City officials meet to discuss Legacy Park
The City Council and Planning Commission held a special joint-session on Monday afternoon to discuss the proposed Legacy Park project with consultant RMC Engineering. The project involves a two-fold plan for the construction of a park on the 20-acre city-owned property located off Pacific Coast Highway between Webb Way and Civic Center Way and the continuation of the city’s efforts to curb stormwater runoff into the Malibu watershed.
The draft environmental impact report for the project was released last month. Official comments and questions can be made on the document through July 14. Steve Clary of RMC said he expects the questions and comments to be analyzed and answered for inclusion in a final environmental impact report in September. He said a final design for the project should be ready by October, with a construction contract awarded by the end of the year. The project and the EIR need City Council approval.
The EIR can be viewed on the city’s Web site at www.ci.malibu.ca.us. CD versions can be obtained by contacting Robert Sanchez at 310.456.2489 ext. 296 or rsanchez@ci.malibu.ca.us. Those wanting copies can order them at the Malibu Business & Shipping Center in Malibu Colony Plaza.
Comments and questions on the DEIR should be submitted to Senior Planner Stephanie Danner at sdanner@ci.malibu.ca.us or by mail to 23815 Stuart Ranch Rd., Malibu, CA 90265.
Town Hall Meeting to address fire issues
The City of Malibu will host a Town Hall Meeting regarding last year’s fires and preparation for future fires on June 25, 7 p.m., at the Malibu Performing Arts Center, located behind City Hall at 23825 Stuart Ranch Rd.
Representatives are expected to attend from the Los Angeles County Fire and Sheriff’s department, State Office of Emergency Management, Department of Forestry, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s office, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the California Highway Patrol.
According to the notice on the city’s Web site, the discussion will be on “lessons learned from the 2007 brush fires” and information will be provided “about preparedness.” The public will have an opportunity to ask questions. There will be live demonstrations of fire protection products and emergency supplies will be available from private vendors.
For more information about the meeting, contact Brad Davis, the city’s emergency preparedness coordinator, at 310.456.2489 ext. 260 or bdavis@ci.malibu.ca.us.
Court hearing continued for Corral Fire suspects
The city of Los Angeles trio charged with being involved in the Corral Fire was to have a preliminary hearing date set during a Tuesday appearance at Van Nuys Superior Court.
But one of the defense attorneys did not appear on Tuesday, so the hearing was continued to Aug. 5. Brian Alan Anderson, William Thomas Coppock and Brian David Franks will return to court on that day to set a date for the preliminary hearing, which would decide whether there is enough evidence for a trial. The Los Angeles trio had an arraignment in December, and all three pleaded not guilty.
Culver City residents Eric Matthew Ullman and Dean Allen Lavorante, who are also charged in the case, are expected to appear in court on July 11 for their arraignment hearing. The five suspects are charged with felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury and recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure.
The District Attorney’s Office says the Nov. 24 blaze was started “during and within an area of a state of emergency,” which would require a mandatory state prison sentence if the suspects were convicted.
Sheriff’s Dept. seeking reserve deputies
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is recruiting qualified men and women to work as reserve deputy sheriffs. Reserve Deputies receive classroom and practical training and then work in a variety of positions, including patrol, administration, detectives, search and rescue, and posse.
The next training session is expected to take place in Calabasas in September.
Usually, persons who are accepted into the program must travel to Valencia or Whittier for training.
Those who are interested should call 800.233.7889 or send an e-mail to Deputy J. Lowe at jalowe@lasd.org. An interest list is being created and an orientation will take place sometime this month.
Getty acquires ancient funeral piece
The J. Paul Getty Museum recently announced the acquisition of a marble sarcophagus that dates to the third century A.D. Called Sarcophagus representing a Dionysiac Vintage Festival, it will join the collection of ancient funerary monuments on view at the Getty Villa Malibu on Friday.
“The quality of relief carvings on the sarcophagus, its state of preservation and its lively subject matter adds a new dimension to the museum’s antiquities collection, and helps us tell a fuller story about Italy’s rich cultural heritage,” said Michael Brand, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “It will soon become the centerpiece for a new themed space at the Getty Villa.”
The provenance of the sarcophagus can be traced back to the 19th century to the Villa Rondinini in Rome.
In 1852, it was purchased by François de Corcelle, the French ambassador in Rome, and was in the possession of his descendents in France until 1994, when it was auctioned at Christie’s in London. It had been in a private collection since then.
At the Getty Villa, the sarcophagus will form the centerpiece of an installation focusing on wine and wine-making in antiquity, featuring objects in the collection that were used for storing and drinking wine.
The artist who carved the sarcophagus is unknown, but the sculptural tradition indicates a workshop in Rome, Getty officials say.
With the sides rising perpendicular to the base, it belongs to a type known as a lenos, which reflected the form of a long trough used for stomping grapes to make wine.
-Jonathan Friedman