Have Yourself a Hydrogen-Powered Christmas

A certain chess fanatic in the bureau was sitting around depressed about the worst story of the day, so I headed over to the Christmas tree lighting at the state Capitol. TV "personality" Pat O'Brien, the governor's longtime friend and booster, hosted the event and Grammy winner Anita Baker sang some tunes. My favorite part is watching Capitol staffers lean out windows of the ornate building to watch the cheerful ceremony from above.

Maria Shriver said she thought Schwarzenegger was doing a good job as governor, and Schwarzenegger thanked California's heroes, including those working at the Department of Fish and "Gaming." The governor said, "Let's get some action going here," and flipped the switch with Chandler Guadagnin of Chico, who suffers from cerebral palsy. The 55-foot white fir tree was decorated with 2,000 ornaments — about 1,500 of which were created by developmentally disabled children. The lights on the tree are being powered by a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell system.

(Photo: Robert Salladay / LAT)