-After a long, often acrimonious battle, Malibu finally went to the polls and the hotly contested Measure R won clearly with close to 60% of Malibu voting “yes” and 40% voting “no,” which in politics is a decisive victory. What happens next is hard to say, although there are persistent rumors of a federal lawsuit being filed right after the New Years. On the same ballot, Craig Foster, president of AMPS, the group pushing for a separate Malibu School District, was elected to the Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education, the first time Malibu has had a representative on the Board in many years. In another closer race for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors Third District seat, vacated by the termed-out Zev Yaroslavsky, former State Sen. Sheila Kuehl edged out former Santa Monica Mayor Bobby Shriver. Although Shriver ran well in Malibu, the westside and west Valley, he couldn’t overcome the onslaught of votes from the Democrat strongholds in central L.A., which went strongly for Kuehl.
-The slaughter on PCH continued, as a bicyclist was seriously injured in one alleged road rage incident and a pedestrian was killed in a separate incident on the same weekend.
-After 35 years of waiting, Dan Blocker Beach opened to the public close to Latigo Shore Dr.
-After 22 years of operation, the children’s store 98% Angel announced its closure for early next year in in the Malibu Country Mart. Their lease was not renewed.
