Renowned Malibu resident injured in PCH accident
Dorothy Stotsenberg, author of “My Fifty Years in Malibu” and special ambassador to Pepperdine University, was involved in a serious car accident on Sunday while driving to church. Stotsenberg was making a left-hand turn from Encinal Canyon Road onto Pacific Coast Highway when she was hit by another vehicle on the driver’s side.
Paramedics had to cut Stotsenberg from her vehicle and rush her to the hospital, where it was reported that she sustained serious injuries, including a cracked hip and pelvis, a broken wrist and numerous contusions.
Stotsenberg, 92, has been a special ambassador to Pepperdine for many years. She is a member of the Crystal Wave Society and the George Pepperdine Society and she funded the Stotsenberg Track on the Pepperdine campus. Stotsenberg also created the Stotsenberg Guitar Recital Series and the Mary Pickford Foundation/Stotsenberg Center for the Arts Endowed Fund.
Stotsenberg is currently at UCLA Hospital, where she is receiving cards, flowers and visitors. Cards and messages can be sent to UCLA Hospital (Westwood) Room 430, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095.
Land continues sliding at Hume Road
The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works is informing local residents of upcoming projects to restore damaged roadways and investigate a landslide resulting from the severe storms of 2005. Road repairs and retaining walls will be constructed along Las Flores Canyon Road and Hume Road in the unincorporated area in the vicinity of Malibu, an area especially hard-hit by the storms. Public Works recently completed debris removal and drainage work in the area.
The section of Hume Road damaged by a landslide during the severe 2005 rains will remain closed pending Public Works’ investigation of the landslide. Public Works officials said they expect the investigation to be completed in approximately four months. The investigation will include drilling borings into the landslide and installing landslide monitoring devices. When the investigation is completed, Public Works will evaluate the feasibility of repairing the landslide and reconfiguring Hume Road at the intersections with Briarbluff and Castlewood Drives.
Public Works plans to construct three retaining walls along Las Flores Canyon Road and one along Hume Road near Las Flores Canyon to shore up the slopes at these locations and restore both traffic lanes to their full width. The walls will be textured and colored to blend in with the natural surroundings. The damaged roadways immediately adjacent to the walls will also be reconstructed.
Construction on the first wall on Las Flores Canyon south of Hume is scheduled to begin in April and will take approximately four months to complete. Construction of the second wall on Las Flores Canyon at south of Live Oak Meadow Road and the wall along Hume near Las Flores Canyon are scheduled to start in the summer and will take approximately four months to complete. Construction on the third retaining wall on Las Flores is tentatively scheduled to begin in December.
During construction, one lane of the roadway will be open to traffic for both directions with a stop sign or control by a flagger. Significant increase in travel time is expected. During red-flag fire alert days, for the safety of residents and protection of property, no work will be performed unless authorized by the Fire Department.
Message signs will be installed on Pacific Coast Highway near Las Flores Canyon to advise motorists of construction hours and delays. A telephone hotline will be established for the residents to obtain the most current traffic condition information.
-Dani Bosio