You may know about the Bay area, the sprawling greater Los Angeles area, but did know that there's a "Third California"? This timely and intriguing paper offered by the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy group discusses this region, which encompasses almost all of the state's fast-growing regions, including the suburbs around Sacramento to the urban aggregation that is Riverside-San Bernardino. In this 20-page report released in March 2007, authors Joel Kotkin and William H. Frey look at this growing region and the nature of its challenges over the coming years. Kotkin and Frey suggest that this "Third California" may wish to appeal to new groups of skilled labor and related industries, along with addressing the needs of its existing base of uneducated laborers. It's an intriguing report, and for persons with an interest in economic development, planning, or just the state of California, it's well worth a read.