from the San Jose Mercury News
Malibu turns to own Starr to help rein in paparazzi
LOS ANGELES – Can Ken Starr tame Malibu’s rabid paparazzi?
That’s what officials in the seaside town are hoping as they turn to the independent counsel who investigated President Clinton’s involvement with a White House intern to help them craft restrictions on “pap packs” that descend on the celebrity-rich area.
Malibu officials say their town has been overrun by the celebrity media, who invade the city’s few shopping centers and follow some celebrities down Pacific Coast Highway. In the past few years, merchants have complained about photographers blocking store entrances and staking out restaurants and Malibu’s multiplex movie theater.
Brad Pitt had to place a massive tarp around his beachfront mansion to ward off paparazzi. Dozens of photographers recently swarmed around pop star Miley Cyrus during a trip to a shopping center.
Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said Thursday that she had asked Starr, dean of the Pepperdine University law school, to convene a group of experts in the media and legal community to help draft a city ordinance that might include “buffer zones” as well as a possible tax on the paparazzi.
“We’re coming up on another summer season. Let’s hope we are not in store for another tsunami of paparazzi,” Ulich said. “Maybe they will think twice before shoving a camera in your face.”