The storms last week aided in eroding of the westbound lanes of Mulholland Drive just east of Coldwater Canyon Avenue, shutting down lanes between the avenue and Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Now the cash-strapped city of Los Angeles is seeking an estimated $600,000 for emergency repairs, says the LA Times. more ›

Tonight's episode of SoCal Connected on KCET will air an episode detailing how some South LA residents are being forced to pay thousands of dollars because they are in some so-called new flood zone, as determined by the all-mighty FEMA. more ›

You can't be assured of getting the proper assistance and funding from the unbelievably-not-renamed-since-Katrina Federal Emergency Management Agency (they even faked their press conference while SoCal was burning). But if you live in LA or Orange County and suffered damages in the October wildfires, you have until 6 p.m. to apply for federal and state assistance. FEMA reports that 19,000 requests have been filed to date. more ›

That's what Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather said this morning:If we had more air resources, we would have been able to control this fire. Instead we've been stuck in this initial attack mode on the ground where we hopscotch through neighborhoods as best we can trying to control things. But OCFA is not the only frustrated agency in Southern California, as losses grow to an estimated $1 billion in San Diego County... more ›

Hear that sucking sound? The media's commitment to learning from its many recent mistakes in reporting ethics and the semantics thereof is again being sucked out of the collective memory hole. Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina survivors were initially referred to by numerous media outlets as "refugees." While "refugee" can be inferred to be descriptive of one who "takes refuge," the fact is that -- at least since the 1951 approval of the UN Convention... more ›

When the Levees Broke HBO, tonight, 8pm The easiest thing that Spike Lee could have done in tackling the documentary about last year's tragedy in the Gulf Coast was pile-on to the Bush and Brownie bashing. He could have put a Michael Moore hit piece on FEMA and the President and also thrown the New Orleans Mayor and Louisiana Governor under the bus. Lord knows there were enough witnesses, enough news reports, and enough... more ›