H2o

FAMILY Kids can immerse themselves in the world of H2O at "WaterWorks: Soak Up the Science," a stimulating and entertaining interactive exhibit. Create the perfect rainbow, capture a raindrop and get a close-up view of snow to attain a better understanding of one of Earth's most powerful and precious natural resources. Discovery Science Center, 2500 N. Main St., Santa Ana. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Exhibit runs from Friday through Sept. 11. Adults $12.95, children 3-17, $9.95. (714) 542-2823.

Check out the driving riffs of one of punk rock's most legendary bands when Bad Brains hits the stage of the Fonda. Formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977, Bad Brains combines hard-core aesthetics with a reggae beat to create a deeply original style that remains unique to this day. H2O and Year of the Dragon open. The Fonda Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. 9 p.m. Sat. $27. (323) 464-6269; http://www.fondatheatre.com .

"Sierra Waters Show Little Pollution" [Jan. 11] depressed me because after rejoicing at the news, the story goes on to say that "hikers and campers should filter or purify the water they drink." I was so looking forward to dipping into the freezing real H2O and going "Ahhh!" Hank Rosenfeld Santa Monica

For all the hopes NASA has pinned on the rover it deposited on Mars last month, one wish has gone unspoken: Please don't find water. Scientists don't believe they will. They chose the cold, dry equatorial landing site in Mars' Gale Crater for its geology, not its prospects for harboring water or ice, which exist elsewhere on the planet. But if by chance the rover Curiosity does find H2O, a controversy that has simmered at NASA for nearly a year will burst into the open. Curiosity's drill bits may be contaminated with Earth microbes.

Check out the driving riffs of one of punk rock's most legendary bands when Bad Brains hits the stage of the Fonda. Formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977, Bad Brains combines hard-core aesthetics with a reggae beat to create a deeply original style that remains unique to this day. H2O and Year of the Dragon open. The Fonda Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. 9 p.m. Sat. $27. (323) 464-6269; http://www.fondatheatre.com .

About 580,000 H2O Mop Steam Cleaners are being recalled after complaints of the power cord on the cleaners unexpectedly wearing down and exposing wiring, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The exposed wiring poses a shock and burn hazard to anyone using the H2O cleaners, the agency said. Thane International Inc., based in La Quinta, has received 10 reports of consumers getting shocked while using the cleaners as well as eight reports of burns, the commission said. The recalled H2O mops are white with a purple water tank with the "H20" and "M" logos printed on the top of the appliance's cleaning head.

Re "Spurned Nobelists Appeal Science Standards Rejection," Nov. 17: Scientists, mathematicians, engineers, even parents are helpless to stop education experts from ruining education. From "whole language" learning to "new new math" to "integrated math" to "integrated science," our children are being dumbed down. Now, when prominent scientists with vast experience in education, including three Nobel prize winners, offer to write California's science standards for free, the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards' educrats instead want to pay $178,000 to the same education professors and experts who wrote the vacuous science standards quoted in The Times.

Water, the shortage thereof, is the most contentious strand of California history. Vicious bureaucratic battles about it have gone on for decades. But this week leaders of three big Southern California water agencies finally acknowledged that all would be losers if they failed to end their struggle over how much water each is entitled to use from the Colorado River. In the end, each agreed to sacrifice something and they came to a tentative deal.

Surfwear maker Billabong gathered a crowd from the art, fashion and music worlds (with a sprinkling of beauty queens) to raise money for charity: water last month. Performances by Street Drum Corps, the Airborne Toxic Event and DJs the Misshapes kept the vibe at Avalon Hollywood festive, and the runway show ensured the evening would be colorful. The usual L.A. mix of models, athletes and actors mingled, along with Tami Farrell, the newly ascended Miss California USA, who stepped in after the short and stormy tenure of Carrie Prejean.

With San Diego County 90% dependent on water inported from Northern California and the Colorado River, it was only a matter of time and technology before officials there got adventurous in their quest for new suplies. Before long, some San Diego residents may get their drinking water from, well, themselves. If the County Water Authority and the City of San Diego have their way; residents will soon be sipping reclaimed sewage water.

This post has been corrected. Please see note at bottom for details. When your name is Alex Cuba and you were born and raised on a certain island 90 miles south of Florida, people naturally expect you to make Cuban music. But the Cuban-Canadian singer-songwriter isn't a big fan of preconceived expectations. The winner of the 2010 Latin Grammy for new artist, Cuba swings among various hybrids of jazz, funk, pop and traditional Caribbean boleros and sones , playing guitar and bass and singing in both Spanish and English with a gentle sincerity that never subsides into stickiness.

FAMILY Kids can immerse themselves in the world of H2O at "WaterWorks: Soak Up the Science," a stimulating and entertaining interactive exhibit. Create the perfect rainbow, capture a raindrop and get a close-up view of snow to attain a better understanding of one of Earth's most powerful and precious natural resources. Discovery Science Center, 2500 N. Main St., Santa Ana. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Exhibit runs from Friday through Sept. 11. Adults $12.95, children 3-17, $9.95. (714) 542-2823.

About 580,000 H2O Mop Steam Cleaners are being recalled after complaints of the power cord on the cleaners unexpectedly wearing down and exposing wiring, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The exposed wiring poses a shock and burn hazard to anyone using the H2O cleaners, the agency said. Thane International Inc., based in La Quinta, has received 10 reports of consumers getting shocked while using the cleaners as well as eight reports of burns, the commission said. The recalled H2O mops are white with a purple water tank with the "H20" and "M" logos printed on the top of the appliance's cleaning head.

Surfwear maker Billabong gathered a crowd from the art, fashion and music worlds (with a sprinkling of beauty queens) to raise money for charity: water last month. Performances by Street Drum Corps, the Airborne Toxic Event and DJs the Misshapes kept the vibe at Avalon Hollywood festive, and the runway show ensured the evening would be colorful. The usual L.A. mix of models, athletes and actors mingled, along with Tami Farrell, the newly ascended Miss California USA, who stepped in after the short and stormy tenure of Carrie Prejean.

Is the bottled water you drink any better than what comes out of the tap? Is it from the tap? Most companies that sell H2O hate the idea, but the California Legislature wants to make it easier for people to find out what minerals, chemicals or bacteria are in the water they buy and whether its provenance is a well, artesian aquifer, spring -- mountain or otherwise -- or municipal reservoir. "People pay a premium for bottled and vended water because they believe it is healthier," said state Sen.

Los Angeles' water supplies are getting lower. The once-desolate Owens River Valley burst into flower this year because the Department of Water and Power brought less water to the city. Other states are increasing the amount of water they are able to tap from the Colorado River, L.A.'s primary source of water. And this has been the city's driest year on record. In response, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has called for greater water conservation to help meet future needs.

Last month, in the New Yorker, the writer Michael Korda took up the cause of the late Charles Bludhorn, a corporate chieftain heretofore regarded as one of the original barbarians at the gate. Bludhorn, for those with short memories, ruled the Gulf & Western Co. during the time it acquired Paramount Studios, Simon & Schuster publishing company, and a host of others. Gulf & Western, in fact, was wholly a creation of Bludhorn and his talent for sweet deals.

Los Angeles' water supplies are getting lower. The once-desolate Owens River Valley burst into flower this year because the Department of Water and Power brought less water to the city. Other states are increasing the amount of water they are able to tap from the Colorado River, L.A.'s primary source of water. And this has been the city's driest year on record. In response, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has called for greater water conservation to help meet future needs.

THE journey to the Qua Baths & Spa, in the Augustus Tower at Caesars Palace, is a quick lesson in Las Vegas' brand of Baroque. First you ascend the 44 steps of the grand staircase, and then you follow a long hallway lined with marble and Aubusson rugs, black and gilded chandeliers in blossom, past two wedding chapels and the illustrious Restaurant Guy Savoy. Only trumpeters issuing a fanfare would make the experience more complete.