Maven's Notebook

Tim Hammerich

News Reporter

To understand what’s happening in California agriculture, you must understand what’s happening in water throughout the state. Maven’s Notebook is a tremendous resource of up-to-date information about California Water. Founder Chris Austin explains how she got her start in blogging.

Austin…“There was really nothing that was a website that was bringing all of the stories from around the state together and putting it together in one sort of comprehensive, sensible way. So I actually started with the Southern California Water Blog and kind of went on from there.”

That writing led her to eventually start Maven’s Notebook in 2013, which is a website on California water that features both original news as well as content curated from a variety of internet resources.

Austin… “My first websites were strict news aggregation, but Maven's Notebook is when I really started to write my own articles. And my beat is different. Very different. I set out to start covering the meetings that people should be attending and aren't, trying to provide coverage as good as if you were sitting in the room.”

Austin says the independent media site is supported through some grants as well as financial contributions from readers. You can keep up with all the stories surrounding California’s complicated water issues at www.MavensNotebook.com.