Will Small Marijuana Growers Stay Competitive if California Legalizes Pot?
We begin with a visit to a family farm, the kind of mom-and-pop operation where everyone gathers around a table after the harvest to share a meal. Except this small farm grows marijuana. And the couple that run it are worried about their fate if Proposition 64 passes, making recreational pot legal. Will it squeeze out the little guys if bigger, corporate farms try to make it big in the green rush? Or will there be a boost in business for small farmers like them?
Blue Cut Fire Destroys Iconic Summit Inn
If you've made the drive between Los Angeles and Las Vegas any time in the last 64 years, you've passed the Summit Inn. An iconic diner, gas station and gift shop. A rest stop for Hollywood stars and tired motorists. Twelve Naugahyde booths, 18 seats at the horseshoe counter and a jukebox. Last month, it all burned to the ground in the Blue Cut Fire. We visit the remains of the Inn, on the 15 freeway, once a section of historic Route 66.
California's 'Godfather of Chicano Theater' Wins National Medal of Arts
For 50 years, playwright Luis Valdez has been bringing the stories of immigrants and farmworkers to audiences across the golden state. He built the main stage for his theater company, Teatro Campesino, in an old fruit packing warehouse in San Juan Bautista. This week, President Obama awarded him the National Medal of Arts for bringing Chicano and Latino culture to American stage and screen.
Meet a Laotian Refugee in Fresno Who Won a National Heritage Fellowship
Blues guitarist BB King had one. So did the creator of bluegrass, Bill Monroe. Every year up to nine artists in the United States receive a National Heritage Fellowship. There's no higher award honoring traditional and folk arts in America. Rarely are the artists as famous as the king of the blues, but they are masters of their work, connecting people to a sense of place. We get the story of one of this year's recipients, from a Laotian refugee community in Fresno.
New Music, New Perspectives: The Gaslamp Killer, Warpaint and Dwight Yoakam
Every month, we check in with our pop music critic Steve Hochman about the latest releases from artists in the Golden State. Today, it's music from an experimental hip-hop producer, indie rockers from L.A. and a champion of the Bakersfield sound.