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California’s water use dropped more than 10.4% in July compared with two years ago as the most populous state struggles with a years-long drought.

Standard Fantastic Pictures presents: A film by Omar Lopex: "Ana, Who They Pulled Out of the River" plus short films by Hugo Crosthwaite, Ryan Betschart, Danielle Higgins, Ash Eliza Smith and Paolo Zuñiga. Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 Mingei International Museum 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m Free. About the film: Ana, Who They Pulled Out of The River is the debut feature-length film by writer/director Omar Lopex of Standard Fantastic Pictures. Lopex says his film is a marriage of the Telenovela (Mexican Soap Opera) & Arthouse films and calls Ana a “love letter to Tijuana,” the city where he spent his childhood with his grandmother. The film offers a unique portrait of Tijuana by consciously avoiding its 3 most cliched subjects: Drugs, Prostitution, and the U.S./Mexico border wall. In Ana Who They Pulled Out of the River, a mother abandons her infant along the banks of the Tijuana River. She returns 20 years later to find her adult daughter, who being raised collectively by the city of Tijuana has grown up to be a woman stronger than she ever could’ve imagined. Interspersed throughout the film are fantastical adaptations of various world myths, retold as dream sequences by different characters in the film. While Tijuana/Baja California is currently enjoying attention from larger production companies, local TIjuanense actors explain that in most productions lead roles are given to big national/international names while roles for locals are limited to either zombies, prostitutes, narcos, or extras. Ana’s cast is a mix of Tijuana & San Diego locals in all the lead & supporting roles. Its crew is also made up of people from both sides of the border. Boasting an All-Woman cast of local bi-national (SD/TJ) talent, Ana avoids the tourist and recently gentrified hip areas of Tijuana, instead setting it’s melodrama against the backdrop of everyday suburbs. Explaining why the film was shot on 16mm Black & White analog film, Lopex says that “the beauty, expense, and lengthy process of shooting on 16mm instead of digital honors the value of the transborder region & the people who live here.” Lopex collaborated with contemporary artists Hugo Crosthwaite & Toni Larios on elements such as dream sequences, props, animations, & the film’s titles. Inspired by Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) the entire score for Ana is made up of different versions of the same song -- the standard composed over 100 years ago, The World is Waiting for the Sunrise. Arrangements & recordings by Clinton Ross Davis with Mara Kaye on vocals.

The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy (SDRVC) will hold its annual River Valley Fest, the Conservancy’s major fundraising event, Nov. 7, 2021. Themed, “We’re Building Bridges,” the fest is a Hybrid (in-person and virtual live-stream) experience. The event will be at the Hilton San Diego/Del Mar. 15575 Jimmy Durante Blvd. River Valley Fest will celebrate the conservancy’s accomplishments and will feature live music by Hot Rocks San Diego, cocktails and appetizers, a silent auction, gourmet dinner, special programming, and exciting announcements. SDRVC will be streaming the event live for those who wish to participate in the festivities at home. A delicious take-home meal is available for virtual gala guests to purchase. Complete information is available on the Conservancy’s website Event Date: Nov. 7, 2021, 4:00pm-7:00pm Event Location: Hilton San Diego/Del Mar

In response to our callout, you shared (and crooned) bedtime musical selections that work magic. (Well, except for the mom who tried an Enya song and whose kid begged, "Stop singing!")

Soprano Dr. Maribel Ruiz-Velasco and pianist Gema García Grijalva will perform works by female composers from Europe, the United States, and Latin America. This intimate concert will give a closer look at the lives of these women artists through the lens of history and culture. Visit: https://coronado.librarycalendar.com/event/through-her-voice-songs-women-composers Dr. Maribel Ruiz-Velasco began her musical studies at a young age with Krzsystof Brzuza. She holds a BA degree in vocal performance and composition from UCSD, where she graduated cum laude. She studied voice with Mary Mackenzie, with whom she continued her graduate study receiving her MM degree in Vocal Performance from SDSU. She then had the opportunity to enrich her vocal pedagogy in Valencia, Spain where she studied with Susanna Puig while attending the Joaquín Rodrigo Superior Conservatory of Music. Upon her return to California, she received a DMA degree in Vocal Performance from Claremont Graduate University under the tutelage of Dr. Camelia Voin. Dr. Ruiz-Velasco has sung operatic roles with Riverside Lyric Opera and the Opera Street Festival in Tijuana, and has performed at the Spanish Music Festival in Granada, Spain; Museo Iconográfico del Quijote in Guanajuato, Mexico; and at the Villa Medici Giulini in Milan, Italy. Currently she teaches voice at USD and enjoys performing locally. Gema García Grijalva is a pianist with a broad range of professional experience as a performer, teacher, and community-outreach entrepreneur. Originally from Tijuana, Gema started her training as a collaborative pianist in 2006 and since then has been an active performer in the San Diego-Baja California region. One of her recent projects is Duo Lebhaft. Garcia Grijalva's performance experience extends from being a classical performer to a vocal and instrumental collaborative pianist. As a soloist she has participated in numerous recitals in Tijuana and San Diego since 2005. Her soloist experience also includes competitions such as “IV Bi-annual International Piano Competition” in Mexicali, Baja California, where she placed second on two occasions. She was also selected to perform at the Schlern International Music Festival in Völs am Schlern, Italy, where she had the opportunity to play in master classes given by internationally renowned piano professors, such as Erna Gulabyan, Tatiana Gerasimova, and Mark Fouxman. Garcia Grijalva's main areas of interest are educational philosophy, critical pedagogy, and collaborative performance. Her future projects include research in those areas, and the practical adaptation of critical educational theories in music education and music performance. She holds a BM in Piano Performance from the University of Baja California where she studied with Ella Korobtchenko, and a MM in Piano Performance from San Diego State University, where her mentor was Dr. Karen Follingstad. She resides in San Diego where she is a full-time Adjunct Instructor of Music. She also teaches young children at San Diego State University’s Community Music Program.

The Bonita Museum & Cultural Center invites you to the exhibition Lumière de California with a public reception on Saturday, May 21 from 4:30p.m. to 7:00p.m.. The exhibition explores the light of California as captured by painters in nature by members of the California Art Club, the oldest plein air club in California. The plein air paintings will be on view from May 21 – June 24, 2022 in the museum. Lumière de California celebrates the unique light of California as expressed through forty-three artworks exploring the essence of morning light, afternoon sun, as well as twilight throughout the state. Sky, water and mountains interact to express the beauty of California. Artists in the exhibition include Brian Belfield, Scottie Brown, Tonya Burdine, Gloria Chadwick, Rick Delanty, Mark Fehlman, Roger Gordon, Laurie Hendricks, Carolyn Hesse-Low (artwork “Skies over Hwys” featured above), Michael Hill, Debra Holliday, Debra Huse, Rose Irelan, Chuck Kovacic, Lester Machado, Rich Magram, Brad Neal, Jon Olson, Kathryn Peterson, Robin Purcell, Daniel Raminfard, Jeff Remmer, Jeannine Savedra, Lisa Skelly, Joyce Trinh, Sharon Weaver and Jeff Yeomans. California Art Club members from around the state will gather for this exhibition including artists from San Diego, La Jolla, Laguna Beach, Long Beach, San Clemente, Newport Beach, Carlsbad, Escondido, Pomona, Poway, Los Angeles, North Hills, Crestline, Agoura Hills, Monrovia and Valley Village. The Bonita Museum & Cultural Center (BMCC) is located in South Bay San Diego along the Sweetwater River. From the mountains to the bay, the Sweetwater valley is an ideal location for plein air painting. Plein air painter Alfred Mitchell started the Chula Vista Art Guild over seventy years ago to document the flora and fauna of South Bay San Diego. The museum organizes a yearly exhibition celebrating plein air painting and through Lumiere de California we celebrate the artist and their ability to capture this spectacular light. The museum is located at 4355 Bonita Road in Bonita, CA. website: bonitahistoricalsociety.org

More than 60% of San Diego voters said yes to Measure H. The approval allows the city to open parks and rec facilities to childcare businesses. Plus, the San Diego City Council is considering new regulations to protect renters. Council President Sean Elo-Rivera says part of what motivates him to help others is his own experience with eviction. Later, some takeaways from the the midterm election. And, California voters’ approval of Proposition 28 guarantees as much as $1billion from the state budget every school year for arts education without raising taxes. Later, Mexican artist Hugo Crosthwaite is being honored this weekend in Washington DC. His portrait of Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery Thursday. And finally, the Coronado Island Film Festival kicked off its 7th year Wednesday with “Empire of Light” at the Village Theater. Film critic Leonard Maltin returns to host the festival's Industry Awards at the Hotel del Coronado’s Crown Room.

Radamus, an alpine skier, is competing in Beijing for the U.S. during Tuesday's men's super-G race. His crazy hair is a standout.

NPR's Don Gonyea says looking through his old baseball scorecards stirs up sweet memories from summers long past.

"Steam loops" under hundreds of U.S. cities and universities have warmed buildings for a century. Now they could become a climate change solution.