OCTOBER
• Nothing moves quickly in Malibu and, after a 10 year delay, the $268 million bond measure BB (passed in 2005 to improve the school district’s facilities) finally broke some ground this past summer. Projects at Juan Cabrillo Elementary have been completed and massive changes are planned for the Malibu High School campus. The projects have been held up by litigation and the current plans include new buildings and also PCB remediation.Â
• The issue of short-term rentals turns out to be a complex one and city staff is coming back with some suggestions and also information on what other cities that have don that have withstood legal challenges. The council is going to have to decide an almost no-win issue for them. Short-term rentals of Malibu homes and condos — rentals for under 30 days — are a source of income to many locals and also produce a transient occupancy tax income of over $1 million per year to the city. But, if you happen to live next door to a house that gets rented for parties or events, your life can quickly turn into an ongoing nightmare.Â
• Malibu’s Bob Dylan, 75 years young, whose song lyrics have defined a generation or two, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, only the second songwriter to be so honored. A longtime Point Dume resident, whose children were raised here, he was often spotted at games watching them play. In typical Dylan style, he didn’t go to Sweden to pick up his award personally, but sent a letter instead.
• The Malibu Homeless Task Force, co-chaired by Jay Scott and Pamela Conley Ulich, raised enough money to hire two full time social workers to assist the roughly 161 homeless individuals in Malibu. Their job requires that they go into the fields and along the creeks where many of the homeless are living in little communities and offer assistance.
