Tornado, flood advisories issued for coast
The National Weather Service this week Tuesday issued tornado and flood warnings for the coastal areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
The warnings are a result of a powerful frontal storm system that hit Southwestern California that same day, according to the NWS. Strong thunderstorms were also predicted.
The storm system was predicted to bring heavy rain and scattered thunderstorms throughout Tuesday night, due to moist and unstable air that could possible linger after the front moves through the region, the NWS stated on its Web site.
Some of the thunderstorms may produce small hail and gusts of wind more than 50 mph, as well as torrential downpours. The atmospheric conditions could produce isolated, weak tornadoes, which could either form over land or move ashore after forming as waterspouts.
A coastal flood watch was also in effect from Tuesday night through late Wednesday for all west-facing beaches of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. High surf conditions, with waves predicted as high as 15 to 20 feet on Wednesday and Thursday, are also expected through Friday for all west -facing beaches. The NWS in Oxnard and Los Angeles issued a high surf advisory, in effect from Tuesday night through Friday morning.
The NWS urges Southern California residents to stay tuned for latest information on weather alerts and warnings. Warnings will be updated at www.malibutimes.com, or at weather.gov/losangeles.
Mitrice Richardson?s family files claim against county
The family of a 24-year-old woman who mysteriously vanished after walking out of the Lost Hills sheriff?s station nearly four months ago has filed a multi million dollar claim against the county, according to a Jan. 14 report by KTLA news.
The claim, filed last week, alleges that sheriff?s department personnel acted negligently in releasing Mitrice Richardson from custody Sept. 17.
Attorney Leo Terrell took the action on behalf of Richardson?s mother, Latice Sutton; her father, Michael Richardson; the missing woman and her estate. Terrell plans to follow the claim with a lawsuit, according to the Los Angeles Times.
At least three searches for Richardson in Malibu have turned up empty.
The mystery began on Sept. 16 when the Cal State Fullerton graduate went to Geoffrey?s restaurant in Malibu. She ordered a drink and a steak dinner. When the $89 bill came, she said she had no money. She told restaurant employees she was from Mars and spoke to them in a made-up language, the report states.
Her odd behavior and failure to pay for a steak and a drink prompted restaurant staff to call deputies.
Sheriff?s officials say they also found a small amount of marijuana in her car, and Richardson, who passed a sobriety test, was booked at the sheriff?s station for failing to pay her bill. She was released about 1:25 a.m. the next morning, according to the sheriff?s department.
Her 1990 Honda Civic was impounded, and she walked away from the station with no purse or cell phone. The Sheriff?s Department has come under fire for not holding her for a psychological evaluation. The department has said Richardson appeared rational and felt it had a legal obligation to release her in a timely manner.
Council to vote on Trancas Market appeal
If it follows its staff?s recommendation, Malibu City Council at its upcoming Monday night meeting will vote to deny an appeal filed by the Malibu West Homeowners Association against the planning commission?s approval of the Trancas Country Market expansion plan.
The planning commission in August approved a 25,728 square-foot addition to the existing commercial shopping center located at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Trancas Canyon Road.
The project was granted a permit request for grading variances and mandatory yard setbacks. The development plan also includes a joint use agreement for parking between parcels and a minor modification to reduce the required front yard setback. But the homeowners association insists that the project plan needs an environmental impact report because the development could negatively impact Trancas Creek.
Stefanie Edmondson, the city?s principal planner, said in a prior interview with The Malibu Times that an ?extensive environmental analysis? has been conducted for potential impacts of the proposed development. She explained that an EIR is written only if environmental impacts from an initial study cannot be mitigated. As of yet, the proposed development?s mitigated negative declaration states that no such impacts exist.
However, the Malibu West HOA says the study fails to address the egress and ingress of new traffic created by the development, and the traffic?s impact on surrounding intersections.
Motion to dismiss continued for two Corral Fire defendants
Two of the four defendants accused of starting the 2007 Corral Canyon Fire appeared in Van Nuys Superior Court last week Thursday seeking a motion to dismiss. However, the motion was continued to Feb. 25, when all four defendants are scheduled to attend a pretrial conference, the DA?s office confirmed Monday.
The Corral Fire started after a number of individuals built an illegal campfire in a cave on state parkland at the top of Corral Canyon on Nov. 24, 2007. Embers from the fire sparked flames on the dry hillsides, which were fueled by roaring Santa Ana winds. Detectives found at the scene alcohol containers, food wrappers and bundled fire logs, which they were able to trace to the five men originally held accountable.
William Thomas Coppock, 25, Brian Alan Anderson, 24, Eric Matthew Ullman, 20, and Dean Allen Lavorante, 21, were each charged with felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury and recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure. Prosecutors allege the blaze was started ?during and within an area of a state of emergency.? Coppock and Anderson are seeking a motion to dismiss the case.
Defendant Brian David Franks, 29, in 2008 agreed to a plea bargain in which he was sentenced to five years probation and 300 hours community service for his involvement with the fire.
The Corral Fire burned a total of 4,900 acres and destroyed 53 homes, while damaging 37 others.
Enviro group rejects development plans by U2?s The Edge
The Sierra Club?s Santa Monica Mountains Task Force on Jan. 11 voted 6-0 against a proposed plan to build five homes in the hills above Serra Retreat.
The task force cited potential wildfire hazards and habitat destruction in voting unanimously against the ?Leaves In The Wind? project, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
The project calls for five homes in unincorporated county land just outside Malibu city limits, and has received international media attention because one of the partners in the ownership is David Evans, known to music fans as U2 guitarist The Edge.
The project was scheduled for discussion by the Coastal Commission last week, but the item was removed from the meeting agenda.
A proposed 1,600-foot long private road that will connect the City of Malibu to the development is not up for Coastal Commission consideration. The Malibu City Council in January 2009 chose to delay a vote on that road until the Coastal Commission rules on the homes.
Court dismisses lawsuit against city
Citing lack of legal sufficiency, the Los Angeles Superior Court on Jan. 7 dismissed all allegations filed by Hans Laetz against the City of Malibu.
Laetz unsuccessfully challenged the city Planning Commission?s decision to conditionally approve the Trancas Country Market project. In its dismissal of the claim, the court rejected Laetz?s assertion that he should be excused from the usual requirement to ?exhaust administrative remedies? by filing an appeal, a city report states.
?We are pleased with the dismissal of this unwarranted case against the City of Malibu,? Mayor Sharon Barovsky said in a written statement. ?The staff and planning commissioners followed all of the procedures to the letter of the law.?
The lawsuit, filed in August 2009, alleged three causes of action, including violations of the California Environmental Quality Act, the Coastal Act and the Public Records Act. The court agreed with the city?s request for a demurrer and the lawsuit, which also included claims against the city attorney and planning commissioners.
Minivan lurches 300 feet down Malibu Canyon
A female driver was hospitalized Jan. 17 after her minivan careened off Malibu Canyon Road, ending up about 300 feet down an embankment, according to a report by Southern California Public Radio.
The minivan was headed south near the tunnel when the accident occurred late Saturday night, a California Highway Patrol dispatcher said in the report.
The 44-year-old driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition, with neck injuries, witnesses reported.
Leland Tang, public information officer for the California Highway Patrol, was not available Tuesday to release information including the driver?s name and the cause of the accident. CHP officials told The Malibu Times he is the only person authorized to do so.
Los Angeles County Fire personnel and a sheriff?s search-and-rescue team descended the canyon to free the injured woman, the report states.
?The victim was stabilized at the scene and then she was transported to the hospital,?? a dispatcher said in the report.
Witnesses told a news crew that the van just ?drove off the side of the road.??
The cause of the accident, as of Sunday, was under investigation.
?Olivia Damavandi