News Panel for Feb 26, 2010

Time is up for the special session on the state's budget crisis, Anthem Blue Cross rate hikes in the face of Obama's health care summit, Toyota slams on the brakes at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, with a special report by PBS NewsHour Correspondent Spencer Michels and is tomorrow's energy solution Blooming in Silicon Valley?

• Shifting Gears blog from The California Report -- An ongoing exploration of the future of manufacturing jobs in California.

California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott

Chancellor Scott speaks with us from Sacramento about the challenges facing Community colleges with the state's budget cuts and what students can expect in the coming year.

The Fillmore Project

We follow two Bay Area artists -- choreographer Jacinta Vlach and saxophonist Howard Wiley -- as they start work on a new dance theater production about San Francisco's Fillmore District. "The Fillmore Project" is a tribute to the cultural legacy of the neighborhood once known as "The Harlem of the West." This is a Spark production for This Week in Northern California.

• Website of David Johnson, a photographer who captured the Fillmore District in the 40s and 50s.
• Article on David Johnson in Apogee Magazine
• Website for composer and saxophonist Howard Wiley, currently artist-in-residence at Intersection for the Arts.
• Website for Liberation Dance Theatre, the Afro-Modern dance company founded by Jacinta Vlach in 2007.
• Website for the PBS film "The Fillmore" which features historical photos, personal stories, and interactive timeline.
• Article on Jacinta Vlach and her previous work with Liberation Dance Theater entitled "Animal Farm."

Food and Wine This Week

Check, Please! Bay Area's Leslie Sbrocco speaks with Bay Area Bites bloggers, Thy Tran and Stephanie Im about celebrating the food and traditions of Chinese New Year.

• Chinese New Year Feast
• Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (Jiao Zi)
• Lunar New Year Sweet Rice Dumplings
• Bay Area Bites blog