We here at Culture Lust were blown away by the sheer amount of stuff to do this weekend - for starters, you can grill Chelsea Handler on her new book, go chocolate tasting in Encinitas, or resurrect that prom dress for a night at The Pearl Hotel.

About 20 West Coast lawmakers are backing legislation that would permanently ban new offshore drilling in federal waters near California, Oregon and Washington.

The owner of a San Diego recycling center was one of 31 people arrested for claiming container-deposit money on bottles and cans trucked in from other states.

Riverside County Supervisors have committed to raising $10 million to help support a medical school at the UC Riverside campus. Officials at UC San Diego question whether the new medical school is a good idea.

Federal census workers who visit households that have not returned 2010 survey forms will wear identification and will not ask to enter homes, the Carlsbad Police Department announced today.

California water regulators have ordered coastal power plants to begin phasing out a cooling process that is blamed for killing billions of aquatic organisms every year.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis today dismissed conflict-of-interest charges against six former San Diego pension board members.

Four of the eight San Diego City Council seats are on the June Primary ballot. As part of continuing election coverage on KPBS, we'll talk about the candidates and the issues with KPBS political correspondent Gloria Penner.

Robert Rodriguez made a faux trailer for a film called "Machete" to use in the "Grindhouse" double feature he and Quentin Tarantino put together. This summer a real film called "Machete" will hit theaters. But for Cinco de Mayo, Machete has a special trailer for Arizona.

The Department of Homeland Security has ordered airlines to check the federal "no fly" list more quickly to close a loophole that nearly allowed the man accused of plotting to bomb New York's Times Square to flee the country.

Eric Puchner's new novel "Model Home" follows the dramatic downward spiral of the Ziller family in Southern California during the 1980s. This funny, slightly prescient, sometimes melodramatic novel is an excellent addition to your summer reading list.

SDG&E will begin a series of community meetings this week to update residents on the latest plans for the Sunrise Powerlink project. We speak to a representative from SDG&E, and to two people who represent communities along the proposed path, about the impact the 120-mile transmission line could have on their area.

May is National Foster Care month. We take a look at what foster kids need that isn't a necessity.

Even before last month's devastating earthquake, Calexico, in the Imperial Valley, had the highest home foreclosure and unemployment rates in California. Today, schools in Calexico Unifed will reopen after repairs from earthquake damage.

San Diego is the first region in California to tackle what seems to be an impossible task: planning for a major population expansion while at the same time cutting back on greenhouse gases.

Calexico Unified school kids return to classes on Wednesday after spending the past month without classroom instruction. The Easter earthquake in April had forced all Calexico schools to shut down until now.