In California: Art Laboe talks radio; candidates weigh in on Native American issues
For Valentine's Day, let's take a trip down memory lane with DJ Art Laboe. Plus: Democratic presidential contenders talk Native American issues. And this might be a good time to get your dog vaccinated.
Arlene Martínez here to take you into the weekend.
But first, sending a big congratulations to a La Jolla aquarium couple who just gave birth to two bouncing, swimming weedy seadragons. Mom and dad are doing well and the babies are happily enjoying meals of tiny shrimp.
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Art Laboe's got you covered. Still.
It seems impossible to have grown up in Southern California and not know Art Laboe, even if it might take a moment to place the name. That's how it is sometimes, with radio personalities.
The radio DJ is believed to be the first to take song requests to deliver from one to another and can you believe he coined the phrase "Oldies but Goodies"? Laboe, 94, was born when radio was only a few years old and he's spent more than 70 years in the industry.
As he heads to San Diego this weekend to host the Art Laboe Valentines Super Love Jam, enjoy this profile on the longtime voice still crooning out dedications after all these years.
Cheap love, expensive homes and rich people
Love don't cost a thang, and neither should your night out — or at least, it needn't break the bank. We've got suggestions.
Quintessential California love stories, in 100 words (my story is one of them!).
It took nearly two decades to get a mega-development approved and built in the Ventura Harbor. At last, the first residents have moved in (story is for subscribers only).
Guessing California's richest person may not be too hard. But can you guess who's No. 2? Answer's at the bottom.
Get your dogs vaccinated
Now would be a good time to check your pets' vaccination records. State officials are warning about the spread of canine distemper among wild animals that carry the potentially fatal virus.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife warned this week of an “unusually high” increase in cases among those that carry it, including skunks, foxes and raccoons.
Similar to the common cold, canine distemper can be transmitted through inhalation of respiratory droplets or saliva, and occasionally through other bodily fluids. If wild animals get into pets’ food and water bowls, the virus can be transmitted.
Unvaccinated dogs can also transmit the disease to other animals, though humans can't catch the disease.
Porcupine Creek and other interesting reads
The intriguing story of Porcupine Creek, which will host a big-ticket campaign fundraiser for President Donald Trump on Wednesday, less than two weeks before California's Super Tuesday primary election. But even before Trump's visit, the property owned by Larry Ellison had cemented its place in the Coachella Valley's "Presidents' Playground" folklore. Check out the story for how the estate got its interesting name.
A third of plant and animal species could be gone in 50 years, new research has found.
A man is killed after he falls into a piece of equipment at a mushroom growing, picking and packaging plant in Monterey County.
Democratic presidential candidates talk Native American issues
Perhaps more than ever before, presidential candidates are addressing issues of significance and importance to a group historically ignored or given scant attention: Native Americans.
Democratic challengers to President Trump have published lengthy tribal issues position papers, detailing their positions on sovereignty-related court cases and pinpointed how their broader platforms will affect the country's nearly 6 million Native Americans. And candidates for the first time participated in Native American presidential forums.
The Desert Sun reached out to all the Republican and Democratic candidates with questions about their platforms regarding Native American issues and reviewed the position papers candidates had published online.
The candidates tackled issues include missing and murdered indigenous women, Standing Rock, housing, health services and WiFi.
Here's what they had to say and where they stand. And here's what they said about:
As for Trump, he angered many when days into his presidency he approved the completion of the Dakota Access pipeline, which Native Americans and others opposed because it threatened water quality for the community and ran through land sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
He also declared November to, along with Native American History Month, be National American History and Founders Month.
And here's your answer to California's richest:
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg edged out Oracle's Larry Ellison. See who tops the other 49 states when it comes to the moola.
That's it for this week.
Enjoy Valentine's Day, no matter how you spend it, and enjoy a long weekend if you've got it! I'll see you on Tuesday.
In California is a roundup of news from across USA TODAY Network newsrooms. Also contributing: New York Times, Riverside Press-Enterprise, The Intercept.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Art Laboe, Trump, housing, vaccinations, Native Americans: Fri news
