Mel Gibson pleads no contest to DUI
Actor/director Mel Gibson, through his attorney, pleaded no contest last Thursday to misdemeanor drunken driving in exchange for a three-year probation sentence. As part of the plea agreement, the charges of driving with an elevated blood-alcohol level and having an open container of alcohol in the car were dropped.
Gibson’s attorney entered the plea before Malibu Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira and Deputy District Attorney Gina Satriano. Gibson did not appear in court. Under the terms of the agreement, Mira ordered Gibson to attend AA meetings five times a week for four and a half months and three meetings per week for an additional seven and a half months. He also must enroll in an alcohol abuse program for three months, was fined $1,300 and his license was restricted for 90 days by the DMV.
“This was an appropriate outcome which addresses all the public safety concerns of drinking and driving,” said Satriano in a press release issued by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
According to the press release, Gibson volunteered to do a public service announcement on the hazards of drinking and driving.
Boy dies in drowning
A 5-year-old boy died Sunday after drowning in a pond behind his house in unincorporated Malibu at Vera Canyon Road near Kanan Dume Road. According to Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s officials, the boy had been floating on an inflatable raft when he fell in the pond about 5 p.m. The boy was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center, according to Sheriff’s officials, and was pronounced dead shortly before 7 p.m.
Ferrari driver to have two trials
A judge last Friday granted the request by the lawyers of Stefan Eriksson, the Swedish man who allegedly crashed a Ferrari Enzo on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu while traveling at more than 160 mph in February, for their client to get two separate trials. Eriksson’s lawyers had argued that the illegal gun possession charge the Swede faces should be tried separately because it is not connected to the other charges, which include embezzlement, grand theft and drunken driving.
A status conference will take place on Sept. 13, at which time trial dates are expected to be set.
Chili Cook-Off celebrates silver anniversary
The 25th annual Chili Cook-Off comes to Malibu on Sept. 1 and lasts through Sept. 4. The actual cook-off contest will take place on Sept. 2 and 3. The festivities include games, prizes, rides for the kids, food, vendors and music on Sept. 2 and 3.
The festivities will take place at the Chili Cook-Off site on Pacific Coast Highway between Webb Way and Cross Creek Road from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sept. 1, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sept. 2, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sept. 3 and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 4. Admission is $10 with proceeds going to the Malibu Kiwanis. For more information, call 805.404.0615.
Santa Monica High appoints new principal
Dr. Hugo A. Pedroza has been offered a contract to become Santa Monica High School’s new principal. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education will vote on his appointment at the Aug. 31 meeting. Pedroza, who currently heads Manual Arts High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District, will replace Ilene Strauss at the Santa Monica High post. Strauss left the school earlier this year to take a job on the district staff.
Pepperdine named ‘most beautiful campus’
The 2007 edition of the Princeton Review’s “Best 361 Colleges,” which went on sale this week, named Pepperdine University as having the most beautiful campus in the country. The Malibu school also received the honor in the 2006 edition of the book. The book contains the top colleges and universities in many other categories. The rankings are based on a survey of 115,000 students at 361 schools.
Santa Monica Pier Aquarium will close in Sept., Oct.
The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium will be closed from Sept. 5 until Oct. 31 for a roof reconstruction project. The project is being funded by the city of Santa Monica and a portion of Heal the Bay’s Coastal Conservancy grant. For more information, go to www.healthebay.org/smpa.
-Jonathan Friedman and Heather Laird