Supermarkets across Malibu last week had one of their most precious offerings taken, as an estimated 1,200 copies of the May 21 edition of The Malibu Times were swiped from newsstands outside Ralphs, Pavillions and Vintage Grocers on Thursday mid-day.
The theft has those at the newspaper, whose office on Las Flores Canyon in Eastern Malibu has churned out a weekly community-serving newspaper since 1946, scratching their heads.
Publisher Arnold York, who with his wife Karen has owned the paper for 28 years, said it’s yet unclear what motivation a thief would have for stealing so many copies of the broadsheet paper.
“As of right now, we don’t know who did it or why, but we filed a sheriff’s report, and a sheriff’s deputy is investigating, talking to people,” York said.
According to York, the paper is mailed to approximately 5,000 residences, and another 6,000 papers are dropped at roughly 75 locations throughout the City.
Preliminary information indicates papers were primarily stolen from three locations: Ralph’s in Eastern Malibu, Pavillions on Point Dume and Vintage Market in Trancas. These three locations account for a large portion of the papers distributed for pickup in Malibu, but a restocking on Saturday ensured customers still had an opportunity to read the paper, which is also available at malibutimes.com.
“The blatant way it was done – in daytime – would lead me to sort of conclude somebody just didn’t like something that was written in the paper and decided to exercise what he thought was his right to take all the papers,” York said. “It’s not so, and what he did was criminal.”
Clerks at Ralphs reported a customer mentioned seeing the papers being taken away at about noon on Thursday, though they assumed it was a Malibu Times employee changing stock. Later, around 2 p.m., an individual was seen going into Vintage Grocers and leaving with an armful of papers.
As for what’s to be done, York joked, “We’re now watching our racks very carefully.”
What’s now a bit of a joke could turn serious if the incident is repeated.
“We’re hoping this is just an isolated incident of somebody who didn’t realize it’s a crime to do that,” York said. “However, if it happens again, we will take much more aggressive [action].”
The Malibu Times is asking anyone with information to call Managing Editor Sarah Shmerling at 310.456.5507 ext. 109.
“It’s not fair to the readers, it’s not fair to the advertisers and it’s not fair to us,” York said. “It’s nasty, and it’s very un-Malibu.”