MRCA Promises Open Probe Into Death Of Child At Its SM Mountains Park HQ

A child was killed and several others injured Wednesday when a giant oak tree limb came crashing down on a summer camp arts and crafts table … in upper Malibu Canyon.

The branch snapped off without warning yesterday … in gentle breeze.

Helicopter video of the tree showed that a cross section of an oak tree had a section of decayed wood … forming a cavity in the branch.

The camp was being operated by Camp Wildcraft … a private venture that had moved out to King Gillette Ranch this summer for the first time.

King Gillette Ranch is state property … managed for the state by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority … the MRCA.

MRCA Executive director Joe Edmiston put out a statement.

“Words cannot express the depth of our sorrow. 

“Our hearts are with the child’s family, friends, and all those affected by this unimaginable tragedy. “

The safety and well-being of children and adults in our parks is and always will be our highest priority.”

Edmiston said the MRCA is “fully committed to supporting a thorough and transparent investigation.”

That investigation is being handled by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

Coastal Approves New PCH Trailhead Near Geoffrey’s: Horse Access Planned With No New Parking, No Safe Parking, and No City Opposition Present

The California Coastal Commission yesterday approved a legal settlement that opens the way for a new hiking and horse trail to be built from Pacific Coast Highway to Escondido Falls.

No one spoke in opposition to the trail … which will put additional parking pressure on Pacific Coast Highway at Escondido Beach … across the POCH from Geoffrey’s restaurant. 

No one from the city of Malibu spoke … about the apparent dangers of yet one more trailhead branching off PCH without any parking … restroom or unloading facilities.

No one from Caltrans spoke … even though the state has announced plans to remove half of the on-street PCH parking at the new trailhead.

In fact .. the Coastal Commission spoke glowingly of the recreational opportunities made possible by the new trail.

Commissioner Ariel Kelley … from San Francisco … disclosed she had never visited the site. 

Nonetheless … she praised the commission for putting the horse trail access point on PCH. 

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“To have the coastal access with the equestrian trails, I think makes it unique and incredibly important to ensure that we maintain those trails and keep them open and accessible.”

The Coastal Commissioner did not mention how she envisions horses being ridden past the parked cars … in heavy 50 mile per hour traffic … at Escondido Beach … to reach the horse trail.

Or whether she envisioned horse trailers being unloaded on the shoulder there … which is 6 feet wide in some points … narrowing to 2 feet wide.

One coastal commissioner yesterday said she wants to hike on the trail next month … when the commission meets near Malibu.

But commission staff said … bad idea … for now.  The new trail is so steep … that staffers explained …  that they had to grab onto a chain link fence to pull themselves up the hill there last week. 

In fact … the trail alignment appears to be a nearly-vertical road cut into the hill.

One other issue … the commission also required the owners of adjacent houses to pay for a crosswalk at Meadows Lane … 

But was not clear if that crosswalk is across Meadows Lane … a narrow side street … or if it across Pacific Coast Highway … at the bottom of the hill at Geoffrey’s restaurant. 

There’s no word if the project will require any permits from the City. 

Adding the new uphill trail across from Geoffrey’s will not mean an end to efforts by the state to add a new trail right next door … at Sycamore Park.

Coastal Commission lawyer Shelby Wayman issued this cryptic message.

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“There are a number of access issues in this area and I believe you’re thinking of a different one, but we’re on that also.” 

As a result of yesterday’s action … the landowners of houses on Meadow Lane will have 60 days to get permits and start building the trail.

But there has been no approval by Malibu City Hall … as near as we can tell … for the significant project,   Apparently … the MRCA claims that its major projects do not need the same type of Coastal Development Permits needed for projects elsewhere in the city.

Again … there will be no parking or restroom facilities at the bottom of the trail … where it opens onto PCH. 

That stretch of highway shoulder is very narrow … less than six feet in some places … and already heavily used by Escondido Beach visitors and by employees at Geoffrey’s … just across the PCH.

The new traffic danger is obvious … but no one from the City of Malibu or Caltrans spoke to let the MRCA and Coastal Commission know that. 

Once again … it was a case of four governments agencies not talking to each other … and creating an obvious future danger point on PCH.

Coastal Approves Building Artificial Sand Dune On Santa Monica Beach, Residents Call It Homeless Magnets

Also yesterday …. The California Coastal Commission unanimously approved construction of sand dunes in from of houses on Santa Monica’s oceanfront. 

Residents of the area voiced strong opposition. 

They noted that the beach there attracts dozens homeless people every night.

The beach north of the pier has been the scene of two murders this year.

Residents said they are certain that sand dunes on the Santa Monica Beach will become hiding places and campgrounds for transients. 

The coastal Commission unanimously voted to ignore those concerns … and approve the sand dunes in front of houses on Santa Monica Beach. 

City Council Interviewing City Manager Candidates Today And Friday

Malibu’s city council has special meetings scheduled for today and tomorrow.

They are interviewing candidates to be the next city manager. 

According to a recruitment brochure … the candidates will be interviewed by the full city council today and tomorrow. 

Under state law … nearly all cities in the state use what is called a council-manager form of government. 

In fact … 97 percent of the cities in California use an appointed city manager to run the day to day affairs of the city government. 

Malibu has had a series of temporary caretaker city managers … and department heads.

As the Los Angeles Times put it … there has been a toxic atmosphere over recent years at City Hall .. according to many employees.

A city-hired law firm found that city council member Bruce Silverstein was found to be unprofessional and hostile towards former City Manager Reva Feldman … who was forced out three years ago. 

An investigation conducted by Ellis Investigations Law Corp. found that “Silverstein’s communications and conduct toward and about Ms. Feldman were frequently hostile and unprofessional.”

There has been nearly a complete turnover of top department heads in the government.

It is against that background that the city council meets today and tomorrow to interview potential city managers.

Or perhaps … the meetings are for the potential city managers to interview the council.  

Today’s meeting starts at 9 … break for lunch .. and resumes at 2.

Tomorrow’s meeting starts at 9.

That is the same time that lawyers for the city will be in court in Los Angeles tomorrow … trying to have a harassment lawsuit filed by Adrain Fernandez dismissed.

State Parks Refuses To Talk To KBUU About What Is Wrong At Malibu Pier, And When It Will Fully Reopen

California State Parks says it may take a lot more time to reopen the end of the Malibu Pier. 

But the state agency refuses to make its subject matter experts with the most direct knowledge of the issue available for in-person interviews. 

The California State Parks P-R department instead only allows its agents to speak to the public. 

The end of the Malibu Pier was closed after part of the Santa Cruz Pier toppled into the ocean … during a heavy swell on January 6th.

The Malibu Pier is supposedly undergoing structural assessment… the state PR people say this type and scope require not only specialized engineering expertise, but access to the underside of the pier from the water. 

But we cannot ask the experts … what are they seeing. 

The PR people will only say “reviewing and acting upon the data requires careful coordination and decision making.”

But not public disclosure. 

Four months ago … a pier business operator complained that the state was moving really slow. 

Maren Oettke runs the souvenir stand.

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“Spring is coming. Summer is coming and we have zero business. Also the café at the end of the pier and then there is really nobody pressing for this.

“We need some bigwigs to put some pressure on them. They talk about bringing business back, and we could be back.

“This has nothing to do with the fire. This is a safety issue.”

That was four months ago. 

Again … state parks will not talk with KBUU.

The PR statement says the end of the pier may be closed … but the public can be allowed on the rest of it.  

Says the statement … “it is important to avoid concentrated loads in any specific area so traffic on the pier is restricted to pedestrians only.”

Vehicles may be too much … as they learned in Santa Cruz … where a construction crane went down onto the ocean as the pier collapsed a half year ago. 

State Parks says they often assesses structures like this pier after extreme weather events to ensure visitor safety. 

They cannot attribute the current closure and necessary repairs to a single factor, but this winter’s conditions were a factor in conducting an additional study of the structure. 

“It is likely that a combination of factors, including age and weather, have damaged portions of the pier over time” … says state parks press release. 

The Madre Fire … is still burning near Santa Maria … 140 miles upwind of Malibu.

It’s now 62 percent contained … and holding at about 80 thousand acres. 

It’s the first big wildfire of the summer in our region. 

State Farm General Fire Checks Won’t Clear At Banks, Victims Report

Here’s another worry for Malibu fire victims who are insured by State Farm General … the nation’s biggest property insurer. 

State Farm settlement checks are bouncing. 

Fire victims tellCal Matters … the independent statewide news agency … that their checks are being held for insufficient funds.

One of those checks went to a woman named Amelia McDonald … a Los Angeles woman who just so happens to be a lawyer who works defending other insurance companies against excessive claims.

Her comment to CalMatters is read aloud by a KBUU reporter.

“It’s just stunning,” McDonald told CalMatters. “I’m an insurance defense attorney. I’ve been working for insurance companies for more than 20 years. I’ve never had a check bounce to a claimant in 25 years of practice.

“I really hope they’re not in so much trouble,” McDonald said. “Then we’re all in trouble.”

A State Farm spokesperson tells CalMatters they cannot figure out why their checks have not cleared. 

The company has said claims from the LA-area fires would worsen its financial condition and potentially drive it out of California.

State Farm has already either canceled or refused to renew tens of thousands of policies.