Rooftop solar hits a new plateau

While some homeowners stuff their hard-earned dollars under mattresses in an uncertain economy, others hang them outside for all to see -- on rooftop solar panels.

California is the nation's leader in rooftop solar, with well over half the country's installed capacity. There's good reason why: California's electricity rates have historically increased by 6.7 percent per year, and prices continue to rise. The state's present goal is to improve its energy supply, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reach 3,000 megawatts installed by 2018.

California's mid-century modern homeowners are taking advantage of rooftop solar and like the benefits. "The thing I like most is that it completely isolates us from any rate increases, and we make so much more [electricity] than we use," says Kevin Gray, an Eichler owner in Thousand Oaks. More >

Inside Shag's world:
bottomless cocktails
and 1950s cool live on

Pretend you're the new owner of a lovely mid-century modern home -- and devoid of furnishings. Start shopping!

An Eames leather chair or two -- check. An amoeba-like Noguchi glass table? Natch. A George Nelson clock -- of course. So Space Age! But how about those walls? A picture would look nice. The artist to choose? Who else but Shag.

In mid-century modern homes throughout California, paintings by Shag -- of Beatniks playing bongos, Tiki lovers sipping cocktails, even jazz artists playing it cool -- have become as integral to the decor as flat-screen TVs.

And no artist has ridden the mid-century modern wave with more skill than Shag. More >

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