Highland Park Residents: Gangs Part Of Everyday Life:
http://blogs.uscannenberg.org/neontommy/2009/04/gangs-are-part-of-life-in-neig.html
The print media has finally picked up the fire story.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fires17-2009aug17,0,3772231.story?page=2&track=rss
Mexican cartel’s marijuana farm blamed for La Brea fire
The massive Santa Barbara County blaze has been tracked back to a cooking fire probably abandoned by drug growers...
It seems like it’s occurring more and more on national forest lands,” she said.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Horne said these growers prefer to use propane to cook because open fires or barbecues send up smoke that can identify their positions. Makeshift camps are often littered with propane tanks.
The growers typically are armed to protect against would-be thieves, said Horne, a 10-year veteran of the narcotics unit who has spent the last few weeks confiscating plants in a different part of Los Padres National Forest.
This summer, agents patrolling forest confiscated weapons that included a pellet gun and an AK-47, Horne said. “I can’t remember a garden where we didn’t find some evidence of weapons,” he said. “They are involved in the drug trade, which is inherently violent.”[snip]