As some of you may know by now, I’m leaving The Malibu Times after nearly four years as a freelancer, staff writer and finally editor to pursue a graduate degree in journalism. This will be my last issue with the Times.
Melissa Caskey, our staff writer of two years, takes the reigns full-time as managing editor this week. For those who don’t know Melissa, she’s smart, organized and really skilled at both online and print initiatives, and I think you’ll see the paper get even better in the coming months as the transition is completed.
I arrived in Malibu about four years ago from Arkansas, fresh off the boat, so to speak. Though I had an English degree from college, I’d never written for a newspaper before, and while house-sitting for a relative I lucked into a full-time gig with the Times when Jonathan Friedman left to start Malibu Patch.
The intervening years have been a period of both personal and certainly professional growth. Hell, I actually found a profession, which before was lacking.
Along the way I was fortunate to work with some great people, especially Melissa and our publisher, Arnold York. I’ve learned much from Arnold, whose great gift is an incredibly agile mind that allows him to look at an issue from what seems like 10 different perspectives, or provide insight into the inner workings of bureaucracies.
A common piece of advice to young journalists is to work at a small community paper. Yet, I can’t say there is another small community quite like Malibu. Despite some serious brainstorming, I haven’t been able to come up with another community that counts among its 13,000 residents surfers sleeping in vans as well as celebrities and titans of industry.
For a native of Conway, Ark., it’s been quite an education, the central lesson of which seems to be this: Don’t judge a book by its cover. That guy in the raggedy clothes in the supermarket might be a bum, or he might be Nick Nolte.
After several years of covering this city’s civic and political arena, it’s my opinion that Malibu has some of the most informed and educated citizens out there. I think the city’s leaders are on the whole very capable, smart and generous of time. I do believe that some on the City Council could listen more earnestly to the concerns of their constituents.
I say that because it seems to me that the next three or four years are going to be very important and eventful in Malibu. There is a movement to create an independent local school district, a sewage treatment system to be built in the Civic Center and a plan to rebuild Water District 29’s outdated water system that could cost Malibu and Topanga residents $250 million over 30 years.
Perhaps the hottest topic now is the fierce debate over development in Malibu. Much of it boils down to community feel, and whether local merchants have options to rent commercial space at an affordable rate. Whether or not a formula retail ordinance is the correct response to that concern is up for debate, but it’s clear that a significant portion of Malibu residents is upset that rents are pricing out beloved stores catering to locals.
I think there’s a lot of validity to those concerns. As a non-native, the most constant refrain I’ve heard since arriving in Malibu is “it’s not like it used to be.” People complain about the traffic, about development, the loss of big, open beaches and no longer recognizing every car in town.
But then, in my experience, many of those who complain about the loss of “the old Malibu” are also the ones complaining about conspiracies at City Hall, and insurmountable local election numbers.
I’d encourage those who feel strongly about the future of Malibu to get involved in the civic and political process by volunteering on city committees and getting organized to turn their priorities into action.
Thanks for all the memories, and in the words of the Irish Blessing, may the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back.