University of California-Davis

Letters

Palisades Rathouse: Unchallenged by Health Officials, Elderly Twins Fed Local Vermin Population

Old ladies lovingly nurtured rats, turning a home in one of the nation's priciest enclaves into Willard

Museum Listings

For the week of November 16 - 22

The Eternal Dustbowl

Paying for the sins of L.A.’s water barons has created a half-billion-dollar boondoggle

Paradise Created

Mysterious, private and sensual . . . the backyard in Los Angeles

Political Life: Shopping for a Hero

Howard Dean meets the Hollywood Left

Different Chairs

Howard Dean meets the Hollywood Left

Baby Greens

Politics may be a drag, but kids today are turning Green instead of tuning out

Finding Room in the New Century

Director Anne Bogart on taking up space

The Dozen Rip-offs

The lights are on, but California’s power contracts are a mess

Frankenfoods

Should genetically modified produce frighten you?

Can Biology End World Hunger?

Should genetically modified produce frighten you?

Weekend Agenda: Wine Festivals, Champers Galore, Sunday in the Park with Gauls

'Tis the weekend of competing wine events and food festivals. The mega LA Wine Fest happens at Raleigh Studios Hollywood on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with hundreds of wineries representing, and special educational seminars ($55 one-day pass, $100 weekend pass). The Wine House's Santa Barbara W ... More >>

The Key to Perfect Sauerkraut: Gigantic Cabbage

Jenn GarbeeNBA regulation cabbage If you're on a summer produce pickling binge, listen up. When you sort through the cabbage bin, steer clear of the lightweights - unless you're into kraut that is a bit on the scrawny side. A tightly wound, linebacker-size dicotyledon is what you want, says Gre ... More >>

Heath Bars, Lapin and Mash

Fusion Cuisine in Pasadena

What's in season at the Farmers Market: Persimmons

In a land that benefits from the tinkering of an ambitious UC Davis agricultural program, it's hardly surprising to discover that the varieties of persimmons available to the average consumer has nearly doubled in the past decade. But regardless, persimmons generally fall into two categories - fuyu ... More >>

Experts: New Anti-Pap Law Could Hurt Legit Journos

Sometimes we feel sorry for the paparazzi. Sure, most of them didn't go to Northwestern, intern for big newspapers or get bright-green LAPD press cards. They don't bring us news we can use. But they do capture an aspect of history, work their butts off, and face great bodily harm daily (especially w ... More >>

Autism In L.A. Clustered Around Affluent Areas, Study Finds

UC Davis​Researchers at UC Davis have been studying geographic patterns that correlate to autism perhaps in hopes of coming up with an environmental link. On that front, they came up blank. But the school's recent findings are interesting nonetheless: For the greater Los Angeles region, the ac ... More >>

Prop. 8 Trial: Prop. 8 Leader William Tam Gets Grilled By David Boies

Thursday, January 21, was a day many people in the gay community had been waiting for -- William Tam, a leading voice of the Proposition 8 campaign, received a grilling at the Proposition 8 trial from attorney David Boies, who's made a solid gold reputation as an intelligent and relentless interroga ... More >>

Is Your Olive Oil Really Extra Virgin? U.S. Called a "Dumping Ground for Cheap Olive Oil"

Flickr/Kevan"Extra virgin" olive oil may contain safflower, canola or peanut oil--and there's nothing you can do about it.​BP isn't the only disreputable oil company in the United States. Apparently there are no rules regulating olive oil here. Which means that purveyors can sell consumers any ... More >>

Study Confirms: Most Imported Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Sold in California Is the Pits

Flickr/saragoldsmithA new study has found that 69% of imported "extra-virgin" olive oil sold in California is sub-standard.​ Last week's olive oil news has now been confirmed: Most imported olive oils sold in California that claim to be "extra-virgin" are not, according to a just-released stu ... More >>

Best Bargain Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Costco Kirkland Organic

J. GarbeeKitchen Window Essential​If you've been following our reports on the imported Italian olive oils that a recent U.C. Davis report claims are falsely advertised as extra virgin (in a nutshell, pretty much all staple supermarket brands, though there is still much debate), you're likely a ... More >>

Meg Whitman vs. Jerry Brown Debate, And The Winner Is ...

Meg Whitman.​So what did you think? We think Republican Meg Whitman seemed canned and a little stiff in her first debate with Democratic challenger Jerry Brown in their race for governor of the nation's most-populous state. Brown joked (because of his time in office he said he has put in more ... More >>

Steve Cooley Paints California Attorney General Race Opponent Kamala Harris As Soft On Crime In UC David Debate

AP / Rich Pedroncelli​Steve Cooley and Kamala Harris duked it out during their first and only debate in the race for California Attorney General. Republican L.A. District Attorney Cooley painted Harris as soft on crime and somewhat of a bleeding heart liberal who's opposed to the death penalty ... More >>

Meet The Winemaker: Niner's Amanda Cramer, Calculus Teacher Turned Master Vine Reader

NinerDo We Detect A Splash Of Former Math Teacher?​Earlier this week, Niner winemaker Amanda Cramer was among those whom we chatted with about the current state of the 2010 California grape harvest. For better or worse. In an industry currently swimming in public relations laced glasses of kee ... More >>

Proposition 8: If Judge Vaughn Walker's Ruling Stands on Gay Marriage, Who Will Be Allowed to Get Hitched?

U.C. Davis law professor Vikram Amar​So let's say that U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling on Proposition 8 stands as it goes through the appeals process and the 2008 ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in California is found to be unconstitutional. Will that decision ap ... More >>

UCLA Basketball Players Contract Food Poisoning from Westwood Chili Fries

Flickr user Ron DolleteThese are not the fries in question​If you thought this season's UCLA men's basketball team needed more obstacles to overcome (remember the Kansas game?), you're in luck. The Los Angeles Times reports that, after beating Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 72-61 on Saturday night, ... More >>

Sorry, Jenny McCarthy: USC Study Finds Children Raised Near Freeways Twice As Likely To Be Autistic

Jenny don't lose that number. It's 5150.​More fodder for wacko autism conspiracy theorists (we're looking at you, Jenny McCarthy), or useful science? Dunno. But the findings, unleashed by USC Thursday, will surely set off more debate about what causes the disorder. Researchers said they found ... More >>

Death, Money and Megaraves

Why Los Angeles politicians embrace a growing Ecstasy phenom that kills

Q & A With Winemaker Greg LaFollette: On Bagpipes, Mouth Feel And Pinot Noir Love

Lafollettewines.comGreg La Follette And Assistant Winemaker Simone Sequeira​In the winemaking scene, "getting around" is all part of the gig. The best winemakers handle the grapes at various wineries throughout their career, and often more than one winery at a time, before they find "the one." ... More >>

Kiplinger's best value colleges: UCLA makes the list

​Several University of California schools are among the nation's best deals and offer the most bang for the buck. According to Kiplinger's annual list of the 100 best bargains among the country's public colleges, no UC school makes the top ten, but several do make the cut. Which ones, you ask?

Big Table Farm: From Pigs To Prosciutto Really Great Pinot Noir

bigtablefarm.comEverything Is House Made At Big Table Farm​There are the obvious reasons to start a food or beverage business. You love 16 hour workdays, wearing a back brace, and explaining (again) to customers why your small-batch goat cheese costs a few bucks more than the generic grocery s ... More >>

SoCal Beer Co. Launches: Doctors Drink Beer and Open Breweries Too

SoCal Beer Co.Reza (left) and Nader Jadvar​Add another California craft brewery to your Friday afternoon tasting rounds. Emergency room doctor Reza Jadvar and his brother, USC radiology professor Nader Jadvar, are quietly gearing up for their SoCal Beer Company launch next month. Currently, th ... More >>

Olive Oil Taste-Off: The Best Value For The Price, The California Edition

JGarbeeThe Winner's Podium​A California version of our Olive Oil Taste-Off was inevitable, if only in short-order form. And it's just in time for an updated report from the UC Davis Olive Center and crew, the folks who brought us the highly controversial reports last summer questioning whether ... More >>

Kim Barrios-Thomas: Marmed and Dangerous

JGarbeeThe Winner's Podium​A California version of our Olive Oil Taste-Off was inevitable, if only in short-order form. And it's just in time for an updated report from the UC Davis Olive Center and crew, the folks who brought us the highly controversial reports last summer questioning whether ... More >>

Book Review: Tomatoland , A Tale Of Tasteless Tomatoes, Toxic Chemicals And Slavery

​Forewarning: If you ever want to buy a grocery store tomato again, you should not read this review. Tomatoland by Barry Estrabrook is a contrasting story of McMansions and crumbling shacks, the bright red, beauty pageant-worthy orbs on your $8 Angus burger versus the fruit sprayed with so ma ... More >>

New Crop: Red Walnuts from K&K Farms

Felicia FriesemaRed walnuts from K&K Farms at the Hollywood market.​ K&K Farms out of Orosi semi-debuted a striking new walnut at the Hollywood farmers market this season. They've actually had the Yolo Red walnut for a few years now, but haven't consistently brought it to market. This year i ... More >>

Top 5 Weekend Food Events: Dueling Pig Roasts, Crawfish, Wine, LQ @ SK

18th Annual Long Beach Crawfish Festival Long Beach hosts a crawfish festival that features two days of the tasty crustacean battered, boiled, fried and more. There's also the usual array of Cajun music, booths, games and -- bonus! -- beignets. Where: Rainbow Lagoon When: July 30 - 31 Cost: $13 - ... More >>

Ever Wonder Where All the Stray Bullets From Gun Fights and New Year's Parties End Up?

A bullet in the head. ​Stray Bullets. These scary little suckers can whiz past -- or directly into -- your head during a hunting trip, a neighborhood shoot-out, or while celebrating New Year's Eve, firing these deadly rockets straight up into the sky, only to land ... wherever. They're not some ... More >>

Urban Wine Making: Rock Wall Wine, Or How To Share That Bottle Opportunity

www.alamedamagazine.comUrban Winemaker Shauna Rosenblum​Back in the early days of pre-Prohibition winemaking, setting up a winery adjacent to a vineyard was hardly a winemaking prerequisite. A warehouse or garage worked just fine for turning those purchased grapes into wine, particularly in Ca ... More >>

'Stop SB 48' Doesn't Want California Students to Know About Gertrude Stein?

​​Carl Van VechtenWriter and art collector Gertrude Stein​​​In the history of the world, gays and lesbians have always contributed to advances in many different societies. One such person is Gertrude Stein, influential writer and art collector who grew up for a period of her life in Oa ... More >>

Occupy-Affiliated Group ReFund California Threatens Lawsuit if UC Regents Meet Behind Closed Doors

ReFund California​Protesters concerned that University of California Regents will meet behind closed doors as Cal State University trustees are accused of having done this week amid loud demonstrations are threatening legal action. ReFund California, which staged a raucous protest outside the ... More >>

Last Supper Painting Protected From Smog With Help of USC Prof (But he Couldn't Save it From Pepper Spray Meme)

​On this Thanksgiving week the good folks at USC are doing their part to save Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper" from the ills of modern-day air pollution. (Unfortunately, they couldn't save it from the visual pollution of the above UC Davis-pepper-spray-cop meme).

Bill Bratton Tapped to Head Pepper Spray Inquiry at UC Davis

We're still waiting for the Shepard Fairey 'Hope' this shit don't sting Pepper Spray Guy icon.​UC Davis has tapped former LAPD Chief Bill Bratton to head an "independent review" of the pepper spraying felt around the world. As recently as summer the ex-chief had been toying with the idea of h ... More >>

UCLA Protesters to be in Full Effect Today as UC Regents Consider Costs: Occupy Principles Invoked

Steve GlazerThis is what happened when CSU Trustees' raised student tuition earlier this month.​As expected, UCLA students and other protesters will be out in force at the Westwood Campus today as some of the UC Regents hold a meeting that could ultimately decide the fate of another tuition hi ... More >>

Green Bike Lanes in Los Angeles: City Officials Waste $15K on Premature Paint Job

LADOT Bike Blog via FlickrSecond time's a charm. (We hope.)​Mixed feelings, these past few weeks, about L.A.'s quickly expanding arsenal of green bike lanes -- part of an adorable national trend. The new lanes are, literally, neon green. Though some grumpy drivers see it as yet another blight ... More >>

Hangar 24 Brewery: A Craft Beer Field Trip

Kerry MutterHangar 24 beer​Bored with hanging out at your local craft beer bar? Of course you aren't. These parlors of liquid pleasure are like being at a chill party at your best friend's living room. What could be more fun than that? Two words: road trip. Most of the regional breweries s ... More >>

Pepper-Spraying Cops 'Occupied' by Hot Models in L.A. Fashion Shoot by Tyler Shields

Tyler ShieldsOWS porn.​After the Occupy Wall Street raids, and especially one pepper-spraying incident at UC Davis, cops around the country are getting flak in many forms: Anonymous leaks. Twitter wars. Brutality blogs. Christmas sweaters. Memes for days. Actual punishment (sort of). It's off ... More >>

VIDEO: UC Students, Occupy L.A. Protesters Shot With Rubber Bullets at Out-of-Control Regents Meeting

YouTubeCops versus kids.​University of California police became iconic "bad guys" of the Occupy Wall Street movement back in fall, when an officer from UC Davis pepper-sprayed a peaceful line of protesters directly in the eyes as they sat, motionless, on the ground. (That incident has since be ... More >>

Jack Sparrow Gets Worst of it From Catwoman as Characters Fight on Hollywood Boulevard

Disney​There's no stopping the costumed characters of Hollywood Boulevard. After the LAPD tried to ban them from the area near Highland Avenue, they sued and won: Freedom of speech. And now they're free to kick the shit out of each other once more. The surly, salty folks who hustle for a buc ... More >>