MALIBU MAN WINS OLYMPIC SILVER AFTER BARELY MAKING SKATEBOARD TEAM

In Paris … Malibu native Tom Schaar won the silver medal for freestyle skateboarding at the Olympics yesterday.

Here’s the feed from Paris … and the interview on the NBC Nightly News … 

70468 NBC AUDIO

NEWSGUY:  Over at skateboarding, Tom Schaar barely made the Olympics team today. He became a super medalist in Men’s Park. 

PLAY BY PLAY GUY, OVER SKATEBOARD SCRUNCHING SFX:  “Tom Schaar, wow.”

NEWSGUY:  “Talk to me about the flag draped around your shoulders, and you have a silver medal. What does that feel like?”

SCHAAR:  “Uh, yeah. The chances were pretty slim for me getting here. I barely qualified at the last second. So I’m just trying to enjoy the moment.”

NBC Nightly News audio … the reporter is Tom Llamas.

Schaar was able to win the silver medal despite a little fumble on his trademark 720 degree move. 

Tom Schaar bringing home the silver … to his native Malibu ….

SANTA MONICA SCHOOL DIVORCE MOVES FORWARD, COUNTY MAY ACT BY END OF YEAR

Movement from Santa Monica on the school district divorce … as the county promises to make a decision sometime soon.

Two public hearings will be held … one each in Malibu and Santa Monica … before Thanksgiving on the Malibu school independence drive.   And a recommendation from the county … for the state Board of Education to consider … is expected by Christmas. 

But perhaps more importantly … Santa Monica returned to the negotiating table last week.

The Los Angeles County committee that handles school board boundaries met yesterday … and was that told that the impasse of last month has been broken.

Santa Monica representative David Soldani 

70474 SOLDANI ONE 

“Every once in a while will we’ll have a little bit of a hiccup but today we’ve been able to surmount any of those challenges.

“That remains true today we had a little bit of a little bit of a stalemate on it on an issue or two and we’re breaking through that now.”

Malibu’s lawyer … Christine Wood .. also said there was a breakthrough … last weekend. 

70470 CWOOD ONE 

“It’s truly made a considerable amount of progress. We have virtually finished the revenue sharing agreement. 

“We probably completed 75% or more of the operating agreement. We agreed to almost all the terms of the Joint Powers Agreement. 

“We made a considerable amount of progress over these years, but we also feel like it’s time to complete this.”

The county board voted to hold thew two public hearings by Thanksgiving … and make a recommendation on the proposed divorce by Christmas. 

That would be a major milestone in a process that has dragged on for more than a decade. 

Three former Malibu mayors appeared at the meeting yesterday to endorse it.

Laura Rosenthal blasted Santa Monica for stalling. 

70473 3 MAYORS 

LAURA ROSENTHAL: “The district doesn’t really seem to take us seriously and show up to the negotiations sessions the way they should, with the people that can make decisions, unless the city does things like bring it back to you all.

 

Lou La Monte:

“Hello my name is Lou Lamont. I am also a former mayor and city council member. We always hear that we are close but we never seem to get there. 

“The one thing that both parties do agree is that both cities agree on is that separating these two districts is in the best interests of the students in both cities. We are already physically separated by more than 25 miles and by community character.

“Santa Monica is a city of 90,000 people and we barely have 10,000.”

Karen Farrer:

“My name is Karen Farrer and I am a former city council and a former mayor. SMMUSD has already been operating as two separate K-12 pathways since the 1990s. 

“Financial another terms of separation have already been agreed upon.

“I respectfully ask that the county committee help both Santa Monica and Malibu both move on in the best interests of the students they serve.”

Laura Rosenthal … Lou La Monte … and Karen Farrer. 

So what’s next???

Two public hearings by Thanksgiving… and then a vote by a county committee that sounds both sympathetic to Malibu … and fed up with the process.

The committee seems to be ready 

70472 DELAYS CHAS DAVIS 

“This just seems like we should be driving the train and telling them that by such and such a date they should be finished.

“If not, let’s move forward on the application. We’ve been almost 2 years on these negotiations. 

“And it’s just… I can see where my position is that the kids suffer. We’ve been on this for seven years now, and some of these kids have graduated.”

County committee member Charles Davis. 

The county committee will make a recommendation … not a decision.

Then … the Malibu independence petition goes to the state Board of Education in Sacramento.

Get in line … says the state. 

Allison Deegan … at the county.

70469 FOUR YEARS

“No matter what county committee does, its decision is only advisory and this petition must go to the state Board of Ed, by code.

“We just had a petition go to the state Board of Ed after a four year wait in their queue. So this petition will go to the state Board of Ed and it will be in their regular queue and when they get to it, that could be as long as four years.”

Unless  … Malibu is able to convince the state legislature and the governor to approve a special bill … to bypass both the state Board of Ediucaatioj and a full Environmental Impact Report. 

That will be another one year delay … then it goes back to the state Board of Education. 

Add this all up. … and it looks like the earliest that a Malibu school district could spring out of Santa Monica will be summer … 2030.

And that is being optimistic.

BEAR RETURNS TO SILVERSTEIN’S DRIVEWAY

And reports on social media this morning … the bear is back in Bruce Siulverstein’s driveway.

The city councilman reports on social media that for the second night a juvenile black bear visited his driveway.

Silverstein rep reports he had been barbecuing and spotted the bear… Approaching him

This is happening in the Harbor Vista neighborhood … just off of Malibu Canyon Road and up the hill from Malibu City Hall.

No comment from the bear.