Trump Trucks and Kirk Mourners Clog PCH And Displace Soccer Parents

Large trucks and Trump banners were flying over the weekend … as a two-mile long motorcade of mourners and political activists took to Pacific Coast Highway to mourn the assassination of Charlie Kirk. 

There was a report of unhappiness at Malibu Bluffs park … when sheriff’s deputies were called in to resolve disputes over parking.

AYSO soccer matches were scheduled … and some parents complained that there was no parking available due to people from outside Malibu … parking at Bluffs to visit the Pepperdine flags.

The unofficial but large and loud motorcade also overlapped the Zuma Beach Triathlon area at Trancas Beach and Zuma Beach. 

Over the hill … there were three huge memorial services at the megachurch in Newbury Park where Kirk had frequently spoken.

It was three standing room only services at Godspeak Calvary Chapel.

Rob McCoy … the pastor emeritus at the evangelical Christian church …  described his late friend as a martyr who lived and died like Jesus.

Swimmers Mount Pressure For-Olympic Sized Pool At Malibu High

A battle is brewing between members of the Malibu Township Council and Malibu High School’s local leaders .…over the size of the new swimming pool.

The township council is a club of community activists … a club that has not in the past been involved in school affairs.

But the club’s president … Bill Sampson is an avid swimmer … 

And he is not happy that the new pool being planned for Malibu High School will only be a 40 meter pool … and not a 50 meter Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The Malibu High committee that is overseeing the 395 million dollar school reconstruction project says the district cannot afford a 50 yard pool at the crammed high school site..

District officials say it would cost twice as much to build. … and twice as much to operate.

And .. building the bigger pool would require chewing into the side of a hill … near the sports field … and that will dramatically increase costs. 

Sampson … who swims most every day at the existing 40 yard pool … says a smaller pool will shortchange Malibu’s our swim community.

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“Right now the school district proposes to build a 40 meter pool.

“Next, I suppose they’re going to build a baseball diamond with 72 foot base paths. 

“Maybe they will build a track … where instead of being 400 meters it’ll be 320 meters.

“That isn’t gonna work.

“So let’s have a 50 meter pool … that is what every swimmer I know of wants … 50 meters by 25 yards.”

The decision to build a 40 meter pool was a unanimous one … made by the Malibu committee of parents … educators and community members that calls the shots for the Malibu part of the Santa Monica Malibu school district.

The committee decided on the smaller pool last March.

That committee meeting was not publicized widely in advance … and the Township Council members complain that the swim community was blindsided.

Other township council members complain that Santa Monica High has a new 50 meter pool … they want equity  here.

They say the new Malibu school district needs to have equity and excellence that will attract students and families to the new Malibu school district.

Sampson and the Malibu Township Council plan to demand that the 40 meter pool decision be reversed at the Tuesday afternoon meeting of the facilities committee.

The Township Council is the same lobbyist group that convinced the city council 20 years ago to ban organized sports games in the city’s only park in western Malibu … on Trancas Canyon Road. 

That ban on Little League or AYSO soccer games still exists … and parents have recently asked the city council to get rid of the ban.

Township council president Bill Sampson told the city council two weeks ago that talks are continuing … on the Township Council allowing kids to play ball at Trancas Canyon Park.

Caltrans Bike Plan Proposal Is Removed From Tonight’s Agenda

We’ve been telling you about the Caltrans request for a building permit from the city… To make major changes on Pacific Coast Highway between Malibu Creek and Leo Carrillo Beach.

Among those changes … installation of painted bike lines on both sides of the highway for about 8 miles.

Also… reduction in the width of the center median in places to move the traffic lanes into the 14 foot wide center area. 

And parking restrictions would be added at some beach and trailheads.

For some reason … not disclosed …. the Caltrans coastal development permit has been removed from tonight’s planning commission agenda.

The matter will now be heard on October 6th.

Civic Center Weeds On Council Agenda 

The fate of the weeds on a vacant lot … next to the condos on Civic Center Way … goes up to the City Council in 10 days. 

There’s no buildings planned … just the removal of weeds … which was done without a permit in 2019.

18 months ago … the Planning Commission approved the landowner’s plan to restore the wetlands that appear after heavy rains … an occasional occurrence at what neighbors call the egret pond.

The landowner is responsible for restoring the semi-aquatic plants that were torn out by a tractor s part of a fire hazard removal effort.

The issue … is how much of the land should be marked off limits for future development

The Planning Commission … when they made the decision …. changed the rules … and said any weed within 150 feet of the swamp should be protected. 

The old rule was 100 feet.  

The landowner says that was unfair.

The neighbors say … the Planning Commission did not go far enough.

The matter goes to the city council on September 25th.

Labor Exchange Office Goes Before Planning Commission

A proposal to build a small office building for the Malibu Labor Exchange goes before the Planning Commission tonight. 

It would be at the same location as the current trailer office … behind Malibu’s college branch.

But the original trailer never had the proper city permits.

And the new one needs a city Coastal Development Permit because it would have a foundation. 

The meeting is tonight at City hall.

Snack Shack Plans Go Before Parks Commission

The latest set of plans for the snack shack at Malibu Bluffs Park goes before the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission tomorrow night.

Architects will return to the Malibu parks and Recreation commission tomorrow when they show their latest plans.

The existing snack, bar and storage areas are basically a collection of shipping containers that are rusting and falling apart.

The plan is to replace them with a building… Also very low profile in the same approximate footprint.

The parks commission meets tomorrow night at 6:30 at City Hall.

SB 79 Will Increase Density Dramatically, But Not In Fire Zones Like Malibu

You may be hearing about a very controversial state law … that was passed last Friday in Sacramento and is awaiting a decision from the governor.

The law is called Senate bill 79… And it would allow dense housing in subdivisions if there is a transit line serving the area.

Language in the proposed law, specifically exempts places that are in high fire risk districts … such as Malibu and Pacific Palisades.

But it apparently would allow even more density in Santa Monica and the west side.

The governor has not yet announced if he will sign SB 79 … 

SMMUSD Stresses Their Financial Health Is Not Like The City of SM

Santa Monica the city may be in financial distress. 

But the Santa Monica Malibu school district is not.

That iOS the implicit message in a report issued by the school district last week.

Tax revenue and other income went up last year by a small percentage for the school district … even though the tax base in Santa Monica may be shaky.

Revenues from Malibu, make up an outsized share of the school districts budget.

The district says it saved $12 million last year by deferring maintenance… Reducing consulting and legal fees … and replacing expensive teachers with experience with less expensive new teachers.

It also shifted its employees to a cheaper health insurance program.

SCE’s Latest Rate Increase, 10%, Goes Before CPUC Thursday

Southern California Edison wants to increase your power bill by an average of nearly 10 percent … and it goes before the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday with the request. 

The LA Times reports that the average residential bill would go up $17 a month or about $200 a year, the commission said. 

The monthly bill for a customer using 500 kilowatts would jump from $171 to $188 on Oct. 1.

It is just one of multiple rate hikes Edison has asked the commission to approve in the coming year.

The power company is in the midst of an expensive under grounding and above ground safety project … but many customers point out that system reliability is terrible and the number of fires does not seem to be decreasing.

But Edison’s rates have risen by 80% over the past 11 years … more than twice the rate of inflation.

The 10 percent rate hike to be decided on Thursday is just the tip of the iceberg.

The CPUC has already approved SCE’s request for a 24 dollar a month connection fee … aimed at charging for the privilege of being connected to a grid that is less and less reliable.

That will be a drastic cost increase for customers who use little electricity … such as those with solar panels.

But the retail price for power will be cut … leading to savings for power hogs.

Those customers who use 1,000 kilowatts per month — double the average — will see their bill decline from $380 per month to $355.

Edison is asking the CPUC to increase’s rates by another 2 percent to cover losses from the 2018 Woolsey Fire … which cost $5.4 billion in damages.

The Woolsey fire killed three people and destroyed more than 1,600 homes … one quarter of them in Malibu.

Power company spokesman David Eisenhauer told the LA Times that state law allows utilities to shift fire damages to customers … if they have operated their system prudently and reasonably. 

But Edison has admitted negligence in that fire … which was caused when a Edison communications line brown and wrapped around high voltage lines on a hillside that the company was supposed to have cleared of brush. 

The rate hike request will be heard by the CPUC in San Francisco on Thursday.

Tropical Storm Mario Remnants Will Arrive In Bu This Week, Waves 6 Feet Predicted

The National Weather Service has issued warnings of six-foot waves on south-facing beaches.

That;s in advance of the arrival of the remnants of Tropical Storm Mario …

The Santa Monica Mountains region could get doused Wednesday night and Thursday, as the remnants of Tropical Storm Mario are moving our direction. 

Brief heavy downpours will certainly be possible as soon as Wednesday afternoon.

The latest NWS computer runs are struggling predict how the tropical storm remnants will wobble ashore … with one set of estimates showing it will push north into along the Central Coast.

But another set of calculations bring the center of the low pressure system directly over the Los Angeles Basin and Ventura County.

The main message remains the same … a chance of showers and storms region-wide as early as Wednesday. 

Big thunderstorms and heavy downpours are possible Wednesday into Thursday.

But …chances are that this storm’s rainfall potential will poop out … as the tropical storm that gave birth to it falls apart over colder waters off San Diego.