A precious commodity in his own right, Huell Howser, the celebrated and affable host of “California’s Gold” (seen locally on KCET along with his Visiting and Road Trip series) swapped broadcast mediums for a turn at the turntables as part of KCRW's Guest DJ project on Wednesday. more ›

With a vibe akin to a Bollywood-meets-High School Musical casting call, KCET's Huell Howser made this oddly charming music video for his rendition of our unofficial state song, "California Here I Come." more ›

Move aside, Waldo. We're all about this new interactive map published by KCET that shows us where the legendary Huell Howser has been on his California Gold explorations of our bountiful state. more ›

In which one of our favorite TV shows, Current's InfoMania, pays tribute to one of our favorite TV show guys, Huell Howser. This clip is a little 3 minute bite of Howser's long-running career as California's PBS everything-enthusiast, complete with the requisite compilation of "Oh my gawsh"-es and "that's amazing"s, including a nod to Howser's recent cameo on The Simpsons. more ›

Beloved California public broadcasting icon Huell Howser played--and spoofed--himself on last night's The Simpsons. The easily awed Midwestern transplant is seen on a TV show about the making of candy, which at first delights, then disgusts Homer and Lisa. While we can't say that no one outside of California knows who Howser is, it's likely the cameo will only tickle locals who have seen Howser marvel over all manner of landmark, machine, or quirky Californian on his various PBS shows. Of course, if you want to see Huell Howser in a whole other light, there is of course this video... more ›

Hey Huell Howser fans, ready for a damn good laugh? This is California's Gold and Purple Haze. Oh yeah. more ›

Although TV host Huell Howser is a local to Los Angeles, the man loves all of California. Yesterday he disclosed to the California State Parks Foundation that his favorite state park hike is through Fern Canyon in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park, which compliments the nearby Redwood National Park in Northern California: more ›

A reader excitedly e-mails over that he's spotted Broguiere's Farm Fresh Daily egg nog with the face of California's cheerleader, Huell Howser, illustrated on the bottle. more ›

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for the challenges we have met thus far, and to be at peace knowing that people are becoming more open to our green message. more ›

So many times those of us who live in LA play host to out-of-town visitors who want to see all the sights that our amazing city has to offer. It's pretty routine to get asked if and how one can get up to the iconic Hollywood Sign to see it up close, and, sadly, it must be admitted that the sign is off-limits to regular folk. This means that looky-loos, locals, and pranksters who want to "change" the sign are out of luck (which means Brandon, Brenda, Kelly et al would probably not have been able to drape "W Bev Hi 93" over the sign after all). more ›

Larry Himmel is CBS8 San Diego's neighborhood guy -- the personable reporter with the know-how, the hip tips, and just enough wackiness to make any story interesting -- a sort of Huell Howser of the deep southland. But in nearly 30 years of entertaining San Diegans with stories of local and human interest, nothing could have been more personal -- or painful for Himmel than his on location report this afternoon, from the site of... more ›

Los Angeles is cleaning up after a wet weekend that drenched the southland and knocked out power to thousands. Want asthma? LAUSD is building seven new schools near freeways, despite scientific studies saying such construction could damage the children's lungs. Huell Howser is here. That's amazing! The city's neighborhood councils could be in for some major changes. Maybe now, you'll actually understand what they are. A Los Angeles man suspected of shooting his pregnant girlfriend... more ›

· The 210 freeway's last 7.25 mile stretch will open Tuesday, thus completing its route. · A 17-year-old girl dinged her car when out too late with her boyfriend. Fearing her strict father and his would-be punishment, she told the police a made up story about being kidnapped from Valley College, locked in a trunk and left on a dirt road near Santa Clarita. · "Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says he didn't use a penny... more ›

Today - Thursday College Football: California vs. Texas A&M (ESPN, 5:00 p.m.) the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl from San Diego "City of God" (IFC, 6:00 p.m.) Hardcore gang action in Rio - heavy duty violence College Basketball: Washington @ USC (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) College Basketball: Washington State @ UCLA (PRIME, 7:30 p.m.) Road Trip with Huell Howser. (KCET, 9:00 p.m.) Huell Goes to Chico! Inside the Actor's Studio (Bravo, 9:00 p.m.) Eddie Murphy... more ›

"Naked" (IFC, 7:45 p.m.) David Thewlis stars as a bitterly comedic rapist in Mike Leigh's vicious flick "Visiting... With Huell Howser" (KCET, 8:00 p.m.) Whoah! Huell delivers a "Griffith Observatory Special! - h/t LA Observed "Survivor: Cook Islands" (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) Someone passes out at the Reward Challenge and it gets stormy on Exile Island "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" (NBC, 8:00-9:00 p.m.) New episodes tonight! "Ugly Betty" (ABC, 8:00 p.m.) The... more ›

Gracious. We just got back from the Fifth Annual Interfaith Blessing of the Animals in Long Beach, where we took our beloved Pet Sematary refugee for a spiritual boost. We knew we were really in for something when we almost immediately ran into the pig pictured above, who obviously had no concept of a traditional luau menu main course. We'd write more, but right now we're suffering from acute Cute Overload. Enjoy the photos.... more ›

Oh man, Mom's in town and already she's all wah wah wah about how she wants to visit a museum. A real museum. Last time she was here she declared the Museum of Online Museums "not a real museum," and she got so confused in a bad way by the Museum of Jurassic Technology that she forgot to pick up the bill at dinner that night. Damn. You're not gonna let that happen again. more ›

If you're not watching Big Brother All-Stars you've missed out. Dr. Will has charmed the pants off of just about everyone in the BB house, even Janelle who has suddenly flipped from being the best houseguest ever to the worst. Meanwhile the King of the Veto James met his match when Janie literally took the veto right from his hand which will probably mean doom for the Season 6 stalwart. Catch up on NBC's... more ›

Do you ever happen upon something in the realm of local history that stirs your interest enough to employ good old Google in order to delve into it just a little further? It's that sort of curiosity that killed the cat, we suppose. It happened to us just the other day, when we caught a sort of "favorite moments" episode of Huell Howser's show on KCET. He re-ran an old feature from the late 80s about a spot called "Old Trapper's Lodge," which is just a couple of miles from our home. Well, actually, it was just a couple of miles, on Keswick Street in Sun Valley; as it turns out, despite being designated a California State Historic Landmark, it was torn down! But what was it that caught our attention? And what became of it? more ›