A homeowners bid to overturn a year-long stop-work order hit a wall Feb. 10 as West Vancouver councillors noted the difference between what was allowed on a waterfront property and what got built.

The district approved a two-storey house on a rectangular site at 3742 Marine Dr. in 2016, as well as subsequent variances.

But during a site inspection, district staff noted an extension to the building and roof, a wing-wall and retaining walls that hadnt been approved.

The owner is asking for four new variances.

If we do approve this, were just asking for other people to sin and beg forgiveness later, said Coun. Craig Cameron.

Requested changes include shrinking the side yard setbacks by a total of nine metres and increasing site coverage from 42 to 58 per cent.

We thought the changes we made to the exterior of the house were minor and did not require staff approval, Pinnacle International senior project manager Carlo Meola wrote in a letter to council. I am asking that you excuse my lack of judgment in not asking staff before I made the changes that I am now proposing.

Stuck between waterfront bedrock and Marine Drive, the property is 55 metres wide and 8.5 metres deep at its narrowest point.

Explaining the lot was likely created prior to the construction of Marine Drive, West Vancouver director of planning Jim Bailey told council that if the owner had asked for those exceptions in advance they would have got what they asked for.

If youre looking for a pound of flesh I think the fact that theyve been inactive ... theres a measure of punishment in that, he said.

Cameron, however, was concerned that granting the variances would encourage other homeowners to push the envelope.

We need to be flexible, but this is playing us for fools, he said.

While questioning Meola as well as landscape architect Peter Kreuk, Coun. Nora Gambioli asked why a patio was built without permits, seemingly intentionally.

The concrete patio was an existing slab, thats where the existing garage used to sit, Meola told her.

Cameron took issue with that explanation.

This wasnt an existing slab. This is a brand new slab, Cameron said.

The walls were existing, Meola replied. The slab was existing but it collapsed.

Cameron seemed unimpressed with that reasoning.

At some point in the construction there was an audible that was called and you decided, Screw it, lets just pour this, he said.

That is a newly poured slab, Kreuk clarified. The idea was to position the slab beneath terraced landscaping on the steeply sloping property, Kreuk told council.

Encouraging her colleagues to support the variances, Mayor Mary-Ann Booth suggested one year spent in development purgatory is quite a penalty.

The year-long stop-work order isnt necessarily the districts fault, Bailey said.

While he didnt realize it had been a year, Bailey noted that variance permits often involve back-and-forth between the applicant and the municipality.

Even so, denying the permit will waste councils, staffs, and the neighbourhoods time, according to Booth.

Personally, I dont want to see a bunch of concrete being jackhammered and put in a landfill, the mayor said.

Jackhammering would be entirely appropriate, Coun. Bill Soprovich countered.

They can jackhammer out the concrete and put in a slope-down landscape. That would satisfy me, Soprovich said. I cant understand why you have professional men going against the bylaw.

Coun. Peter Lambur noted that the homeowner has already paid permit fees for each variance.

I think this is just adding more unnecessary work on top of unnecessary work, Lambur said.

Lambur also suggested deterrence may not be required.

I think the applicant knows what they have done, Lambur said.

The variances probably should have been included in the first application, said Coun. Sharon Thompson.

While the owner is guilty of a misstep, Thompson suggested council approve the application.

We want you to be able to enjoy your home, she said.

Council voted 4-3 to defer approving the variance permit while staff explore deterrents. Cameron, Soprovich, Gambioli, and Coun. Marcus Wong supported the motion while Booth, Thompson and Lambur opposed it.

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West Van withholds building permit; accuses owner of asking forgiveness instead of permission - North Shore News

The Valley Regional Fire Authority Technical Rescue Team along with help from technical rescue specialists from South King Fire and Puget Sound Fire freed a man from the rubble of a collapsed retaining wall, the VRFA tweeted Monday.

Crews responded at 10:33 a.m. to a call of a 40-year-old man who was trapped when a portion of a retaining wall reportedly collapsed.

The man was buried to his waist but conscious and talking when first-responders arrived. Crews shored up the dirt and rock, using cribbing materials, and an excavation operator on site removed a 1,400-pound block that was impeding the rescue.

Following the removal of the block, the patient was placed on a backboard and gently slid out of the trench, the VRFA posted.

King County Medic One Paramedics treated the patient, warmed him to stave off hypothermia and transported him in stable condition to Harborview Medical Center.

Read the rest here:
Man rescued from the ruins of a collapsed retaining... - Auburn Reporter

On top of the levee in Bridgeton, the smell of river mud is strong. Canada geese honk over the thrum of traffic on the Interstate 5 Bridge a half-mile downstream.

Life is peaceful in Portland's least populous neighborhoodit has fewer than 1,000 residentsbut that's all about to change.

Tom Hickey is chairman of the Bridgeton Neighborhood Association and, like many of his neighbors, a resident of a floating home. He's fighting what could become the local equivalent of the Berlin Wall.

What worries Hickey: a $158 million federal plan to strengthen 27 miles of levees that keep Portland from being inundated by the Columbia River.

Part of the plan would put a 3-foot retaining wall down the middle of Bridgeton's main street. That street is built directly on top of the levee, a 30-foot earthen berm. Portions of the street and parking spaces to the north are considered unstable and would be walled off under the plan to buttress the levees.

"It's a death knell to the culture of the people who live in the community," Hickey says. "We're looking at a loss of access to the water and a major loss of property value."

Countless words have been penned about the potentially catastrophic effects of a Cascadian subduction zone earthquake on Portland. Far less attention has been devoted to the threat of Columbia River floodswhich happen far more frequently and are a danger accelerated by a warming planet.

Last month, the federal government released its latest plan to deal with that threat. It's a project that would change the face of this city. Yet Portlanders remain deeply divided over what that project should look like.

"Sure, there are a lot of questions," says Corky Collier, executive director of the Columbia Corridor Association, which represents hundreds of businesses protected by the levees. "But can we afford not to do it?"

Torrential flooding in Pendleton and surrounding areas this week took one life and changed others irreparably. It's a reminder of the destructive power of rising water.

Portland has its own memories of that force. Vanport, just southwest of Bridgeton, was completely wiped out in 1948, when the Columbia spilled over the levee Bridgeton is built on, causing 15 deaths and the displacement of 18,000 people.

That was one of Portland's five "100-year floods" in the past 125 years. After the catastrophic flooding from Hurricanes Katrina in 2005 and Sandy in 2012, the feds investigated other key levee systems around the country. Few systems are more economically important.

Portland's levees, which stretch from the BNSF railroad bridge across the Columbia to the mouth of the Sandy River, date from 1917. They protect an enormous range of assets, including the homes of 7,500 people, the region's largest concentration of industrial and warehouse jobs, sections of three interstate highways, and Portland International Airport.

In January, after three years of investigation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains federally regulated levees, produced a range of five options for Portland's levees, from doing nothing to spending $158 million to shore up earthen walls, raise the height of existing barriers, and replace decrepit pumps to bring the entire system into compliance with Federal Emergency Management Agency standards.

The benefits would be twofold: protecting assets from what even the Corps of Engineers says is likely to be more frequent and destructive flooding because of climate change, and allowing property owners protected by the levees to continue to qualify for federally subsidized flood insurance.

Collier is excited about the plan.

"The way it's set up, the feds pay two-thirdsthat's a great deal," he says. Collier acknowledges the plan would require local cleanup of polluted lands before the Corps does its part. But he says that's long overdue.

"The CCA's been working on brownfield cleanup for 15 years and it's really frustrating," Collier says. "Let's get on with it."

Bob Sallinger, conservation director of the Audubon Society of Portland, takes a different view. Sallinger says the Corps' plan, which he calls "a train wreck," would result in the loss of trees and other habitat and doesn't give sufficient consideration to natural solutions like returning large swaths of floodplain to wetlands.

"This looks like a document written 25 years ago," Sallinger says. "They just want to build larger, taller walls without regard to the health of the environment."

Valerie Ringold, chief planner for the Corps, insists that's not the case. She says the Corps evaluated letting a major portion of the land protected by the levees return to natural floodplain and determined it wouldn't lessen flood risks. The Corps, she adds, would replace any vegetation it destroys and mitigate any damage to wetlands.

Michael Jordan, director of the city of Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services, has monitored the Corps' investigation closely. He says the city wants to ensure the levee fix accomplishes as many goals as possiblesafety, environmental and recreationaland adds he's confident that can happen.

"The risks people have identified are manageable," Jordan says. "There are greater risks of not doing the project."

Hickey is hopeful as well. He met with Corps project manager Laura Hicks last week to discuss a retaining wall design that has been used elsewhere: one with removable sections that could be stored until water approaching Portland rises, then snapped into place.

His suggestion will be among many public comments the Corps receives in a process that is open through Feb. 14.

"Climate change is real and we agree the levees need to be improved," Hickey says. "The battle is whether they suffocate our neighborhood, or enhance it.

Follow this link:
Federal Officials Fear Devastating Floods Along the Columbia River. Residents Fear a Wall Through Their Neighborhood. - Willamette Week

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) The on-ramp from Ming Avenue to northbound Highway 99 will be closed next week.

The closure will take place from Tuesday through Thursday between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. each night. Northbound motorists can enter the 99 from the on-ramp at Wible Road. The closure is needed for retaining wall construction in the vicinity of the Ming Avenue on-ramp.

Storm drain improvements are also under construction in the vicinity of the northbound Highway 99-to-eastbound Highway 58 connector ramp. This work requires reverse traffic control on Wible Road between Stockdale Highway and Belle Terrace through the end of the month.

Flagging personnel may need to stop traffic for up to five minutes between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day. Motorists are advised to use alternate routes or allow sufficient time to reach their destination if they must use Wible Road during this time period.

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Ming Avenue on-ramp to northbound Hwy. 99 to be closed next week - KGET 17

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal government believes it can save long term money by spending more than $80 million to build or acquire a building to house the Federal Bureau of Investigations Cleveland office, according to documents released by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which handles many of the federal governments real estate transactions.

In addition to paying for a new FBI building in Cleveland, budget documents say GSA also wants to spend more than $28 million to complete, repair and expand the plaza system at Clevelands Carl. B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse on West Superior Avenue.

The projects were part of a $4.8 trillion budget proposal that President Donald Trump unveiled on Monday. Congress must sign off on the projects before they can be built.

The FBI currently employs around 250 people at its current office at 1501 Lakeside Avenue. GSA says that original 10-year lease was signed in 2002 at a $4.4 million yearly rent with approximately $10 million in tenant improvements factored into its terms. Those amortized costs are now paid off, leaving the FBIs current rent at a level far in excess of the local commercial market,", GSA says. The government would save roughly $6 million a year in rental costs if it owned a building to house the Cleveland field office, GSA says.

It estimates the project would cost $80,186,363. Roughly $2 million of that would pay for a site, around $6.5 million would go toward design, around $67 million would pay for construction and around $4 million would be for management and inspection.

GSA says the government entered into several FBI field office leases with high rental rates and high federal upfront costs in the early 2000s that are nearing their expiration dates, now resulting high costs to taxpayers.

Federal ownership of this proposed long term solution ensures that the FBIs law enforcement and national security needs are met in the most secure and cost effective manner possible, the GSA budget document says.

The budget also proposes spending $28,686,000 on repairing the plaza at the Stokes Courthouse to eliminate water leaks and infiltration into the buildings lower levels.

The scope includes refinishing and reinforcing the structural steel that supports the plaza, along with repairs to fireproofing and upgrading the surface parking lots and the retaining wall between them, GSA budget documents say. The project also includes the completion of the plaza toward Superior Avenue, which has remained unfinished since construction of the courthouse.

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Rep. Tim Ryan walked out of Trumps State of the Union speech, calling it fake like professional wrestling

Ohios U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman defend upcoming impeachment votes (videos)

Trumps State of the Union speech: Who are the guests from Ohio?

Rep. Jim Jordan is raising big campaign bucks, Rep. Tim Ryan isnt: See what Northeast Ohio Congress members collected

Sen. Rob Portman announces hell vote against calling impeachment witnesses

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Senate should designate PFAS water contaminants hazardous substances, says Sen. Sherrod Brown

Continued here:
Trump budget proposes spending more than $100 million on federal buildings in Cleveland - cleveland.com

On Dec. 17, 2019 the City Council approved the final budget for 2020. The process that goes into creating a city budget is a long, complicated and challenging process that starts in May each year. Staff starts by estimating all the expenses each department will have in the coming year. Once the expenses are figured we need to look at all revenue sources to determine if we will have enough to cover the expenses.

Revenue sources include local government aid, charges for services, licenses and permits, state and federal funding, and, of course, property taxes. Taxes provided nearly one third of the Citys revenue. In 2020 the City will collect $7,896,725 in property taxes. So how will those tax dollars be spent?

For each tax dollar received 25 cents will be used to make principle and interest payments on the bonds the City has issued. Public Safety, which includes the police and fire departments, will receive 19 cents. Public works will get 18 cents to maintain, repair, and replace streets, engineer projects and provide plowing and other services. The Park and Recreation departments will get 13 cents for parks, buildings, programs, and services. The library will get 10 cents. The remainder of each dollar will be split with 10 cents going to the general administration of the City, 4 cents to capital improvement projects and 1 cent to the city cemetery.

At the end of each fiscal year any difference between the total expenses and revenues is added to or subtracted from the Citys fund balance. Fund balance is basically the Citys savings account. As a local government we are required to hold enough funds in our savings to cover 35-50% of our annual budgeted expenses. Over the years the City has been able to build this balance to a healthy level and has budgeted the use of some of these funds in 2020. These funds make it possible to complete capital projects without additional increases in the property tax levy. In 2020 the City will use a small portion of these funds to help pay for the replacement of the Hermann Heights retaining wall, ADA compliant pedestrian ramps, and an additional pump to help during highwater events. In addition to the Citys General Fund balances there are other funds available that have been set aside and restricted for specific purposes. Some restricted funds will be used in 2020 to complete projects in German Park, Riverside Park, and in the main fire station.

Throughout the budget process there are opportunities for citizens to provide input and feedback. In September of each year the preliminary budget is presented at a council meeting and a public hearing date is set in December. At the public hearing possible changes are discussed to give the staff direction in setting the final budget. At the last council meeting of the year the final budget is approved, and the property tax levy is set.

All City and Public Utilities budgets and financial reports are available for inspection in the City Hall Finance office and on the Citys website.

Editors Note: The City of New Ulm presents a weekly column highlighting activities in different departments in the city government. Once a month the city will answer questions from readers. Questions on New Ulm city issues can be sent to comments@ci.new-ulm.mn.us.

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Town Talk: Explaining the city's budget process | News, Sports, Jobs - NUjournal

HALIFAX, N.S.

The site of the Halifax Memorial Library and a centuries-old burial ground in downtown Halifax will be preserved as a heritage property.

The focus on this registration is on the broader property of which the building is one part, city planner Aaron Murnaghan said in introducing the third-party application at a regional council heritage hearing this week. Typically, we focus just on a building and owners can do whatever they want with the surrounding yard and outbuildings. In this case, we are really looking at the whole.

The whole contains the memorial library, which opened in 1951 and has fallen into some disrepair since being closed in 2014, and the surrounding municipally owned property at the corner of Spring Garden Road and Brunswick Street.

Murnaghan provided a history of the site, a significant factor in a property's heritage application, before regional council voted to include the site in its heritage registry.

The property, just outside the old town walls, was cleared of trees around the time Halifax was settled, in 1749. Sites beyond the walls were often chosen for burial sites.

The consensus, Murnaghan said, is that many residents of a poor asylum or poor house constructed in 1760 were interred in the poor house burying grounds on the library site in unmarked graves.

Murnaghan said there are upward of 4,500 burials on the site.

It was used as a burial grounds from 1760 until 1869 and then as Grafton Park from 1870 to 1949 before the library was constructed on the site in memory of those who had died in the Second World War.

A small building on the site originally housed the asylum for the severely speech and hearing impaired, and later an engine house for the Halifax Fire Department was constructed there.

During each of these periods, the site played an important role in the civic life of Halifax and later the Halifax Regional Municipality, states the staff report in support of designating the grounds a heritage property.

The purpose of HRM's Heritage Property Program is to help protect and conserve significant heritage resources, including buildings, streetscapes, sites and conservation districts that reflect the rich heritage found throughout HRM, the staff report says.

One of the principal aims of the program is to recognize significant heritage resources through the inclusion of properties into the Registry of Heritage Property.

Questioned by Deputy Mayor Lisa Blackburn, Murnaghan said it is his understanding that the memorandum of agreement with the province, the original owner of the property, stipulates that any future uses of the property must be limited to either a library or public open space.

If either of those uses cease, the property is to be returned to the province, he said.

Jacques Dube, the chief administrative officer for HRM, said there is a subsequent letter of understanding with the province in relation to the library site and that the municipality is talking with the province to determine under what conditions the province would see fit to transfer the property permanently to the city, understanding it wouldn't be used as a library.

Dube said the municipality publicly presented a redevelopment idea that the Dalhousie University faculties of planning and architecture suggested to repurpose the existing library building.

In that context, the province indicated in writing that they were prepared to support such a project on condition that we engage the public, engage with First Nations and come up with a plan that's acceptable to regional council, Dube said.

Dube said work on that front is ongoing and municipal staff intends to come back to council this spring with an update and next steps for what might be done with the library building.

We have had recent conversations with Dalhousie and there is an interest that remains, he said.

An archeological survey will also be done to prove without a doubt what is there, on that property, under the ground.

The staff report identifies the character-defining elements of the property as mature trees with a diagonal walkway and public accessible open space, a modern-classical building with a limestone facade, two circular bays and a decorative central entrance, a stone-retaining wall circling the site, the statue of Winston Churchill erected in 1979, the mass gravesite and commemorative association with the Second World War.

See more here:
Old Halifax library to be preserved as heritage property - TheChronicleHerald.ca

GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ohio In the last week, about 35 feet of shoreline has disappeared from Township Park, gobbled up by a relentless Lake Erie.

Its a beautiful place to live, Rich Phinney, who lives across the road from the park, said. I look out my window and obviously I see the lake.

Phinney said that just a few years ago, he was still able to take his young grandson to the parks sandy beach for a swim. But with accelerating erosion, thats no longer an option. The sandy beach is gone, as is a lot of the parks shoreline.

Its sad, Phinney said. Its going in a hurry.

Geneva-on-the-Lake Mayor Dwayne M. Bennett said the village has tried to address the erosion issue for a few years now, but the erosion has never been quite this drastic.

We just noticed that its getting worse and worse and worse, Bennett said.

Amanda Briggs, a Geneva Township Park Trustee, said normal erosion in this area is about three to four feet a year. According to Jeremy Shaffer, the village administrator, approximately 40 to 50 feet has been lost in the last year. Of that, 35 feet has been lost in the last week, with 15 of that in just the last couple days.

Honestly, theres a lot of shock, Briggs said. I think people knew it was a problem, but once you come down here and look at it, its really quite devastating.

Leaders believe the accelerated erosion is due in part to high water levels and the lake not freezing this year.

Lake Eries water levels are continuing to rise, according to a new report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District. Levels are approximately two and a half feet above the long-term average.

We just hate to see it get to a point where its not usable, Bennett said of Township Park.

There are also serious concerns about the effect of the erosion on the villages infrastructure, including roads, sewers and storm drains, as well as the fate of private lakefront properties.

Initial plans to shore up the area and revitalize the beach have been scrapped, according to Briggs.

Now were literally just looking at funding to save what we have at this point, Briggs said.

But the cost of saving the shoreline keeps going up.

It just keeps compounding, Shaffer said. $1.3 million was the last estimate. However, its way over that because thats before we lost 35 feet.

Leaders hope voters will approve a five-year, $1.25 million levy in the March primary. For a $100,000 household, Briggs said the levy would cost about $42 each year.

Thisll be critical for us, Briggs said. At this point, we dont have the funds necessary. I mean, its going to be a million dollars just to do the basics here. So that money will allow us to get immediate funding from the bank and also apply for [federal or state] grants. Most grants are matching, so thatll give us more power that way.

Bennett said the village would like to do some type of retaining wall and some type of retention for the water.

Phinney said in addition to not being able to swim with his grandson, he has cottages that he rents to tourists.

I used to be able to tell them they could come over here and swim, Phinney said. But now, if they want to swim, theres a beach still. Its to the west of the marina. But right now, theres no way to go swimming here unless the water comes right up to the bank.

So far, Phinney said, no one has complained to him about the lack of swimming at Township Park and he does not think its affected tourism yet.

I dont think people are staying home because of this, but who knows what could happen in the future, Phinney said.

Shaffer, the village administrator, said a Congressional representative is coming out Tuesday to take a look at the erosion, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will be coming out later in the week.

The village is looking at partnering with the Township Park, cause were two separate government entities, Shaffer said. Were supporting them to go after federal or state funding. Theres a permitting process. We would have to apply for Corps of Engineers permits, and then wed have to apply for ODNR permits.

However, that wont help residents who are dealing with issues on their property.

The village can assist in dealing with the public land or public infrastructure, Shaffer said. Anything that threatens that, we can take action on. When it starts going into private property, we cant necessarily intermingle public funds directly, unless theres like a public use or public access, but we still want to help those residents because its an immediate threat to their survival, being right on the lake like that.

The village plans to hold a meeting later this week to speak with neighbors about their concerns.

Link:
Erosion in Geneva-on-the-Lake erases 35 feet of shoreline in one week - News 5 Cleveland

This is KBUU News – Day 457 – The Monday Headlines – 55 MPH Winds To Continue – Effort To Get M Out of SMMUSD Continue – New Fire Chopper – Wilshire May Be More Deadly Than PCH

This is KBUU News - Day 457 - The Monday Headlines:

Malibus Only Local Daily News from Radio Malibu . F-M 99 point 1 K B U U. Good morning Im Hans Laetz reporting.

Traffic is

The weather is .

And the surf is

These cold winter winds will continue to hit Malibu thru tomorrow night.

The National Weather Service predicts that winds will be blowing at 15 to 30 mph ll day and tonight with gusts up to 45 miles an hour possible in some canyons and mountaintops this morning.

Winds may back off this afternoon but there will be another uptick in winds this evening.

Strong gusts will likely redevelop over the LA and Ventura county coastal mountains county a high wind watch will take effect again at 6 this evening and expire at noon tomorrow.

Efforts to split Malibu out of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District continue. But the 10 percent drop in the number of students due to the Woolsey Fire is not helping. Details: https://www.radiomalibu.net/efforts-to-get-the-m-out-of-smmusd-continue-despite-10-student-drop/

Power line repairs on Friday and a leaky water pipe on Saturday snarled traffic on Malibu Canyon Road right up the hill from Pepperdine last weekend.

The two problems were not related.

As of this morning no continuing problems are reported there.

But crews from Southern California Edison continue to work on replacing the 60-year-old wooden power poles on Las Virgenes Road at the north end of the canyon.

Those poles are being replaced with steel poles.

They carry one of the 66 kilovolt power lines that feed Malibu.

And those power poles and lines have caused at least three brushfires in the past 20 years.

The shoe is on the other foot tonight at Malibu City Hall.

For years some residents have complained about heavy handed decision making at the Malibu Planning Commission.

Appointed by the city council members . the planning commissioners handle nuts and bolts decisions about planning and zoning.

And that makes them a lightning rod for criticism some people just dont like unelected residents telling them what to do with their land.

This time the land is owned by the city of Malibu which wants to widen and improve Civic Center Way.

The Public Works Commission and the Public Safety Commission have already vetted and approved plans to wide the road..

But once they got to the Planning Commission a five hour public meeting ensued and the project was changed.

Seven changes . to be exact.

The addition of landscaping next to a textured wood-like retaining wall.

The elimination of a wire safety fence designed to keep people from falling down an escarpment.

Seven changes that the city engineers say will make the project too expensive unsafe and unfeasible.

Not the first time that the planning commission has substituted its judgment for that of the professional planners at City Hall.

Many say thats a good thing.

We will see what the city council says tonight.

A couple of other major issues go before the city council tonight.

The first public hearing on possibly splitting Malibu voters into five city council voting districts will be heard.

A Malibu lawyers firm is takign advantage of a state law to demand an end to citywide voting which they claim diminishes the ability of Latino voters to elect a truly representative city council member.

Opponents call it a shakedown under state law the lawyer will collect handsome fees merely for filing the claim.

And the city does not have a collection of minority voters clustered anywhere in the city.

You are listening to the latest news from Radio Malibu F-M 99 point 1 K B U U.

Support for KBUUs daily broadcasting the signal on the air comes from the Malibu Foundation

The KBUU solar panels and battery were paid for by the Malibu Foundation.

This has kept us on the air through storms and blackouts 24/7 .. on clean renewable solar power.

In news from up the coast Ventura County has put its new Firehawk helicopter into service.

The Ventura County Star reports the 2007 Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk has been converted from military use into whats called a Firehawk.

The aircraft goes by the radio sign Copter2 and is based 18 miles up PCH at the Camarillo Airport.

Ventura Coounty also has two older smaller fire helicopters which are frequently seen in the skies over Malibu.

LA and Ventura County have mutual aid agreements and answer each others call.

Ventura County bought three surplus military choppers for $7.4 million.

It took two years to refit them for firefighting.

The countys next copter is expected to arrive in August and a third will be used for spare parts.

Officials tells the Ventura County Star that the Firehawks will be far better than the older copters the county has been using for firefighting.

Those Hueys were built in 1969 and carry up to 350 gallons of water.

The Firehawks can fly 60 percent faster and carry three times as much water.

-

And in news from down the coast Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica may be more deadly than Pacific Coast Highway.

The 2.4-mile stretch of Wilshire has seen six people killed and 29 people severely injured over the past 11 years.

six traffic-related fatalities and 29 severe injuries over the past 11 years, prompting local officials to propose adding a suite of safety improvements to the street that could range from $11.5 to $22 million. The proposal City Council will vote on Tuesday includes a short-term plan to improve the roads signage, crosswalks, crossing signals and medians over a one to two year period.

One idea is to take 13 smaller cross streets the ones without traffic signals and make those right-turn only.

and restrict U-turns at several intersections to reduce the risk of car and pedestrian collisions, according to a staff report.

Bicycle routes that go across Wilshire would be enhanced with intersection markings.

Spme bus stops might be moved a traffi clight might be put on at 16th Street and maybe at Chelsea Avenue.

The 22 million dollar menu of projects for before the Santa Monica City Council tomorrow night.

Actor Robert Conrad who starred in the 1960s TV series Wild Wild West and a handful of other series over several decades died at his home in Malibu.

His family members made the announcement over the weekend.

He was 84.

Robert Conrad had a square-jaw and good looks . he starred in the weird western Wild Wild West on CBS from 1965-69.

He was most famous for putting Eveready Batteries on his shoulder and daring people to knock them off . in a series of television commercials backed when everybody watched television.

Robert Conrad died at his Malibu home he was 81.

Traffic in 65 seconds first

Weather for the Malibu .

(((( Clear and windy )))) highs (((( 68 )))) beaches (((( )))) mountains and canyons.

Over the mountain winds ((( of around 30 )))) miles per hour with gust to 40 along P C H and 45 at the moutain tops.

Sunset tonight is at (((( 5:33. )))).

After that ((( clear and still windy )))) tonight low (((( 57 )))) beaches (((( 42 )))) mountains and canyons.

Tomorrow should be (((( windy again.

A rumor of light rain later in the week. )))).

Right now here at the KBUU studios in Trancas its (((( )))) degrees.

Leo Carrillo beach ((( ))).

Paradise Cove ((( ))).

Big Rock ((( ))).

In upper Malibu Canyon ((( ))).

Calabasas ((( ))).

And Civic Center L-A ((( ))).

In the ocean its (((( )))) degrees in the water at Zuma Beach.

Mo says the waves at Surfrider Beach today are (((( )))) feet high .

Those are (((( fair )))) surfing conditions . according to Mo.

((((( tide is at

ide is at .))))

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This is KBUU News - Day 457 - The Monday Headlines - 55 MPH Winds To Continue - Effort To Get M Out of SMMUSD Continue - New Fire Chopper - Wilshire...

Jonesy wouldn't give them a hand, but the Kiwi boys who starred in Mitre 10's famous DIY ad have reunited to finish the job.

In 2008, Mitre 10 released a popular Do It Yourself TV ad featuring two 'Kiwi blokes' and a young boy posing as an Australian tradie.

Not only did they put up a retaining wall, but Mitre 10 have put the trio back together in a blast from the past.

Taking to Facebook, Mitre 10 announced: "She was a pretty big job getting the boys back together. Jonesy too."

Their caption was accompanied with a photo of the two Kiwi tradesmen as kids - and now reunited as adults 12 years on.

Both boys have now grown up, and it appears they've let their hair grow out as well.

Fans of the ad took to Facebook to marvel at the successful ad and reunion.

"Still laughing. Awesome kids awesome young men I would think. The best ad ever, we still say 'pretty big job' with our grandkids," one person wrote.

Another said: "Handsome lads. And one even wore the tool belt!"

Jonesy's mum weighed in following the reunion, saying it is a "bonus" they could catch up after all these years.

"Proud to be Jonesy's parents - a great experience for the boys back then and a bonus for them to catch up now," she wrote.

And if you're wondering what Jonesy looks like now, he has his own Instagram account dedicated to life as the Australian tradie character.

Jonesy 12 years ago. Photo / Mitre 10

See more here:
Reunited 12 years on: What the boys from Mitre 10 DIY ad look like now - Newstalk ZB