Parents Unload On Santa Monica Board, After Chaos At Malibu Elem, As SCE Coughs Up Generators At Schools

Malibu Elementary School suddenly let its kids out in the middle of the day Thursday … because Southern California Edison had a series of off again … on again power outages in the Point Dume area.

Thursday’s heavy clouds … and failing flashlight batteries … made it impossible to see inside the classrooms.

Parents were sent an email that school would close just 36 minutes before the sudden dismissal time … 12:45.

That infuriated the parents … and there just so happened to be a school board meeting scheduled for Thursday night.

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“From a communication standpoint, SMMUSD earned an F today.

“You failed Malibu families, including mine.

“The elementary school was dismissed at 12:45.  I got the email at 12:18 with barely any time to get there. 

“This is not a system. This is chaos.”

Malibu’s parents have been campaigning for several years for emergency power back ups at the school.

But district leadership allowed the effects of frequent Southern California Edison power failures to fester for seven years … before finally taking action.

Connections to allow portable generators to be “quick connected” into the schools have been on order for several weeks and were scheduled to be installed within days.

And now comes word that Southern California Edison is paying for generators to be installed at all four of Malibu’s public schools.

The so-called SCE donation comes seven years after the power company won permission from state regulators to turn off the power in heavy winds.

And it came three years after the SCE power system began blacking out whenever it rains.

On Thursday night … Malibu parents said the school board should have seen this coming.

Kevin Keegan is a PTA president.

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“What is so upsetting to many Malibu families – as you are hearing this evening – is Santa Monica’s mismanagement of fundamental issues like water and power. 

“Rather being without running water like our students and teachers experienced at Malibu elementary school or being in untested classroom environments like at Webster elementary school, where many have health concerns about toxic residue exposure. 

“These are examples of school life for students and teachers under Santa Monica leadership.”

And the parents were especially irate at Thursday’s communication failures … the late word given that school was about to be let out.

Sherry Johnson.

36 MINUTES SHERRY JOHNSON 71544

“At 12:09 PM today, a message was posted on the Parent Square app stating that all parents needed to pick up their children in 36 minutes.

“36 minutes!

“Clearly the power outage that had been going on all day had suddenly become urgemt.

“Eight minutes later – which makes me think it was an afterthought – an email was sent.

“For new families who may not be aware of the Parent Square app… that email was the only form of communication.” 

For the president of AMPS … the Malibu school district separation campaign … it’s all about Santa Monica’s disconnect from Malibu … and it’s not getting better. 

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“We have the Webster smoke remediation issue – parents still not happy … all the schools lost power … the late start today … the delayed buses … insufficient communication. 

“The parents at the last minute early release at MES. Parents weren’t ready for it. 

“None of this would be happening if all of this communication didn’t have to go through Santa Monica first.”

At last night’s school board meeting … district superintendent Antonio Shelton took full responsibility for the screwup.

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“I own what happens.

“This is this is my school district. 

“Everybody belongs to me and it’s my responsibility to lead this space.  And when I need to improve in an area I will own that.

“And we will improve … and our staff will improve … to make sure that we have a better outcome specifically in some of these communication areas.”

At Malibu Elementary … it was a mess.

There are open trenches where emergency water pipe repairs are taking place … since the water pipes failed three weeks ago.

And the school superintendent said the emergency repairs for broken water lines meant a temporary generator could not be brought in.

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“Normally, we would go and get a generator and connect it and we could have power at the school.

“Couldn’t do that today … because we have a construction zone in the back parking lot so if the plumbers have to dig up something, it’s very complicated to put in generator in that space.”

The school district is right in the middle of installing quick connect wiring at all of the Malibu schools … installation is scheduled for Tuesday.  

And the Edison company’s sudden gift of generators is coming soon … also.

Parents said that should have been done years ago.

Joshua Spiegel … iast night.

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“This is not an unexpected incident.

“This is been happening over and over and over and we have been begging you over and over and over it’s not equitable,

“I hear you say that a lot, but it’s not equitable.”

One important note.

The California Public Utilities Commission gave Southern California Edison permission 7 years ago to intentionally blackout high fire risk areas when it gets windy.

And 7 years … the CPUC stripped out language that would have required SCE to mitigate its intentional power outages at places like schools and traffic lights.

That obligation to mitigate the dangers for public institutions was removed by the CPUC … opponents predicted chaos.

Some residents in wealthy places like Malibu are buying generators or batteries.

Others are just stuck. 

School districts and cities have been slow to respond.

Now the utility giant is “donating” generators to Malibu’s schools.

CPUC Wins Big Rate Hike

On a day that most of western Malibu was blacked out due to power company problems … Southern California Edison won a nearly 10 percent rate hike from the California Public Utilities Commission.

They Commission actually paid a spokesman to proclaim that the rate hike reflects “the CPUC’s commitment to balancing affordability with investments in safety and reliability.”

The precise amount of the rate hike in Malibu has yet to be determined … because SCE only charges for delivering the power … not generating it.

The Clean Power Alliance .. a nonprofit cooperative .. actually generates the electricity that is sold in Malibu.

The SCE rate hike will continue a giant subsidy that Malibu is getting from ratepayers in the rest of Southern California … as ratepayers elsewhere will be paying to underground some electric circuits in very high fire risk areas.

The rate hike means the power company will get a 12.6 percent increase in revenue.

The power company won 98 percent of what it asked for … in terms of under grounding power lines and other fire hazard reducxtion. 

177 miles of undergrounding and 1,653 miles of covered conductor. 

The decision supports SCE’s request to transition to full remote sensing for routine inspections.

That remote sensing has been blamed for the frequent power outages on theCuthbert Circuit …where automatic sensors are apparently a little too automatic and not enough sense.

We shook not that the for profit company that owns SCE .. Edison International … made 1.4 billion dollars in profits for its shareholders last year. 

Texas Airline Plans Scheduled Service Out Of Santa Monica Airport

Scheduled air service may start soon at Santa Monica Airport.

An airplane company plans to fly turbojet planes on scheduled flights from the airport … where noise concerns have prompted Santa Monica voters to decide to close the airport in two years.

The airline … JSX .. describes itself as a charter airline.

But it flies regularly scheduled flights to smaller airports … like Napa … Scottsdale or Carlsbad.

It is not clear what destinations would be served from Santa Monica.

The Dallas-based company submitted its application Thursday, seeking approval to launch daily flights in 2025 using the Brazilian-made Embraer ATR 42-600.

They describe that as a fuel-efficient turboprop aircraft designed with advanced noise-reduction technology.

In a statement from company headquarter in Dallas … the JSX president promised “thoughtful, responsible operations that respect the neighborhood and align with the values of the Santa Monica community.”

Those values include a 60 percent approval of a measure to close the airport to all flights in 2028.

Not clear how the new airline would comply with that particular community value.

The JSX application to fly out of Santa Monica was announced in a press release … which omitted a few facts like where did they apply for permission … and who gets to decide.

The FAA has approved a legal agreement with Santa Monica to close the airport in 2028.

10 Freeway Closed By Homeless Guy With BB Gun

The 10 freeway was closed in Santa Monica Wednesday evening … when a man brandished what looked like like a rifle.

A CHP officer spotted a man holding what looked like a rifle at 17th Street … where a homeless camp has developed.

The freeway was closed in both directions… the suspect tried to hide in the ivy under the 17th Street overpass. 

A drone and a SWAT team spotted the man … who was arrested.

In the ivy … a BB gun.