City Council to consider borrowing for park projects
At its meeting on Monday, the City Council will consider a proposal to begin the process for issuing up to $12.6 million worth of certificates of participation, which are similar to bonds, to raise funds for the creation of Legacy Park and Trancas Canyon Park. The amount needed for the projects, according to the city, is $10 million. The additional money would be used to cover the issuance of COPs and other related costs. The plan was endorsed last month by a City Council subcommittee consisting of council members Andy Stern and Sharon Barovsky.
Also at the meeting, the council will discuss options for the future of Malibu Library, including the possibility of breaking away from the Los Angeles County system. The council will also consider eliminating two-hour street parking signs near Malibu High School and Juan Cabrillo Elementary School. These signs had become controversial recently because the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station had begun patrolling the area, and giving tickets.
SMMUSD recognizes top teachers
At its Feb. 21 meeting, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education recognized the accomplishments of the district’s seven newly certified National Board teachers.
The Malibu teachers who have earned this certification are Anne Keller from Malibu High School, who has been teaching for 36 years, and Margo Dunn from Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School, who has been teaching for 19 years.
According to the SMMUSD, National Board Certification is a symbol of professional teaching excellence. It was created so that teachers, like professionals in other fields, can achieve distinction by demonstrating through a demanding performance assessment that they meet high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.
Teachers must demonstrate their knowledge and skills through a series of performance-based assessments that include student work samples, videotapes and rigorous analysis of their classroom teaching, and student learning. Written exercises probe the depth of their subject-matter knowledge and their understanding of how to teach those subjects to their students.
In California, 250 teachers achieved certification this year, for a total of 3,878, which helped make California fourth in the nation in the overall total of National Board Certified Teachers.
Ceremony to mark completion of Cross Creek project
The city of Malibu will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday at 1 p.m. to officially introduce the redesigned Cross Creek Road. The ceremony will take place at the corner of Cross Creek Road and Civic Center Way.
The more than $2 million project began last fall. It includes the replacement of discontinuous sidewalks with continuous pathways made of a permeable pathway, the creation of diagonal parking spaces and the addition of new vegetation along with “street furniture” and crosswalks.
New CERT classes starting soon
The city of Malibu and the Los Angeles County Fire Department will host another Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, training session beginning on March 15.
This training will consist of six subjects presented over four Saturdays. The subjects will include disaster preparedness, first aid, fire suppression, disaster psychology and others.
The training will end with a disaster simulation exercise. The training will take place at Malibu City Hall, located at 23815 Stuart Ranch Rd., on March 15, 22, 29 and April 5 (half-day only). To sign up, contact Malibu Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Brad Davis at 310.456.2489 ext. 260.
Lost dog notice
A woman found a dog on Feb. 28 on Las Flores Canyon Road. She described the dog as a mix of Labrador retriever, border collie and possibly Queensland heeler. She said it’s predominantly black, with some white, and is friendly to people.
The dog was wearing a black bandana with skulls on it and a tan-colored belt-style collar. There was no tag on the dog.
If you are the owner of the dog or know the owner of the dog, call Armaiti May at 310.614.3530 or 310.456.2802.
Artifac Tree sale to continue
The Artifac Tree Thrift Shop, located at 3728 1/2 Cross Creek Rd., will continue its half-price sale through Friday next week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The store, founded by Honey Coatsworth, is also a community helper. It has provided clothing, personal items and other necessities to more than 20 victims from last year’s fire.
Malibu Women’s Club changes luncheon date
The Malibu Women’s Club has changed the date for its Scholarship Luncheon to May 27.
The change was made due to a scheduling conflict.
-Jonathan Friedman