Newly sworn-in Mayor Karen Farrer spoke with The Malibu Times recently, addressing city preparedness, Malibu schools and other issues as she begins her nine-month tenure. Farrer was sworn into her first term in the mayor’s office in September and is expected to serve in that role through June 2020.

A ban on short-term rentals could end up costing the City of Malibu $27,527,527 over the next decade—money the city now depends on for its balanced budget.

The City of Malibu was offering free respiratory masks to residents on Friday due to air quality concerns. The masks were available at Malibu City Hall and Malibu Bluffs Park beginning Friday morning, Oct. 11.

9 a.m.: The Wendy Fire was 50 percent contained as of 8:30 a.m. Friday, according to Ventura County Fire. There was no increase of size overnight.

10:55 p.m. A brushfire first reported Thursday evening, Oct. 10, in Newbury Park was reportedly 25 percent contained and holding at approximately 90 acres by late Thursday night, according to Ventura County Fire public information officers. The fire, which burned into open space in the far w…

Update: Event organizers announced the screening would be postponed due to excessive smoke from the Saddleridge Fire.

With a fire weather forecast including high winds and dry conditions this week, Southern California Edison on Tuesday evening indicated areas of Malibu could be subject to a public safety power shutoff (PSPS) between Thursday, Oct. 10, at 9 p.m. and Friday, Oct. 11, at 9 p.m.

The California Coastal Commission will decide whether to allow a restriction on overnight parking on a .7-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway between Coastline Drive and Topanga Canyon Boulevard—an area known for overnight parking of RVs, trailers and cars.

A pattern of home burglaries has begun to emerge across the Western half of Malibu—specifically, homes under construction after the Woolsey Fire are being broken into, and everything from appliances to piping to tools are being swiped.

In simple terms, Malibu’s Broad Beach used to be just that: a broad beach.

Parents from Malibu High School and Malibu Middle School are kicking off the schools’ biggest fund drive of the year next week, Giving Week, from Oct. 7-13. Sponsored by the Shark Fund and Malibu LEAD, those who donate during the week will be entered in a daily raffle to win prizes, with a g…

On Monday, Sept. 30, at 10:15 p.m. the Malibu Search and Rescue Team (Malibu SAR) and LA County Fire Department responded to a BMW that rolled off Stunt Road, approximately two miles from Mulholland Highway in Calabasas. The male driver stated he swerved to avoid a coyote and flipped three t…

Editor's note: Just hours after The Malibu Times went to print Tuesday night, the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station announced an arrest had been made in the case of a juvenile who allegedly was involved in an incident at Malibu High School last Thursday, Sept. 26. That update is available …

By all accounts, Janet “JuJu” Baker is a well-remembered, well-loved former preschool teacher in Malibu. Malibu’s 20- and 30-somethings (not to mention their parents) may remember “Miss JuJu” if they attended pre-K between 1981 and 2000, when she lived and worked here in town. Baker’s own ch…

Last week, white tents were seen on Pepperdine University campus in celebration of the inauguration of the university’s eighth president, James A. Gash. The Pepperdine law professor was formally introduced as the first alumnus to occupy the office of president on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

A Calabasas man was killed Friday evening while attempting to cross Pacific Coast Highway on foot. The collision happened at 21371 PCH (near Rambla Vista) at 7:15 p.m.—dusk, when visibility begins to sharply decline. The victim, identified as 76-year-old Ronald Fuote, had just parked his car…

On Monday, Sept. 23, the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station received a burglary call at Sorenity Rocks Malibu, located on Cross Creek Road in the Malibu Civic Center. A pair of amethyst crystals were stolen from the entrance of the business. 

Santa Monica-based nonprofit Heal the Bay celebrated its 30th year coordinating its annual Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, Sept. 21. With more than 70 cleanup sites in Los Angeles County, participants volunteered to clean up local beaches, rivers, creeks and parks of trash and debris.

The following incidents were reported between 9/3 - 9/15:

A group of Malibu locals demonstrating along Pacific Coast Highway at the entrance to Malibu Lagoon State Park grew in size throughout the afternoon as kids were released from school and parents took off work. The protest was made up of locals standing in solidarity with a global climate str…

Eyewitnesses complained of wreckage washing up on the rocks and sand in the area of Leo Carrillo State Beach as late as Tuesday afternoon, following a boat crash on Thursday morning, Sept. 19. 

Project designers stressed the importance of community input on the new Malibu High School (MHS) campus plan, which is looking at ways to spend the $195 million allocated to revamping the school’s campus.

Update, 8:14 p.m.: One lane of Pacific Coast Highway was open in each direction following a full closure due to a fatal collision Friday evening.

Update, Friday evening: Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff's deputies have identified the man who reportedly threatened a security guard at Malibu High School on Monday, prompting a security scare.

During Monday’s Malibu City Council meeting, Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station Lt. Jennifer Seetoo released crime and traffic statistics, including the announcement of a significant decrease in traffic collisions: Injury traffic collisions decreased 42 percent and noninjury collisions decr…

The Malibu Times follows the recovery and rebuild process of locals who lost their homes due to the Woolsey Fire in the “Rising from the Ashes” series. On Monday, we took a winding route up Yerba Buena Road in unincorporated Malibu to meet with Michael and Linda Weisberg. The Weisbergs are t…

From 2012-13, the 31-acre Malibu Lagoon underwent a nine-month-long restoration process initiated by California State Parks. Twelve acres of wetland near the mouth of Malibu Creek were drained, wildlife was trapped and relocated, heavy equipment scooped out a thousand tons of trash and fill,…

Private neighborhoods in Malibu may soon become just a little bit more private.

Last Saturday, the city kicked off the start of the 2019 fire season with updates from public safety and Southern California Edison (SCE) on current fire conditions, new policies and procedures the city is developing since last year’s destructive Woolsey Fire, and more about how SCE’s Public…

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to allow overnight camping in the hills above Malibu. The vote took place immediately after nearly two dozen Malibu residents made public comments asking them not to approve it, with most citing the inherent fire dange…

A 35-foot panga vessel containing 25 bales of marijuana was found abandoned in Malibu on Saturday. 

All 39 people aboard the dive boat Conception were asleep when a fire broke out in the early morning hours of Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, while the boat was moored off the shore of Santa Cruz, the largest of the islands in Channel Islands National Park. That fire would eventually cause the b…

When is someone an “employee” versus an “independent contractor”? The State of California is about to make that very clear with AB 5—legislation that is now sitting on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk—which he told the Sacramento Bee he will sign. The California law will be a much clearer and st…

A 69-year-old man from Irvine, Stephen Zumucen, was found dead in his parked vehicle on Zuma Beach Plaza shopping center in the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 14, a few hours after competing in the Malibu Nautica Triathlon.

This month’s Caffeinated Verse took place at Malibu City Hall on Saturday morning, featuring poetry from Malibu community members. 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the disappearance and death of Mitrice Richardson in 2009 has never been closed—but it has been more than seven years since new information has emerged about what happened to the 24-year-old after her late-night release from a ho…