This is Malibu’s Only Local Daily News … the weekend edition … I’m Hans Laetz reporting. 

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Pt Dume Parking Situation Goes From Bad To Emergency

The parking situation at the Point Dume headlands is a public safety emergency.

On Friday… LA County closed the road that access is the point doom Beach parking lot. Mud was observed coming out of the bluff below several mansions on Birdview Avenue. Although the mud was scooped away from the pavement… county officials said the possibility of ra bluff collapse made the road too dangerous for the public to use.

Wednesday night … the city’s Public Safety Commission decided some signs and plastic posts are the immediate plan.

Plastic delineators should be placed along the sidewalk edge … next to the road … to dissuade tourists from parking on the sidewalk at the Point Dume headlands.

Stronger barricades … like wooden bollards along the sidewalk .,.. may be recommended to the city council.

Daphne Aneet is a public safety commissioner:

NEWSCART PT DAPHNE ANEET

“It’s a public safety crisis. We are in a state of emergency situation. And whatever has been done up till now is not adequate the state parks has increased the access, the desirability for people to come. They will install DG pads throughout the Bluffs.

“We’ve created a massive staircase to provide public access down to the other side of the bluff. So it’s not surprising that hundreds of people are coming. We’ve been inviting them with all the work that’s been done on the bluffs.”

Steve Graham lives across the street from the from the headlands and he says he’s afraid for his personal safety in his own front yard.

NEWSCART PT STEVE GRAHAM

“If we don’t do something safety wife we’re going to have some kind of disaster coming up with somebody’s going to get killed.

We have a lot of these souped up cars from East LA coming up and for some reason once they pick this section of Cliffside once they turn from Birdview.

“It’s like a drag strip. I can’t count how many times we’ve heard these cars going sexy to 70 miles an hour. It’s come to the point where we need to do something before somebody is going to get killed.”

Steve Graham who lives at the tip of Point Dume.

Chris Frost of the city’s public safety commission says he personally has witnessed residence like Graham getting threatened in their own front yards when tourists park their cars literally on the grass.

NEWSCART PD CF

“I was standing with Steve when a car pulled into his landscaping literally and parked in his yard. Y on his property and see if mention they were parked on his property.

“Four guys got out and said ‘you wanna do something about that?’ “

Over Presidents’ Day weekend … the volunteers on patrol wrote 151 parking tickets on Point Dume.  Mark Russo is one of those volunteer son patrol … and he says they’re doing what they can.

NEWSCART PD RUSSO 

“I really feel we’re not going to take it our way out of the situation. And having to make it to the problem so early in the year…

“It’s probably become one of the number one destinations in Malibu. In terms of safety yeah will have people parking on the sidewalk. It’s becoming a real problem.”

Immediate solution may be gluing plastic candlesticks on the wooden beams that line the rustic sidewalk.

A long range solution: wooden posts along sidewalk. 

Russo says social media is guiding people to park on the narrow streets above the point… When there is plenty of parking available down on the beach.

He suggest putting in signs directing people on Dume Drive to turn down and access the point via Westwood Beach Road.

He also suggests that the city ban waiting for open parking spaces …. to keep the road clear.

Aneet pointed out that the California State Parks website directs people to access the headlands via parking on Cliffside Drive … instead of using the Westward Beach parking lots.

Hey State Parks ranger says he’ll look into getting that language changed.

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Malibu Opens Three Shelter Beds, Which Are Filled Immediately

Malibu is officially in the homeless shelter business. 

The city is now operating three beds for homeless people … operated through The People Concern …  apparently at their large shelter in Santa Monica.

City public safety Director Susan Duenas:

NEWSCART HOUSING DUENAS

“We just got open the three dedicated beds at the people concern, and our outreach team is now filling them with three individuals who are homeless in Malibu. So there will be three less people who need to sleep in our wild land areas. So that is good news.

“And just so you know, these are interim beds, they are not emergency beds, so for now we are using them for people with vouchers to get them into permanent housing.”

Those three shelter beds were funded by the city Council to be used as emergency shelters. Without emergency shelter beds… Law-enforcement cannot force homeless people into shelters under threat of a rest.

It’s not clear when Malibu will have actual emergency shelter beds… As required by federal law… In order to be able to enforce the cities no camping ordinance.

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SMMUSD Will Ask Public What It Wants In A New Superintendent, As District and city Blow Past Divorce Deadlines

The Santa Monica school board will ask the public for input … on what the public wants to see in a new school superintendent.

A public survey will go on line next week … it will be up on line for 10 days.

through March 16.

The local school district needs a new boss after Ben Drati resigned suddenly … to move to Bellflower schools.

The district hopes to have a new superintendent hired by June 1st and working by July 1st.

The school board is made up of six residents of Santa Monica and one resident of Malibu… And So far … we have heard no public discussion about the proposed school district divorce enter the hiring criteria.

A major deadline for the district and the City of Malibu in the divorce procedure is nearing… with no sign that the two parties have made any progress since last October.

Santa Monica and Malibu have already missed a mid December deadline… to announce side agreements needed to set uop an independent malibu school districyt.

That  was supposed to be done by December 15th.

That deadline passed silently.

A “Joint Press Release announcing agreement  on pathway for formation of successor educational entities” was supposed to have been issued in January 15th.

That was six weeks ago … no press release.

And by mid march … the district and city have promised to begin the process of obtaining special state legislation  required for formation of a Malibu district only.

None of that has happened.

The survey about hiring a new school superintendent will go online Monday.

And we will let you know about the link.

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Malibu High Teacher Has Son With Incurable Disease, Family Works To Develop Genetic Test

A Malibu High school teacher and his wife have and unimaginable tragedy … unfolding … every day.  Craig Chavez is a special education teacher at Malibu … his wife is assistant principal at a school in Newbury Park.  Their young son has a side …and fatal disease. It’s a dream that’s gone terribly wrong. Their two year old boy, Jaxon, has been diagnosed with an extremely rare, terminal disease.

“Absolute worst nightmare,” said Sofia Chavez. “You’re seeing him fade every day.”

The Moorpark couple dedicated their lives to kids, other people’s kids. Sofia Chavez is Vice Principal at Newbury Park Adventist Academy, and Craig Chavez is a Special Education Teacher at Malibu High School. So, when they found out they were going to have a baby, they were thrilled. Jaxon, who they call JJ, was born in March of 2020.

“When he was born, he passed all the basic genetic screenings,” said Chavez. She says he was crawling, walking, and talking.

But, late last year, they noticed JJ was having some problems. He started falling, and was speaking less.

An MRI showed he had an extremely rare genetic disorder, affecting his brain. Toxins were attacking his brain. The rare disease contained elements of muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Chavez says when they asked about treatments, the news was bad. There isn’t one.

JJ has lost most of his verbal skills, and can’t walk. Chavez says despite his issues, he’s a happy child. He’s currently going to preschool, but his parents say the time will come when they will have to care for him full time at home. That’s going to be difficult since they are both educators, and can’t work remotely.

The prognosis isn’t good. Children with the disease rarely make it to ten years old, and most develop major health issues like the inability to walk, or even eat by age four.

The news has been devastating, but the family is trying to make something good come from the situation.

The family launched a fundraising campaign to support research efforts. It’s goal was $5,000, but it’s already raised $25,000. And Friday morning, Hundreds of people are gathering at Newbury Park Adventist Academy for a fundraising run, and festival Friday morning benefitting the United NSD Foundation.

This story was reported by KCLU … a news partner of KBUU.

 

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City Hopes Caltrans Will Fix Trancas Bridge Construction Mess

The Caltrans bridge replacement project at Trancas Creek continues to bumble along … months behind schedule. 

The first half of the bridge … the inland section … was supposed to be finished last September. 

The piers are now finished … and crews hope to use big cranes to drop the supportive bridge deck onto the the piers very soon.

The problem is … the old pavement on the 95 years old bridge is falling apart,.

City public works director Rob De Boux. 

NEWSCART TRANCAS RD

“There are some safety issues at the Trancas bridge, they’re in the Caltrans project. The payment is kind of gravelly and what not. They’re working on it and we’re trying to get someone out there to do some patching on some of it.”

The temporary steel plates that support PCH right now are beginning to show signs of problems.

Pavement on the western side of the northbound lanes is beginning to slump … slightly but noticeably.

Caltrans hopes to have the new half of the bridge completed by mid April… And shift for traffic lanes over to the new half.

That will allow the southern and a half to be torn down and replaced this summer.

Support for KBUU Radio comes from Rancho del Cielo.

For 8 years … Rancho del Cielo has been a partner to public radio in the Malibu.

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Planning Commission To Decide If A Tattoo Parlor Is Part Of “The Malibu Way Of Life”

Does a tattoo parlor belonging Malibu???

That question goes before the Malibu Planning Commission next week.

An applicant wants to put a private tattoo studio in an office building … on the north side of PCH west of the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue.

A beauty parlor inside the building would be replaced by the tattoo shop.

City staff says the Planning Commission needs to determine if tattoos are any more objectionable … than barber shops, beauty salons, and veterinary already allowed in the commercial neighborhood zone.

The planning commission can either declare tattoo parlors OK … or require a Conditional Use Permit for it.

Or … the Planning Commission can require the tattoo parlor operator to apply to change the zoning. 

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City Looks Like It Will Severely Restrict ADUs Despite State Law

The biggest issue before there Planning Commission next week may very well be the Auxiliary Dwelling Unit rules.

Also called granny flats … ADUs are required to be allowed by state laws.

But Malibu City Hall is trying to throttle back any growth in residential unit numbers … by imposing restrictions on ADUs in the name of preserving public safety.

The city council has asked the staff to come up with an ordinance that would require people who want to put in granny flats to jump through numerous regulatory hoops.

These include notifying neighbors … and public hearings in many cases … to grant the apple can’t a Coastal Development Permit. 

The city is proposing requiring an ADU to meet the same standards as any other second residential unit … except they might be allowed to be a little bit bigger.

A lawyer might argue that would be contrary to the state ADU law … which is intended to make it easier to creat an ADU … to ease the estate’s critical housing shortage.

If the Planning Director okays an ADU … the Planning Commission could, by majority vote, the equire a full CDP. 

A member of the public will have the ability to appeal the decision of the Director to the Planning Commission, from the Planning Commission to the City Council and in the appeal zone to the CCC. 

One issue is that the stater ADU law requires alll ADUs be processed as administrative permits … over the counter … no hearings.

The staff also proposes putting deed restrictions on houses with ADUs … to prohibit the ADU from being sold separately … only rented out.

And they could not bye rented out as short term rentals.

The city would also depart from state law … by requiring that a garage converted into an ADU provide replacement parking on the property. 

The city staff says Malibu can get away with that because the state law allows the city to consider safety and require additional safety regulations. The plan is to have says requiring on-site parking would reduce the number of vehicles parking on the street… Which could interview with emergency vehicles.

The ADU hearting is before the Planning Commission next Monday night on the Zoom platform computers.

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Reef Discovered In Channel Islands

A reef has been discovered found in the Channel Islands … practically within sight of Santa Barbara.

Well… It would be within sight if it wasn’t under the ocean…just to the north of Santa Rosa Island.

That’s the big Island just off the coast of Santa Barbara… About 50 miles up the coast from Malibu.

The reef rises about 100 feet off of the ocean floor . And it tops out about 60 feet below the ocean’s surface. 

It’s been named Brennan Reef, after Rear Admiral Richard Brennan. 

The late Navy admiral was involved in research programs like mapping the seafloor off of the West Coast.

Not many details about the new reef have been released by OAA … the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

The LA County sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission has released a 70-page report condemning the “cancer” of violent deputy gangs within the sheriff’s department.

The commission’s lawyer is urging Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna to create a policy officially banning the secretive groups.

The new sheriff … Robert Luna … issued a statement that said he looks forward to working with the Civilian Oversight Commission and Inspector General on this in the future.

The Sheriff’s Department has long faced allegations about violent groups of inked deputies who run roughshod over certain stations …

The report found that at least half a dozen “gangs” or “cliques” are still active, including the Executioners, the Banditos, the Regulators, the Spartans, the Gladiators, the Cowboys and the Reapers.

The sheriff’s office provides police services to more than 40 municipalities … including the City of Malibu.

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Santa Monica Arrests Armed Biker For Allegedly Assaulting Motorist

A Santa Monica SWAT team has arrested a man in Compton … a suspected motorcycle gang rider who robbed and pistol whipped a driver in Santa Monica last summer. 

Anthony Harris Jr. was identified as the suspect through his DNA. 

It was last July 24 …af Pico Boulevard and Centinela Avenue … when “a large group of motorcyclists” had stopped at a red light.

Santa Monica police say the pack of bikers refused to go when the light turned green.

The motorcycle group then “approached and crowded the vehicle” says a police spokesman.

“One of the motorcyclists began grabbing the victim’s steering wheel and attempted to open the driver’s door before striking the victim in the face.”

The victim tried to drive away but the suspect got into the backseat of the car, which crashed into a parked car, Lt Rudy Flores said.

“The suspect then produced a handgun as he continued to attempt to remove the victim from his car and take his wallet. 

Santa Monica police raided the house in Compton and found clothing and a loaded 9mm handgun believed to be used during the commission of the crime.

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Robot Taxis Without Driver Assistants heading To SM, Malibu Plans unclear

Waymo will begin sending out robot taxis … with no human behind the steering wheel… Under the streets of Santa Monica and the west side of LA.

Waymo is a subsidiary of the Alphabet/Google conglomerate… you may have seen its robot cars with a spinning radar device on top driving around Santa Monica already.

But so far… Always with the human being poised to take over if something goes wrong.

Santa Monica’s Transportation Director is welcoming the robot taxis.

He says the robot taxis “”increase road safety, reduce crashes, provide door to train or bus connectivity to public transit, and recur e carbon emissions.”

The track record is not so rosy in San Francisco… where driverless Waymos are already running around.

Some vehicles unexpectedly stopped, causing traffic jams.

Some of the robot taxis have interfered with active firefighting.

And they prompt human drivers to make unsafe moves.

It’s not clear if any municipality has the power to stop robot taxis from city streets. 

The state legislature has preempted that.

In the words of channel 6 anchor Kent Brockman… Welcome robot overlords.

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State Senator Wants TESLA Charging Stations Open To All

A state senator wants to require Tesla to open every one of its charging stations to non-Tesla vehicles.

The argument is that… Since Tesla is taking advantage of the states energy grid to power its vehicles… Everyone in the state should be able to take advantage of the Tesla stations. This comes as a San Francisco newspaper has found that Teslas… Which have a unique charging port… Have a distinct advantage on road trips.

Tesla operates chargers that are only compatible with its vehicles. 

Its stations use a plug that exclusively works with its cars and drivers use an integrated payment system within the car.

Electric-car advocates say that is not fair.

Tesla has already announced that a small percentage of its charges will be made available to non-Tesla drivers… a partnership that allows Tesla to receive substantial federal funding.

Tesla has sold 73% of the electric cars sold in California..

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Beware Those Who Quote Atmospheric Models And Predict Doom, Swain Warns

And now … a meteorology lesson.

Yesterday… the Internet lit up with rumors that the Pacific Ocean was about to send another series of atmospheric rivers… Warm rivers of rain… To the snow in California. Massive floods would result. UCLA meteorology professor Daniel Swain saw those Internet reports… And yesterday conducted a public class on how to read the European model… The US model… And all of the other long-term weather forecasts.

Beware of people quoting individuals computer runs.

NEWSCART SWAIN RUNS 

“When modern weather forecasts are created, each individual weather model isn’t just round ones. You don’t just take your best guess of initial conditions, and then push play and run this model forward 7 to 10 times to 15 times into the future.

‘You do that but then you do it multiple times. In fact you do it dozens of times using the exact same mathematical model, the same weather model, and you do it over and over and over again”

There are so many variables that the super computers consider… That the same data will spit out radically different forecasts.  Lots of them.

Every day … hundreds of those widely-varying computer runs get posted on the public internet.

And the UCLA meteorology researcher says … not one of them can be viewed individually as gospel.

NEWSCART SWAIN RUNS 222

“There’s a lot of data to get through out there since there are dozens of runs for each model… Four times daily.

“So there are hundreds of individual model numbers that are generated to produce weather forecast per day per model. When there is a lot of excitement about extreme events that are said 7 to 10 to 15 days out there… Often times people according to these individual runs.

“And those can wiggle all over the map.”

And one other lesson from professor Swain … if it rains on a heavy snowpack … that. Snow has an enormous capacity to capture and freeze the rain … particularly at high elevations.

No flooding.

Until it melts.

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Support for KBUU radio comes from Mad Interior Art.

Based in the fashion capital of the world, Milan, Mad Interior Art selects remarkable crystal, porcelain and stone art objects with a remarkable artistic depth …  created by the biggest names on the Italian and international scene.

Shop from home.  Fast shipping.

Mad Interior Art dot com … from Milan to Malibu … supporters of Radio Malibu. … KBUU.

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Support for KBUU Radio comes from Sea N Soul Surf, at Zuma Beach Plaza

A coffee barista … the locals’ place to find entry level surfboards for a grom … or a handshaped blade for a pro.

Sea N Soul Surf… clothing, coffee and boards for the Malibu lifestyle … under Spruzzo’s …across from Zuma Beach.

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Support for Radio Malibu KBUU comes from the Mark and Grether Real Estate Group.

Combining the talents of Tony Mark and Russell Grether… 

The Mark and Grether Group offers concierge-level service… personalized attention… to buyers and sellers… landlords and tenants … here in Malibu.

The Mark and Grether Group… a top producing team with 35 years of experience… and over $1 billion worth of real estate sold in least… from Malibu’s coastline to the canyons.

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Support for KBUU Radio comes from the Malibu Brewing Company.

Malibu Brewing Company is a locally owned craft brewery, proudly supporting our community, and local public radio.

The tap room at Trancas Country Market is open… 

And the Malibu Brewing Company is serving its Oktoberfest fest beer … a traditional lager with notes of toffee … moderate malt flavors and delicate hops. 

A chef prepared menu to enjoy on the patio or inside.

Malibu Brewing Company Malibu California

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Support for KBUU radio comes from Saguaro Technology.

Based in Malibu … Saguaro Technology offers software development and other engineering services across the entire product life cycle… and across several industries.

Life sciences, automation, robotics. 

Saguaro Technology engineers work side-by-side with the client to extend engineering teams… to create and launch products faster… and more cost effectively. 

Saguaro Technology can be reached at saguarotech.net

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Support for KBUU Radio comes from the Malibu Foundation.

The Malibu Foundation underwrote the KBUU solar panels and batteries at the transmitter … which keeps KBUU’s FM transmitting on 99.1 during storms and blackouts… 24 seven… on clean renewable Malibu sunshine.

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You can hear the news live every morning until 9:30 on KBUU.

FM 99.1 in western Malibu.  Also: streaming at www.radiomalibu.net

Between 10 and 2 … you can hear the newscast playback loop on KBU2. That’s on FM 99.1 HD2 in your car, or streaming at s7.viastreaming.net/6500

If humanly possible, the KBUU NewsScript is usually published at around midday at www.radiomalibu.net