Eight candidates stood for the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board and none of the eight were from Malibu. We represent only about 16 percent of population in the district and have little clout, which is one of the reasons why we are pushing hard to get our own district.
The ever-dangerous area of PCH near Las Flores Canyon claimed another victim. Pedestrian Michael Bennett, a 58-year-old Malibu resident and attorney, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking on the shoulder of the road.
After a long battle, Malibu City Council finally enacted a short-term rental ordinance to try to regulate Airbnbs and other short-term rentals. The council’s effort was to try to eliminate some of the abuses of STR, and the growth of noisy and, with COVID-19, dangerous party houses. Council was still working on a permanent ordinance.
Malibu, in its quest for its own independent school district, has been engaged in negotiation with the school district board for several years. As in any divorce (which is what this is), the battle is all about alimony. The district seems to be willing to let our students go, but what they don’t want to let go of is our money from our high property tax base, and are basically demanding 50 years of alimony. The Malibu negotiators charged the district with negotiating in bad faith, quit the negotiation and are pursuing alternative routes to independence.
