Daniel Nussbaum - Page 71

The city of Santa Barbara is planning to re-open and modernize a mothballed desalination plant in an effort to combat California’s crippling drought, now entering its fourth year.

GQ magazine dropped the Season 2 premiere of its online series “Most Expensivest Shit” on Tuesday, in which rapper 2 Chainz smokes a 24-karat gold covered joint filled with $800 per ounce weed.

Hilton Hotels heiress Paris Hilton became the latest celebrity to visit Cuba over the weekend, taking in the sights of old Havana, attending a cigar festival, and meeting with former leader Fidel Castro’s son, Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, while documenting most of her trip on Instagram.

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) raised the annual water allocation it provides to the State Water Project (SWP) to 20 percent on Monday following several large storms that have brought much-needed rain to northern California’s reservoirs.

California ranks among the worst states in the nation at providing oversight of child care services, a recent study by the nonprofit Child Care Aware of America (CCAA) revealed.

Former Colbert Report host and soon-to-be Late Show captain Stephen Colbert sat down — or rather, stood up — with Father James Martin of American Media for an interview about his “Catholic smarts.” The interview posted online Monday.

Students at a California high school found their teacher hanging inside her classroom early Monday morning.

A group of laboratories in the Bay Area are testing marijuana for something that most food, medicine, and product providers have done for decades: quality assurance.

California voters are evenly divided over whether the state should bypass fish and wildlife regulations to allow for more access to water during a punishing fourth year of drought, according to the results of a Field Poll released this week.

Theatergoers enjoying the Valentine’s Day premiere of 50 Shades of Grey at a screening in Milton Keynes, England, were forced to evacuate the theater after a woman reportedly lost control of “all bodily fluids” while the film was playing.

The California State Board of Equalization voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce the state’s excise tax on gasoline by six cents, although consumers are unlikely to see the tax reduction reflected in prices at the pumps.

Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei is set to play journalist and women’s activist Gloria Steinem in a new HBO miniseries.

German engineering company Siemens is assembling a 50-foot, life-size model of California’s as-yet-unbuilt high-speed train on the steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento.

The United States appointed its first special envoy for international LGBT rights on Monday. Randy Berry, currently the consul general of the Netherlands, will be tasked with promoting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals at home and abroad,

v

The 87th annual Academy Awards were a bit of a letdown; there were no real surprises in any of the major categories, winners’s acceptance speeches got too political, and there was a shortage of good performances (apart from an outstanding turn from Lady Gaga channeling Julie Andrews).

A troop of Girl Scouts was selling cookies outside of a San Jose grocery store when a man approached and allegedly stole the cash box.

Appearing on Conan last week to discuss the final season of Two and a Half Men, Ashton Kutcher offered up a tip to host Conan O’Brien on how to confirm one’s sexual preferences.

Lady Gaga paid tribute to Julie Andrews during Sunday night’s broadcast of the 87th annual Academy Awards, performing a medley of music from The Sound of Music, including the song “My Favorite Things.” After Gaga’s performance Julie Andrews walked onstage

Sunday night’s Best Actor Academy Award went to Eddie Redmayne for his portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking in the film The Theory of Everything. Redmayne called himself a “lucky, lucky man” before getting overwhelmed. “This belongs to all of those

Citizenfour, the HBO documentary about notorious NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, picked up the Oscar for Best Documentary during Sunday night’s broadcast of the 87th annual Academy Awards.

The HBO documentary Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 picked up the Oscar for Best Short-Subject Documentary at Sunday night’s 87th annual Academy Awards.

Apple teamed up with legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese for its latest iPad commercial, which will air during Sunday night’s broadcast of the 87th annual Academy Awards.

Actor and rapper Markice “Kesan” Moore, best known for playing Andrew on Season 3 of The Walking Dead, reportedly attempted to commit suicide this week.

The Los Angeles chapter of the Al Sharpton-led National Action Network is set to hold a protest Sunday night outside the 87th annual Academy Awards near Hollywood’s Dolby Theater, over what it claims is a lack of diversity in the film business.

Street artist Plastic Jesus is up to his old tricks. On Thursday morning, a life-size replica of an Oscar statue bent over and snorting two lines of cocaine was placed on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, ahead of Sunday night’s Academy Awards.

NBC is lighting up with Parks and Recreation star Adam Scott, aiming for a ratings high.

California attorney general Kamala Harris, who recently announced a run to replace outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) next year, said Wednesday that she is “not morally opposed” to marijuana legalization in the state, calling it “an inevitability.”

Harris Wittels, one of the producers behind NBC’s Parks and Recreation, was found dead at his Los Feliz home Thursday afternoon of a suspected drug overdose. He was 30.

Actor and Celebrity Apprentice star Lorenzo Lamas’ wife is carrying his grandchild via surrogacy.

A 21-year-old aspiring rapper is suing Jay-Z, claiming to be the rap mogul’s son from a previous relationship.

California farmers, agricultural workers, and elected officials packed the hearing room at the headquarters of the State Water Resources Control Board in downtown Sacramento on Wednesday morning. The agenda: comments and complaints related to Board executive director Tom Howard’s rejection of a temporary order that would increase water pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to the drought-ravaged southern two-thirds of the state.

Science and technology magazine WIRED will debut its first-ever “sex issue” in March, the company announced Tuesday.

In an unlikely meeting, the Rev. Al Sharpton and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin posed for a photo together on the red carpet ahead of Saturday Night Live’s 40th anniversary special on Sunday.

Jerry Seinfeld got to host his own little bit during Sunday night’s broadcast of the “Saturday Night Live” 40th Anniversary special, and used the time to ding Brian Williams, take a question from Sarah Palin, and chat with several former

According to CBS San Francisco’s KPIX5, Hayward drivers are speeding right past a particular 30 m.p.h. speed limit sign at the top of a hill across the street from Cal State University, East Bay. To combat the problem, the city is taking action by putting up new signs that the station describes as “snarky.”