This is KBUU News – Day 457 – The Monday Headlines – 55 MPH Winds To Continue – Effort To Get M Out of SMMUSD Continue – New Fire Chopper – Wilshire May Be More Deadly Than PCH

• =  55 mile an hour winds hit Paradise Cove overnight …. more on tap tonight.
• =  The city council hears an appeal from the city staff on a city planning commission ruling tonight.
• = Malibus efforts to separate the school district from Santa Monica … trudge along.
• =  Ventura County puts a new Firehawk helicopter just up the coast from Malibu.
• = And what’s more deadly … PCH or Wilshire Boulevard?  The answer will surprise you.

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Malibu’s Only Local Daily News … from Radio Malibu  …. F-M 99 point 1 K B U U. Good morning … I’m Hans Laetz reporting.

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These cold winter winds will continue to hit Malibu thru tomorrow night.

The National Weather Service predicts that winds will be blowing at 15 to 30 mph ll day and tonight … with gusts up to 45 miles an hour possible in some canyons and mountaintops this morning.

Winds may back off this afternoon … but there will be another uptick in winds this evening.

Strong gusts will likely redevelop over the LA and Ventura county coastal mountains county … a high wind watch will take effect again at 6 this evening … and expire at noon tomorrow.

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Efforts to split Malibu out of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District continue. But the 10 percent drop in the number of students … due to the Woolsey Fire … is not helping.  Details: https://www.radiomalibu.net/efforts-to-get-the-m-out-of-smmusd-continue-despite-10-student-drop/

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Power line repairs on Friday … and a leaky water pipe on Saturday … snarled traffic on Malibu Canyon Road right up the hill from Pepperdine last weekend.

The two problems were not related.

As of this morning … no continuing problems are reported there.

But crews from Southern California Edison continue to work on replacing the 60-year-old wooden power poles on Las Virgenes Road … at the north end of the canyon.

Those poles are being replaced with steel poles.

They carry one of the 66 kilovolt power lines that feed Malibu.

And those power poles and lines have caused at least three brushfires in the past 20 years.

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The shoe is on the other foot tonight at Malibu City Hall.

For years … some residents have complained about heavy handed decision making at the Malibu Planning Commission.

Appointed by the city council members …. the planning commissioners handle nuts and bolts decisions about planning and zoning.
And that makes them a lightning rod for criticism … some people just don’t like unelected residents telling them what to do with their land.

This time … the land is owned by the city of Malibu … which wants to widen and improve Civic Center Way.

The Public Works Commission and the Public Safety Commission have already vetted and approved plans to wide the road..

But once they got to the Planning Commission … a five hour public meeting ensued and the project was changed.

Seven changes …. to be exact.

The addition of landscaping next to a textured wood-like retaining wall.

The elimination of a wire safety fence designed to keep people from falling down an escarpment.

Seven changes that the city engineers say will make the project too expensive … unsafe … and unfeasible.

Not the first time that the planning commission has substituted its judgment for that of the professional planners at City Hall.

Many say that’s a good thing.

We will see what the city council says tonight.

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A couple of other major issues go before the city council tonight.

The first public hearing on possibly splitting Malibu voters into five city council voting districts will be heard.

A Malibu lawyer’s firm is takign advantage of a state law to demand an end to citywide voting … which they claim diminishes the ability of Latino voters to elect a truly representative city council member.

Opponents call it a shakedown … under state law the lawyer will collect handsome fees merely for filing the claim.

And the city does not have a collection of minority voters clustered anywhere in the city.

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You are listening to the latest news from Radio Malibu … F-M 99 point 1 K B U U.

Support for KBUU’s daily broadcasting … the signal on the air … comes from the Malibu Foundation …

The KBUU solar panels and battery were paid for by the Malibu Foundation.

This has kept us on the air through storms and blackouts … 24/7 .. on clean … renewable solar power.

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In news from up the coast … Ventura County has put its new Firehawk helicopter  into service.

The Ventura County Star reports the 2007 Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk has been converted from military use into what’s called a Firehawk.

The aircraft goes by the radio sign Copter 2 and is based 18 miles up PCH … at the Camarillo Airport.

Ventura Coounty also has two older … smaller fire helicopters … which are frequently seen in the skies over Malibu.

LA and Ventura County have mutual aid agreements and answer each others call.

Ventura County bought three surplus military choppers for $7.4 million.

It took two years to refit them for firefighting.

The county’s next copter is expected to arrive in August … and a third will be used for spare parts.

Officials tells the Ventura County Star that the Firehawks will be far better than the older copters the county has been using for firefighting.

Those Hueys were built in 1969 and carry up to 350 gallons of water. 

The Firehawks can fly 60 percent faster and carry three times as much water.

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And in news from down the coast … Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica may be more deadly than Pacific Coast Highway.

The 2.4-mile stretch of Wilshire has seen six people killed and 29 people severely injured over the past 11 years.

six traffic-related fatalities and 29 severe injuries over the past 11 years, prompting local officials to propose adding a suite of safety improvements to the street that could range from $11.5 to $22 million. The proposal City Council will vote on Tuesday includes a short-term plan to improve the road’s signage, crosswalks, crossing signals and medians over a one to two year period.

One idea is to take 13 smaller cross streets … the ones without traffic signals … and make those right-turn only.

and restrict U-turns at several intersections to reduce the risk of car and pedestrian collisions, according to a staff report.

Bicycle routes that go across Wilshire would be enhanced with intersection markings.

Some bus stops might be moved … a traffic light might be put on at 16th Street and maybe at Chelsea Avenue.

The 22 million dollar menu of projects for before the Santa Monica City Council tomorrow night.

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Actor Robert Conrad — who starred in the 1960s TV series “Wild Wild West” and a handful of other series over several decades — died at his home in Malibu.

His family members made the announcement over the weekend.

He was 84.

Robert Conrad had a square-jaw and good looks …. he starred in the weird western “Wild Wild West ” on CBS from 1965-69.

He was most famous for putting Eveready Batteries on his shoulder and daring people to knock them off …. in a series of television commercials backed when everybody watched television.

Robert Conrad died at his Malibu home … he was 81.

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Weather for the Malibu ….

((((   Clear and windy    )))) … highs  ((((   68   )))) beaches … ((((      )))) mountains and canyons.

Over the mountain winds …  (((  of around  30   )))) miles per hour … with gust to 40 along P C H and 45 at the mountain tops.

Sunset tonight is at   ((((   5:33.    )))).

After that … (((  clear and still windy   )))) tonight … low ((((    57  )))) beaches …  ((((  42  )))) mountains and canyons.

Tomorrow should be   ((((    windy again.   

A rumor of light rain later in the week.   )))).

Right now here at the KBUU studios in Trancas … it’s  ((((       )))) degrees.

Leo Carrillo beach … (((    ))).

Paradise Cove … (((    ))).

Big Rock … (((    ))).

In upper Malibu Canyon … (((    ))).

Calabasas … (((    ))).

And Civic Center L-A … (((    ))).

Mo says the waves at Surfrider Beach today are   ((((  flat  ))))  ….

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The KBUU Newswire is posted midmornings … at RadioMalibu.net and at the MalibuTimes.com websites.

Remember…  breaking news always  goes first to the radio …  on F-M 99 point 1 over all of Malibu….

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Navigate to Radio Malibu dot net . … and we’re streaming in your ear anywhere in the world.

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