Malibu Realtors, Stephen Udoff and Susan Cosentino clean up PCH on Saturday, Oct. 7. The Malibu Association of Realtors sponsors the Adopt A Highway program for the section from Big Rock to Las Flores. Contributed photo.
Community shoutout: Malibu Realtors clean up PCH
Longtime Malibu resident Suzanne Somers dies
Actress’s Malibu Road home burned in 2007 fire
”Three’s Company” star and longtime former Malibu resident Suzanne Somers has died. The actress’s beachfront home on Malibu Road was destroyed in a 2007 fire that allegedly started when a cigarette was tossed from a car on Pacific Coast Highway and ignited a blaze that burned the hillside adjacent to Bluffs Park and onto Malibu Road. Somers had shared the home with her husband of 42-years, Alan Hamel. The couple sold the lot and moved to another Malibu beachfront property. Somers battled breast cancer for decades. She passed away in Palm Springs Saturday, just one day shy of her 77thbirthday on Monday, October 16.
Sharks volleyball honors quintet during Senior Night
Malibu High coach commends the departing players for sticking with team after having no freshman season
The last two contests of the Malibu High girls volleyball team’s season were away games this week.
Contests on the road are special memories that Sharks senior outside hitter Coco Lupo will always hold onto. However, it is not because she enjoyed chasing victory in opposing teams’ gyms. Lupo thinks about time spent with her teammates.
“During tournaments, we would have a long day of playing, so we would go to some fast food restaurant somewhere and eat junk and just talk about stuff,” she recalled.
Her classmate and teammate Milan Kelly, also an outside hitter, has similar thoughts.
“The joy of all of us together and experiencing the bus rides — all those funny moments,” she said. “If we lose or win, we lift each other up. Those are moments to remember. Those moments built a bond.”
The volleyball players said their last home game of the season, a five-set loss to the Hueneme Vikings on Oct. 5, was just as momentous because it was the team’s Senior Night celebration.
Kelly, Lupo, and fellow 12th-graders Kate Mulder and Valeria Marquez were recognized during the contest along with junior libero Jasmine Bellamy, who is moving out of the country.
The celebration included a decorated gym and cheering crowd. The seniors had their pictures taken and were given flowers. The entire team wore matching pink socks.
Mulder appreciated being commended on Senior Night.
“The game had a good turnout,” she said. “It was fun to be recognized.”
Malibu won the first and third sets against the Vikings but lost the second and fourth sets. They lost the final set by a couple of points.
Lupo said Malibu’s performance against Hueneme was the squad’s best of the season.
“We really, really wanted it,” she said. “We wanted to win. We gave it our all. I was proud of everyone by the end of it.”
Malibu head coach Derek Saenz said the seniors and Bellamy all had positive impacts on the volleyball team.
“They all added to the program,” he said. “Their personalities, what they bring in the gym with them, is all great.”
The seniors’ freshman volleyball season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They stepped on the court together the next year.
Their coach commended the Sharks’ departing players for sticking with the team despite not having a freshman season.
“These girls went through a lot, but stuck with it,” Saenz noted.
Marquez, a middle blocker and outside hitter, said the girls kept each other positive.
“If one of us was not in the loop, we’d be like, ‘Hey snap out of it,’” she said. “We have each other’s back, which is nice.”
Malibu claimed victories over Monrovia, Lynwood, Mendez, Camino Nuevo Dalzell Lance Campus, Channel Islands, Fillmore, and de Toledo before the close of their 2023 campaign this week.
Kelly said their 3-0 triumph over de Toledo on Sept. 28 was outstanding.
“We had a lot of fun and did very well,” she said.
Malibu faced Channel Islands on Monday and Fillmore on Wednesday.
The Sharks, Saenz said, were a versatile and physical team.
“When we played well, we looked like the best team in the Citrus Coast League,” he said.
Mulder, a setter, described Malibu as a close-knit group.
“I will always remember the seniors as great girls,” she said. “All of the girls are fun to be around. I love them.”
Homes For Dogs welcomes Malibu community
Event encourages residents to educate themselves on fostering animals who need loving homes
Coldwell Banker Realty welcomed the Malibu community to the city’s first Homes For Dogs adoption event on Sunday, Oct. 8. The event brought families, animal lovers, and pet owners out to the Malibu Country Mart courtyard.
Since 2014, Coldwell Banker has hosted their Homes For Dogs project across the nation, partnering with pet rescue organizations to find homes for sheltered and at-risk pets. This past weekend marked the first-ever Homes For Dogs in Malibu as Coldwell Banker Realty Malibu and Pacific Palisades collaborated to host the event.
The event was appropriately organized and led by Dani Montalto, Coldwell Banker Realty Sale Support Administrator, who has a proven passion and experience in animal rescue. Her personal connections within the animal rescue community helped bring the event together.
Coldwell partnered with Orange County-based Cage to Couch and Malibu-based Boomer’s Buddies Rescue to host the day’s meet and greet with adorable animals as well as an item donation collection, raffle, and a “Howl-o-ween” dog costume contest.
Also represented at the event were Tesla Malibu and The Fauna Foundation.
Montalto called the event an exciting experience, and said the collaborative effort to get animals adopted is something she was happy to be a part of.
“The event is going really well. It’s been very successful,” Montalto said. “We’ve been getting a lot of interest and questions about the animals available for adoption. We’re hoping to continue to raise money for future rescues so that these beautiful rescues can continue to do the very important work that they do.”
The event promoted the adoption and rescue of animals with specific backgrounds and trauma experiences, and encouraged the community to educate themselves on the importance of fostering animals who need loving homes.
Cage to Couch is a nonprofit organization, founded last year, that provides medical care and loving homes to rescued laboratory research survivors and other animals who have suffered neglect, abandonment and cruelty and abuse, including seniors and those with special medical needs.
The group’s vision is a humane world where humans do not impose suffering on animals.
Cage to Couch co-founder Liza Franzen said meeting Malibu residents was a positive experience and the event was a great opportunity to educate the community about the cruelty and abuse animals suffer as part of laboratory research programs.
“We started out thinking we’d have 1 or 2 rescues a month, but just as we started we rescued 42 dogs and we’ve been snowballing since,” Franzen said.
Franzen expressed the importance of events like Homes For Dogs in terms of fundraising, calling communities to consider donating toward the organizations that save the lives of animals.
Boomer’s Buddies Rescue is a dog and cat rescue that is committed to taking on cases such as severe medical, trauma, behavioral cases, and animals needing hospice care. Founded in 2017, the nonprofit organization approaches animal rescue by catching animals who have oftentimes cycled through shelter programs or families who are unable to support medical care for these pets.
Boomer’s Buddies Rescue Founder and President Jessica Davis began the organization in honor and recognition of her own rescued dog, Boomer. She works with shelters across Los Angeles and Orange counties in checking the status of animals who may be phased out of shelter care and that is where the rescue does its part in helping alternate these pets through medical or behavioral treatment and into a loving home.
She called the opportunity to showcase the beauty in these rehabilitated animals an honor.
“This is my community and this is my passion project,” Davis said. “I am excited to be here and speaking on these animals’ behalf.”
Davis recognized the desire of potential pet owners to seek breeders for their potential pet, but urged visitors to consider adopting animals who are equally special and deserving of love and care as animals who are bred.
“I think it’s important for communities to know that we are the problem; it’s us and not the animals. We have to fix the problem at the roots,” she said. “Our shelters are completely flooded with animals, the worst it’s ever been. We need compassionate people to foster, rescue, or adopt, or the problem will never stop.”
The event produced a lot of awareness, interest, and smiles and the organizers hope it will create ripples of change in the rescuing of animals who need homes.
Residents and community members are urged to support animals who desperately need help by adopting, rescuing or fostering animals through organizations like Cage to Couch or Boomer’s Buddies Rescue, but also for those who can not or are not considering taking in an animal to consider supporting rescue programs through generous donations.
For more information on how to get involved and support the rescuing and fostering of animals, visit CagetoCouch.org and Boomersbuddies.com
Iconic Gladstones restaurant reopens; to remain open at least another two years
Gladstones restaurant which was scheduled to close last month has been given a reprieve. The iconic restaurant, once the highest grossing eatery in Los Angeles, has reopened under new management and is expected to keep its lease for at least two years.
The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors controls the concession which had an agreement with the late former LA Mayor Richard Riordan. When the agreement ran out the county found a new concessionaire with famed restaurateur Wolfgang Puck who won the bid. Puck hired LA architect Frank Gehry to redesign the tired structure. While the Puck group waits at least two years to secure permits the county decided not to let the space sit empty. Gladstone’s General Manager Jim Harris and his employees have re-grouped, repainted, received a new liquor license, and are now reopened for business. The new Gladstones says it’s ready to reengage with the community and will soon bring back a happy hour and some new promotions. The restaurant will continue to package leftovers in its signature foil “sculpture” wraps featuring mermaids and whales.
Former article:
Letter to the Editor: Re: ‘Division in the Malibu swimming community’
Dear Editor,
I want to express my gratitude for the invaluable local reporting your paper provides, shedding light on the issues affecting our community. In particular, I would like to extend my appreciation to Judy Abel, whose journalism has been instrumental in highlighting a matter of significance to myself and many others – the establishment of the Malibu Marlins Swim Club. Regrettably, in last week’s article about the division in the Malibu swimming community, Ms. Abel extensively quoted Joe Sichta, a new Malibu Aquatics Foundation (MAF) board member, on matters he appeared to be ill-informed about. Mr. Sichta mentions a supposed four-hour meeting between members of the MAF board and concerned swimmers and parents. Such a meeting never took place. During the second protest/boycott of the Blue Group training following Coach Erik’s dismissal, three individuals claiming to be MAF board members arrived but refrained from interacting with swimmers and parents. They declined to answer questions, only stating that “this is our (meaning their) call to make” and “there is nothing you can do about it.” They provided no justification for the firing and completely dismissed the idea of listening to the Seawolves “members” in any meaningful way. This so-called meeting, if it can even be called that, lasted no longer than 30 minutes. The notion that anyone from the MAF dedicated four hours to such a meeting is as ludicrous as the notion that they feared for their safety when dealing with 12-year-old swimmers and their parents.
Everything Mr. Sichta asserts is simply a rationalization for what he eventually admits in the article: “We’re not running a democracy. We’re running a swim team.” This statement encapsulates the core issue at hand. A non-elected, unaccountable board that only serves its own interests. A handful of parent-directors manage the MAF in a manner they believe benefits their own children, while disregarding the other parents. Such individuals can be found in all sports, often rushing on the soccer field to berate coaches or referees. However, in this particular case, they wield autocratic control over the club and even ignore the results of their own survey, which showed overwhelming support for Coach Erik. Their refusal to acknowledge our concerns or even identify themselves – every email was signed ‘The Board’, and I still don’t know identities of all the board members, except for Mr. Sichta, who appears to have been recently added – is precisely why we were forced to establish a new club. Our goal is to create an organization structure designed to be responsive to its members, aligning with the model that USA Swimming deems ideal because it serves its members.
The more pressing issue, one I hope your publication will continue to cover, is not the ongoing dispute between the Seawolves and the Marlins, but rather the Seawolves’ efforts to obstruct the Marlins’ access to the Malibu Community Pool. There is ample space for both clubs to coexist, but regrettably, the Seawolves seem determined to stifle competition, and the city’s recreation staff is more inclined to appease its vendor than to fulfill its duty to the citizens it serves. Fortunately, despite the obstacles posed by the city and the Seawolves, the Marlins have managed to secure some pool time directly from the school district. While these hours, from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m., may not be ideal for many of our swimmers due to commitments like siblings or attending other schools, they do afford us an alternative and a glimmer of hope for our club’s future. Your continued coverage of these critical issues would be invaluable in fostering transparency and accountability within our community.
Robert Brinkmann, Malibu
Celebrating life and all its glory together
Harvest of Hope fundraiser returns with its 18th fundraiser at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church of Malibu
Tables of cheese, crackers, wines, and actionable items filled the St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church of Malibu for the 18th annual Harvest of Hope Fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Attendees enjoyed an evening of live music, delicious food, and an opportunity to support local organizations. Children were able to enjoy arts and crafts and Angel City Fiddle Squad live music while attendees enjoyed the featured wine and beer.
St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church Director of Worship Arts and Christian Enrichment Thomas Craig Buckley organized the fundraiser this year and said the event helps them raise funds for their mission projects for the year.
“It’s a celebration of the community. We have wines and beers to taste, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and activities for children; it’s just a time a time for us to get together and celebrate a new season and try to help others,” church member Sky Stipanowich said. “I do believe we have at least 80 to 90 items at this silent auction, there’s artwork, there are spa days, there are hotel retreats, there’s something for everyone, it’s really a time to celebrate togetherness and community and care for others.”
This year’s fundraiser supports organizations such as the Episcopal Relief and Development, the Malibu Community Labor Exchange, Habitat for Humanity, and Vida Joven de Mexico Orphanage.
“It’s also a gathering for our church family to come together with friends and spend an afternoon wine tasting, all while raising money for good causes,” Buckley said. “There was a team of eight of us that have been planning this for about five months now, and we kind of updated new things, got a new cater, a new band, which is Angel City Fiddle Squad, it’s an afternoon to come together and celebrate goodness.”
“The team this year worked really, really hard to get silent auction donations and surprised to ourselves that we got more than we had room for which is always a great thing, but that’s one of our big sellers is that silent auction, and we’re thankful for all out donations,” Buckley said. “I chaired the event this year, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.”
Buckley said the event is an opportunity to gather and enjoy the event.
“The great thing about this event is that people want to sit and chat and — hopefully spend some money, but it’s just about people coming together, and in a time for me this right now in a time where coming together can be difficult and we can put life aside and just sit and be with each other, I think that was my main focus of energy for this event which is coming together.”
The Harvest of Hope Festival Planning Committee is grateful to the vintners and craft breweries for providing wines and beers for the festival as well as the businesses and individuals for their generous contributions to the silent auction.
“Our next big event that’s coming up is our recital on Nov. 12, the cool thing about our music program here is that we have the opportunity to hire four Pepperdine students, so we have a really good connection with Pepperdine students, we try to grab them as freshmen’s so they can be here all four years, which serves as a job for them in college, but it also gives them a church home based,” Buckley said. “The money will help raise money for the music industry here but also help a way to showcase the talent we have here at St. Aidan’s.”
To learn more about the chuch and upcoming events, visit http://www.staidanschurch.org/#home.
City hall to be closed on Oct. 18 for staff evacuation drill
Malibu City Hall will be closed Wednesday, October 18, 3:00 PM for an all-staff evacuation drill with the Malibu – Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station and Los Angeles County Fire Department as part of the City’s wildfire season and disaster preparedness efforts. City Hall will re-open for regular hours Thursday, October 19, 7:30 AM. Sirens and alarms may be audible.
Local retailers strategize as they prepare for holiday seasonal sales
By Barbara Burke
Special to The Malibu Times
According to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast, sales nationwide are likely to increase between 3.5 percent and 4.6 percent in 2023 for the November-January timeframe. For context, RISnews, a retail industry organization that focuses on merchandising and supply chain issues, notes that last year, Deloitte forecasted an increase between 4 percent and 6 percent in holiday sales. RISnews notes that, although healthy employment and income growth will keep the volume of sales growing for 2023’s holiday season, inflation has moderated and both credit card debt and interest rates have increased appreciably, factors that all contribute to predictions that this year’s holiday retail sales will grow more slowly.
Deloitte also forecasts e-commerce sales to grow between 10.3 percent to 12.8 percent year-over-year for the holiday season. If true, e-commerce holiday sales will reach between $278 billion to $284 billion nationwide. According to Bain & Company’s projections, unadjusted seasonal sales are expected to grow 3 percent year-over-year in November and December, reaching nearly $915 billion, with an astounding 90 percent of the growth coming from non-store (e-commerce and mail order) sales.
So, local retailers wonder what to do. How, they ask themselves, do we get customers into our brick-and-mortar stores in Malibu? Offer significant discounts for Black Friday? Sponsor events? Offer sales?
“We’re in the process of planning holiday events at Malibu Country Mart,” said Mike Feigen, director of marketing at the shopping center, noting that the retailers are delighted to participate and they hope doing so generates increased customer flow and sales. “If our temporary use permits are approved by the city, we will host Santa and, of course, Mrs. Claus from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3, and Saturday, Dec. 16, and on Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 4 to 7 p.m.”
Steve Soboroff, manager of The Park at Cross Creek, agrees that events are one vehicle retailers employ for increasing local sales and traffic.
“We celebrate our local merchants,” he said. “A few weeks ago, Sorenity Rocks had an enormously successful event and soon, Sushi by Howdy’s will have a grand opening akin to what we just celebrated for the opening of Prince Street Pizza and Irv’s Burgers, an event that attracted 1,000 people.”
Down at the Pier, local restaurateur Helene Henderson’s Malibu Farm is, as it does every year, doing all it can to increase traffic on and near the Pier during the slow months in Malibu. Malibu Farm will offer events celebrating the various upcoming holidays, including, for the first time, Dia De Los Muertas. To see the event schedule, Google here: https://mailchi.mp/malibu-farm.com/holiday-season-calendar-2023?e=9f951214ae.
Other local vendors are focusing on easing shoppers’ holiday stress. Malibu’s only bookstore, Malibu Village Books, offers gift wrapping and shipping services, making mailing gifts to others user-friendly, while Malibu Lumber Yard offers customers a chance to chill during the hectic holiday season. “Our ping pong table is great,” said Danielle Erickson, James Perse’s store manager. “We’ve seen an increase in customers just wanting to relax and play a few games.”
Local gallerist and artist Eamon Harrington has a welcoming, “come in and look around vibe,” in his creative space that immediately puts customers at ease. He’s also hosting an event soon featuring Keegan Gibbs, a Malibuite who is spearheading a movement to harden homes for wildfires and who is working on a documentary about the history and ferocity of wildfires.
In Malibu, local successful businesses thrive by responding to the needs of locals.
Malibu small businessman Gene Arnold, proprietor of Vitamin Barn, offers another strategy, arguing both locals and out-of-towners have an additional reason to shop in Malibu.
“Malibu provides an excellent alternative to many of the other retail areas in greater Los Angeles,” he said. “For example, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and the Valley no longer provide a safe-feeling shopping experience. It’s time for the City or the Chamber of Commerce to promote Malibu’s safe shopping.”
Soboroff agrees, bemoaning the escalation in smash-and-grab robberies that imperil retailers as well as shoppers. For its part, Malibu has only suffered one such event when, in June 2022, when a band of thieves broke into Maxfield Malibu and stole a significant amount of very valuable merchandise. Nevertheless, Arnold and Soboroff maintain that, comparatively speaking, Malibu offers a safe shopping experience.
“If a person cannot shop safely in Malibu, then he can’t shop safely anywhere,” Soboroff opined. “It’s very convenient to shop in Malibu closer to home.”
Soboroff added, “Of course, it’s possible to save money by shopping on the internet, but it can be harmful to your neighbors who own local businesses and employ local people.”
A point well taken that doesn’t address another concern — if sales tax revenues are down, almost inevitably, the local government’s ability to provide local services may be negatively affected.
Many Malibu businesses quite literally depend on local customers for their survival, a point many have made to this author over the years. Indeed, one local retailer who did not want to be identified said this past week that if her business’ seasonal sales are not successful, she may shutter her store.
A tale often told and experienced in Malibu. Businesses often come and go in this town. For those local businesses desiring to not tell that tale, attention to detail, building trust with customers and working to provide quality products and excellent customer service are the elements of a recipe for success, according to all those interviewed for this article as well as many of the proprietors of many of local businesses that are still standing despite the Woolsey Fire and the COVID pandemic.
The following incidents were reported between Sept. 15 to Sept. 26
9/15
Burglary
A vehicle parked near Zuma Beach was broken into and a purse worth $150 and $40 in cash was stolen. The victim locked the vehicle and said she was unsure how they gained access but said there was damage on the driver’s side door. The damage was estimated to cost $200 to repair. There were no cameras available around the area for evidence.
9/16
Burglary
A vehicle parked near Surfrider Beach was broken into and ransacked. The victim hid the key in the front passenger wheel went surfing, and upon return, the key was missing, and their belongings were taken. The victim received a notification that an unauthorized charge of $15,000 was made at an Apple Store in Pasadena. There were no security cameras that captured the incident.
9/23
Vehicle Burglary
A vehicle parked near Escondido Canyon Park was broken into and ransacked. The victim saw all the side windows were lowered slightly and the doors were left unlocked. The victim’s purse and travel suitcase were missing. The victim received a notification of a charge made to their cards for $425.
9/24
Grand Theft
A vehicle parked near Leo Carrillo State Beach was broken into, and two iPhones were stolen. The victim left the key card on the roof of the vehicle and upon return, the key card was missing, and the vehicle was ransacked. The iPhones were worth $1,500. There was no signs of forced entry. There were no cameras available around the area for evidence.
9/25
Burglary
A vehicle parked in the Escondido Falls Trails parking lot was broken into and ransacked. The victim returned from hiking to see their passenger side window was shattered and their belongings were missing from the backseat and their prescription glasses worth $400 were stolen. The damage was estimated to cost $200 to repair. There were no cameras available around the area for evidence.
9/26
Grand Theft
An estimated $4,000 worth of construction tools were stolen from a property near Malibu Colony. The victim said the construction workers covered the tools at the end of the day, and in the morning, they were missing. The security footage captured two suspects entering the property and removing the missing items. Due to the lack of lighting, they were unable to provide a description of the suspects.
