A water bond that would replace the more expensive $11 billion bond on the November ballot has stalled in the California assembly. In an interview Tuesday with Capital Public Radio’s Capitol Bureau Chief Ben Adler, Speaker Atkins (D-San Diego) says there will be no water bond deal this week before lawmakers leave for their summer recess.

The state senate failed to broker a $10.5 billion water bond deal last week while Governor Jerry Brown continues pushing his own $6 billion water bond. Atkins believes the assembly can reach a deal in August for its $8 billion water bond.

LINK:

• Speaker Atkins: Water Bond Deal Has Stalled
• Brown Opposes Existing Water Bond, Wants $6 Billion Replacement
• A Closer Look At The Proposed $10.5 Billion Water Bond

Micah Albert is a freelance documentary photographer represented by Redux Pictures photo agency and specializes in difficult-to-access regions in Africa and the Middle East. He has worked on under-reported issues through out Yemen, Syria, Chad, South Sudan, DR Congo and others. 

He is a recent grantee from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting to work in Africa’s largest dump site, Dandora, and also won 1st Prize from World Press Photo - Contemporary Issues on his work in that waste-site.

His most recent work in Southern Algeria captured the intensity of the deserted area, the insecurity in the region, as well as the role of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic’s rebels in one of the most dangers axes in the world.

LINK: 

• Foreign Policy: Nowhere Land

Patrick Guderski will be having a book signing on July 5 at Avid Reader for his first novel, Honoria. The novel, set in 1993, is about a girl named Honoria, who lives in San Francisco. Living alone after having been recently bereft of her godfather, she dwells in a state of despair while she aimlessly embarks on a college career. However, a visit by a person from her godfather's past, a new best friend at school, and the competing interests of two tumultuously enamored boys reignite her sense of direction, which culminates in a whirlpool of perseverance, euphoria, tragedy, and rage revolving around a life-changing audition at Juilliard.

 LINK:

• The Avid Reader at the Tower

Some of the best history can be found within the lyrics of a song. Take, for instance, the unique history of Truckee, California. Singer, songwriter Richard Blair conjures up images of the Sierra Nevada town’s past in his album “From the Streets of Truckee.”

From the “Jibboom Street Barber Shop” to “Old Highway 40,” Blair’s music brings to life the town of Truckee in the late 1800s. Blair has taken his storytelling to the stage with live reenactments that include actors in period attire acting out the tales from his album. Blair spoke about the show on Insight last November between sold out shows at the Cottonwood Restaurant. We’re re-airing that story today.  

LINKS:

• Tahoe Daily Tribune: ‘Streets of Truckee’ CD preserves local history
• Insight: November 15, 2013