Silverstein Seeks To Restrict Feeding The Poor On City Sidewalks, Apparently Unaware Of New State Law Prohibiting Such An Ordinance

The battle over feeding homeless people in public places in Malibu is escalating. .

At Monday night’s meeting … the city council decided to hire two armed security guards … to patrol the area of Legacy Park and the Malibu Library. 

The guard will be armed for their own self defense.

The vote came after council members Bruce Silverstein and Steve Uhring blasted local faith-based volunteers in a group called CART …the Malibu Community Assistance Resource Team.

For decades … CART members have been handing out food to the hungry …four days per week. 

On Monday night … Councilman Bruce Silverstein says he wants to see if that can be banned. 

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“The people who are running CART don’t do this on their property. 

“They do it on the city’s property.

“It seems to me that they’re creating a public nuisance and they’re creating in betting violations of our camping law.”

On Monday night …. Silverstein said the charity given to street people needs to be curtailed.

Silverstein has led the way for the city council to take a hardline approach to homelessness … and has campaigned successfully for the city to adopt an ordinance to make camping on city streets illegal.

Silverstein is a lawyer – as he frequently mentions at city meetings.  But he is apparently is not aware of a state law that took effect earlier this year.

Senate Bill 634 was signed into law by the governor this year. 

The new law prohibits local jurisdictions in California from adopting or enforcing ordinances that criminalize the act of providing support services or basic survival assistance to people experiencing homelessness. 

It specifically mentions providers of food, water, blankets, and medical care from municipal strictures.  

The bill aims to protect frontline workers, volunteers, and organizations from penalties for their compassionate aid efforts.”

Silverstein also mischaracterizes city ordinances with laws.

The city cannot write law.

It can write ordinances .. but those must comply with state laws. 

After all … the city of Malibu was created under state laws … which allow the municipality … a subdivision of the state … to only function as directed by the state. 

On Monday night … Silverstein expressed sympathy for CART members .. but said they need to balance their ads of charity with what he called the problems of attracting homeless people to Malibu.

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“It’s all great and good to be providing charity and to be providing food for people who needed it.

“I get that.

“I’m not unsympathetic to that.

“But we have an ongoing problem in our city with all kinds of issues as associated with people that are camping on public property.

“And it is not helpful to our city – and the majority of our residents who would like to see that curtailed – for other people within the city unilaterally be taking it upon themselves to increasing the problem – rather than helping to decrease the problem.”

Monday night … the city council voted to hire two armed security guards … security guard with guns for self protection. 

They will use used to ask people at Malibu Legacy Park and the Malibu Library to move along … but will not have any powers to arrest. 

The two armed security guards will be I duty for 8 hours per day.

This will cost Malibu taxpayers 18 thousand dollars per month.

Days After Winning New Safety Measures On Western PCH, Caltrans Wants To Talk Traffic Circles

One major Caltrans controversy down … one more to go. 

The state agency will hold a public information next Tuesday on its plans to dradotcally slow down traffic on PCH west of Broad Beach. 

Caltrans and Los Angeles County supervisor Lindsay Horvath propose two roundabouts … a half mile apart .. at two intersections where traffic zips past at average speeds of above 65 miles an hour. 

Two single lanes will be carved out of the current five lane congiguratiojn for nearly three quarters of a mile … from just west of Broad Beach Road to just east of Decker Canyon Road. 

Lee Haber is the Caltrans safety officer for LA and Ventura counties. 

He spoke at Monday’s city council meeting 

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“it is a proven safety countermeasure. It is an intersection control, and it is most definitely a speed management technique.

“And I know a few people when I made comments at  the prior meeting, questioned my comments about driving a bunch of them in Ireland. 

“I can tell you I did experience a large number the other week, on a Saturday in Arizona. I think that’s part of the United States.

“Driving from Cottonwood Arizona down to I 17 on my way back home via Phoenix. I went through probably a good dozen of them on Arizona State Route 260.”

Haber said the Arizonas seem to be navigating the roundabouts quite successfully … and traffic on Arizona Highway 260 is significantly slowed down. 

The public meeting Tuesday night at 6. 

Also at Monday’s city council meeting … Haber got an apology on behalf of Malibu from councilwoman haylynnconrad.

This came during the debate on the western Malibu safety plan.

Haylynn Conrad:

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“I have watched in real disappointment as planning a commissioners and residents have spoken to visiting engineers with a tone and an attitude that, in my view, is unacceptable. 

“We invite these people here to help us fix PCH and then we talk to them as if we know more about road safely safety simply because we live here. 

“It is embarrassing.

“To the Caltrans engineers who have tried to work with us in good faith, I want to say that I’m sorry for the way that some of you were treated. 

“You deserve respect and you did not receive it.”

‘Chaparral Institute’ Gets Court To Block Some New Firebreak Construction In Santa Monica Mountains

Environmentalists have convinced the state Court of Appeal to order big changes to the statewide program to build fire breaks in fire prone areas. 

The judges have ordered Cal Fire to change its program to reduce wildfire risk across the state … because the judges think the program could make things worse.

The court order could slow down the ongoing brush reduction project being undertaken by the LA County Fire Department and the MRCA in the hills above Malibu.

There … crews are cutting a miles-long web of fuel breaks between Topanga and Calabasas.

Heavy machinery … hand crews and even hundreds of goats are clearing invasive grasses in a project paid for by Cal Fire and administered by the MRCA … the Mountains Resource and Conservation Authority.

The state is working on a 670-acre flagship project to stop the next firestorm in the Santa Monica Mountains from devouring homes and killing residents.

A miles-long web of fuel breaks is being cut in the Northern Santa Monicas … between Topanga and Calabasas. 

That’s the path of several brushfires that have swept in from the north … over past decades.

This spring, firefighters  hope to perform a prescribed burn along the new firebreak … acccoriodngto the Los Angeles Times.

Further west … Ventura County Fire Department has used the state program to deploy 500 goats and 100 sheep to eat acres of invasive grasses that are prone to conflagration.

Assistant fire chief Drew Smith told the LA Times that the goal was to create a new fuel break on a plot of land that is one of the few areas in the Santa Monica Mountains that hasn’t burned in the last seven years.

Malibu officials have visited the project and said it was very impressive.

But two weeks ago … a county judge in San Diego ordered Cal Fire to address the

 potential that invasive weeds will grow in the fire breaks … and make the fire risk worse.

Te court order only affects new fuel break projects … unless they already have a plan to prevent flammable grasses from growing.

As the LA Times reports … Cal Fire has argued that its program addressed this potential danger in its environmental impact review. 

But the California Chaparral Institute and the Endangered Habitats League said Cal Fire failed top consider that invasive grasses would sprout in fire breaks … weeds that are much more flammable than what was there naturally.. 

Richard Halsey, director of the California Chaparral Institute, Told the LA Times that the Calfire project could wipe out the brush biodiversity is in the state,” and in the process make the landscape more flammable.

A Cal Fire official says the state is working to prove that environmental protection can be balanced with keeping communities and people safe.

LA City Fire Bungles Emergency Notifications In San Pedro Ship Disaster

Another disaster … another foul up with an emergency warning system.

When a gigantic container ship caught fire in San Pedro Harbor las Friday .. it took 6 hours for the Los Angeles city fire department to warn people in San Pedro.

““get inside IMMEDIATELY and close all windows and doors due to potential toxic smoke.”

That warning went out six hours after the fire. 

County supervisor Janice Hahn lives in San Pedro … and she says she could smell bad stuff oil the air hours before she got any warnings..

And when the warning went out … some people miles away got erroneously alarmed. 

Rancho Palos Verdes .. several miles form the burning toxic ship … was erroneously told to shelter in place.

And when the danger had passed?

It took 38 hours for the Los Angeles city fire department to let people know. 

L A City Fire and the city’s Emergency Management Department did not respond to The Los Angeles.Times’ requests for comment.

This story is based on reporting in the Los Angeles Times. 

SCE May Get Slight Reduction In State Guaranteed Profits Paid By Ratepayers

Southern California Edison is about to get a small haircut in its profits.,

The electricity distribution company right now essentially makes a guaranteed profit of 10.33 percent.

That guaranteed profit supposedly can be cut if the company loses lawsuits. 

But ratepayers in California pay a surcharge to make up for any losses there.

All in all … it’s a pretty sweet deal for the states three large investor owned utilities.

The California Public Utilities Commission is looking at reducing that guaranteed profit … from 10.33 percent to 9.98 percent. 

CalMatters reports that these profits are not automatically guaranteed – utilities can fall short of this return if they don’t keep down costs, such as project overruns or unexpected lawsuit fees.

But the state usually grants the maximum profits. 

Sounds like a small change.

But add it all uo .. and it’s millions of dollars for ratepayers.

This story is based on reporting by Cal Matters .. a statewide nonprofit journalism group. 

Independence Vote Due Monday At Santa Monica School Board

And with all the things coming up .. Malibus school district drive has a major vote next week.

The Santa Monica School Board will vote on three foundational agreements to allow Malibu to form its own school district.

Next Monday night… the school board will take public testimony and then vote on three separate agreements with the City of Malibu.

The agreements outline financial, operational, and governance frameworks for independent districts.

These will deefine how financial resources, operations, and services will be divided or shared between the two entities, ensuring both Santa Monica and Malibu students continue to receive a high-quality education following separation.

The Sanat Monica school board meeting … naturally is in Santa Monica.

That will be from 5-8 p.m., in person at the District Office, 1717 4th Street, Santa Monica, and on Zoom. 

One week later .. the peace treaties twill go before the Malibu City Council.

This one will be at 5:30 at Malibu City Hall. ,