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The Malibu Times The Malibu Times NEWS PA PER • MAGAZ I NE • O NL I NE
NEW S PAPER • MAGAZINE •ONLINE Malibu’s Award-Winning Community Paper Since 1946
NO. LIII
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2021
malibutimes.com • $.50 • WEEKLY
Acclaimed author Joan Didion passes away at age 87
Joan Didion. Getty Images
Luminary’s most celebrated works written while a Malibu resident
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NEED CAPTION. See full story and more photos on A7. Photos by Devon /MT
Soggy Christmas weather extends into New Year’s ‘Keep umbrellas handy’
By JUDY ABEL Special to The Malibu Times
One of the driest years on record in Malibu is at least ending on a wet note. Christmas rain extended into midweek showers the final week of December, but that won’t make a dent in California’s severe drought. This week’s storm brought the rain total to 3.84 inches for December. Total over numbers are pending, according to LA Almanac, with additional showers through Thursday.
Notice was given to travelers to be aware of any rocks, mud, and flooding in the roads. As the storm continues, motorists should proceed with extreme caution and headlights on due to rocks, debris, mud, and water in the roadway, especially on canyon roads. City and County crews are patrolling Malibu with blade trucks to keep the roads clear and safe. Under California law, always approach an intersection with a malfunctioning traffic signal as an all-way stop sign—that means STOP.
Never approach or touch downed power lines - stay back, warn others and call 911. Check for road closures on Caltrans’ Quickmap at quickmap.dot. ca.gov. For weather information, visit weather.gov/lox/ and search for “90265” or “Malibu” and monitor local AM and FM radio, which will function with hand-crank, battery, solar, or car radios when the power is out. To sign up for weather, beach, or
The Malibu Real Estate Report By Rick Wallace
Inventory Falls Below 100 Homes For Sale In Malibu The lowest level in 50 years?
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t happened this month, a phenomenon that seemed unlikely to ever occur again in Malibu: The number of homes for sale in Malibu dropped to 92 in the mid-December count. Compared with the astounding number of sales this year, the market is skewed to a seller’s market to a degree that equals that historically hot period of 2004 to 2006 and has profound implications for prices. Only one other—possibly in the past 50 years—has inventory in Malibu dropped below 100. The inventory count in January 2005 was at 103, inching down to 101 in February and then hitting 98 homes in March. That was the only time (in my recorded history since the 1990s) that the inventory count went below 100. Based on known market trends of the 1970s and 1980s, it is possible this current inventory is
the lowest in 50 years. For a historical perspective, there were as many as 379 homes for sale in Malibu in August 1995. By December 1998, that number crept below 300 permanently. Then, as the market of the time heated up, it submerged below 200 by November 2002. The year 2004 saw prices in Malibu go up 31 percent. By early 2005, the inventory hit its low mark of 98. It would rise to a new peak in June 2011 at 315 homes. And gradually come down since. Even as the pandemic was in full force in June of last year, the supply of homes for sale was 190. Now it is half. It certainly reflects a marketplace that is wildly hot. As the supply of product has depleted rapidly, the demand only seems to get stronger. Prices have adjusted accordingly. CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
Shot at the Point Dume Club on Christmas. Photo by Robert Heinz
emergency alerts via text or email from the City of Malibu, visit MalibuCity.org/News, scroll down to “Alert Center,” and choose the alerts you wish to receive. Rain showers are expected to end Thursday, Dec.
30, leading up to New Year’s Eve. Partly cloudy skies are forecast for Dec. 31 and New Year’s Day as well. High temperatures in Malibu are only expected to reach into the upper 50’s.
City calls special meeting for hiring City Manager By JUDY ABEL Special to The Malibu Times
A special Malibu City Council meeting was called for Tuesday, Dec. 28, at 2 p.m. in City Council chambers at Malibu City Hall. The closed-door session was set to discuss the hiring of a new City Manager. A similar meeting was held two weeks ago in an effort to interview a potential 30 candidates to fill the position of City Manager left vacant after the departure of Reva Feldman. Feldman resigned in April 2020 after facing mounting criticism in her management of the Woolsey Fire and its aftermath. She settled with the City with an
early buyout of her contract for roughly $300,000 after claiming workplace harassment. Steve McClary has been filling in as Interim City Manager and is vying for the position. Public was able to comment virtually by signing up to speak at malibucity.org/virtualmeeting and joining the Zoom meeting. Mayor Paul Grisanti opened public comment just after the call to order, prior to the Council recesses to the closed session. One resident signed up to speak however did not attend. After a few hours council returned with nothing to report from closed session. The next scheduled City Council meeting is set for Jan. 10.
By JUDY ABEL Special to The Malibu Times
oan Didion, famed essayist, novelist, journalist, memoirist, and screenwriter, passed away on Dec. 23 in her Manhattan apartment. Didion may not have put Malibu on the map, but her cool, unflinching voice will forever be enshrined in the public sensibility. “The hills are scrubby and barren, infested with bikers and rattlesnakes, scarred with cuts and old burns and new R.V. parks. For these and other reasons, Malibu tends to astonish and disappoint those who have never before seen it, and yet its very name remains, in the imagination of people all over the world, a kind of shorthand for the easy life. I had not before 1971 and will probably not again live in a place with a Chevrolet named after it.” A fifth-generation Californian born in Sacramento, Didion parlayed an essay contest win while at UC Berkeley into an entry-level position at Vogue magazine in New York City. There she rose to associate features editor and was trained in a journalistic rigor and terseness that helped define her best work. CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
INSIDE t h i s w e e k ’ s pa p e r
Pepperdine Men’s Golf Team Earns Rings Team is celebrated at Sherwood Country Club PAGE B1 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Local News . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Malibu Life . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Legal Notices . . . . . . . . . . B3 Business Svs. & Directory . . B5 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B8