Recommendations

A broad-scale plan to preserve the nation's cultural heritage captured on sound recordings and to make more than a century's worth of recorded materials more widely available for educational purposes is being unveiled Wednesday at the Library of Congress in Washington. James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, was scheduled to introduce the library's comprehensive National Recording Preservation Plan, the library's response to Congress' passing of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000.

California Auditor Elaine Howle complained Tuesday to Gov. Jerry Brown that state agencies have taken no action to implement 15% of the recommendations made by her office in the last two years to cut costs, including waste and fraud, in government operations. The auditor has made 609 recommendations for improvements to several state agencies that if implemented "could realize more than $1.5 billion in monetary benefits," Howle wrote to the governor. She said agencies assert they have fully implemented 270 and partially implemented 129 of the recommendations.

I visited Argentina in December and tried two good restaurants in Ushuaia, nicknamed the "End of the World City": La Estancia, for Argentine grilled meats including beef, lamb, pork, chicken and sausages with a good salad bar, and Chicho's, for seafood. After eating beef and lamb for several days, we found this restaurant was a welcome change. Try the local specialties, black hake and grilled trout. Both have fairly reasonable prices for this area, large portions, wines from Argentina and Chile, and good service.

Compromise, defined as the art of getting part of a loaf when the whole loaf is out of reach, comes in many forms. But surely the strangest of all is what comes of trying to compromise with yourself. That's what California's stem cell agency is attempting to do. And judging from its record of pioneering new ways of funding and managing scientific research, you can rest assured that the results will be fraught with interest. What's at issue is how the agency's board wrestles with recommendations for changes in its membership and its authority over the spending of its $3-billion endowment in state bond funds (that's $6 billion, including interest)

We highly recommend the Seascape Lodge at Emu Bay on Kangaroo Island for a fantastic adventure on a beautiful island that is a wildlife sanctuary with dense forests, wetlands and white sand beaches. Kangaroos, wallabies and koalas roam freely. The lodge is in a spectacular coastal location; owners Mandy and Paul Brown are gracious innkeepers and serve fantastic gourmet meals in an informal atmosphere. You spend your days touring the island in a four-wheel-drive with tea breaks and picnic lunches.

In a move to stem the epidemic of prescription drug deaths, a federal advisory panel has recommended tighter controls on a narcotic painkiller best known by the brand name Vicodin. It is the nation's most widely prescribed drug. By a 19-to-10 vote, an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended Friday that the agency reclassify hydrocodone, the active ingredient in Vicodin, as a Schedule II narcotic, placing it in the same category as other widely abused medications, including OxyContin and fentanyl.

A Laguna Woods woman who helped a World War II veteran commit suicide with a mixture of OxyContin, yogurt and heartburn medication has been sentenced to probation, with no jail time. Elizabeth Barrett, 66, had pleaded guilty to one felony count of assisted suicide in the death of Jack Koency, an 86-year-old Laguna Niguel resident, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. Barrett had faced three years in state prison, but county prosecutors said they weighed the victim's wishes and the defendant's lack of a criminal history in making their sentencing recommendation.

Every year, my husband and I make the trek from L.A. to Phoenix. It's a long trip, and we're always on the lookout for something to break up the trip. This year we found an absolute gem of a restaurant: Dish Creative Cuisine, in a nondescript strip mall in Cathedral City. Nevertheless, the service is fine dining, with white linen tablecloths and an attentive staff. Amuse-bouche is the star of the show. Throughout our dinner, including appetizers, entrees and desserts, our waiters continually brought these little masterpieces to our table.

One of my favorite international vacations was to the temples at Angkor in Cambodia. What made it particularly enjoyable was my private (and inexpensive) tour guide, Vanny Chhim. Vanny is knowledgeable about the entire area around Siem Reap, and he is fluent in English. What makes him special is that he has kept in touch with me for the last three years via email, sharing his experiences and family life. I've never had any other tour guide do this. If you're looking for an enjoyable private excursion on his tuk-tuk, contact him at vanny_angkor@hotmail.com . Joel Miller Los Angeles

WASHINGTON - Requiring all gun buyers to pass a federal background check could be a key part of a White House plan to combat mass shootings, Vice President Joe Biden indicated as he prepared to present recommendations to the president on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Biden said he had found a "surprising recurrence of suggestions" for "universal background checks" in meetings with interest groups. Background checks are not required in private sales by unlicensed dealers, including transactions at gun shows.