Quit the infighting
I’ve been away from Malibu for a couple of years. Because I do love Malibu and miss it greatly, I still read, via Internet, The Malibu Times. With every issue, to my increasing distress, comes my increasing lack of desire to return.
Guys, there are bad things going on in the world. Much worse than horses being spooked by dogs (let’s get real here; horses, if allowed, get used to the outside world); Barovsky, not a third, or 2-1/2 term; and lord knows what’s happening with the weirdo(s) at Point Dume Plaza.
Real estate is so high, only the very rich, privileged (and therefore presumably educated,) can afford to live here, yet the major concerns are still ballparks and dog parks. And, of course, the Coastal Commission is so determined to let those bad guys (plants and people) in.
Is it California or just Malibu?
The immense richness and luck anyone has who is able to live in such a place seems to result in almost unbelievable tunnel vision. The joy of endless bickering, the staggering small-mindedness, and the relentless squabbling over the most insignificant issues a person in the real world out there can imagine.
There are lots of worthwhile causes to be fought. They exist outside of Malibu.
Get a life.
Kerstin Eggers, Feb. 8
Many angles in math
I always read Pam Linn’s column, and I almost always agree with her. However, I strongly disagree with her recent piece on algebra when she said “The fact is, while mastering algebraic equations may be a beneficial mental exercise, its practical value is zip.” Pam, the very practical engineers that build the hardware of our civilization use algebra every day. They solve equations. They extract roots. They even use (gasp!) geometry, trigonometry, calculus and statistics.
Unlike Pam, I frequently use algebra in my daily life. When confronted with the Medicare Part D decision, I wrote down the appropriate algebraic equations, plugged in some numbers, estimated some probabilities and came up with my answer. When a broker recently was pitching an investment, I used algebra to calculate an Internal Rate of Return that was (surprise!) different than his pitch. I had a CD with a single bump rate option. Calculating the optimum time to exercise this option was a simple matter using algebra and calculus. When I wanted to capture a dramatic photo at sunrise, I needed to know the exact direction of the sunrise in advance. Easy to do with algebra and trig!
I don’t speak French. But that doesn’t mean that its practical value is zip. It means that I am handicapped by not mastering French, as other people are handicapped by not mastering algebraic equations.
Because they can’t find enough qualified native workers, the expanding high tech industries in the United States are desperate to bring in foreign workers who know higher math. We shouldn’t discourage our young people any more.
Frank Thomas, Feb. 15
Will justice prevail?
It’s a sad state of affairs when two drunk men standing by a demolished car at 6 a.m. can both casually deny they were the driver, and the police let it go at that. Does somebody actually have to be killed by a car traveling 160 mph in order for police to investigate a case where the criminals are clearly standing in front of them? Based on “Fat Stevens” [Stefan Eriksson’s] record of skirting the law, I guess decent people will just have to hope next time he is the victim of his own actions, instead of us.
Blair Frank, March 8
Political bedfellows
H. L. Mencken once said, “When someone says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.” When Richard Carrigan says, “It’s not about politics,” Mencken would have answered, “It’s about politics.
Mencken would have loved Ozzie (Silna) and Carrigan. They’re the perfect combination of money and politics. When Ozzie appeared at the City Council meeting and said they would appeal to the Supreme Court, it became clear that he was the money and Richard was carrying the political water. Their legal miscalculations in this latest debacle have cost them at least $50,000 in legal fees. Now what do they do?
My strong belief is that they will protect their investment and find some way to support John Mazza with a ton of late money in this campaign. There will be so-called independent expenditures by people we’ve never heard of and by organizations our grandmothers would never join. When you see this late money coming in, remember Deep Throat. “Follow the money.”
But I don’t think even Ozzie has enough money to convince the voters Mazza would be good for Malibu. Mazza has opposed every homeowner who wanted to pound a nail. His web site says he’s against term limits because it only took nine years to build the Panama Canal. That’s because Mazza wasn’t around to appeal the project.
It’s going to be interesting to see how they try to sell Mazza’s death-bed conversion to kids, schools and residents’ rights. But then, Mencken also said, “It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.
Having said all that, as the famous political commentator Lloyd Ahern would say,
“Let’s not lose our sense of humor. It’s only politics.”
Lloyd Ahern, March 1
Doesn’t give a darn
Can we please give the press over the Mel Gibson story a rest? Let’s pretend it wasn’t a celebrity that this happened to, and close this matter out. The media is being unfair to Mr. Gibson because he’s a public figure and that is not right. Certainly there are a lot more important things that deserve attention. The worst thing about this is that Mel made the egregious error of getting behind the wheel of a car with an alleged over-the-limit blood alcohol level. With his inebriated state, he said some things that he surely didn’t mean and that in a sober state he would never have said. Too much is being made of his comments. The Jewish community needs to recall the childhood “sticks and stones…” rhyme and get over it. I’m Jewish and, frankly, I don’t care what Mel Gibson thinks of me and my faith or what he might rant on about when he’s had one too many. His opinion counts for zero in my world. So I don’t know what all the hubbub is about. Give the guy a break and let him work on his rehabilitation with the alcohol.
Jill Ranberg, Aug. 9
Say no to ‘Brent-woodnization’ of Malibu
As a member of a founding family here in Malibu, I am disappointed and dismayed that the City Council would even consider a name change of De Butts Terrace to Paradise View Way. Certain council members’ complete disregard for the history of Malibu is puzzling. Malibu is the way it is today because of the actions of these founding families. They created and protected the “Malibu Way of life,” which is the why so many have moved to our community. The very people who want to erase them from our town’s history are the ones who benefit from their past shaping of our community. I grew up in Malibu and went to the schools here with many kids from De Butts Terrace and cannot ever remember anyone of them being teased because of the name of their street. Changing the name and adding a tree or plaque does not cut it. How many people remember Peter’s Project or Malibu Joe? Peter’s Project was bulldozed to build another high end clothing store and Malibu Joe’s plaque is covered in weeds and Starbucks trash. The city council should think long and hard before they vote to erase pieces of Malibu’s history to promote the “Brentwoodnization” of our town. What’s next should we change the names of Busch, Merritt, Murphy Motorway, Webb, Beckledge, Cavalleri, Phillip, Decker, etc… because people are too ignorant to know who they were and their contribution to making Malibu the place it is today. Instead of being embarrassed of the street you live on, take the time to learn a little history about the town you live in and be glad you do not live on Powderpuff Lane.
Brian Merrick, Oct. 18
Need for preparedness
Today a friend suggested to me that the owners of the commercial spaces in Malibu must have all gotten together and had a party. And while they sipped on some vintage 1960s Kool-Aid, they merrily discussed whose lifestyle and/or livelihood they planned to squash next. I’m thinking she might be on to something.
How else to explain the total and complete disregard for the wellbeing of 13,000 year-round residents? Has anyone done any research or had any interest at all in what makes Malibu what it is (and presumably the reason some of them have chosen to live here), or in what makes our community tick? Is there some reason for forcing our local small businesses out of existence?
Have they thought about what happens when there’s fire that lasts three weeks, and no one can get in or out in an expedient fashion? Or the “mild” El Niño that has been forecast, which could (as has happened in the past) close the roads due to slides for extended periods? I certainly remember more than one time residents would park one car on each side of a slide, and walk across the slide area to get in or out of Malibu. Oh, and the deliveries that can’t be made! It’s a little disconcerting to see the supermarket shelves get barer and barer, while no amount of money can get a truck through.
A community gets through these things, together. Our community is at risk.
Judith Michaels, Nov. 15
Conservancy ‘packing the hall’
The citizens of Malibu should be outraged by Monday night’s meeting of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy at Webster School.
During the public comment on the proposed Malibu Public Works Plan, a number of speakers who stated they were from various locations in Los Angeles sharply criticized Malibu’s residents for trying to “exclude the public” from Malibu’s parks. Some of the speakers went further, saying that the people of Malibu are trying to keep “those people” from using Malibu’s recreational and park facilities. There was no doubt that the speakers were referring to ethnic and racial minorities.
This baseless accusation of racial prejudice generated predictable anger and outrage among the Malibu residents in the audience. One after another, they emphasized that they do not object to the public using local parks, beaches and trails. They pointed out that visitors to Malibu have always been welcome to hike up Escondido Canyon to the falls, or into Corral Canyon to link up to existing cross mountain trails. They made it clear that the Public Works Plan’s major flaw is allowing overnight camping in the Malibu foothills near residential neighborhoods, since camping creates an unacceptably high fire danger with unauthorized campfires and cigarette smoking.
Here is where the story becomes truly interesting. After the meeting adjourned, I had a personal conversation with two of the speakers from Los Angeles. Both told me that they had been asked to attend the hearing by someone who said Malibu was trying to close its parks to the public. And, they both said they had been paid to attend the hearing.
Neither one would agree to go on the record nor give me their names. But, both were clearly distressed that they had been lied to by the people who invited and paid them to attend the hearing.
If any Conservancy staff were involved in “packing the hall” with paid speakers, brought there under false pretenses, they should be fired. At the very least, the Conservancy owes it to the City of Malibu to conduct a swift, thorough and public investigation of this sorry incident.
Steven A. Amerikaner
Counsel for the Ramirez Canyon Preservation Fund, Nov. 22