Silverstein Is Ninth Potential City Council Candidate

Bruce Silverstein has pulled a petition to run for a second term.

He joins incumbents Paul Grisanti and Steve Uhring in seeking re-election.

There is a crowded field this year … running for the three seats.

Six newcomers are also seeking the three seats … plus the three incumbents.

It can be safely assumed that the six newcomers will split the vote … given past voter behavior … having the way for three incumbents to win re-election.

LA City Fire Has First Brusher South Of Mulholland This Year

The first brushfire of the year … south of Mulholland … broke out yesterday.

It was a small one … 

It was put out in 42 minutes by an overwhelming response from the Los Angeles city fire department.

More than 60 firefighters were sent to the Sepulveda Pass just before 2 p-m yesterday.

They found a small fire burning on the westside of the southbound 405 Freeway.

It was reported the fire was moving at a moderate rate of speed.

Firefighters arrived and worked to conduct a coordinated ground and aerial attack to extinguish the blaze in 42 minutes, according to the LAFD.

Only one eighth of an acre burned. 

Sheriff and Supes Make It Clear: They Will Not Ticket Or Arrest People For Being Homeless

LA County sheriff Robert Luna made it clear yesterday …. The sheriff’s office will not arrest anyone for being homeless.

Doesn’t matter what the City of Malibu ordinance says … doesn’t matter what the US Supreme Court allows.

The sheriff made it clear at yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting … where Luna vowed that The leaders have the backing of Sheriff Robert Luna of Los Angeles County, who has vowed that his agency will arrest people only if they commit a crime, not simply for living in an encampment.

“Being homeless is -not- a crime, and we will maintain our focus on criminal behavior rather than an individual’s status,” Luna said at yesterday’s board meeting.

The Board of Supervisors yesterday reaffirmed its “care first” policy …. moving its public safety response away from incarceration. 

The county prefers a slower, coordinated approach that begins with encouraging those living on the streets to accept supportive services, with the eventual goal being permanent housing. 

Those in encampments, local leaders said, need to be treated humanely and without the specter of arrest.

Even Kathryn Barger … the only Republican on the Board of Supervisors … says issuing tickets to homeless persons is not going to work.

Kathryn Barger … at yesterday’s meeting:

70351 BARGER HLESS 

“My position has been and continues to be that I do not believe criminalization of homelessness is the right path. 

“Quite frankly, I find it almost ludicrous to think that we are going to issue $250 tickets to individuals who are unhoused, we’re gonna give them another ticket and then another ticket and then have a worn out for their arrest… And for what?”

Some cities like San Francisco have embraced the state’s order to jail homeless persons who refuse offers of a place to stay off the streets. 

The mayor off San Francisco has vowed to make homeless people so uncomfortable on the streets that they accept offers of shelter beds.

The governor has ordered state agencies to clear homeless encampments … on state lands.

But LA County runs the jail system … and the county does not have capacity to house people if they were to be arrested on misdemeanor charges … like violating the city’s anticamping ordinance. 

Supervisor Hilda Solis 

70351 HLESS SOLIS 

“Just by sweeping up people off the streets off sidewalks and putting them in jail… It’s not going to settle this issue. “

Some people in Malibu… including city council member Bruce Silverstein … Have publicly said that the city has an ordinance against camping in public and should use it.

That is not going to happen.

State Issues “Fix” To FAIR Plan To Lure More Fire Insurance Carriers Into State

Insurance Commission Rocardo Lara on Friday quietly released a major change to the FAIR plan … the statewide insurance issuer of last resort. 

On Friday … Lara made a deal with the FAIR plan that would transfer billions of dollar sin liability … in the event of another catastrophic fire loss … to all homeowners across California. 

A leading consumer group calls Lara’s plan a rip off … an industry “bailout.”

As the program is structured … major insurance companies like Allstate and State Farm are required to participate in the FAIR plan in order to sell insurance in California.

But the insurance companies are on the hook to pay claims if the FAIR Plan burns through its reserves, its reinsurance and its catastrophe bonds.

That could happen if another major firestorm sweeps across the state and destroys thousands of houses. Which is likely.

Lara says “Requiring the FAIR Plan to take concrete steps to protect policyholders in an extreme disaster will keep it an effective safety net for homeowners.”

The insurance industry was quick to endorse Lara’s move.

It’s “an important step toward restoring the FAIR Plan’s financial stability and ensuring consumers have access to the coverage they need” said the American Property Casualty Insurance Association

It’s a consumer ripoff … said Consumer Watchdog.

“It’s outrageous and outside the law for the insurance commissioner to force consumers to bail out home insurance companies and then call that consumer protection,” … said the director of the consumer group. 

The Los Angeles Times reports that the FAIR plan bailout plan would only kick in … in the event of a major fire loss … much bigger than the damage from the Malibu and Paradise fires of nearly six years ago. 

Malbu and WeHo Fred Segals To Close

The Fred Segal stores in Malibu and West Hollywood have closed.

The clothing store .. wine store … you name it store is a victim of changing shopping habits … says the current owner of the trademark.

When it moved into the space formerly occupied by Malibu;s movie theater  … it was a reincarnation of the original store in West Hollywood … opened in 1961. 

Fred Segal the man used to live in upper Ramirez Canyon … below Kanan Due Road near tunnel 1. 

He opened a store in West Hollywood that in the 60s 70s 80s and 90s was a symbol of hip.  Its vertical stripes were a landmark.

The guy running the store now called it a “a cultural touchstone that became part of the identity of Los Angeles” … 

Fred Segal’s family and heirs still own the brand’s trademark.

Their lawyer tells the LA Times “This is not the end of the road for the brand.”

Rope Fence Proposed For Amarillo Beach Lot

A landowner along Malibu Road wants to install a rope fence along the beach … to keep kids off the adjacent rocks. 

A vacant oceanfront lot … in the 247 hundred block of Malibu Road. … is the location. 

The property has beach access from the road down to the water … the rope fence is designed to keep people from heading from the beach back up to the rocks along the road.

The L-A County sheriff’s office is endorsing the request … they say they have been called out 34 times to the general vicinity of the address. 

Many of the calls were nuisance type calls for people on the beach / trespassing on the property to access the beach / loud noise, etc. 

Sergeant Chris Soderlund says the project area could benefit from clear signage stating it is private property and barriers to prevent access. 

SMPD Silent On Apparent Death On PCH

No details have been released by the Santa Monica police department about the fatal crash on PCH early yesterday morning.

And we do not have a name for the dead person … either.

Both lanes heading towards 

County Committee To Meet Next Wed, Malibu Independence Likely To Come up

Malibu’s drive for an independent school district now sits before a county committee.

The LA County Committee on School District Organization meets next Wednesday … on the computers. 

It was six years ago that the City of Malibu filed a petition with he county … a petition to split Malibu out of the Santa Monica-dominated local school district.

The city agreed to suspend the process while negotiating with Santa Monica … where the school board says they support independence from Malibu … if terms can be worked out to ensure that Malibu property tax revenue will continue to flow to Santa Monica schools. 

And after years of mediation … a financial agreement was reached last spring … both sides said.

But Santa Monica walked away from further negotiations … over splitting the district … 

Malibu officials say Santa Monica blew it … by failing to inform employee unions about the terms … causing causing confusion and opposition.

Santa Monica officials say Malibu walked away … and now the school board is using Malibu tax money to fight Malibu parents and oppose the Malibu independence drive.

The independence request is now back before the county committee.

It has scheduled a meeting for next Wednesday.

The Malibu request is not on the agenda … yet. 

But it will doubtlessly be commented on by public speakers. 

In-Person Location: Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) – 9300 Imperial Highway, Board Room, Downey.

On the web: 

https://lacoe-edu.zoom.us/j/86198100117?pwd=azZIcHY4b1dqcVBqOVVhem8wVi9CUT09

Password: 028856

Valley Flash Mob Robbers Sent To State Prisons 

You may have seen video last year of a mob of 50 criminals … running through the Nordstrom’s at the Topanga Shopping Center … ransacking the place.

Mask-wearing criminals ran out … spraying bear spray on witnesses and jumping into sedans with no license plates to make their getaway.

They got away with more than 2 million dollars worth of jewelry and other high end goods. 

A joint task force has tracked down right people involved in the string of high-end “smash-and-grab” robberies.

Yesterday … 12 of them were sentenced to state prison terms.

Up to 8 years in state prison.

State attorney general Rob Bonta … the result of a multi-agency effort designed to tackle a rash of retail thefts in the region.

70349 BONTA 

“Here, the suspects are alleged to have committed, brazen theft, entering stores with shoppers and employees inside and present, grabbing goods off the shelves. These are high value items, this goes far below, petty theft or shoplifting, this is organized criminal activity and we won’t put up with it in the state and we are holding these individuals here accountable.”

New Federal Park Boss Named In SM Mountains 

A new new superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area starts work this week.

But she is a familiar face.

Jody Lyle will oversee the park’s $9-million dollar annual budget, 70 employees, numerous partnerships, and all park operations including facility management, law enforcement, and resource science application.

She’s been in the local national park for four years ,,,as the chief of staff and transitioned to her current role as deputy superintendent in October 2023.

SMMNRA headquarters are at King Gillette Ranch on Mulholland Highway in Malibu Canyon.

The recreation area covers a wide swath of mountain communities from Malibu too the 101 Freeway … and from Hollywood to Point Mugu.

It’s one of four overlapping Parks agencies with jurisdiction in the mountains… Including California state parks… LA county parks… and the Mountains Resource and Conservation authority … a group of cities from the 805 area code.