Car Over Cliff West of Malibu Prompts Chopper Search

There was a late night helicopter rescue attempt last night on a cliff west of Malibu.

It was for a possible person who had been in a car that went over a cliff two nights earlier … last Saturday night.

No person was found in the wreckage … or near it. 

Ventura County sheriff’s deputies were on the steep cliffside above PCH and below Deer Creek Road.

That is a popular party zone for young people from Oxnard and Ventura … but the hairpin curves and lack of guard rails makes that road treacherous.

The crash was Saturday night … but the driver did not contact authorities until two days later. 

The driver was able to get out of the vehicle Saturday … and got a ride home from buddies. 

But two additional people had been inside … the driver said … and their location or condition was unknown.

Last night … Ventura County fire posted that one of the passengers was found at home.

But the second passenger had not been located.

Minivan Hits Bicyclist Near Sycamore Cove

A minivan and a bicycle crashed on Pacific Coast Highway near Point Mugu yesterday afternoon … leading to a helicopter rescue of a critically injured bicyclist.

The crash was reported at approximately 12:30 p.m. near Sycamore Cove .

Paramedics  said the bicyclist was not responsive … breathing but not moving,.

The crash stopped traffic in both directions when the helicopter landed to transport the rider. 

The cyclist was airlifted to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks where he was in critical condition.

He was identified as a 61-year-old man from Westlake Village.

The driver of the minivan stopped after the crash and called 911.

The CHP says that neither drugs nor alcohol were considered a factor in the collision, and the driver was not cited.

Write-In Candidate Andy Lyon Gets 839 Votes, 1/3 Of What He Needed To Win

LA county election officials have released write-in vote totals from the November election.

They show that write on Malibu City Council candidate Andy Lyon finished far behind the other five candidates … and was not really much of a factor in the election. 

Lyon got 839 write in votes.

He would have needed three times that amount to have won a seat.

Lyon mounted a last minute write in candidate in an effort …. he said … to defeat incumbent Paul Grisanti.

A different candidate … Haylynn Conrad … had filed ballot petitions and had informally endorsed by incumbents Bruce Silverstein and Steve Uhring.

But during the campaign … Conrad lost favor with many in that faction.

After ballots had already been mailed out to voters … Andy Lyon entered the campaign … he said to boost Silverstein and Uhring. 

Conrad got 2,444 hundred votes … that was 153 votes ahead of Grisanti … knocking him out of the office. 

Conrad’s 2,444 votes was a comfortable margin over Lyon … and his 839 write ins.

On social media, Lyon has written that he “took one for the team” – the effort to re-elect Silverstein and Uhring and defeat Grisanti.

Under state law, LA County has until Thursday to certify their results.

New Electric Emergency Power Will Need To Wait For Major Renovations, Due Soon, At Malibu Schools

Malibu school kids will have to wait a couple of years before emergency. Electrical power is available to keep classes going during the frequent blackouts..

So far this year, Malibu school classes have been canceled two or three days… By our unofficial count.

That puts the school district dangerously close to failing to provide the required minimum number of classes under state law.

School district officials say they will have to extend the school year or come up with some other solution storms or blackouts cause classes to be canceled.

Obviously… Keeping the lights on during Southern California Edison intentional blackouts is becoming critical.

District operations Director Carey Upton says the school district cannot just go out and buy generators.

Smog rules prevent that. 

Safety rules make it very difficult to store petroleum like propane on a school campus. 

The answer … says Upton … is solar and batteries. 

70788 MHS POWER 

“We are working towards a solar and battery backup system at Malibu middle high. was approved as part of the environmental review part of specific plan and it was in the Measure MM that voters just approved.”

Right now at Malibu High School in Malibu Middle School… there is only a small battery to keep the communications system up for a few hours when Southern California Edison turns off the lights.

The plan is to put a bank of solar panels in on the hillside next to the parking lot east of the middle school… The hillside that is visible driving up Morningview Drive.

There will also be panels on the new classrooms … gymnasium… Performing arts center… and student center … which were just approved by voters in the $359 million bond issue last month.

Upton tells KBUU that the hillside and rooftop panels at the joint middle school and high school campus will be going in over the next few years..

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“At the elementary schools it’s a little more challenging..

“They don’t have the opportunity as easily to do the solar … particlualry at Malibu Elementary. 

“We are looking into this as part of our campus assessment, process,  which we’re doing right now.

“We’re also looking into generators, although we do know we have a challenge with Southern California Air Quality Management District, who is averse to adding generators.”

With generators all but ruled out … and flaky electric reliability from Southern California Edison … Malibu’s schools will be at the mercy of the power company and the winds for the next few years … 

It is not clear yet when the new $395 million bond can be tapped to install the solar panels and batteries and the schools on Morning View Drive.  Carey says more engineering work needs to be done for solutions at the two elementary schools in Malibu.

MRCA Gain Control Of Vacant Land At Kanan Road’s Gateway To Malibu Mountains

The vacant lot at the gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains on Kanan Road was dedicated as public open space last week.

16 acres of land at the base of Ladyface Mountain wads donated by Bruce Whizin … a restraunteur and shopping center whose family has been locally famous for more than a century.

He died in 2022.

The lot is currently home to a Christmas tree lot … at the corner of Agoura and Kanan roads.

The city of Agoura Hills has taken ownership. … and handed the territory over to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority.

The MRCA.

A plaque acknowledges the generous gift “to the citizens of the City of Agoura Hills in honor of the Chumash Indians who once inhabited this region and reveled in its natural beauty and abundant resources.”

On the other side of Kanan Road … there were plans for a large multistory apartment building and commercial complex.

At one pointy … Agoura Hills had planned for Kanan Road south fo the freeway to be a major urban center.

Those plans were rejected after residents of the Santa Monica Mountains and Malibu pointed out that the area is already a traffic knot … and a major danger when overloaded by evacuation traffic during fires.

Agoura Hills has also rejected earlier plans that proposed a roundabout at the intersection of Kanan Road and Agoura Road. 

Hochman Sworn In As DA – What Does It Mean For Nobu Drunk Driving Fatality Probe?

Nathan Hochman is to be sworn in as L A County’s new District Attorney today.

He walloped incumbent George Gascon last month … Gascon was viewed as soft on crime by career prosecutors, and by the electorate.

Hochman has promised to take a hard look at high profile cases … like the attempt by the Menendez brothers to get a new trial in Beverly Hills.

This night cause Malibu to see some movement on a potential murder charge against the woman who killed an Uber driver on Pacific Coast Highway last 4th of July. 

Summer Wheaton has not been charged with any crime … not even a traffic ticket … for her role in the deadly crash.

Wheaton was behind the wheel of her car as it crossed two sets of double yellow lines and smashed head-on into a car driven by Martin Okeke.

The LA county sheriffs department says that its traffic investigators I’ve been working on the case since the Fourth of July.

Wheaton had allegedly been partying at a party hosted by a Beverly Hills nightclub at Nobu… 

Formerly a licensed real estate agent, Wheaton has made a name for herself on social media as a “wellness advocate” promoting healthy eating and lifestyle choices.

Wheaton once boasted more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, but she made her account private and took down her personal website following the fatal crash. Doubtlessly the sheriffs homicide detectives need to interview dozens of witnesses to determine what they saw at the Nobu party … which had an open bar.

Neither the homicide detectives nor the district attorney’s office has had anything to say in the five months since Okeke was killed .. only that the case was still open.

Now … there is a new tough on crime county prosecutor.

This is total speculation … but we may see a different decision on how the DA’s office will proceed with the Summer Wheaton case.

Malibu Resident, Appeal.ing To MAGA Voters, May Challenge Kamala Harris In Cal Gov Race

Malibu resident Caitlyn Jenner is considering a run for the governor’s office … and on social media she says she would “destroy” Kamala Harris shook the former vice president enter the race.

Harris has told her inner circle she will keep all options open, according to the website Politico. 

That could include California’s 2026 gubernatorial race.

Jenner is hoping to attach herself to Donald Trump’s MAGA base. 

Online … she says she plans to “Make California Great Again.”

And that could put Jenner … a Malibu resident … in the crowded 2026 primary election against Harris … a Westside L-A resident.

Numerous other prominent politicians may also be in the race … including former Congressmember Katie Porter … 

One third of California voters told pollsters said they’d be “very likely” to vote for Harris.

In the statewide election last month … Californians voted for anti-Trump Senate candidate Adam Schiff by a 59 percent landslide. 

She says … “If I ran, and it was ultimately against Harris, I would destroy her.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom will be term-limited and unable to seek reelection in 2 years. 

Santa Anas May Return Monday, No Rain On Horizon

Fire season is not over … and the Malibu city manager says the amount of moisture contained in the brush growing around us is hovering just above the critical level.

Any significant Santa Ana winds can put Malibu back into highly dangerous wildfire conditions … says city manager Steve McClary. 

The Live Fuel Moisture for brush in the mountains above Malibu levels were at 62% as of the last sampling … two weeks ago.

Occasional light rain has kept those levels pretty much steady this fall. ,

But huge winter rains last winter have promoted a bumper crop of weeds and brush …. adding to this season’s fire hazard risk.

The LA County Fire Department predicts this year’s La Niña weather pattern is expected to delay the arrival of winter rains and  contribute to a higher-than-usual fire risk.

The National Weather Service says the next 10 days will be dry … with above normal temperatures.

We may see highs this weekend of around 80 degrees. 

There is a chance for another strong Santa Ana wind storm next Monday. 

No rain expected at least through the middle of next week. 

But slightly more than half of the the National Weather Service computer models are now opening the door to some rain around the middle of the month.