News Briefs

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PCH main line break causes traffic jam

The breaking of a water main on Monday located at the vicinity of Pacific Coast Highway and Temescal Canyon Road had Los Angeles County crew working overnight and traffic backed up for hours to the Malibu Pier Tuesday morning. Shawn Danaei, area engineer for Water Works District 29, said a contractor was brought out to fix the 30-inch line buried underneath 24 inches of asphalt. Two eastbound lanes on Pacific Coast Highway were closed to make repairs that were estimated to conclude Wednesday.

Holocaust film to play at AFI festival

“Ninth November Night,” the Holocaust remembrance documentary that debuted last August at the New Malibu Theatre, will be a featured entry in the AFI Film Festival this weekend. The film was produced by Malibu artist and curator Gisela Guttman with director/composer Henning Lohner. It is about Austrian painter Gottfried Helnwein’s lifelong dedication to artworks perpetuating awareness of Holocaust atrocities. The documentary recently was a prize winner at the Ojai Film Festival and was selected for the Nagoya Film Festival, which takes place next June.

“Ninth Night” will be exhibited as part of the American Film Institute’s Filmfest at the L.A. Film School in Hollywood at 9 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Former Malibu pool cleaner earns state cabinet position

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently named Terry Tamminen to the position of Cabinet secretary. Last year, the former Malibu pool cleaner, was appointed by the governor to head the California Environmental Protection Agency.

In 1991, Tamminen was able to persuade then-Disney President Frank Wells to finance the environmental organization, Santa Monica Baykeeper, beginning Tamminen’s career in environmental politics. Tamminen went on to write the environmental platform for Schwarzenegger during the recall election in 2003. Tamminen was recently named Interfaith Environmentalist of the Year by the Coalition for the Environment and Jewish Life of Southern California and the Los Angeles Interfaith Environmental Council.

Malibu actor settles rent dispute

According to the Associated Press, actor Gary Busey was forced to pay his landlord $30,000 to avoid a legal battle with his landlord, in which 60-year-old Busey was accused of falling behind on his rent for his Malibu home. Busey’s lawyer, Vicki Roberts, told the AP that Busey stopped paying the $6,000 monthly rent after complaining to the landlord that dust, dirt and mold in the ventilation system was affecting his breathing. As part of the settlement, the landlord has agreed to do all the necessary repairs. A settlement came just as a lawsuit filed by the landlord, Robert Wesson, was about to go to trial.