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M A LIB U ’S AWA RD W IN N I N G N E WS PA P E R S I N CE 1 94 6 VOL. LXXIX • NO. LI
THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2025
malibutimes.com • $.50 • WEEKLY
Carbon Canyon, Carbon Mesa, and Carbon Beach Terrace Neighborhoods Recovery Efforts
Pacific Coast Highway set to reopen by Memorial Day Governor announces partial reopening by the end of May, offering relief to residents, businesses, and tourists
Residents share frustrations over decades-long delays to essential water infrastructure upgrades
By HAYLEY MATTSON Publisher, Editor In Chief
By BARBARA BURKE Special to The Malibu Times
Attendees and online viewers of a City Hall meeting for Carbon Canyon, Carbon Mesa and Carbon Beach Terrace neighborhoods on April 8 heard that the Army Corps of Engineers work at La Costa Beach is almost complete and that Las Tunas Beach will be cleared by the end of the month, as will Carbon Beach. “In terms of debris clearance rates, for the City of Malibu, we are averaging above 50 parcels a day and we’re going to get to 60 parcels a day,” Col. Brian Souser of the Army Corps of Engineers said at the meeting. Souser addressed those parcels in which the landowners opted to have the government clear the debris. “There are about 18 opt-outs at Carbon Beach,” Souser reported, adding that the Corps is accelerating its efforts and adding worker capacity. “We are tripling our efforts at the beachfront properties which requires a lot of other asbestos abatement and other prerequisites — the challenge there is that there is still a lot of use of the Pacific Coast Highway which CONTINUED ON PAGE A5
City officials and volunteers are helped by Malibu kids in breaking ground April 11 for the future skatepark at Malibu Bluffs Park. Photo by Emily Scher/TMT
Malibu breaks ground on long-awaited skatepark Locals unite to celebrate the groundbreaking of a $4.1 million skatepark, a dream 50 years in the making By BARBARA BURKE Special to The Malibu Times
“I’ve waited 50 years for this!” said Andy Lyon, a Malibu diehard skateboarder and surfer who has tirelessly advocated for the city to commit funding and land to build a proper skatepark in Malibu. “Ever since I was a kid we’ve been asking for a skateboard park!” Lyon made his remarks as he attended a groundbreaking ceremony at Malibu Bluffs Park for Malibu’s new skatepark
on April 12. Sharing pictures of his old Malibu surf team dating back to the ’70s, Lyon noted that the glaciated bureaucratic wheels of government finally — finally — culminated in approval of a new skatepark. It was not lost on any attendee that many who attended the event are struggling mightily after the Palisades Fire and that having the ceremony blessed Malibu with a few moments of joy amidst all the rebuilding angst. Lyon declared that it was all worth it. As he
and other Malibu parents accompanied by each of their next generations looked on, Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart and Councilmembers Bruce Silverstein, Steve Uhring, Mary Ann Riggins, and Haylynn Conrad were joined by Acting City Manager Joseph Toney and others as they grabbed some shovels and broke ground on the project. The new skatepark facility will, of course, include ramps and handrails for safety, and
The fifth installment charting the evolution of the clearance and reconstruction of Malibu
A photo illustration and two maps show where water tanks would be installed in Don Schmitz’s strategy to protect the area from future wildfires. Contributed Photo/Illustration
Can Malibu finally embrace a bold fire prevention plan — that is the question multi-jurisdictional projects, has been proposing his idea to better battle wildfires as they rage in the Santa Monica Mountains before they reach Malibu. After the Woolsey Fire, he gave a large, well-attended presentation at Pepperdine about the subject, as By BARBARA BURKE he has done many times. Those Special to The Malibu Times in attendance lauded his ideas, For years, Don Schmitz, a local while, as is perennially the case in land-use planning consultant the world of politics at every level, experienced in working on complex, nothing came of it. Nevertheless, he
For years, Don Schmitz has championed installing water tanks along the Santa Monica Mountains to stop wildfires
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continues to campaign for his idea. Schmitz’ concept for preventing unbridled wildfires in the Santa Monica Mountains from devastating Malibu is quite simple: We should install a series of enormous water tanks along the ridgelines of the Santa Monica Mountains where firefighters establish fire breaks. Why? To provide water sources to battle the wildfires and put CONTINUED ON PAGE A6
On April 10, the City of Malibu held a workshop to discuss what some called “The S Word” by those who have been conditioned to never use the word sewer, or sewage system, or wastewater treatment system within Malibu city limits. Whatever you want to call it, there are more than a few voices raised in support of taking 300-plus houses and businesses off septic and plugging them all into a wastewater pipeline that would cover all the burned-out homes from Carbon Beach to Topanga. Some say the pipeline should go east to hook into the LA system for treatment at Hyperion. Others say Go West and grow with Malibu’s Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Plant. This April 10 meeting was similar to the final scene of “Lawrence of Arabia” where the Arabs have taken Damascus and Colonel Lawrence is banging his revolver on the table trying to get all the Arab tribes to agree on something.
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INSIDE
this week
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Malibu’s rebuild and the dreaded ’S Word’ By BENJAMIN MARCUS Special to The Malibu Times
After months of disruption following the devastating Palisades Fire in January, a portion of the iconic Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) is finally set to reopen to the public by the end of May — just in time for the bustling summer season. Gov. Gavin Newsom made the announcement on Saturday, April 12, emphasizing the importance of this early reopening for both residents and local businesses. “We are on track to reopen the highway by the end of May,” Newsom stated. “I am deeply mindful of how disruptive this has been for residents, for businesses, and for those that simply want to enjoy one of
Or as Jimi Hendrix put it “They know what they want, but they just don’t know how to go about getting it.” There are many layers of geologic, legal, financial, philosophical, commercial, aesthetic, and other objections and obstructions to the wastewater pipeline, and that’s a shame because this is a golden opportunity to make PCH and Malibu “Less Septic, More Scenic.” It is a little ironic that Malibu was pitchforks and lanterns against a sewage system in the 20th century: Voting it down in 1966, 1968, and 1971, and then voting to incorporate Malibu in 1991 to block the fourth attempt to shove a sewage system against Malibu’s will. And now there are pitchforks and lanterns clamoring for a sewage system. And say goodbye and thanks to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs Officer Erin Jimenez for her service to this article. She has rotated out to less stressful work, like going after Houtis in Yemen or whatever, and she has been replaced CONTINUED ON PAGE A6
Malibu Brewing Company introduces new beer for fire relief efforts |B1
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . .A2 • Driving Change: From flames to resurrection — a community on the brink News Briefs . . . . . . . . . A3 • Coastal Commission approves Malibu LCP changes Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Local News . . . . . . . . . .A5 • It all starts with soil health Local News . . . . . . . . . .A6 • Millions rally nationwide in ‘Hands Off!’ protest Real Estate . . . . . . . . . .A8 Malibu Life . . . . . . . . . B1 • Sharks girls water polo players garner CIF, league honors People . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 • Malibu Seen: archiTECH 2: Luis Tena continued Community . . . . . . . . . B3 • Preserving Malibu’s magical rhythm in magical ways Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . .B4 Business & Directory . . .B6 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . B6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . .B8 • Pepperdine diver Vivian Vallely triumphs after tragedy following the Palisades Fire
4/15/25 5:49 PM