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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. LIV
THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022
New California Laws and How They Could Affect You
malibutimes.com • $.50 • WEEKLY
2021: A Year in Photos
City Council: Updates on Woolsey Fire rebuilding and Westward Beach parking project Public comments regarding Council member Silverstein voice concern and support after report was released
2022 ushers in a slew of new state legislation
Samantha Bravo Malibu Times Assistant Editor
By Judy Abel Special to The Malibu Times
Each January, when the State of California ushers in new regulations, more often than not, they do not affect our daily lives. This year’s new legislation and policies (770 in all) will likely be noticed sooner than later in many matters. Here are some laws that may be more impactful than others:
Starting Jan. 1, 2022 Businesses with at least 26 employees will be required to pay a $15 hourly minimum wage. Mail-in ballots will be sent to every registered voter in the state. You can still vote in person if you choose. All residents and businesses will be required to separate their organic waste (like food scraps) from their regular garbage. Waste haulers will notify customers of the transition and may provide additional bins. Restaurants are prohibited from handing out single-use utensils and condiments unless requested by customers. Restaurants may continue to sell to-go alcoholic drinks or serve them in outdoor street seating through 2026. Pigs, egg-laying chickens, and veal calves farmed for food must have enough room to stand and turn around. A coalition of factory farms and grocers is suing, hoping for a two-year delay in order to make the necessary changes to their systems. California cities will now have more local control in setting speed limits. If cities do lower speed limits, enforcement will not take effect until mid-2024 or whenever the state creates an online portal to adjudicate the new infractions—whichever comes sooner. Terminally ill patients can now wait only 48 hours instead of 15 days to make a second request for life-ending drugs. Barbers and cosmetologists are now only required to complete 1,000 hours of training rather than the previous 1,600 hours. More housing units can be developed on single zoned lots subject to local ordinances. Police may no longer use rubber bullets or tear gas to disperse protesting crowds. They also cannot be used against someone who has violated “an imposed curfew, made a verbal threat or noncompliance with a law enforcement directive.” Courts may grant probation for specified drug offenses that were previously ineligible or presumptively ineligible for probation. New police officers must be 21 years of age and hold a bachelor’s degree. Police officers must report incidents of excessive force and intervene or face disciplinary action. Corporations with boards of directors of five must include at least two women. Those companies with boards of six or more directors need at least three to be women. CONTINUED ON PAGE A11
Legendary entertainer Dick Van Dyke (left) and wife Arlene at the Kennedy Center Honors after he was presented with a medallion that celebrate his lifetime contributions to American culture. See B1 for 2021: A Year in Photos. Photo courtesy Laura Garrett
50 rescued from intense flooding at Leo Carrillo
20 positive COVID-19 cases force the schools to keep kids at home
Campground and beach parking area are closed through January
By Judy Abel Special to The Malibu Times
By Judy Abel Special to The Malibu Times
Campers and California State Parks employees were caught off-guard last Thursday when a torrent of rain overwhelmed Leo Carrillo State Park campground. 50 people were rescued early Thursday in a downpour that saw five to six inches fall in the north Malibu campground that was charred in 2018’s Woolsey Fire. Flood advisories were issued by the National Weather Service at the end of 2021 for Orange County, but “not for Los Angeles or Ventura Counties,” said Jerry West, acting Angeles District Superintendent of California State Parks. “This event was unanticipated by all parties,” West explained. By the time flash flood warnings were
Malibu High School and Middle School revert back to remote learning
CAPTION. Photos by Julie Ellerton / TMT
finally issued in the early morning hours, minor flooding was already occurring in the campground. With the assistance of the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the American Red Cross, 50 people were evacuated from Leo Carrillo during Thursday’s storm. Roughly 70 other campCONTINUED ON PAGE A11
The return to school after winter break did not go as planned for students at Malibu Middle and Malibu High School. Twenty positive COVID-19 tests forced the schools back to remote learning at least for one day. Before the schools were scheduled for a two-week break for the holidays, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was starting to become a concern with rising cases throughout Los Angeles County. As a result, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District officials informed parents, students, and staff that to return to school scheduled Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, a negative test was required. SMMUSD CONTINUED ON PAGE A11
The first Malibu City Council meeting of 2022 is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 10. This meeting comes after a heated council meeting on Dec. 13 and a special meeting on Dec., which discussed the potential candidates for the city manager position that is open after Reva Feldman resigned last May. During the almost six-hour Malibu City Council meeting on Dec. 13, 2021, an update on the Woolsey Fire rebuild process was on the agenda; however, an unexpected hour-long public comment involving 12 local Malibu speakers who shared their opinions regarding the allegations of corruption at Malibu City Hall and their frustration towards Council member Bruce Silverstein as well as some sharing their support. For the Woolsey Fire rebuild update, the city’s environmental sustainability director/ building official, Yolanda Bundy, presented the report and said 62 families would celebrate the holidays in their new homes, and 149 projects have been given permits and begun construction. “We expect to have more than 68 homes obtaining permits in the next two to three months,” Bundy said. “That means we’ll have 217 homes that will be under rebuild.” After the Woolsey Fire burned more than 96,949 acres and 488 structures, the city has been making efforts to help families and homeowners restore and rebuild what has been destroyed. Bundy said there are still 47 projects that have been approved by planning but have not been submitted for plan check, and 143 property owners have not submitted for planning approval. Under the building plan check process, there are 211 permits issued, 68 projects that have been issued for plan check and are currently being reviewed by all city departments, which equals 57 percent of rebuilds submitted to building safety. Since the council meeting in December, the number of completed homes increased from 62 to 63. According to the site, 152 are currently under construction, 215 permits have been issued, and 328 have been approved by planning. “The homes that we’re seeing right now, are more complex foundations, this is not a conventional foundation,” Bundy said. CONTINUED ON PAGE A11
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