Meeting to address spending of Measure S funds
The first meeting of the Malibu Public Facilities Authority will take place on April 13. The authority is composed of representatives from the Malibu City Council and Santa Monica College, and is overseeing the use of the $25 million generated from the November passage of Measure S. That money is supposed to be used to purchase land and build an education facility and possibly ball fields. At the meeting, the authority will discuss potential sites for the facility. The meeting will take place at City Hall at 6:30 p.m.
Mussel quarantine to take effect
The annual state quarantine on sport-harvested mussels taken from the ocean waters of California for human consumption will take effect May 1 and continue through Oct. 31. This quarantine affects all species of mussels taken by the public anywhere on the California coast, including all bays and estuaries.
“This statewide mussel quarantine is intended to prevent paralytic shellfish poisoning and domoic acid poisoning,” California Public Health Officer Dr. Richard J. Jackson said in a press release. “The overwhelming majority of human cases of PSP illnesses occur between spring and fall. To date, no cases of human poisoning from domoic acid poisoning are known to have occurred in California.”
PSP affects the human central nervous system, producing a tingling around the mouth and fingertips within a few minutes to a few hours after eating toxic shellfish. These symptoms typically are followed by disturbed balance, lack of muscular coordination, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. In severe poisonings, complete muscular paralysis and death from asphyxiation can occur.
Symptoms of DAP can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood. In mild cases, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness. These symptoms disappear completely within several days. In severe cases, the victim may experience excessive bronchial secretions, difficulty breathing, confusion, disorientation, cardiovascular instability, seizures, permanent loss of short-term memory, coma and death.
“There is no known antidote to the toxins and cooking cannot be relied upon to destroy them,” Jackson said. “If you have any of the symptoms, you should seek immediate medical care.”
Consumers of sport-harvested, bivalve (two-shelled) clams or scallops are advised to eat only the white meat, removing and discarding the dark-colored organs or viscera before cooking. Shellfish for human consumption should only be taken from areas free of sewage or chemical contamination during all times of the year.
No commercially harvested shellfish are included in the annual quarantine. All commercial shellfish harvesters in California are certified by the state and subject to strict requirements to ensure that all oysters, clams and mussels entering the marketplace are free of toxins. Commercial harvesting is stopped immediately if potentially dangerous levels of toxins are found.
The California Department of Health Services’ (CDHS) shellfish sampling and testing program for PSP and DAP issues warnings or establishes special quarantines when needed. Local health departments, various state and federal agencies, and others participate in the monitoring program.
For updated information on quarantines and shellfish toxins, call the CDHS shellfish information line at 510.412.4643 or 1.800.553.4133.
Program to combat unsafe driving
California Highway Patrol officials and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky will introduce a new program to confront unsafe driving called Operation Safe Canyons at a conference on Thursday. According to CHP officials, the program will focus on increasing traffic safety by using what they called Designated Enforcement Teams in order to address the issue of illegal racing and other unsafe driving practices on the various canyon roads in the Santa Monica Mountains. The conference begins at 10 a.m. at a view site on Mulholland Highway, a half-mile east of Kanan Dume Road.