Connecting California

A Very Cheech Marin Thanksgiving

Stoner, Boy Scout, Yogi, Art Collector—the Actor-Comedian Contains Multitudes

This week, California should give thanks for Cheech.

Richard Anthony Marin deserves our gratitude not just because his new autobiography, Cheech Is Not My Real Name … But Don’t Call Me Chong, turns out to be the best California book of the year. And not just because his career should give you hope that no matter how short, bald, or brown you are, you can be a star.

The biggest reason to thank Cheech now is that his life embodies Thanksgiving itself: a big, robust meal that includes many different flavors but …

By Joe Mathews |

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What Californians Can Learn From South Korea’s Nuclear Cool

As the Golden State Frets Over North Korea's Missiles, Seoul Residents Say 'Keep Calm, Study up—and Drink'

By Joe Mathews |

Can Californians learn to be as cool as Koreans in the face of nuclear annihilation?

Visiting Seoul last week, I asked people how they stay sane while living within range of …

How Data Is Making California’s Water Wars Worse

An Explosion of Information May Allow Californians to Track—and Fight About—Every Drop

By Joe Mathews |

If you thought California’s famously bitter water wars were hard-fought, just wait until you see our water data wars.

Californians fight over water because we all need it and there is …

California’s Fear of High-Rise Living Is Blocking Our View of the Future

Tall Residential Housing Would Spur Retail, Ease Homelessness, and Curb Pollution and Traffic

By Joe Mathews |

Want to spook your neighbors this Halloween? Don’t bother with big displays of goblins, ghouls, or ghosts. Instead, just decorate your door with a picture of an eight-story apartment building.

Californians …

All California Is Wine Country—and the Wildfires Make It More So

Our Thriving Vineyards Put People in Harm's Way, but They Also Bind Us Together

By Joe Mathews |

The deaths and damage of this year’s Wine Country wildfires are a historic disaster. They are also the product of an epic California success.

That triumph is the growth of the …

My Doubts About Single-Payer Just Show I’m Sick in the Head

California's Newest Litmus Test Requires Support of Government Healthcare—or Else

By Joe Mathews |

I’m so disappointed in myself.

I really should be 100 percent supportive of the effort to establish a single-payer health system in California. Because all the best Californians are for it. …


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