Hunched over a tank inside the Bodega Marine Laboratory, alongside bubbling vats of seaweed and greenhouses filled with algae, Kristin Aquilino coaxed a baby white abalone onto her hand. She held out ...

California has 44 state symbols, including a state folk dance, dinosaur and mushroom. But Assemblymember Diane Dixon says we need another — an official state seashell. And she says the shell of the ...