All roads open EXCEPT lower Decker Canyon Road is still closed from PCH up one mile through the switchbacks. 

Topanga Canyon Blvd … is OPEN.

Yesterday … a large boulder blocked the road just north of the S Curves.

Yesterday they were using a jackhammer to break up the boulder.

It’s open now.

=======

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.

Enormous Surf, Coastal Flooding, 7.1 Foot High Tide at 8:13 am

Enormous surf … on top of a full moon high tide.

Waves of 10 to 16 feet are crashing ashore.

High tide … 7.1 feet … is at 8:13 this morning.

Sand erosion is extreme along the Malibu coast.

Yesterday … water and foam was blowing onto the parking lots at Zuma Beach in places.

And almost the entire beach was either washed away … or inundated by storm-caused lagoons.

The volleyball court area near Zuma Creek was a lake. 

At high tide … waves were washing right unto Westward Beach Road at Birdview.

The road between Birdview and the rocks at Point Dume is still intact … barely.

Tons and tons of rocks have been brought in as a revetment … to protect it.

But that beach has completely been washed away.

=====

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

Duplicate Big Storm, Like Last Two Days, May Arrive Monday. And Then Again In 8 Days

A drying trend will establish through Saturday.

Large damaging surf this evening will subside through Saturday.

Storm door wide open: two storm fronts likely to collide over SoCal early next week, followed by a third system for next Friday or Saturday,

The strongest storm is forecast for Monday through Tuesday: more heavy rain, high surf, and strong winds.

In the last 7 days, 4 inches of rain on the coast, 9 inches in the mountains. 

Next Monday night’s storm total amounts between 2 to 4 inches for the coast to

4 to 8 inches for the mountains.

=====

Drought May Be Breaking, As Malibu Area Drenched

The Malibu coast has just moved from the official federal extreme drought category .. to the moderate drought category.

For the first time in months … no part of California is in the exceptional drought category.

Winter storms appear to be getting warmer in California. 

The links between climate change and extreme weather are becoming increasingly clear.

As the climate warms … storms can hold more water.

Daniel Swain .. the UCLA-affiliated climate expert … says “confidence is increasing that cumulative flood risk will further escalate by Monday, possibly culminating in widespread significant flooding in Northern California by Tuesday.

“Very high precipitation totals are likely over next 7-10 days.”

Does this mean the California drought is over??

Too early to tell.

Overall… about half of the years with big early snowfalls are dud snow years … overall.

=======

Support  for KBUU Radio comes from the Malibu Brewing Company.

… which has a special release for the winter season.

Winter Warmer … an ale aged in bourbon barrels for a year.

Warm-winter spiced notes of clove, raisins and ginger. 

You can enjoy this limited release on draft while it lasts, or take home a few bottles. 

The Malibu tasting Room is open for lunch and dinner at Trancas Country Market.

Malibu Brewing Company … Malibu California.

Stewart and Silverstein Partner On 2 Major Process Change Proposals At City Hall

A plan to require people building projects in Malibu to pay for outside consultants to review their proposals has been drafted by council members Bruce Silverstein and Doug Stewart.

The proposal goes before the city council next Monday.

It would require an applicant to prepare biological, geological, engineering, and other plans.

Then … the applicant would have to pay for a second consultant …. chosen by the city … to review the plans.

Silverstein and Stewart .. in their proposal … say that a good consultant can write a report to justify whatever a client desires. 

They call that “garbage in / garbage out.” 

That results in opponents to a project hitting their own experts to scramble to object … and even if they can afford to hire their own consultants … the same objectivity problem results.

Silverstein and Stewart say that the applicants should instead be required to hire an independent consultant … selected by the City and answerable to the City.

This … they say .. , is more likely to provide an impartial and objective analysis of the proposed project.

That greater reliability can be relied on by the Planning Commission, the City Council and the California Coastal Commission.

All commercial and mutilfamily projects would be subject to the applicants paying for the independent analysis.

And for single family homeowners … they would have to pay for the independent consultant if 

the city Planning Director determines the project to be non-controversial.

But … not in a situation where there is an objection by a nearby property owner.

The proposal goes before the city council next Monday.

And Silverstein and Stewart are also cosponsoring a proposal to end the imposition of fees on residents who appeal planning commission decisions to the city council.

Right now … if a resident wants to appeal a planning commission decision to the city council … they get charged the city’s cost for preparing reports.

That can be severe hundred dollars.

But that cost can be bypassed if the resident instead takes the appeal directly to the state coastal commission.

The state has a set of zoning laws for Malibu … called the LCP … that supersede the city’s zoning codes.

Save the money .. appeal directly to the state … goes the current path for free appeals.

That cuts out the city council from the decision-making process.

It’s been talked about for years … removing the fees to appeal to the city council.

Silverstein and Stewart are partnering to propose such a change… it also goes to the city council Monday.

Possible Planning Commissioners: Jeff Jennings and Skylar Peak.

Skylar Peak has thrown his hat into the ring … for consideration as a new Planning Commissioner.

He joins another former city council member …. Jeff Jennings … in hoping for appointment to the powerful land use agency.

Two new city councilmembers get to appoint volunteers for the various city committees.

The matter will be discussed next Monday … at the city council meeting. 

It may be a long meeting … as the city council will also decide how to regroup after the Coastal Commission rejected the city’s years of effort to come up with an ordinance to crack down on short term vacation rentals in Malibu.

=====

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.

State Buys 8 Acre Multistory Shopping Center/Apartment Complex at Kanan/Agoura

In news from over the hill … a shopping center at the Kanan Road gateway to Malibu has been stopped in its tracks. 

Agoura Village had zoning permits for apartments upstairs … stores on the ground level … and parking in the garage … at the corner of Kanan and Agoura roads.

It was supposed to be a long-sought cvic center for Agoura Hills … but it would have been right next to Kanan Dume Road … gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

And importantly … it would have been a gigantic traffic jam between Malibu and the 101 Freeway.

But now … the Agoura Village will become state property.

The state of California kicked in 80 percent of the $2.6 million purchase price for the land … which is now managed by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.

Private donors raised 300 thousand dollars for the purchase.

Unlike in Malibu … where the MRCA has plans to build a campground inbthe heart of the city … Agoura Hills will benefit from the MRCA managing open space. 

=====

Indoor Gas Stove Pollution Causes Asthma In Kids, Study Connects

Gas stove pollution causes roughly 12.7% of childhood asthma in the United States, a new study finds.

Gas-burning stoves in kitchens across America are responsible for roughly 12.7 percent of childhood asthma cases nationwide — on par with the childhood asthma risks associated with exposure to secondhand smoke, according to a study.

The peer-reviewed study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

“It’s like having car exhaust in a home,” said one author.

The American Gas Association slammed the study’s methodology and findings.

They accused the authors of pursuing a “headline-grabbing approach” that lacked scientific rigor.

=====

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.

====

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