UCLA Police Watch At Pro-Israel Demonstrators Attack Pro-Gaza Campers, Outside Police Finally Break Things Up

A total breakdown of police last night … at UCLA.

Pro-Israeli protestors moved in on the pro-Gaza encampment at about 11 last night.

People inside the camp were attacked. 

ABC-7 helicopter reporter Chris Christie was overhead:

70270 ABC7 CHRIS CHRISTIE

[OVER CHOPPER NOISE]

“Oh, look at this. It’s going to get tense here I think that .… Look at these guys.  Oh this is gonna get … there’s a fight here.

“Look at this!   

“Someone just threw some kind of a Roman candle from the pro Israel side over to the the campers on this side of that makeshift wall there. “Someone just threw … it looked like a firework. It landed in the grass there. “

“Some more violence is breaking out at the barricade here.”

UCLA police officers watched as pro-Israel counterprotestors arrived at the camp. … a few of of them throwing fireworks into the tents.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the counter-protestors shot fireworks into the Gaza camp … then threw wood and used metal barrier at the people inside.

Campus police watched as a large group of counter-demonstrators – many wearing black outfits and white masks – arrived on campus and tried to tear down the barricades surrounding the pro-Gaza encampment.

Campers, some holding lumber and wearing goggles and helmets, rallied to defend the encampment’s perimeter.

The pro-Palestinian side used pepper spray to defend themselves.

UCLA had just declared the camp “unlawful and violates university policy.”  But that does not give private citizens the right to enforce that edict.

No police protected either side for 2 and a half hours..  Finally … after sheriff’s deputies … LA police and CHP officers arrived … the sides were separated. 

The pro-Gaza encampment remains in place this morning.

That account … from the LA Times.

The UCLA Daily Bruin says at least five Gaza protestors have been injured.

For hours, UCLA administration stood by and watched as the violence escalated. 

This morning … the encampment remains in place.

The pro-Israel people have gone home … for now.

 

Power Restored To Point Dume After Planned Outage To Upgrade Cuthbert Circuit

Power was out all night for 1159 customers of Southern California Edison … in the Point Dume area.

It was a maintenance outage …. replacement equipment was being installed at Pacific Coast Highway at Kanan Dume Road.

The circuits were killed at about 9 last night.

Many residents complained they were not advised … a frequent problem … as the advisories look a lot like junk mail.  

Others were kept awake by bright portable lights near their windows.

As of the 5 a m hour … power was estimated to be out until about 8 in the morning.

And yes… This is on the Cuthbert circuit… The troublesome set of powerlines that gets frequently blacked out in the paradise Cove to point doom area.

Southern California Edison has warned that bolstering the Cuthbert Circuit overhead lines will mean overnight outages as work is done.

Again … as of 6:30 .. Edison says the power is still out and they think they will have service restored at 8.

 

Malibu Plans To Extend Daytime Lane Closures West As Far As Cher’s House

The traffic misery spreads.

The City of Malibu is starting a second PCH construction project … also guaranteed to snarl traffic.

Daytime lane closures are planned on PCH for the next two months … between Bluffs Park and Puerco Canyon Road. 

The city has won permission from Caltrans to tear out the old 14-foot-wide median … and replace it with a narrower median that can be driven over.

It’s called stamped concrete … 

The two traffic lanes in each direction will be shifted slightly … away from the sides of the road.

That will leave more room for bicyclists … while preserving parallel parking on the pavement. 

The project has been talked about for years … the original bids for the work came in too high … and the city redesigned parts of it to bring the cost down.

This is the first major reconfiguration of a road that was built in 1947 as a rural highway linking Santa Monica to Oxnard… With a 65 mile an hour design speed.

The concrete curbs and concrete pavement has lasted virtually intact for 77 years.

City planners say the redesigned … rebuilt road will encourage slower driving.

Bottom line: expect only one lane in both directions … 

 

Caltrans Has Good News About Landslide: Not As Thick As They First Thought

CORRECTION:  This story was corrected at 8:30AM Thursday to reflect the correct population of Topanga Canyon is 9,000, not 3,000.

At Topanga Canyon …

Caltrans now says they are starting three joint task forces to address the significant traffic and public safety impacts of the closure of Topanga Canyon Boulevard for the entire summer.

Separate task forces are addressing the geological issues, plans to haul out thousands of truckloads of rocks, and emergency traffic procedures.

The last one is particularly important as we are entering the summer and fall fire season and the loss of Topanga Canyon Boulevard means 3000 residence of Topanga Canyon now live on a giant cul-de-sac… With the likely fire approach coming in and sealing off the other main exit.

Caltrans is looking into using drones to light up the cliff to allow for excavation work to continue at night.

Some smidgens of good news this morning: 

The landslide has not moved in some time and is not expected to move further if the warm, dry weather continues.

The landslide is not as deep-seated as initially thought, meaning there may be less material that has to be removed from the top down.

Caltrans is clearing large boulders that are susceptible to falling on the roadway.

But the serious rock removal has to wait for a geotechnical report tp be finished.

By next week … engineers will determine what equipment will be needed to clear the landslide

The state is being a bit more specific about a target date for reopening state Route 27 between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley.

September.

 

More Caltrans Tinkering At Temporary Tuna Cyn Signal

Caltrans is also tinkering with the traffic signal timing at the temporary signal on PCH at Tuna Canyon Road. 

Traffic coming down the hill from Topanga will be given a longer green cycle during morning rush-hours.

From 7 to 9 in the morning… Pacific Coast Highway traffic to and from Malibu will have 150 seconds of green.

Then … a 30-second green given to Tuna Canyon Road.

The green time for Tuna Canyon decreases through the course of the day and into the evening.

Crashes continue on tuna Canyon Road… A winding and narrow road that descends a canyon from the top of Topanga area.

Last weekend… A car rolled off the road.

 

Eastern Malibu Residents Want More Answers From State About Topanga Lagoon Project Impact On PCH

Residents of the every eastern end of Malibu have demanded that California State Parks start over again … on the proposed Topanag Lagoon project.

The state wants to tear out the existing PCH bridge … and possibly construct a replace lagoon for fish and birds.

Native American groups are in favor of the plan .. they want the area restored to what it was before American settlers and road builders arrived.

The state has provided three vague alternatives for the project.

But the residents say the proposals are not accurate, stable and finite as required by state law. ” project description. 

They say that makes it possible for people who live near the lagoon …. And at Malibu City Hall … to understand the Project and assess its impacts. 

They say the  DEIR fails to adequately account for and analyze transportation and emergency access and evacuation impacts given the existing condition of Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

They say that the DEIR fails to adequately discuss or analyze impacts to the adopted Evacuation Plan for the City of Malibu.  The city includes the Topanga parking lot as a designated fire shelter area.

The city identifies Topanga State Beach Parking at 18700 Pacific Coast Hwy Malibu CA 90265 – located within the project site – as a pre-identified “Safe Refuge Area.” 

And they point out that Pacific Coast Highway will be severely impacted during construction, which will last a minimum of five years, and will likely be much longer. 

 

Tesla Sales Decline – What Will Malibu Do With Fewer Black Teslas?

The joke goes that you can’t change lanes in Malibu hitting a black Tesla. 

Sales of the electric cars in California … however … may have peaked. 

Bloomberg reports that Tesla has sold fewer vehicles in California for the second straight quarter, suggesting its popularity in the state may have peaked, according to a report from the California New Car Dealers Assn.

Overall Tesla registrations declined by 7.8% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, the trade group said Monday. Tesla registrations slid 9.8% during the final quarter of last year.

Tesla’s share of California’s electric vehicle market has dropped 6.4 percentage points to 55.4%, the report said.

“Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network,” Musk wrote on X, adding that it would be “just at a slower pace for new locations and (with) more focus on … expansion of existing locations.”

Tesla has dominated the electric vehicle market, though its market share has begun to slip, falling to 55% in 2023 from 65% in 2022 nationwide (and to 51% from 61% in California) as more automakers put electric models on showroom floors.

Tesla can set its own electricity prices for its chargers, making superchargers “one of the great prospects for Tesla as a company,” one analyst wrote.