Pepperdine swim and dive team discontinued
Pepperdine University?s womens swimming and diving program was officially eliminated on Jan. 31 due to insufficient funding for a pledge drive that could have kept it intact.
A total of $1.6 million of cash and/or pledges was needed by that deadline to sustain the program for the next four years.
The elimination of the swimming and diving team was announced early last year when the university declared a 10 percent across-the-board reduction of its operating expenses. The athletic department responded by also laying off nine employees and eliminating the mens track team.
Elephant seal pup rescued
An elephant seal pup was rescued at Leo Carrillo State Beach Monday night of last week by the California Wildlife Center.
The CWC estimated the pup to be about three weeks old, and born at one of the elephant seal rookeries in the Channel Islands.
?With all our storms she was probably knocked off the beach, carried away in the currents (they don?t swim well at this age) and washed up onto the rocks at Leo Carrillo, Victoria Harris, CWC board president, said last week in an e-mail to The Malibu Times. She has multiple cuts and scrapes due to her rocky landing.?
The elephant seal pup was transported down to Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro on Tuesday of last week. Her prognosis is guarded, primarily because of her age, Harris said. She is the first elephant seal rescue this season, and the first black coat, which refers to the curly black coat that is shed shortly after weaning to reveal their normal brown/gray coat color.
Group wins lawsuit against plastic bag ban
An aggressive application of the California Environmental Quality Act recently allowed a plastic bag trade group to challenge a local plastic bag ban that was intended to protect the environment.
In Save the Plastic Bag Coalition v. City of Manhattan Beach, the Second District Court of Appeal on Jan. 27 ruled that the petitioners had raised a ?fair argument? that a City of Manhattan Beach prohibition against the use of plastic bags at point of sale might lead to a significant environmental impact. Therefore, the court ruled that the City of Manhattan beach should have prepared an environmental impact report before it adopted the ordinance containing the prohibition in July 2008.
Although the clear purpose of the ordinance was to avoid negative effects on the marine environment caused by plastic refuse, this did not excuse the city?s failure to first prepare an EIR before adopting the plastic bag prohibition.
When the city adopted the ordinance, it relied on an Initial Study under CEQA to determine that the plastic bag prohibition would not have a significant effect on the environment. Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, an association of plastic bag manufacturers and distributors, filed suit, claiming that there was no evidence that plastic bags were a continuing significant problem to the marine environment, and claiming that the ordinance would increase the use of paper bags, which would have greater adverse environmental impacts.
The City of Malibu in May 2008 passed an ordinance banning the use of plastic bags at grocery stores, food vendors, restaurants, pharmacies and city facilities. All other retailers and vendors were made to comply a year later.
After conducting an initial study for the proposal in 2007, the City of Malibu received letters of encouragement from the state Department of Parks and Recreation and the environmental organization Heal the Bay.
There has been no known opponent to the plastic bag ordinance adopted by the City of Malibu at any time prior to or since its passing.
Malibu Sports Gear Drive a success
The City of Malibu Parks and Recreation Department and Jimmy Loftus, a fourth grade student at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School, hosted the Malibu Sports Gear Drive from Nov. 26, 2009 through Jan. 31, collecting new and gently-used sports equipment for donation to less fortunate youth in the United States and around the world.
The drive collected more than 700 items, including 15 baseball helmets, 41 baseball bats, 64 baseballs, 22 soccer balls, 32 pairs of soccer cleats, 18 pairs of shin guards, 85 soccer uniforms including soccer socks, 10 tennis racquets, 12 football helmets, 38 football jerseys, 26 basketballs and more.
The sports gear collected from the drive will benefit the Global Gear Drive and the Sammy Wilkinson Foundation to give less fortunate children the opportunity to partake in quality sports programs and reap the many healthy physical and emotional benefits that participation provides.
More information can be obtained online at www.sammyfoundation.org.
Adamson House seeks volunteers
A new docent training program is scheduled to begin at the Malibu Lagoon Museum/Adamson House on March 2. The training program will last six weeks, with two-hour classes between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the Fred May Center at the museum.
Volunteer docents study information and prepare presentations for visitors about the museum, house and /or garden. The fee for course materials and membership is $40.
Trainees will learn about Malibu?s history and the Spanish Colonial Revival Adamson House built in the 1920s on what is now known as Surfrider Beach. The House is filled with rare Malibu tiles which were produced by Malibu Potteries, the remarkable tile company owned by May Knight Rindge.
Rindge was the last owner of the Spanish land grant, which encompassed the entire City of Malibu. The Adamson House was her daughter?s family beach house.
Volunteers are also needed for a new program designed for school field trips, in which students explore the Lagoon in addition to the house and museum with specially trained docents. Other volunteer opportunities include working in the Visitor Center, becoming a museum archivist or learning about historical preservation. Members can participate in special educational programs, day trips, fundraising activities such as the traditional Mother?s Day Tea, and social events.
More information can be obtained by calling 310.456.8432.
By Olivia Damavandi