Free Republic

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy approved a controversial plan this week to further open the rugged hills of Malibu for camping, hiking and other activities, heightening a battle with canyon residents and city leaders over public access. Malibu city leaders and other opponents have harshly criticized the access plan, contending that greater use of hillsides and canyons would result in more traffic, heightened fire risk and damage to wildlife habitat. City officials also say the conservancy, which plans to present its proposal to the California Coastal Commission, is trying to circumvent local land-use laws. Proponents have accused residents of seeking...

TMZ has learned the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has gone after the deputy who arrested Mel Gibson with a vengeance. At the same time, it appears little has been done to determine if top brass gave Gibson special treatment and deceived the media. Sheriff's sources confirm to TMZ that the Department obtained a search warrant and raided the home of Deputy James Mee on September 13th. We're told deputies went inside and took Mee's computer, phone records and other documents. Sheriff's Department sources say the Department got the warrant because officials believed Deputy Mee leaked four pages of the...

THE sheriff's deputy who arrested actor Mel Gibson for drunken driving has had his home searched by fellow officers investigating how a police account of the actor's anti-Semitic tirade was made public, it was reported today. Acting on a search warrant obtained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, investigators raided the home of Deputy James Mee on September 13 and seized his computer, telephone records and other documents, according to the celebrity web site TMZ.com. TMZ, citing unnamed department sources for its report, said the search warrant remains under seal and the outcome of the search has not been...