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

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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.

Malibu Unscathed So Far As Winter Storms Pummel So Cal

No major road problems today.

We’ve had about 1/100 of an inch overnight. About 1/10 of an inch of rain in the last 24 hours.

And about 1 1/2 inches of rain along the Malibu coast in the past seven days.

But the big big storm is going to hit us with 3 to 5 inches of rain on Thursday.

No major rock falls have been reported.

At the Trancas creek bridge construction… the Caltrans contractors scurried out of the creek bottom just in time … after moving additional rocks to protect the brand new abutment.

As the hills look like Ireland … the local brush is soaking up water.

The fuel moisture content was 72 percent of average just before Christmas.

The critical fire level is 60.

The state of emergency … used by the city to enforce no camping rules … has to end under state law. 

The city council will meet next Monday to do that.

Sandbags are available … along with piles of sand to fill them up with … at fire stations,.

The city is reminding people not to take sand from the beach… Which is illegal and causes problems down the road.

Also… plastic sandbags… strictly forbidden.

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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

Rain May Cause Minor Flooding Thursday

Today’s rainstorm is a dud in Southern California.

So far.

But an atmospheric river of epic proportions is shaping up to deluge the state.

Thursday in Malibu will be a mess. 

Up north… “This is truly a brutal system that we are looking at …” says the National Weather Service in the Bay Area.

The forecast up north: widespread flooding, roads washing out, hillside collapsing, trees down – potentially full groves.

And likely loss of human life.

The question will be … how far south??

Winds up to 65 miles an hour will hit the mountains of Ventura County tomorrow night.

This is a powerful storm front …  a 3 to 6 hour period of moderate to heavy rain and strong

and gusty winds. 

The latest forecast is that the atmospheric river will slam into the coastal mountains as these strong winds sweep in from the north. 

These winds will set the stage for a massive rainfall on Thursday.

We may see more than three inches of rain … maybe much more.

And some major waves are coming in from the west  … Wednesday and Thursday.

Peaks waves around 8 feet are forecast.

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Support  for KBUU Radio comes from the Malibu Brewing Company.

… which has a special release for the winter season.

Winter Warmer … an ale aged in bourbon barrels for a year.

Warm-winter spiced notes of clove, raisins and ginger. 

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

The Malibu tasting Room is open for lunch and dinner at Trancas Country Market.

Malibu Brewing Company … Malibu California.

Story Poles Up At Malibu High Site, Vote Still Not Scheduled

The story poles are up at Malibu High School.

Flags and poles to depict the proposed new buildings are now up at the former site of Juan Cabrillo school …. which has now been fully scraped away.

The poles are to give the public and the planning commission a look … 

They show a pair of buildings …less than 28 feet high … placed next to each other.

They would be spaced further back from Morning View Drive … and further away from the arroyo to the west … than the old school was.

So … when will this project go before the Planning Commission?

Big question. 

Construction could not start until the Coastal Commission approves a rezoning plan … and the city approves the actual construction plans. 

The school district is hoping that the city will give it a building permit before the Coastal Commission approves the overall zoning plan.

Coastal does not meet in January … and its staff moves at glacial speed …. There is no telling when the high school will be checked for conformance with coastal laws. 

The city planning commission decided last month to wait to see what the cost of commission will do first.

And there is going to be at least two new members of the Planning Commission appointed … or reappointed … soon.

Meanwhile … classes remain in temporary buildings and doubled uop at the middle school next door.

And the purchasing power of the 160 million dollars in bond funds … decreasing steadily due to inflation. 

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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.

School Principal Asks For Drivers To Help At Malibu Middle/High School

Malibu’s two public elementary schools go back into session today.

The middle school and high school resume classes tomorrow.

Covid, flu and RSV are present .

The school district follows Los Angeles County Department of Public Health guidelines.

They strongly recommend that students and staff wear well-fitting masks in all indoor spaces for at least the next 10 days.

Kids and teachers have been given Covid tests to take before returning to school.

The school is asking parents to help out with the drop-off and pickup process.

Too many drivers are dropping their kids off along Morning View Drive … blocking traffic all the way down to PCH.

The school says all morning drop offs should be in the swimming pool lot … or the upper lot above the football field. 

This allows for all cars to turn around to go back east on PCH.

Too many drivers are dropping their kids in the lower Morning View Drive parking lots … those are reserved for school buses … 

And too many drivers are arriving to pick up kids before school ends. 

The school says this is especially a problem on Friday afternoons.

Middle school classes end at either 2:45 or 3:35 … except on Friday … when middle ends at 1:35.

High school classes end 3:30 … except on Fridays … when they dismiss high school at 1:35.

The school is really, really asking drivers not to arrive before dismissal time. 

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Support  for KBUU Radio comes from the Malibu Brewing Company.

… which has a special release for the winter season.

Winter Warmer … an ale aged in bourbon barrels for a year.

Warm-winter spiced notes of clove, raisins and ginger. 

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

The Malibu tasting Room is open for lunch and dinner at Trancas Country Market.

Malibu Brewing Company … Malibu California.

Back To Plan B For Broad Beach Sand District

The Broad Beach sand district had grand plans … just before Christmas … to hire former city manager Reva Feldman as a lobbyist.

Either her … or one of two other potential lobbyists … to try to convince bureaucrats in Moorpark and Ventura County to allow thousands of trucks carrying sand to pass through Moorpark on their way to Broad Beach.

You might remember Broad beach geologic district lawyer Kenneth Ehrlich … just before Christmas  … when he said this:

NEWSCART A73846 BBSAND FELDMAN

“we have the opportunity, and I found out that Reva Feldman who resigned as the City of Malibu city manager about five months ago under a false allegation from one of the city Council members for those of you follow the story. Her best friend … her literal best friend… is the city manager of Moorpark.

Not so fast.

That appears to have blown up in the Broad Beach residents’ faces.

First … Feldman made it clear she has not and will not work for Broad Beach.

In fact … Feldman is not happy that her name was dragged into this by Ken Ehrlich … the lawyer for the Broad Beach sand district.

Feldman says she is not … and will not … do any work like that 

Second … the city manager in Moorpark is angry that Broad Beach is even bringing this up again.

He told Malibu planning commissioner John Mazza that Moorpark has no interest in reopening the legal agreement … that keeps there Broad beach trucks out of Moorpark.

He says the 43,000 trucks necessary to haul sand to broad beach should take a roundabout route… Using freeways through Ventura.

The Malibu planning commission has not put any restrictions whatsoever on the truckloads arriving in Malibu …

The sand will actually be unloaded next to Trancas in the Zuma Beach parking lot.

Despite requests from residents who live near the unloading zone … the city has not put any restrictions on the unloading process for up to 43,000 truckloads of sand.

One might observe that Moorpark has been on top of this … and Malibu hasn’t.

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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.

Two New Laws Will Make Things Interesting on PCH

The dangerous dynamics of vehicle’s pedestrians and bicyclists on Pacific Coast Highway is about to get even more interesting.

Two new laws have taken effect State wide… that may affect Malibu differently than intended statewide.

First … pedestrians.

It’s no longer illegal to jaywalk … pedestrians no longer have too found a street corner or crosswalk to cross a street.

That is … unless a there is a vehicle or bike approaching.

Which means … fewer people getting hassled by cops in inner cities.

Which also means … possibly emboldened or indifferent pedestrians crossing Pacific Coast Highway.

Assemble member Phil Ting says jaywalking is now legal … but only if the pedestrian is not hit.

NEWSCART A73850 JAYWALK PHIL TING 

“As long as there is no immediate car or bicycle or vehicle in the way… It’s OK to safely cross that street. And at the time we want more and more people to walk I can’t imagine a greater disincentive to walking to work walking to school walking to pick up groceries then picking up a citation along the way.”

And law two … you are now supposed to move over into the left lane to pass a bicyclist.

Not just move over within the lane… to give the bicyclist three feet. 

The three foot buffer law is still in effect,

Drivers are also now required to change lanes …  to slow down and pass without endangering the bicyclist.

Assembly Transportation Chair Laura Friedman

NEWSCART A73850 BIKEPASS LAURA FRIEDMAN

“Having what vehicles have to move over a lane when it’s safe to do so will absolutely be safer for cyclists, who either are pushed off the road by cars or are endangered by cars or are hit by cars that are miss judging the judgment that is safe to pass them.”

Assembly Transportation Chair Laura Friedman

The new laws are in effect as of now.

How they will be enforced … or whether they will be obeyed… very much an open question.

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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