Julian Jimenez, Paradise Cove Chef, Killed By A Drunk Driver In PCH Double Fatal 

A drunk driver killed himself and a chef who had worked at Paradise Cove for more than 20 years Thursday night, on Pacific Coast Highway just west of Neptune’s Net.

Julian Jiminez, 53, was identified by his friends as a husband and father on the Internet.  The CHP has not yet released his identity officially. 

“Julian leaves behind his wife, children, siblings, and parents,” said his friends on a GoFundMe page. “Julian worked as a chef at Paradise Cove Cafe in Malibu for most of his life and always did his best to provide for his family. 

“Whether he was cooking at home or at the restaurant, his food consistently brought families together and smiles to their faces.”

The name of the drunk driver of a Dodge Charger headed away from Malibu has not been released.  A second man inside the Charger suffered “major injuries” and is hospitalized, the CHP said. 

The crash occurred on Pacific Coast Highway near Deer Creek Road, apparently where where the Charger’s driver would have encountered the start of a passing lane on the highway.

For some unknown reason, according to the CHP, the Charger went across the yellow stripes and hit Jimenez’s Chevrolet Tahoe SUV.

One of the vehicles was fully engulfed in flames when the Ventura County Fire Department arrived. Fire trucks spent two hours at the crash site … putting out the fire and dealing with the human remains.

PCH was shut down in both directions until about 10:10 p.m. Thursday, according to the CHP.

Thursday night’s double-fatal crash was outside the Malibu city limits … where public attention has been focussed on a proposed 55 million dollar repaving and safety project.

Coastal Appeal Could Delay, But Apparently Not Block, PCH Project

Caltrans does not have final approval for its $55 million repaving and safety project for western Malibu … yet.

That project has been approved by the Malibu city council … but under state laws … that approval can be appealed to the California Coastal Law. 

The window for an appeal to be filed ends next Thursday.

Appealing to coastal would be only a delaying tactic … as there looks to be zero chance that coastal would even consider the case.

That’s because coastal can only block a project if it violates the Coastal Act … which encourages public access to beaches and the mountains.

And Coastal Commission staff have already filed letters … saying they support the Caltrans plan for bike lanes and pedestrian improvements designed to slow traffic down.

The group of political activists that was fighting Caltrans at City Hall … the Malibu Township Council … told KBUU news this week they will not say -if- they will file an appeal at Coastal.

If they do .. it likely would delay the project until the Commission could take a vote.  But because the commission will only consider the appeal if there is a violation of Coastal Law, it appears that the appeal would not succeed beyond delaying the Caltrans project for several months.

Bird Flu Found In Dead Seagull Found In Malibu

Bird flu has been detected in a dead sea gull found in Malibu. 

Keep your dogs away from dead birds … and avoid contact with places where sea gull poop has fallen … says the county health department.

Four dead seagulls … infected with bird flu … have turned up along the Santa Monica Bay … plus another infected bird in the San Fernando Valley.

The experts say you and your pets should keep away from birds and avoid direct contact, including from surfaces where bird droppings could be.

The risk to the public is low … but pets can catch it — cats in particular have gotten very sick.

California has not reported any person-to-person spread.

But last year, there were over three dozen human cases. 

Humans typically catch bird flu when they’re in close contact with an infected animal, while animals have been shown to get it by consuming infected raw meat or unpasteurized milk.

The county is asking anyone who finds a sick or dead bird to call the Agoura Hills animal control office.

No White Puff Of Smoke At City Manager Conclave

Malibu’s city council met for a half hour Friday … to talk about hiring a new permanent city manager.

No announcement of action afterwards.

We have lost count of the number of closed door meetings that the city council has had on this … probably approaching two dozen.

Last summer … they hired a new city manager and sent out press releases … 

But that collapsed after a political firestorm erupted at her former employer.

At least one one other candidate was offered the job … but had to pull out at the last minute due to a family member’s sudden illness. 

Malibu’s track record of disagreement amongst city council members … and revolving doors for top city management … have given the city a bad reputation amongst potential managers … according to come council members. 

Calif State Parks Policy Was To Let Palisades Area Burn: Report

Lawyers representing Palisades Fire victims say they have proof that California State Parks officials had an official policy to let fires burn in Topanga State Park. 

And the lawyers say a California State Parks official showed up at the smoldering brush in Pacific Palisades in the aftermath of the small fire … that was set January First.

This is according to reporting by the Pacific Palisades volunteer news site, Circling The News.

That state parks official allegedly waved around a map … and told LA City Firefighters that they could not use a bulldozer to put out burning tree stumps. 

State parks disputes that.

But now … the lawyer has unearthed a state parks policy … issue just weeks before the fire broke out. 

That policy states that … quote “unless specified otherwise, state parks prefers to let Topanga State Park burn in a wildfire event.”

The lawyer has a copy of a state parks operating manual for the Topanga area… Including the mountains surrounding palisades Highlands… Where the fire broke out.

It says… According to the lawyer… “The majority of the park has not burned in over 50 years. To restore the Nashville fire frequency and chaparral habitats, Topanga State Park should be left to burn within reasonable public safety limits and outside of fire exclusion zones..”

The operations manual specifically addressed the neighborhoods near Sunset at PCH… And in the Pacific Palisades Highlands itsays the use of heavy equipment needs to be avoided in these areas.”

The state operations manual also says that avoidance areas need to be shared with the fire incident command, but measures should be taken to keep the information confidential. …

State parks officials were told to ensure that … quote … “maps shared with the news media do not contain sensitive resource data.”

This was reported this week by the palisades news source Circling The News …  

The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and explosives has said that smoldering remains from that January 1 fire exploded when giant Santa Anna wins arrived on January 6th …

That was the Palisades Fire … which killed 12 people and burned down the eastern one tenth. Of the city of Malibu. 

California State Parks told circling the news that any notion that state parks favorite plants over people is “ludacris” 

Insurance Department Letting Industry Consultants Write Smoke Damage Rules

The latest outrage from the California Department of Insurance has been uncovered by the San Francisco Chronicle.

State state Insurance Department has formed a task force to research the science and come up with guidelines testing and clearing smoke contamination. 

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara set up a 13-member committee.

And that committee does not one single toxicologist or scientific expert in the chemistry of smoke from urban fires. 

Instead, three of its five technical experts work for there insurance companies top provide expert testimony against consumers who file smoke damage claims. 

The three experts have fought Los Angeles County fire survivors’ independent test results of contamination in their homes.

They are paid by at least half of California’s biggest insurance companies… the Chronicle found. 

And they have done so using practices that conflict with academic research.

Smoke damage coverage is required in California fire insurance policies … but many fire victims have found it impossible to collect on policies that they faithfully paid for. 

Significant Portion Of Malibu’s Water Supply Diverted By Trump To Big Ag

President Donald Trump has ordered water from the Sacramento River to be diverted from the Los Angeles area to corporate farms in the deserts of the western San Joaquin Valley.

The order will benefit several large farm corporations … many of which donate to his campaigns.

Yesterday … acting on the presidnet;’s orders … the federal government on Thursday announced plans to pump more water to western Central Valley farmlands from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

That action will take water away from the State Water Project … the canal that feeds drinking water to 27 million people in cities from Oakland to LA to San Diego.

Malibu gets its water from that state canal.

The California pipe runs parallel to the federally operated Central Valley Project … and the federal pipe greatly benefits a few large corporate farms along the 5 freeway in the deserts west of Fresno and Bakersfield. 

A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom strongly criticized the plan. 

“The Trump administration is putting politics over people — catering to big donors instead of doing what’s right for Californians,” Tara Gallegos said.

The Trump decision will divert more than 250,000 acre-feet of additional water annually to the farms. 

By comparison, the entire city of Los Angeles uses nearly 500,000 acre-feet annually.

Trump similarly tried to alter California water regulations and policies during his first term. 

But the state and conservation groups successfully challenged the changes in court.

Santa Monica Says Its Decision To Allow Daily Planes At Airport Is Not Subject To Enviro Law

Santa Monica is defending its decision to allow an airline to start daily flights … for the first time … at Santa Monica Airport. 

JetSuite X has obtained a lease to use the airport for flights to Las Vegas … and possibly other cities … using 30 passenger turbofan jets … on the very short runway.

The decision was announced without any public input just before Thanksgiving… And resident who’ve been trying to shut down the airport for 30 years immediately filed a lawsuit.

California requires environmental impact reports for projects like this … and residents pointed out that Santa Monica failed to even notify them… Much less conduct studies into traffic, noise and safety for the new daily air terminal.

The city has filed an answer.

They claim the new lease for the daily jet service terminal was mere paperwork … that there is sone sort of “common sense” exemption from environmental laws … and that this is a negligible expansion of existing facilities. 

All of this comes as the clock is ticking … Santa Monica Airport is supposed to shut down in three years … under terms of an agreement signed off by the FAA a decade ago.

Aviation interests have been fighting tooth and fail to keep the westside’s only general aviation airport open. 

And by establishing daily air service to another state out of the small airport … it might be argued that there is an essential federal interest in keeping there airport open. 

Watch to see what the Trump administration does here … as it is not shy about pre-empting state laws whenever it finds a way to assert federal control. 

=============

Lots of civic events coming up.

• World Premiere of “Dick Van Dyke: A 100th Celebration“– Sunday, Dec. 7, 2:00 PM. The documentary film, which has been in the works for 30 years, will be screened by Malibu Film Society at City Hall. A costume contest judged by Dick’s wife Alrene will take place before the film at 12:30 PM.
• Community Night – Friday, Dec. 12, 5:00 PM at Malibu Education Foundation Christmas Tree Lot (next to the Civic Center Big Ugly Radio Tower) – food trucks, vendors, and carnival performances.
• Dick Van Dyke Birthday Celebration – Saturday, Dec 13, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM at Malibu Education Foundation Christmas Tree Lot (PCH and Healthercliff) – birthday cake, music, and photo opps.
• Dinner and a Movie with Mary Poppins – Sunday, Dec. 14. Dinner 5:00 PM, movie starts 6:30 PM. Showing Mary Poppins at Ollo Restaurant, with 15% off the entire menu (excluding alcohol) for all guests. Free admission for members of Malibu Film Society, $15 tickets for non-members, $5 for children and teens.