In one of his first actions concerning the environment, President Obama directed the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, to immediately reconsider the Bush administration's denial of California's request to implement its groundbreaking "Clean Cars Program." If California's request is approved, drivers in California and at least 13 other states would have greater opportunities to buy cleaner, more fuel efficient cars.

They’re a posse of Asheville artists who play with the sort of spunk, meticulousness and joy that should be bottled and sold at some obscure roadside stand by a secret guru. The mystical, tribal and always fascinating Toubab Krewe have the ability to stir those emotions that you thought you may have lost, without singing a single phrase in any language.