How California's Water Rights Make It Tough to Manage Drought
This week's torrential storms have made a dent in the state's water deficit, but as much as we'd like to think otherwise, we're still a long way from ending this nasty drought. Over the last year, the scarcity of precipitation has divided the state into two camps -- those who got all their usual water supply, and those who got none. It's all tied to California's invisible system of water rights, a system some say is unfair.
From Anti-Apartheid to 'Black Brunch,' Bay Area Protests Break New Ground
Throughout this past week, hundreds of demonstrators filled the streets in Berkeley and Oakland. The protesters were mostly young, angered over recent grand jury decisions not to prosecute two police officers involved in the deaths of unarmed black men in New York and Ferguson, Missouri. The week's protests got us thinking about how protest strategies have changed -- or not -- in the 21st century.
Diehards Try to Keep the Art of Film Projection Alive
All the rain and snow this week made it a good time to curl up on the couch and watch a movie or two. Of course if you watched it at home it surely was digital -- on DVD, Blue Ray or streamed from your computer. And even if you go to a movie theatre these days, what you're seeing is a "film" in name only. Not only are many productions shot digitally, almost all are projected digitally as well. That might not matter to most people. But there are still some diehard cinephiles trying to keep the art of traditional film projection alive.
Fort Ord 2.0: Revitalizing an Old Base
This year marks 20 years since Fort Ord near Monterey was closed. It was one of the largest U.S. military bases ever shut down as part of base closure and realignment -- leaving behind an area the size of San Francisco. Today, it's home to a Cal State University campus and a National Monument -- and construction is about to begin on a new veterans cemetery. But there's a whole lot of work left to do.
Mariachi Opera Details Life of Mexican Immigrants in 1940s California
Most operas these days are lavish productions, performed with big budgets in big city venues. But in rural Tulare County, a small opera company is taking a different approach. It brought together opera and mariachi music, to explore the lives of the farmworkers who came to the United States as part of the bracero program. Valley Public Radio's Ezra David Romero discovers a new art form that weaves together elements of love and struggle.