With the state in the midst of a budget crisis, some former students are questioning why they are receiving fundraising pitches to help boost the Grateful Dead archive at UC Santa Cruz. Alumna Laurie Garrett, a well-known AIDS researcher and winner of both the Pulitzer and Peabody awards, sounded the alarm bells when she received an invitation to a fundraiser supporting the dead head archive, according to California Watch, a blog with the Center for Investigative Journalism. more ›

The Malibu fire is now 25% contained. At least 35 structures have been destroyed and thousands were forced to flee as wind whipped flames ravaged the coastal town. The cause of the blaze is not known at this time, but crews haven't ruled out CNN's Glen Beck. In other fire-related news, two people died this morning when a house fire ripped through their Pasadena home. The cause of the fire is unknown. A woman... more ›

LAist talked with Ezra Klein of the political blog pandagon.net this weekend. Ezra’s been engaged and blogging this election for over a year and a half. His site, which he co-blogs along with Jesse Taylor, boasts around 25,000 hits a day. Needless to say, his voice gets heard (or his words get read). He recently transferred to UCLA from UC Santa Cruz and has much to say about politics, Los Angeles and everything in between. This guy is only 20 and had been published in the . So listen up! more ›