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The Solar Energy Industries Association has just rained on California's renewable energy photo voltaic (PV) parade with the distressing news (PDF) that New Jersey's commercial PV projects now exceed California's, and that they are now the hottest and biggest market in the US for commercial PV. Yes. You read that right. New Jersey is not only smoking hot when it comes to solar installations, it may well pass California soon in total installations if we don't get organized and stop these pretende

The Arizona Meth Project is trying hard, and succeeding at, reducing first-time meth usage by young people "through public service messaging, public policy, and community outreach."  It does so primarily by using modern advertising techniques to create extremely hard-hitting 30 second TV ads with a core message of "Not Even Once." In an ad titled Just Once, three teenage girls are giggling, snorting meth for the first time in a bedroom. The voiceover from one girl says "I'll going to try meth j

Coordinated protests were held in cities around the world over the weekend as the Occupy Wall Street demonstration entered its second full month.   On Saturday, people gathered by the thousands and tens of thousands in cities from California to New York, to Europe and Asia in a day of coordinated protests and demonstrations held in solidarity with the ongoing Occupy Wall Street demonstration that began in downtown Manhattan just over a month ago. Thousands of protesters marched from the Occupy

California is so geographically huge with such a large population, that problems which are sometimes more evident elsewhere are also problems here too, even if they may not get as much attention. One such problem is methamphetamine usage. Meth usage is more prevalent in rural areas than cities. Abandoned buildings in remote areas can be used for meth labs, plus one of the main precursors for cooking meth is anhydrous ammonia, a common fertilizer often stored in large quantities in tanks. But of

First Solar, based in Tempe AZ, is the world's biggest manufacturer of thin-film photovoltaic solar panels. They use cadmium telluride rather than silicon in creating the panels. This has given them a price advantage over their fast-gaining Chinese competitors, and while such a method is less efficient in creating energy, it can also do so in lower light conditions. Thus, power generation is more stable, which is an advantage for grid-scale installations. Right now, First Solar is creating pane

Retail food prices at Arizona supermarkets were down in the third quarter according to the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation's Market Basket Survey. The informal survey averages the cost of 16 basic grocery items from retailers around the state providing a gauge for price trends. In Arizona, these items totaled $50.71, down $.60 or about 1 percent below the second quarter of 2011. By comparison, the American Farm Bureau Federation's national survey found third quarter prices on those same items av

"When you're up to your knees in alligators, sometimes it's difficult to remember your initial objective was to drain the swamp." That is what has happened over the past few years as Arizona lawmakers have struggled with the budget deficit. While the rush to balance the budget has been understandable, it's generally been done in a hurried fashion and with little or no long-term planning. Cuts were mandated, and the individual agencies were tasked with figuring out how to do so. Predictably, thi

The average age of farmers and ranchers in America is increasing, and rural populations are in decline. This is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture is acting to plant a new crop of much needed agricultural producers here in California and across the nation. Last week, Ag Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced this year's winners of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) 'Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program' (BFRDP). According to a NIFA news release, a tota

This is one of those unfathomable stories where you wonder if we're all living on the same planet or if anything can be gleaned from it to ensure that it never happens again. Shannon Palmer, a mentally ill man with just a few months left on his sentence, was put in a small cell with Jasper Rushing, an obvious predator and sociopath who was serving 28 years for first-degree murder. The cell was designed for one person, not two. The lights had been burned out for weeks so the only illumination wa

From 2008 to 2010, the Great Recession has disproportionately impacted the Phoenix area causing one of the most dramatic declines in employment rates among the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas. As of last summer, only nine other metro areas had a lower share of their population holding jobs. This according to newly released data from the Census Bureau. Last year, only 65.6 percent of working-age Phoenix residents had jobs. Household income figures also fell during this period as poverty r