No, Donald Trump Was Not In The Chopper That Crashlanded At Malibu High

Here is a weird story … with a Malibu angle.

Former President Donald Trump was caught in a lie  or maybe a big mistaken memory… that involves a Malibu helicopter crash landing … and a KBUU reporter.

Yesterday… at his news conference … Donald trump said this:

70480 TRUMP CRASH 

“Well I known Willie Brown very well.

“In fact, I went down helicopter with him … 

“We thought maybe this is the end – we were in a helicopter, going to a certain location together, and it was an emergency landing. 

“This was not a pleasant landing, and he was a little concerned.”

Wrong. 

Brown was in at least one helicopter crash … actually it was a very fast forced landing.  

it was Malibu 20 years ago. How do I know? I was there.

Late one fall night in 2004 … a helicopter landed quite suddenly at Malibu High School during a one of the first football games under the new lights.

I was there covering it for the newspaper.

The chopper came down hard and fast … barely missing the football field. 

Willie Brown emerged from it.

Donald Trump was most certainly not on that chopper. 

Trump has jumbled his stories.

Then-President Trump was … according to news accounts … in a helicopter in 2018 … with some guy named Brown in California … 

But that was Gov. Jerry Brown … not Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

That chopper did not crash. … but Trump griped repeatedly on that ride … that he did not like choppers.

Trump may have heard have anecdotes about that Malibu chopper crash landing … a chopper ride with Willie Brown … a chopper ride he was NOT on … and mixed it up with a chopper ride with Jerry Brown …

On the other hand, Trump told more than 30,000 lies or falsehoods during his presidency, according to the Washington Post, which keeps a running tally.

Now … as of Friday morning … Willie Brown says he’s never been in a chopper crash.

But we saw him get out of the crash landing in Malibu in 2004. 

At his advanced ago … Willie Brown may be having memory problems.

Just ask Donald Trump.

SpaceX Blows Off Coastal Commission On Rockets Bothering Butterflies, Whales And Seals

The Coastal Commission is declaring war against the the US Air Force … and the world’s richest man’s SpaceX rocket company.

The issue … rockets blasting off and landing from the Vandenberg Space Force launch pads … owned by the federal government but operated by PSaceX and other private companies.

More and more rockets are being launched and landed … causing huge blast noises and sonic booms on wildlife areas .. some of them close … some of them dozens of miles away. 

The Air Force and SpaceX is not only rejecting demands for better environmental protections … they are rejecting requests for a bare minimum of monitoring of the effects of the blasts on wildlife.

At yesterday’s Coastal Commission meeting in Malibu … Air Force Col Dorian hatcher promised military cooperation. 

70481 USAF DORAIN HATCHER

“We are committed stewards, responsible members of the community.

“We recognize it is not only our responsibility but our duty, we are committed.”

But then he folded up his papers and refused to say anything else … refused to answer questions from the commission or its staff. 

All hat and no colonel … as it were. 

And it wasn’t like the Coastal Commission was asking for a lot. :

74087 CCC PSACEX CONCERNS  

“We’re not recommending a prohibition of launches at Vandenberg or limiting forces ability to manage operations at its face but rather ensuring they continue in a manner that sustainably protects coastal resources.”

And the state  state official stressed … said Coastal does not want to shut SpaceX down … 

Coastal Commission chair Caryl Hart said the federal government should stand was unacceptable.

She said that really bothered her.

70485 70486 HART FED AGENCY REFUSES 

“We have before us federal agency that is refusing to answer questions from ourselves, and also from the public, and not willing to conduct the monitoring, basic monitoring, that is required by our conditions.”

After all .. the Coastal Commission was only asking for monitoring of wildlife … a bridge too far for the Air Force.

The coastal commissIon expert says the state only wants Space X launches scheduled around the occasional weather conditions that cause sonic booms to echo up and down the coast.  That … plus monitoring of marine mammals birds and butterflies as SpaceX ratchets up the number of launches dramatically.

For example … no one is monitoring the effects of rocket launches on a colony of endangered Monarch Butterflies right next to the launch pad.

No one is monitoring the effects of rocket launches … more than 36 a year … on whales … seals and other marine life in the Santa Barbara Channel or Channel Islands … as far down the coast as Malibu.

If you’re wondering if the state Coastal Commission has jurisdiction over federal military activity on the base… it does. 

In 1972, Richard Nixon signed the Coastal Zone Management Act.

And it specifically gives state agencies the right to manage all environmentally-degrading activities on federal properties, including federal military properties.

Coastal Says Encinal Canyon HOA Has Been Warned About Illegal Signs

Coastal Commission enforcement staffers say they have cracked down on the Encinal Beach Homeowners Association at Lechusa Beach … which reportedly put a “private beach” sign out on land that is very much public beach.

The offending party has been told not to do that … and the Encinal Beach Homeowners reportedly has agreed. 

The private beach sign on Lechusa Beach…. triggering a nasty Tik Tok video dispute that generated headlines in the LA Times.

Lisa Haage … the chief CCC enforcement officer … says people trying to prevent access by the public to the public beach … west of Broad Beach … continues to be a vexing problem.

She says it’s a bit like Whack-a-Mole. 

70483 LECHUSA HAAGE 

“People are very creative about finding ways to mislead or make public access areas less obvious and so it’s a constant battle and we’re certainly willing to entertain any suggestions you have.”

She says the commission’s enforcement staff is working with the Encinal Beach homeowner association to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

At the meeting yesterday … Commission Chair Caryl Hart said Lechusa Beach is a continuing problem.  

And she gave a major shoutout to the MRCA … the Mountain Resource and Conservation Authority … for forcing open access there.

70484 HART 

“Prohibited enjoying a day at the beach it’s pretty stunning, but it’s the way it is and it’s a constant battle to express our gratitude to MRCA for the incredible work that they are doing.”

The MRCA is trying to increase signage and increase public access at Lechuza Beach.

Coastal Officer Smirks As He Describes Battle To Get Red Curb Paint Removed In Intersection

Right up the hill … the Coastal Commission has ordered a Broad Beach Road resident to remove red paint from a curb on Broad Beach Road … at a meeting in Malibu Canyon yesterday … commission enforcement officer Cameron Lee showed a slide of the offending curb. 

You can hear the enforcement officer was laughing and smirking as he showed the slide to the Coastal Commission on Thursday. 

70482 CURB CAMERON LEE 

“District staff keep an eye out for parking interference in the immediately vicinity of public accessway.

“Commission staff became aware that a private homeowner had painted the curb in fronting their home red without any authorizations from the appropriate authority (Chuckle chuckle).

“As you can see in this photo… the painted curb eliminated parking spots just across the road from accessway. (Chuckle chuckle).

“So this the restriction on parking was concerning.

“When a new enforcement intern came aboard this fall … they were able to assist our full-time stall to prepare a violation letter … directing the property owner to immediately remove the unpermitted red paint.”

Good job, intern, right?

Uh … only one problem for the intrepid intern.

The red paint clearly was in an intersection … where state law prohibits parking.

In fact … that state law has just been bolstered by a new California state law … signed by the governor and in effect now.

The Daylighting to Save Lives Bill … AB 413 … bans vehicles from stopping, standing, or parking within 20 feet on the approach side of a crosswalk.  It’s already illegal to park in an intersection.

At that corner … two public streets come together … it’s an intersection … plainly qualifying as having unmarked crosswalks … two of them … across Broad Beach Road … plus a crosswalk across the side street. 

That means …. the red paint that the coastal commission ordered removed … was marking an area where parking is in fact prohibited by state law.

That state law that is in effect in the Coastal Zone and everywhere in California. 

We’ve asked the Coastal Commission Friday why they are encouraging illegal parking in crosswalks.

We will let you know they answer in our next broadcast.