Hiker’s remains identified
The skeletal remains found by hikers in a canyon off Kanan-Dume Road are those of a Thousand Oaks man who vanished in 2006.
Jeffrey Scott Howard, 42, vanished from home in December 2006, leaving behind a wife and a newborn child.
Hikers found his body March 29 in a brush-covered car about 800 feet below the Kanan-Dume Road in Zuma Canyon, authorities said.
His identity was confirmed through dental X-rays, Los Angeles County coroner’s officials said.
Howard’s father, Stan Howard, told the Ventura County Star that his son had been suffering from a severe headache on Dec. 21, 2006 when he disappeared. Friends and family had fruitlessly searched for him, and a private investigator hired by Scott Howard’s wife, Thuc, came up empty-handed as well.
A funeral service took place Monday in Westlake Village.
City to address Trancas Park, library issues
The Malibu City Council on Monday will decide if it should direct staff to make grading and retaining wall changes to the Trancas Park project, which the Planning Commission is expected to review at its meeting on May 19. The council will also vote whether to negotiate and execute two agreements with the County of Los Angeles regarding the Malibu Library Renovation Project.
After protests by area residents, the city last week made $300,000 modifications to the Trancas Park development plan to spare approximately 27.5 feet of Trancas ridge from being graded. The dog park was reduced from three quarters of an acre to approximately half an acre, several picnic tables and a shade structure were removed, the access ramp and dog park entrance were relocated and 720 feet of heavily vegetated retaining walls were added.
The $300,000 will be spent on importing dirt to balance the field areas in the park that would have been filled with dirt acquired from the graded ridge.
The council on Monday will decide whether to implement the grading and retaining wall changes to the Trancas Park project, and direct staff to return with the changes for a substantial site plan conformity review.
City council members voted on March 23 to authorize the negotiation for an agreement with architectural consultant firm LPA, Inc. for the first $98,900 phase of the Malibu Library Renovation Project. At its upcoming meeting, the council will decide whether to authorize City Manager Jim Thorsen to negotiate and execute a lease agreement and architectural services agreement with the County of Los Angeles, which owns the property that houses the library.
The architectural services agreement defines how the city will be reimbursed for costs associated with the architectural and design phase of the project. Additionally, the agreement specifies the process for approval of the design of the library between the city and the county.
Mother’s Day contest
The Malibu Times is celebrating Mothers Day, May 10, with the third annual “Mother of the Year, Rosie Award.” To choose a mother of the year, we are asking readers to submit a short essay of 250 words or less telling us why their mother (or step-mom, foster mom or similar person in their life) should receive the Mother of the Year Rosie Award.
The winner will receive several treats from local businesses.
For those who would like to nominate their mother for the Rosie Award, submit a 250-word essay before May 1, by e-mail to classads@malibutimes.com, by fax to 310.456.8986, or by mail to 3864 Las Flores Canyon Rd., Malibu 990265. The winner will be announced May 7.
Nobel Peace Prize nominee headlines “One Book One City-Malibu program”
Greg Mortenson, author of the “One Book One City – Malibu” 2009 book selection, “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time,” will appear May 1 at Pepperdine University’s Smothers Theatre as part of the program’s month-long activities.
Mortenson’s book details how, after recovering from his attempt to climb K2, he was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town’s first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, and now helps to build schools throughout rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.
One Book, One City takes place April 20 to May 25. Events include a kick-off at the Malibu Library on April 25 at 3 p.m. with city and library officials, and local students participating. May 9, a discussion for students in grades third through seventh will take place at Malibu Library, conducted by local students. A panel discussion at the Pepperdine University library, featuring scholars and others interested in the affairs in Pakistan and Afghanistan, will take place May 21 at 6 p.m. and a closing celebration will take place May 23 at 3 p.m. in the Malibu Library.
Additionally, there will be a writing contest sponsored by Diesel, A Bookstore centered on the themes of Mortenson’s book. There will be awards for the best fiction/poetry and best nonfiction entries in both young and adult categories. Entries should be submitted to Diesel by May 18, and winners and prizes will be announced at the closing celebration.
More information can be obtained by calling 310.456.6438 or e-mailing 1b1c-bu.com
O’Neal in drug trouble again
Redmond O’Neal, son of actors Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal, has been charged with a felony count of bringing drugs onto jail property, according to the Los Angeles Times.
O’Neal, 24, was arrested April 5 on charges of trying to smuggle drugs into the Pitchess Detention South Facility in Santa Clarita around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Prosecutors recommended that bail for O’Neal be set at $50,000. He was scheduled to be arraigned later on Tuesday.
Sunday’s arrest came during a routine security check in the parking lot of Pitchess Detention South Facility, said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. O’Neal, 24, had apparently come to the facility to visit an inmate. Whitmore said O’Neal told Sheriff’s deputies before the search began that he had drugs on him.