Topanga Canyon Parents Gain Entry To PCH Closure Zone Via Tuna Canyon

More traffic is being allowed into PCH in the closure zone.

But not from Malibu.

Limited traffic is reportedly heading into Malibu, down Tuna Canyon this morning.

This is in the Palisades Fire closure are … within the City of Malibu.

A limited number of passes have been approved for Topanga families with students in schools in Santa Monica and Los Angeles … to use Tuna Canyon for downhill traffic.   Those kids have been making daily early morning treks of 90 minutes up the canyon, east on the 101, south on the 405, and west on the 10.

They will still have to go around through the San Fernando Valley to get home.  Tuna Canyon is a one way southbound road that goes over the mountains from Topanga Canyon …. to the PCH at Malibu’s eastern end.

It has been closed due to the closure of Pacific Coast Highway … and the washout of Topanaga Canyon Boulevard in a post-fire flash flood. 

Tuna Canyon dumps into the middle of the closure area. 

Now comes word that parents in the canyon … cut off from PCH access by the washout of Topanga … have permits to enter Tuna Canyon from the top. 

CHP officers have been assigned to the gate … at the head of the canyon. 

LA County Makes Enormous Blunder: Malibu School Petition Was Not Denied In 6-5 Vote After All

In an astounding bureaucratic blunder … the LA County Office of Education made a mistake last week when it reported that it was rejecting a proposed Malibu Unified School District by a 6 to 5 vote.

The meeting was so out of control … so convoluted and confusing … that both the committee’s executive director … and its staff lawyer … reported the wrong results.

And the county committee is going to take up the while thing all over again … in May.  That’s according to the LA County Office Of the County Counsel, in memos sent to Malibu last weekend.

What a mess. 

Remember this little bit of tape … that KBUU News played the day after the meeting of the LA County Office of Education advisory committee????

STACKED ALREADY 71153 

COMMITTEE MEMBER DAVIS, SOUNDING ANGRY: “It’s stacked already.  Do what you are going to do.

CHAIR: “Mister Mechur?

DAVIS: “Madame Chair, I called for the question, that is non debatable. Let’s go on and vote.

MECHUR: “To the point that was just made.”

DAVIS: “Madam chair, I called for the question. Are you going to recognize that?”

CHAIR: “Is there a second to the call to question?”

PARTIES NOW TALKING ON TOP OF EACH OTHER:

DAVIS: ” “Just deal, ma’am.  I don’t mean to be disrespectful.”

CHAIR: “Excuse me.  I would just like for you to repeat the call to the question.”

DAVIS: “I would like you be be respectful to the children. 

CHAIR: “ But. … But …. But …”

DAVIS : “Let’s just vote.”

CHAIR: “Excuse me … “

DAVIS: “I would like to be very respectful to each other.”

Then … the LA County committee voted 6 to 5.

But that vote was to reject the Santa Monica motion … it was -NOT- a vote to reject the Malibu petition.  We’ve replayed the tape over and over again … and it is clear … the person running the meeting was making a serious error.

that conclusion is backed by a memo from the Office OF the County Counsel, as quoted by the City of Malibu.

The executive chairperson … Allison Deegan …. was so befuddled that day … she reported the vote this way: 

VOTE TOTAL 71163 

CLERK: “Um 6 to 5 to deny.  6 to 5 to deny.”  

DEEGAN:  “6 to 5 to deny the petition.”

Wrong.

That actually was a 6 to 5 vote to deny Santa Monica’s attempt to kill the Malibu petition for independence.

No vote was ever taken on the Malibu petition.

The committee then adjourned …  and it appears that a one vote majority favored recommending Malibu get a favorable recommendation from LA County… a recommendation that a separate and independent Malibu school district be approved.

Did we hear that right?   How could the county staff screw that up?

KBUU News Monday called the board’s executive director … Allison Deegan … to find out if the legal opinion memos from Malibu are correct … that the county announced the vote backwards.

As soon as we said we were news media … she told us to call her official news office …. and hung up.

After multiple attempts … one of the five people who work in the County Office of Education Office said she would find someone to answer about the screwup. 

HOLD MUSIC FADES UP AND PLAYS FOR 10 SECONDS 71167 

[Annoying phone music.]

We were eventually invited to submit questions via email … and were told we may get answer in a few days. 

In Malibu … assistant city attorney Christine Wood.

REVOTE WOOD 71164 

MALIBU ATTORNEY WOOD: “On Friday, we received a notice from the county committee that there were concerns about  the procedure at the county meeting last Wednesday that they would be redoing the voting at the May meeting.”

REPORTER: “It seems to me that committee members did not know what they were actually voting on, given the parliamentary chaos that was going on during the meeting.

WOOD: “That could very well be the case. There was some confusion about the wording of the motion.

“And I think that —  because it was such a serious issue — there is a commitment by county counsell to make sure the vote is taken again in May.”

While the county advisory committee was having its pie fight and getting the vote 180 degrees backward … the Santa Monica school board has been moving to a mutual agreement with Malibu.

Assistant city attorney Christine Wood sees a path for success here.

UNIQUE TERRITORY 71165 

“We could update the county committee. 

“If the school board considers the agreements at their April 23 meeting as planned and they pass them, there could be enough time for the city (council) to consider the agreements as well before the May 7th meeting.

“And if both of those things happen, and both bodies ratify the agreement, then we would be presenting new information to the county committee meeting on May 7th, for sure.

“Those are a lot of ‘ifs.’ ”

REPORTER: “That meeting, though it must’ve been discouraging.”

WOOD: “that was a rough meeting, yers to was a difficult meeting.

“Even though it wasn’t the outcome we were looking for.

“But this is the first time in the history of California that a city has pursued this.

“So this is unique territory.”

The Santa Monica school board will meet in two weeks … on April 23rd … to consider the compromise divorce settlement.

On May 7 … the county board meets to fix its screwup. 

What does the county committee have to say about all this???

The public relations person for the county board makes 238 thousand dollars a year.

She has  a staff of three PR people working for her.

And this is the only information they could give us yesterday 

HOLD MUSIC FADES UP AND PLAYS FOR 10 SECONDS 71167

[Annoying phone music plays.]

Big Reveal Wed On Caltrans Plan To Add Bike Lane And Eventually Restrict Parking Along PCH

Caltrans will have its big reveal tomorrow.

The state agency will show Malibu what it intends to do with 21 miles of pacific Coast Highway in the next decade …. grand plans to remake the highway into a city street may be coming. 

It’s going to be a long meeting … guaranteed.

Already … there are grumblings of public opposition to state plans too install  a painted bike lane in downtown Malibu … only in one direction.

Under the current short term Caltrans plan … a bike lane heading west will start at Las Flores Canyon  … and extend all the way through county line beach. 

The eastbound bike lane will end two miles before  Las Flores … just before the pier.

There is not enough room to wedge bike lanes on both sides of the road in the Billionaire’s Beach and La Costa Beach areas.

And that’s where this meeting is so important.

The longer range plans are to eliminate parking on one side of the highway… probably on the inland side … according to hints that we have picked up from Caltrans over the last year.

It’s actually three projects that will be heard tomorrow night.

One… Repaving PCH between the Santa Monica Tunnel and Malibu lagoon.  72 million dollars for that. 

To… Repaving PCH between the Malibu Lagoon and the LA county Ventura County line.  43 million dollars for that. 

And three… The big one… The long-term safety improvement project for the entire roadway.

That could include a radical remake of Malibu’s main street  … particularly in the area near the Malibu pier. 

No price tag for that … it will take years to implement. 

One thing is nearly certain… Parking is going to be banned along at least one side of significant stretches of the highway where there are no sidewalks and no room for painted bike lens.

There will be more public comment meetings later this spring.

If all this sounds familiar,,,, Caltrans developed the study using community input from six public workshops.

Tomorrow night’s big reveal was supposed to happen in December … but everyone was busy evacuating from the Franklin Fire in Malibu Canyon.

Caltrans has been cagey about answering questions about who makes the ultimate decision on their plan.

It does not appear that the Malibu city council will be making any determining vote on it,.

Tomorrow … the state agency will formally release the Draft PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study, which will start a 60-day public review period.

The state is not saying this … but it appears the final decision on Malibu;s main street configuration will be made by the California State Transportation Board … 

That consists of nine appointees of Governor Gavin Newsome … and one appointee each from the state Senate and Assembly. 

Tomorrow’s meeting starts with an open house at 5:30 at Malibu City Hall. 

The presentations and questions will go long into the night. 

Wealthy Local School District Can Deal With Funding Cut-off By Trump Over DEI, But Worries Abut Other Districts

California is prepared to fight the White House over Donald Trump’s effort so seize control of local school boards.

The president has given schools 10 days to sign a document … a pledge that they have eliminated all diversity … equity and inclusion from their curriculum and policies.

DEI is the target … and withholding federal tax dollars are the weapon.

The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday gave states 10 days to collect certifications from every school district confirming that all DEI efforts have ended.

The Santa Monica Malibu school superintendent on Thursday praised DEI.

And on Friday … the California Department of Education questioned the authority of the federal government to take such an action.

And the state told school districts … they do not have to respond to the trump order.

Officials at the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District say federal funding accounts for a small percentage of its overall budget … about 3 percent. 

The SMMUSD is a so-called basic aid district.

Under state law … the local school district uses a direct flow of property tax to fund its operations.

Property tax revenues in Santa Monica and Malibu are abundant.

For Santa Monica-Malibu, federal contributions include the $2.8 million in direct funding plus an additional $2.5 to $3 million in special education funding that flows through the state.

That’s about 6 million dollars … compared to the school districts overall budge of 292 million dollars. 

But the 6 million dollars is essential for vulnerable student populations … handicapped kids … and kids from economically disadvantaged students.

School superintendent Antonio Shelton tells the Santa Monica Daily Press that this kids have the highest needs. 

Federal funding provides resources specifically targeted at the district’s most vulnerable populations … additional counselors, behaviorists, and social workers.

Some California school districts have up to 50 percent federal funding.

The Santa Monica Daily Press reports that local schools should weather federal budget cuts well … 

But they worry that many families with special needs kids may move into Santa Monica and Malibu schools …. should federal funding disappear from LA Unified Schools or other nearby districts.

===========

Malibu radio station KBUU received its final permit from the Malibu planning commission last night… To build a small booster at Malibu Bluffs Park.

It was a unanimous vote. 

During a brief public hearing… one eastern Malibu resident … Jo Drummond … urged the planning commissioners to extend KBUU’s signal to the east.

DRUMMOND KBUU  71166

“I want you guys to support this obviously eastern know needed this like years ago and the design is excellent as compared to the county’s antenna tower.”

LA County built a 90 foot high triangular monster.   KBUU’s small mast … actually a traffic light pole … is already installed and …. frankly … fairly inobtrusive at 28 feet high … next to a 22 foot high building.

One Planning Commissioner … Drew Leonard … said the emergency news on KBUU during the recent fires was essential.

DREW RADIO 71168

“I just wanted to say during the palisades fire you were my number one source for information and you know it just to clarify if somebody has a little transistor radio that’s may be rechargeable or battery powered that would work without Internet. It doesn’t matter???”

LAETZ:  “Yes, and in point of fact, during the power outages at the Palisades fire, there were people out in the driveway is listing us in the car radios.”

That was Planning Commissioner Marni Kamins … asking a question of KBUU manager Hans Laetz.

Planning commissioner John Mazza moved the motion of approval. It passed on a 5 to nothing vote.

This is the final permit necessary … it took 8  years to get FCC and city approval .

The eastern part of Malibu should be able to hear KBUU on radios with a week or two.

But after 21 years of trying to put CBU on the air on the entire Malibu Coast … well … no promises … anything that could go wrong will.