Meeting to discuss Malibu Arts Commission proposal
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich will lead a meeting at City Hall on Friday to discuss the possibility of creating a Malibu Arts Commission. During the council campaign, Conley Ulich had named the creation of an Arts Commission as one of her main goals as a councilmember. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. and will take place in the City Council Chambers. City Hall is located at 23815 Stuart Ranch Road.
Pepperdine professor chosen
David Davenport, former president of Pepperdine University and current distinguished professor of public policy and law, has been chosen by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve as a member of the California Performance Review Commission. The 21-member commission is comprised of high profile public policy experts, leaders from the business and labor communities, and local government.
Davenport, who also holds a research fellowship at the Hoover Institution, teaches courses in both Pepperdine’s School of Law and the University’s School of Public Policy. He served as Pepperdine’s sixth president from 1985 to 2000. Prior to that, he held positions as professor of law, general counsel and executive vice president of the university. He was instrumental in the founding of Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy, and the Davenport Institute within the School is named in his honor.
Davenport earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University in 1972 and a law degree from the University of Kansas, School of Law in 1977.
Department of Fish and Game warning
The California Department of Fish and Game has issued a warning that some birdfeeders or birdbaths could be harboring a deadly parasite that is responsible for killing thousands of mourning doves, band-tailed pigeons and other wild birds.
According to the DFG, various statewide outbreaks of trichomoniasis have already caused mortality in many of California’s mourning dove and band-tailed pigeon populations.
DFG avian experts are urging residents to either thoroughly clean their birdfeeders and baths daily, or remove them for the remainder of the summer to help stop the spread of the disease.
Trichomoniasis is a protozoan, a single-celled animal, that causes mortality in doves and other gregarious species, with varying levels of localized outbreaks documented annually throughout California as well as in other parts of the U.S.
To help control the disease, DFG biologists are urging residents to:
Replace all food in birdfeeders and water in birdbaths daily. Clean up old food around feeders daily and only use small amounts of food.
Decontaminate feeders by using a 10 percent solution of household bleach in water, preferably cleaned just prior to adding new food.
Spread small amounts of seed out over a large area in the sun instead of using bird boxes or feeders. Also, vary the location of where the seed is spread to avoid encouraging a concentration of birds at one site.
DFG’s biologists say the disease is highly contagious and can easily spread from birds sharing the same feeding or watering areas. Young doves and pigeons can become infected when fed by their parents. Environmental conditions are also a factor with the disease. The parasite generally poses little threat until temperatures exceed 75 degrees and evening lows are above 50. Outbreaks are typically documented during the drier seasons-spring, summer and fall-the months that many bird watchers rely on bird feeders and baths.
Birds that are concentrated, feeding at one location, are most vulnerable to this disease because the parasite is typically passed in food and water regurgitated from an infected bird. Healthy birds that ingest such food, or drink the same water as an infected bird, can then contract the disease.
Nationwide studies suggest that a significant number of doves and pigeons are currently infected with varying strains of the disease. Thousands of these birds die each year. Mortality in young birds is of particular concern. DFG officials say nestlings typically die within four to 18 days after being infected.
Studies show that the parasite can last for 20 minutes to several hours in water, and up to five days in bird feed. Doves and pigeons are the two species most documented with the infection because of their gregarious habits, and their feeding of young with crop milk. The infection essentially affects their upper digestive tracts. The birds develop lesions in their mouths and throats that eventually prevent them from eating. Most of these birds die of starvation, but some actually suffocate from the lesions or when the disease impacts their livers.
DFG officials remind the public there is always a danger in handling dead wildlife. Individuals should wear gloves when picking up a dead bird or other wildlife and always wash with an anti-bacterial soap afterwards.
Ocean protection group back in Santa Monica
Oceana, the international ocean advocacy group, is opening an office in Santa Monica headed by Dana Dubose. The former director of Oceana’s “Stop Cruise Pollution” campaign has been credited with making the organization a force in the international environmental community.
The office plans to concentrate on marine and coastal issues important to California. The office’s opening was kicked off with a private screening of the IMAX film “Coral Reef Adventure.”