Nobu Fined $100, Plus $1,600 In Costs, For Liquor-Soaked Party That Apparently Killed One

The City of Malibu has issued a 100 dollar fine against Nobu for staging that illegal party on the Fourth of July … plus 16 hundred dollars in costs for the enforcement officer. 

The 17 hundred dollar invoice was sent to Nobu Thursda, and disclosed via a public records request filed by KBUU and other journalists.

The 17 hundred dollars compares to the million of dollars that the restaurant claims it made that day … the money that the restaurant claims it was making by selling.sponsorships to liquor companies. 

The profit claim was advanced by a Malibu lawyer … claiming to speak for the restaurant. 

The invoice was sent to Nobu Thursday includes the 100 dollar fine plus eight hours of enforcement duty … on a holiday … at 200 dollars per hour. 

In a statement issued on the Fourth of July … the Malibu lawyer for Nobu claimed that the restaurant had a valid Temporary Use Permit in effect for the party. 

But that permit required that the restaurant supply a traffic management plan that was acceptable to the city… and the city traffic engineer rejected the restaurants proposed plan.

The city said that meant the party couldn’t happen … the TUP hd been revoked.

Nobu lawyer Perry Wander said … and we quote … “the city’s apparent flip-flop on the restaurant’s permit violates my client’s rights and will result in millions of dollars in damages against the city that were expended and or lost in reliance on the issuance of the permit.”

End quote.

In other words … the 17 hundred dollar fine and bill for staff time is just pennies compared to the millions that the restaurant was talking in for the party. 

Next Monday … the city council will decide what the next step should be … to punish the multu-milliojn dollar corporation that started the Nobu chain in Malibu.

It’s not just the booze-soaked 4th off July party … and the death of a man named Martin Okeke … who was killed by a car driven on the wrong side of PCH by a woman leaving Nobu that night. 

Nobu has repeatedly thumbed its nose at city rules that it agreed to abide by. 

Traffic problems.

Parking problems.

Overcrowding problems. 

And drunk driving problems.

The city has the right to have the Planning Commission hold a hearing to modify the restaurant’s use permit … its business license. 

Or .. yank it. 

City staff is asking the city council what they want to do. 

That will be Monday night at 6:30 at City Hall. 

As for Summer Wheaton … the woman who attended the Nobu party and then drove on the wrong side of the highway ….

She is still not under any charges … toxicology reports are still being compiled … the district attorney is still putting together what happened.

We have not heard one peep from the onetime prolific social influencer. 

Major Lawsuit Might Be In The Works

We are also hearing news of a major lawsuit that might be filed by the city.

The city council is set to go into secret session … at 5:30 Monday … to discuss a possible lawsuit. 

Under state law … they cannot discuss the matter in advance.

We will keep you posted. 

8 Year Old Grabbed By Homeless Woman In Santa Monica, Wrestled Away By Witness

An eight year old girl was grabbed by a homeless woman near the Gelsons supermarket in Santa Monica Wednesday.

Police are calling it an attempted kidnapping. 

A neighbor heard the girl screaming and engaged in a wrestling match with the homeless woman.

The suspect claimed she was a Russian police officer and was taking the child.

The good samaritan put the child in her car … and then the suspect pulled a switchblade knife out in a threading manner. 

The suspect than went back to the car she has been living in … which was parked at the supermarket parking lot.

That’s where police arrested her.  

39-year-old Courtney Perrone was arrested.

She is to be arraigned today on felony charges of attempted kidnapping and false imprisonment, along with a misdemeanor charge for brandishing a weapon .

Perrone has a history of assault, resisting arrest, and drug possession charges.

She has outstanding warrants from New Hampshire for forgery and stalking …  and is currently on probation in Nevada for an assault with a deadly weapon conviction.

Santa Monica police say the Wednesday kidnapping was their first encounter with the woman … but West LA police had been trying to bring charges against her for an earlier incident. 

Broad Beach Sand District Skirts Public Documents Law, Plans Sunday Meeting

UPDATE:  This story aired Friday morning on KBUU.   After its deadline had passed, the district at 5 p.m. Friday dumped a pile of documents to KBUU.   We are analyzing the material and an update will be broadcast and posted.

The Broad Beach sand replacement district plans another public meeting this Sunday morning.

But the district has refused to release key documents about what it will discuss.

Secrecy surrounds the agenda items … with the district’s lawyer refusing to supply documents about 

The district’s lawyer … Kenneth Ehrlich … tells KBUU that the district will supply the public records when it can.

The Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Abatement District is a state municipal powers agency … set up but the City of Malibu … and covered by the California Public Documents Act rules.

Its paperwork belongs to the people of the state of California,. 

But the Broad Beach district has repeatedly violated public records laws … and open meetings laws as well.

Meetings have been adjourned without allowing members of the public to speak.

Agendas with supporting documents have been sent to board members … but not members of the public who have requested those public documents. 

The sand district has spent more than 23 million dollars in tax funds over 11 years to move sand onto the coast at Broad Beach.

It is several years overdue on its promise to cover the emergency rock wall it built on the beach  with sand.

Apparently … this Sunday the board will discuss the penalties it has been paying to the state of California for missing that promise.

More than a million dollars has already been paid to the state ,… in some sort of lease agreement ,..,. to pay for the public land that the rocks sit on. 

The Broad Beach sand project directors will also get an update on pressure to get holdouts along Broad Beach to sign up for the sand project … and the rock wall along the beach that is supposed to get covered by sand.

The district has also been considering removing the rocks from the beach … details of which have been distributed to the board … but withheld from the public. 

Caltrans Working Again This Week On Topanga Canyon Landslide

Caltrans plans some major work next week on Topanga Canyon Boulevard… 2 miles north of PCH.

That steep landslide that fell down last winter is going to get some preventative work.

Climbers went up the cliff Friday night to install anchors into the side of it.

On Monday night … the climbers will return to attach long bundles of straw… called wattles … to the anchors.

The wattles will catch dirt and prevent small rocks from rattling down the hillside. 

The cliff will then be sprayed with Hydro seeding… With a hope that bushes will take sprout and eventually help keep soil from falling onto the highway.

The two-lane road have only one lane available… With flaggers at either end of the half mile long construction zone.

This will be tonight from 9 o’clock until 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.

The lane closures will be repeated Monday night through Wednesday next week.

Coastal Commission To Revisit Ocean Level Rise: Worst Case Is 2 Feet by 2060

How much is the ocean level going to increase along the Malibu coast?

Not as much as first thought.

The California Coastal Commission is about to vote on revising its official forecast on just how bad global warming and ocean level rise will affect California.

In the next six years … about a half foot increase in ocean elevation can be expected … according to the latest compendium of scientific study.

By the year 2060 … two feet. 

Those are the worst case scenarios … it may not be that bad. 

Uncertainty about future greenhouse gas emissions … as determined by global human behavior and decision making … is one big question mark.

Also … uncertainty about the future rates of land ice loss.

2060 is a long way away … but the Coastal Commission is required by law to plan for coastal ocean level increases over the long term. 

The matter will be discussed at the Coastal Commission meeting … September 11th … in Monterey. 

Biden Reportedly Circling Ice Cream Parlors 100 Miles Up Coast

Want to see President Joe Biden??

Go hang out at the ice cream shops in Solvang. 

Biden .. fresh from all that torch passing at the Chicago convention … is vacationing with his family at a ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley … the oak studded hills near Solvang and Buellton … 100 miles up the coast from Malibu.

Air Force One is parked on the runway this week at Santa Barbara International … and the airspace over the Santa Ynez Valley is closed.