Topline:
Champion bodybuilder, Hollywood superstar, Governor of California — Arnold Schwarzenegger offers a few pieces of advice about living a successful life in his new book Be Useful.
Some tips: Having a clear vision and "breaking your mirrors" are just two of the perspective Schwarzenegger discusses in this wide-ranging interview.
Read more ... for insight into a variety of subjects: goals, failures and the concept of usefulness in and of itself.
Champion bodybuilder. Hollywood superstar. Governor of California.
Not a bad resume.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has achieved more than most of us could ever hope to. And he's sharing some of his secrets to success in his new book Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life.
Morning Edition host A Martinez spoke with Schwarzenegger about his latest project.
A Martinez: When did becoming useful become something that you thought was important?
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Well, I think that ever since my father stressed when I was a kid to be useful. I think it had an impact on me, and it stayed with me as a method, so much so that I always wanted to perform and do more. It became such a big part of my life that even when I sleep in - sometimes past 6:00 in the morning - I feel guilty because I hear my father's voice saying, "Arnold, that's not how this country was built, by sleeping in. Be useful, do something. What are you doing today?" And so, you know, I think that it just stayed with me.
AM: But even at that young of an age, you understood what that meant. You understood a deeper meaning of what being useful meant.
AS: Well, let's assume for a second I didn't know what it meant. My father would make sure that I knew. Just to give you an example, I was studying bodybuilding at the age of 15, and my father would say, "Why are you lifting these dumbbells and barbells? Don't you think it would be better to just go out and chop some wood and shovel some coals for some poor people that don't have anyone?" It was common in those days: neighbor kids would go and do that kind of chore for older people so that when the fall comes, they have it for the winter.
I looked up to this famous boxer by the name of Laszlo Papp. He's a Hungarian boxer, European champion, and he trains by chopping wood. And so, "Why couldn't YOU chop wood? And then therefore, you would get muscles, you get strong, get great energy, you will look great. But at the same time, you're doing something useful. You're doing something for somebody rather than just for yourself and looking in the mirror." So he would make sure that you knew what being useful meant.
AM: Is being useful the same as not being useless?
AS: Well, it's more proactive. I mean, being useful is not just hanging back and making mistakes. It's going out and using your energy and your time for something good, which means for yourself but also and always to think about other people. I think that we have to be aware of the fact that we are creations by a lot of people. We are not self-made. I hate when someone says, "Oh, Schwarzenegger is the perfect example of a self-made man" because I'm not. I'm a creation of my parents. I'm a creation of my coaches, my teachers. I have been helped by my training partners, by my friends. Especially when I think about coming to America, it was Joe Wheeler that helped me to come over here, got me the airline ticket, helped me get the apartment and the car. The people of California voted for me to be governor of California. So I didn't become governor because I'm self-made; I became governor because people voted for me.
AM: But it was a compliment. I mean, I think people meant it as a compliment that you were able to motivate yourself to accomplish these things.
AS: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it is a compliment, but it is very important to let people know: I really appreciate you saying that, but I'm a creation of all of this help.
I would not have done Twins if it wouldn't have been for Ivan Reitman. I would not have been able to do Conan the Barbarian if it wouldn't have been for John Milius. So there's so many people that helped me. And the reason why that is important, that we recognize that we are creations of people's help, is because that makes us then understand that we are responsible for going out and helping other people, that it is not a one-way street. You know, people help us to get to be where we are today, and therefore I now have the responsibility to go out and help other people to become successful.
AM: Well, just how wide of a scope, then, does being useful need to be? Because I can imagine for you, I think you probably have to feel useful to a lot [more] people than I would. I mean, if I feel useful to my grandkids or to my wife, I feel pretty good about the day.
AS: I think that it really depends on you how far you want to go with that. One thing we know for sure: the majority of people really don't feel like they're useful enough or they are successful enough. And this is what this book is all about: Be Useful is to give people the tools. How can they go and become more useful? How can they become more successful? How can they become happier with their lives, their jobs and everything that they are doing?
You have to understand that no matter what we do, there's someone there that can help you with that. If I want to go and learn how to ski, I take ski lessons. If I want to learn about bodybuilding, I'll go and get a fitness instructor. But there's really no one that provides usually the tools to success. I think what this book does is basically just say, look, here are some tools that I've used in my life. And the reason why I've become so successful in so many different areas is because I follow those rules and I applied those rules.
AM: So, for example, last year when you put out that video calling out Russia's misinformation campaign — and also telling Russia to stop the war in Ukraine — were you just expressing an opinion or were you trying to be useful?
AM: Both. Both to let the Russian soldiers and the Russian people know that this is an unjust war that is not provoked. There was no one there challenging Russia. This was a peaceful country, Ukraine, and they were minding their own business. All of a sudden, they're getting attacked. So that is not right. I think that we have to speak out because something's wrong, to help them to understand it — and at the same time to let people know around the world how I feel about it. It was just my opinion and also trying to be useful at the same time.
But, you know, this is not what this book is about. It's just really helping people to go to the next level when it comes to success. What I wanted to do is just let people know you don't have to have a job that you hate. If you take some time and create a vision for yourself and create a goal for yourself — and then chase that goal no matter how difficult it may be — life becomes kind of fun. Because to me, my life was always a lot of fun, even though I struggled a lot and I was battling it out, losing a lot of the battles and then winning some. It was always interesting and spicy and exciting because I knew what I was chasing all the time — to become Mr. Universe, or becoming the greatest bodybuilder in the world, or coming to America, or getting into movies and becoming a leading man, or running for governor. It doesn't matter what it is. It was always a fun chase.
AM: You mentioned losing some battles. Which battles did you lose? I think when people think of your life, they think that almost anything you've tried, you've been a success.
AS: Well, maybe it was successful in the end, but to get there... One of the things I talk about is to not be afraid of failure. Because you're going to fail. When I was 19 years old, I was competing in the Mr. Universe contest and I lost. I came second. It was no big drama because I was hoping to be in the top six, but I came second so it was terrific. When I came to America, I lost the Mr. Olympia competition against Sergio Oliva. I lost one of the Mr. Universe contests in America against Frank Zane. I remember I lost power-lifting championships, weightlifting championships. I had movies that went in the toilet. I had policy issues and referendums that went in front of the people that I lost. There was a lot of things.
And of course, in my personal life, you know, my marriage is a big loss and this is a big failure. So there's a lot of losses and failures that I've had in the past in my life. And I think that it is important that we recognize that. But no matter what it is, I always had an exciting life and always chased something, and that made the whole thing worth it.
So many people — young people especially — when you ask them what do you want to do in life, they look at you kind of like the deer in the headlights and just don't know what to say. To me, that is a big problem, because I always felt that I was enriched by the fact that I always knew where I was going.
And then there were some things that were unexpected, like running for governor. That was something that kind of unfolded only because there was a recall election in California.
AM: You had the opportunity.
AS: All of a sudden, I had this vision: me being governor. And so I chased that vision. Going from promoting Terminator 3 and being this huge hit to all of a sudden going the other direction and saying, "I want to be a public servant." It was fun to chase that. I had this exact vision. I knew exactly what to say to the people and how to sell that idea, how to market myself, how to promote myself. I think this is the important thing: there's so many people that think small. They set a goal for themselves — a small goal because they're afraid to fail. And I tell people, don't be afraid to fail.
AM: Wait a second, YOU can have big goals. I think most people have to be happy with small goals in their lives. I don't think they can aspire to the things you can aspire to.
AS: No, because remember: when I was 15 years old, I was this ordinary Austrian boy, just like everyone else. I always had this dream that I want to be another Reg Park — a Mr. Universe who then did Hercules movies. So he became my idol. I wanted to win, like him, Mr. Universe several times and then be discovered in Hollywood. He was a fellow from England, from Leeds, from a factory town. I come from a factory down. Why could I not do that?
So I right away had a big vision to be like Reg Park (or to be Steve Reeves, an American version of Hercules). So, friends of mine wanted to be Mr. Austria; I right away thought of Mr. Universe, winning the world championship.
I remember when I was getting into movies, they said to me, maybe we can get you a job to play, maybe with your German accent, the Nazi officer. Or a bouncer or something like that. I mean, that's not what I wanted to do. I said I want to be a leading man. I right away shot for the big goal. And yes, it was riskier. It's very hard to climb the ladder. I said, forget about climbing the ladder — I'm going to create my own ladder and I'm going to climb that.
Now I'm going to show people how to do it.
AM: When it comes to having a clear vision, that's the first rule in your in your book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life. How do you get rid of the clutter to be able to have that clear vision? Because so much clutters up our lives.
AS: That's the key thing. You cannot go create a vision if your face is in the iPhone or iPad or the computer. That is not what creates a vision. That maybe makes you copy someone else, but it doesn't create a vision of something that you're really in touch with, that you feel like, I need to do this. I'm born to be this artist. I'm born to be a mechanic. I'm born to create my own garage and build muscle cars or whatever it may be. Everyone has something in them that makes them really want to go all out on something. You just need to apply those rules. Don't shoot for something small, shoot for something big. Don't be afraid of failure.
The key thing is: You work your ass off. One of the things that I know now being 76 years old: everything is directly related to work. The more you work your ass off, the further you're going to go. If you look for shortcuts, it's not going to happen. I've seen people in bodybuilding try to look for shortcuts. They never made it. I've seen it in acting. They have not made it. Everyone that was willing to work hard was able to make it and to become successful.
Selling yourself, selling your ideas, selling your vision is another very important part of this whole success formula. You have to convince people. You have to kind of communicate well. I mean, imagine when I was Governor of California and I said we have to reduce our greenhouse gases by 25% by the year 2020. Well, it was a great idea, but I now have to go and convince 40 million people in California that this is very important, that pollution kills people. We've got to have more renewable energy in California. We got to get rid of fossil fuels. We got to keep our nuclear reactors and nuclear power and blah, blah, blah, noise. And the people went along. The people went along because I sold the thing while I promoted it well, I marketed it well, I was communicating well. All of this is important in order to be successful.
The other one that I always tell people: let's do less talking and more listening. I have a chapter that says, shut your mouth and open your mind. It's very important because I think that if you always just talk, talk, talk, talk, you're not going to learn anything. The way you learn is if you just shut your mouth and listen to other people talk. Yes, you have to talk and yes, you have to communicate. But be aware that listening is really what makes you smart.
When I went into the capitol in Sacramento, I did a lot of listening because I had to learn very quickly about the various different policies, the various different issues. I mean, you go from one minute about prison guards' overtime, then you talk about the firefighters and talk about law enforcement. They talk about the nurses, the teachers. They talk about the crime. You're dealing with so many different subjects that from morning to night, it's better if you listen. Then if you sit down by yourself, without having the computers and the iPhone/iPads, that's how you get to be successful.
AM: The last tool in your book is called Break Your Mirrors. What does that mean, break your mirrors?
AS: This is a saying that comes from my father-in-law [Sargent Shriver]. My father-in-law gave a speech at Yale University, a commencement speech, and there he said to the students: Break that mirror that makes you always look at yourself. And you will be able to look beyond that mirror and you will see the millions and millions of people that need your help.
My father-in-law was one of my idols. He created the Job Corps and the Peace Corps, legal aid to the poor and all of these various different organizations. And he was always out there trying to find something to help the less fortunate. He was also the chairman of the Special Olympics, and his wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver created the Special Olympics. They always worked on helping the people that needed help. So to me, that saying said it all: we should not be consumed about ourselves. Yes, you have to deal with yourself. You have to build itself. But don't ever think that this is the only responsibility you have. You have the responsibility to break the mirror and to look beyond yourself and see the millions of people that need your help. And to go out and help, giving back to the community, giving back the city, to your state, your country is the ultimate that you have to do. And everyone has the ability to give back something. If you have no money, you can give your time to the kids — in reading or in English or to collect clothes so that homeless people can go to job interviews. There's so many simple things that we can do to help the community.
I got addicted to it because I started working with Special Olympics and helping Special Olympians, you know, train with weights and then go into powerlifting. It felt so good to be able to help kids that normally are not included, not getting equal rights. Then I started getting caught up with the President's Council of Physical Fitness for President Bush. [I] travelled through all 50 states to promote health and fitness and exercising in the schools. And it just one thing led to the next, and eventually I ran for governor.
It just feels so good to give something back. I think that this is without any doubt the greatest country in the world. And I always want to tell people that, you know, to me, giving something back was absolutely a necessity because of everything that I have ever achieved was because of America. And so to me, to give back to America is the greatest kind of honor and pleasure.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org.
Topline:
CBS News said Friday it will shut down its storied radio news service after nearly 100 years of operation, ending an era and blaming challenging economic times as the world moves on to digital sources and podcasts.
CBS Radio history: When it went on the air in September 1927, the service was the precursor to the entire network, giving a youthful William S. Paley a start in the business. Famed broadcaster Edward R. Murrow's rooftop reports during the Nazi bombing of London during World War II kept Americans listening anxiously.
Today, CBS News Radio provides material to an estimated 700 stations across the country and is known best for its top-of-the-hour news roundups. The service will end on May 22, the network said Friday.
Cuts are part of larger layoff: It was unclear how many people will lose their jobs because of the radio shutdown. CBS News was cutting about 6% of its workforce, or more than 60 people, on Friday. It's not the end of turmoil at the network, as parent company Paramount Global is likely to absorb CNN as part of its announced purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery.
NEW YORK — CBS News said Friday it will shut down its storied radio news service after nearly 100 years of operation, ending an era and blaming challenging economic times as the world moves on to digital sources and podcasts. Said longtime CBS News anchor Dan Rather: "It's another piece of America that is gone."
When it went on the air in September 1927, the service was the precursor to the entire network, giving a youthful William S. Paley a start in the business. Famed broadcaster Edward R. Murrow's rooftop reports during the Nazi bombing of London during World War II kept Americans listening anxiously.
Today, CBS News Radio provides material to an estimated 700 stations across the country and is known best for its top-of-the-hour news roundups. The service will end on May 22, the network said Friday.
"Radio is woven into the fabric of CBS News and that's always going to be part of our history," CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss said in delivering the news to the staff. "I want you to know that we did everything we could, including before I joined the company, to try and find a viable solution to sustain the radio operation."
But with the radical changes in the media industry, she said, "we just could not find a way to make that possible."
CBS News cut some of its radio programming late last year, including its "Weekend Roundup" and "World News Roundup Late Edition," in an attempt to keep the service going.
It was unclear how many people will lose their jobs because of the radio shutdown. CBS News was cutting about 6% of its workforce, or more than 60 people, on Friday. It's not the end of turmoil at the network, as parent company Paramount Global is likely to absorb CNN as part of its announced purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery.
"Given the way things are going, I was saddened but I wasn't surprised by it," said Rather, who succeeded network legend Walter Cronkite in 1981 and anchored for 25 years.
When Rather covered the civil rights era for CBS News during the 1960s, he said he would file reports as frequently as a dozen times a day. Cronkite told America on television that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated; Rather relayed the news for radio.
"Radio was considered an equal responsibility to television," Rather, now 94, said in an interview.
Along with newspapers, radio was the dominant medium in how Americans got their news from shortly after the dawn of commercial radio in 1920 through the 1940s, with people in their living rooms listening to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Fireside Chats" during the Depression. CBS News Radio's broadcast about Germany's invasion of Austria in 1938, the first time Murrow was heard on the air, was an historic marker for the service.
Broadcasters like Douglas Edwards, Dallas Townsend and Christopher Glenn were familiar voices on CBS News Radio. The beginning of the television era in the 1950s began a long slide for radio, often an afterthought today with the world online and on phones. Those seeking audio often turn to podcasts before radio.
"This is another part of the landscape that has fallen off into the sea," said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a trade publication for radio talk shows. "It's a shame. It's a loss for the country and for the industry."
CBS News Radio was a major force for generations of Americans. "Its heyday spanned decades," Harrison said. "It was quality on every level. It sounded good. Its coverage was as objective as possible within the realm of human nature. Its resources were extensive. It had a very high trust factor that was considered the standard of the day."
The front page of CBS News' website did not immediately carry news of the demise.
Weiss, founder of the Free Press website and without broadcast news experience before being hired by CBS parent Paramount's new management, has quickly become a headline-maker and polarizing figure in journalism. She held a "60 Minutes" story critical of President Donald Trump's deportation policy from being broadcast for a month and has critics watching to see if she's moving the network in a Trump-friendly direction.
Addressing her staff in January, three months into her job as CBS News boss, she invoked Cronkite's name as a symbol of old thinking and said that if the network continues with its current strategy, "we're toast." She announced the hiring of 18 new contributors and said CBS News needs to do stories that will "surprise and provoke — including inside our own newsroom."
Copyright 2026 NPR
Topline:
Gas prices are draining wallets right now. The spike is hitting Southern California especially hard, so how can you save money at the pump? We looked into it.
Why now: Gas prices are rising because of the U.S.’s war in Iran, but our state is feeling it more than others. California’s switch to the summer blend of gas is here, which is more expensive to make, and we’ve got those high gas taxes.
Avoid expensive gas: You can save by avoiding convenience. Stations in busy areas, like downtowns or by freeways, like to charge more. Even the layout and positioning on the street corner can impact the price.
Make your tank last: Caring for your car in between fill-ups is another to cut down your costs. That can look like keeping your tires properly inflated and making sure the trunk isn’t too heavy.
Read on … to see where to find top 10 lists for cheap gas near you.
Drivers know it really, really sucks to get gas right now.
California is (unfortunately) leading the nation in this gas surge, according to the American Automobile Association, which tracks fuel price trends.
And with prices in Southern California hovering around $5.75 (and beyond) — just for regular-grade fuel — it can feel like almost every station is trying to compete for the most notoriously priced gas.
What gives? And more importantly, how can you save on gas right now? We looked into it.
Prices at the pump have been skyrocketing since the start of the U.S. war in Iran last month because oil shipments are being bottlenecked along the Strait of Hormuz, a key supply route in the Middle East.
California feels this pain especially hard as the state imports a decent chunk of its oil from the region. Plus, that’s happening at the same time the state is doing its annual switch to the summer blend of fuel. So both of those things, coupled with our high gas tax, means the spike hits us hard.
If you zero in more to hubs like Los Angeles and Orange County, it gets worse. Kandace Redd, a spokesperson for AAA, said that’s tied to gas stations’ higher rent, wages and operating costs.
“That is often passed on to the drivers,” she said. “ So simply put, the higher the cost of living, the higher the price you’re likely to pay at the pump.”
Some relief could be on the way, but it’s unclear when that could happen.
During normal times, one subtle way you could save would be to fill up on certain days of the week. This is because California is one of the states that shows a predictable pattern at the pump, called price-cycling.
According to a GasBuddy study that analyzed weekly price changes, they found that the best day to get gas in California was Sunday, and the worst Tuesday. But that’s when things are relatively stable.
“During periods of rapidly rising prices … prices tend to keep increasing, not decrease, so filling up sooner is often best,” Redd said.
So if you know you need gas, don’t try waiting a few days for prices to drop until the situation changes. L.A.’s average gas price jumped 30 cents over the last week.
These show user-reported gas prices for stations near you. Here’s are examples of ones for Southern California:
If you have a AAA membership, the mobile app also shows cheap gas nearby.
If you want to pay less, stay away from stations in popular areas, like airports, tourist hubs or freeways. Neighborhoods with fewer gas stations can cost you more money, so finding a place that’s ripe with competition can also be better for your wallet.
Even position on the street corner matters. Redd said gas stations can charge more when they’re on a side with heavier traffic or when they’re more accessible.
“ Stations that are easier for drivers to enter, fill up and exit often attract more customers and may even charge a little bit more than that,” she said.
You can save on gas beyond the pump, Redd said, by managing how your car is using fuel. For example, combining your trips or avoiding stop-and-go traffic times can cut down on consumption. It’s all about how you care for and use your car:
Reduce your load. That means clear out that trunk and take off that top rack when it’s not in use. When your car is heavier, it burns fuel faster to account for the load.
Maintain your vehicle. If you can afford it, keep the check engine light off and your tires properly inflated. This can help make sure you're using gas at your car’s intended rate. Underinflated tires are more resistant to movement, which can reduce the miles per gallon you get.
Watch your speed. Your car uses more gas at higher speeds, so you really want to be sure to also avoid any sort of hard acceleration. If your car has an economy mode, that could also help by making your car run more efficiently.
Turn off your engine when your car is parked or stopped for a long period of time. Blasting the air conditioning can also impact gas usage, though it’s a smaller margin.
Topline:
A record-baking heat wave is scalding California, with major consequences for the state’s most important reservoir: its snowpack. Providing about a third of the state’s water supply, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is a vital source of spring and summer runoff that refills reservoirs when the state needs the water most.
Why it matters: A warm wet storm followed February’s snow, and now, March temperatures are shattering records — prompting warnings of rapid snowmelt and swift rivers. Historically, the snowpack is at its deepest in April. But climate change is shifting runoff earlier, leaving less water trickling down the mountains in warmer months for homes, farms, fish, hydropower and forests. This year’s snowpack is rapidly approaching the worst five on record for April 1st, state climatologist Michael Anderson said — and it’s likely to worsen still as temperatures climb. From early to mid-March, the snowpack has been disappearing at a rate of roughly 1% per day.
Smaller snowpack leaves a gap: Even as California suffers record heat and early snowmelt, the state is better prepared than in the past. Major reservoirs are already above historic averages, and early season storms soaked the soil beneath the snowpack, making it less likely to swallow the runoff. But the season’s early melt may still leave a gap. “It's going to get us through this year just fine,” Johnson said. “But it's not as ideal as having that additional snow reservoir ready to run off through summer, and replenish what we're going to be releasing.”
A record-baking heat wave is scalding California, with major consequences for the state’s most important reservoir: its snowpack.
Providing about a third of the state’s water supply, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is a vital source of spring and summer runoff that refills reservoirs when the state needs the water most.
But a warm wet storm followed February’s snow, and now, March temperatures are shattering records — prompting warnings of rapid snowmelt and swift rivers.
Historically, the snowpack is at its deepest in April. But climate change is shifting runoff earlier, leaving less water trickling down the mountains in warmer months for homes, farms, fish, hydropower and forests.
“In an ideal world, you'd have your reservoir full right now, and this additional huge snowpack reservoir that we know will help replenish and provide more water supply,” said Levi Johnson, operations manager for the Central Valley Project, the massive federal water system that funnels northern California river water to the Central Valley and parts of the Bay Area.
This year, he said, “we're not going to have that.”
California’s reservoirs are in good shape, brimming above historic averages with many nearing capacity. But that summertime snow bank on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada is disappearing early, and fast — dropping to 38% of average for mid-March statewide.
It’s not yet the worst snowpack on record: that distinction belongs to 2015, when then-Gov. Jerry Brown stood on brown, barren slopes of the Sierra Nevada to watch scientists measure the most meager snowpack in history.
But this year’s snowpack is rapidly approaching the worst five on record for April 1st, state climatologist Michael Anderson said — and it’s likely to worsen still as temperatures climb. From early to mid-March, the snowpack has been disappearing at a rate of roughly 1% per day.
It’s a sharp departure from the near-average conditions of last year, and presents both a challenge and a glimpse of the future for reservoir operators in the state.
Many of California’s reservoirs serve a dual role: stoppering flood flows and storing water for drier times ahead.
Those roles sometimes conflict — as they did at Lake Mendocino, which dried to a mud puddle during the 2012–16 drought. Rigid federal operating rules forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release vital water supplies from the dam to make room for winter floods that didn’t come.
The dire water shortages that followed spurred an experimental partnership called Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations, between the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes and state, federal and local agencies.
The program incorporates advanced forecasting and weather observations into reservoir release decisions at Lake Mendocino. It prevented the reservoir from going dry during the most recent drought, according to Don Seymour, deputy director of engineering at Sonoma Water, which co-manages the reservoir.
Now, 165 miles away in the Sierra Foothills, Yuba Water Agency is eyeing adopting the same program for New Bullards Bar, a reservoir roughly eight times bigger than Lake Mendocino that’s fed by Sierra snowmelt on the North Yuba River.
The reservoir supplies water to more than 60,000 acres of farmland in Yuba County as well as users south of the Delta. But early snowmelt is complicating efforts to store that water.
“We're seeing snowmelt conditions in mid-March that we normally don't see until at least mid-May,” said general manager Willie Whittlesey. “It's pretty obvious that this is the runoff — this is the snowmelt — and it's just happening about two months early.”
The reservoir is nearly full at 114% of average for this date and 84% of total capacity.
But when snowmelt arrives early, the agency can’t catch it once the reservoir reaches a certain level — even when no storms are in the immediate forecast. Federal rules require Yuba Water to maintain a certain amount of empty space until June to absorb potential floodwaters, according to Whittlesey.
Yuba Water is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to update this decades-old rulebook, Whittlesey said, but until then it must request special permission to store the extra water.
Though the agency has received permission in the past, this year it’s also contending with a rupture in a major pipe to one of its hydropower facilities, which is forcing the agency to hold back more water behind the dam.
Whittlesey said he suspects that the combination of flood-control requirements and damage control after the pipe failure is likely costing them tens of thousands of acre-feet of snowmelt.
The California Department of Water Resources, which manages Lake Oroville — the state’s second-largest reservoir — told CalMatters that it’s storing water beyond its normal flood control limits, with permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In the Bay Area, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, California’s second-largest urban water supplier, owns and operates the Camanche and Pardee reservoirs in the Central Sierra foothills.
“We're working to save every drop in light of the warm temperatures that we are experiencing now, and in light of all the zeros that we are seeing in terms of a rain or snow forecast,” said spokesperson Andrea Pook. “The last time that we had run off this early was in 2015.”
Pook said the district is releasing less water from its reservoirs now, in order to preserve more for the fall when salmon migrate upriver to spawn.
“We're tracking to not necessarily be in a drought situation. But I am not convinced that we're going to fill our reservoirs by July 1st, which is our usual goal,” Pook said.
Even as California suffers record heat and early snowmelt, the state is better prepared than in the past.
Five years ago, state forecasters badly missed their runoff predictions — overestimating the snowmelt expected to refill reservoirs by up to 68%. Dry soils and a parched atmosphere drank up the runoff before it could flow into storage. Farms and cities scrambled in the middle of a drought as supplies fell far short of expectations.
This year is different. Major reservoirs are already above historic averages, and early season storms soaked the soil beneath the snowpack, making it less likely to swallow the runoff.
The state has also been working on better forecasts.
“Things have substantially improved,” said Andrew Schwartz, Director of UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, in an email to CalMatters.
Johnson, at the federal Central Valley Project, said that the state and federal water delivery systems are in a better spot than five years ago, and that forecasts haven’t made a major miss since.
But the season’s early melt may still leave a gap.
“It's going to get us through this year just fine,” Johnson said. “But it's not as ideal as having that additional snow reservoir ready to run off through summer, and replenish what we're going to be releasing.”
Improved snowpack modeling and soil moisture estimates, experimental temperature measurements at different snow depths, university collaborations and incorporating weather outlooks are helping, according to the Department of Water Resources.
Still, between state budget shortfalls and federal cuts, challenges remain, Anderson said.
Efforts to install more soil moisture sensors in national forests have run into permitting slowdowns at the U.S. Forest Service, which has shed thousands of employees under President Donald Trump.
“You wait in line a lot longer,” Anderson said. “That's been the biggest limitation of late. There just isn't anybody there.”
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Topline:
The fasting period for millions of Muslims ends this weekend with Eid al-Fitr — the “festival of breaking the fast” — marking the end of Ramadan.
What to expect: The holiday, which lasts three days, centers on prayer, charity and time spent with family and community. And with it comes a wave of joyful celebrations, feasts and family events. Across Los Angeles, that spirit is reflected in a range of events.
Read on... from Eid-themed picnics in Ladera Heights to comedy shows in Westlake to a 5K run through Boyle Heights, here are some of the best ways to commemorate the end of Ramadan.
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
The fasting period for millions of Muslims ends this weekend with Eid al-Fitr — the “festival of breaking the fast” — marking the end of Ramadan.
The holiday, which lasts three days, centers on prayer, charity and time spent with family and community.
And with it comes a wave of joyful celebrations, feasts and family events.
These gatherings arrive after a stretch of difficult years marked by global conflict, including wars in Iran, Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan, and many other ongoing conflicts worldwide.
For many, those events have cast a shadow over recent Ramadans, making the spirit of the holy month feel harder to fully hold onto, especially for those watching the violence unfold from afar.
Still, Eid offers a moment of grounding, with events showing how that sense of togetherness endures — a chance to gather with loved ones, give thanks and find meaning in community.
And across Los Angeles, that spirit is reflected in a range of events. From Eid-themed picnics in Ladera Heights to comedy shows in Westlake to a 5K run through Boyle Heights, here are some of the best ways to commemorate the end of Ramadan.
South Bay
25816 Walnut St. Lomita
Date: Thursday, March 19
Time: 6 to 11 p.m.
More info here.
Grab some food, browse outfits and jewelry, get your mehndi (henna) done and soak up the pre‑Eid buzz with families from all over.
Exposition Park
1025 W Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20,
Time: 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
More info here.
Join a packed Eid congregation across from USC, with early‑morning prayer, and complimentary coffee, tea and snacks such as donuts, cookies, sandwiches, nachos and hot dogs.
Southeast LA
8152 Seville Ave, South Gate
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 7:30 am
More info here.
Masjid Al-Zahra is offering prayers followed by a breakfast.
Koreatown
434 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: Take beerat at 7 a.m. with prayer at 7:30 a.m.; Take beerat at 9 a.m. with prayer at 9:30 a.m.
More info here.
Mark a historic Eid as Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC) hosts prayers at its Vermont Avenue campus, offering multiple morning prayer times and easy access to Koreatown eats afterward.
Ladera Heights
4100 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 2 to 7 p.m.
More info here.
Join the fun with BBQ on the grill, kids getting soaked in water games, and friendly basketball and soccer showdowns.
Ladera Heights
6027 Ladera Park Ave., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 3 p.m.
More info here.
Pack a blanket, round up the crew and hang out at this potluck in the park.
Boyle Heights
3467 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
More info here.
Gaby Alcala from Luminous Body Therapy is offering a free, grounding community sound bath at InnerCity Struggle’s Youth and Community Center.
Highland Park
5541 York Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 7 p.m.
More info here.
Celebrate the arrival of spring with Nowruz, the Persian New Year, featuring live Persian music.
Hollywood
6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22
Time: Various
More info here.
The cult‑favorite musical adaptation of “Beetlejuice” delivers big spectacle, singalong moments right on Hollywood Boulevard.
Hollywood
6372 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles
Date: Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22
Time: Various
More info here.
Saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins brings cutting‑edge jazz to Blue Note for an ideal date night.
East LA
4025 City Terrace Drive, Los Angeles
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
More info here.
Connect with your neighbors at a street cleanup hosted by Visión City Terrace and the Maravilla Community Advisory Committee at City Terrace Library.
Westside
8840 National Blvd., Culver City
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 11 a.m.More info here.
Take the family to meet and pet some goats at Ivy Station.
Lincoln Heights
3540 N. Mission Road, Los Angeles
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 3 p.m.
More info here.
Explore the legacy of Dolores Huerta with a screening, art exhibit, opening reception and panel conversation at the Plaza de la Raza Boathouse Gallery as part of a special exhibition on view through April 12, 2026.
Westlake
3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 7:30 p.m.
More info here.
Andrew Callaghan brings his popular “Channel 5” world to the stage for a one‑night carnival of live bits, interviews and typically internet-native chaos.
Downtown
111 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 8 p.m.
More info here.
See Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” on the big screen while the LA Phil performs Bernard Herrmann’s iconic score live at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
East LA
2609 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Los Angeles
Date: Sunday, March 22
Time: 7:30 a.m.
More info here.
Join Healing in Spanglish and Acurrúcame Cafe for a 5K run or 2-mile walk through Boyle Heights. Stay for the post-run cafecito. The first 50 cars will get access to free parking at 345 N. Fickett St.
Crenshaw
3537 Farmdale Ave., Los Angeles
Date: Sunday, March 22
Time: 12 to 4 p.m.
More info here.
Spend the afternoon roaming food stalls, checking out vendors and just hanging out. Adults pay a small entry fee, kids get in free.
Exposition Park
900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles
Date: Sunday, March 22
Time: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
More info here.
Starting Sunday, you can take the kids to walk among hundreds of beautiful butterflies at the Natural History Museum. Reservations are required. The pavilion runs through the summer.
San Gabriel Valley
651 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena
Date: Monday, March 30
Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
More info here.
Roll up with the family for a laid‑back breakfast, kids’ activities and plenty of time to catch up with friends between coffee refills.
