Diesel, A Bookstore closing Malibu branch
Diesel, A Bookstore will be closing its Malibu store within three to six weeks, owners John Evans and Alison Reid told The Malibu Times. The Brentwood and Oakland stores will remain open. The store is closing due to “market forces,” Evans wrote in a press release, but Evans and Reid hope to reopen a store in Malibu again one day.
“A change of landlords and related increases, along with years of demolition and construction have damaged our business in that location beyond repair,” the owners wrote.
“We are grateful and humbled by the valiant support provided by many in the community in attempts to keep their bookstore in town.”
MFS to screen ‘The Social Network’
The Malibu Film Society is scheduled to screen “The Social Network,” a film about the invention, rise and popularity of social networking site Facebook, Feb. 12. The film is nominated for eight Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best-adapted screenplay. “The Social Network” has already received recognition at a number of awards shows, including the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. After the screening, there will be a Q&A with Best Film Editing nominees Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, as well as Best Cinematography nominee Jeff Cronenweth. The screening will take place at the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue, 24855 PCH, at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 310.589.0223.
Malibu Canyon Road Construction continues
The road construction on Malibu Canyon Road is now scheduled to be completed at the end of next week, Feb. 18, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. The road, which underwent repaving work, is currently being restriped. Restriping work began on Feb. 1, and is scheduled to finish by next Friday.
Water main breaks
A water main off Kanan Dume Road serving two homes in Ramirez Canyon broke Saturday at 12:30 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
After receiving the call, workers “went to the location and discovered a leak in a four-inch diameter water main that served a few people in Ramirez Canyon,” Mike Kaspar, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works public information officer, said.
“By 3:30 they were able to offer an alternate water supply to people in the area and by 5:30 they were done with repairs,” Kaspar said.
The cause of the leak is unknown.
Fishermen file lawsuit over MLPA
A number of member organizations of the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans filed a lawsuit challenging closures of certain fishing areas under the California Fish and Game Commission’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Jan. 27 in San Diego County, Kayak Angler Online reports. One area of dispute is the area surrounding Point Dume.
The United Anglers of Southern California, Coastside Fishing Club and Robert C. Fletcher filed the lawsuit, claiming the MLPA violates the California Environmental Quality Act and that the Fish and Game Commission does not have the authority to impose such regulations.
“From the outset, it was clear that the MLPA process was set up to reach a predetermined outcome under the fiction of an allegedly open and transparent process,” former president of the Sportfishing Association of California, Bob Fletcher, said.
“Ignoring the information before them, the commission went forward with approving regulations to close 116 square miles of Southern California’s coastal waters to recreational fishing.”
Some of the MLPA Marine Protected Area regulations may go into effect this spring, before the lawsuit reaches the courts.
Malibu Creek Watershed Council awarded grant
The California Department of Conservation has awarded a $1.5 million grant to the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains for the Malibu/Topanga Creek Watershed Coordinator Program, according to the Department of Conservation. The 2010 Watershed Coordinator Grant Program will provide $1.5 million in funding for a number of projects throughout the state from Proposition 84.
“This will lead to the potential for some exciting structural innovations in how the Malibu Creek Watershed Council runs, allowing us to reach out to regional stakeholders in sister watersheds across the Santa Monica Mountains and funding the Coordinator’s work for three more years,” Melina Watts, Malibu Creek Watershed coordinator, wrote in an e-mail. “I look forward to continuing to serve the community.”
Kindergarten Round-Up
Elementary schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will each host a Kindergarten Round-Up, an event welcoming the parents of incoming kindergarteners, late this month and early next month, according to a press release from the SMMUSD.
At each event, parents can meet the school’s principal, visit classrooms and register their children for the 2011-2012 school year. In order to register their child, parents need to bring their child’s birth certificate, health records and verification of residence in Santa Monica or Malibu.
Juan Cabrillo Elementary School’s Kindergarten Round-Up is Feb. 23 at 8:30 a.m., Point Dume Marine Science Elementary’s event is March 3 at 8:45 a.m. and Webster Elementary’s is March 1 at 9 a.m.