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Malibu Country Mart. From Wikipedia.

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has cited more than 30 Malibu businesses for violating waste water discharge permit requirements. Among the businesses cited are the Malibu Country Mart, Cross Creek Plaza and Malibu Colony Plaza. The city of Malibu was also cited. No wonder the owners of the new Malibu Lumber Yard shopping center spent $3 million on an on-site waste water treatment system! From the Malibu Times.

• More on Malibu construction generally and the Lumber Yard specifically at LA Business Journal.

Malibu Lumber Yard. From hereinmalibu (Flickr).

• The L.A. Planning Commission approved Rick Caruso’s mixed-use project at 8500 Burton Way. The 88-unit apartment building planned for near the intersection of La Cienega and San Vicente boulevards will include a Trader Joe’s on the ground floor. More at CurbedLA.

• The Wall Street Journal has a story on Pinkberry’s latest capital infusion: $5.8 million of a $15 million round. Here’s a story I wrote back in February about the froyo biz in L.A.

• Bravo is coming out with a new reality show that will follow the staff at Fred Segal Santa Monica, per Reuters. The network is also premiering “NYC Prep,” which looks like it’ll be a real-life “Gossip Girl” so hopefully we’ll see lots of pretty clothes (and bad behavior!).

Empty Stores on West Third Street. Photo from WWD.

Women’s Wear Daily has a story on the increasing number of boutique and specialty retail store closings around Los Angeles, with Robertson Boulevard, Melrose Place, Montana Avenue and West Third Street taking the hardest hits. I covered this for the LA Business Journal back in March when more than 30 storefronts were either empty or in the process of closing up shop. Other parts of the city have been affected as well, including Venice’s Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and a drive down Pico Boulevard between Robertson and La Cienega boulevards yesterday revealed some new empty retail spaces that I hadn’t noticed before.

But not all parts of the city are losing places to shop: Malibu Lumber Yard, the new swanky retail center next to the Malibu Country Mart, just opened last weekend. Good idea or bad idea? Time will tell, but in the meantime, head over to the Lumber Yard for free Crumbs cupcakes on Saturday (April 25). They’re giving out 1,000 freebies starting at 9:00 a.m., per EaterLA.

• More coverage at RackedLA