KBUU NEWS AIRED FRI MAY 28 / UPDATED AND PUBLISHED SAT MAY 29

Water Restrictions Finally Hit Malibu: Outdoor Watering Limited To 2 Days Per Week

With cities to the east, west and north of Malibu, and our water supply dwindling, Malibu has finally been hit with water restrictions,
Los Angeles County operates the Malibu water district, called Waterworks District 29. And it has issued new water restrictions aimed at getting customers to voluntarily cut back their water usage by 30 percent.
No penalties for violating – yet. The county wants that additional penalties for excessive water use may soon be applied if water usage does not decrease.
Mandatory restrictions like in the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, just to our north, are already in effect. Up there, all customers have been placed on “water budgets” that reflect a 50 percent cutback in outdoor water use.
Water flow restricting devices are supposedly being used to enforce that, in Las Virgenes.
In Malibu, outdoor yard and lawn watering at houses is restricted to two days a week based on a property’s address: even street numbers on Tuesday and Friday, and odd numbers on Mondays and Thursdays.
The rules say outdoor watering is allowed only between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The County did not specify if those overnight periods, which span two days each, mean two windows per week, each 8 hours straight, or four windows per week, two from 10 to midnight and two form midnight to 6am.
The new rules also prohibit outdoor watering is prohibited during daylight hours. That apparently includes hand watering, which in many ways is more efficient than using sprinklers, but which can only be done in daylight,
The new rules also specify that outdoor watering should last no longer than 10 minutes per watering day, but do not specify if that means per property or per sprinkler zone. .
The rules say that observable water waste or street runoff will result in potential penalties if not addressed, but with watering shifted to the middle of the night, and with no enforcement, that appears to be a rule with no impact.
Other “new” rules have already been in effect, such as a ban on using water to wash pavement, roadways, concrete, and sidewalks, except for public health and safety exceptions. And hoses must have an automatic shut-off nozzle for car washing and outdoor hand watering of plants and trees, a rule that has been in effect for months.
Other new rules include requiring homeowners and renters to water leaks, breaks, and malfunctions in a timely manner.
Also, restaurants shall only serve water upon request, and hotels must offer an option for customers to opt-out of daily linen service to reduce laundry water use.

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.

Covid 19 Positivity Rate At Malibu High: 4% – Entire School Exposed, Masks Mandatory

With just three weeks of school left this year … Covid is going to be an end of year presence at Malibu High School.
All students at Malibu High School remain under mandatory mask wearing rules for the second week in a row.
The school sent out a notice yesterday that the upper grades continue to turn up new Covid positive cases.
21 new cases have turned up this week.
All of those new positive cases have been from grades 9-12 at the high school … no cases were detected at the adjacent Malibu Middle School.
The regular testing on Monday thru Wednesday turned up turned up nine of the 21 new cases.
The remaining 12 cases were a result of kids getting tested after showing symptoms of sickness … or after the kids were tested because they had been exposed to Covid on campus last week.
symptoms/response testing or testing after exposures from last week’s notice.
The district is requiring all students at Malibu High to be tested weekly …. but given the new exposures on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday … additional tests are being offered,.
A testing center has been set up in the parking lot at Malibu Elementary School … on Point Dume.
It’s open for people who are already registered in the school district’s testing program only,.
The tests are offered on the Point Dume campus fin school days from 8:30 in the morning until 1:30 in the afternoon.
These are antigen tests.
And again. ,… those tests are offered at the Point Dume campus on Fernhill Drive … not up at the schools on Morning View Drive.
Negative home tests are also acceptable to secure entrance to the school.
413 kids are enrolled in grades 9 thru 12 at Malibu High.
The positivity rate at Malibu High is about 4.6 percent.
Across LA County … test positivity is 4.1% — about 2.5 times higher than the rate reported a month ago.
But remember … the schools are testing everyone … while the county is only testing people who come forward to be tested.

====

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.

Covid Medicine In Stock At CVS Malibu, But Nearest Plaxovid Is In Santa Monica

Malibu’s CVS Pharmacy now has one of the the prescription Covid medicines in stock.
The federal government’s website has tracked 22 doses of the Covid treatment to Malibu.
The CVS Pharmacy at Colony Center … is the only chain drug store in Malibu.
This drug is called mol-nu-pir-a-vir … marketed as La-gev-ri-o … made by Merck.
Its effectiveness has been lower than Plaxovir … according to UC Health.
Studies showed Lagevrio prevented hospitalization and death by about 40%.
A few pharmacies in Santa Monica are stocking Plaxovir … the Pfizer medicine.
Both drugs are being distributed for free by the U.S. federal government.
Monoclonal antibodies and antiviral medications are recommended for people who test positive for COVID-19 and those in high-risk groups including people who are either :
65 or older.
Overweight.
Current or former smokers.
Or other vulnerable medical conditions.
Stroke survivors.
Dealing with substance use disorders.
Dealing with cancer, kidney, liver, lung or sickle cell disease.
Diagnosed with dementia, diabetes, Down Syndrome, heart conditions, HIV infections, certain mental health conditions and tuberculosis.
L A County Health officials strongly recommend that persons who test positive talk to a doctor.
Under federal policies … however …. The medicine is available on a walk up basis.
The U.S. government has a website displaying which pharmacies have anti-COVID drugs.
We have the link posted … you can easily find it by searching for it.
https://covid-19-therapeutics-locator-dhhs.hub.arcgis.com

===

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.

State Parks Quietly Opens 30-Day Comment Window On Major Proposed Topanga Lagoon Construction, Including Slightly Rerouting PCH At Malibu’s East End

After decades of decay … California State parks is moving forward with plans for the decrepit Topanga Ranch Motel and possible reconfiguration of Topanga Lagoon.
Yesterday … a modest little legal advertisement buried in the back of the Los Angeles Times revealed that construction will start on a massive rearrangement and restoration at Topanga Lagoon in a few years.
A public comment window just opened … 30 days …. as the state of California is floating four alternatives for the lagoon area.
Three of them propose replacing the bridge that carries Pacific Coast Highway across Topanga lagoon.
The goals … to restore the lagoon without affecting the surf break …
Maybe expand it from 1 acre to 7 acres … maybe 10 acres.
And the big one … to come up with a plan for the ramshackle Topanga Ranch Motel.
The old motor court was built int the 1920s and is a classic example of a roadside motor court.
There are four different alternatives being presented by the state for public comment.
Some of them would preserve the roadside businesses like Wiley’s bait shack.
Others would remove or relocate Wiley’s to widen the lagoon….at the PCH bridge.
The idea is to expand the existing lagoon from less than 1 acre to 7 – 10-acres.
The existing PCH bridge over Topanga Creek would be reconstructed with a longer span to accommodate a wider lagoon.
The road might also be realigned … with a curve at the creek bridge.
Yesterday … the state posted a notice that the planning project is underway … with a tight 30 day deadline for the public to comment.
https://www.rcdsmm.org/resources/topanga-lagoon-restoration/
Now … if all goes on schedule … construction would start on the State Parks reconfiguration of Topanga Lagoon in 2027.
That’s about the same vague time that construction will begin on demolishing Rindge Dam.
But it will be after the major traffic delays on PCH at Big Rock … where Caltrans has plans to install a landslide preventing wall under the highway.

=====

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.
Their Happy Days Honey Blonde is a light dry traditional blonde ale… Brew with local wildflower honey from the Santa Monica mountains.
Find Malibu Brewing Company premium craft beer in select retailers, or order direct at brew malibu dot com

Pelican Crisis Worsens, But Food Is Plentiful Offshore, Scientists Not Sure What Gives

The pelican crisis appears to be getting worse on the southern California coast.
But the biggest wave of sick pelicans maybe yet to come.
This year’s crop of baby pelicans is still in nests in the channel Islands… And when they leave the nest it’s not clear how healthy they will be.
That’s according to wildlife experts interviewed by the Ventura County star.
More than 500 pelicans now have been found starving or dead between Santa Barbara and the Mexican border.
330 are in hospitals now.
200 have died.
This one is puzzling state wildlife officials.
They say the amount of anchovies … mackerel and sardines out in the ocean has not decreased over the past years.
The sick birds are anemic and dehydrated.
Some have broken bones from being hit by cars… Others have fishing hooks are entangled by fishing lines.
Both of those indicate the birds maybe trying riskier feeding methods and paying for it with injuries.
Smaller rescue centers are transferring birds to the International Bird Center’s hospital in Los Angeles,.

Unanswered Questions Remain About Beach Patrols

L A Sheriff Alex Villanueva put out a news release Thursday … announcing that his beach patrol will be patrolling all of LA County’s beaches with sheriff’s deputies this summer.
Would that include the sheriff sending sheriff’s deputies onto beaches patrolled by LA PD Beach teams???
That was the clear implication.
Some confusion remains in Malibu. … overt the sheriff’s beach team deployment here.
Last week … Lt Chad Watters said not as many deputies would be patrolling Zuma Beach as in summers past.
NEWSCART A73351 ZUMA111 CHAD WATERS we needed the most
But this week … Malibu city officials walked that back a bit … and said beach team operations were not being cut.
Malibu spends 900 thousand dollars per year for the beach team.
That’s on top of the 9 point 3 million that we pay for the sheriff’s office to function as the municipal police force.
That’s 21 and a half percent of the city’s budget.
That figure is only going to grow … as the new sheriff’s station at the Civic Center may cost 4 million dollars to staff.

====

Support for Radio Malibu KBUU comes from the Mark & Grether Group.
The Mark & Grether Group is a small tightly knit team… based in Malibu… with full-time marketing and operations staff to deliver exceptional results and smooth real estate transactions.
Mark & Grether Group… a top producing team with 35 years of experience and over $1 billion of real estate sold and leased …. from Malibu’s coastline to the canyons.

Beloved Malibu Preschool Can’t Find A Home, Final Remembrance Sunday At Noon

Generations of Malibu kids have come up through the Childrens Creative Workshop … the preschool in western Malibu that is closing in two weeks … after 40 years.
The teacher … Shari Latta … started the preschool in the Point Dume community services building four decades ago.
The school district booted her preschool when it reopened Point Dume as an elementary school a decade ago.
The preschool found a temporary space at Juan Cabrillo elementary on Morningview Drive.
But Cabrillo is going to be demolished starting this summer … to make way for a new Malibu high school campus.
At last Monday’s city council meeting … Mikke Pierson said he and Karen Farrer looked high and low for a new location for the preschool … somewhere … anywhere … in western Malibu.
NEWSCART 73405 MP CCW
Shari Latta has been given a brief extension on the eviction order from the school district.
Two weeks.
That will enable kids to attend preschool until the graduation ceremony on June 10th.
Alumni of theopreschool … and their parents … are celebrating the school’s 40 years of service on Sunday.
The event starts at noon.
Event organizer Kim LeDoux says people can read letters or speak about what CCW meant to them.
The closure of the preschool will be the last event at Juan Cabrillo Elementary School … before it is torn down this summer.

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