=.   Southern California Edison gets a 10 million dollar fine for screwing up its intentional power outages in 2020.

=.  La Niña may be with us for a third winter … and that means the drought will worsen.

=.  CHP officers cannot say why a man from Los Angeles driove his Rover into Mugu Rock … he died.

=.  If you thought Malibu real estate hype was too much … wait till you hear about The Case.

=.  And the So Cal real estate market … hyper inflated as it is … may be in correction mode.

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

SCE Faces Possible $10 Million Charge Against Profits For Screwing Up Intentional Power Blackouts

Do you remember all those intentional power outages in Malibu from 2020?

That was the year that Southern California Edison frequently turned off the electricity to the western part of Malibu  … as strong Santa Ana winds blew in from the north.

16 intentional power outages were set off by Southern California Edison that fall.

Afterwards …. Edison officials admitted that they turn off the power at wind speeds that are less than what they had originally told the CPUC, the public and reporters.

Forecasts of sustained winds of just 28 miles per hour are all it takes to issue blackout warnings on the Cuthbert Circuit, according to SCE.

The power company has strict reporting requirements after intentional blackouts … and KBUU News reported in 2020 that the power company was apparently failing to meet the requirements.

Yesterday … the state came to the same conclusion.

Southern California Edison was fined $10 million by the California public utilities commission for screwing up those 16 intentional  … instead power outages in 2020.

The state says Edison missed the 10-day deadline to file a report with the regulators … explaining what caused them to turn off the power.

And the reports were not correct.

And … SCE did not warn customers of the possible blackouts…or properly notify customers when the power came back on,.

Yesterday … the CPUC said SCE “failed to provide advanced notifications according to the minimum timelines for 11 out of 12 (blackout) reports.

SCE told state investigators thew problem was due to rapidly changing weather.

Also … SCE admitted internal coordination issues between its grid operations and customer services departments.

Edison was ordered to take immediate corrective actions to make sure it submits reports that are accurate and complete.

It’s important to note that all of the issues brought up in the enforcement action and 12 million dollar fine have to do with SCE’s alleged failure to communicate properly with its customers before and during the intentional blackouts … and with the state regulators after.,

SCE was not fined for turning the power off.

SCE was not fined for maintaining a power delivery system that needs to be turned off when the forecast for sustained winds goes above 28 miles an hour.

SCE has been given four weeks to file an objection to the fine.

Under state law … the power monopoly’s owners are guaranteed a profit of about 11 percent per year.

That proposed 10 million dollar fine must come from those profits … and not be passed through to ratepayers … according to the proposed state order handed down yesterday.

Support for Radio Malibu KBUU comes from the Mark & Grether Group.

The Mark & Grether Group is a small tightly knit team… based in Malibu… with full-time marketing and operations staff to deliver exceptional results and smooth real estate transactions.

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

La Niña May Persist Into Third Year

The drought may get worse. 

The La Niña climate pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean may is likely to persist into 2023.

This would be only the third time since 1950 that we’ve seen a La Niña stretch through three consecutive winters in the Northern Hemisphere.

That’s the assessment of the U.N. World Meteorological Organization.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast last week also favors continuation of La Niña through the summer and into the winter. 

La Niña usually causes drought in western north America,

It is one of three phases for the ocean temperatures in the Northern pacific. 

El Niño is a cool phase … it is generally associated with heavy rainfall in Malibu and the west.

Been a about six years since we had an El Niono.,

Fatality At Mugu Rock Caused By Man Missing Gentle Curve

More information now on that fiery fatal crash at Mugu Rock Tuesday evening.  

There was one victim … a 51-year-old man from Los Angeles … driving a 2016 Range Rover. 

The C-H-P says the man was driving towards Malibu when he missed a curve at Mugu Rock. 

The vehicle launched several feet into the air …  roll down the side of the road … land back on its wheels and burst into flames. 

The driver was thrown from the vehicle … pronounced dead at the scene. 

The CHP reported he was from Los Angeles but his name has not yet been publicly released.

Plywood Screen On PCH Blocked Driveway View, Caltrans Pulls Them Down After City Complains

City of Malibu crews yesterday asked the state highway department to remove temporary. plywood sheets … installed two days ago … that were blocking sight lines along Pacific Coast Highway at the Trancas lagoon bridge.

Caltrans contractors had put up the plywood to block drivers from gaping at the demolition of the Trancas bridge … now underway.

Problem was … the plywood also completely blocked the view of oncoming traffic for motorists emerging out of the Trancas Country Market. 

After complaints from the city … the state agreed … and ordered some of the plywood sheets to be removed. 

Sympathy for Caltrans on this one. 

They have the misfortune if rebuilding a bridge right next to a radio station … with a nosy reporter who walks his dog there every day.

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.

 

$70 Million House At Bluffs Park Goes On Market, Features Glass Pool That ‘Slices Towards The Pacific’

Malibu is about to see a marketing onslaught that may be unprecedented.

The PR firms have been hired to begin marketing the five ultra-luxury mansions clustered around Bluffs Park .. collectively called “The Case.”

That’s the name for developer Scott Gillen’s guard gate and five mega mansions on the bluff … between the Civic Center area and Malibu’s Bluffs park.

The first house …  called The Edge … is now on the market for 70 million dollars. 

It features an almost 80-foot-long glass swimming pool that Gillen says juts out like a diving board into the Pacific Ocean.

For 70 million dollars .. the buyer of The Edge gets a turnkey furnished house of 10 thousand 500 square feet … with five bedroom suites plus three additional bathrooms.  

Floor to ceiling glass doors open to a 10,000-square foot deck with cabana and outdoor kitchen.

The other four houses are not yet finished … they care called The Cantilever House … The Butterfly House … The Flat House and The Glass Tunnel.

All five mansions are nestled around Malibu Bluffs Park .. which has created some friction between Scott Gillen and the city … which is building a permanent skate park there … partly funded by a million dollars from Gillen.

Support for KBUU radio… for eight years now… has come from Rancho Del Cielo. Perched high above the Pacific Ocean and overlooking Paradise Cove… Rancho Del Cielo is a partner bringing public radio to the Malibu.

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So Cal Housing Market: ‘Not A Bubble Bursting, More Like A Gut Punch’

The party is over for the hyper-inflated Southern California real estate market. That’s the word of one industry analyst… As all of a sudden the market has turned from a sellers market to a world of high interest rates and price discounts to move property.

One analyst told the Los Angeles Daily News that “It’s not like a bubble bursting. It’s more like a punch in the stomach. … The sellers are coming to the realization the party is over.”

Last month … home prices in the region leveled off.

Sales last month … across the region plunged 16% from 2021 levels. 

The median price of a Southern California home – the midpoint of all sales – is $760,000, 

That is unchanged from April’s record high.

Interest rates on mortgages have already gone up from 3 to 5 percent. 

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.

Their Happy Days Honey Blonde is a light dry traditional blonde ale… Brew with local wildflower honey from the Santa Monica mountains.

Find Malibu Brewing Company premium craft beer in select retailers, or order direct at brew malibu dot com

Corrections

Two small corrections.

On our story yesterday about the city challenging the Coastal Commission on the contentious issue of short term rerntals.

The current temporary ordinance does not require a host to be present … but the city’s proposed permanent B and B ordinance does.

Two … the home built by city council member Karen Farrer’s daughter is not under construction … it is already finished. 

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