Liz Kozak, 02/22/12

Writer, Mom

I wish I could call up every single person who told me, "Sleep while you can!" and inform them that their advice was terrible. I wish I had used all that nap time to go to the movies, because I miss it a whole lot.

Dylan Ratigan, 02/22/12

Host, MSNBC's 'The Dylan Ratigan Show'; Author, 'Greedy Bastards'; Founder, Get Money Out Foundation

I've found myself more enthusiastic than I've been in years as I've shifted my attention from D.C./NYC to cities both burgeoning with ideas and struggling with the excruciating pain that Washington and New York have inflicted on them. What's become apparent to me is that the rate of change on this planet, due to technological, ecological, and financial mechanisms, is the highest it's ever been. That means that our rate of adaptation must also be high, that we must adapt our communities, companies, and selves to what is quickly becoming a new and different world. We must experiment, or die.

Dennis A. Henigan, 02/22/12

Acting President, Brady Campaign; Author, 'Lethal Logic'

The solution to gun trafficking to Mexico is also the solution to gun trafficking within the U.S.: stronger federal gun laws.

Jared Bernstein, 02/22/12

Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Pretty much every discussion of tax reform these days ends with an agreement that we need to broaden the base and lower the rates. Well, the White House today will release the broad outlines of a plan to do just that on the corporate side of the federal tax code.

John M. Eger, 02/22/12

Professor of Communications and Public Policy and Director of the Creative Economy Initiative at San Diego State University

Many parents want their child to have a different experience in school where they can be assured that the "whole child" is educated. In Silicon Valley, this is worth $20,000 to $25,000 in education costs.

Paul Szep, 02/22/12

Two-time Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist

Richard Jennings, 02/22/12

Wine writer and reviewer

Petite Sirah is, along with Zinfandel, one of California's heritage and most distinctive grapes. It can produce wonderfully complex, rich, black fruited wines, often with floral, blueberry, tar, licorice and peppery dimensions.

Adam Bink, 02/21/12

Director of Online Campaigns, Courage Campaign; Blogger, Prop8TrialTracker.com

The Prop 8 proponents' decision today means that the road to a final decision on Prop 8 just got much longer. Nonetheless, the plaintiffs' attorneys have made it clear that they will seek to have the stay lifted, now that Prop 8 has been struck down by two separate courts.

Michael Green, 02/22/12

Executive Director, Center for Environmental Health

In California we recently won a victory when BPA was banned from baby bottles and sippy cups. Even before the ban, some producers were eliminating BPA from their products. My daughter's pink sippy cup, for example, was labeled "BPA-free." So why would I still worry?

David Murray, 02/22/12

Chicago based writer/editor

State-of-the-town speeches exploded during the housing boom, when mayors could describe the growth in the tax base and bask in the glow. After everything went to hell in 2008, mayors would probably have preferred to skip the speech.

Lisa Mirza Grotts, 02/22/12

Etiquette Expert, Author

Have you noticed how often men wear their hats indoors? This is a breach of etiquette that some men don't seem to know about. And it's always surprising to me how many people do not remove their baseball caps when the National Anthem is sung.

Jerry Cimino, 02/21/12

Founder and curator, The Beat Museum

It sounds like On the Road made a pretty big impression on Katy Perry. It turns out her big hit, "Firework," was inspired by probably the single most famous line Kerouac ever wrote.

Jon Soltz, 02/21/12

Co-Founder of VoteVets.org, Iraq War Veteran

A better way to show the thanks of a grateful nation -- more than any parade or handshake or embrace -- is to make certain that all veterans have a fair shot at building an America worthy of our service.

Olivia Ware, 02/21/12

Blogger, Williams-Sonoma

We were mesmerized by the richness of colors, aromas and noises while walking through the food stands and shops -- fried foods, Sicilian pizza and focaccia, voices yelling to promote their products and offering a taste.

Kirsten Dirksen, 02/21/12

Co-founder, faircompanies.com

Bay Area developer Patrick Kennedy wants to build the housing equivalent of the Smart Car.
His SmartSpaces will be small -- just a couple hundred square feet -- and prefabricated.

Araceli Ruano, 02/21/12

Senior Vice President and the Director for California at the Center for American Progress

California's Freshworks Fund serves as a model for an innovative public-private partnership loan fund with the potential to increase access to healthy and affordable food throughout the state.

Mark Taylor-Canfield, 02/21/12

Over President's Day weekend, Olympia, Washington became the first city in the nation to host a major national occupy movement conference.