An elaborate and illegal camouflaged residence, outfitted with bunk beds and a barbecue patio, has been discovered near a Los Angeles County animal refuge.
Eight months ago, Robert Downs, 51, set up a small structure in the woods near the Tujunga Ponds Wildlife Sanctuary in Sunland, Calif. To hide his home from police, Downs, who was previously homeless, sprayed it with camouflage paint and cut down nearby trees, said Johnie Jones, a deputy in the Parks Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

A collection of some of California’s best-known chefs, including four-star celebrities like Thomas Keller, began a full-course press on the state’s legislators on Monday, hoping to prevent a long-simmering ban on foie gras from taking effect on July 1.
The group, which calls itself the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards, delivered a charter statement to lawmakers in Sacramento, advocating a wide variety of new animal-friendly commitments, including cage-free birds and hand feeding, to replace the current law, which would effectively bar foie gras from the state’s menus.

A day of boisterous protests over cuts to higher education that included thousands of students swarming the state Capitol ended with dozens of arrests after demonstrators refused to leave the building. Authorities on Monday evening arrested 68 people, most of whom will be charged with trespassing, the California Highway Patrol said.

By John Hoeffel, Los Angeles Times
October 7, 2011
Federal prosecutors are threatening to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries throughout California, sending letters that warn landlords to stop sales of the drug within 45 days or face the possibility that their property will be seized and they will be charged with a crime.

The California Court of Appeal on September 26 approved a police officer's rifling through the cell phone belonging to someone who had just been pulled over for a traffic violation.