Join us on Thu, May 21 for a virtual event on how and where to find accurate & timely wildfire information amid an evolving information landscape. Featuring Kevin Fetterman (Watch Duty), Zeke Lunder (The Lookout), & Daniel Swain (@ucanr.edu). surveys.ucanr.edu/su...

NEW: Trade court strikes down Trump 10% universal tariffs

Just infuriating.

The kids had a blast with Trump today

An under-reported aspect of California's wine grape crisis is that there's no obvious crop for farmers to switch to. The amount of land lying fallow in central San Joaquin Valley grows every year. Some will become housing, but it's far from employers. www.sfgate.com/centralcoast...

On Monday at 2pm PT, I'll discuss whether this weekend's showers might be the last of the season, where we currently stand water & snow-wise, and also the potential for a significant mid-May heatwave in California and across the broader West.

"Super easy, super good, super GONE!!!!" This light but satisfying fruit and cornmeal upside-down cake is a dish that can be shopped for at lunch and cooked without too much fanfare after work. nyti.ms/48xSOUY

Hmm. Wonder if this helps his crusade to win the peace prize.

Kimmel: "Wait a minute, did he just make a joke about his death? Only Donald Trump would demand I be fired for making a joke that his old age, and then a day later go out and make a joke about his old age!"

NO kings.

Comey: Well, they're back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won't be the end of it. But nothing has changed with me. I'm still innocent. I'm still not afraid. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So let's go.

Drink-local has been a nagging issue here in Lodi, CA. "I’m not suggesting that every wine list needs to be exclusively local. Diversity has value... But when you’re dining in a wine-producing area and there’s not a single local wine available by the glass, that’s a choice worth questioning."

How the War in Iran Is Draining the U.S. of Critical Weapons www.nytimes.com/video/us/pol...

Disapproval of President Trump climbed to the highest level of his second term, according to our latest polling average. nyti.ms/3QYfhEy

Highway robbery. Fortunately, they caught the looters who must now give back what they took.

Nicholas Longworth (American 1783–1863)—lawyer, banker, and real estate speculator—pioneered early American wine. In the mid-1830s, he founded the first commercially successful US winery in Cincinnati, Ohio. By 1860, Ohio supplied one-third of U.S. wine, outproducing California 2:1

I suppose this Ping Pong robot from Sony AI will come for me on the Pickleball court one day! Amazing what technology can do now.

Viognier in the rain. Bloom just starting at Berghold Vineyards in Lodi. Some small hail today, but no reports of any damage yet.

Stunning footage from Artemis astronaut Reid Wiseman capturing Earth like we’ve never seen it before.

This is important, especially for our Lodi growers. It is very hard to see so many blocks of vines being turned to empty dirt fields. True that the high yield contract vines should come out to restore balance. Sad when 90-year-old vines come out.

New Weather West post out this evening: "Unusually active April weather pattern to continue this week, and possibly beyond, as subtropical northeastern Pacific waters reach record warmth."

Tennis and pickleball are among the best workouts you can do to live a longer, healthier life, Dr. O’Keefe said. While tennis often gets your heart rate up higher and pickleball may be easier on the joints, what matters is that you do something.

Steve Borra's Ancient Vine Church Block. Very nice and interesting unusual wines!

In the months leading up to the midterm elections, hundreds of accounts have emerged on social media featuring A.I.-generated pro-Trump influencers posting at a rapid pace. Several accounts have already amassed thousands followers. Some of the posts have more than half a million views.

In case you missed it live, the recording is available below (as always!). There were some great questions from the audience yesterday (which is usually true, but I always like to highlight the participatory nature of these sessions!).

Give. Me. A. Break. Yet another day under this interminable regime.

Tens of people went to see VP JD Vance at today’s Turning Point USA event  🎥 Jake Traylor

Good to see the Food Is Medicine idea getting out there. I'd rather eat right than take a bunch of pills.

Tens of millions of dollars in almond, walnut, and pistachio exports are being CANCELED. Diesel and fertilizer costs are WRECKING shipping plans, machinery fueling, and future planting. Trump's war with Iran is devastating California consumers AND producers.

💙✊Join the Lodi Dems as we hold up our resistance banner on the East Lockford overpass @ Hwy 99 in Lodi. 5/1/2026 4pm - 6pm.✊💙 www.mobilize.us/cap25/event/...

Maybe he really does have no clue.

BREAKING: Orbán defeated in Hungary after 16 years in power

JD Vance: "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement. And I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the US. So, we go back to the US having not come to an agreement ... they have chosen not to accept our terms"

NEWS: Talks have reportedly hit a stalemate in Islamabad over the Strait of Hormuz. Israel is privately assessing the talks will collapse and is already threatening a “severe and comprehensive” next strike on Iran. Here's the latest.

At top, a capture of Markus Wine Co.’s Markus Niggli tending to his ancient vines. Bottom, the “Spring” panel from the giant murals of Lodi’s Ole Mettler Pavilion painted by artist John Garth 66 years ago. Visit Randy Caparoso Photography Storefront, www.randycaparosophotographystorefront.com

Core inflation in March was relatively muted despite a surge in overall inflation due to the Iran war. But there are signs that the energy shock is rippling across the economy. Airfares, for example, notched a 2.7% gain for the month and are up 15% YoY www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04... @nytimes.com

Since there's, uh, absolutely nothing else going on in the world right now, you might consider reading this late evening blog update on a potential NorCal thunderstorm outbreak over the next few days and a chaotic Pacific-wide weather pattern this April.👀

We cannot permit this to happen.

The astronauts of Artemis II give us Earthset, the view of our home from another world, akin to the iconic Earthrise photo taken by the Apollo 8 astronauts in 1968. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/s...

The receipts. A complete timeline of the shifting rhetoric. More: www.meidasplus.com/p/today-in-p...

On how growing interest in historic old vineyards has become a significant market niche, with photography celebrating old vines. Re caparoso.substack.com/p/the-upcomi...

The great vine of Hampton Court Palace near London was planted in 1768 while Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was in charge of the gardens. The vitis vinifera "Black Hamburg" is still alive and deemed the world's largest grapevine; 1910 postcard www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-cour...

Today, Christians across Canada celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are reminded that compassion is stronger than hate, that light follows darkness, and that hope endures – even in the face of despair. From my family to yours, have a blessed Easter.

You've got to be kidding. Checking the calendar... Nope. It's not April 1st.

Very useful quick summary.

some pretty startling numbers in this post… #cowx

What a difference (huge!) a year makes: March 30 in the Borra family's Church Block in 2025 (left, bud break just starting) and in 2026 (right, with Markus Wine Co. owner/winemaker Markus Niggli already doing aggressive shoot thinning).

satire/news:

Well, I do have some good news to report: yesterday's weather system "overperformed" somewhat in NorCal! Convective activity and even some stronger thunderstorms developed in the unusually warm/moist/unstable airmass, bringing some more widespread downpours than expected.