UC Santa Barbara investigates professor who sent students e-mail comparing Israel, Nazis

August 18th, 2009 Marijuana growers sought in California wildfireSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — California investigators are looking for up to six marijuana growers suspected of starting a large wildfire north of Santa Barbara with cooking gear.

August 11th, 2009 Calif. wildfire closes 111 square miles of forestSANTA MARIA, Calif. — Authorities have closed nearly 111 square miles of the Los Padre National Forest because of a wildfire that could pose a threat to ranches in northern Santa Barbara County.

June 25th, 2009 Calif. professor's Gaza e-mail cleared by panelSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A committee at a California university has cleared a professor who sent an e-mail comparing Israel's policies in Gaza to the Holocaust.

May 14th, 2009 Last evacuees allowed to return home after fireSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Fire officials have lifted the final evacuation order for a wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes in Southern California's Santa Barbara County.

May 13th, 2009 Weather delays containment of SoCal wildfireSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A new round of dry, windy weather could cause a week's delay in full containment of the Santa Barbara wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes, firefighters said Wednesday.

May 13th, 2009 Gusty wind forecast again in SoCal fire areaSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A new round of fierce wind is forecast for California's Santa Barbara area as crews work to encircle the last smoldering remnants of a wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes.

May 12th, 2009 Crews hope to finish corraling Santa Barbara fireSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Firefighters worked Tuesday to surround the remnants of a wildfire that has gutted 78 homes before gusty winds returned that could drive it once more into wealthy neighborhoods.

May 11th, 2009 77 homes destroyed in Santa Barbara fireSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Authorities now say 77 homes have been destroyed in the Santa Barbara County wildfire, more than doubling the previous figure of 31.

May 9th, 2009 Calif. wildfires force 6,000 more to evacuateSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Strong winds have kicked up in Santa Barbara, pushing a fierce wildfire farther to the west toward homes and forcing thousands more to flee the area.

May 9th, 2009 Most Santa Barbara fire evacuations being liftedSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Thousands of evacuees were told they could go home Saturday as a blanket of cool, moist air flowing in from the ocean brought a dramatic change, taming the wind-driven wildfire that had burned 80 homes along the outskirts of town.

May 8th, 2009 Santa Barbara fire stalls but heavy gusts forecastSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A wildfire stalled on slopes above Santa Barbara on Wednesday but people who fled 1,200 nearby homes were urged to keep away because of worries that a new round of gusty winds could blow it back to life.

May 8th, 2009 Strong winds pick up stalled fire in CaliforniaSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Gusting winds have stirred a stalled wildfire threatening 2,000 homes in Southern California.

May 6th, 2009 1,200 homes ordered evacuated amid Calif. wildfireSANTA BARBARA, Calif.

May 1st, 2009 Professor's Holocaust-Gaza comparison stirs debateLOS ANGELES — A Jewish university professor accused of anti-Semitism for comparing Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust says he's received hundreds of messages of support and a bombardment of hate mail. William I. Robinson, a sociology professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said Thursday that accusations of anti-Semitism are "absolutely outrageous" and akin to claiming someone who criticizes the regime of Iran is anti-Muslim.

April 25th, 2009 Dalai Lama: Economic crisis teaches money's limitsSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Dalai Lama says the global economic crisis will teach people that peace of mind, family and friends can bring happiness when money is lacking.