Diesel, A Bookstore, to reopen in Malibu
Diesel, A Bookstore has signed a lease for a new location in the Malibu Country Mart shopping center, owner John Evans confirmed. The bookstore is expected to open in mid to late October.
The bookstore closed its previous location in Malibu Village on Cross Creek Road in February after nearly seven years of operation. Its Brentwood location remains open.
Abandoned boat, 250 lbs. of marijuana found at Leo Carrillo
Another abandoned smuggling boat was found last Thursday morning just north of Leo Carrillo State Beach, along with at least 250 pounds of marijuana, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said. State Parks rangers discovered the boat at approximately 7:30 a.m. near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Deer Creek Road, just outside the Malibu city limits.
Upon discovery of the boat near a stairwell, authorities found more than a dozen large containers of gasoline and burlap bags packed with marijuana strewn across the beach, Sheriff’s Captain Mike Aranda of Ventura told The Malibu Times.
“We thought it was a rescue operation until we noticed the containers with gasoline and marijuana,” Aranda said.
It is the second time in a week an open-air boat used for smuggling, called a “panga” boat, has been found abandoned on Leo Carrillo State Beach.
On Aug. 26, 10 illegal immigrants were arrested near the beach after their boat was discovered abandoned on the beach.
Mountain lion killed trying to cross freeway
A 15-month-old mountain lion was hit and killed early Tuesday morning while attempting to cross I-405 just south of the Getty Center on-ramp, a National Parks Service press release stated.
The mountain lion had been tracked since it was three weeks old as part of a decade-long NPS mountain lion study in the Santa Monica Mountains. Named P-18, the mountain lion departed from his mother’s home range in Malibu Creek State Park earlier this summer and slowly began making his way east through the mountains, the press release states.
It is possible the mountain lion was seeking open space, as there are currently two other male mountain lions with GPS collars in the Santa Monica Mountains. Previous mountain lion tracking has shown that individual male mountain lions frequently move throughout the entire Santa Monica Mountain range, from the 405 to Camarillo.
A total of 21 mountain lions have been tracked via radio telemetry and GPS collars since the NPS monitoring program began in 2002, the press release states. The study has shown that freeways restrict wildlife movement within the mountains. Only one mountain lion, P-12, has successfully crossed a freeway since the NPS began monitoring mountain lion movement, when he crossed highway 101 in early 2009. He has lived in the Santa Monica Mountains ever since. P-12 is the father of P-18, the mountain lion that was killed Tuesday.
Parks officials say the restrictions in movement have resulted in inbreeding among the mountain lion population, which threatens the long-term survival of the species in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Great white shark caught off Malibu coast
A great white shark was caught near Malibu Aug. 18 and held off the coast by researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Project White Shark, the aquarium’s public relations manager Karen Jeffries said. The shark was placed in the aquarium’s million-gallon Open Sea exhibit Aug. 31.
Jeffries said the shark was less than one year old. The male shark is four feet, seven inches long and weighs 43.2 pounds.
The shark is the sixth to be collected by the aquarium. The previous five sharks stayed with the aquarium for varying periods of time, from 11 days to six and a half months, and were all released back into the wild.
The aquarium floats a four million-gallon mesh pen off the coast of Paradise Cove in Malibu every year as part of Project White Shark. The project, implemented in 2002, researches and exhibits great white sharks caught off the coast of California. More information on the project can be obtained by visiting www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/whiteshark.aspx.
L.A. Sparks’ Candace Parker to teach basketball clinic
Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker will teach a free basketball clinic in Malibu Sept. 11, according to a press release from the City of Malibu.
The WNBA first-draft pick will help athletes improve their skills and develop their talent through practice drills and teaching the fundamentals of the game. The drills are intended to emphasize proper ball handing, defensive movement and shooting techniques.
Parker was named a WNBA MVP and WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2008. She also earned a gold medal at the summer Olympics in Beijing. The same year, she led the WNBA in rebounds and double doubles.
The basketball clinic will take place Sept. 11, at the Malibu High School gym, 30215 Morning View Dr., at 2 p.m. More information can be obtained by calling 310.317.1364.
Free wireless at Malibu Bluffs Park
The City of Malibu is now providing free wireless Internet access for the public at Malibu Bluffs Park, according to a press release from the city.
“The City is pleased to offer wireless Internet access at no cost to visitors of Bluffs Park,” Mayor John Sibert said in the release. “The Internet has become a basic necessity for many, who can now access it at Bluffs Park for recreational enjoyment or in the case of an emergency. This amenity illustrates the City’s commitment to maintaining its values of nature and modernity.”
Bluffs Park is the first city-owned park at which free wireless Internet has been implemented. The city is currently investigating the possibility of installing wireless Internet services at Trancas Park and Charmlee Park in the near future.
SMMUSD gains in performance, misses mark on yearly progress
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District gained in the Academic Performance Index (API), but did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in State Superintendent Tom Torlakson’s comprehensive Accountability Progress Report for 2011, according to a press release from the SMMUSD. Torlakson’s report is intended to encompass “both state and federal accountability metrics for monitoring student achievement.” Malibu High School gained the most points on the API of any school in the district.
The district’s state API gained 11 points over the course of last year, and now stands at an all-time high of 855 points. The state’s achievement target is 800, which the district passed in 2005.
All of SMMUSD’s schools, except Olympic High School, which uses an alternative system, have passed the state’s 800-point mark on California’s API report.
Malibu High School had the greatest gains last year, jumping 27 points.
“Students in both middle and high school programs showed gains in English, science, history and mathematics,” MHS principal Mark Kelly said. “Our students deserve credit for taking the exams seriously and doing their best. It is what we ask of them and they give us their all. I am most proud of our teachers who worked hard looking at the data from previous years and strengthening their focus on specific areas in their classrooms.”
However, the SMMUSD missed the mark in the Adequate Yearly Progress category.
“Under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools and districts that receive federal Title I funding are held accountable for meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP),” the release explains. “The AYP accountability model differs substantially from the state’s system.”
The federal AYP has a more narrow focus and is based on scores in only English and math. Students are counted as either “proficient” or “not proficient” and the model does not reflect increases in the percentage of students who move between levels.
Proficiency levels are measured against an Annual Measurable Objective (AMO). The AMO for last year was 67 percent. The district posted a 75.9 proficiency in English and a 71.4 percent in math. However, because the achievement rates for certain groups of students (students’ scores are separated into groups based on their race, ethnicity, economic status and learning ability) were lower, the district did not make the adequate yearly process.
More information can be obtained by visiting www.smmusd.org.
Coast guard, locals save capsized boat from big surf
Bob Farrell, of local health food store Pacific Coast Greens, along with the local coast guard, saved a capsized boat from large waves Sept. 1.
The boat broke loose from its anchor on the beach near Moonshadows restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway last week. It was carried along the beach and tossed around before being pushed to shore by the waves. Farrell then began trying to keep the boat ashore before it was capsized by the surf. The coast guard soon arrived, retrieved the boat and towed it to the local marina.