No charges filed against Malibu actor
Nearly four months after actor Patrick “Ryan” O’Neal fired what he called a “warning shot” during a physical confrontation with his son, prosecutors announced on Friday that they would not be charging him.
“It’s a tremendous relief for Mr. O’Neal to have this resolved favorably in this manner,” O’Neal’s attorney, Mark Werksman, told the Associated Press last week.
O’Neal, 66, was arrested in the early morning hours of Feb. 3 after firing the gunshot. His spokesperson, Neil Hassman, told The Malibu Times in February that his client had come home from a dinner celebration of longtime love interest Farrah Fawcett’s birthday and her being cancer-free for four months, to find his sons, Redmond and Griffin, fighting. The elder O’Neal, Hassman said, attempted to intervene, and Griffin O’Neal attacked him with a fireplace poker. O’Neal then, according to Hassman’s story, grabbed a gun and fired a shot into the banister “to stop Griffin, slow him down; not intending harm.”
JoAnne Berry, a 22-year-old pregnant girlfriend of Griffin O’Neal, was reported to have been injured during the altercation. An attorney representing Berry and Griffin O’Neal told the Associated Press on Friday that his clients might sue Ryan O’Neal.
The O’Neal incident was briefly big news in both the gossip and news media. Berry’s 911 call to the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station alerting officials to the incident was played on various radio and television shows, and was a hot item on the Internet. Media trucks could be seen outside O’Neal’s home. But the story soon vanished from the headlines on Feb. 8 when the death of Anna Nicole Smith became the top story.
Young Malibu filmmaker settles lawsuit
Eleven-year-old actor/filmmaker Dominic Scott Kay has settled a lawsuit with his neighbor, Conroy Kanter, regarding his directorial debut, a 15-minute short starring Kevin Bacon called “Saving Angelo.” Kay’s attorney, Dylan Ruga, told the Los Angeles Times that the deal gives his client full ownership and control of the movie. Kay’s lawsuit had alleged that Conroy, who contributed $11,000 to the making of the movie, had tried to take control of the movie.
New law closes last U.S. horse slaughter plant
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on May 24 signed into law a state ban on the killing of horses for human consumption. Illinois was the only state with an operating equine slaughterhouse.
Two Texas slaughterhouses were shut down in January following a federal appeals court ruling that cited a 1949 law banning the killing of horses for human consumption. An attempt this year to overturn that law has failed.
There are separate U.S. House of Representatives and Senate bills going through the process at this time that call for the banning of horse slaughter nationwide. Horse slaughter is illegal in California.
Emergency response training begins this weekend
The city’s Community Emergency Response Team training begins on Saturday. The four-week CERT course includes education on disaster preparedness, fire suppression, disaster medical triage and rescue, first-aid, light search and rescue, terrorism, team organization and disaster psychology, and disaster simulation exercise.
The classes take place at City Hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a one-hour break for lunch. After Saturday, the classes continue on June 16, June 30 and July 7. All classes must be attended in order to complete the course. To sign up, contact Brad Davis at 310.456.2489 ext. 260 or e-mail him at bdavis@ci.malibu.ca.us.
Party to celebrate Jewish children’s book launch
Author Shari Cohen and composer Marcelo Gindlin will be at the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue on Sunday for the launch of their children’s book, “Alfie’s Bark Mitzvah.” The festivities, which are open to dogs and people, will include songs, refreshments and a book signing.
“Alfie” tells the story of a young Jewish dog as he prepares for the Jewish ceremonial entrance into adulthood. The book includes illustrations and a CD of music composed by Gindlin, who is the cantor at the MJC&S.
The event takes place from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. The MJC&S is located at 24855 Pacific Coast Highway. For more information, go to www.AlfiesBarkMitzvah.com.