Council to address election financing
At its meeting on Monday, the City Council will consider whether to change the city’s campaign finance laws. A subcommittee met during the summer to discuss creating new laws, including raising the minimum amount a person can donate to a candidate, which currently stands at $100.
If the council decides to adjust the rules, then City Attorney Christi Hogin will come back at a future meeting with a proposed ordinance for the council to vote on.
Mayor Andy Stern and Councilmember Sharon Barovsky are up for reelection in April. Neither of them has publicly stated whether they will run next year.
School walkway community meeting
A community meeting will take place at the Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School auditorium on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. to discuss the upcoming Point Dume Safe Routes to School Walkway project. The city of Malibu Public Works Department will be conducting the meeting, which will give residents the opportunity to talk with representatives from the city.
The Safe Routes to School program was adopted by the state in 1999 and re-authorized in 2001. The goal of the program is to allow more students to travel safely to and from school on foot or bicycle.
The proposed Point Dume walkway project will include Dume Drive from Heathercliff Road to Fox Street; Grayfox Street from Dume Drive to Fernhill Drive; Fernhill Drive from Grayfox Street to Wildlife Road and Wildlife Road from Fernhill Drive to Selfridge Drive.
According to the city, the project is focused on constructing walkways that preserve the rural character of Point Dume and are environmentally beneficial. Some residents, including activist John Mazza, have disputed that claim.
Construction is set to begin in summer 2006 and will take approximately three months to complete.
Warning on fiber optic technology
The use of fiber optic technology, which was once used exclusively in commercial businesses and high technology arenas to send voice, data and video transmissions at extremely high rates, is quickly spreading into residential areas. A nonprofit organization dedicated to public safety, called Underground Service Alert of Southern California, is warning California homeowners about the potential dangers of fiber optic technology in residential neighborhoods.
Ann Diamond, the president of USA/SC, said in a press release that companies such as Verizon Wireless and SBC Communications are wiring California’s residential areas with fiber optics so that consumers can take advantage of the higher speed and quality of Internet, phone and video services. These long thin strands of pure glass, arranged in bundles called optical cables, are susceptible to damage if they are struck while digging.
As more fiber optic cables are being installed for residential use, homeowners are being urged to call USA/SC’s DigAlert service at 800.227.2600 at least two working days before starting any excavations, big or small. The USA/SC acts as a link between the homeowner and more than 800 underground service businesses, and can designate the locations of the optical cables and pass on this exact information to the excavator.
USA/SC has stated that most “dig-ins,” or unintentional damages incurred during excavation projects, are caused by citizens in the midst of common home improvement activities. The organization warns homeowners that if they do not make the call to the toll-free hotline, there can be serious consequences. Aside from disrupting electronic communications in their communities, a reckless digger can cause harm to themselves and their property.