was kept out of the air.

The options can seem daunting and way too expensive; the acronyms, confusing. ARRA? COBRA? And for heaven's sake, Cal-COBRA?
Unless layoffs become personal, it's easy to skim past the scary prospect of what happens to your health benefits when you've lost your job.

A breeze stirs the silence at Joshua Tree National Park, as a red-tailed hawk takes flight from the spiky arm of one of the namesake plants in search of breakfast.

Olive oil has the grape harvester to thank for its status as one of the fastest growing industries in California, soaring by 50 percent this year alone.
Without a modified version of the mechanical contraption -- it drives over treetops to harvest olives at up to 670 trees an hour -- olive oil would still be a boutique industry.