The Malibu Times office closed Monday
The Malibu Times office will be closed May 30 in observance of Memorial Day. The office will reopen Tuesday.
The deadline for submissions is moved up: all people, calendar and sports items must be received by Friday at 10 a.m. for the June 2 issue of the newspaper. All news-related items can be submitted by Tuesday, 10 a.m. Advertising reservation deadlines are Friday by noon.
Circle K applies for alcohol permit
The Circle K convenience store at the Union 76 gas station on Pacific Coast Highway just south of Rambla Pacifico has applied for an alcohol permit, according to a notice from the city of Malibu.
The conditional use permit was filed by Chris Deleau of Schmitz & Associates on behalf of MMKS Enterprises, LLC. If approved, the convenience store would be allowed to sell beer and wine.
The establishment applied for a permit to sell alcohol before it opened, but the Malibu Planning Commission denied the application in September 2007. The commission denied the permit in large part due to strong public opposition. More than 120 people signed a petition against it and three-dozen residents spoke out against the idea at a 2007 Planning Commission meeting.
At the time, the commissioners said they were bothered by the possibility of approving a new alcohol-selling business when there were already several restaurants and stores doing so in the local vicinity.
The property was purchased in 2006 by a father and two sons from Encino. The family has worked in the jewelry business for more than 50 years and have not previously operated convenience stores.
A hearing date has not been scheduled or determined.
Bomb squad responds to suspicious canister
A bomb squad, Sheriff’s deputies, fire engines and more responded to a call Tuesday about explosives found on the beach along Malibu Road only to find what Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s officials said was a water flare.
However, other official statements described the canister as a “floating marker” that contained phosphorous, which can be toxic if touched. The canister, discovered on the beach approximately at the 24400 block of Malibu Road, was seen emitting smoke, and a local resident, thinking it contained explosives, called 911.
State considering sale of Ramirez Canyon
Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget for 2011-2012 proposes the sale of Ramirez Canyon Park in an effort to make state government smaller.
The budget suggests “selling nonessential or under-utilized state properties,” which includes “the Ramirez Canyon Property in Southern California.” The proposal falls under the “focusing on core services and reducing state government” section of the budget.
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s headquarters is currently located at the Ramirez property. The property, a cumulative 22.5 acres, was donated to the conservancy by Malibu resident and singer Barbra Streisand in December 1993. In addition to the conservancy, there are five homes on the property.
To see the revised budget in its entirety, visit www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/Revised/BudgetSummary/FullBudgetSummary.pdf.
Topanga State Park meeting June 14
The third public meeting for the Topanga State Park General Plan will take place June 14, according to a press release from California State Parks. The purpose of the meeting is “to present the single (preferred) plan and support materials,” according to the release.
After the presentation of the plan the team in charge of the project- made up of State Parks landscape architects, environmental scientists, historians, archeologists and park staff-will discuss the plan with the public. The plan was created with help from input received at the first two public meetings in September 2009 and July 2010.
The plan is intended to reconcile the outdated Topanga State Park General Development Plan created in 1977. Its purpose is to incorporate the cultural and natural resources, features and facilities of recent acquisitions, including the 1,659 acres of Lower Topanga Canyon.
The meeting takes place June 14 in Temescal Gateway Park’s Stewart Hall, at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Temescal Canyon Road in Pacific Palisades, at 6:30 p.m.
Questions and comments can be sent to California State Parks, Southern Service Center, 8885 Rio San Diego Dr., Suite 270, San Diego, CA, 92108; ATTN: Topanga State Park General Park Team.
More information about the project can be obtained by visiting www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=25956.
Woody Smeck named citizen of the year
The Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation named Woody Smeck, superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, citizen of the year at its 44th annual banquet at the Malibou Lake Mountain Club May 20.
Smeck was given the award for the contributions he has made in helping to preserve the natural resources of the Santa Monica Mountains. He has worked on outreach programs to educate the public, habitat protection, expanding wildlife corridors and making recreation trail connections, among other causes.
“If we can get people to care about the environment, they will care for it,” Smeck has said.
The event’s keynote speakers were Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Joseph Edmiston.
Citizen of the year presenters included Malibu Mayor John Sibert and Councilmember Laura Rosenthal, as well as Sen. Fran Pavley and Assemblywoman Julia Brownley.
The Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation was founded in 1968 and has grown to represent homeowner and community associations in and around Las Virgenes Valley.