T. Boone Pickens has launched a national campaign to create support for his radical plan to solve the country’s short-term energy crisis. In short, Pickens wants to take much of the natural gas being used to generate electricity, and use it to power new fleets of natural gas vehicles, primarily buses, trucks, and government-owned vehicles. Then he wants to construct massive wind farms in the Midwest to generate enough electricity to replace what was being created by natural gas. More details on the “Pickens Plan” can be found at www.pickensplan.com. On Monday, Mercury News business columnist Chris O’Brien spoke with Pickens about his plan and the campaign.

Brian Regan is among the best stand-up comedians in the business — and his performance style is not one to easily offend. Regan spoke with arts and entertainment reporter Mark de la Viña about why clean comedians are so unsual in this day and age.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said he would recommend that the other four commissioners rule that cable giant Comcast had violated the agency’s principles regarding open access to the Internet. While the ruling is not final, the statement marks a major victory for Free Press, a non-profit advocacy group that filed the original complaint against Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company.

On Monday, I interviewed Marvin Ammori, general counsel for the Free Press. We talked about what happened last week, what happens next, and why we should all care.

For background, the original complaint is here. And more background on the history of the fight can be found here.

Going forward, Martin needs two more commissioners to sign on to his proposed decision within the next couple of weeks for it to become official. While the FCC is not recommending a fine, Ammori said his group would be satisfied with the ruling that Martin has proposed.

There’s already speculation that Heath Ledger, who died in January from a prescription drug overdose, will nab another Oscar nomination for his performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.” Less than a year before his death, the gifted actor spoke about landing the role to arts and entertainment reporter Mark de la Viña. Though this is shorter than the usual Mercury News podcast, the brief exchange reveals much about Ledger.

Earlier this month, I interviewed Mari Kuraishi, one of the founders of the GlobalGiving Fund. She and Dennis Whittle, chairman and CEO, left their jobs at the World Bank back in 2000. The idea was to create an online marketplace to connect donors with philanthropic projects around the world. The fund continues to grow, but not necessarily in the way originally planned. Kurishi and Whittle have had to make adjustments and do some rethinking along the way.

Comic Ralphie May is 392-pounds of comedic gusto, but it isn’t his weight that’s attracting attention. The performer spoke to arts + entertainment reporter Mark de la Viña by phone about his knack for finding the humor in the most prickly subjects.