Hot off the Press: Opening Day at Dodger Stadium edition

In an ironic twist, residents of good ol' Humboldt County, a pot-head haven, are questioning whether or not legalizing marijuana in California would be a blessing or curse: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-humboldt8-2010apr08,0,2570863.story. No doubt it would affect them negatively at first.

The Chinese are offering to help California build a high-speed rail network: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/business/global/08rail.html?ref=us. If you ask me, the whole high-speed rail thing in the Golden State is not the best transportation plan; conventional inter-city rail would be a good starter. High-speed rail is sexy, but nobody is talking about how much the fares will cost. Will they be reasonable, or attainable only to the business class? I think it'll be pretty expensive, well out of reach for normal travelers.

A LAT op-ed piece about the conspiracy theories regarding Shakespeare's identity, and how the questions regarding him undermine the importance and quality of "his" work: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-shapiro11-2010apr11,0,4716455.story.

The content of religious invocations at city council meetings is on the ballot in Lancaster: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lancaster-ballot11-2010apr11,0,758995.story. I don't really understand the ballot measure. Are people voting to restrict invocations to just those adhering to Christian beliefs, or allowing for any invocation by any religion to be accepted? Either way, I think it's stupid. This type of service has no place in government. I'd have no problem with a moment of personal meditation, when anyone who wants can silently pray to whoever they prefer, but government sponsoring of any kind of religious invocation is, in my opinion, wrong.

The Bay Area is becoming a hub for non-profit journalism: http://bayarea.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/10/bay-area-emerges-as-center-of-nonprofit-journalism/.

A DMR article about how cell phones, texting, and the rise of the "perpetual connection" we now have with each other is affecting our culture: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100411/LIFE/4110351/1039/.

Apparently, burning trash the European style is much better for the environment and produces more energy than land filling the waste and collecting the gases to be burned: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/science/earth/13trash.html. I'm still waiting for fusion power plants, à la Sim City 2000.

Iowa voters will get the chance to create a public fund for bolstering the state's outdoor recreation infrastructure and environmental conservation efforts: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100413/NEWS/4130361/1001/NEWS/Groups-form-strategy-to-sell-voters-on-conservation-fund.