Court hearings this week on Corral Fire
Brian Alan Anderson and William Thomas Coppock, who were sentenced last month to one year in jail as well as probation and community service for their involvement in the 2007 Corral Fire, were expected to appear at Van Nuys Superior Court Wednesday morning for a restitution hearing. They could be on the hook for nearly $8 million.
Also expected to appear in court that day were Dean Allen Lavorante and Eric Matthew Ullman, two other defendants in the case. They were expected to make a plea.
Brian David Franks, entered a no contest plea in 2008 and was sentenced to five years probation and 300 hours of community service.
The Corral Fire took place on Thanksgiving weekend in 2007. It started from a bonfire that got out of control in an area on top of Corral Canyon known as The Cave. The fire destroyed 53 homes, damaged 35 and burned 4,900 acres.
Rambla Pacifico project, use of city fields on council agenda
At its meeting on Monday, the City Council will vote on staff’s proposal for the city to vacate its easement of a portion of Rambla Pacifico. A private project is under construction to reestablish a link between the northern and southern sections of Rambla Pacifico. The link was destroyed in a 1984 landslide. The road is required to be private because the city cannot build a road over an active landslide.
City staff is recommending the vacation because, according to a city staff report, the vacation is necessary in order for the private road to exist. Some area homeowners have requested the city delay the vacation until the road construction is complete. They have also asked whether the city can sell the easement, which city staff says is not possible.
“Staff does not recommend that the city retain the public road easement or obtain any other easements within this roadway, as the roadway would then be subject to public road standards and the road must be accessible to the public at large,” the staff report for the City Council agenda states. “Further, the city might then become partially liable or perceived to be responsible for private hillside and roadway operation and maintenance.”
The project also hit another potential roadblock recently when it was discovered other private easements might need to be acquired to finish the project.
Also on the agenda for the meeting is a discussion requested by Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich on the availability of practice fields for youth sports at Malibu High School and municipal facilities.
SMMUSD to address ‘State of our Schools’
A community report on the status of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will be presented at Malibu High School on Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The “State of our Schools” event will include a report on “student achievement, district-wide initiatives and the financial health of the SMMUSD,” according to a statement from the SMMUSD.
A reception and refreshments will follow the event. Those who cannot make it to the event on Tuesday have another opportunity to see the presentation at the Santa Monica Library one day earlier from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Teen driving topic of seminar
A seminar for teens preparing to get a driver’s license and their parents will take place at the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu Teen Center, which is located on the Malibu High School campus at 30215 Morning View Drive.
“The free seminar provides vital information to teens who are preparing to get a driver’s license, as well as their parents, by helping them understand new laws, license requirements and restrictions that apply to young drivers,” a statement on the city’s Web site states.
The program is sponsored by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s STTOP (Sheriff’s Teen Traffic Offender Program) and will include speakers from the Sheriff’s Department, DMV and insurance companies. For more information, call Kristin Riesgo, Malibu’s recreation supervisor, at 310.456.2489 ext.350.
Broad Beach utility undergounding project begins
The Southern California Edison project to underground utilities at Broad Beach began on Monday. According to the city, “the project will go from Pacific Coast Highway at the westerly end of Broad Beach to approximately Lechusa Point.”
One lane of traffic will be open at all times, but city officials say delays should be expected. The project should be completed before the end of the year.
Malibu Stage ready for a ‘Wild Party’
“The Wild Party” opens on Oct. 29 at Malibu Stage Co. for a six-week run. This musical is intended for mature audiences.
Based on Joseph Moncure March’s popular 1928 epic poem of the same name, “The Wild Party” features characters Queenie and Burrs, a passionate pair of 1920s vaudevillians. They throw a party to put some fire back into their relationship, inviting a prizefighter, a lesbian stripper, a couple of theater producers, the flamboyant and incestuous d’Armano brothers, and other sordid creatures of the night. Fueled by prohibition booze, cocaine and mad dancing, ‘The Wild Party’ conveys the reckless lifestyle that propels Queenie and her party guests to the brink of the 1929 economic collapse and the Great Depression that would change the United States forever.
Directed by Julia Holland and choreographed by Natalie Rubenstein, “The Wild Party” features Malibu residents Lenny Goldsmith, Oscar Best, Pam VanIerland and Rick Johnson. It also stars Brett Glazer as “Burrs,” Krista Sutton as “Queenie,” Charlene Closshey, Brent Moon, Danni Katz, Susan Kohler, Zack DiLiberto, Bonnie Frank, Leslie Beauvais, Danny DeLloyd and Wallace Demarria.
The Malibu Stage Co. is located at 29243 Pacific Coast Highway. The play will run through Dec. 5 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. Tickets are $35. To purchase, call the box office at 310.589.1998 or go to www.brownpapertickets.com.