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SPECIAL EDITION 2025
M A LIB U ’S AWA RD W IN NING N E WSPA P E R S I N CE 1 94 6 VOL. LXXX • NO. XLV
THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026
malibutimes.com • $.50 • WEEKLY
Not so fast: Malibu residents appeal PCH oceanside build
California property tax relief outlined for firedamaged properties
Citizens group challenges Planning Commission’s approval of Weintraub project
County Assessor Jeff Prang’s town hall updates property owners affected by the fires
By BARBARA BURKE Special to The Malibu Times
Anyone who drives west on Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu Bluffs to west Malibu knows and appreciates the iconic panoramic views of the ocean’s horizon, Latigo Shores, Point Dume promontory, Catalina Island, and the Palos Verdes peninsula. Richard Weintraub owns property located at 25200 PCH and seeks to build a residence there. MalibuRoad Citizens’ group seeks to prevent Weintraub from constructing his proposed project, asserting the project would inhibit views and thereby harm Malibu. On Feb 17, the Malibu Planning Commission narrowly approved Weintraub’s revised application, urged through his company PAR PCH LLC/180 PCH, LLC, by a vote of 3-2, with Vice Chair John Mazza and Commissioner Marti Kamins dissenting. In so doing, the commission issued Resolution No 26-05, approving Weintraub’s application to construct a new 9,219-square-foot, one-story, single family residence, including a 1,000-square-foot subterranean two-car garage, a 1,523-square-foot basement, a 676-square-foot gym, swimming pools, a spa, driveways, decks, landscape, water features, hardscape, grading, retaining walls, and an onsite wastewater treatment system. The commission also approved a lot merger consisting of two assessor parcel numbers. Concerned Citizens of Malibu Road, Inc. (Appellant) timely filed an appeal to the city council on Feb. 27, seeking review of the commission’s decision on several grounds, including challenging the commisCONTINUED ON PAGE A6
By BARBARA BURKE Special to The Malibu Times
Players and coaches for the Malibu Little League Angels tip their caps to the start of the league’s 71st season during opening day, Feb. 28, at Bluffs Park. Photo by Dana Rubin/TMT
Opening Day home runs and hometown pride
Malibu Little League kicks off its 71st season with sunshine, spirited ceremonies, and standout performances at Bluffs Park By MCKENZIE JACKSON Special to The Malibu Times
“Swing, batter, batter, swing” — Cashel Taylor did, connecting with power. The 12-year-old knocked the ball deep into center field, driving in two runs and giving the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead over the A’s at Bluffs Park on Feb. 28. Moments later, he stole home to the cheers of his teammates, and in the next inning, he added another RBI as the Blue Jays extended their lead to 6-0.
Earlier in the day, another batter, Drake Carter, had a triple and a double in the Blue Jays’ big win over the Pirates. Baseball is in full swing again in Malibu. The Malibu Little League’s 71st season began in festive fashion on a clear, sunny day at the ball field. MLL President John Alfano said there is nothing quite like Opening Day. “It’s the best experience in Malibu,” he said. “You look and you see all the kids, the families, the smile on everyone’s faces. We have perfect weather. To see all the kids out here having a
blast — it’s the best.” The league, the largest youth sports program in Malibu, began the day with a few games in the morning and celebrated the season’s kickoff with an Opening Day ceremony on the main field at Bluffs Park. The youth baseball festival included words from city officials, Malibu Middle School students performing the national anthem, birthday shoutouts, and, of course, the league’s 220 baseball players and 60 softball players.
Among the myriad of challenges and details that those who were adversely affected by the 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles County must grapple with is the daunting exercise of figuring out whether they are entitled to property tax relief for their fire-affected parcels and determining the tax consequences of rebuilding, selling, and relocating, or relocating while keeping their damaged properties. Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang and the City of Malibu held a town hall for fire-impacted residents on Feb. 25, providing CONTINUED ON PAGE A6
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Addressing private-equity purchases after a disaster
California senator sponsors a bill to combat institutional investors buying up damaged properties By BARBARA BURKE Special to The Malibu Times
In the aftermath of the Palisades Fire, many Malibuites have expressed consternation about private equity institutional investors purchasing fire-damaged coastal lots and other properties, citing their concerns that such purchasers and the homes that they build may significantly alter Malibu’s rural characteristics and alter cherished neighborhoods. Many of those comments addressed two billion-
aire brothers, entrepreneurs from New Zealand, named Mat and Nick Mowbray, buying more than $100 million worth of burned-out lots on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The Mowbrays propose to build 16 luxury, pre-fabricated homes to be constructed at their company’s factory in China and to ship them to Malibu. According to an article in Dwell, entitled “The Divisive Plan to Build Luxury Prefabs on Burned Coastal Malibu Lots,” Nick Mowbray said their company
Zuru Tech manufactures homes in China and ships globally, a strategy meant to create homes more efficiently than traditional construction. A recent Redfin report states that developers, including the Mowbrays, have purchased approximately 44 percent of the burned lots in Malibu. According to data compiled by Redfin, in the third quarter of 2025, in the 90265 zipcode, investors purchased 19 of 43 lots that sold, amounting to 44.2%, more than twice the 21.4%
share of investor purchases in the prior year. In Malibu, lot sales were three times higher after the fire compared to the prior year. Set against that context, Senator Adam Schiff introduced legislation to limit large corporate investors, such as private equity firms, from purchasing properties within six months after a natural disaster. The legislation, introduced on March 2, is likely going to be within a bipartisan housing package, according to Schiff ’s staff, and it would prohibit CONTINUED ON PAGE A5
Hope and breakthroughs take center stage at Pepperdine Cancer Research Symposium Pepperdine student brings leading cancer researchers together for first-of-its-kind symposium By JUDY ABEL Special to The Malibu Times
A full day of scientific discussion, personal storytelling, and cautious optimism unfolded last week at Pepperdine University, where senior biology major Madison Johnson organized the school’s first cancer research symposium — an ambitious event that brought leading oncologists, researchers, students, and patients together to explore the rapidly evolving future of cancer treatment. Held Feb. 25 at Pepperdine’s Smothers The- Pepperdine senior biology major Madison Johnson (fifth from right) poses with panelists she recruited for her atre, the symposium drew roughly 400 attend- cancer research symposium Feb. 25 at Pepperdine’s Smothers Theatre. Photo by Ron Hall
ees throughout the day, including students, faculty, university leadership, and invited medical professionals. Participants moved in and out between classes, filling sessions that examined breakthroughs in oncology while emphasizing the human impact behind scientific progress. For Johnson, a 22-year-old biology major on the pre-medicine track, the event represented far more than an academic exercise. The idea grew out of a transformative summer internship at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, Tennessee, where she worked with personalized medicine and therapeutic development teams while also shadowing breast cancer oncologists in clinical settings. “Before that experience, I had mainly been involved in laboratory research,” Johnson said. “Seeing patients receiving therapies that had
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Young talent showcased at ‘Shrek the Musical’ |B1
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . .A2 • Malibu cannot politely request protection — we must demand it News Briefs . . . . . . . . . A3 • California Film Commission expands incentives with Film & Television Tax Credit Program 4.0 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . A4 • March 6: Active Professionals Hike with Malibu Councilmember Haylynn Conrad Malibu Life . . . . . . . . . B1 • Malibu Sandals marks one year at Surf Canyon with a celebration People . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 • Malibu Scene: Welcome to the Machine Community . . . . . . . . . B3 • Our Lady of Malibu: Big fun! Big Bingos! Big winners! Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . .B4 Business & Directory . . .B6 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . B6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . .B8