The City of Malibu has completed Phase 1 of the Community Lands Project, its extensive community outreach and engagement program regarding the future use of five city-owned community lands. The city is now moving into Phase 2 to narrow down the feedback received and identify the types of uses the community envisions for each specific land.

“The participation from our community has been tremendous. This process is about creating spaces that will truly serve our community’s needs for generations. Every voice matters as we work together to shape Malibu’s future,” said Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart. “The feedback from Phase 1 provides a strong foundation for more targeted discussions in Phase 2. We’re excited to dive deeper into the community’s vision for each specific land, which will help us determine the next steps in October.”

The city received 322 suggestions at three in-person meetings and three pop-up events, 259 recommendations via email and website forms, and 201 responses to the community survey. Based on this input, the city has identified the most frequent suggestions received to develop 10 categories of potential uses for further consideration in Phase 2.

Phase 2 will take place beginning mid-August through September and will focus on determining which of the 10categories the community prefers for each of the five lands. In addition to gathering feedback via email and the updated website form at malibucommunitylands.org/contact-us, the city is hosting another round of in-person events and plans to conduct another community survey. 

Upcoming Community Meetings:

• Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 5:30 p.m. — Chili Cook-Off Land, 23575 Civic Center Way

For more information about the project, including maps and details for each community land, and how to participate in Phase 2, please visit MalibuCommunityLands.org and sign up for email updates at MalibuCity.org/CommunityLandsEnotify.

City Manager replies to Community Lands Project methodology concerns

The City Manager updated the City Council on the Community Lands Project on Aug. 26, and answered some questions that have been raised by community members about the methodology used. The 10 most popular categories of uses that were most submitted during the outreach and engagement process were listed in alphabetical order, with no prioritization or ranking implied. There were concerns about one of those categories, “Commercial use (parking, business development).” That category comprised suggested uses including park and ride, visitor center, affordable/workforce housing, and entertainment. Regarding the project gathering input from “non-residents,” the outreach and input gathering has been inclusive of all community stakeholders, which includes residents, local businesses and organizations and their employees, residents in the unincorporated areas of Malibu, and Pepperdine University staff and students, all of whom access our amenities and services on a regular basis. It should also be noted 94 percent of the respondents in Phase 1 identified themselves as residents of Malibu. All of the responses submitted throughout this process are available to view on the project website at malibucommunitylands.org. When the final outcomes are reported to the City Council this October, the report will delineate out data submitted by residents.

By Burt Ross

Nine days in Italy, and I will never be the same. If I don’t see pasta again the rest of my life, that’s fine with me. I ate pasta every lunch and dinner, and since lunch practically ran into dinner, I was eating pasta all day long. My only relief was that pasta wasn’t served for breakfast or for dessert.
    
I felt like I was being fattened up just like the mean witch fattened up those poor children in “Hansel and Gretel.” It seemed like I was on an all-carb diet. I don’t know what the world record is for gaining weight in a short time, but I might well have broken it.
    
I didn’t know there were that many varieties of pasta, but trust me when I tell you that I ate each and every kind of pasta known to mankind. The amazing thing about all of this gorging was that I always had room for dessert.
    
There is absolutely nothing like topping off a plate full of pasta with some gelato or, even better yet, tiramisu. The photo attached to this column shows me quite happily gorging on some tiramisu. I ate so many carbs that I could actually feel my arteries hardening. 
   
Upon returning home, I dreaded that fateful meeting with my scale. I delayed it for a day or two, but finally, bit my tongue, and stepped onto the scale. I sucked in my stomach, but it protruded so far that I barely could read the verdict. My digital scale alternated the following messages: “Get off of me,” and “Are you kidding?”    
   
You will be happy to know that I have gone on a crash diet, so I can at least fit into my very stretchable sweatpants. Carbs and I are finished, at least for now. As for pasta, never again in this lifetime.

Dangerously high heat requires precautions while hiking 

As Southern California bakes in a late summer heat wave many people seek cooler temperatures near the ocean. But even Malibu, where the thermometer typically registers lower temperatures due to ocean breezes, this past week was under an excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service, expected to last through Monday evening, Sept. 9. 

Daytime high temperatures in Malibu have peaked at 100 degrees along the coast with nighttime lows in the mid to upper 70s, unusually high even at night. The soaring temperatures contributed to the Red Flag Warning issued Sept. 5 through 7 for the Malibu area and Santa Monica Mountains. City of Malibu officials issued a weather advisory noting the Red Flag Warning due to high heat, Santa Ana winds, and low humidity. The advisory also asked residents to be prepared for potential fire, power, and traffic signal outages.

Visitors to Malibu have been escaping inland and Los Angeles area excessive heat warnings as well, with temperatures reaching triple digits. That’s why it’s so important for visitors and residents to be prepared if you’re planning any outdoor activities, especially for a hike. It’s crucial to avoid midday hikes that can zap your energy, drain your water bottle, and leave you sunburned. It’s also important to recognize signs of heat exhaustion, like dizziness or nausea, and take immediate action if symptoms arise. Early morning or late evening hikes are safer, and it’s a great idea to let someone know of your hiking plans in the event you get lost and unable to make it back before dark.  

The Malibu Search and Rescue (MSAR) team is expert at finding missing hikers, but unfortunately a lot of the hikers they’ve rescued were just ill-prepared for a scorching walk that might have started off cool enough at the beginning and then drained them of their energy by midday.

Dehydration is the biggest threat in high heat. Even MSAR team members are at risk, but they know to carry lots of water. “You feel the heat immediately,” described MSAR Team Leader David Katz, adding “especially when you’recarrying 50 pounds of gear,” and water they bring to hikers in need. Katz is often surprised when observing hikers in triple-digit weather.

Hikers who bring their dogs need to carry even more water as dogs can succumb to heat stroke in just 15 minutes. Dr. John Lupo, a Malibu veterinarian of more than 25 years, earlier told The Malibu Times, “Animals similar to people can’t just go run a marathon without training. A long hike on a hot day is like that.”  

Lupo warned not to let your dog be a “weekend warrior.”

“If you take a couch potato and try to do a five-mile hike on a hot day it could potentially be a dangerous situation,” Lupo said.

The veterinarian said he’s seen many dogs with hurt paws “worn down like a third-degree burn. Make sure before a hike they are used to traveling distances and being on rough surfaces.” On hot surfaces like asphalt, temperatures can get as high as 125 degrees in only 85-degree weather, so Lupo pointed out, “Even with good callouses on their paws it could be too hot for some pets. It’s like a person walking barefoot on a five-mile hike.  Check your dog’s paws every mile or two to make sure its paws aren’t getting blistered, bruised or scrapped up.”

It’s similar to people, as it’s well known we have to keep ourselves hydrated. 

“Sometimes people forget about their dogs or aren’t super vigilant about it and don’t bring enough for their pets,” Lupo said. “You can buy portable water dishes that collapse and you can put them in your backpack. When you stop and takea drink for yourself give your dog water at the same time.”

This past Labor Day weekend started off slowly for MSAR with moderate temperatures Saturday and no calls for service, but by Monday the volunteer team responded with Los Angeles County Fire Department to “two separate hiker incidents, a mountain biker accident, motorcycle accident, and a mountain lion attack of a child. All in an effort to save lives,” according to MSAR social media.

MSAR has responded to 80 calls so far this year, significantly fewer than the number of rescues carried out by this time last year.

Study: Power outages could cost up to $230 million and infrastructure costs up to $35 million in the future 

Heat waves have killed hundreds of Californians and cost billions of dollars in the past decade, according to a report from the state insurance department, which discusses implementing extreme heat ranking and warning systems.  

Many Malibuites opted to stay indoors and order food and grocery delivery instead of sweltering through the extreme heat that has besieged our community and state for the past weeks. As with every phenomena that affects citizens, there are economic impacts attributable to an event such as the heat waves. However, until a 2022 bill (AB 2238), introduced at the request of California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and enacted in Sacramento, mandated that the state insurance department assess the impacts of extreme heat in California, statewide efforts to assess the economic cost of extreme heat have not been coordinated. 

“The challenges presented by extreme heat are no longer a distant concern; they are an immediate and escalating threat to our health, infrastructure, economy and overall well-being,” Commissioner Ricardo Lara stated in a letter accompanying the study’s release on June 28. “The pioneering analysis, ‘Impacts of Extreme Heat to California’sPeople, Infrastructure, and Economy,’ underscores the urgency of California’s efforts to create a heat wave ranking and early warning system. It’s a call for comprehensive strategies to address the previously unseen impacts of extreme heat.”

The department’s report included recommendations from an expert advisory panel and was completed with the support of Industrial Economics, Inc., a consulting firm with expertise in assessing the multisectorial impacts of climate change, as well as cooperation from insurance company representatives and the California nonprofit community. 

Metrics matter

Utilizing NASA reports and other germane data, the department’s report assessed the uninsured and insured costs of seven extreme heat events in the state from 2013 to 2022, characterizing the estimates and metrics it utilized as conservative. The spatial extent of the seven events are the 2022 coastal inland event, the 2021 desert lands event, the 2019 Northern California coastal event, the 2018 Southern California coastal event, the 2017 full coastal event, the 2017 Central Valley event and the 2013 eastern California event. 

The study assessed the costs of extreme heat during those events on the economic and energy sectors and infrastructure and the deleterious effects the events have on people. The study noted that power outages could cost up to $230 million and infrastructure costs could amount to $35 million in the future. 

The report aims to put a price on heat waves so policymakers can budget for them in a similar way to how they budget for national disasters. Further, determining the costs means that elected leaders can enact policies to lower costs and make necessary infrastructure changes to lower the economic impact.

The takeaway

The study’s findings give one pause. The assessment concluded that intense heat waves during the parameter dates took the lives of several hundred Californians and had a total economic impact of $7.7 billion in the form of lost wages and productivity, agricultural and manufacturing disruptions, power outages, infrastructure damage, and more.

Historical context always assists in evaluating both the metrics utilized and the findings of such a report. According to Cal Fire, the state’s top 20 deadliest wildfires, dating back to 1933, killed 312 people. Whereas, the department determined that the death toll from the extreme heat events during the assessment period amounted to approximately 460 people. 

A Los Angeles Times investigation article that dropped in 2021 posited that the true toll of extreme heat is “probably six times higher” than California’s official data from death certificates attributing deaths to heat exposure. 

The newspaper’s examination of mortality data from the period between 2010 and 2019 shows that thousands more people died on extremely hot days than would have been typical during milder weather. The article noted that county coroners often record heat-related deaths as attributable to heart attacks and other medical conditions, not to heat exposure. The Times’ analysis estimated that extreme heat caused about 3,900 deaths during the decade studied. 

Logically enough, the article noted, the public health challenge of extreme heat “disproportionately imperils the elderly and vulnerable,” a determination confirmed by the insurance department’s conclusions which also note that African, Native American and Hispanic citizens suffer the most from extreme heat.

Managing and mitigating the risk of extreme heat waves

“There is little to no insurance coverage available for some effects of heat events, such as lost wages for workers, power outages for residents and businesses and damage to railways,” the department’s 92-page report noted, adding that one of the study’s main goals was to establish extreme heat ranking and warning systems. Those systems are slated to roll out next year.

“Opportunities exist for improving our resilience to extreme heat.” Lara stated in his letter.  “By investing in adaptive infrastructure, such as urban tree planting to reduce the ‘heat island’ effect, and implementing comprehensive heat action plans, we can significantly mitigate the impacts on our communities.”

Importantly, Lara added, “We want to partner in the development and promotion of innovative insurance products that protect outdoor workers, cover business interruptions, infrastructure and agricultural damages and emergency services during extreme heat events.”  Lara encouraged, “all stakeholders, from local governments to private enterprises, to make the most of the study’s insights and recommendations.” 

What does it mean for Malibu?

Three City Council positions will be filled by Malibu voters on Nov. 5. There are forthcoming candidate panel discussions. Perhaps those events should provide residents opportunities to ask the five candidates their positions regarding the city investing in adaptive infrastructure.

The November election also will give voters the opportunity to vote on a $395 million bond dedicated to finish building Malibu High School and to improve all four public schools. Perhaps residents who are preparing to vote on that bond may wish to contact Santa Monica Unified School District and its school board members to determine whether any proposed monies to be budgeted should the bond pass be allocated to build adaptive infrastructure for the schools. Perhaps it’s not too late to build a roof garden on the new school and to add such landscaping to the other schools. Perhaps budgets for the schools should allocate funds so that the schools can be utilized as cooling centers.  

Given that the hot weather is off the charts, as we all struggle to adapt to extreme heat events, perhaps it’s time for all of us, including private citizens and local governmental entities to think outside of the box.