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THE LATEST FROM ALTA

Don't miss this week's upcoming events and new stories.

coyotes in california

Ask a Californian: Love Is in the Air for California’s Coyotes

Our Golden State experts tackle your questions about our future leader, exaggerating weather apps, and the sex habits of wild animals.

the glorians by terry tempest williams, book review

Dream of Life

white oleander, janet fitch

Excerpt: ‘White Oleander’

TTS audio available5 min
books, california bestsellers, theo of golden by allen levi, agnes aubert’s mystical cat shelter by heather fawcett, the last kings of hollywood by paul fischer

California Bestsellers List (February 26, 2026)

visit alta journal at the los angeles times festival of books and meet author john freeman.

Visit Alta at the LA Times Festival of Books

TTS audio available2 min
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ISSUE 34

a colorful illustration of horace tapscott, kamau daáood, and billy higgins performing at the world stage in leimert park, capturing the venue’s vibrant jazz legacy.

West Coast Jazz: Where the Magic Happens

TTS audio available11 min
bakersfield sound, merle haggard, buck owens

Bakersfield Sound: Grit, Spit, and Greatness

sunshine pop, gig poster

Sunshine Pop: When the Sun Goes Down

a psychedelic, neon colored illustration of a bear surrounded by swirling lights, evoking the trippy visual culture of early grateful dead acid tests.

Psychedelic Jam: Must Trip to Enter

TTS audio available13 min
cover, alta, issue 34, california sounds
CURRENT ISSUE

Issue 34: California Sounds

A look inside Alta Journal’s Issue 34.

TTS audio available6 min
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new march 2026 books
READING LIST

14 New March Books

Here are works on and of the West that we’re excited to see published this month.

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illustration of investigators at the 1980 ventura county crime scene where jane doe was discovered near westlake high school in thousand oaks.
COLD CASE

Why Are Missing Women of Color So Often Overlooked?

Steve Rhods helped take down an infamous killer. But solving the identity of his first Jane Doe murder case has proved even more vexing, and reveals a larger problem.

Latest from the California Book Club

Join the West Coast literary conversation every month.

greg sarris, lisa see, john freeman, california book club, grand avenue
The New Canon

Event Recap: Greg Sarris’s ‘Grand Avenue’

Greg Sarris, Lisa See, and John Freeman discussed Grand Avenue, the California Book Club’s February selection, and storytelling.

TTS audio available6 min
grand avenue, a novel in stories, greg sarris

‘Grand Avenue’

TTS audio available3 min
greg sarris, lisa see, john freeman, california book club, grand avenue

Announcement of Special Guest

TTS audio available5 min
greg sarris

A Grand Avenue Runs Through It

TTS audio available6 min
portraits of robert hass, dagoberto gilb, and susan straight alongside the covers of their books, announced as the california book club’s spring 2026 selections.

Announcing the Spring 2026 Books

TTS audio available6 min

THE MONDAY BOOK REVIEW

Sign-up for our weekly book review email.

crown city by naomi hirahara, book review

City of Kings

Naomi Hirahara sets her latest Japantown mystery in 1903 Pasadena, well before World War II.

swirl and vortex, larry levis

Lives of the Poet

TTS audio available8 min
they kill people by sheila ellis

Twisted Intersection

humboldt cut by allison mick, book review

The Forest Remembers

TTS audio available8 min
how to commit a postcolonial murder by nina mcconigley, book review

Split Self, Split Sisters

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punk, 924 gilman, gig poster
AWE FROM AFAR

Pop Punk: The Club That Banned Green Day

How a tiny volunteer-run warehouse in West Berkeley became the launchpad for Green Day, Rancid, Operation Ivy, and generations of DIY punk musicians.

chicano rock, gig poster
TURN THE VOLUME UP

Chicano Rock: 5 Essential Tracks

From Ritchie Valens to Chicano Batman, these five tracks capture the soul of Chicano rock and its deep roots in California’s lowrider culture.

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earthship, tres piedras, new mexico, renegade architect michael reynolds. atlantis earthship
A BEER CAN MANIFESTO

Your Next Home Could Be an Earthship

THE WEEKLY ALTA NEWSLETTER

New stories from California and the West sent to your inbox every Thursday.

gray wolf

California Gray Wolf Reaches Los Angeles County

The arrival of BEY03F raises questions about the increasing presence of alpha predators in California.

TTS audio available5 min
callifornia longboard skiing, longboarding, plumas ski club

Dope, Wood, and Speed

TTS audio available6 min
james sallis, lew griffin novels, books, writer

“Endings Are Seldom Pretty”

TTS audio available7 min
band mom, rose parade, pasadena community college honor band

Confessions of a Band Mom

watts, south central los angeles, crips and bloods, nothing to see here watts, documentary

Turning the Camera Around

jim bailey as judy garland in full stage makeup and sequined dress.
FROM THE ARCHIVES

Judy Garland’s Biggest Fan

Jim Bailey spent his career impersonating Judy Garland, leaving a biographer to ponder: Where did that leave him?

The Latest

issue 34, cartoon, altatude, kyle bravo

Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #11 Issue 34

outdoor event space with a large pink sign for frieze los angeles

Navigating Frieze Los Angeles

TTS audio available6 min
crown city by naomi hirahara, book review

City of Kings

issue 34, cartoon, altatude, juan astasio soriano

Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #10 Issue 34

greg sarris, lisa see, john freeman, california book club, grand avenue

Event Recap: Greg Sarris’s ‘Grand Avenue’

TTS audio available6 min
books, california bestsellers, on love by joseph campbell, firestorm by jacob soboroff, dungeon crawler carl by matt dinniman

California Bestsellers List (February 19, 2026)

grand avenue, a novel in stories, greg sarris

‘Grand Avenue’

TTS audio available3 min
cartoon, altatude, issue 24, scott masear

Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #7 Issue 24

altatude, cartoon, issue 24, jeremy nguyen

Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #9 Issue 24

altatude, cartoon, issue 24, kaamran hafeez

Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #10 Issue 24

altatude, cartoon, issue 24, lars kenseth

Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #12 Issue 24

altatude, cartoon, issue 24, kate isenberg

Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #11 Issue 24