Tsunami warning puts lifeguards on alert
A tsunami warning issued Tuesday evening had Malibu lifeguards patrolling local beaches “to see who’s out there,” Zuma Lifeguard Capt. Tim Riley said. However, Riley said they expected nothing more than potential high tides, similar to what would occur during a full moon.
The National Weather Service issued the tsunami advisory for the Californian coast after a quake, registering between 8.0 and 8.3, struck below the ocean floor about 120 miles from American Samoa. It was reported that at least 34 people had died when huge tsunami waves struck the U.S. territory Tuesday morning, flattening villages and sweeping people away into the ocean.
Riley said if anyone was found in or near the water Tuesday evening they would caution them to move off the beach.
Weekend accidents kill 1
A 14-year-old girl died Saturday when the car her father was driving broadsided a Toyota Landcruiser on Mulholland Highway near Viewpoint High School.
Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Sgt. Phil Brooks said that Douglas Roberts, 47, of Woodland Hills, and his 14 year-old daughter were traveling westbound on Mulholland Highway, west of Old Topanga Road about 2 p.m. in a new Dodge Viper sports car that Roberts “just picked up that day.” Although the investigation was not yet completed, Brooks said it appears that Roberts was driving at a high rate of speed and lost control, crossing over into the oncoming Toyota, driven by Blake Wheeler, 53, of Calabasas. The Toyota flipped over and Wheeler suffered several fractures, but he was expected to be released from the hospital Tuesday. Roberts’ daughter was killed instantly, and he suffered life-threatening injuries.
In Malibu on Sunday afternoon, a multicar accident on Pacific Coast Highway near Paradise Cove left a motorcyclist with fractures and traffic backed up for hours.
Paradise Cove stormwater facility construction starts this week
The City of Malibu this week will issue the final order for construction to begin on the Paradise Cove Stormwater Treatment Facility Project, a $1.2 million undertaking to capture, clean and disinfect more than one million gallons per day of stormwater and urban runoff from Ramirez Creek and the surrounding watershed.
The city is prepared to issue a “notice to proceed,” which will give the contractor, Oak Tree Construction, Inc., the order to launch construction on the project this week.
“The Paradise Cove Stormwater Treatment Facility is a vital project that will improve ocean water quality and help protect the health and safety of residents and visitors alike,” Malibu Mayor Andy Stern said in a recent press release. “The City of Malibu is aggressively moving forward with its commitment to clean water by starting construction on the Paradise Cove Stormwater Treatment Facility project this week and breaking ground for Legacy Park last week. Both are important milestones in the City of Malibu’s more than $50 million commitment to a cleaner and healthier ocean for us all.”
Local Marine Protected Areas available for public review
Three final round stakeholder plans for a south coast network of Marine Protected Areas, part of the Marine Life Protection Act, are now available for public review at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/scrsg-dprops-r3.asp. Each will undergo a thorough economic and scientific review before consideration by the Blue Ribbon Task Force and Fish and Game Commission.
Stakeholders have been working for more than a year to map out protected areas that will preserve key habitat while leaving the majority of coastal waters open for fishing. The three plans each protect similar percentages of the ocean-the real difference is the quality and diversity of habitat. The higher the quality, the bigger the gains in ecosystem health and productivity that can be expected.
Stakeholder plans will be evaluated for science and socioeconomic impacts before the Oct. 20-22 Blue Ribbon Task Force meeting in Long Beach. The community can submit comments by mail or email, or in person at the upcoming meeting. The Task Force will recommend a preferred plan to the Fish and Game Commission in December for adoption in 2010.
More information can be obtained online at www.caloceans.org.
Nonprofits merge to aid victims of paralysis
Life Rolls On Foundation and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation have announced a merger. Effective immediately, Life Rolls On Foundation, based in Los Angeles, will serve as the West Coast headquarters and division of the Reeve Foundation, a national, nonprofit dedicated to finding cures and treatments for spinal cord injuries and improving the lives of people living with paralysis.
Life Rolls On, founded by brothers Jesse and Josh Billauer, is dedicated to improving the quality of life for young people affected by spinal cord injury (SCI) and utilizes action sports as a platform to inspire infinite possibilities despite paralysis.
Jesse Billauer, a Malibu native who sustained a spinal cord injury as a result of a surfing accident 13 years ago, will continue to serve as a LRO spokesperson, while Josh Billauer will join the Reeve Foundation Board of Directors and chair a steering committee to provide guidance for the West Coast office.
The Reeve Foundation will support the efforts of Life Rolls On for their 6th Annual “Night by the Ocean” gala on Oct. 4. The star- studded, red carpet affair will take place at the Kodak Theatre Grand Ballroom in Hollywood, where LRO will pay tribute to Jenna Wolfe of the “Today Show” and actress Brooke Burns for their contributions to the SCI community. More information can be obtained online at www.NightByTheOcean.org.
Local school raffles
car, cash to remedy budget crisis
To cope with state budget cuts, the Juan Cabrillo Elementary School PTA is raffling off a brand new 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300 sports sedan or $20,000 in cash. The drawing will take place in November.
Each raffle ticket costs $100 (or $450 for a book of five), and 999 tickets are available. All donations are tax deductible.
The proceeds will help prevent the school from losing classroom aides, as well as art, music and science teachers.
More information can be obtained by emailing wedavis90@verizon.net.
Laure, Daniel Stern congratulated by President Obama
Malibu residents Laure and Daniel Stern each received the “President’s Call to Service Award” for their commitment to the community by completing 4,000 or more hours of volunteer service for their work establishing Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families. During a ceremony Saturday evening celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu, the Sterns were given a congratulatory letter from the President of the United States, Barack Obama. They also received a personalized certificate of achievement and an official President’s Volunteer Service Award lapel pin.
The President’s Volunteer Service Award is issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation on behalf of the President of the United States to recognize the best in American spirit, and to encourage all Americans to improve their communities through volunteer service and civic participation.
Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families has been a leader and innovator in the community as a local nonprofit since 1999 when MFYF established Malibu’s first teen center, Boys & Girls Club Malibu. David Kurtz and Brian Strange, Board Directors for Malibu Foundation, hosted the event honoring the Sterns for Youth and Families, at the home of Strange.
-Olivia Damavandi and Laura Tate