Wild One - I read the article you posted a link to regarding a bear in the Woodland Hills area. The people's actions in that story show utter disregard and stupidity around a bear - the lady saw it kill a deer in her yard and then wanted to go take a closer look and had to be stopped by her husband. Seeing a bear and wanting to get a closer look (absent with binoculars or spotting scope) is asking for trouble. A person that approaches any bear on purpose, quite frankly, is deserving of any harm they receive. I've seen lots of people approach bears, yelled at them to stop being stupid, etc. and its amazing to me how much tolerance these animals have for people - most of the time.
I thought it was telling also that the article said the lady and her family thought it was cute to watch the bear digging through their garbage. There is nothing cute about a bear getting into a person's garbage - the end result is trouble and usually a dead bear. Persons living and recreating in bear country should (and should be required) to manage their garbage, pet food, bird feeders, etc.
This article would have been a good opportunity for the newspaper to point out the bear safety concerns and generally raise some awareness in the area.