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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 Local residents concerned watering restrictions could increase wildfire risk Malibu’s Award-Winning Community Paper Since 1946
VOL. LXXVI • NO. VI
State Senator asks state water officials for exceptions to water cutbacks based on health, safety of residents By JIMY TALLAL Special to The Malibu Times
With Malibu and the rest of the state coming into the third year of drought, and residents within the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District; which serves water customers outside the city limits of Malibu, all the way across the Santa Monica Mountains, now are limited to watering their landscaping one day a week. Many are expressing concern that vegetation will completely dry up, turning
THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2022
the area into one big tinderbox. Even before the watering restrictions for Las Virgenes went into effect on June 1, Malibu’s State Senator, Henry Stern, sent a letter on May 16 to Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), asking that the communities in his 27th District “receive sufficient water supplies to protect their health and safety.” “A large number of people in my District reside within areas that are both dependent on State Water Project (SWP) supplies and designated as Very High Fire Mayor Paul Grisanti (left) and CERT Team member Corey Larsen welcome guests at the Public Safety Expo on Saturday, June 4. Photo by Emmanuel Luissi/TMT. Hazard Severity Zones,” Stern wrote. “Effective June 1, 2022, many of these communities will be CONTINUED ON PAGE A8
Public Safety Expo returns to June for the first time since 2019
Saturday, June 4, making its return to June scheduling for the first time since 2019. This year’s Public Safety Expo was more than double the size of last year’s October event. The free event allowed residents By EMMANUEL LUISSI to meet their local first responders, Special to The Malibu Times community safety representatives, Malibu City Hall hosted the and safety equipment vendors to get fourth annual event in Malibu on information on how to stay safe in
The fourth annual Public Safety Expo provided a day of inperson activities
The audience enjoys a past concert at Peter Strauss Ranch. The Tiny Porch Concerts Summer Series has returned to the ranch. Photo Courtesy of National Park Service
Fire-damaged Peter Strauss Ranch fully reopened to the public The main ranch house isn’t rebuilt yet, but parking, picnicking and hiking are available By JIMY TALLAL Of The Malibu Times
The grounds of the 78-acre Peter Strauss Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) were fully reopened to the public Monday, June 6, for the first time since the
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Woolsey fire of November 2018. The ranch, which is operated by the National Park Service (NPS), is now open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset with on-site parking, picnicking, and a 2.9-mile hiking trail through the oak woodlands. In preparation for the reopening, volunteers spruced up the grounds last Saturday as part of a National Trails Day event, and on Sunday, the popular Tiny Porch Concerts Summer Series returned to the ranch (to see schedule of the CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
various emergency situations. Information booths were hosted by Malibu CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), Malibu Search and Rescue, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Malibu/ Lost Hills Sheriff ’s Station, Arson Watch, and LA County Animal Care and Control. Also present were vendor information booths from Allstate Insur-
Harry Barovsky Memorial Youth Commission reflects on past year Commission hosts its last meeting and recognizes its seniors By SAMANTHA BRAVO Of The Malibu Times
The Harry Barovsky Memorial Youth Commission met virtually on June 2, to recognize five seniors graduating high school and attending college in the fall and year in review recap. Chair Nicole Reynaga will attend Vanderbilt University in the fall and study English and political science. Commissioner Jaz Abbey will attend George Washington University as a political science major
on a pre-law track. Abbey plans to attend law school and become a political or environmental justice lawyer. India Cortese will attend UC Berkeley as a part of the Global Management Program in the Haas Business School for eight weeks during the summer. Cortese will then depart to London at the beginning of the fall semester to begin studying international business with large corporations. She hopes to get her business degree and create a business of her own. Commissioner Eden Amar plans to go to UC Berkeley and major in environmental science. Commissioner Jacqueline Reynaga plans to go to Hamilton Col-
lege in Clinton, New York, in the fall. "Thank you so much to our seniors, you are all the backbone of the commission and we really appreciate all the effort and I'm sorry that your last two years of the — especially if you've been on since you were in middle school — has been more on a virtual basis, but we are still proud of everything the commission has been able to achieve in the last two years since the pandemic," Recreation Manager Kate Gallo said. For the last two years, meetings and most events have been held through Zoom, and Gallo said the city resumed more significant CONTINUED ON PAGE A6
Weeding out trouble in Malibu During National Trails Day its trails — but there’s a growing problem. cleanup event, city staff It’s become overrun with invaexpress concerns with sive weeds. lack of funding, volunteers On Saturday, the Community By TRISHA ANAS Special to The Malibu Times
Alongside Encinal Canyon Road sits Charmlee Wilderness Park, a somewhat hidden gem in Malibu that holds astonishing views within
Services Department organized a National Trails Day cleanup event, where volunteers and staff helped remove some of the non-native plants. Naturalist Sandy Glover said that the invasive species over-
growth has been a growing problem for years because of frequent incidents in the area, like the Woolsey fire. “Every year, the weeds get worse, and the fires certainly encouraged them,” Glover said. “The frequency of the fires is a huge problem. What’s happening is that the plant community is changing from beautiful oak trees Naturalist Sandy Glover shows volunteer William Mullally which invasive weeds to remove CONTINUED ON PAGE A6
from the area on June 4 at Charmlee Wilderness Park in Malibu. Photo by Trisha Anas/TMT
ance, Southern California Edison, Fortress Fire Retardant Systems, and Safe-T-Proof, among others. Although the event was well organized, it was not well attended. It was, however, hosted in time to help residents prepare for the upcoming fire season. Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff Station Capt. Jennifer Seetoo said disaster CONTINUED ON PAGE A8
INSIDE
this week
Malibu Little League alums win CIF championship | B1
Opinion . . . . . . . . . .A2 News Briefs . . . . . . . .A3 • Malibu/Lost Hills investigators respond to hit and run fatality Calendar . . . . . . . . . .A4 Local News. . . . . . . . .A6 • Malibu plans for activities in the sunshine Real Estate . . . . . . . . A8 Malibu Life . . . . . . . . B1 • One-time Malibu “drama mama” enters play for Fringe Festival Malibu People . . . . . . . B2 • Malibu music fans rock out on star-filled night to mark the Bowl’s 100th season Legal Notices . . . . . . . B3 Business & Directory . . B5 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . B5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . B8 • Former Pepperdine basketball player taking the court in the Big3