Sheriff Avoids Telling General Public To Avoid Malibu During Holiday Beach Closures
Written by 991KBU on July 2, 2020
Zero tolerance for parking violations over the Fourth.
But no clear message … to the general public … to stay out of Malibu this weekend … despite the beaches … parking lots and P C H parkign all being shut down.
That’s the latest from the L A sheriff …
Last night … the Malibu Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station put out a statement that – again – does not come straight out to say it will enforce a beach closure.
Rather. … it says deputies “will continue seeking voluntary compliance and educating the public.
“Our posture will be one of education and compliance to beach violators, and cite or arrest as a last option.
“There will be “No Tolerance” with regards to illegal parking on PCH.”
Please note … that statement … still .. does not come right out to say the beaches in Malibu are closed.
The L A County Board fo Supervisors beach closure order goes into effect at midnight tonight.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva has been engaged in a turf war with the Board of Supervisors over who gets to decide if Malibu beaches should be closed.
Not incidentally … the supervisors cut the sheriff’s budget by 145 million dollars this week … and the sheriff is furious.
On Tuesday … the L A County Public Health Department … said close the beaches.
That’s what the supervisors ordered.
But the sheriff said he would not do that …
Then Villanueva changed his stance … put out a statement … that he would only enforce the penal code.
The beach closure was specified in a public health order …
A lawyer could argue that the supervisors’ beach closure is not necessarily in the state penal codes.
Bottom line … the sheriff is -not- sending out a strong message to the rest of L A County … that Malibu is basically closed this Fourth of July weekend.
Now … while all this is happening … Mother Natures is going to deliver some tantalyzing waves.
Surf is going to be “up” .
South surf of 4 to 6 feet with local sets to 7 feet is predicted from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening.
All those big beautiful waves …
At Surfrider Beach … and the state beaches west of Trancas … California State parks will close state beaches.
Also … the state county and city beaches in Ventura county will be closed.
Enforcement of the beach closures elsewhere in L A County will not be up to the sheriff … and the cities from Santa Monica to San Pedro are warning people to stay away from closed beaches.
Orange County will see every beach closed all the way down to San Clemente … and they probably will vote to close their beaches to the public over the 4th of July weekend … today.
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In Malibu … the city follows health code rulings form the Los Angeles County Department of Public health.
And they are reversing course on reopening California … as recommended by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
This marks a major step backward in the reopening and an attempt to slow an alarming rise of the coronavirus in 19 counties.
Malibu restaurants are ordered to close their doors to inside dining.
Outdoor dining is still allowed … but most restaurants that we observed yesterday were putting up signs that offered only curbside pickuo … or delivered food.
The Los Angeles County Health Officer Order was changed yesterday to align with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s directives and require the closure of indoor dining facilities.
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As of Wednesday at 5 p.m., there were 237,068 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California … following record increases earlier in the week.
6,152 total deaths blamed on COVID … according to data tracked by The Los Angeles Times.
Newsom said yesterday that the state wants to move as many activities as it can outdoors, which is a way of mitigating the spread of this virus.”
As of yesterday .. there were nearly 106 thousand cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County.
Another 3 thisuand in Ventura County.
The number of cases in Malibu holds steady at 53.
One additional case reported in the Santa Monica Mountains … 49 cases there now.
36 people were killed by the virus in the 24 gours ending yesterday … in the two counties.
Among Tuesday’s cases … 81 more positive tests deriving from an outbreak reported at an Oxnard farmworker housing facility … just up the road from Malibu.
Strawberry field workers live in a dorm near Fifth Street and Rose Avenue in Oxnard.
216 people have been tested … 176 positive cases so far.
These are farmworkers int he United States on temporary visas … to pick your fruits and vegetables.
