Around 1970, the L.A. Free Press failed to make an employee tax payment and the paper was seized by the Internal Revenue Service. [The founder and publisher Art] Kunkin managed to sell the "logo" of the paper, the phrase "The Los Angeles Free Press" to publisher Marvin Miller, who then resold it to some other parties in San Diego, California. The staff of the Free Press, led by editor Brian Kirby and art director Phil Wilson, left to and form their own newspaper, calling it The Staff.  (wikipedia)
The Staff was a successful underground, although plagued by an anarchistic mob rule where no one was actually in charge. The Staff lasted a few years, but waned as the counter-culture wound down. (What Up Hollywood)