The Malibu Times office closed Monday
The Malibu Times office will be closed Monday in observance of Labor Day.
All people and sports items must be submitted to editorial@malibutimes.com by noon Friday in order to make it into the Sept. 8 issue. The advertising deadline for that issue is also Friday at noon.
Malibu City Hall and other government offices are also closed.
Illegal immigrants detained in Malibu
Authorities detained several illegal immigrants Friday in Malibu, according to Lt. Josh Thai of the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
Thai confirmed that an abandoned boat was found Friday morning at Leo Carrillo State Beach, although he did not know whether it was connected to detainees or not. Thai said the investigation into the incident was being handled by the federal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This is the fourth time this year an abandoned boat has been found on Malibu beaches, which has led to speculation that human traffickers are targeting Malibu as an entryway for smuggling immigrants from Mexico into the United States.
SurfAid to host fundraiser in Malibu
SurfAid International is set to host its “Behind the Palms” fundraiser, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the MSA Classic Surfing Contest and raise money for the organization, in Malibu Sept. 9, according to a press release from the organization.
Featured entertainment will include musician Donavon Frankenreiter and DJ Mario Cotto, along with a screening of “Behind the Palms: 10 years of SurfAid.” Additionally, event-goers will be treated to gourmet eats, a cocktail bar hosted by Patron, wine tasting, and a coffee and hot chocolate bar. Raffles, giveaways, and silent and live auctions will also take place.
SurfAid international is “a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health, wellbeing and self-reliance of people living in isolated regions connected to us through surfing,” the release states.
The SurfAid’s “Behind the Palms” event takes place Sept. 9, at Malibu Market & Design, 25001 Pacific Coast Highway, at 6 p.m. Tickets purchased in advance are $50. More information can be obtained by calling 760.753.1103 or visiting www.surfaidinternational.org.
Suspected drunk driver rams sheriff’s patrol car
Two sheriff’s deputies were injured early Saturday morning after a suspected drunk driver hit their parked patrol car and sent it rolling 25 feet down a rock embankment to the beach. Watch Cmdr. Stephanie Shrout of the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station said Deputy James Milage and Deputy Jeffrey Miner had just gotten back into their parked patrol car after conducting a foot patrol near Las Tunas State Beach at 12:45 a.m. Saturday along the 19400 block of Pacific Coast Highway, when they were struck from behind by a dark gray BMW. The patrol car rolled several times down a rock embankment and landed on the beach, wedged against the adjacent rock.
Los Angeles County Fire and Rescue extracted the two officers from the vehicle. Miner was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center and Milage was driven there by ambulance. Miner was treated for severe bruising to his neck and collarbone and subsequently released. Milage was in stable condition and neither officer sustained life-threatening injuries.
Mark Liebrecht, the 44-year-old driver of the BMW that hit the parked patrol car, is being held on suspicion of driving under the influence. The charge is considered a felony because the accident resulted in injury to the deputies.
Local Realtor rescues dog
Local Realtor Madison Hildebrand rescued a dog that had been swept out to sea Monday morning. The dog, a golden retriever named Hope, was carried out by the current while chasing a duck on her morning walk on the beach near Malibu Road at around 8 a.m.
Soon after the dog was swept away, her owner and others on the beach could no longer see her. Her owner, a longtime Malibu resident who preferred to remain anonymous, began asking homeowners on their balconies if they could see Hope from where they were standing.
Hildebrand thought he could see the golden retriever from his home and quickly came down to the beach, grabbed a paddle board and headed out to sea. He surpassed the rough waves and was soon out of sight.
After about 45 minutes, Hildebrand could be seen in the distance with Hope, who weighs 75 pounds, safely on his paddle board. The dog’s owner swam out to the board and helped them back to shore.
“What he did has forever changed my life for the better,” Hope’s owner said. “I am forever grateful.”
When they returned to shore, many local residents were out on the beach and their balconies clapping and crying.
“He is a Malibu hero,” Hope’s owner said. “There is not enough I could do to say thank you.”
Richardson settlement tentatively reached for $900,000
The parents of Mitrice Richardson have tentatively reached an agreement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for a $900,000 settlement. Both parents filed lawsuits against the department in connection with their daughter’s death.
The settlement needs to be officially approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to be finalized. Richardson’s parents would split the funds if the amount were approved.
Richardson’s remains were found in a Malibu ravine nearly a year after she went missing following her release from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station. The 24-year-old was released from the station after midnight without a car, cell phone or purse and had reportedly been acting strange prior to her arrest.
High inland temperatures bring average beach crowd
As inland temperatures hit the triple digits, a slightly above average crowd made its way to Malibu’s beaches this past weekend. Local temperatures settled in the 80s for the last weekend of summer vacation.
Between Aug. 27 and 28, more than 306,650 beachgoers came to spend some time on local shores, Los Angeles County Lifeguard Captain Merrill Riley confirmed. On Saturday, Malibu saw about 152,150 visitors, and 154,500 on Sunday. Around 95,000 people visited Zuma Beach alone on Sunday.
“For the weekend, it was probably what it should be,” Riley said. “Things have kind of settled down now.”
Over the weekend, there were 112 ocean rescues, an average amount for a weekend. On a busy day, there could be a couple hundred.
On a particularly busy weekend, such as Independence Day weekend, more than 700,000 beachgoers may come to Malibu. “It was a good crowd, it wasn’t over the top,” Riley said of this past weekend.
Coastal Interceptor Relief Sewer Project update
Night construction work will be done from September 2011 through early 2012 along Pacific Coast Highway between the Annenberg Community Beach House and the Santa Monica Beach Club as a part of the Coastal Interceptor Relief Sewer Project, according to a release from the City of Malibu.
The work will require partial lane closures, but will only take place at night. All lanes will be open during the day.
Additionally, work along southbound Pacific Coast Highway just south of the Will Rogers State Beach parking lot will continue through next month. Work within the beach’s parking lot will begin in September as well. Pacific Coast Highway lanes will not be affected by the work.
When complete, the new relief sewer will provide additional capacity to the existing sewer system in order to handle increased flows of stormwater. The project is headed by the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works in the Pacific Palisades area.
The Coastal Interceptor Relief Sewer Project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012.
Malibu community pool closed until Sept. 4
The Malibu Community Pool will be closed until Sept. 4 for repairs, according to a press release from the City of Malibu. The pool will be drained and refilled, and repairs to the lights and tiles will also be done.
The pool will reopen to the public Sept. 5 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Regular fall hours begin on Tuesday, with the pool open from 5 p.m. to
8 p.m.
More information can be obtained by calling 310.589.1933.