A controversial 45 foot high metal phallic sculpture is being taken apart at Paradise Cove.
The New York Times parachutes into Malibu … and gets the story wrong.
The name Malibu has a certain cachet … and now that cachet will be used to sell a sweet flavored beer.
This is Malibu’s only local daily news.
It’s the (((( time ))) edition of the ((( day ))) news … from Radio Malibu …. 97 point 5 K B U.
Good morning, Bunny Lane.
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Big Clay Number 7 is being disassembled.
The controversial 45-foot high aluminum sculpture was erected above Paradise Cove .. on PCH across from Winding Way.
A homeowner … Bill and Maria Bell … had put in the metal sculpture without a city permit.
Neighbors complained.
It violated the 28 foot height limit.
It blocked views of the ocean from P C H.
One city council member said the artwork’s case was not helped by the fact it looked like a big metal phallic symbol.
The Bells refused over and over again to comply wth city requests to take down the statue.
The matter was referred to the city’s criminal prosecutors.
They were close to filing charges … until the Bells relented and took the sculpture down.
Malibu planning commissioner John Mazza says “It is sad that, for the lack of proper municipal codes, Malibu is unable to be hospitable to world class art.”
Mazza tells KBUU News that Malibu … quoting again … “ has been self categorized as a provincial backwater in the art world.
“Shame on us” says Mazza.
Score one for the philistines …. says other neighbors.
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While we were on vacation last week … a major issue about the fumigation of a Malibu school by the Santa Monica Malibu school administrators roiled the waters.
The Malibu Times covered the story … about how parents at Webster Elementary were able to stave off the use of poison gas there.
The district has been planning to tent the school to kill termites … but parent activists claim the gas to be used can last as residue for weeks … and cause problems for kids with compromised autoimmune systems.
The district … at the last minute … agreed to see if a less-harmful termite treatment can be used.
Something like heat treatments … or orange oil … both proven termite treatment methods.
Santa Monica school superintendent Ben Drati agreed to cancel the fumigation and explore the alternate methods .
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And that brings us to the next story ….
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For the second time in a week … a major newspaper has parachuted into Malibu to examine a local story …
And while the Sunday New York Times front page article about Malibu’s quest for an independent school district.
For the most part … it was error free …. but it also completed missed the point.
Thus … it got the news wrong.
On the front page of the Sunday national edition …. the New York paper wrote an article about the move by Malibu residents to break away from the Santa Monica controlled school district.
The issues of local control …. not mentioned.
The New York Times framed the entire issue around the gift tax issue.
Correctly … it reported that many Malibu parents are unhappy with a school district policy that requires centralized district fundraising …. so that poor schools in Santa Monica share donations to wealthier schools in Malibu.
But the New York Times erred in major ways … made errors so egregious as to cast the entire story on doubt.
For example … story did not mention at all the abject failure of the Santa Monica dominated school bureaucracy to address issues in Malibu… such as Malibu principals being unable to supervise janitors … but having to go through Santa Monica to get bathrooms cleaned.
Also left out: the issue of local control … local determination … and the fact that Malibu has a long lost of legitimate reasons to say the current situation is a fiasco.
In a week that Malibu parents narrowly averted the use of poisonous gas to fumigate a school … when less dangerous methods were once again ignored … it seems incredible that the New York Times could be so tone deaf.
An entire story was based on the premise that giving from parents should be spread within school district lines … but that premise did not address the underlying fact that California school district lines were not drawn to be fair either.
Beverly Hills does not include West Adams.
We recommend that you read the New York Times article … we’ve posted a link to it on the KBU Newswire at the Malibu Times dot com.
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You are listening to the latest news from Radio Malibu … 97.5 K B U. ((( time ))))
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The Malibu City Council this week meets on Wednesday … not Monday .. due to the Jewish holidays.
On the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting is the proposed change in city zoning rules …. which would allow the Malibu Beach Inn to build a swimming pool in its parking lot and park its cars across and down P C H a bit.
The ordinance would allow any hotel in Malibu to apply for such a permit.
Zoning commissioners had real problems with that concept … and asked a whole bunch of questions like “how will this affect traffic on P C H.”
City staff say it’s impossible to predict the overall traffic impact … and said it would ahve to be done on a case by case basis.
Staff took the ordinance directly to the city council.
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Oh joy
the name “Malibu” has been appropriated by Chevrolet … a boat company … an airplane factory and nightclubs around the world.
Now … the company behind the cheap sugary rum sold to youngsters around the world … Malibu rum …. is expanding its brand.
Malibu beer is coming to the U-S.
And no … Malibu is not getting anything out of it … the city’s efforts to win money by licensing our name have as fallen flat as stale beer.
Malibu Beer is described as a golden lager that aims to “redefine the summer beer landscape” with a light natural coconut taste.
According to the press release, years of extensive research led the team to make the move to expand Malibu offerings beyond rum.
“Research confirmed that a beer that embodies the flavor and fun personality traits of the Malibu brand is an innovative concept that appeals to the U.S. beer consumer,” says Justin Fisch, vice president at United States Beverage.
Malibu beer will start rolling out on May 1 in markets where teenagers love to drink sweet liquor … including Miami … Fort Lauderdale … Ann Arbor and Lansing … and San Diego.
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Traffic …
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Weather for the Malibu ….
It will be (((( sunny windy and 67 )))) degrees today on the beach … (((( 76 )))) inland.
Winds will be gusty.
Downcoast winds will be ((( 25 )))) miles per hour this afternoon.
Sunset tonight is at (((( 7:20 )))).
After that … expect it to be ((( cloudy and windy )))) tonight … a low of (((( 53 )))) on the beach … down to (((( 48 )))) in the canyons.
Tomorrow should see (((( patchy fog in the morning … then a little cooler )))).
At 9 A-M … it’s (((( 56 )))) at Trancas.
(((( 57 )))) in upper Malibu Canyon.
And it’s (((( 59 ))) at Civic center Los Angeles.
In the ocean … it’s (((( 56 )))) degrees in the water at Zuma Beach.
The lifeguards say the waves today are (((( 2 to 3 )))) feet high ….
(((( Lingering WNW swell-mix.
SSW swell builds further.
Deep AM high tide. ))))
Those are (((( fair )))) surfing conditions …. according to the lifeguards.
((((( High tide will be 4 point 6 feet at 9:54 AM.
Low tide is at 3:53 PM .
A 5 foot high tide returns at 10:05 tonight. ))))
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Our KBU Newswire is posted at midmorning at the Malibu Times dot com.
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We post breaking stories … on Facebook … search for Radio Malibu.
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Navigate to k-b-u dot f-m. … press two buttons …. and we’re in your ear anywhere in the world.