The "Create a State" Arts Plate campaign kicked off at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City on March 22, 2012, with a bang, a bus, and a bustle of artists, arts supporters, and others who want to help raise $40 million for California arts through sales of the Arts License Plate.

Governor Jerry Brown has appointed Juan Felipe Herrera as the California Poet Laureate. Herrera, 63, is the author of 28 books and currently serves as the Tomas Rivera Endowed Chair in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside. Herrera's work has received wide critical acclaim including numerous national and international awards. The appointment requires Senate confirmation.

Thirty-three high school students will step up to the microphone on Sunday and Monday, March 25 and 26, for the seventh annual California Poetry Out Loud State Finals! Monday's portion of the contest will be webcast live starting at 8:30am PST on the California Channel at www.calchannel.com, compliments of the hardworking technical staff in the state Senate and the Cal Channel. (If you live in California, chances are you get the Cal Channel through your cable feed - check your local listings to watch it on TV.) See the Arts Council's press release for names and schools.