The California State Water Resources Control Board has dismissed a petition from environmental groups San Diego Coastkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation to review a Regional Board permit for the Carlsbad Desalination Plant.

Throughout the course of any given week, I come across articles, podcasts, opinion pieces, and videos that I want to share. On this Friday, I give you random gems from the Culture Lust desk.

Every 48 years, the inhabitants of the remote Indian state of Mizoram suffer a horrendous ordeal known locally as mautam. An indigenous species of bamboo, blanketing 30 percent of Mizoram's 8,100 square miles, blooms once every half-century, spurring an explosion in the rat population which feeds off the bamboo's fruit. The rats run amok, destroying crops and precipitating a crippling famine throughout Mizoram.

San Diego's population is getting older. A senior summit will be held Saturday in Scripps Ranch to talk about the challenges of serving an elderly population.

A forum targeted to Asian and Pacific Islander community leaders is designed to make sure everyone is accounted for in the 2010 census.

In this provocative, thorough examination of the final months of the war, American Experience looks at the escalation of bloodletting from the vantage points of both the Japanese and the Americans. Despite warnings that his country, brought to its knees by the conflict, might erupt in a Communist revolution, Emperor Hirohito believed that one last decisive battle could reverse Japan's fortunes. From the U.S. capture of the Mariana Islands through the firebombing of Tokyo and the dropping of the atomic bomb, Victory in the Pacific chronicles the dreadful and unprecedented loss of life and the decisions made by leaders on both sides that finally ended the war.

California is one of 33 states across the U.S. that will turn out its lights for an hour beginning 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge exhibit at the San Diego Zoo reopened to the public today following a three-month, $1 million renovation.

Is Prop 13 to blame for California's near-bottom per-pupil funding in the country?

Budget cuts have forced San Diego city libraries to reduce their hours.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors decide on the future of Merriam Mountain development project and slash their discretionary funds.

California air regulators have reversed a mandate that required sun-reflecting glass to be installed on all vehicles sold in the state.

San Diegans talk about their hopes and concerns for health care reform under the newly signed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

If recent thrillers like “Green Zone” left you bored and wondering where all the tension was then try the new documentary “The Art of the Steal” (opening March 26 at Landmark’s La Jolla Village theaters).

Members of the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine officially broke ground today on a stem cell research center on Torrey Pines Mesa.

The unemployment rate in San Diego County dropped to 10.6 percent in February, down from 11.1 percent the previous month, the California Employment Development Department reported today.

The aircraft carrier Nimitz and three ships in its strike group returned to San Diego today, met by cheering crowds after an eight-month deployment that included operations in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The County Board of Supervisors had a busy week. First, the supervisors agreed to cut their $10 million discretionary fund in half. Second, Ron Roberts cast the deciding vote against the controversial Merriam Mountains housing development. What motivated these decisions by the County Board? And, what does Roberts' decision say about his reelection campaign?

After three years on the back burner, the immigration debate is back. Thousands of immigrant activists rallied in Washington D.C. over the weekend, and two U.S. Senators are working on a bipartisan immigration reform bill. What elements should be included in the immigration reform bill?

The health care reform bill passed by Congress will transform the health care system in San Diego, and throughout the nation. We discuss the biggest changes that will result from the historic legislation, and which elements of the bill still need more clarity.