All California Local Articles


Image caption: The Chumash National Marine Sanctuary
The Life Aquatic: Resilience and ... Aquarium Webcams!

Two plans to protect the ocean and its beaches—and the coolest marine-life webcams on the planet.

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Crowdsourcing Plans for Resilience

Seacliff State Beach was obliterated by storms in 2023. California State Parks is mobilizing the public to reimagine its future.

Image caption: The newest of the 17 U.S. marine sanctuaries is being stewarded by the people who know it best.
The Chumash National Marine Sanctuary

Thousands of square miles of ocean and coastal habitat are now preserved for future generations.

Image caption: The gentle waving back and forth of the kelp forest has entranced visitors since the aquarium opened.
One Good Thing: Monterey Bay Aquarium Webcams

Have a desire to watch a kelp forest, or some moon jellies, or some otters, or sharks, or birds? Not a problem thanks to these amazing live webcams.

Image caption: Thank you for your service.
Service to Country and Community

This Veterans Day, we pay tribute to those who have given parts of their lives to our armed services, and those who serve in our nation's army of government workers.

Image caption: Hundreds of soldiers came together in Paris in 1919 to build something bigger than the sum of its parts.
Doing Good: The American Legion

The organization responsible for the GI Bill and Veterans Day continues to help service members, veterans, and their families.

Image caption: The recipe for democracy is simple, with few ingredients, but requires time and our best energy.
The Formula for the Days Ahead

The way forward is simple but not easy. Can we count on you?

Image caption: Barricades being installed outside the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3, 2024,
A Cure for Election Anxiety

As white-hot rhetoric and threats of political violence bring many voters to the edge of madness, we offer a hopeful reminder.

Image caption: The Sacramento San Joaquin Delta, which covers 1,153 square miles, is one of the largest estuaries in western North America. It supplies California with half of its fresh water, and is facing ecological collapse.
The Big Truth, and 'The Tunnel Vision'

Democratic institutions are at work statewide, dealing with local issues and big stuff including the California Delta.

Image caption: A sign for the Rotary Summit Center in San Jose, California.
Doing Good: Rotary International

The first service club is over 100 years old and still doing good in the world.

Image caption: Rotarians fete foreign diplomats, Washington, D.C.,  February 24, 1937,  On the left and right are the presidents of two local Rotary clubs, along with the ambassadors of Russia, Italy and Germany.
Meet the Radical Rotarians

An international network of business leaders are working to build local alliances and solve global problems.

Image caption: The California Treasurer's Office
Billions in Bonds on Your Ballot

Californians are being asked to approve two bond measures totaling $20 billion in the election now underway. What does that mean, and how does it work? Find out here.

Image caption: Municipal bonds built the Redwood Shores water treatment plant in Redwood City, California.
How California Governments Borrow Money

Municipal bonds fund water systems, school buildings, parks, police stations and other public projects that require voter-approved money.

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Ballots Are in the Mail: It's Democracy Week

As voters receive their ballots for the 2024 presidential election and important statewide and local races, we look at efforts to build democracy, and efforts to weaken it.

Image caption: A portrait of the first Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters in Chicago in 1920.
Doing Good: The League of Women Voters

The decades of work to win the right to vote for women was only the beginning.

Image caption: Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr., a staunch defender of voting rights.
The Attack on the Popular Vote

In more than 30 states, it’s harder than ever to vote this year. But in California, it’s never been easier.

Image caption: Sign for  Baliuag Lodge No. 301 - Soroptimist International (Pan-Philippine Highway, San Rafael, Bulacan)
Doing Good: Soroptimist International

Making a better world for women and preparing women to make a better world.

Image caption: Welcome to town. Here's how you can pitch in!
The Changing Nature of Doing Good

The legacy of ‘service clubs’ such as Soroptomists and Rotary lives on in a new generation of social clubs and volunteer organizations.

Image caption: A road in Florida flooded by the massive rains brought by Hurricane Helene.
A History of Mutual Aid

Volunteering and looking out for one another is central to community life.

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