-
- A Malibu hotel wants to put in a traffic light on PCH.
- Planning Commissioners have big problems with the expansion across the road.
- A quarter acre brush fire yesterday … quickly put out.
- Edison plans to black out Malibu -appear- to be illegal.
- And cannabis on wheels … coming to a house near you very soon.
It’s the Tuesday news… from Radio Malibu …. 99-point-1 … KBUU News.
Good morning …. I’m Hans Laetz reporting.
Fire Weather Watch Thursday: Winds to 40 MPH
…FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR CANYONS AND HILLS OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY COAST…
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles/Oxnard has issued a Fire Weather Watch for wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from Thursday morning through Friday morning. * Winds…Northeast 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph in the canyons of hills…mainly from Malibu to Hollywood. * Relative Humidity…Lowering to 8 to 15 percent.
1/4 Acre Brushfre Monday Put Out Fast
A quarter acre of brush caught fire in eastern Malibu yesterday.
Smoke was visible from Point Dume to Santa Monica …when the fire broke out at 3:15 in the afternoon.
But the smoke was -not-blowing … indicating no winds.
Two engines quickly reached the fire … about a mile and a half up Rambla Pacifico… north of Hume Road … south of the Las Flores Canyon Road junction.
They found a small fire … burning downhill in moderate brush.
A second alarm was called … prompting the dispatch of nearly 100 firefighters.
But the first two trucks and their 10 firefighters got the fire out quickly.
Malibu Beach Inn Now Wants Its Own PCH Traffic Light
Malibu’s planning commission has some major problems with the proposal for a beachfront hotel … to move its business across P C H to the landslide.
The Malibu Beach Inn wants to build a swimming pool in its parking lot … install a new traffic light on P C H … and then park its cars across the highway.
The city staff says it has not been given enough data about the traffic pattern … and how it will effect P C H.
Last night … planning commissioners said they had never seen a proposal come before them with so many unanswered questions.
Questions about sewage overload … and the 2-story car lifts that would be located across the street from the hotel.
City commissioner Steve Uhring said last night that the hotel’s traffic study … impacting P C H .. was conducted at the wrong time of the year.
NEWSCART 77425 UHRING MALBCHINN :15 QQQQ: THIS TO BE ANOTHER ONE.
“I have no idea how you can do a traffic study in October and December and update that to what’s going on June-July in the summer.
“I mean, we’ve made some terrible decisions on the Planning (Commission) regarding traffic, I don’t want this one to be another.” [[[ END QUOTE ]]]
Commissioner John Mazza says he is troubled that the hotel is operating a restaurant that is open to the general public … when the rule agreed to by the hotel in 2006 was that it would be available to hotel guests only.
There is not enough parking on site to handle restaurant patrons.
NEWSCART 77424 MAZZAMALBCHINN :14
“I was at the first hearing when they got approved, I guess it was 10 12 15 year ago.
“It was very specific that it was for hotel guests only.
And then we find out, they’ve always violated that.” [[[END QUOTE]]]
Planning commissioner Mikke Pierson said it was strange that not one person in Malibu was protesting the hotel’s plans … to in essence spread across the highway and install a traffic light to connect it to its parking lot.
NEWSCART 77426 PIERSONMALBCHINN :07
“I just feel that this is a really difficult project, that landed on us like a giant spaceship, and it’s really hard to absorb.” [[[END QUOTE]]]
The planning director says the issues are so complex with this one … it won’t be until March until the matter can come back before planning commissioners.
City Council To Consider Pot Growing and Delivery Rules
The Malibu city council is set to adopt rules to allow personal cultivation of marijuana in Malibu houses… and greenhouses.
Pot is going to be legal in California after the first of the year.
And the city is planning rules to accommodate the personal cultivation ..;. and delivery of marijuana to private homes in Malibu.
Under the proposed ordinance,… only the city’s two current licensed marijuana retailers would be allowed to deliver pot to your door.
Pot on wheels … goes before the city council tomorrow night.
——
You are listening to the latest news … from Radio Malibu … 99-point-1 … KBUU.
It’s [[[ TIME ]]] .
Just One Problem: Edison Not Allowed To Black Out Malibu
You may have heard that Southern California Edison has a new policy … and announced plans to black out Malibu during last week’s heavy wind storm.
We checked the state laws and the California Public Utilities Commission rules and tariffs.
Southern California Edison simply does -not- have specific state permission to black out an area due to fire danger.
Several years ago … San Diego Gas and Electric asked for and was given permission to turn off circuits in its mountainous areas … when winds there get very strong.
Southern California Edison was a party to that proceeding …. but did not ask permission to do jump thru the same hoops that San Diego Gas and Electric must follow.
A spokeswoman for the California Public Utilities Commission tells KBUU that Edison is relying on language from the San Diego decision … to temporarily switch off the power in Malibu.
But the San Diego decision was for quite different circumstances … it was for isolated ranches in the isolated back country … not a suburban city like Malibu.
SDG and E has an extensive weather network to detect high winds … and only de-energizes lines in isolated… very rural areas.
The bottom line is that state law requires Edison to provide reliable and safe electric service … without causing fires.
It does not say the Edison can achieve safety or reliability standards by blacking out an entire city.
It says they have to build poles that don’t break.
After KBUU News began asking questions about the blackout policy … the CPUC spokeswoman said a staff investigation in progress into the fires would be expanded to review Edison’s pro-active shut-off of power.
We will keep you posted.
Thomas Fire Will Burn Into January
The Thomas Fire will burn into mid January … it appears.
And some firefighters will be working a three-week shift … right through Christmas.
The fire continues to spread north … and west … in the wilderness north of Ojai.
270,000 acres. More than 100,000 people evacuated from their houses
Flames 25 miles away from Malibu.
More than 8,500 firefighters have battled the blaze, the largest mobilization of fire crews to fight any wildfire in California history.
The firefight has cost 130 million dollars.
Santa Monica Pilots Lose Last Gasp Lawsuit
A federal judge has dismissed a last-gasp attempt by airplane owners to block the Santa Monica Airport snip job.
Construction crews are already working to cut the runway from 5 thousand to 35 hundred feet long … which will eliminate most business jet traffic at the closest airport to Malibu.
Claims that the decision violated the California Open Meetings law … of a all things … were tossed by the judge.
Another lawsuit is still winding through the Court of Appeals in Washington.
It also is given slim chances.
Malibu Seawolves Set Records
The Malibu Seawolves swim team had an outstanding showing at the California/ Nevada Speedo swimming sectionals over the weekend.
Kennan Hotchkiss and Alec Wilmovsky both swam 100 percent best times and lead the Seawolves to a 12th place overall finish with just two swimmers.
On Day 1 both Malibu Seawolves swam under the current 1650 Freestyle MSS team record. Hotchkiss finished 4th with a new team record … Wilmovsky finished 6th .
On Day 2 both swimmers swam best times in the 500 Freestyle.
Hotchkiss finished 11th and Wilmovsky finished 13th.
——
The time is [[[ TIME ]]] .
We’ll have the traffic in 65 seconds.
Weather for the Malibu.
Sunny with a high of ((( 65 ))) today on the beach … ((( 71. ))) in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Winds could gust as high as 25 mph over the mountains today..
Sunset tonight is at ((( 4:44. ))).
After that ….
Lows ((( 57 ))) at the beach … with patchy clouds and mountain fog … down to ((( 41 ))) in some canyons.
Tomorrow should be ((( cooler … with a marine layer ))).
Right now … at Trancas it’s ((( 51 ))).
Upper Malibu Canyon … ((( 54. ))).
And at Civic Center Los Angeles ((( ))).
In the ocean … ((( 57 )))) in the water at Trancas Tower 14.
Waves today are ((( 1-3 ))) feet high.
Small WNW swell continues.
Large morning high tide slows things.
Poor to Fair conditions… says the lifeguards. ))).
(((( High tide is 5.8 feet at 8:57 AM.
Low tide is at 4:13 this afternoon.
A piddly second high … tonight at 10:47. )))))
——