In an age of soaring gas prices, economy and ecology have ousted horsepower and torque as the buzzwords in today's automotive market. From ethanol-intensive blends of gasoline to soy-based plastics used to furnish interiors, environmentalism has become a means to combat rising material costs and a pitch line to sell cars.

Take a cruise through the gallery with classic automobiles at the Pomona Cruise.

When Maria Watanabe started suffering blackouts, chronic headaches, blurred vision, vomiting and nosebleeds, she was terrified. Her 38-year-old cousin had died of a brain tumor months earlier and Watanabe worried she might suffer the same fate. Yet when Watanabe sought an appointment with an ophthalmologist - who would have been able to diagnose a potential brain tumor - her request was denied by Blue Shield.

I wouldn't want to keep her highness waiting," Pierre grumbles as he heads for the door. Begrudging his assignment to interview a disposable pop idol, Pierre wears exhaustion and apathy on his sleeve as he plods off to the curbside, hailing a cab. Katya is fashionably late; Pierre is incredibly gruff.

Against the pale blue sky, sunlight filters through the veil-thin fog. The crimson red aluminum awnings over the infield garages glimmer with dew, reflecting the morning light. Over the front straight, the towering bleachers stand empty, their broad swaths of yellow and red bench seats cast blue by shadowy sunlight.

On May 16th, two years of tense contract negotiations came to an end as the California State University and California Faculty Association agreed to a new contract. In effect from now through 2011, the new contract ensures an across-the-board pay raise of about 3 percent for lecturers, full time faculty and administrative staff.