Schools to vote on budget Friday
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is scheduled to vote Friday on its budget for the next fiscal school year.
Next court date set for Point Dume rape suspect
The man who allegedly attempted to rape a woman who was jogging at Point Dume Preserve State Park in March will appear at Van Nuys Superior Court June 22 for a pretrial conference. The 35-year-old victim was jogging in Point Dume Preserve State Park on March 12. At the conclusion of her run she walked to the edge of a cliff and was then allegedly grabbed from behind by Christian Marcus Verdin, who, she told authorities, attempted to sexually assault her. The victim struggled and was able to break free; she jumped and slid approximately 150 feet down the cliff. A local resident who lives in the area said he talked to several witnesses who heard the woman’s cries and went to her aid.
The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment. She suffered abrasions and bruises, predominantly from the fall down the face of the cliff.
On March 30, Malibu/Lost Hills Station detectives received notification that the Los Angeles County Crime Lab had identified a suspect in the attack. DNA samples from the crime scene revealed a match to Verdin, who was on parole for a burglary committed in 2008. He was arrested April 2.
Verdin was charged April 6 at Van Nuys Superior Court with attempt to commit rape, robbery, grand theft auto and assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
Homicide suspect appears in court
A suspect in the April 3 death of 13-year-old Malibu resident Emily Rose Shane appeared at the Airport Branch Courthouse in Los Angeles June 15 for a preliminary hearing.
Sina Khankhanian, 26, of Winnetka, has plead not guilty in connection with Shane’s death. Judge Keith L. Schwartz ordered Khankhanian jailed on the $3 million bail recommended by the prosecution. The prosecution alleges he used a deadly weapon, an automobile, to commit the crime, according to a press release by the Los Angeles County District Attorney.
Detectives said Shane was walking home from a friend’s house along the 29000 block of Pacific Coast Highway near Heathercliff Road when Khankhanian, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer, hit her. Investigators believe Khankhanian may have intentionally crashed his car, but they do not believe he intended to hit her.
The investigation, which has been assigned to homicide detectives, is ongoing.
City Council backs state’s single-use bag ban
Malibu, the first city in the nation to adopt and implement a comprehensive ban on the distribution of plastic grocery bags, declared its support Monday for AB 1998, the measure that would make California the first state in the nation to prohibit stores from handing out single-use plastic bags for customers.
The Malibu City Council voted unanimously Monday night to endorse the bill proposed by Assembly member Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, which seeks to reduce waste and protect marine wildlife by shifting consumers to reusable bags. Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, AB 1998 would require shoppers to bring their own bags or purchase paper bags made of recyclable materials at a price of at least five cents for each bag.
“Malibu led the way in banning the distribution of pollution-causing plastic bags two years ago,” Mayor Jefferson Wagner said in a press release “The city’s ordinance has significantly reduced litter and the threat to marine wildlife from plastic bags that end up in the ocean where they’re mistaken for food and consumed.”
Opposing the bill, the American Chemistry Council in Arlington, Va., supported plastic bag recycling programs instead of an outright ban, and argued that the proposed ban threatens the jobs of 500 employees in California and could put two Los Angeles area plastic bag manufacturers out of business.
“The last thing Californians need is something that acts just like a $1 billion tax added to their grocery bills. But that’s what this legislation does,” Tim Shestek, the Sacramento-based senior director of state affairs for ACC, , said in a written statement.
Pepperdine students conduct food drive
A team of seven Pepperdine University undergraduate students have partnered with a local homeless organization to conduct a food drive.
Robert Emrich, Ryan Dean, Shelby Doyle, Chris Gertz, Kimberly Schroeder, Courtney Wilkes and Amy Wunderlich in a written statement said they were challenged to take on a project to supplement their Organizational Behavior course, and were drawn to mission of S.O.S.
“We chose a service project that would enhance our capabilities as team members,” the group wrote in a statement. “We wanted a project that is held close to our hearts and our community, and the organization S.O.S. was first to come to mind.”
S.O.S. Ministries provides emergency services, advocacy, mentoring and a sense of community for homeless individuals living in Malibu. S.O.S. stands for “Standing on Stone,” a line from a poem composed by a local homeless man about his own healing process.
S.O.S. provides weekly meals for those who are hungry. In order to support their mission work, the team has decided to run “Pepperdine’s Summer Can Food Drive.”
The group will be collecting food left at donation sites June 24 after 5 p.m. The easiest site for off-campus visitors to access is located in the lobby of the Thornton Administrative Center at the corner Banowsky Boulevard and Seaver Drive on Pepperdine’s campus.
Customs finds dangerous flies in the mail
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists intercepted fruit flies in mail parcels at the International Mail Facility, according to a recent press release from the Department of Homeland Security.
CBP agriculture specialists on June 4, while inspecting a parcel described as dry food from Mexico, discovered fresh mangos infested with live larvae. This is the second interception of mangos infested with larvae coming from Mexico in less than two weeks, the press release said. The larvae were collected and sent to the USDA entomologist for identification. The USDA entomologist informed CBP that the larvae was actionable, meaning it poses a risk to the U.S. agriculture industry and determined to be Anastrepha sp. (Tephritidae), a type of fruit fly.
Fruit flies have the potential to cause serious damage to fruit and other plant crops. The eradication and quarantine efforts can be extremely costly and have a significant economic impact. The mangos were subsequently destroyed under CBP supervision.
By Stan Parker