  The archetypical, nearby (z=0.37) quasar 3C 48 is an unusual CSS radio source
with excess far-IR emission, whose one-sided radio jet is aligned with the
extended ionized emission and a putative second nucleus. Because of its high
AGN luminosity and proximity, 3C 48 is a good candidate to search for kinematic
signatures of the radio jet-gas coupling and/or of a recent interaction. The
radio morphology and our ground-based integral field spectroscopy suggest that
the jet is interacting with its immediate environment. Using STIS aboard HST in
several slit positions within the central 1", we map the kinematics and
physical conditions of the extended emission line gas and their relations to
near-nuclear star forming regions found in existing HST images.
