The Los Angeles Times reports that Huntington Library and USC are launching a new institute today to study the history and cultural influences of California and the West. “The institute hopes to expand perceptions of Californians beyond such pop–culture standards as Gidget or Beverly Hills 90210,” said Robert C. Ritchie, the library’s director of research. “Baywatch, for a while, was the No. 1 television show in the world. That was California,” he said. “Well, a lot goes on in San Bernardino too.” Read more (subscription required).
[Thanks Scott! And laobserved!]
Meet the authors of the California Authors Directory. Visit the directory to discover writers like Christina Meldrum, a Bay Area attorney whose book Madapple was just released this month. “In debut novelist Christina Meldrum's mesmerizing literary mystery, 
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