January 8, 2026
In this republished essay from Common Edge, critic and longtime Malibu resident Sam Hall Kaplan examines the troubling intersection of post-fire rebuilding, municipal dysfunction, and political influence now unfolding at Malibu City Hall. He warns that the city’s experience offers a cautionary tale for other climate-vulnerable communities across Los Angeles County—where delayed recovery, opaque governance, and misaligned incentives risk eroding public trust at precisely the moment effective civic leadership is most needed.
