A happy group of Malibu Realtors gathered at a black tie gala, celebrating the 52nd anniversary of Malibu Association of Realtors at the Riviera Country Club Friday evening. L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky installed the new board and officers, who are: President Casey Kelley, President-Elect Terry Lucoff, Vice President Bill Mason, Secretary-Treasurer Paul Randall, Past President Beverly Taki and incoming board members Marlene Baumgartner, Viki Darbonne, Ani Dermenjian, Diane Everett, Wendy Jensen, Lea Johnson, Paul Van Alstyne, Judy Van Schoyck and Katherine Yarnell.

The prestigious annual Director’s Award, in a break with tradition, was given to four people for their civic participation in the city of Malibu: Pat Greenwood, Parks & Recreation; Commissioner Charleen Kabrin, former chair of the Malibu Planning Commission; Joan Plummer, member of the local Coastal Planning Commission; and Katherine Yarnell, member of the Malibu Business Roundtable.

The Master of Ceremony for the event was Realtor Jeff Chertow. Malibu Mayor Joan House and Susan Nissman, Yaroslavsky’s Malibu deputy, presented an award to the outgoing president, Taki, on behalf of Rep. Brad Sherman and Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Sheila Kuehl, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and the City Council of Malibu.

Noted was that the Board of Realtors, under the leadership of Beverly Taki, took an active role this past year in the political life of Malibu and worked successfully during the year on several major Malibu issues: to expedite the reopening of PCH, to oppose the Business License Tax, to endorse and work for passage of Proposition X (the local school bond issue), to endorse successful candidates for public office and to contribute to the PCH beautification program.

“My life is hell,” exclaims an out-of-breath Mike Prince. “Wait a second, hold on, can I call you back?” The Broad Beach businessman is busier than White House spin doctors these days, for Prince is the King of Furbies. Furbies — the interactive balls of fur that have become this season’s must-have, hot toy. Prince has seen the Tickle-Me-Elmos and the Ninja Turtles and the Giga Pets come and go, but Furby is a phenomenon. “I’ve been in the toy business for 20 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” he says. “It’s just crazy.”

Furby fever was in full swing the day after Thanksgiving when Christmas shoppers mobbed the malls in hopes of bagging one of the fuzzy critters. What makes Furby so fashionable? Well, for one thing, it is unlike any other toy. They have their own name and speak their own language — Furbish. They come with an English-Furbish dictionary, so kids will know what Furby is saying. Once the electronic toy is activated, Furby will eventually learn English and have a 300-word vocabulary. They can also recognize other Furbies, and just like toddlers, if one Furby has a cold, his Furby friend will catch it.

“You have to spend time with Furby, you have to teach Furby,” says Prince. “It’s a very nurturing toy.” It can also be a very expensive one — at least on the black market. The toy retails for $29.99, but due to overwhelming demand, few Furbies can be found. Ads have been placed in local papers with asking prices of up to $1,000. The best bet for frantic parents might be the Internet. At www.shopnow.com, Furbies can be purchased for a mere $99.

Prince, meantime, is sending out Furbies as fast as he can. “We’re shipping them out to everyone, but it’s never enough. Furbies go off the shelves in minutes, not days.” Prince says he has a 12-page computer printout of anxious customers and gets calls daily from long lost friends. His own kids, of course, are the proud owners of Furbies, but many others are bound to be disappointed come Christmas day. So, what’s a parent to do when there are no virtual pets to be found? Some may turn to actual ones. As any animal person will tell you, there are lots of fine fuzzy, friends-for-life that would love to be nurtured — they’re usually free to good homes and readily available at the local pound.

When Kanan Dume Road was opened in 1974, it was hailed as a wider, safer route connecting the Conejo Valley to the coast. Malibu Canyon Road, the only existing link, was narrow, with no shoulder on some stretches and precipitous drops to Malibu Creek on the east and cliffs that regularly shed rocks on the west.

But within a short time, officials realized Kanan Dume had problems of its own: narrow tunnels and steeper grades, the worst of which was the three-mile, 8 percent descent to Pacific Coast Highway.

A series of improvement projects in the early ’80s included separate tunnels for north and southbound lanes, a brake-check turnout for southbound traffic and increased signage warning of the steep grade.

Then, in response to several accidents involving runaway trucks at Kanan and PCH, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works imposed vehicle weight restrictions of 14,000 lbs in 1981. After a fatal crash in 1987, the weight limit was further restricted to 8,000 lbs and construction of a median escape ramp was begun. The ramp, about 100 yards long and deeply lined with gravel, is designed to stop an 18-wheeler.

After Malibu incorporated, local equestrians lobbied the council to allow horse trailers on the road, but to no avail.

Signs on the 101 Freeway westbound before the Topanga and Malibu Canyon exits warn that no vehicles over two axles or four tons are allowed. On Kanan, there are signs beginning about 50 feet south of Agoura Road, “Local deliveries OK next 8 miles only.” More signs are posted at Cornell, Troutdale, Sierra Creek, Mulholland and Pitsch Canyon. At Newton Canyon a sign with a flashing yellow light reads, “Weight limit 1,000 feet ahead no exceptions,” beside a large, paved turnout and parking area. Farther on, a sign reads, “Break Check Area 1/2 mile Vehicles over 3 tons check brakes,” and at the top of the grade, “8% grade next 3 miles trucks use low gears.” Runaway Vehicle Escape Median signs are posted the last two miles before PCH. There is also a smaller dirt turnout area where the road levels slightly just before Cavalleri Road. Why these signs were not heeded in the latest crash, is still unknown.

A letter to parents from Dr. Neil Schmidt of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District caught the eye of many Malibuites affiliated with Catholic, Christian Science, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reconstructionist (Judaism) and Chabad congregations.

In the Dec. 2 letter, the superintendent apologizes to those offended by a flier that promotes the Keep Christ in Christmas 35th Annual Art and Essay Contest.

Malibu’s public schools weekly send an information packet home with each student. The packet contains fliers from local organizations. The content of these fliers is normally regulated by federal, state and local laws and normally cannot contain matter of a “religious” nature. Keep Christ in Christmas is a local organization comprising several Christian denominations.

“Students are not to be given the impression that their school officially sanctions or prefers a specific religion,” Schmidt writes. “The Supreme Court has ruled that public schools may not sponsor religious practices, although they may provide secular instruction about religious traditions in a balanced manner.”

Although there was no district correspondence, a flier announcing a community Hanukkah party and dedication of a Torah scroll, distributed to students the following week, also was not approved, Schmidt said in a phone interview. All printed materials distributed by schools are subject to district approval. Typically, the SM-MUSD’s own legal counsel reviews daily requests from all 16 campuses. In some cases, the district refers to County Office of Education counsel or to the California School Boards Assocation.

“When we feel it [a flier] goes beyond established guidelines, we ask the group to modify it,” says Schmidt. Often, this merely means taking out a word or two.

In its detailed description of contest rules, the KCIC flier references scripture from Luke (2:8-11, 13-14). A shorter, more general missive available at local churches does not contain the reference. In the past, parents received KCIC information more in keeping with the second flier.

The Hanukkah invitation announces a grand raffle for a SONY Playstation. Religious content was not at issue, although symbolic artwork may have been at question. That kid business is big business more accurately describes the conflict.

According to Schmidt, about 80 percent of materials received contain some commercial aspect. Those that advocate or endorse a particular product by brand name are unapproved.

“We get thousands of requests,” he says. Local, nonprofit programs get priority. Schmidt emphasizes, “. . . during the time they’re not in school, children should be involved in activities that enhance and are essential to their development.”

Guidelines for recognition of religious beliefs and customs are reviewed periodically by the California School Boards Association. Schmidt says in more than 25 years as a principal and superintendent, questions of what is appropriate and what is not are raised by communities a few times each decade.

“Some districts have a hands-off policy with regard to distribution of printed materials,” he says. “Who suffers are our children. As a family-oriented youth agency, we strive to provide resources to strengthen families, because we believe families play an integral role in our work.”

Schmidt already has initiated the process of contacting local groups to review criteria for printed materials and hopes to have a meeting by the end of January.

Repeated within the nine district guidelines governing religious beliefs and customs (May 29, 1990) is the concept of balance. Therefore, Schmidt supports the idea that schools make every attempt to consolidate the community-event fliers of various religious groups into one package for distribution. Winter concerts, classroom instruction and holiday decorations should follow accordingly. One example is set at Webster Elementary, where principal Phil Cott maintains a program of classroom presentations during the holiday season.

Parent volunteers deliver presentations to explain the significance of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza. Children are introduced to the songs, foods and customs associated with each holiday.

Susan Bunn contributed to this story.