• AAA Malibu Towing, operating in Malibu since 1942, lost its home in the Civic Center and moved to Oxnard. The company intends to keep some tow trucks stationed here, but if you’re towed, it’s a long way to go.
• A combination of higher rents, limited zoning and their present county-owned site transitioning to be the new home of a Santa Monica College satellite campus and sheriff’s substation forced Malibu Towing out and they couldn’t find a comparable Malibu space for a storage yard.
• Two people were killed in a violent PCH crash near Trancas when a speeding, silver-colored van—moving at speeds estimated to be between 70-90 miles per hour—went out of control, crossed over the double-yellow line and ran head-on into a red pickup truck going in the opposite direction. Both drivers were killed in the crash and one passenger in the red pick, the son of the driver, had serious injuries, requiring surgery—but is believed to have survived.
• A Malibu man, Arnold Farran, aged 75, was shot by his wife Patricia Farran, aged 76, in their home in unincorporated, county area of Malibu. He died at the scene and she was taken into custody and later charged with murder.
• The Malibu Times’ Best Dog of Summer top honors went to a five-and-a-half-year-old Australian Shepherd named Escrow, which seemed appropriate as the dog’s owner, Brant Didden, is a Realtor.
• Investigators remained tight-lipped about the eight confirmed shooting incidents since Nov. 3, 2016, in the Santa Monica Mountains area in and around Malibu, including the recent shooting of the father while sleeping in a tent with his two young daughters in Malibu Creek State Park. The incidents remain unsolved.
• In a mass die-off at Malibu Lagoon, at least 3,000 fish died and were found floating in the lagoon. The cause was not yet known.
