KBUU Newswire: Triathlon Loses Permit Due To Fish On Racecourse, But Organizers Plan Last Minute Appeal – Bike Race Will Apparently Never Run On PCH Again – Hunter Biden Eats Pizza And Oh Yeah Gets Indicted

Malibu Triathlon Loses Permit – Endangered Fish In Underpass – Appeal on Monday Will Decide On Parking Lot Bike Course Permit

Malibu has likely seen the last Malibu Triathlon bike race up and down PCH … as Triathlon organizers have to convince the Planning Commission on Monday to let them have the race in the Zuma Beach parking lot only.

The tidewater goby is an endangered fish … and those little guys may have just derailed the Malibu Triathlon.  Tidewater gobies have moved back into the Zuma Lagoon …. as the rising ocean levels have caused the lagoon to expand this summer.

That means the Zuma underpass is now endangered fish habitat … and cannot be used for the Triathlon bike race course.  In fact… as of right now … it is an open question if the Triathlon will take place in two weeks … The city of Malibu has refused to grant a Temporary Use Permit to the triathlon this year. 

The triathlon missed the deadline to submit a race course.  Triathlon organizer Scott Nelson says organizers have scramble to come up with a Triathlon path that does not use the underpass to cross PCH … at Zuma or anywhere else.

That means this year’s race will not close off access from PCH to Trancas Canyon or Broad Beach roads.  

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“The primary issue is that the Zuma underpass flooded this year as it does in many years and unfortunately an environment was created in the flooded underpass that has an endangered or protected fish called the tidewater goby, I believe.

“And so we found out at the very end of the month that there was no way that the other bass was going to be either cleared, or allowed to us to build a small ramp which we have done in the past. 

“So we worked on some alternative routes, but technically based upon some timelines that the city has to follow those routes were not approved which was out of our control. 

“They are now approved so we have to go through this process of a denial, and appeal of the denial. 

“We will appear in front of the planning commission on Monday evening.”

Triathlon spokesman Scott Nelson via phone from New York.

None of that has been confirmed with the city … yet.

But the denial of the triathlon’s temporary use permit was announced in a planning commission revised agenda issued late yesterday.

City Planning Director Richard Mollica turned down the event’s Temporary Use Permit … he says … because the Super League Triathlon company had waited too long to submit plans to deal with the closure of  the underpass beneath Pacific Coast Highway at Zuma Beach.

Mollica said the Triathlon did not provide an adequate racecourse design to the City in time to issue a notice to the public.

At the Triathlon … Nelson tells KBUU News those problems have been fixed.

The new race course … avoiding PCH … has been approved by the sheriff’s office … Caltrans … beaches and Harbors … everyone.

And the big deal … the changed route means no more bike race up PCH to Leo Carrillo … then back down.

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KBUU: “So you wouldn’t be running the bicycles and closing lanes up PCH past Trancas to Leo Carrillo Beach this year??”
NELSON:  “No.”

KBUU: “Wow .. that’s a big change.”

NELSON: “It is a change and unfortunately it is for reasons that are outside outside of our control.”

That means no more temporary road closures at Trancas Canyon Road … Broad beach Road… Guernsey Avenue or Busch Drive .. to let the bikes pass by on PCH.

The county sheriff, Caltrans, city and county have reportedly signed off on the new route.

The new bike race route will include a shortened course … a series of loops up and down the Zuma parking lot. 

It is possible that the removal of road closures along PCH for two days may cause Mollica to recommend that his own decision be overturned.

That decision will be made by the city Planning Commission next Monday.

In the long run, Super League Triathlon says it will consider the new race course … as it submits a bid to the city of Malibu to run the race.  Its city franchise expires this year.

The triathlon has been run since 2007… but in recent years has grown to two days.  And that has taxed the patience of residents on Broad Beach and in Malibu West.  Those areas are cut off from the outside world while the bike and footraces go by … two mornings in a row.

The Malibu City Council may let the current triathlon franchise expire … it has opened a request for proposals from other race organizers.

All this means we have seen the last Malibu Triathlon bike race up PCH … and it’s up top the Planning Commission on Monday night whether there will even be a triathlon in two weeks.

Malibu Has Apparently Lost Use Of The Zuma Beach Underpass For Beach Access, Or Turning Onto PCH From Westward Beach Rd.

The arrival of the tidewater gobies in Zuma Lagoon may be good news for the endangered fish … which are officially listed as threatened. 

But it is bas news for the City of Malibu, which had hoped to convince federal, state and county officials to reopen the Zuma underpass to car traffic.  No dice: it’s illegal to plow endangered animal’s habitat area.

Further complicating the problem… The Arizona crossing access way between Westward Beach Road and the Zuma Beach entrance is now underwater due to the ocean washing into the lagoon at the bottom of Zuma Canyon.

But it’s bad news for the city of Malibu … and anyone concerned with the extremely unsafe traffic situation on Pacific Coast Highway in that area. 

The loss of the underpass has meant the closure of the loop that takes traffic from Los Angeles under PCH to reach Zuma Beach.

It has also meant that motorists from Westward Beach Road cannot zip under PCH to head west.

Instead… they have to sit at the stop sign… wait for a break… and take their chances in the speeding downhill traffic on the highway.

Five years ago… a traffic safety study put up by the sheriffs office looked at this intersection these intersections.

Are they recommended extending Bush Drive south of its T intersection at PCH… to connect with Westward Beach Road and the Zuma Beach entrance and exit.

It is against federal and state law to bulldoze critical habitat for a threatened animal. 

And Malibu’s mission statement makes big noise about protecting the environment. 

The rising sea level… the arrival of the protected tidewater gobies … and the flooding of the Arizona Crossing and Zuma underpasses … may force the city .. county and state to change the traffic pattern there. 

85% Of The State’s Insurance Writers Are Scaling Back, But Legislature Leaves Insurance Reform Unfixed

The California Legislature has adjourned for the year … leaving undone its efforts to fix what may be the state;’s biggest problem. 

Fire insurance.

Seven of the 12 insurance groups operating in California have pulled back from writing fire insurance policies in the state.

Together they represent about 85% of the market.

It “is not even a yellow flag issue. This is a waving red flag issue,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday night when asked about the failure of the Legislature to act.

As CalMatters reports … negotiators struggled to find a balance between an insurance industry worried about climate change … and homeowners who could face much higher premiums.

The state has an elected insurance director … Ricardo Lara … who talks a good game.

But some consumer advocates complain he is too close to the insurance industry lobbyists … who have been meeting with Lara this week.

Lara … the insurance commissioner … has broad regulatory authority to reshape California’s home insurance market without the Legislature.

The consequences of inaction include making it much more difficult to build new homes, because of a lack of insurance options.

It also imperils the state’s FAIR Plan, which offers limited insurance to homeowners who cannot secure a plan through a private insurer. 

The FAIR Plan is funded by a levy on insurance companies, so it faces insolvency as they leave the market and more customers are pushed into the program.

One industry lobbyist tells CalMatters that both sides just ran out of time.

There appears to be growing consensus in Sacramento around allowing insurance companies to set rates based on predictions of disaster … instead of past fire behavior. 

CalMatters predicts the governor and insurance director will have to act … without legislative support.

Nuke Plant 140 Miles Upwind Of Malibu Has Dangerous, Brittle Metal In Its Core, UC Scientist Claims

A nuclear engineering materials professor at U C Berkeley says one of the two last nuclear power plants operating in California has “serious indications of an unacceptable degree of brittle metal” in the container dome that surrounds it … protecting the public from potentially deadly radiation. 

A 46-page report was released yesterday … alleging serious safety risk from a nuclear plant just 

It is authored by Digby Macdonald, a University of California at Berkeley professor in nuclear engineering and materials science.

The scientist is worried about Diablo Unit One’s pressure vessel … the thick steel containers that pipe water and steam past nuclear fuel … creating high pressure steam that spins the plant’s generating turbines.

Macdonald says the pressure vessel inspection has been delayed for nearly 20 years, posing grave public safety concerns. 

The plant’s operator, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), has instead relied on data from similar reactor vessels.

Two environmental groups filed the report along with a petition to deny a new license for Diablo Canyon One and its sister plant … unit two.

The groups seek to halt the use of the Unit 1 reactor until there is “comprehensive testing and inspection,” using ultrasound equipment and other tests of the pressure vessel’s structural integrity. 

UnitsOne and Two at Diablo Canyon combine to produce 9 percent of the state’s electricity.

The plants were supposed to shut down in one year … but California is out of electricity … now .. and the governor wants to keep the nuclear plants working as a bridge until green fuels come on line in a decade.

The Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors have long worried critics … who say they risk radioactive meltdowns … which could kill thousands of people.

They are 110 miles directly upwind of Malibu.

But supporters says the nuclear plants emit almost no pollutants and have increasingly been seen as a temporary solution for governments seeking to address climate change and curb the use of fossil fuels.

Wind Turbines In Central California May Need Undersea Cable To LA

In a related story … a plan to replace Diablo Canyon has advanced through the state legislature and sent to the governor, 

T he California Legislature approved a plan to have the state itself buy massive amounts of electricity.

Five energy companies have paid for offshore leases … to anchor floating wind turbine farms off the coast … up at Morro Bay and Eureka.

 shoring up the state’s power supply while jumpstarting the West Coast’s fledgling offshore wind industry.

These projects would not be visible from the coast … and could generate enough electricity for roughly 3.5 million homes.

But to build them will cost a lot of money … and the state’s largest utility companies have not been willing to upfront the money to buy that green power.

Enter the state. 

If the governor signs the bill … as expected …  California ratepayers will guarantee upfront to buy that green power.

The money would come from a surcharge on our bills …  

Consumers would not pay the extra fee until the wind projects are up and running.

California already has among the highest electricity rates in the country.

The law also will help fund big new transmission lines between the new offshore electric generators … and customers in the state’s big urban areas.

One proposal is for a very strong power line to be laid on the ocean seafloor … from central California to the Los Angeles area.

The exact route … just how far from Malibu …is a long way from being picked.

The bill that was approved by lawmakers this week also includes provisions to fast-track new electric transmission projects.

Obligatory Hunter Biden Story: President’s Son East Pizza In Malibu

Malibu’s most famous resident of the week is not Kim Khardashian. 

Or Cher … who by the way had a big party last night … we were not invited.

We would argue it’s Hunter Biden … who was indicted yesterday in Delaware on federal gun charges. 

The irony … of republicans cheering the indictment of Hunter Biden on gun charges while at the same time arguing against keeping those offenses listed a ascribes … appararently lost.

The paparazzi spotted Biden and his family in line for a free piece of pizza at the new piaza parlor at the Civic Center Wednesday evening.

Hunter turned himself in at the kickoff party for the opening of Irv’s Burgers and Prince Street Pizza.

He was accompanied by his wife and their son Beau.

Secret Service agents too.

KBUU News was not able to ascertain what type of pizza was served to the younger Biden.