The newly identified brodiaea santarosae species. (Wayne Armstrong/Special to the Press-Enterprise)

In case you missed it in the newspaper this morning, Tom Chester, et al, have achieved the "Holy Grail of Botany" by finding a new species in our very own back yard. The lilac flower was found at the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve near Murrieta. The brodiaea santarosae species is estimated to be about 5 million years old. You can read all about it by clicking here.

And you may have recalled a couple months ago my mentioning a certain University of Redlands professor who may just have the best job ever. Well, that prof, Tyler Nordgren, is speaking to the Sierra Club tomorrow night in Upland about what ordinary people and national parks can do to protect an invaluable natural, scientific and cultural resource.

That resource? The night sky and the Milky Way's glowing band of awe. Click here for more info about the free event. Nordgren is on a break right now from taking the better part of a year to travel to some of the nation's national parks looking at the night sky. Like I said, the best job ever.

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