With 2/3 Of Fire Victims Still Displaced, Money Is Running Out For Rent

There is a housing crisis looming in Malibu and the Palisades.

Private insurance money for temporary rental for fire victims is running out.   And FEMA housing aid expires in June.

A survey by a nonprofit group called the Department of Angels has disturbing findings.

Two thirds of fire victims are still displaced.

40% are running out of money for rentals.

20% have other significant financial hardships as a result of the fires.

10% of the victims say they have been forced to cut back on food or are on rent mortgage or utility payments.

This survey includes the Altadena fire area… Which is significantly less off than the west side.

But the construction gap is more severe in Malibu and the Palisades elsewhere. 

Malibu palisades victims say they are short between 1.2 million to 1.7 million dollars … to rebuild.

There is some good news in the survey.

Seven months ago …  64% of people with standing houses with ash damage were still displaced from their homes. 

And in December, 54% were. That number has fallen again, to 39%, as those with standing homes continue to return home.

SMMUSD Plans District-wide Conversation On Screens In Classrooms and At Home

Computers in the classroom are a huge issue nationwide. 

Once heralded as a godsend during the pandemic …. Parents are very concerned about Chromebooks handed out to students … and access to YouTube. 

L A Unified schools have a new policy restricting screen time.

Antonio Shelton … the school district superintendent … is telling parents that he understands screen time and platforms like YouTube are being criticized.

Shelton sent a letter to parents saying it is important to emphasize that technology in our classrooms is not used as a passive placeholder. 

Shelton says the high tech screens are utilized by teachers to support learning and responsible digital citizenship. 

The Santa Monica Malibu superintendent says parents and teachers will hold a districtwide conversation on screens and schools on June 18.

Coastal To Consider Neighbor vs. Neighbor Fight On PCH Bluff Near Encinal

The fate of a proposed house in western Malibu goes before the California Coastal Commission next Wednesday when they meet in San Pedro. 

The landowner wants to build a two-story house on PCH in your Encinal Canyon Road.

The next-door neighbor wants to block it.

He claims the new house would block his view of the ocean.

But the new house would be 28 feet high… And the builder is entitled to go that high.

Coastal Commission staff says the view for the public on PCH will not be significantly affected.

They say the city of Malibu properly followed coastal law when the city council approved the house.. 

Given that there are no feasible siting or design alternatives that can avoid public view impacts … the house must be allowed.

To deny the house would be an unconstitutional taking of the land.

On Wednesday… The coastal commission is expected to endorse that staff viewpoint.

City Council To Consider Weighing In On Proposed Mobile Home Rent Control Change from Sacto

A proposed state law affecting rent control in mobile home parks is causing some worry at the Point Dume Club and at the Paradise Cove mobile home park.

The proposed bill would end rent control for the land beneath mobile homes … if the mobile home space is not used as permanent housing by the homeowner or a full-time tenant.

The proposed rent control changes are apparently aimed at mobile homes that are used … or rented out … as vacation houses.

Malibu has a rent control ordinance for the land that the 300 or so mobile homes sitting on rented spaces in the Pint Dume Club … plus there 250 mobile homes in Paradise Cove. 

The tenants pay rent for the land … but own their own mobile homes. 

Next Monday .. the Malibu city council is being asked to approve a letter … telling Sacramento to back off on any changes.

D-Line Opens Today, And Like The E-Train, It Does Not Easily Connect To Malibu

Politicians are lining up to claim credit for today’s partial opening of the D Line … the Wilshire Boulevard subway. 

Four miles of D-Line subway will open today … starting at Fairfax Avenue …  with stations at La Cienega and La Brea … 

Trains will then plug in to the existing system at Western Avenue … to continue all the way to Union Station downtown.

In 15 months … the extension will stretch nine miles further west … towards Santa Monica and Malibu.

Metro has not announced any plans to directly connect the 134 Malibu bus line … with its 33 trips roundtrips to Malibu every day .. to the new subway.

Getting to the D Line and its stops on Wilshire will mean taking a the existing Metro Route 20 bus from Santa Monica to the new end of the subway at Fairfax.

Or … riding the Expo streetcar to transfer trains at Figueroa Street in DTLA.

Going from Malibu to Hollywood or Dodger Stadium?

Three transfers.

But let’s talk about the politicians who blocked the Wilshire subway.

Like Rep. Henry Waxman … remember him??

Waxman represented Malibu and West LA … and in 1988 he got Congress to pass a federal law prohibiting all federal funding for the project.

In 1998 … L A County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky blocked Metro subway extensions to Santa Monica and to East L-A.

Yaroslavsky generated huge backlash from Black and Latino politicians in the Eastside and Mid-City … according to the LA Times…. But he eventually came around to support the subway. 

Congress repealed the subway ban in 2006.

Voters approved the Wilshire extension in 2008.

But the subway to the sea will stop at the 405.

There are no plans to extend it to downtown Santa Monica … where the E line Expo Trains are already crowded … they are slow … and they detour to USC on their way downtown.

Rancho Palos Verdes Sees First Drips Of Federal Aid From Trump

Drip drip drip..

A trickle of disaster relief money has begin to flow from the White House in Washington … to southern California.

But it is just a drop in the bucket … and it is bypassing local governments.

Press releases are flying about a 2.3 million dollar emergency federal grant … aimed at landslides in Rancho Palos Verdes.

The money was urgently requested three years ago.

And 2.3 million dollars is just a small percentage of what local officials had asked for.

But these are the first federal funds directed to the landslide area since the city declared a local emergency in October 2023.

It wasn’t a fire in Rancho Palos Verde … it was a huge land slup.

Houses are split … roads are broken and tossed up … water lines busted.

Dozens of families have been forced to relocate.

Residents had requested more than $20 million to tackle one mitigation project. 

This $2.3 million is supposed to go toward two different projects.

And it’s important to note that the two funded projects are assessment districts funded by residents … not by city governments.

Washington has still not indicated when the local city or county governments will get their reimbursements. 

Malibu’s city government is owed 22 million dollars in federal money … damages that the city has covered from the 2025 fires and the flooding that happened afterward. 

That’s about one third of the average city budget last year.

The city of Malibu has left jobs unfilled and cut its budget 10 percent … waiting for the new administration in Washington to send the promised money. 

Las Virgenes Water District Will Use New State Law To Go After Water Thieves

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District reports it’s been affected by people tapping into fire hydrants for everything from construction projects to landscaping.

A water district serving parts of the Conejo Valley says it’s launching a crackdown on water theft after losing about 45 million gallons of water in recent years.

Las Virgenes Municipal Water District officials say much of the loss comes from the illicit use of fire hydrants. People tap into them for construction projects, landscaping, farming, and other unauthorized uses.

While it might not sound like a big deal, district officials say the loss impacts the reliability and safety of the water system, which serves about 70,000 residents.

The district will start enforcing a new state water theft law. It was co-sponsored by the district and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. It creates fines of up to $2,500 for a first offense, and up to $10,000 for a repeat offense.

Water providers can also seek civil damages against people or companies for water theft.

Newsom Agrees With Trump: California Needs To Capture More Water Heading To Ocean

California Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday vowed to accelerate the Delta Conveyance Project …  a 45-mile-long water tunnel that would connect the Sacramento River to the intakes for the California Aqueduct.

He is imploring Californians to finish the California Water Project, the 1960s canal that brings water sough from the Sacramento-Sna Joaquin River Delta.

That is the primary fresh water supply for Malibu … and the entire Southern California region. 

The only other import source .. the Colorado River … is running dry. 

Work on the Peripheral Canal – around the delta to the fish water coming in from the north – stopped in the mid 1960s.   The plan shifted to a less-damaging tunnel alternative.

The Delta tunnels are critical to prevent the California aqueduct from slurping in saltwater from San Francisco Bay in the event of a major earthquake or dike failure in the Sacramento River delta. 

It’s been a hot potato for 50 years …. supporters argue 45 million people rely on fresh water bypassing the delta … and California’s water system needs to be bolstered against severe droughts and worsening weather extremes.

The proposed tunnel faces intense opposition from Delta residents and environmental groups who warn it would devastate ecosystems. 

Yesterday … the governor said the tunnel is essential for capturing rainwater that is flowing out to sea. 

NEWSOM DELTA 

“The delta conveyance …. of we had it last year alone … would have provided enough water in terms of what we could have captured with an updated system … enough water for 9.8 million Californians’ needs for over a year.

“Just last year … if we had the Delta conveyance …

“We have got to have get that done.”

Newsom was speaking at a water conference in Sacramento.

Audio is fron C-Span.

The Delta Tunnel’s fate will rest with the next governor.

Also … the large water agencies that have yet to decide whether to pay for its construction.

Chief among those agencies is the Metropolitan Water District of Los Angeles. 

But also … water districts as far north as Oakland and San Jose .. that also use water form the south end of the Delta. 

California Will Share Addresses Of Drivers License Holders With Other Governments, Opponents Fear ICE Will Get Data

California is preparing to share detailed information about driver’s license holders with the federal government. 

That includes information about people who do not have legal authorization to live in the U.S. 

If state officials don’t turn over the data, the Department of Homeland Security may refuse to accept California licenses and IDs at airports.

But it breaks a promise the state made a decade ago when it began issuing licenses to unauthorized immigrants, advocates say, and it means more than 1 million people may face higher risk of deportation.

State authorities say they are stuck …. Because of the Real ID Act … a federal law.

of 2005, which set requirements for accepting state identification in federal facilities like airports.

Representatives from four advocacy groups who participated in the briefing told CalMatters the shared information will show whether a person has a Social Security number, meaning it could be used to identify people in the country without authorization.

The state plans to provide the information to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a nonprofit organization whose governing board is made up of DMV officials from across the country.

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