Authorities advise to never run from a bear and provide other tips

​“By now, you have probably heard about the bear that visited our neighborhood this week. It was up on Harbor Vista and also on Malibu Knolls Road.” City councilperson Steve Uhring said in an email to some of his neighbors on August 8.

It all started when another city councilperson, Bruce Silverstein, who lives in that neighborhood, woke up Monday morning only to realize a bear had visited his property overnight.

“The bear visited our property on Sunday evening/Monday morning. We did not know about it until Monday morning when we woke up and saw the recording from our security camera.” Silverstein said. “We have had multiple visits by bobcats and coyotes, but this was our first bear.”

Soon, several residents chimed in on the evening of August 7, sharing their sightings of the bear – he was on a pool deck and in front of a house near the Malibu Pacific Church, one resident reported.  

“I saw two sheriffs and a volunteer sheriff looking around the top of Harbor Vista,” Brian Rapf said. “They apparently saw it run away up a driveway and they have notified Fish and Wildlife along with State Parks.”  

On Wednesday evening, August 7, Silverstein shared another sighting. “The bear came back and got inside the property tonight – exciting and frightening at the same time.” He said, adding, “I went outside with my dog and the bear was standing at the top of the driveway looking down at us. It was inside our gate –  the bear slowly began to come down the driveway so I ushered my dog into the house without running. Then, I watched it go down the side of our house and disappear into the yard.”

On August 7, at 12:30 a.m. Pepperdine security posted, “Department of Facilities staff spotted what appears to be a black bear in the Terrace Parking lot shortly before 11 pm tonight. The sighting was reported to Public Safety, who contacted the local sheriff’s department and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife per University practice for wildlife sightings. Public Safety officers were dispatched to the area, but were unable to locate the animal.” 

Black bears are exceedingly rare in Malibu as their normal range is farther north, the Pepperdine posting noted. 

“There were no reports of damage on this trip by the bear, but we do not want to encourage the bear to make these nightly Pic-a-nick visits a habit. And this is where you come in.” Uhring said in an email to neighbors, providing some very sage advice – echoed by both the Pepperdine posting and local wildlife agencies.

“If you encounter a bear, respect the animal and keep a safe distance. Back away slowly. Let the bear know you are there. DO NOT RUN. Do not make eye contact.” Pepperdine wrote. “Make yourself look bigger and make noise (e.g., yell, clap, use a whistle). Let the bear leave the area on its own. If there are small children or pets present, pick them up immediately. Additionally, do not leave them unattended outside.”

Also sharing more advice, Uhring emphasized, “Do not think about shooting the bear. Firing a gun inside the city will earn you a visit from the sheriff. You can get more info on dealing with wildlife from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at www.Wildlife.ca.gov.”

Elaborating, Uhring stated. “Hopefully, Yogi has returned to his home up in the Santa Monica mountains. If you see him, again let me know and we can arrange to have a biologist come and give us a hand.”

Malibu residents are aware that they live in an urban wildlife interface 

“We hope the bear stays safe and does not harm anyone or his pets,” Silverstein said. “We all share this land, which only belongs to us by virtue of artificial laws. The bear has as much right to roam around as we do.”

Tim Horton, CERT board member, shares a small gift of love and respect nearly one year after horrific island fire

They were on their way to the Maui airport to catch a flight back to Malibu when The Malibu Times called them after reading this post on social media: “I did a fun thing today. While traveling in Lahaina, Maui, I presented a ball cap from The Malibu Fire Safety division of the City of Malibu to the personnel at the Lahaina Station of the Maui Fire Department. They were very gracious and appreciated the gift. I explained that this was a gift of solidarity as we also have in our recent history a devastating wildfire.”

What a loving idea to share such a wonderful memento of resiliency shared by two small communities waging war against the devastation of wildfires.

“Can you tell me about giving the small gift to the firefighters who were on duty at the Maui fire department’s Lahaina fire station?,” this reporter asked.

Tim Horton, a board member of Malibu’s Community Emergency Response Team, and its social media assistant paused before responding.

Had he orchestrated doing that beforehand, perhaps with a camera crew in tow just to catch the right shot? Nope.

Rather, he just thought he’d stop by and share some love and caring,  brother to brother, to express support for Lahaina. 

“I just felt how poignant it is that they are recognizing the one-year anniversary of their devastation which is still so terribly rampantly visible as you try to visit Lahaina Town,” Horton said. 

Then, we two people — a reporter in Malibu and Horton and his wife on their car phone driving to leave Maui — shared one of those long moments of silence where people in the conversation try to process remembering a trauma. 

Finally, Horton sighed sadly and said, “As you drive through the part of the area where the fire burned that folks are allowed to enter, it’s reminiscent of driving through Pt. Dume or our other fire-ravaged neighborhoods after the Woolsey Fire — so many lots where houses once were are just barren and burn-scarred.”   

Many reading this well know the reporter’s quite predictable next question — uttered with fear about what I would hear in the answer.

“How is the beautiful old Banyan tree in the center of Lahaina Town?,” I asked. 

“We wanted to go see her but that part of town is fully closed off,” Horton responded. “The entire neighborhood where the tragedy was is still walled off, but locals told us that the tree will survive and she’s at approximately 70 percent of what her health was and a team of arborists are working to help her heal.”

Honor. Hope. Respect. Reverence

The Hortons shared details about the moments of their visiting the memorials depicting pictures of some of the approximately 100 victims. 

“Lahaina Memorial is a place of honor, hope, respect and reverence,” a memorial sign states. “Divisiveness and politics have no place here — this is a place to walk humbly, to grieve, to seek peace and reflect on all that we have lost.”  

Horton and his wife shared, “We could tell that they are setting up a stage for some sort of ceremony on Aug. 8 to recognize the one-year anniversary of their terrible fire.” 

In the meantime, the world’s second-largest banyan tree, planted in 1873 in Lahaina Town, which has for more than 50 years also been a place of honor, hope, respect, and reverence, just by her multitudinous branches have embraced thousands in Lahaina, is slowly healing and even beginning to sprout new leaves. No doubt she does so with the hope that the humans who love her, both locals and adoring visitors alike, can continue to help Lahaina, its upcountry and all of Maui, sprout new hope.

Join her — and the Hortons — in the worldwide moment of silence at noon on Sunday, Aug. 11, during an Interfaith Day of Hope and Prayer that will be led by faith leaders of the churches and temples that were lost in the fire.

Malibu man involved in the multimillion-dollar sale

Nearly four decades after their creation, some largely forgotten artworks by iconic artist Andy Warhol are going up for sale this week through a Malibu art dealer.

In 1985, Warhol, a father of the Pop Art movement, was introduced to the burgeoning world of home computers. Cash strapped at the time, the famed Warhol was courted by now-defunct Commodore International, a once rival to Apple, to help launch the company’s Amiga computer. The superstar was commissioned to demonstrate the innovation of merging digital technology with visual arts.

Commodore staged a glittering event at Lincoln Center where Warhol, always an innovator and eager to experiment with new mediums, embraced the opportunity. 

During a live demonstration, he created a now-famous portrait of singer Debbie Harry of the rock group Blondie. However, the artist wasn’t an expert at the groundbreaking technology of that time and Amiga’s advanced color graphics capabilities. So, a computer expert was brought in to help. Engineer Jeff Bruette lent his expertise to Warhol for the demonstration. Warhol’s digital portrait of Harry captured the public’s imagination. Harry was a cultural icon in her own right, and her collaboration with her friend, Warhol, symbolized a melding of two significant figures in the art and music worlds.

Three portraits of Harry were eventually made. They’re owned by the singer herself, the late CEO of Commodore and Bruette, who was gifted a signed diskette portrait along with other digital images. Bruette stored the old floppy disks and then transferred them to thumb drives, revealing a treasure trove of Warhol’s digital experiments.

“This is the rarest thing. I can’t think of anything that’s more unique than this right now in artwork,” said Kenneth Mitchell, a four-decade Malibu resident who is selling the artwork. 

Mitchell, who has run art galleries in New York and Palm Beach in his 60-year career and had spent time with the artist years earlier, said, “Once Andy started learning how to work the computer, he fell in love with it. That’s all he wanted to do.”

For many years, these digital works were overshadowed by Warhol’s more traditional works and the physical media he is best known for, until now. Bruette has decided to part with his resurfaced Warhol treasures and enlisted Mitchell in the sale. The collection includes 10 images by Warhol on two original floppy disks, two thumb drives, the original Amiga computer and a Warhol signed Harry portrait. It’s being offered at $26 million. “There are seven pieces the public has never seen,” according to Mitchell. Two images are of Dolly Parton, and several others are self-portraits.

“The first time I met him was at the Gotham Bookstore. He didn’t have a dealer then. He had a portrait of his mother that I bought,” recalled Mitchell, who in his long career has since sold nearly 100 Warhols. “He was always so involved in something, a work of art, something. He never stopped.” 

Mitchell visited the artist a few times at his studio known as “The Factory.” “He was always with a parade of people,” he noted.

The sale of Warhol’s lost digital images represents a fascinating intersection of art history, technology, and pop culture. The unique nature of these works, unlike traditional Warhol pieces, represent an early exploration of what would later become a significant trend in the art world: digital and computer-generated art. The digital works of Warhol, who embraced new ideas in art, showcased new technologies long before they became mainstream in the art world.

The sale of these lost digital images reemphasizes Warhol’s enduring influence and the timeless appeal of his work. It also serves as a reminder of the constantly evolving nature of art and the ways in which technology can transform creative expression. The works celebrate Warhol’s legacy in paving the way for greater recognition of digital art in the global art market, marking the convergence of traditional art values with modern technological advancements while opening new possibilities for how art is created, viewed, and valued in the digital age.

Mitchell said, “This is the most exciting journey I’ve ever dealt with in my career.” The art dealer who has sold Gauguins and other important works loves Warhol art and credits the artist with “opening up the art market.” 

Mitchell is shopping the digital Warhols, but hopes a museum will buy the collection. “I want to keep it in this country and I want it to be seen by more persons than one,” he said.

For information on the collection or further discussion contact Kenneth Mitchell at (310) 508-3770, kennythemitch77@yahoo.com or Stephenlamm8@gmail.com.

The organization continues to provide resources that create an impact to kids around LA

With Summer in full swing, over 400 students have experienced a summer of exploring and learning so far this summer with the Children’s Lifesaving Foundation at King Gillette Ranch and CLF Coastal Eco-Mariners Surf Camps at Zuma Beach.

CLF provides a great mix of classic camp activities like swimming, arts and crafts classes, special Wilderness Hikes, and learning about live animal that live in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. 

Over the years, the nonprofit’s three program platforms (Living, Learning, Enrichment) have helped thousands of at-risk and homeless youth and families. “Living” identifies and provides support to LA families living in shelters. “Learning” provides at-risk children with a place to study, along with mentors and tutors, and continues that support from kindergarten through high school. “Enrichment” provides experiences including beach trips to Malibu, summer camp, and holiday parties.

Volunteer Extraordinaire and Fundraising Consultant Suzanne Smith said the program helps kids feel comfortable aboutlearning and exploring. 

“This group of third- and fifth-graders are a perfect age; they’re so good to work with, they’re so curious, and they’re so sweet, and that’s why this program is so amazing because it provides them the resources that they need,” Smith said. 

Smith also said the program also helps kids respect the land they explore.

“All this land is sacred land and we weren’t the first people here and we need to have respect for it and reverence for it and enjoy it, it’s here for us to enjoy,” she said. “It’s so good to just be in nature and be out and just explore and see the excitement over a frog or bunny rabbit.”

Smith also hopes CLF will have its own venue rather than renting out a location like King Gillette Ranch.

“My deep passion is to be able to make enough where I can build a camp for them so they don’t have to worry about where their events will be held,” she said. “They can hold every event there; they don’t have to rent out a venue because the money they spend could be going back to these families.” 

Traveling Program Supervisor for the LA’s Best’s Afterschool program Michelle Moreno said she is glad the organization is still going strong.

“We’ve been doing it for so many years,” Moreno said. “They do their arts and crafts, they do their hike, right now they’re doing a relay race, … they go home exhausted, but they really love it.” 

CLF Founder Maria D’Angelo, who recently announced her retirement, was at the wilderness camp on June 28 at King Gillette Ranch.

“This is our 31st summer, even though I’m retired, I’m so happy to be here,” D’Angelo said. “It’s really just fun for me, being here with them, and seeing the kids enjoy themselves. I think that’s the most important thing.” 

Traveling staff member for LA’s Best Alex Perez said some kids have been to the parks before but no matter it’ssomeone’s first or third time, the trips make an impact.

“There’s an impact, there’s a lot of kids that live in the inner city, and they don’t get to experience wilderness so the fact that their here, it’s a new experience, they love it,” he said. “I just recently met Maria and Sean and the whole family at the holiday dinner and they’re great, these kids know they’re going somewhere good, they don’t really know what they’reexpecting and when they see everything — they remember it, even if it’s a one-day thing, they’ll remember it forever.” 

CLF Program Director Sean McCaffery shared some of the activities the kids have enjoyed so far.

“The Children’s Lifesaving Foundation’s Wilderness Camps at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas and CLF Coastal Eco-Mariners Surf Camps at Zuma Beach in Malibu is really an amazing experience,” McCaffery said. “It has been a joy to work for CLF for over two decades. Last week at our Wilderness Camp, we had two amazing firewomen come from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Explorer Program to speak about their work. We hire great counselors and educators, like hiking master Rob Remedi, some amazing animal educators to bring actual tarantulas, snakes, fuzzy friends and more for each camper to interact with and learn about, we have an awesome crafts component, as well as outdoor relays and games which complete a very innovative, classic, and most important free camp experience for the youth we serve.” 

Students have also attended their free camp for all project and Project Angel Wings Holiday programs for the past 30 years.

CLF Executive Director Francesca McCaffery said the California Coastal Commission Whale Tail Grant is also the signature sponsor of our CLF Coastal Eco-Mariners Surf Camp once again this season.

“We are so grateful to the wonderful individual friends and supporters and terrific funders like the City of Malibu, the Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation, the Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, the CA Fire Foundation, the Venable Foundation, The Lavine-Ortiz Family,  the James Joseph Ford Foundation, Whole Foods Community Giving, and many others, including an amazing, anonymous angel,” she said. 

The City of Malibu gave The CLF the very first grant in 1993 to refurbish the bathrooms at the Circle Ranch, an abandoned campsite in Malibu which the organization refurbished with volunteer help and donated materials and for their efforts received two five-year leases from the National Park Services! It was at the Circle X Ranch that their Camp for All program began! Since July 7, 1993, over 90,000 underserved youth and families have attended their free Camp4 All Camps each summer. Malibu City Councilmember Paul Grisanti presented D’Angelo with the Malibu Certificate of the City at the CLF’s 30th Anniversary Gala on Dec. 2, 2023 (and the City of Los Angeles also awarded her their Certificate of the City from Mayor Karen Bass that night.) The City of Malibu also awarded Maria the Citizen of the Year Award in 1994. 

McCaffery said June 28’s camp was dedicated to the memory of one of their very first and most beloved benefactors,mpMr. Bob Salka, who will always be remembered by CLF staff, volunteers and families.

Reported cases are up in Los Angeles County 

In case you didn’t know, COVID-19 cases are on the rise this summer. California is experiencing its worst wave of infections since 2022. With rising cases in Los Angeles County, the Department of Public Health is warning, “Given the increased transmission of new strains of COVID-19, residents should continue taking common-sense precautions to avoid transmitting or becoming ill.”

The Malibu Times spoke with Malibu Urgent Care (MUC) to confirm a spike in cases locally.

“Over the last month we’ve seen more COVID infections in patients, for sure,” said Hydeen Mofford, a medical assistant and administrator at MUC. Most of the patients seeking medical help at the urgent care facility were reportedas moderately sick, but Mofford also reported “symptoms seem to be lingering a bit longer.” 

The most common symptoms in this summer wave are cough, body aches, fever, congestion, and headaches. Many patients seeking care are prescribed the drug Paxlovid.

Doctors are saying it’s important to take precautions, especially for those over 65 or for those with underlying health conditions who are at higher risk of severe illness. Precautions include being up to date on vaccinations and boosters, frequent hand washing, and even the use of masks when in crowded indoor spaces.

Dr. Lauren Pike of Malibu Urgent Care reminds there are updated guidelines from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) that the community should be aware of.

“When you’re sick, especially with COVID, stay home and away from others if you have any respiratory virus symptoms,” she said. “You can resume your normal activities once your symptoms are improving and you’ve been fever-free without any aid of fever-reducing medications for at least 24 hours. For the five days after you resume your normal activities people should be wearing a well-fitting mask and maintaining distance from others for another five days.”

Pike said it’s best to gather for outdoor activities or in other well-ventilated areas. She also suggested frequent hand washing and, if possible, to avoid frequently touched surfaces. 

“Testing is also good before getting together with others,” Pike advised, even if you’re symptom free. “I think especially when we’re having this uptick in cases, especially if you’re getting together with people that are immunocompromised, it’s just good to do a test before you meet with other people.

“While you’re sick, stay home. Once you start improving, wait 24 hours before you go out into society and resume your normal activities. If you’re feeling better for 24 hours, and you want to resume your normal activities that’s completely acceptable, but you should be wearing a well-fitted mask for an additional five days. It’s important that we still follow the guidelines that the CDC proposed.” 

Pike also remined those who are sick, should keep well hydrated.

MUC is offering rapid COVID tests that give results in just 15 minutes, but the tests are different from home testing.

“The gold standard of COVID-19 tests are the (NAAT) nucleic acid amplification tests and (PCR) polymerase chain reaction tests,usually done at a health care facility” Pike said. “Antigen tests are a good alternative to do at home. They’re pretty accurate [and] reliable. They are way more accurate when you’re symptomatic than if you’reasymptomatic. To really be confident that you don’t have COVID, they do recommend two negative antigen tests if you’re symptomatic 48 hours apart to feel comfortable that it’s not COVID.”

Dr. Patsy McDermott from UCLA Malibu Urgent Care also confirmed a spike in COVID cases this summer. 

“It started going up in June. We had gone a month, maybe six weeks with almost no cases and now we see a handful every day,” she said, adding roughly one-quarter of her patients have been diagnosed. “Mostly what we see are people who recognized their symptoms and tested at home.”

She makes many video visits with infected people who self-isolate. McDermott noted that most of the patients she sees have already had COVID once, some three or four times. Though, “There is a subset of people who are first-timers. We call them ‘NOVIDS,’” she said. 

McDermott said most of the COVID cases now are less severe than years earlier, “Which is a blessing … Most of our patients have been vaccinated. The least vaccinated are very young children.”

The doctor advises wearing a mask. She had stopped masking in May, but has started wearing one during this new wave of cases.

“It’s out there. People need to know there is a lot of asymptomatic spread,” said McDermott, who also noted a high number of cases of influenza B, historically spread after summer. She encourages people to get an updated COVID and flu shot this fall.

Malibu beaches manage to miss the Honor Roll and Beach Bummer list

Santa Monica Pier and Mother’s Beach were included on the list of most polluted water in California, as determined on the annual Beach Report Card released by the environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay. Luckily, Malibu’s beaches managed to miss the Bummer List as well as the Honor Roll. 

On Wednesday, July 17, Heal the Bay, the West Coast’s most comprehensive water quality data analysis released its annual Beach Report Card. Now on its 34th year, the group has also documented the rivers in LA County for six years.

None of Malibu’s beaches made the Honor Roll nor the Bummer List in this year’s report. The report found that beaches in the South Bay Area scored higher grades in summer. 

The good news is that nearly 90 percent of monitored California beaches received A or B water-quality grades for the dry-weather summer months. That figure is close to the state’s 10-year summer average, but does mark a 6 percent drop from our last Report Card.

“Eighty-nine percent of California beaches were safe to swim at during summer 2023, but we are still seeing water quality impacts from record-breaking storms, urban runoff, and sewage spills,” Heal the Bay’s CEO and president Tracy Quinn said. “California’s 20th century water infrastructure was not designed to address the challenges faced by climate change in the 21st century. We need to upgrade outdated sewage treatment facilities and prioritize public investment in nature-based, multi-benefit stormwater capture infrastructure.”

Over 30 years ago, Heal the Bay introduced the Beach Report Card as a pivotal public health tool designed to safeguard beachgoers. This comprehensive tool evaluates water quality by analyzing bacteria pollution at over approximately 700 beaches stretching from Tijuana up through Washington. 

Southern California beaches (Santa Barbara to San Diego counties) got 90 percent A or B grades in the summer. Northern California beaches (Del Norte to Marin counties) also earned 90 percent A or B summer grades, while Central California beaches (San Francisco to San Luis Obispo counties) notched 84 percent A or B marks.

The organization assigns annual A-to-F grades to approximately 700 beaches along the Pacific Coast based on levels of bacterial pollution, from Washington state to Baja. The lower the grade, the greater the chance of ocean-users getting sick.

“The Beach Report Card is accessible to the public through both a website and a mobile app, entirely free of charge, underscoring our commitment to public health and environmental stewardship,” their report says. “These efforts aim to enhance water quality and have motivated municipalities and agencies to implement measures that have led to numerous environmental success stories across the coast.”

Heal the Bay also encourages beachgoers to look for updated water quality grades for their local beaches at beachreportcard.org and freshwater recreation areas at healthebay.org/riverreportcard.

Quinn recommends waiting at least three days of rain before swimming; don’t swim within 100 yards of a storm drain, and “Know before you go,” being informed by the Heal the Bay Report Card before visiting any beaches. 

“Just in the last two years things have been relatively consistent,” Quinn said.