KBUU NewsScript Tues Nov 30: City Council Overload, SM Sees Covid Death Spike, 2 Positive Covid Tests at MHS

=.   Not one but two Malibu city council meetings this afternoon and tonight.

=.   Pity the poor Edison guy who has to explain the power outages to the city council … tonight at 6. 

=.   The death toll in Santa Monica takes a sudden spike … 5 killed in the past week.

=.   Two positive Covid cases plus 17 Sharks staying home … free vaccinations tomorrow.

=.   Anything worse than being a val?  Santa Monica worries that Malibu will get exiled to an 818 congressional district.

=.   Another battle brewing between the sheriff and the county government … he charges that the Red Chinese doing the employee Covid tests.

=.   An eighth candidate joins the race to dethrone Alex Villanueva.

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You can hear the news live every morning until 9:30 on KBUU.

FM 99.1 in westerrn Malibu.

Also: streaming at www.radiomalibu.net

Between 9:30 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

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17 Malibu high school and Malibu middle school students or teachers are isolating this week… After having been exposed to somebody with Covid symptoms. 

The weekly tests show two positive cases among the 12 hundred or so students faculty and staff at the school.

Those people may or may not have shown symptoms.

They are in quarantine. 

Vaccinations tomorrow 2:30 until sunset.

Register at the My turn California web site,

The Malibu death toll still stands at 11 … plus 6 people who worked here and were part of the community.

There were five COVID-related deaths reported in Santa Monica last week.

According to statistics kept by the Santa Monica Lookout newspaper … that is the most in nearly eight months.

The recent Covid 19 deaths bring the total number of virus-related deaths in the beach city to 195.

Five deaths in the last week … the total number of deaths since May is 12. 

85 percent of Santa Monica is vaccinated as of last Wednesday.

The vaccination rate in Malibu is officially 65 percent. 

But that is based on outdated population figures …as the most recent census shows a dramatic increase in population.

With an actual population of about 10 thousand … as opposed to the county;’s estimate off 12 thousand inhabitants … Malibu’s inoculation is about 77 percent.

The santa Monica Malibu teachers union is pointing out that the 13 employees fired by the school district for failing to get vaccinations were not teachers,

The union president .,. Claudia Bautista-Nicholas … says she believes that 4 teachers may have left over vaccine mandates.

That’s 4 out of 500. 

In an e-mail to KBUU News partners at the Santa Monica Daily Press … she wrote that she knows “that each person that leaves a site seems like a big blow, but teachers are great supporters of the vaccines. 

“As a Union, we support vaccines for all that are eligible, masking at school and testing. 

“This has kept most of our students healthy and learning in person and that is what we all want in the end.”

Those are the words of classroom teachers association president Claudia Bautista-Nicholas.

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Another battle brewing between L A County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and the county board of supervisors. 

Villanueva announced Monday that his department will no longer use the county’s coronavirus testing provider.

This is for the vast number of sheriff’s deputies who refuse to be vaccinated.

Villanueva claims that the company hired to do the testing has ties to the Communist Chinese government.

Villanueva has told the supervisors that the FBI asked him to drop by for a meeting … where they told him there were “serious risks” associated with allowing the company … Fulgent … to conduct COVID-19 testing” of county employees.

Villanueva said the FBI advised the information is likely to be shared with China. Fulgent Genetics, he said in the letter, has “strong ties” with Chinese technology and genomics companies, but he did not elaborate on what those ties are.

Supervisor Janice Hahn said Monday that Villanueva should focus on enforcing the county’s employee vaccination mandate.

“I wish the sheriff would get his deputies vaccinated instead of worrying about how the unvaccinated get tested,” she said in a statement.

The sheriff has been ordered to have all of his employees vaccinated… The county board of supervisors says it will cut off funding for any employee who refuses their direct order. Villanueva says he will not order that.

Villanueva has made dramatic claims that the mandate would trigger a mass exodus of employees.

So far that has not yet happened.

As of earlier this month about 53% of the sheriffs deputies and civilian workers had received at least one dose of a vaccine.

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The crowded number of candidates seeking to oust sheriff Alex Villanueva has just grown by one. 

Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna is expected to declare his candidacy for next year’s Los Angeles County Sheriff’s race.

The Long Beach post broke that story.

Luna is retiring this year as chief of police in Long Beach… Capping off a 36 year career with the Long Beach Police Department.

At least seven other candidates have announced plans to oust sheriff Alex Villanueva at the end of his first term.

Villanueva, has spent the last four years feuding with the Los Angeles Times and the LA County Board of Supervisors.

Villaneuva was elected sheriff in a huge upset in 2018 over Jim McDonnell.

According to the Long Beach post …. Luna has avoided public clashes with the Long Beach City Council and has received wide community support during his tenure.

Villanueva on the other hand has infuriated not only the board of supervisors but many of the city councils for the small cities that hire the sheriffs department to be their local police force… Including Malibu.

Villanueva has transferred out or demoted three sheriffs captains who were in charge in Malibu… and who had enjoyed wide community ties and support.

Villanueva has also vigorously defended using sheriffs roadblocks to keep Malibu residence out of the Woolsey fire area for 11 days after the fire was extinguished.

With eight candidates in the race… It is likely that Villanueva will be forced into a runoff unless he gets 50% plus one vote in the primary election. 

That’s how Villanueva got elected 3 1/2 years ago.

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Malibu city Council has a huge agenda for the two meetings this afternoon and tonight.

The first one … at 4:30 … deals with some non-controversial issues like possibly building sirens along the coast to warn of tsunamis or approaching brushfires.

Then at 6:30 comes the controversial stuff.

Some lucky guy from Southern California Edison gets to try to explain the two sets of blackouts that we had during the storms last week. 

The first blackout was only the Cuthbert circuit … and the peak wind gusts were kind of wimpy on that one. 

The second blackout… which was effectively the entire city… was in Santa Ana wind gusts on Thanksgiving day. 

That Thanksgiving day windstorm saw peak wind gusts above hurricane force in some Malibu canyons.

The City Council will also hear from some citizens who are outraged about plans to widen the parking area and install a sidewalk at Westward Beach… plans that have already been approved by the city after being in the works for years.

And last but not least … the city Council is scheduled to discuss releasing an investigative report into the allegations of cronyism and corruption made by Jefferson Wagner as he left office. By some accounts the city Council has spent $100,000 on this investigation by outside lawyers… but the city attorney has refused to release the report.

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The Santa Monica city council is most unhappy that our area might get lumped in with he San Fernando Valley … and get a new Congressman. 

The latest reapportionment map being considered by a state commission is scissoring Malibu and Santa Monica out of the Congressional district now held by Congressman ted Lieu … 

The state wants to glom us on to the San Fernando Valley district seat held by Brad Sherman.

Malibu is grouped with Santa Monica in the proposed new district as well as the Valley areas of Encino, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Chatsworth and Granada Hills.

The California Constitution stipulates that the Redistricting Commission should draw lines uniting communities of interest, Both Sherman and Lieu are reliable liberal Democrats. 

But the santa monica city Council points out that the San Fernando Valley as much less in common and Coastal western LA County.

Santa Monica says they need to be in the same congressional district as other cities in their council of governments …. Like Beverly Hills and Culver City.

For Malibu … it’s even worse.

Malibu would be separated from its council of governents … as the cities along the 101 freeway would be shifted over to the Ventura County district seat … one that may go Republican. 

The Santa Monica Daily Press reports Santa Monica has sent a letter to the California Redistricting Commission requesting that Santa Monica remain grouped with beach and Westside cities that align with its issues, challenges and values.The California Redistricting Commission released its draft maps on Nov. 10 and must submit its final maps by Dec. 27.

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King Tides on the forecast.

The Malibu Times reports that the highest tides of the year … astronomically speaking … are due this week,

Weather forecast is for Santa Anna winds… And the surf forecast is for low waves.

That will combine for very low surf during the very high tides.