Scope of environmental inspections, testing expands districtwide as officials continue planning testing and cleanup at Malibu schools.

By David Mark SimpsonSpecial to The Malibu Times

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will check every school in the district for potentially cancer-causing contam-inants following reports of health problems at the Malibu High School campus.

The district’s environmen-tal consultant, Environ, and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control were on hand at a special Board of Education meeting last Wednesday night in Malibu to discuss the plan.

Last year, three Malibu teach-ers were diagnosed with thyroid cancer. A group of 20 teachers wrote a letter to the district com-plaining of different health prob-lems.

In November, the district had several rooms on the Malibu cam-pus tested for a range of toxins,

May 15, 2014 | www.MalibuTimes.com 25 Cents | No. 20Malibu’s Award Winning Community Paper | Since 1946

The 28th annual Malibu Cook’s Tour gives an inside look

at Malibu living. Malibu Life: B1

View. View. View. Off the Grid in Malibu! $2,995,000

310.589.2477 www.susanmonus.com • www.facebook.com/MalibuEstates CAL BRE# 00827409LARGE PRICE REDUCTION!

Arianna Huffington speaks at Children’s

Lifesaving Foundation fundraiser.

Malibu Life: B1

The Malibu Senior Center hosts a Mother’s Day Tea. Photos, B4

Rafe Esquith will be the fifth speaker in the 2014 Malibu Library Speaker Series. News Briefs, A3

Malibu Times publisher Arnold York offers advice to Donald Sterling. Opinion, A4

I N S I D E

Calendar A2Classified B11-13Crossword B13Dining & Entertainment A8-9Opinion A4Real Estate A10-14Business & Services Directories B9-13Legal Notices B5-6

Overturn crash sends driver to hospital

A solo female driver suffered scrapes and bruises Monday in eastern Malibu after losing control, hitting two parked cars and overturning in her black Lexus SUV. Several beer cans were pulled from the car and investigators suspect alcohol may have been a factor in the crash. For more, see page A3.

Street Talk | By Julie Ellerton | “What Does Motherhood Mean to You?”

See Council, page A9

See SM schools, page A12

See BOE, page A7

See Underpass, page A6

Marcia O’Dea“An e-ticket 24-7! And a million second chances to love, laugh and learn.”

Lydia Herndon“Motherhood is attempting to master the art of letting go, also a state of being...On a side note, patience and sleep deprivation!”

Ellen Reich“Motherhood means giving with love, and giving and giving until I get all filled up!”

Teri Gillen“It means I’m the boss. I am the boss!”

Kristin Anderson“I just had twins three weeks ago, and motherhood means to me an unimaginable longing to serve another human being as best you can, with all your heart.”

Linda Thompson“Nothing is more important to me than motherhood! Being a mother to my two sons, Brandon and Brody Jenner, is the greatest privilege, honor, joy and blessing of my life.”

City Council votes to subpoena vacation rentalsThe Malibu City Council voted unanimously on Monday to execute subpoenas to vacation rental websites that may not be paying a 12% occupancy tax.By Emily SawickiStaff Writer

Despite some trepidation, the Malibu City Council voted unani-mously on Monday night to sub-poena vacation rental websites that may not be collecting transient occupancy tax (TOT), or have listed properties that are not regis-tered to pay the tax.

The council also voted to approve use for a $1-million donation to Legacy Park offered by Hard Rock Cafe owner Peter Morton, in a deal dating back to 2011.

Vacation rental subpoenasMonday’s 5-0 vote paves the

way for the city to crack down on rental sites posting short-term rentals whose owners have failed to register and pay a TOT.

Although council members mentioned that the 12% tax is a lower burden than neighboring cities levy on their residents, staff believes Malibu stands to collect

Malibu Seafood underpass: Use at your own riskNo plans to put the underpass to use, despite wishes from Malibu Seafood and RV Park workers who see pedestrians run across the highway.

By Nancy SagonaSpecial to the Malibu Times

There’s an orphan underpass in Malibu, and no one wants to claim it. With a recent heat wave bring- ing on an influx of visitors and a

busy summer surely on the hori-zon, workers at Malibu Seafood and the Malibu RV Park are won-dering why a nearby underpass hasn’t been cleaned up and put to use as a functioning pedestrian walkway.

The underpass, they believe, could deter visitors and beachgo-ers from running across Pacific Coast Highway to get to Malibu Seafood, Malibu RV Park or nearby Corral Beach, but public officials say the underpass in ques-tion is a storm drain and was never meant for pedestrian use.

Jeff Landry, the property man-ager from the Malibu Beach RV Park, wants something done for the safety of the customers who contribute millions of dollars annually to the local economy.

“It is a very, very dangerous corridor of highway,” said Landry. “We have had guests hit by cars at the entrance of our park and no one will do anything about it until someone dies.”

The out-of-commission under-pass is controlled by the state-

Julie Ellerton / TMTSign leading to underpass near Malibu Seafood

Concerns linger over Malibu High cleanup plan Toxin detection and removal at Malibu High School and Juan Cabrillo Elementary are set to begin this summer, but plans presented by environmental groups have yet to be accepted.By Emily SawickiStaff Writer

Several parents, teachers and community members in Malibu expressed their dissatisfaction with a drafted plan to tackle the issue of possible toxins found in Malibu High School, Malibu Middle School and Juan Cabrillo Elementary, during a study ses-sion in Malibu last Wednesday.

The plan was prepared by Environ, the environmental firm contracted by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD). Environ’s presen-tation came months after con-troversy at Malibu High School and Middle School arose October

when a group of teachers came forward with several health con-cerns, including three suffer-ing from thyroid cancer, though it’s unknown if the cancer and contamination are linked. Juan Cabrillo Elementary was eventu-ally added to the potential area of concern. Frustration further erupted when it was revealed that toxic soils were found at Malibu High in 2010 and the school dis-trict did not notify parents about the situation.

The plan, which was laid out by Environ and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), calls for test-ing and cleanup of the school to begin as early as June, but many in attendance last week worry that short-term substance con-tainment measures laid out in the plan may slow down long-term solutions.

Community ConcernsThe public workshop was just

the tip of the iceberg for commu-

nity members and school board members, who maintained that there is not enough communica-tion and room for public input.

Seth Jacobson, a member of an environmental task force set up by the district when the envi-ronmental scare first arose, said

Santa Monica schools to be checked for PCBs

(c) 2014 Stephen Fisch

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