Last week my wife and I took Jeff Stores to the airport and he went home to New Jersey to live. His mother and daughter live there.

Jeff lived in Malibu for over 30 years. The first 10 years he was a salesman on the road selling construction equipment. About 1978 he went into the grading business. He graded many Malibu home-sites and had the County Fire Abatement weed cutting contract for many years. Since then, he worked for several contractors and twice for me over the past fifteen years.

Jeff was an original member of the Kiwanis Club and every year was always there to do yeoman service for the annual Chili Cook-off. It was Jeff who went in with his equipment and spent days to set up the site for the show and then worked and spent days cleaning the site up after the show.

We’ll all miss Jeff and we wish him the best in his new life back east.

Richard N. Sherman

Having navigated over the Pacific Ocean for more than 1,000 hours, as a Navy Pilot, I just couldn’t let this one go by. In your June 8, paper, on the front page of Section B, was a great article titled “Math Students up to the ‘challenge’ in club.” At the risk of being picky, the figures in problem B are incorrect. The author gave the number of feet in the international nautical mile as 6070. The correct number of feet in a nautical mile is 6080.2. Therefore the difference, in feet, between a nautical mile and statute mile is 800.2.

Signed, John-Paul’s grand-dad.

Bud Hower

The actions of Mayor Tom Hasse, as revealed in the June 8 issue, are distressing for several reasons. You would expect this kind of behavior from an irresponsible teenager at best. It does call into question his judgment, not to mention character, and the “agreement” he negotiated with the Malibu Bay Company. While on the surface it is presented as advantageous, in reality it is in direct conflict with all the electoral promises he made on behalf of the environment and to protect Malibu from over development.

The revelations of his blatant disregard for the law, including the warrant for his arrest, indicate a character flaw and perhaps explains why he could so readily stab in the back those who ushered him into a position he clearly is not suited for. We must ask ourselves if anyone, who has so little respect for the law, should be in a position where he can pass judgment, establish or change rules and regulations–and–have the opportunity to gain financial and political benefit from such a position. And indeed, could anyone in such dire straits, one who has such casual disregard for what is right, resist the temptation to take undue advantage from any given situation?

It is especially galling because of the keen disappointment he represents to all those Malibuites who worked so hard to get him elected because they believed in him. They believed in him at a time when nobody wanted him. Let’s not forget he won by a scant 29 votes in spite of the efforts on his behalf–efforts that turned out to be very costly for some of his most ardent supporters.

No, Tom Hasse isn’t the man his supporters believed he was. His easy shift from the ideals he espoused to aligning himself with those he once so egregiously maligned is further proof of his unsuitability for his position.

I think all of us who live and take pride in our community deserve better. I think it is preferable to deal with a straight and open opposition than with the covert, hypocritical machinations of political opportunism. The question remains, what other “surprises” can we expect from the “Mayor”?

Dan Segal

In the May issue of Los Angeles Magazine was an article about Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School. It discussed the budget crisis in the school district that had just been averted and attempted to explain some of the history of our school and how the crisis might affect us. Unfortunately, there were a number of inaccuracies in the article (i.e. that we were about to lose our physical education program, that the children living in the “nearby Colony” attend our school), as well as information about some of our students and their families that should never have been published.

The most disturbing part of this article was that the author named some of the “Hollywood elite” whose children attend our school. We feel that this was an invasion of everyones’ privacy, especially the families concerned. In this day and age, this action was inappropriate and dangerous. The safety and well being of our children is one of our most important priorities. They and their families must be able to feel safe and secure at school, free from a journalist’s or a stranger’s prying eyes. We expect this to never happen again.

We would also like to comment on the tenor of the article. We are blessed in this community to have four wonderful Malibu public schools for our children to attend. Each of the three elementary schools is academically rigorous and performs at the top in standardized tests. Point Dume Marine Science is proud to be a part of this school district. We are concerned about the implication in this article that we are somehow above the other schools. This is simply not true.

Ms. Cynthia Gray, Principal

Site Governance Council

The Point Dume Marine Science PTA Executive Board

It was with no little interest and amazement that I read Mayor Tom Hasse’s response to criticisms in the June 8 edition of The Malibu Times.

I imagine a number of people have received traffic tickets for one thing or another; however, Hasse’s record is something else. He drove with a suspended license; he missed court dates and he drove without insurance (apparently there were emergencies and he borrowed a car–he could have taken a cab). Hasse’s record defines him not as a responsible adult but, in my opinion, his record and responses define him as an irresponsible arrogant teenager.

I don’t know what Hasse has done to earn a living, but I get theimpression that he has never earned enough to pay for traffic tickets, or pay to have his ’88 Mustang brought up to standards to pass a smog test.

I believe I read in another publication that he borrowed the money to pay his fines. I wonder how he will repay the loan.

All of the above doesn’t make him a bad person, but I question his judgment and maturity.

But there is a larger issue. Why do we elect people like this to public office?

In Malibu we have been blessed/cursed with elected officials who for the most part have little understanding of what management is about. In looking back at our history as a city, just what has been accomplished by our elected officials. We have lost a number of law suits but what services have been added or provided?

I don’t get it.

Robert L. Fox

I am concerned that recent letters to the editor might give Malibu residents the wrong idea about our current law regulating home businesses.

Section 9.0.03 (A)(19) of the Zoning Code allows “Home Occupations” but does place some limitations on that activity.

A resident may work at home but “the existence of a home occupation shall not be apparent beyond the boundaries of the site,” “no signage shall be permitted,” “no one other than residents of the dwelling shall by employed on-site or report to work at the site,” “the Home Occupation shall not create pedestrian, automobile, or truck traffic or parked vehicles in excess of the normal amount in the district,” and “a home occupation shall not include an office, sales room, or any other space open to any business visitors, customers, or clients. . .” These limitations are designed to allow residents to work at home while protecting neighborhoods from the impact of a business being operated in a residential area.

This ordinance does not “criminalize business meetings” as alleged by one recent letter. Entertaining employees and clients, “collaborative writing,” personal training at home, and meetings with “creative teams” are not prohibited by this ordinance. It is not true that discussing business in your home would “subject you to criminal prosecution” as was alleged in another recent letter.

The spirit of the ordinance is to prevent a residential neighborhood from being impacted by a business which has employees reporting to work on a daily basis and customers being attracted to the location–and that is how it is enforced.

There are currently only three cases in which this ordinance is being enforced. One involves a business with 10-12 employees reporting to work at a residence daily, the second involves a business with 5-6 employees daily, and the third involves 1-20 clients coming to the location daily. In each of these cases, complaints were received by neighbors who were impacted by the increased traffic and noise created by the business in the neighborhood.

The Code Enforcement Task Force may, if it chooses to do so, consider this issue–as one of its tasks is “permitted uses” which would include Home Occupations. The citizens of Malibu have every right to request a change in this ordinance but that decision should be made based on facts, not irresponsible statements intended to support a particular agenda.

Victor Peterson

Building Official

Dr. Chester King, the often controversial Malibu city archeologist, has been told the city will no longer need his services. He was recently given a 45-day termination notice by City Manager Harry Peacock, and his services with the city will terminate July 10 of this year. King, who is a contract consultant with the city, serves as an “at will” consultant, which means that his contract can be terminated by the planning director or his appointee, in this case the city manager, at any time, without cause, subject only to a 45-day notice. Peacock indicated that the city is looking for a new consulting archeologist and King has not been asked to submit a new proposal. Most city contracts now have a termination date, but King, who was highly favored by some on the old council, had an open-ended contract without any specific termination date.

Peacock refused to be specific as to the reasons he had decided to give King the termination notice other than to say that a couple of years ago the City Council decided to review consultants contracts every two years, and they are now looking at the contracts of all the consultants. Some will be invited to resubmit for renewal their contracts for another two years, but this was not the case with King.

King, a vigorous defender of the Chumash and their cultural artifacts, had, during his long tenure with the city, been at odds on a number of occasions with homeowners who have complained to the city about some very costly archeological studies that King required in his function as city archeologist–studies that King himself would carry out. Several homeowners charged there was an inherent conflict in that arrangement.

In a virtually unprecedented enforcement action, the California Coastal Commission has set a public hearing on Tuesday June 13, at their Santa Barbara Meeting, to consider a proposed cease and desist order, which, if approved, would direct Malibu attorney Sam Birenbaum and his wife Nidia Birenbaum, a former city of Malibu commissioner, who has a show running on local cable TV called “Cookie Cutter,” to virtually remove significant portions of their dwelling on Malibu Road, which the Coastal Commission has charged are unpermitted. The Public Hearing Notice issued by the commission charges that they are to cease and desist allegedly development activity without permits, which the notice states includes unpermitted rock revetments, grading of 1,800 cubic yards of material (mainly sand) to create a beach patio, construction of a patio enclosure, replacement of a septic tank, placement of a trailer on the beach and construction of two 22-foot high wood retaining walls.

The council is definitely moving ahead post-haste to get our Local Coastal Plan finished and approved by the Coastal Commission and to get the legislature, namely Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) and Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-San Fernando Valley), off our backs as soon as possible. The council took the first giant step and said, “Thank you very much ” to the Local Coastal Plan Committee, which has spent six years laboring on the prospective plan. They did that despite a last minute plea by committee chair Werner Keonig, asking to give the committee one last crack at it. The council politely, but firmly, said, “No thank you” and “we’ll take it from here” and turned it over to their land-use subcommittee of Joan House and Jeff Jennings. The Local Coastal Plan Committee–consisting of Debra DeCray, Sarah Dixon, Melanie Goudzwaard, Jeff Harris, Lucile Keller, Werner Keonig, Patricia Lee, Joan Plummer and Jo Ruggles–was then disbanded.

If any of you had an idea that the recent results at the polls where the zero-growthers were firmly rejected by the electorate meant that the city was ready to move on, you had better look again. Despite losing in every one of the Malibu 13 precincts by margins of almost 2-1, it’s now apparent that the old alliance of Walt Keller/ Carolyn Van Horn/ Gil Segel/ Marcia Hanscom/–and now we can add Sam Hall Kaplan and the Wetland Network crowd– is digging in for a long and nasty fight to try and come back to power. It’s not just that the group opposes the proposed Civic Center/Point Dume/ Trancas/development deal between the city and the Malibu Bay Company, or they don’t appear to be overly concerned by the lack of a community/senior/teen center or ball fields, it’s the tenor of the attack. Judging from the recent attack on Hasse, civilized discourse is out, and “take no prisoners” is the order of the day. The battle promises to be long, very personal and very nasty with more than a hint of fanaticism about it.

Malibu Residents have every right to be census leery the way it is being used by the government for its own political purposes. The only true and constitutional function of the census is to count the number of people so that the proper number of representatives can be had. The only question on the census should be is how many people live at this household? The only race that counts is human. Knowing how many flush toilets, bedrooms, credit cards, health data, health services used and what type or one’s income is simply none of the government’s or anyone else’s business. The only reason for this is so that politicians can be social engineers and accordingly take from one to give to another. Citizens know this intuitively and no amount of propaganda from the news media saying it’s for schools, hospitals, fire, etc., will not change individuals’ perception that the government is far too intrusive and interfering. Our Malibu resident’s actions were right and proper. By all means be counted but just say no to all the other questions.

As for the government’s assurances that all will be private and confidential, just ask one of the survivors of Manzanar what they think.

Charles Black