News Briefs

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The newly installed Corral Canyon traffic signal caused long backups on Pacific Coast Highway this past weekend, leaving motorists fuming. The signal, which was installed after a long campaign by local residents and city officials who said the intersection was dangerous, went into operation last Thursday.

Jury selection for paparazzi battery case to begin

The selection for jury trial for the paparazzi battery case against Malibu residents Skylar Martin Peak and Philip John Hildebrand will most likely take place by May 4, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

Hildebrand, 30, and Peak, 24, are each charged with one misdemeanor count of battery involving the June 2008 paparazzi-surfer beach fights.

Meanwhile, Thursday this week, a preliminary hearing setting for Matthew Ullman and Dean Allen Lavorante, accused of starting the November 2007 Corral Fire, is scheduled to take place at Van Nuys Superior Court.

Also this Thursday, Redmond James O’Neal, son of actor Ryan O’Neal and actress Farrah Fawcett and who has been jailed for probation violation, is scheduled to be sentenced for a previous probation violation regarding his conviction on drug possession and use. He was allowed out of jail this past Saturday to visit Fawcett at the home of his father, who is said to be seriously ill.

Malibu pharmacy robbed

A man allegedly robbed the Dume Plaza Pharmacy in Malibu Monday morning, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials. The alleged robber, Marc Gumpert, was arrested and has been hospitalized for observation.

Gumpert went into the pharmacy on Heathercliff Road Monday morning armed with a knife and crowbar, a witness said, and told an employee, “Give me Vicodin or I’ll kill you,” according to a Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s report.

He then ransacked the pharmacy counter and grabbed bottles of Vicodin and other drugs and ran out to the parking lot. When getting into a BMW automobile, he revealed a knife in his waistband.

A witness followed Gumpert to the Riviera Motel and called Sheriff’s deputies. Deputies came to the scene and negotiated with Gumpert through an open window of the locked room he was in. He had told deputies he had a knife at his neck, and no other weapons, and that he had consumed several Vicodin pills. Deputies finally subdued Gumpert, who had retreated to the bathroom and was holding a shard of broken mirror to his neck, with a Taser gun.

He was taken to a Santa Monica hospital for treatment and observation.

When he is released from the hospital, Lt. Debra Glafkides of Lost Hills said, Gumpert will be booked and charged with armed robbery.

In addition to two bottles of Vicodin, he also took a small bottle of methylphenidate (Ritalin), Glafkides said.

Las Virgenes water district to implement customer water budgets

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) is mailing notifications to customers that a customer Water Budget program will become effective July 1. The action was authorized by the LVMWD Board in response to a third consecutive year of below average rainfall and judicial restrictions on pumping water to Southern California, resulting in a reduction in allotted supply announced by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

LVMWD has announced a series of “Community Water Budget Workshops” that will explain the budget program to customers, answer their questions and distribute information on conservation methods that will help them comply with their individual budgets. Each workshop will start at 7:30 p.m. The scheduled workshops will take place the following dates and locations: April 30, Westlake Village City Hall Community Room, 31200 Oak Crest Drive, Westlake Village; May 5, Salvation Army’s Camp Crags (Malibu Canyon), Tapia Park Entrance off Las Virgenes Rd. near Piuma Rd; May 7, Willow Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room, 29026 Laro Drive, Agoura Hills; May 21, Calabasas Tennis & Swim Canter, 23400 Park Sorrento, Calabasas; June 4, Agoura Hills’ Calabasas Community Center, 27040 Malibu Hills Road, Calabasas; June 11, Malibou Lake Mountain Club, 29033 West Lake Vista Drive, Agoura.

Single-family residential customers will start each eight-week billing cycle with a base allotment of 16 billing units (nearly 12,000 gallons) for indoor use. An additional outdoor budget will be added, based on the size of the property served and the parcel group to which it is assigned. The indoor amount will remain the same, but the outdoor amount will vary; more in the warm-weather months, less during cooler months. Water used above the budgeted amount will be subject to an excess use surcharge of $3 per billing unit (748 gallons), in addition to the existing scheduled costs.

Multifamily residences will begin each two-month billing period with an indoor allotment of 12 billing units and, when warranted, an additional amount for outdoor use. Many multifamily condominiums and apartments irrigate outdoor areas from a separate service.

Commercial properties and irrigation customers will be reduced by a fixed percentage.

The water budget program does not apply to recycled water service. In coming weeks, LVMWD will be mailing budget information to each customer in the service area. Beginning with bills mailed in July, customers will be notified of their specific budgeted amount for each billing period.

There will be a limited basis for appeals of the budgeted amounts, such as for a large number of people in a household, livestock, medical needs, the presence of a licensed childcare or healthcare facility, or a change of use in a commercial property.

There will not be additional allocations for pools, spas, gardens, in-home businesses or hobbies that use increased amounts of water.

LVMWD serves some 65,000 people in the communities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village and adjacent unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.

SMMUSD to hold spring forum

The Special Education Spring Forum will take place at the John Adams Middle School Cafeteria on Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The Spring Forum is one of the many ways to reach out to parents/guardians and provide information to parents regarding special education services for their children. The theme of this forum is “Transition,” and will focus on students moving from level to level within the school system and transitioning to post secondary education options.

The keynote speakers for the Spring Forum will be Brad Silverman and Petite Konstantin from L.A. GOAL. Parents will have the opportunity to hear from a panel of parents, staff and students regarding their experiences of transition and advice they can impart to other parents.

SMMUSD Superintendent Tim Cuneo has been spearheading the efforts under a districtwide umbrella called the “SMMUSD Special Education Collaborative Working Collaboratively for 21st Century Special Education Students.” The district has been working to implement these initiatives in partnership with the District’s Special Education District Advisory Committee (SEDAC) and the Santa Monica-Malibu PTA Council Special Education Committee. The initiatives are in response to parent and community concerns and recommendations contained in the March 2008 Independent Evaluation of the SMMUSD Special Education Program by Lou Barber & Associates.

More information can be obtained by contacting Special Education Collaborative Lead Martha Duran-Contreras at duran-contreras@smmusd.org; SMMUSD Special Education District Advisory Committee Chair Kenneth Haker at ken.haker@verizon.net; Santa Monica Malibu PTA Council Special Education Committee Chair Judith Meister at MeisterJR@aol.com; or Sarah Wahrenbrock at the SMMUSD District Office at 310.450.8338, ext.229.

-Laura Tate