Milleneum marketing
So our beloved Hughes is now Ralphs, at least on the inside. But since we shop on the inside, the condition outside is little consolation.
I feel the pain. I know the complaints. Reduced stock, new and surly staff, difficult aisles and complex pricing schemes incomprehensible to all but cryptographers and world class chess players. But wake up Malibu and grasp the big picture. This is the evolution of modern marketing and we must understand it if we are to survive!
No one believes the explanation given by Ralphs. No competitive corporation willingly destroys its customer base and alienates the community merely to maintain uniform store policies. The real objective is to acclimate shoppers to the coming revolution in retail sales. This is behavior modification on a large scale. Look beneath the surface and the truth is revealed.
Why are the shopping carts outside the store? It is inconvenient, particularly in the rain. Collection points around the parking lot are being removed. More and more, shoppers are obliged to return their carts to the store front. Sometimes, shoppers who have loaded their vehicles wait to find arriving shoppers who will take their cart back to the store.
This is the beginning of a fundamental shift in the distribution of labor. For now, we are asked only to handle the shopping carts. Soon, items will be stocked on palates instead of the shelves. If we want an item, we will have to unpack it. As the trend continues we will be required to handle more stock. Eventually, the stock will be left on the trucks and shoppers will have to bring their items into the store to buy them.
Why are so many items discontinued? It is a frustrating practice that continues at a furious pace. Removed items are replaced by store brand items. Of course, you can request something else. If you ask often and loudly you just might get it. But don’t count on it.
This is attitude adjustment. It seems innocent now. But, when the process is complete, we will only desire the store brand. We will be required to complete a questionnaire and perhaps spend a few minutes with the in-store counselor to justify the purchase of any brand other than the store brand. We will be made to feel uncaring, unsupportive and perhaps even foolish for wanting any brand other than the brand chosen for us by Ralphs.
Why has pricing become so complex? We must join the club. We need a card with our code number. If we forget it, the checkers will use theirs — for a while. Our old friendly checkers gladly used their cards for us. Suddenly, new checkers who do not know us and don’t much care tell us that they cannot use their cards any more. No card, no discount. Follow the rules or suffer the punishment. Learn the program and conform or perish in the aisles.
Promotional specials are even worse. Want the discount price? No problem. Just be certain that you announce this fact loudly to the checker before the checker touches the register, be certain to have the discount items first in line and above all you must beat the checker to the bar code reader with your membership card. Quite simple when thoroughly learned and practiced.
These tactics will quickly separate the sheep from the rebels. Sure, many shoppers will leave in disgust. But those who remain will be proven conformists. Little-by-little, Ralphs is winnowing the unruly mob of individuals who used to shop at Hughes into disciplined members of an elite shopping cult.
This is the end game. No individual demands. No inefficient effort to serve the selfish desires of the individual shopper. Just one large harmonious group gladly accepting the goods they are directed to purchase on any given day. This is shopping in the new millennium and Ralphs is way ahead of the others.
But visualize the big picture. There are hidden benefits. There will be new job opportunities and a new social class. Those of us unable to conform to the new requirements at Ralphs will be forced to hire shopping agents who have mastered the system. Those with the intelligence and stamina to survive the shopping wars will be rewarded with a prestigious new social position. T-shirts and bumper stickers will proclaim “I Survived Shopping At Ralphs.” We will bond as do all groups who weather a disaster together.
So we must each make a decision. Do we accept this radical conversion or fight for our future? Will we become wimps or guerrilla shoppers? For myself, I have chosen to take the challenge. I will be strong. I will persist. I will study and train. I will exercise daily. I will have my club code number tattooed on my forearm so that I can thrust it into the beam of the bar code reader.
I will not shop at places like Pacific Coast Greens, Vicente Foods or Gelsons. These old-fashioned establishments coddle the shopper with convenience and service keeping shoppers weak and dependent. Because I can see the big picture, I will gladly suffer to improve my skills and become a 21st century shopper. I have my own agenda. I have my own plan. When I am strong, when I am able to face crowded aisles and long, long checkout lines with confidence, I will finally be able to shop at Trader Joe’s.
Name withheld upon request (while the writer seeks entry into the witness protection program).
Paint that pier
First, I’d like to state, “I love Malibu.”
The people are warm and friendly and the area is beautiful. I was born in Santa Monica and lived in Malibu during the ’80s but, unfortunately, now I am only one of your many yearly tourists.
The reason I write today is a concern for your lovely city. Malibu needs a face lift!
What’s up with the unsightly Malibu Pier? Can’t this at least be painted and those horrid boards taken down? As such a central focus, I can’t believe it has stayed this way for so long. I would think, with all the local artists in the area, someone could improve the eyesore. It used to be so charming. Even if there are no plans for a total renovation, there must be an inexpensive way to at least clean it up.
Also, couldn’t it be lit at night? Why can’t people be allowed to stroll along the pier?
Malibu residents take great pride in their community. I think if a beautification campaign was started, both locals and tourists would support the effort to bring back the charm of the Malibu Pier
Laureen Hunady
Searching for a pollution solution
There is general agreement among environmentalists, residents and state and city officials that Malibu Lagoon is far from clean, but identifying polluters is still a point of contention.
At issue is the council’s contention that Malibu is being unfairly singled out as a polluter when, it maintains, the Tapia Reclamation Facility in Malibu Creek is the primary polluter, with wildlife and livestock also producing a significant amount of coliform bacteria found in the creek.
Regional Water Quality Control Board officials met with the City Council Monday to seek cooperation in testing septic systems in close proximity to the creek and lagoon.
Although a hydraulic connection between septics and the lagoon has not been proven, RWQCB Executive Officer Dennis Dickerson said there’s “no question” the water in the lagoon and creek is “impaired” and “nearby septic systems have had a direct impact.”
Councilman Tom Hasse took issue with Dickerson over a letter by RWQCB counsel to City Attorney Christi Hogin, which states the septic connection both “is” and “may be” a significant source of pollution.
Representatives of local environmental groups Heal the Bay, Surfrider Foundation, Save Our Coast and BayKeeper said pollution in the surf zone where the creek drains is a primary concern and a public health issue.
“I don’t think there’s anybody that thinks water quality in the lagoon is acceptable,” said Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay. “Let’s ensure the pollution problem within the watershed be resolved.”
Councilwoman Carolyn Van Horn said the city was already working on monitoring potential pollution from commercial septic systems adjacent to the creek. “It seems to me that the city is walking that path of already looking at all septic systems. I don’t know why we need a mandate from the regional quality board.”
However, implementaion of the city’s proposed dye study was stalled in May when the city refused to grant liability protection to a Colony homeowner who voluntarily agreed to give access for the test.
Councilman Harry Barovsky questioned why the RWQCB is focusing so much attention on fewer than 25 residential septics (on the north side of Malibu Colony) and a few commercial systems close to the lagoon when there are “110 miles of watershed draining into the creek. We still want to know what’s happening upstream.”
Mayor Joan House agreed. “We have hundreds of thousands flushing through Tapia,” she said.
“Tapia is in compliance. It’s one of the best run facilities in the state,” Dickerson responded. “It’s getting to the point where many smaller issues have become a priority in order to resolve the larger water quality problem.”
Rodney Nelson, state senior engineering geologist (RWQCB and EPA), conceded that, “We have no specific information of any particular installation in Malibu that is directly related to the pollution of the lagoon and creek. . . . What we are concerned about is the likelihood.”
The city has already spent about $15,000 of a $60,000 grant on a few monitoring wells at Cross Creek shopping center, which recently completed extensive upgrades to its septic system. Owner Steve Soboroff voluntarily signed a right of access to the property. The rest of that grant money would be required to complete the testing of the commercial sites.
But cooperation from owners of private homes in the area has been more difficult to get, and council members were reluctant to press individual homeowners for access. “I’m not prepared to vote to ask staff to cooperate on investigations of single-family homes,” Hasse said.
Van Horn indicated there was another $81,000 in new money available for the project, but Dickerson said, “The county may repeal that . . . but by means of cooperation, it opens avenues.” He added the city would not bear the brunt of the cost for the study.
Senior Building Inspector Craig George reported city staff is pursuing new guidelines for commercial and multifamily septic systems. “Ideally, we’ll bring an ordinance to the council at its last meeting in August,” he said.
The council voted 5-0 to submit to RWQCB a work plan for the study of commercial and multifamily septic systems along the creek.
Dickerson called it a “strong first step,” but added, “I don’t know that it will satisfy the board,” indicating the time required for council approval (estimated at 90 days) was too long.
House said a plan to study single-family homes in the Colony would have to include rebidding a contract and scoping project and looking for monies to fund the study.
Barovsky said the city wanted to host a meeting of all agencies involved in the watershed sometime in October or November “to address the philosophy in the watershed and Tapia, to get everyone on board. I’m convinced it’s not coming from a few septics.”
Eron Ben-Yehuda contributed to this story.
Beauty and the beach
Paying $1, a local lifeguard bought back his rights in what would became one of the most watched television programs in the world — Baywatch.
Later, in 1994, Camp Baywatch was founded, using the popularity of Baywatch to reach out to inner-city kids.
This weekend, hot hunks in trunks and well-built babes in bikinis put their hands — and fists — together for that worthy cause at Zuma as dozens of celebrities, TV stars and cover girls served, set and spiked for this year’s Models Volleyball Challenge.
The curvaceous contestants came from the country’s top modeling agencies, including Elite, Next and Ford. Together, they took on tanned and toned television-types from the likes of “Sunset Beach,” “Pacific Blue” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
The net result will be a happier summer for children through Athletes & Entertainers for Kids, Operation Smile and Camp Baywatch.
Beginning next month, 50 campers from the Los Angeles area will gather at Pepperdine for a week of learning, education and fun. For many, it is the experience of a lifetime. “Some of these kids have never even been to a beach,” notes Baywatch executive Peter Hoffman. “We take them out on a boat, we teach them CPR, we teach them to swim, we take them on field trips. It’s a chance for them to get out and do something different.”
Actor Michael Bergin is one of the many current and former Baywatch stars who gives his support to the camp every year. “We take them on the set, they get to meet celebrities and they’re thrilled,” he explains. “It’s so special for them and it makes us feel so special.”
After being knocked out of the competition on Sunday, Bergin and his partner, Angelica Bridges, spent most of the day posing for photographs and signing autographs. The Baywatch volleyball team may have been a loser, but Camp Baywatch came out on top. “It’s all about the kids,” says Bergin. “It’s amazing how little time you can put in and really make a big difference.”
As Hoffman sees it, the success of Baywatch is nothing short of a miracle. Local lifeguard Gregory J. Bonann came up with the show’s concept and started shopping his idea around. He went to the studios and got nothing but “No.” That changed when the survivor of one of his water rescues turned out to be the child of a television executive. The show got picked up at NBC, but was canceled just as quickly. Refusing to acknowledge defeat, Bonann bought back the rights to the Baywatch name for a buck, took the show into syndication and turned it into the most watched television program in the world. The rest is history.
Camp Baywatch became his way of giving something back. He created a Camp Baywatch foundation to ensure that the organization continues long after the program is gone. In the meantime, members of his group are busy preparing for the swimming lessons and boat trips they’ll have in the days ahead. “It’s a different experience for them,” says Hoffman of the Camp Baywatch kids. “At the end of the week, you can see hope in their eyes.”
Wondering why
As a newcomer to Malibu, can you explain why the pier is boarded up, why we can’t send our children to the preschool on Las Flores Canyon and why we have to park with two wheels on the pavement.
Curious.
Bobbi Kleinman
Malibu Little Leaguers reach semifinals of All-Star tournament
The 11- 12-year-old Little League All-Stars, managed by George Henry, with coaches John Poyer and Rob Morrison, made it to the district tournament semifinals last weekend.
The two-game elimination tournament commenced July 6 and featured 10 All-Star teams, including: West Los Angeles, Culver City National, Culver City Little League, Playa Vista, North Venice, South Los Angeles, Santa Monica East, Santa Monica West, Beverly Hills, and Malibu.
Malibu drew a bye in the first round and opened play against crosstown rival Beverly Hills July 10. Malibu pounded out 13 hits, including home runs by Tim Poyer and Jason Bizar, and Justin Henry lined a double off the center field fence in a 14-1 romp that was called at the end of three-and-a-half innings due to the “mercy rule.” In a pinch hit role, Brian Kelly slammed a double to center in the third. Bizar was the starting pitcher for Malibu and struck out five as he notched his first tournament win.
In game two against Playa Vista July 12, Jeff Brumagin started on the mound for Malibu and pitched a strong two innings before running into trouble in the third. With Malibu ahead by 3-1, Playa Vista sent eight batters to the plate and went ahead 6-3. Malibu’s hitting attack netted eight hits, led by Henry, who went two for three including a triple in the first inning to score two runs. Kelly had a long single to the wall in right center, which just missed going out. Patrick Morrison and Leif Sunderland pitched well in relief as Malibu lost its first game 3-1 and was knocked into the losing tier of the tournament only one game from elimination.
Game three was played July 16 against North Venice, who was also facing elimination due to a previous loss. Malibu’s defense dug in and limited North Venice to just three hits, two of which were empty base home runs, while Malibu’s offense came up with nine hits to prevail 3-2 in six innings. Poyer went two for three and Chris Auten and Henry went 2 for 2 to lead the attack. Gary Daly played a solid third base in his first tournament start, and Zak Katz played well at second base as he caught a fly ball down the right field line in the sixth. Bizar picked up his second straight tournament win as he pitched all six innings and kept the North Venice hitters off stride with a combination of fast balls and off-speed change ups and curve balls.
In game four July 18 against Santa Monica West, Malibu found itself in a real nail biter after coasting to a 5-1 lead through the first five innings. Patrick Morrison made his pitching debut for Malibu and was strong as he struck out eight and held Santa Monica West to just two hits over the first five innings. However, in the top of the sixth, Santa Monica West staged a comeback and scored three runs to cut Malibu’s lead to just one run. Sunderland, who had not played in the entire game, was called off the bench to relieve Morrison with the bases loaded and two outs. Sunderland kept the ball low, but went to a 3-1 count with the tying run on third before coming in with strike two at the knees. On a 3-2 count, he froze the batter with another pitch at the knees for a called third strike as he picked up his first tournament save and kept Malibu alive in the two-game elimination tournament. Malibu managed just four hits, but persevered to improve its playoff record to 3-1. The defensive highlight of the game happened in the bottom of the second inning when Poyer just missed his second home run of the tournament when the center fielder for Santa Monica West went to the wall and leaned over to rob Poyer of a ball headed out of the park.
Game five was played July 19 against West Los Angeles. Bizar pitched well in going all six innings and holding West Los Angeles to just three hits, but Malibu trailed 4-0 going into the bottom of the sixth. Just as they had done all tournament, the All-Stars from Malibu refused to go quietly and staged a rally behind Poyer’s three-run blast to center field, his second home run of the tournament, to cut the lead to 4-3. With two outs, Auten singled to left and Daly hit a single to the wall in right center to send Auten to third. With the tying run on third, Brumagin, on a 1-2 count, hit a fly to short right field that was caught by the second baseman as the Malibu comeback fell just one run short.
Mother Nature calls
I am sure I am not alone in being outraged by the time, effort and money invested in questioning the results of the last election. Guys, in case you haven’t noticed, we have far more important things to worry about and spend our money on — namely, the mess Mother Nature is heaping upon us for the abuses we heap upon her.
Instead of trying to figure out how to deal with the obstacle course PCH has become and how to shore up our crumbling hillsides and homes, are we supposed to get all hot and bothered about a few bruised egos?
Can vindictiveness sweeten our sour grapes? Are you really so small-minded and politically manipulative to force such a trivial issue? Do you have to vilify those who disagree with you? Ridicule those you call, with such contempt, alarmists and environmentalists even though — come election time — that’s exactly what you pretend to be because you know it’s politically expedient?
In the minds of those concentrated primarily on “profit” — Greens seem to have replaced the Reds as villains in the battle for our survival on this sorely plagued planet. You can’t keep exploiting and overbuilding places like Malibu with impunity. All the money in the world won’t buy you clean air and water once we’ve reached the point of no return.
Give that some thought before embarking on this costly, time-wasting and divisive vendetta which will accomplish nothing except bolster those few bruised egos.
Erna Segal
