This is Malibu’s Only Local Daily News … the Monday edition … I’m Hans Laetz reporting. 

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PM UPDATE 

Despite Traffic Jam, Repairs Not Complete On Water Main Under PCH, Major Project Will Resume In 2 Weeks

Water crews worked all night … and as of 7 am… the mandatory directive to conserve water in Malibu and Topanga Canyon was called off.

But the only big pipe delivering water to both Malibu and Topanga Canyon has not been fixed..

Workers spent the night cutting into the 70 year old pipeline to isolate a deteriorated section … under the landslides that happened 65 years ago under Pacific Palisades.

A new pipeline was laid along PCH there last year … the idea was … that new section of pipe was to be cut over.

Work started yesterday …. By 2 p-m … Malibu residents and businesses were under a mandatory directive … only drinking and sanitation use of water was permitted.

But the worksite was muddy … by this morning … water was still flowing in the old pipe.

But there was a big hole next to PCH … and one of three lanes towards Malibu blocked.

The traffic jam continued all day today… And then mid afternoon… There was another problem.

The traffic signals at the complicated intersection of PCH at Channel Road… Entrada Drive… and Chautauqua Boulevard were blacked out.

Workers from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation were observed directing traffic.

Engineers plan to resume the work in a couple of weeks… and yes… There will be another water use restriction order for Malibu and Topanga Canyon then. 

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PM UPDATE. 33 Year Old Man Found Dead Near Broad Beach

We have more information on that body was found near Broad Beach.

But not much.

LA County sheriffs deputies confirm that a dead man was recovered from the west end of Broadbeach… Near Sea Level Drive… between 1-2 PM Wednesday.

Homicide detectives turned the case over to the coroner … who publicly identified the victim as 33 year old Thomas Robinson.

No cause of death has been determined… an examination is pending.

Robinson’s hometown has not been released.

No details were released by the sheriff’s office.

We don’t know if there was apparent foul play.

Last March … the security guard at Trancas Country Market was found dead in the parking lot.

58-year-old Inge Baumbach’s death was classified by the sheriff’s department as suspicious.

But there has been zero information about that death .,.. either. 

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Six Truckloads Of Junk Hauled Out Of Lagoon, City May Seek Abatement Order In Tuna Canyon

A major homeless encampment was removed from the banks of the Malibu Lagoon behind the Malibu Colony shopping center last week.

City public safety director Susan Duenas says there was a big mess on state property … 

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“So, there used to be a very large encampment in the Malibu Creek area, behind Malibu Village. 

“State Parks has been working on that for a very long time, and it finally got cleared yesterday. 

“It took six trucks, 16 shopping carts were removed. 

“So it was a major accomplishment there. 

“And you may have noticed the encampment on Surfrider Beach. 

“Beaches and Harbors clear that as well. 

“So, two big wins.”

But at the eastern end of Malibu … that homeless encampment on private property uo Tuna Canyon appears to have repopulated.

Sheriff’s Lt Dustin Carr says the brushfire last week means sheriff’s deputies need to revisit that canyon.

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“In Tuna Canyon … with that fire just about an acre.

“I know last summer summer deputies went up there and checked out the area and there was I believe four people living up there at the time… a homeless encampment. 

“I think it’s about time we’re probably gonna have to do a check up there to probably do a count and check how many people are living up there. 

“But that was last summer.”

But there may be a longterm solution at Tuna Canyon … in the form of legal action.

‘Susan Duenas says the city attorney is working on getting a court order to force cleanup … fencing. … and private patrols.

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“We are pursuing a summary abatement, which means an immediate abatement we don’t have to go through the regular procedure of having the city Council declaring a nuisance. There is a question of whether or not who is responsible for doing it, the city attorney is reviewing a recent court case.

“I think that will be resolved this week.”

About two years ago … more than six truckloads of garbage … and people’s possessions … were hauled out of the homeless encampment up Tuna Canyon.

But since then… more than a dozen fires have broken out in the canyon… At Malibu’s eastern end.

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Locals Decry Boulders Destroying Dunes At Pt Dume

More than 600 truckloads of boulders have been brought in by LA County as the L A Department of Beaches and Harbors tries to save bathrooms… a lifeguard station and the parking lot at Point Dume Beach.

But some residents on the point are angry that a sand dune restoration project… Designed to keep the beach from washing away in the first place… Was destroyed.

Brian Merrick … a member of the public safety commission … said last night that the small patch of restored dunes apparently has been obliterated.

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“It didn’t seem necessary to destroy the historic dune. 

“They almost did that on day one. 

“I don’t know really why.

“They kinda laid the rocks down and then they kind of put the sand down and then moved the rocks again. 

“But the whole area is closed off, no one can really see.”

Another public safety commissioner … Keegan Gibbs … says sand has been lost there before.

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“This isn’t the first time unfortunately. 

“About 10 years ago, just after the Malibu Lagoon project, Beaches And Harbors went down to the sand dunes at Point Dume and pulled whole truckloads of sand out of the dunes… destroying several dunes that are thousands of years old… to use as a sand source to fill in parts of the lagoon that were eroding away in front of the Adamson House.” 

That sand was actually trucked down to the Adamson House by California State Parks … which at the time was managing Point Dume.

City officials say they are meeting with LA County Beaches and Harbors officials this month … and have been told that the county is planning to restore the dunes at Point Dume.

But the beach sand is washed away … all along Zuma …. Westward and Point Dume beaches.

So just how they will get enough sand to resurrect the sand dunes is a real question.

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Quake Exercise Shows Malibu Officials How Residents Will Be On Their Own After The Big One

They called it a tabletop exercise …

Last week … emergency workers from the region met with Malibu officials at city hall … to compare plans for what happens during a major earthquake on the San Andfreras Fault.

This is the big one scenario.

A magnitude 8.3 quake on the fault … which passes by 40 miles away from Malibu on its way from Mexico to San Francisco.

City public safety director Susan Duenas told the Public Safety Commission meeting last night … that Malibu would not get a lot of earthquake damage.

But we would lose water … electricity … gas … maybe for two weeks …

Maybe for three weeks.

We would be on our own.

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“In an earthquake scenario like this we may have to rely on our own resources for up to two weeks… maybe three. 

“So trying to plan for that… How do we plan for lack of water?? 

“How do we plan for lack of gas??

“How do we plan for lack of power??

“How do we take care of the community and mitigate public safety impacts???”

The answer is … they can’t.

Duenas said government cannot help … in a disaster of that scale.

Malibu residents … of course … learned that the hard way in the Woolsey Fire.

Personal responsibility … having food and water … medicine and emergency lights … is imperative … the city officials says.

But government may be giving the wrong message on all this.

That story… tomorrow. 

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Mountain Lion Attacks 5-Year-Old Near Half Moon Bay

A mountain lion in the mountains of the Bay Area Peninsula attacked  and mauled a little boy … who suffered severe puncture wounds.

The 5-year-old boy had been walking on a rural road along with his mother and grandfather near Half Moon Bay.

The animal bit into the child … an attack that was called “very, very vicious in nature,” by a captain at the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The boy’s mother charged at the lion … and the animal unclenched and released the boy.

The mom scooped up the child and got him to a safe place, … then called 911. 

The child was taken to an emergency room … and later transferred to Stanford’s trauma center to treat major puncture wounds.

He’s home now. 

Mountain lion attacks are extremely rare in California, with 22 attacks reported since 1986 . According to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The probability of getting attacked by a cougar is very low — far lower than getting attacked by a domestic dog… wildlife officials said.

“If attacked, fight back,” said the wildlife captain. 

“That’s probably the most important thing for people to understand. It’s not something where you play dead. You have to fight for your life.”

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SMMUSD Board To Get Major Update On Stalled MHS Project Tonight

We’ve been reporting … the Santa Monica Malibu school board will get a major update on the stalled Malibu High School construction project tonight.

The project is now topping 101m million dollars …. But still doesn’t have any zoning approval from the state coastal commission.

And the Malibu planning commission has not yet begun to look at the exact plans.

It is in bureaucratic hell.

And the amount of money available from the last bond issue is decreasing in value every month due to construction inflation.

Tonight’s meeting will be in person only… anyone wishing to testify or ask questions will have to be in the board meeting room in Santa Monica to do so.

But the school board meeting will be broadcast on YouTube.

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Support for KBUU Radio comes from Rancho del Cielo.

For 8 years … Rancho del Cielo has been a partner to public radio in the Malibu.

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Support for KBUU radio comes from Mad Interior Art.  

Based in the fashion capital of the world, Milan, Mad Interior Art selects remarkable crystal, porcelain and stone art objects with a remarkable artistic depth …  created by the biggest names on the Italian and international scene. 

Shop from home.  Fast shipping.

Mad Interior Art dot com … from Milan to Malibu … supporters of Radio Malibu. … KBUU.

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Support for KBUU Radio comes from Sea N Soul Surf, at Zuma Beach Plaza

A coffee barista … the locals’ place to find entry level surfboards for a grom … or a handshaped blade for a pro. 

Sea N Soul Surf… clothing, coffee and boards for the Malibu lifestyle … under Spruzzo’s …across from Zuma Beach.

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Support for Radio Malibu KBUU comes from the Mark and Grether Real Estate Group.

Combining the talents of Tony Mark and Russell Grether… 

The Mark and Grether Group offers concierge-level service… personalized attention… to buyers and sellers… landlords and tenants … here in Malibu.

The Mark and Grether Group… a top producing team with 35 years of experience… and over $1 billion worth of real estate sold in least… from Malibu’s coastline to the canyons.

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Support for KBUU Radio comes from the Malibu Brewing Company.

Malibu Brewing Company is a locally owned craft brewery, proudly supporting our community, and local public radio.

A special release for the winter season … Winter Warmer. 

Aged in bourbon barrels for a year, this ale has warm winter spiced notes of clove, raisins and ginger. 

Enjoy this limited release on draft while it lasts, or take home a few bottles. 

On tap at the Malibu Brewing Company tasting room at Trancas Country Market.

Malibu Brewing Company, Malibu California.

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Support for KBUU radio comes from Saguaro Technology.

Based in Malibu … Saguaro Technology offers software development and other engineering services across the entire product life cycle… and across several industries.

Life sciences, automation, robotics. 

Saguaro Technology engineers work side-by-side with the client to extend engineering teams… to create and launch products faster… and more cost effectively. 

Saguaro Technology can be reached at saguarotech.net

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Support for KBUU Radio comes from the Malibu Foundation.

The Malibu Foundation underwrote the KBUU solar panels and batteries at the transmitter … which keeps KBUU’s FM transmitting on 99.1 during storms and blackouts… 24 seven… on clean renewable Malibu sunshine.

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You can hear the news live every morning until 9:30 on KBUU.

FM 99.1 in western Malibu.  Also: streaming at www.radiomalibu.net

Between 10 and 2 … you can hear the newscast playback loop on KBU2. That’s on FM 99.1 HD2 in your car, or streaming at s7.viastreaming.net/6500

If humanly possible, the KBUU NewsScript is usually published at around midday at www.radiomalibu.net