An offshore petroleum platform 50 miles up the coast from Malibu caught fire yesterday.

The Coast Guard says no oil was released into the water. 

Platform Habitat is off the coast from Summerland … just downcoast from Montecito and Santa Barbara,. 

It burst into flames at 6:30 yesterday morning as a crew of 26 people were on board … working to take it apart. 

Most of the offshore oil platforms up the coast from Malibu are played out… And many are being removed now.

Platform Habitat sits on federal waters. 

The oil company that runs the platform is in the process of decommissioning its 20 wells … which produced methane gas … marketed as natural gas. 

The U.S. Coast Guard says “There are currently no indications of oil being released from the platform into the water … and no current impacts to wildlife or the public.”

Firefighters from the cities and counties of Ventura and Santa Barbara helped put out the fire. 

There were two minor injuries to crew members during the evacuation process.

The cause of the incident is still under investigation.

CHP Still Investigating 3 Malibu Fatals Within 2 Days

Sheriff’s deputies yesterday released a few details about a string of random traffic crashes that killed three people and tied up parts of the city for hours in the past few weeks. 

The update came during the sheriff department’s regular update tp the city council. 

Sgt Chris Soderlund:

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“There were three fatalities in a 48 hour period … two in one day at PCH and Mulholland Highway.

“Two pedestrians were struck in almost the exact same spot near Leo Carrillo State Beach. 

“Then the next day on Kanan Dume there was another fatal collision.”

All three of those fatal crashes were outside the city limits of Malibu …. Meaning they are CHP handles.  The LA county sheriff’s office is aware of them but not the investigating agency.

One of the crashes on PCH may have involved a person pushing a shopping cart.

But city council members could not get details about the other two. 

And there was a bad head-on crash two weeks earlier … right at the Malibu Pier. 

No one killed in that nasty wreck… but there were serious injuries and the road was closed for hours. 

Two other crashes of note … a truck that crashed into the gas station at Rambla Pacifico … and a three ar crash invoicing a lifeguard truck on PCH near the Zuma beach parking entrance …. In that knot of conflicting left turn lanes at the Zuma Beach entrance. 

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Silverstein Starts Campaign To Make Homelessness Illegal By Antagonizing Riggins

Malibu mayor Bruce Silverstein wants to further crack down on camping within city limits. 

He wants an ordinance to make it a crime to sleep in public … despite the fact that the elected L-A County sheriff and the board of supervisors say they will not allow enforcement of any such law.

Last night … Silverstein criticized city council member Marianne Riggins for having failed to push his proposed law onto he agenda during her term as mayor. 

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“I drafted many months ago a new and aggressive anti-camping law following the US Supreme Court decision in the grants Pass (decision). And we had an ad hoc position. I presented a draft of an ordinance to my ad hoc partner (pointing at Riggins) and the city attorney and I got no response … no comments other than ‘I am working on it.’”

Silverstein was pointing at Riggins. 

She attempted a reply … but Silverstein … acting as mayor … interrupted. 

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SILVERSTEIN: “Let’s take a 10 minute recess.”

RIUGGINS: “May I?”

SILVERSTEIN, CUTTING HER OFF: “No, we’re done with public comments..”

RIGGINS, INSISTING: “I would like to respond to something you said to me, PLEASE, with regards to the thing on anti-camping. 

SILVERSTEIN: “I’m not gonna prevent you from doing that, but I will point out, this is not supposed to be a conversation when we do council member comments. 

“It’s supposed to be one at a time, we address the public and we say what we’ve been doing.

“And when I’ve not been mayor …’ 

RIGGINS, INTERUPTING: “You know, you’re taking more time that what I would have I used to say what I had to say.”

SILVERSTEIN, CUTTING HER OFF: “That’s okay, I am just setting what our procedure is. 

“Because I think going forward, I am going to enforce it. 

“Because I’ve been the first or or second one to speak and I just didn’t get a chance to respond and that’s the way our process works. 

“But go ahead since you need to be different.”

RIGGINS:  “And (I) need to be difficult too.

“In regards to the anti-camping campaign. I absolutely have no problem with that and I asked our former manager. I apologize that I was there. It didn’t get put on the agenda, but if you had called me and spoke to me about it, I would’ve worked with you to bring that forward”

Council members Bruce Silverstein and Marianne Riggins  … last night.

The city council last night also took action on setting fines for parking and license plate violations. 

We’ll have that news … tomorrow. 

Caltrans Will Soon Shift Traffic Lanes Away From Beach, For Home Construction 

Caltrans is coming up with plans to shift traffic lanes back away from the ocean on Pacific Coast Highway in the Malibu fire zone … the eastern end of the city.

People who are rebuilding their oceanfront houses are clamoring for more room to unload construction material safely.

City manager Joe Irwin said last night … Caltrans plans to move lanes around next week.

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“We call Cantrans and have weekly meetings with them to talk about the concern that we have within their right of way for rebuild applicants  utilizing PCH right of way 

“They are conducting a final survey of PCH this week and they should start constructing the lane shifts towards the end of next week.”

City council members said they were worried that Caltrans may take away the center left turn lane to make way for the construction access lane.

But the city manager says Caltrans will squeeze both in.

City Is Anticipating Huge Number of Rebuild Plan Checks

Malibu residents have begun to flood city hall with plans to rebuild after last year’s fires.

Around 750 houses were destroyed by the Franklinadn Palisades fires.

Building official Yolanda Bundy says the flood has begun.

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“We have 250 applications that have made it thru the planning process.

“Of those 250 applications… 50 of those families have building construction permits and they are already moving through with building their homes.

“And we have 58 applications that are going thru the building plan check. “

The council last night approved hiring a second coastline engineering company to help review the flood of beachfront housing plans that have come in. 

These require complicated analysis of wave uprush … stability of there rocks … even looking to see if PCH will fall onto the property. 

LAst night. … the city council approved hiring a company called M-V-5 to assist the current coastal engineers … Moffat and Nichols. 

Bundy said the idea is to give beachfront landowners faster answers than they have bene getting. 

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“The expectations for not only for MV5 but Moffta Nichol is that a 10 day turnaround time for the first review is critical. 

And then the 5 days for the second review.

We don’t want to see a third or fourth review.”

City building czar Yolanda Bundy

Accused Pali Fire Arsonist Tries To Put BATF On Trial

Attorneys for Jonathan Rinderknecht say they can prove bias against the alleged Palisade Fire arsonist by a federal arson investigator … 

And the defense wants to put a US BATF arson investigator on trial. 

Rinderkencht is charged with setting the small New years Eve fire in pacific ZPalsiades .. the fire that six days later exploded into the Palisades Fire.

12 people killed … 50 billion dollars up in flames from that fire.

In federal court ion Los Angeles yesterday … attorneys for Rinderknecht requested that the judge allow evidence a previous case involving ATF Special Agent Matthew Beals.

Beals is one of the investigators in the current case against Rinderknecht.

Beals was the lead ATF agent in the arson investigation of Navy Seaman Ryan Mays…  who was accused of igniting a 2020 fire aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego

A military court acquitted Mays of all charges after a two-week trial.

Defense attorneys say the failed aircraft carrier arson investigation “bears extraordinary and unmistakable similarities to the investigation Agent Beals has conducted against Mr. Rinderknecht in the present case.

They say the aircraft carrier arson case reveals a pattern, motive, and systematic bias that is directly relevant to the jury’s assessment of Agent Beals’ credibility, methodology, and conclusions in this case.

Judge Anne Hwang heard a series of motions yesterday that would decide, what exhibits are admissible at next month’s trial and who is allowed to testify.

Rinderknecht’s attorney Steve Haney took a swipe at the prosecution theory last weekend … in an email to a reporter from News nation. 

Quote. “The offered motive that my client started a fire on New Year’s Eve because he did not have a date speaks for itself.

Erickson Admits Posting ‘Martini Time’ Instagram, During Jury Selection For Deaths Of 2 Kids

Former Dodger pitcher Scott Erickson was grilled on the witness stand yesterday … as he fights to protect his money against legal claims from the parents of two little boys who were mowed down and killed in a crosswalk in 2020.

Erickson and convicted murdered Rebecca Grossman are being sued by the parents of Mark and Jacob Iskander.

Yesterday … Erickson admitted he switched lines plates and gave investigators an imposter car … similar to the one he was driving the day that he and Grossman had partied in bars before driving very fast down Triunfo Canyon Road. 

He appears to be well aware of how to answer before a jury … answer yes or no as much as possible … do not supply details.

Attorney Brian Panish represents the dead boys’ parents. 

On the stand … Scott Erickson admitted he switched license plates. … and gave investigators the wrong car … as they tried to download speed velocity data from the day of the crash.

ERICKSON DRINKING 

Q: “You lied under oath when you produced the car to be examined by all of these experts and you watched all day as they inspected the car that wasn’t involved didn’t you, sir?”

A: “Yes.”

The Islanders attorney Brian Panish painted Erickson as a party animal .. who posted himself drinking a cocktail during the jury selection on his Instagram account.

“Is it true sir that you left court during the jury selection and went straight to get a martini.”

A: “No.  Not immediately.” 

Q: “Oh you waited? Where did you go?”

A: “I went to my room.”

Q: Did you at any time post a picture on Instagram of yourself drinking a martini that said ‘martini life’ … or something like that?”

A: “Yes.”

Defendant Scott Erickson … in the witness box yesterday. 

Erickson is a frequent Malibu surfer … 

There has been testimony that he was having a beer and a burger at Point Dume just 24 hours after the two boys were killed. 

Trial will continue for the next 6 to 8 weeks or so.

Malibu Times Publisher Says Last Week’s Paper Is Coming

Distribution of the print edition of The Malibu Times may have been delayed … but it will happen today. 

The newspaper’s publisher … Hayley Mattson … says the newspaper’s printer had a production problem last week … but the newspaper has been printed.

The delivery truck to bring the papers to Malibu could not be scheduled until Monday night and Tuesday morning.    

Mailed copies went out last Friday.