When you spot roadkill on the freeway, the first thing that pops into your head is SOUVENIR, right? Well, for at least one Californian that is strangely the case. Authorities say someone sawed off the paws of a dead mountain lion after it was struck and killed by a car on the 101 Freeway. more ›

Three Santa Barbara County beaches closed Friday after a 19-year-old man was killed by a shark have reopened, according to the LA Times. Over the weekend, patrols and observations provided no shark sightings at Surf, Wall and Minutemen beaches around the Vandenberg Air Force Base. more ›

The day after a young surfer was killed by a shark in the waters off Surf Beach in Santa Barbara County, his friend, Matthew Garcia, is describing the gruesome incident to the press. more ›

Three beaches around Vandenberg Air Force Base have been shut down for at least three days after a body surfer this morning was fatally bitten by a shark. The incident happened this morning at Surf Beach, which is officially a base beach, but is publicly accessible via the Lompoc area. more ›

Just like last week, the Vandenberg Air Force Base is planning a launch tonight. This time it is anticipated to be the AtlasV rocket, which will be sent into the sky a little after 9 p.m. tonight (listen to live updates here from). There should be no noise, but the Los Angeles Fire Department said it will "likely be quite visible." They say there is no need to call 911. more ›

A test missile is scheduled to launch from a Southland air force base early Friday morning. While the unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County will make no noise, it may be visible in the sky sometime between 3 and 9 a.m. In order to decrease call volume, the Los Angeles Fire Department says there's no need to call 9-1-1. more ›

For once, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger laid out a budget proposal that does not cut money from state parks. That sounds great, however, it's one of those tricky smoke and mirrors ideas--he'll fund state parks using offshore oil money, says Traci Verardo-Torres of the California State Parks Foundation. more ›

A fire that broke out near Vandenburg Air Force Base has burned through some 300 acres and was 50 percent contained this evening, according to the Associated Press. The Lompoc-area base, about 60 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, employs up to 10,000 people on any given day. 25 buildings with non-essential personnel were sent home early. more ›

The marijuana farm suspected of being the cause of the 90,000-acre La Brea fire in Santa Barbara County is reported to have at least 30,000 plants. "Also found were stacks of propane tanks, melted irrigation tubing, empty canisters of fertilizer, mounds of trash, a torched cooking stove and a semiautomatic rifle," reported the LA Times. "The growers diverted a nearby stream and planted the garden on the side of a mountain." 225,058 plants have already been found this year by officials in the county. More locally, marijuana plantations were found in the Santa Monica Mountains last month. more ›

Thomas J. Barrack Jr. has lived near Neverland Ranch for decades and recently came into ownership of the property, via his private-equity firm, when Jackson defaulted on a loan. Although Jackson partially still had a stake in the land, he moved to a large Holmby Hills estate where he died last week. Now there is a chance a public viewing of Jackson later this week will occur at the ranch in Santa Barbara County, which has officials worried about traffic anywhere Jackson's body is taken. If that happens, the quiet countryside of Santa Ynez Valley could temporarily quintuple (or more!) it's population in a matter of hours, prompting Barrack to write a very poetic open letter to the community (posted below). Also under consideration for a ceremony is the Staples Center, says the LA Times. more ›

* 3 burn injuriesSan Marcos High School continues to be in use as an evacuation shelter, with 40 people currently staying there. Mandatory evacuation orders remain in effect, as well as evacuation warnings (listed after the jump). For updated road closure information there is a hotline at (805) 568-3006 as well as a website available. more ›

Although it's a brief warning, the overall weather picture remains grim here in the greater Los Angeles area. We're under warnings and advisories galore; the flood advisory is still up for Ventura and LA Counties, snow is expected in the "lower elevations of Santa Barbara County as well as the Foothills of the Antelope Valley," the wind advisory is in effect until tomorrow night, and multiple roads in and out of town are closed. more ›

Photo by xxjetlab via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

- Stubborn week old fire in Northern Santa Barbara County still not contained. - Fire in Banning took 19 acres before it was under control after 45-minutes. - Orange County bus strike could be now over. - "The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of L.A. will reportedly fork over the largest payout to date in the church's sexual abuse scandal." - "At least 33 infants were infected in the 1980s by HIV-tainted transfusions at Cedars-Sinai." -... more ›

- Reggie the Alligator is back to say whaddup bitches - LA Observed more ›