=.  Our local school district board uses Malibu tax money to file a lawsuit for the City of Santa Monica.

=.  Santa Monica board members challenge the constitutionality of a state law requiring voting by neighborhood.

=.  Craig Foster is furious … says this is a waste of taxpayer money from both cities.

=.  The mayor of Santa Monica doesn’t see the irony in protesting against outside control of local schools in her city.

=.  18 months to the a project before the Planning Commission …. and 4 of the 12 planner jobs are vacant.

=.  Another multi hour traffic block on PCH ion Santa Monica yesterday.

=.  Caltrans creates an obvious traffic hazard at Trancas … it’s a left turn free for all. 

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

Santa Monica School Board Files Lawsuit Against Neighborhood Voting Plan Favored By Malibu Interests

The school board that represents both Santa Monica and Malibu is once again taking the side of Santa Monica … against the apparent majority of Malibu residents.

Yesterday… the school board used tax money from both areas to file a lawsuit against a petition supported by numerous Malibu education activists.

The petition seeks to take advantage of a new state law …. AB 442 … which allows LA County to order voting for school board members according to neighborhood areas… instead of the current at large method.

Supporters … primarily in Malibu … say voting by neighborhood would undo the current majority lock on the Santa Monica Malibu school board. … which for decades has been controlled by candidates from the north of Montana neighborhood in Santa Monica.

Those candidates have strongly resisted Malibu’s effort to separate out a new malibu school district.

They say they favor malibu independence … but have set financial payments from malibu that would be cost prohibitive.

In an interview yesterday …. Board vice president Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein said 

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“The district is in no way closing the door… Saying it does not support district elections… But would rather have a community-wide conversation… Malibu and santa monica… How’s the weather that is right for our district… A clear and democratic process rather than a board… And an elected county board… Determining the way that we do our elections in the school district.”

Richard Tahvildaran-Jasswein at the Santa Monica school board.

Malibu’s lone representative to the school board … Craig Foster … is furious that district tax money is once again being spent for an outside law firm to file a lawsuit on behalf of Santa Monica.

Her told the Santa Monica Daily Press … and we quote … “I have every expectation that the District is going to lose this lawsuit, and when they do and when the bill for how much money this cost is totaled up and how many teachers had to be fired because we chose this course of action, I hope and expect every single school board member who voted for this will resign in embarrassment,” Foster said.

Foster called the school district action of hiring a law firm… to support the City of Santa Monica …  “just a terrible idea at every level.”

The district … he says … is challenging the California Voting Rights Act  … which he calls “the key to democratic involvement in California.

“To be against that is horrible, it’s embarrassing, it’s wrong.”

But in Santa Monica … Tahlvidaran-Jasswein says the school board is not against voting by neighborhood … it’s simply against the plan proposed by Malibu lawyer Kevin Shenkman and filed with the county.

That is contrary to what the districts announced in its press release.

We asked him to explain.

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“The lawsuit does not claim or call for the City of Santa Monica to make any determinations for the full district. 

“The fact of the matter is … it’s really not refutable … is that this school district  is ruled by the city charter of Santa Monica.. and we understand that this city charter is protected in the state constitution.  So we are pretty clear about that, right?

“No one is arguing … no one is saying … that the City of Santa Monica should determine for all of the residents of Malibu and Santa Monica whether or not to have trustee districts or not. Absolutely not.

REPORTER: “Richard … let me read to you the press release that you just put out. Your press release says and it’s quoting Santa Monica mayor Susan Emerick but it’s a press release from the school district …

It says …. And I quote … ”the Santa Monica community is entitled with their vote too make changes in the Santa Monica city charter … not  a committee with purview of Los Angeles county as a whole. The word Malibu is not in that sentence. 

BOARD MEMBER TAHVILDARAN-JASSWEIN: “Well, you should take to Mayor Himmelrich about that.”

Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein does not see the irony … that the mayor of Santa Monica is opposed to LA County telling Santa Monica what to do with “its” school board … at the same time that for decades Santa Monica has dictated to Malibu … how Malibu schools will be run.

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Support for KBUU radio… For eight years now… Has come from Rancho Del Cielo. Perched high above the Pacific Ocean and overlooking Paradise Cove… Rancho Del Cielo is a partner bringing public radio to the Malibu.

‘Left Turn Open Fire Zone’ On PCH As Caltrans Removes Median 7 Weeks Ahead Of Detour

The center median on PCH has been removed …. In front of Trancas County Market. 

Caltrans contractors are getting ready to shift the lanes over to allow for the ocean side of the bridge to be replaced this summer. 

The big lane shift is in about six or seven weeks. 

In the meantime … it’s a free for all for left turns in and out of the shopping center. 

Only a few barricades are in the middle of the street,

And the 30 mile an hour signs are still up …and being ignored.

We’ll keep you posted on the inevitable crashes.

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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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Monday Afternoon 5-Hour Closure On Incline Snarls PCH Traffic

For the second time in three days … a major traffic disruption on PCH in Santa Monica.

This time it was a suicidal person who is threatening to harm himself on the California incline.

All this started at 1:15.

Santa monica police set the guy abandon his car on the incline and climbed up top a bridge… Armed with a knife… To do him self harm.

A large inflatable bag was brought under the man’s perch… atop the pedestrian bridge over the incline.

PCH was never closed… But one lane in each direction was occupied by police cars and traffic backed up significantly… With 20 minute delay as reported.

After five hours of negotiations … the suicidal man was brought to safety.

Full traffic flow was restored at 6:15.

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You are listening to the latest news from Radio Malibu.

Support for KBUU’s radio covers from Orbit Homes Inc.

Prefabricated homes are the future of construction. Easy to get permits. Fast to build and install. Cost effective … little construction waste.

In Malibu, Orbit Homes has a showroom between City Hall and the Malibu racquet club.

Fire victims can check them out in person … and visit them on the web at www.orbithomes.us .

Malibu Planning Department Swamped With Projects, Abandoned By Workers – Planners Have 57 Cases Each Here, Versus 10 Each In BH

Malibu has 5 000 parcels … 5 thousand individual pieces of land.

And right now … more than 42 percent of those have active projects that require city permits underway.

A third of those are caused by the Woolsey Fire.

But the other two thirds are  people or businesses wanting to build things. 

Last night… The cities planning director painted a picture of frustration for residents … and an overworked staff.

Richard Mollica:

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“It takes about a year to year and a half just to get something in front of the planning commission and folks see that as a bottleneck because of the fact that we can’t approve their Coastal Development Permit in just a couple months like some other cities may be able to.”

Last night … the city planning director posted one grim statistic after another to the city planning commission. 

Projects are backed up.  

Staff is overworked … planners are quitting out of frustration. … they can get better jobs.

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“On average you’re looking at about 57 cases per planner. Now just to put that in perspective … you’ve got cities like Beverly Hills where their caseload is only 10 10m cases per planner.

“This is one of the aspects that we do compete.

“When you’re asking about employee retention … this is something that comes up.

Right now in the Planning department … they should have 12 planners on the staff.

They have 8.

Vacancies include the jobs of principal planner, associate planner, 2 assistant planners.

One of the three code enforcement officer jobs is open.

Coibnsultants … brought in to fill the gap … are not able to do the entire job. 

And malibu peopekl file a lot of public document requests … trying to find out documents related to their properties … or their neighbors.

Richard Mollica.

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“During the past year the city perceived 517 planning related public records request this is not all state wide the coastal commission only processed 224.

And as bad as that is … it is even worse once a planning permit gets issued.

Planning commissioner John Mazza points the finger at a different city department.

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“I get complaints that it’s not the planning department… It’s the permit department. People think they’re home free when they get their planning and then things start slowing down.”

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Support for KBUU Radio also comes the the Malibu Association of Realtors.

When choosing someone to represent you when you buy … sell or rent a house … local knowledge is very important.

Malibu zoning rules … Coastal Commission rules …

Members of the Malibu Association of Realtors are local experts.

The Malibu Association of Realtors …  supporters of our local community … and supporters of local radio 99.1 KBUU.

Meanwhile, Planning Commission Debates 1 Hour To Decide Where To Put A (Legal) Pool Pump

Malibu’s planning commission spent nearly one hour last night deciding where a homeowner on Point Dume gets to put in a swimming pool pump.

The applicant for the house on Wildlife Road is building a pool and rehabilitating an old ranch house. 

And putting in a pool that meets all legal codes.

A woman who lives next door … Suzanne Guldimann … complained that the pool filter will be near her home office … even though the applicant had moved the pool pump 50 feet away from the bedroom used by Guldimann’s mother.

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“This is right by our fence. Why can’t we move out 10 feet out from our fence?  I don’t understand why she is having a hissy fit. My poor mom is 90 and ill and we are talking about noise pollution that is potentially going to affect her.”

But the planning commissioners said the exact placement of a swimming pool filter pump … if it meets all city codes … is a matter for the land owner and the next door neighbor to work out. 

The man who is building the pool … however … has to hire an archaeologist to look for Chumash artifacts as they dig the pool. 

That’s because the next door neighbor ,.. Suzanne Guldimann … says she has found ancient native American artifacts on that property.

The applicant … Andrew Ferguson … said no fair.

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“The question to me is … no other pool in the City of Malibu has ever required archaeological monitoring during the digging.  Why am I the first one to set precedent ??

PLANNING COMMISSION CHAIR KRAIG HILL:  “Well I think that’s been established.  Thank you for your concern.  It’s a tough call but in the big picture it’s probably not gonna be that big a deal…”

That was architect Andrew Ferguson… Answered by city planning commission Chairman Kraig Hill.

The guy on Wildlife Road gets to build the pool … but has to hire an archeological expert to make sure construction stops if Native American stuff is dug up. 

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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.

Just released: a limited, holiday-spiced Winter Ale …  a perfect fireside companion.

It makes a special gift for the beer-lovers on your list.

Find Malibu Brewing Company premium craft beer in select retailers, or order direct at brew malibu dot com

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

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