La Costa Mission, an Exciting New Malibu Restaurant

By: Gracee Arthur

Malibu is a terrific city . We have the Pacific, great beaches, fresh air and recently, more user-friendly amenities like a hardware store.  What we are still missing in our little hamlet is a real deli, a fantastic Chinese and until this week, a real Mexican restaurant.

When I first moved to Malibu in the ’80s, we had the Baja Cantina which was located in the space currently occupied by Tony’s Taverna.  The Cantina was a fun restaurant with consistent quality, friendly staff and “Lobster Night” every Tuesday. The Cantina was replaced by the short-lived, celebrity owned Malibu Adobe which served the latest food craze, Tex-Mex.  Many years later,  Casa Escobar opened near the Malibu theatre, only to burn down soon after in a weekend fire started in the adjacent beauty supply shop. Lastly and deservedly so, there is the Corral Cantina at Zuma where the food bares little resemblance to food, let alone Mexican fare. The Cantina has been around forever, but is kept alive by Happy Hour Margaritas not its food, which is avoided by most locals.

So imagine my excitement when I passed by the La Costa Mission with its large blue “Now Open” banners flapping in the Santa Ana Winds! The Mission is located in the former home of Terra Restaurant, adjacent to the old Malibu courthouse and jail.

The charming Spanish mini-hacienda with patio and indoor dining is located in east Malibu at  21377 Pacific Coast Highway.  I stopped in to check out the menu  and was pleasantly surprised to find a great variety of appetizing items. There are tasty gems like Tostaditas de Ceviche made with lime marinated yellowtail , as well as classics like Carne Asada made with filet mignon and marinated in red chile. The restaurant has a great bar and is anticipating the arrival of their liquor license in the next week or two. The bar specialities will include 17 different types of Margaritas!!  Muchas gracias to the proprietors (who also own the Beech Street Cafe in Pacific Palisades) for bringing a true Mexican restaurant to Malibu.  I am looking forward to my first Margarita at La Costa Mission . Check out their website for a full menu and dining hours.

By: Gracee Arthur

Nature is the world’s only true artist. Malibu in autumn and winter is natures perfect canvas. Courtesy of my high resolution iPhone camera and the fabulous vistas from my mid-century ocean view dwelling I present to you a bit of life’s beauty:

[Show as slideshow]

By: Gracee Arthur

Malibu has seen its worst real estate market in history this past few years. The recent market downturn makes the early to mid 1990s look like a dream market. I know since I have been selling real estate in this popular beach town since 1991.
The silver lining in the current downturn is Malibu is now more affordable for buyers and unlike past difficult markets, the interest rates are at record lows!

The most noticeable improvement in recent months has been the sale of properties in the $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 price range, as well some condo sales over $1,000,000. This segment of the market has been slow to heat up  because it is a move up and second home market. The large institutional lenders have been very slow to get back into the normal routine of jumbo mortgages which has also held this market segment back. The Malibu market usually goes down a bit later and up a bit later than most Los Angeles area real estate markets. We were still strong through mid 2006 and just in the last few months have begun to pick up some steam. The lenders, although still difficult, are now more willing to participate in financing jumbo loans.

So if you have been waiting to buy Malibu, this may be your best chance to purchase a home for a great price while still getting the best interest rates ever!

There are some wonderful homes (standard sales) offered in Malibu on both the beach and landside of town. The center and east end of Malibu has some great new restaurants under construction, as well two recently remodeled shopping centers and the relative newcomer The Lumber Yard with Cafe Habana and great boutiques. The west end of Malibu has a new market under construction at Trancas where a new restaurant is also expected near the existing Starbucks. The air is fresh, outdoor activities abound and the local schools are good. So if you have been out there window shopping Malibu, this is a good time to actually purchase your vacation home or relocate full time to the ‘Bu.

www.graceearthur.com www.31240abailardroad.com

By: Gracee Arthur

Well, it is that time again, when the usually peaceful community of Malibu finds neighbor pitted against neighbor over who should be the new members of the Malibu City Council. This week two more residents filed to run for a position on the City Council, Skylar Peak and Missy Zeitsoff. Skylar Peak is the youngest candidate at age 27 and Missy Zeitsoff is a former council member, who was involved in the original fight for cityhood. The field of candidates now also includes: former council member, Joan House, current council members John Sibert, and Jefferson Wagner, Jack Utter, Hamish Patterson and realtor Andy Lyon.

The criteria for running are simple, one must be a Malibu resident and registered to vote. The candidate must obtain the signatures of at least 20 Malibu voters, but no more than 30 voters. The last date for incumbents to register is January 13th, however non -incumbents may register through 1/18/2012.

The big issue this year is the fate of the Malibu Lagoon. Candidate Andy Lyon suggested the project be brought before the council for a vote. Councilman John Siebert, who is running for reelection has proposed the city to finance a $25,000 study on the project to shed more light on the environmental impact of the project design. Candidate Missy Zeitsoff was concerned about the need to raise the Quimby fee which benefits The Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles. Currently the fee is only aid by developers but Zeistoff is suggested it be imposed on for every new residential project. The contest is just beginning and I will post updates periodically on the issues and candidates in this election.

Malibu voters may request vote by mail ballots from 3/12/2012 – 4/3/2012. The last day to register to vote in the election is March 26, 2012. The election takes place on April 10, 2012.

Breaking News! Malibu City Councilman Jefferson Wagner has decided not to run for reelection!

www.malibucity.org

By: Gracee Arthur

Malibu has some terrific choices for your New Years Eve festivities this year.  If you want to hear the waves and watch the surf the Sunset Restaurant is one terrific venue for New Year’s Eve. There are two seatings for dinner with the second seating offering a price fixe menu for $75 which includes a glass of champagne, party favors and dancing to music hosted by an international DJ. Entrees include Filet Mignon, Colorado Rack of Lamb and Maine Lobster. First seating is 5PM – 8Pm, second seating 8 PM to 9:30 PM. Reservations Required  310-589-1007.

Savory at Point Dume Village is hosting the Black and Silver Charity ball this New Year’s Eve, benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu. Local Malibu Artist and DJ  perform all night. Tray passed Hors D’ouevres and complimentary champagne served at midnight.
Phone 310-589-8997 for more information.

Beau Rivage does its annual elegant party for New Year’s Eve, complete with balloons, hats and party favors. Live band and dancing under the stars ! Phone for menu and reservation 310-456-5733.

Those of you who enjoy a more casual environment, ocean view and fabulous food,  Kristy’s Wood Oven and Wine bar on Westward Beach Road is the place to ring in the New Year. Along with their terrific regular menu, Kristy’s will be serving some terrific New Year’s specials.  Along with their great pizzas, seafood and salads there will be  special sea food appetizers and  Surf and Turf on the menu.

Those of you who prefer to entertain at home, check out pc greens great platters and entrees for your New Year’s party. Menu can be viewed at www.pcgreens.net

Drive carefully, take a cab, hire a car have fun but be safe.

Here’s wishing all of you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2012!    Let’s make it the year of Peace.

By: Gracee Arthur

Malibu local Mary Dee Rickards created Spunky’s Rescue Ranch as a haven for abandoned cats and those doomed in kill shelters (like my new kitty Harry). The current downturn in the economy and housing market has greatly increased the number of homeless and abandoned pets in California and throughout the country. Mary Dee’s facility is overflowing with beautiful cats and kittens of a variety of breeds and mix; many of whom have been spayed or neutered , vaccinated, dewormed and flea treated. Christmas is a great time of the year to give a home to a loving cat or kitten who will give you many years of giggles and affection.

Spunky’s Rescue Ranch
33173 W. Mulholland Hwy.
Malibu, CA 90265 http://preview.petfinder.com/shelters/CA1324.html
Phone: 916-253-3606; cell 916-704-6057
Email them

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Meet Hattie who is 11 months, a real lap cat who loves dogs and humans (other cats not so much)! Kikibear, a 5 year old Persian who came to Spunky’s with her sister Blondie. Both are super affectionate huggers who loved to be brushed.

Scotty, 10 months old, saved from a shelter. A sweet, rare male Calico who is a love bug. Willow is 1.5 years old and very affectionate. Willow likes to ride on her human’s shoulders and is a friendly beauty.

Make a kitty purr this Christmas. Best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season!

Photo by: Leonard Monje

Gay Summer Rick

By: Gracee Arthur

I first encountered Gay Summer Rick’s Work at Malibu Gallery and Framing at 22625 Pacific Coast Highway which I wrote about last year. Malibu Gallery displays works by many Malibu artists and the photos I shared on my blog where those of Gay Summer Rick which caught my eye. Gay and I have stayed in contact since that time and I have become an even greater fan of her work:

Gay Summer Rick is a contemporary impressionist painter whose landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes are created by layering oil paint on canvas using palette knives rather than brushes to apply paint to canvas. She ‘builds’ her works applying new colors as multiple layers begin to dry. Unexpected vibration in light, color and texture are revealed within her images.

She is inspired by the beauty in atmosphere, earth, air and water. Her work reflects her adventures in California, across the Southwestern United States, in New York City, and life in her Malibu neighborhood.

Growing up in New York surrounded by artists, Gay Summer Rick began her arts education at an early age. She formally studied art and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the prestigious New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where she painted and sculpted images on clay forms and vessels. After receiving a Masters degree in Marketing and International Business, she continued her art training in California in painting and printmaking. It was in Los Angeles that she ‘found her voice’ as a contemporary impressionist palette knife painter.

Photo by: Leonard Monje

Gay exhibits her work at Bleicher/Golightly Gallery in Santa Monica, California, Malibu Gallery in Malibu, California, and Bleicher La Brea in Los Angeles. Her paintings have been in the Art Rental and Sales Gallery at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and appear regularly in national and regional juried exhibitions where she has received awards and honors. She is an Associate Artist with the notable California Art Club and Oil Painters of America, and an artist member of the Malibu Art Association. Gay’s paintings are in many private collections in the US and Europe.

In addition to the Malibu Gallery, Gay’s work is currently displayed at the Bleicher/Golightly Gallery at 1431 Ocean avenue from December 12th 2011 through January 7, 2012. There is a reception this evening December 15th from 6 PM to 10 PM at the BG Gallery. www.bgartdealings.com 310-878-2784.

Malibu Gallery www.malibugallery.com

By: Gracee Arthur

Tuesday I ventured into Santa Monica where I had an appointment in the Edgemar complex. The architectural center was designed by the renowned architect Frank Ghery.  Entering the courtyard, my eyes were captured by a fabulous sculpture of a Christmas tree assembled with shopping carts! After the chaos of Black Friday, the tree is not only  a creative masterpiece but a statement of what has become of Christmas.

However, if you are looking for a more peaceful way to shop and enjoy seasonal events, while supporting local businesses, stop by the Malibu Country Mart. Diesel Bookstore is featuring a book signing with Malibu author Ben Marcus whose latest book is “Images of America: Malibu.” The event will be held on Saturday, December 3rd from 1-to 3 PM at Diesel’s new location at 23410 Civic Center Way Suite A-3.

Malibu Country Mart also welcomes Santa and his Reindeer back to Malibu this holiday season. Here is the schedule of weekend holiday events at the Mart:

Winter Wonderland Schedule

Saturday, December 3
’Tis the Season! Come to the Cookie Decorating Party (1:00 – 4:00pm)
and stay for the Tree Lighting Ceremony (5:00pm)

Saturday, December 10
Photos with Santa (Noon – 3:00pm), Strolling Carolers (1:00 – 3:00pm)
and the Stocking and Dreidel Decorating Party (1:00 – 3:00pm)

Saturday, December 17
Photos with Santa (12:00 – 3:00pm), Strolling Carolers (1:00 – 3:00pm)
and Santa’s Reindeer visit the Malibu Country Mart (Noon – 4:00pm)

Keep it Malibu mellow (no pushing, shoving or pepper spray please)!! Happy Holiday Shopping!

By: Gracee Arthur

I began my real estate career in 1991, then watched in horror as each subsequent year the real estate market went farther “south” until changing direction in 1997. My knowledge of the housing market’s recent history gives me confidence we will all survive the current decline in the real estate market. In the ’90′s, we saw not only foreclosure properties being sold by banks, but also bank closures by the FDIC which then became a seller of foreclosed upon real estate. The ’90′s market also brought us the term “short pay” which in 2011 is known to us realtors as the dreaded “short sale.”

In theory, the concept of a “short sale” (which means short of the amount owed to the lender) sounds like a win/win for the borrower and the lender. The borrower can avoid foreclosure and often escape tax consequences on the forgiven loan amount, as well the stigma and longer term credit degradation of a foreclosure sale. The lender avoids dumping too many foreclosure properties on the market at one time, hoping to avoid further neighborhood price declines triggered by foreclosure sales. However, despite new government guidelines for banks to help shorten and improve the “short sale” process, it remains a lengthy, arbitrary and tainted process complete with “negotiators” of varied experience and levels of honesty. The manipulative way these sales are often handled by some real estate agents representing the sellers, adds to a very unsavory mix of elements which scream out for more regulation!

Some of my recent experiences are, I fear, typical of what is going on in this “gangster” area of the current real estate market. A couple of years ago, I wrote an offer for a client on a “short sale”
property which was represented by an agent with a known and respected real estate company. At my suggestion, all parties signed a confidentiality agreement, to keep all details of the offer private from other potential buyers and agents. My buyer’s offer was accepted and sent to the lender via the “negotiator” chosen by the seller’s realtor. My client, a cynic, did a test call to the agent after his offer was sent to the bank, only to discover the agent was not honoring the confidentiality agreement! Shortly thereafter, the agent was sending an additional offer to the bank and phoning me to suggest how my client, whose offer was accepted by the seller, would be able to win over the subsequent offer. The suggestion was, “would your buyer pay something to the seller to get him to accept his offer?” I immediately confronted the agent informing him what he just suggested was a felony, at which point he backed off and said essentially he was “just the messenger!” My buyer withdrew his offer.

Another agent recently has asked via the MLS that anyone who wants to see a particular “short sale” property first write an offer on the property. I have a buyer who has done so because the MLS listing, the agent verbally and in emails, has said all potential purchasers will get to view the property. To date, a month and half later, the viewing has not occurred and the agent is now backing off on who will get to see the property. Other misuses of the process include listing agents only showing a “short sale” property to their own buyer to stack the deck so the bank only has one potential buyer for a property. The agent immediately puts the property on “looking for back up” and discourages other agents from showing the property because they already have a “good” offer. Sometimes in these situations there is an under the table agreement between buyer and seller for some money on the side to the seller (a felony). The most consistent and common issue with short sales is the incompetence of the lender’s “short sale” departments which make the process so lengthy and tedious most buyers drop out before the deal can close. Sometimes, negotiating with 2nd and 3rd lenders, who would be wiped out in a foreclosure, further complicates negotiations. My first short sale offer in this market went on for 4 months before my buyer dropped out, as did several other buyers until the seller’s property eventually got foreclosed upon.

A further misuse of the “short sale” process is in the realm of residential income property. The “short sale” process should not be used to reward income property owners who, after they have stopped making their mortgage payments, lease units to unsuspecting tenants. These landlords try to manipulate the bank into doing a “short sale” on their property by intentionally withholding mortgage payments while collecting rental payments from the tenants! This should be a crime, in my opinion, not an opportunity for a “short sale.” Bank regulators urgently need to investigate the abuses and arbitrary procedures used by lenders in the “short sale” process, not only too simplify and clearly define the process but to create conforming rules to keep the process honest and efficient. The banks must be held accountable rather than allowed to continue in such a cumbersome and unfair fashion which rewards scammers and punishes, the honest financially strapped homeowner.

“A Tribute to Blake Edwards”

By: Gracee Arthur

My friend Mary Lou (owner of the infamous Bad Cow) turned me on to the Malibu Stage Company last year. I am ashamed to admit, as a 28 year Malibu resident, I had never attended a performance there until 2010! I am now a subscriber to the 2011-2012 season and kicking myself for not discovering this gem of a theatre sooner!

Recently I attended the second performance of the fun musical “Victor Victoria” which was also a terrific film (1982), starring Julie Andrews, James Garner and Robert Preston; co-written and directed by Blake Edwards. The Malibu Stage Company production, which debuted on October 28th, is directed by Richard Johnson who also produced the play, along with Diane Peterson.

It is a massive undertaking for the little theatre because of all the intricate staging and musical numbers so kudos to music director Scott Nagatani, choreographer Albertossy Espinoza and costume Designer Danielle Horn. The music and dancing were lively even though the production still had some rough edges in its second night, October 29th. The glitches included some technical difficulties screening a lovely memorial tribute to director Blake Edwards. I am guessing a few weeks in, many of these “technical” difficulties have been remedied so the audience will be able to fully enjoy the fun production.

The play is set in Paris circa 1930 in the wild atmosphere of seedy back street nightclubs. Victoria, an out of work soprano, is convinced to make an interesting career choice which transforms her into the most popular act on the circuit! The musical numbers are impressive and a pleasure to watch, the costumes well turned out, all of which puts the actors in the zone of 1930′s nightlife in the darker Paris night spots. The actors are on top of their games giving pleasurable convincing performances with a special brava to Kristin Towers-Rowles for her brilliant scene stealing showmanship!

Leading lady Julia Holland has the vocal power for some great moments and Butch Anderson is charming as the confused lady’s man King Marchon. However, their match up chemistry was a bit off for me. That being said, this is an enjoyable evening at the theatre and I recommend getting to the theatre before the play closes on December 4, 2011.

Tickets for the production are a bargain at $25 and the theatre serves wine and dessert (donations appreciated). The best deal in town is the season series which is only $90 for 4 performances.

There are still two plays remaining in this season:” Kimberly Akimbo” February 10,- March 18th 2012 and “The Oldest Living Graduate” April 6th – May 13th 2012. Tickets may be purchased by calling the theatre at 310-589-1998 or online www.brownpapertickets.com. The theatre is located at 29243 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu (just west of Heathercliff Rd.) For more information go to www.malibustagecompany.org