Sentencing in Corral Fire case postponed
A flier that was distributed to some Malibu residents but apparently contained incorrect information about a court hearing prompted a delay in the Jan. 26 sentencing of Brian David Franks, who admitted taking part in starting the Corral Canyon fire that destroyed 53 homes and injured six firefighters in November 2007.
Franks, 28, was scheduled to be sentenced on Monday but failed to show up at the Van Nuys Courthouse on time because he was apparently misled by the flier, which attorneys said provided the wrong date for the hearing. Franks arrived to the hearing three hours late after being contacted by his lawyer, but Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Leslie Dunn opted to delay the sentencing to Feb. 19.
Attorneys said many Malibu residents who wanted to speak at the sentencing hearing did not show up in court either because of the flier, which was circulated by a community activist.
Dunn said that as much as she hated to delay the case, she wanted to give Malibu residents “some degree of closure” given the magnitude of their loss.
Franks pleaded no contest Oct. 1 to a felony charge of recklessly causing a fire and faces five years probation and 300 hours of community service. As part of his plea deal, Franks agreed to be available to testify against the other four defendants in the case.
Arraignment for two of the defendants, Brian Alan Anderson, 23, and William Thomas Coppock, 24, is scheduled for Thursday
The remaining pair, Eric Matthew Ullman, 19, and Dean Allen Lavorante, 20, are due back in court Feb. 26 at 8:30 a.m., when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for them to stand trial on the same charges.
The District Attorney’s Office said the blaze was started “during and within an area of a state of emergency,” which would require a mandatory state prison sentence if the suspects were convicted.
In addition to destroying 53 homes, the Corral Fire destroyed 37 vehicles, a mobile home and 45 structures (including 33 homes). It burned a total of 4,900 acres.
State senator announces water conservation hearing
State Senator Fran Pavley, new chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water, has announced a public hearing in Santa Monica Feb. 6 to focus on innovative water conservation and management programs that are currently being implemented.
The hearing will include discussions on current water conservation practices that can easily adopted by others, additional programs that are likely to be implemented in the near future, and what the state can do to help.
The hearing will include appearances by top officials of the State Department of Water Resources and of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, among others, and will take place on Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. in room 111 of the Business Building at Santa Monica College.
More information can be obtained by visiting www.sen.ca.gov/pavley
Enviro group wins lawsuit against Coastal Commission
The environmental group Coastal Law Enforcement Action Network won its lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission regarding a coastal development permit it had issued to Malibu Valley Farms.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant ruled that the California Coastal Commission did not base its decision to issue the permit on “substantial evidence” when it approved a coastal development permit authorizing Malibu Valley Farms, Inc. to continue operation of a horse boarding facility. CLEAN states the permit, granted in July of 2007, allowed horses, with their environmental impacts and wastes (including manure and urine) to continue polluting a blue-line stream which drains into Malibu Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The Coastal Commission’s decision, which overrode the Coastal Commission’s initial staff recommendation, was criticized heavily by environmental groups, including Heal the Bay, Sierra Club, Save Open Space and Santa Monica Baykeeper, as well as CLEAN.
Judge Chalfant’s 12-page decision focused on the fact that the County of Los Angeles Environmental Review Board had approved a different development than the one under consideration by the commission, yet the Coastal Commission relied on that decision in determining that the traditional 100 foot setback from the stream, designated as ESHA (Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area), would not be required.
“The 100 foot setback to streams and other environmentally sensitive habitat areas in the Santa Monica Mountains is critically important ecologically because of the rarity of these habitats in Southern California,” said Marcia Hanscom, managing director of CLEAN, a project of the International Humanities Center.
CLEAN will be requesting that the Coastal Commission return the review of the project back to the County of Los Angeles and its Environmental Review Board, as well as its Regional Planning Department to insure compliance with the law.
Malibu Valley Farms also has an ongoing lawsuit against the Coastal Commission relating to its denial of a vesting rights permit for the development. That lawsuit is still outstanding and will be heard in court at a later date.
Malibu stuntman put on probation
Malibu resident Jeb Corliss was sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours of community service for trying to parachute off the Empire State Building in 2006. According to an Associated News report, State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber also said Corliss could do the probation and community service in his home state.
The judge had rejected the request of the police commissioner in the case to jail the stuntman for his act.
Corliss was arrested April 27, 2006, when he tried to parachute from the 86th-floor observation deck of the 102-story Manhattan landmark. Security guards thwarted his stunt when they grabbed and held him through the bars of a fence he had scaled. When arrested, Corliss was disguised in a mask and a fat suit, under which he wore a black jump suit and a parachute. He also wore a helmet topped with a camera so he could record his jump. He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment.
Corliss, former host of the Discovery Channel’s “Stunt Junkies” program, claims to have made more than 1,000 safe BASE (building, span, antenna, earth) jumps from structures and cliffs in the United States, Japan, Russia, France and Malaysia. The Discovery Channel dropped Corliss after his arrest, saying it was disappointed at “his serious lack of judgment and his reckless behavior.”
MalibuGreenMachine obtains PCH improvement permit
MalibuGreenMachine obtained an encroachment permit on Jan. 20 from Caltrans that will allow the nonprofit to begin work on a landscaping project to beautify Pacific Coast Highway. Jo Giese, founder and president, said a ceremony would precede the project, tentatively scheduled to begin Feb. 16., after a mandatory preconstruction meeting.
The original plan stated the project would begin at Cross Creek Road and continue up to Malibu Canyon Road, but Giese said Monday at a City Council meeting that the project would begin at Cross Creek Road and continue to Webb Way, as funding allows. Construction manager Bill Ropp told agencies involved that the beautification project might be constructed in phases.
“One thing we know is a landscaped highway has a calming effect on traffic so it has the potential to make it safer,” Giese said in an interview last week. “And because it’s landscaped, it will deter people from making illegal U-turns.”
In addition to hoping the project will make Pacific Coast Highway safer and more aesthetically pleasing, Giese said the highway medians would also provide fire safety because they will be irrigated.
She also said the implementation of an irrigation system will not affect traffic because it is constructed underneath PCH, so the highway will not be closed.
Malibu actor, singer’s homes decrease in sale prices
The sale of only 86 homes in Malibu through October 2008 marked the city’s worst year for real estate in the past two decades. Prices of many homes for sale have decreased, including those of actor Richard “Cheech” Marin and singer Beck.
Marin, of “Cheech and Chong” fame, has reportedly slashed the price on his Malibu home. The Los Angeles Times said Marin recently cut his asking price to $2.95 million from the original $3.9 million.
The four-bedroom home features custom woodwork, a country kitchen and a master-bedroom suite with a spa, a steam shower and a balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Beck has also lowered the price on his Malibu home to $2,345,000. It was previously on the market for nearly $2.4 million.
The home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, pitched ceilings, hardwood floors and a room overlooking private gardens and a lawn. There is also a separate two-bedroom, one-bathroom guesthouse with a fireplace. Public records put the square footage at about 1,600; the home was built in 1961. It came on the market in October.
“Public Schools Week” to launch Feb. 2
The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District has united with the district’s Teachers’ Association and the PTA Council to launch its second “Public Schools Week” beginning Feb. 2 by opening doors to schools throughout Santa Monica and Malibu and actively inviting the community to learn about educational programs and progress.
“We hope that community residents from throughout Santa Monica and Malibu will take advantage of this opportunity to hear from our principals, teachers, PTA leaders and students about the extraordinary educational opportunities that take place every day in our schools” says SMMUSD Superintendent Tim Cuneo.
Public Schools Week kicks off with the third “State of Our Schools: How Are We Doing?” a public forum on the local schools that discuses the schools’ roles in the community, how the districts’ schools rate, an analysis of student achievement and financial issues of 2009.
The public forum is scheduled for Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Santa Monica Public Library. The program will be presented again on Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Webster Elementary School auditorium.
-Olivia Damavandi