Headlines

  • Hikers Find Body on Trail

    Hikers Find Body on Trail

    A 20-year-old Laguna Beach man, discovered Thursday in Laguna Beach’s Bluebird Canyon, died from a self-inflicted gunshot, according to supervising Depty. Coroner Larry Esslinger. Laguna Beach police were called Thursday afternoon by a couple walking their dog in the 1100 block of Morningside Drive who discovered the body, Lt. Jason Kravetz said. A handgun was [...]

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    | May 18, 2012 | 0 Comments
  • City Reverses Its Red Ink

    City Reverses Its Red Ink

    In a two-hour workshop Tuesday devoted to the city’s proposed $47 million budget, the City Council added requests for $75,000 to hire a consultant to review historic homes, $5,000 for a citizens’ emergency response training program and an unspecified amount to ongoing bike and pedestrian path improvements. City Manager John Pietig reported that the upcoming [...]

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    | May 18, 2012 | 0 Comments
  • An Unwanted Distinction

    To help raise public awareness of crosswalk safety, Laguna Beach police tested the awareness of drivers along Coast Highway on Wednesday; motor officers wait while a third police officer in a high visibility safety vest crosses. Several motorists were cited for failing to stop. Laguna ranks fourth among 98 similar sized towns for its collision [...]

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    | May 17, 2012 | 0 Comments
  • No-Go for Emerald Bay Traffic Signal

    Even after a heart-rending plea from a mother whose son was killed when his motorcycle was hit by an exiting Emerald Bay resident, the City Council on Tuesday unanimously rejected a proposed traffic signal at the gated community’s main entry. Against a backdrop of emotional pleas, venomous emails and threats of a political backlash, the [...]

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    | May 17, 2012 | 2 Comments
  • Laguna Wins Wild Card Playoff Contest

    Laguna Wins Wild Card Playoff Contest

    Steven Harrison hit a solo home run (# 6) in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Breakers (18-8) to a 5-4 victory over Victor Valley (10-12) Tuesday, May 15, at Skipper Carrillo Field in a Southern Section CIF Division 4 wild card contest. Laguna started slowly as the Jackrabbits took an early [...]

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    | May 16, 2012 | 1 Comment
  • Disaster? Citizens to the Rescue!

    “I’m bleeding, I’m bleeding,” yells a disaster victim sprawled on a staircase. Two people respond to the cries and evaluate the extent of the teen’s injuries, perform a bit of first aid, but leave the victim behind to ascend the next floor where more casualties await. The rescuers encounter a survivor apparently in shock, pacing [...]

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    | May 15, 2012 | 0 Comments
  • Getting to Know Bob Rush

    Getting to Know Bob Rush

    By Jean Ardell This column is the second of a series about the candidates for the 74th Assembly District.    Just before the filing deadline in mid-February, Bob Rush registered as a Democrat and entered the race. Aside from being firmly pro-choice, Rush had been a political “undeclared” for most of his life. That began [...]

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    | May 14, 2012 | 0 Comments
  • Best Ever CIF Finish for Boys

    The Southern Section’s CIF swimming and diving championships got underway at Riverside Community College Thursday afternoon with a come-from-behind victory for the Laguna boys in the 200 medley relay. Four hours later in the cool evening air, they capped their best overall post-season performance with a runner up finish behind Alhambra’s Mark Keppel High 311 [...]

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    | May 13, 2012 | 0 Comments

Featured Videos

Featured Videos
  • An Unwanted Distinction
    An Unwanted Distinction

    To help raise public awareness of crosswalk safety, Laguna Beach police tested the awareness of drivers along Coast Highway on Wednesday; motor officers wait while a third police officer in a high visibility safety vest crosses. Several motorists were cited for failing to stop. Laguna ranks fourth among 98 similar sized towns for its collision [...]

  • No-Go for Emerald Bay Traffic Signal
    No-Go for Emerald Bay Traffic Signal

    Even after a heart-rending plea from a mother whose son was killed when his motorcycle was hit by an exiting Emerald Bay resident, the City Council on Tuesday unanimously rejected a proposed traffic signal at the gated community’s main entry. Against a backdrop of emotional pleas, venomous emails and threats of a political backlash, the [...]

  • Disaster? Citizens to the Rescue!
    Disaster? Citizens to the Rescue!

    “I’m bleeding, I’m bleeding,” yells a disaster victim sprawled on a staircase. Two people respond to the cries and evaluate the extent of the teen’s injuries, perform a bit of first aid, but leave the victim behind to ascend the next floor where more casualties await. The rescuers encounter a survivor apparently in shock, pacing [...]

Arts

Indy Calendar, May18-24, 2012

Indy Calendar, May18-24, 2012

Friday, May 18 Philharmonic House of Design in South Laguna, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free shuttle parking at 34111 Selva Rd. Dana Point. For ticket info: 714 840-7542. Through May 20. Sawdust Art Festival Art Classes: 10 a.m., leaf earrings; 2 a.m. fused glass serving dish.   www.sawdustartfestival.org/studioartclasses  949-494-3030. Also Saturday. Jazz with pianist Giovanni Miradi at [...]

The Write Stuff

The Write Stuff

Author’s Tale Examines Racism and Adoption By Robin Pierson, Special to the Independent   Corie Skolnick starts her novel “Orfan” by foisting heart-breaking bad luck onto an innocent.  In the opening chapters, the character J.D., a mixed raced kid born to a Catholic teenager, is given up for adoption, only to have the loving couple [...]

Art Seen

Art Seen

Get Inspired by a Local Historic Cottage An artist designer’s historic cottage is featured in a 14-page article in the June issue of Romantic Homes Magazine on newsstands now. The story describes the property’s original purchase by Van Nuys’ Susanna H. Lankershim for $10 in gold coins on Sept. 23, 1911. The current resident hosts [...]

News

Blazing a New Trail for AIDS Awareness

Blazing a New Trail for AIDS Awareness

“I found some things that were shocking to me, and I’d like to share them with others,” said Laguna Beach High School freshman Nicholas Rieckhoff, explaining the motivation behind his HIV awareness brochure for teens, which he presented to the Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday. As the student representative on the city’s HIV Advisory [...]

Hikers Find Body on Trail

Hikers Find Body on Trail

A 20-year-old Laguna Beach man, discovered Thursday in Laguna Beach’s Bluebird Canyon, died from a self-inflicted gunshot, according to supervising Depty. Coroner Larry Esslinger. Laguna Beach police were called Thursday afternoon by a couple walking their dog in the 1100 block of Morningside Drive who discovered the body, Lt. Jason Kravetz said. A handgun was [...]

City Reverses Its Red Ink

City Reverses Its Red Ink

In a two-hour workshop Tuesday devoted to the city’s proposed $47 million budget, the City Council added requests for $75,000 to hire a consultant to review historic homes, $5,000 for a citizens’ emergency response training program and an unspecified amount to ongoing bike and pedestrian path improvements. City Manager John Pietig reported that the upcoming [...]

Opinion

Musings on the Coast

Musings on the Coast

The Next Generation’s Woodstock Two of my three kids attended the Coachella Music Festival this year, and the third would have too, but she was in college in London.   In one earlier year, she got away with pretending to need to be in So Cal during the time of the festival, and then—oops—as long as [...]

Laughing Through the Tears

Laughing Through the Tears

Editor,   So I made the mistake of reading the beautiful features on Andy in this week’s edition while having lunch at Lumberyard (“A Tribute from Andy Hedden’s Family,” “A Hometown Comic and Scribe Exits the Stage.” I couldn’t stop laughing thru tears over my soup. Your hard work is helping us heal. Thank you, [...]

Will the Real Cottage Killer Please Stand Up?

Will the Real Cottage Killer Please Stand Up?

Editor:   This letter responds to Richard Picheny’s personal attack on me in a recent newspaper article regarding the demolition of old structures.   Mr. Picheny indicated that I do nothing as a councilmember to protect old cottages.  His statement is simply untrue.  Here is one example:  several years ago, when I was involved with [...]

Sports & Schools

Hats Off to Art Graduates

Hats Off to Art Graduates

Seventy students in Laguna College of Art + Design’s 2012 class  participated in commencement ceremonies this week, receiving a sendoff from film producer Don Hahn, whose “Beauty and the Beast” was the first animated movie to receive a best-picture nomination. “I had the privilege of watching the students grow and develop as distinctive artists and [...]

Coffee Break

Coffee Break

His Insights Reveal Differences in Children’s Natures Bestselling author Michael Gurian, an advocate for applying brain research about gender differences to learning in homes, schools, the work place and public policy, speaks Wednesday, May 23, at 8:30 a.m. at Aliso Creek Inn, the final Coffee Break parent-education workshop of the school year. A $10 donation [...]

Junior Curators Plant ‘Botanicals’ at Nursery

Junior Curators Plant ‘Botanicals’ at Nursery

The Laguna Outreach for Community Arts Junior Curators installed their second juried exhibition, titled “botanicals”, on display Saturday, May 19, through June 7 at Laguna Nursery, 1370 S. Coast Highway. The show features selected silk banners and shadowboxes created by Laguna Beach High School students. The curatorial team created the theme and presented it to the [...]

Town Crier

Kenneth Wynn Wood

Kenneth Wynn Wood

Nov. 19, 1939-March 25, 2012 Ken Wood, partner with Fred Lang in the Laguna Beach landscape architecture firm of Lang and Wood, died in Norway on March 25. It was Wood’s pencil that drew the curving lines of Laguna’s Main Beach boardwalk. He started working with Lang in 1967 and they formed their partnership in [...]

Volunteer Extraordinaire: Anne Wood

Volunteer Extraordinaire: Anne Wood

By Robin Pierson, Special to the Independent The sign off on Anne Wood’s answering machine ends with an admonition  encompassing her mantra for life:  “Do something nice for someone.” Wood, who has been serving the community of Laguna Beach in a myriad of capacities for more than 40 years, is the Woman’s Club Woman of [...]

Republicans Establish New Headquarters

Republicans Establish New Headquarters

Laguna Beach Republicans plan a grand opening of their local headquarters, Sunday, May 27, at 1464 S. Coast Highway, to be attended by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Laguna Beach City Council candidate Steve Dicterow and Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh, and Laguna Beach Republican President Michele Hall. Laguna Beach Republicans and conservatives are [...]

Limelight

Best Ever CIF Finish for Boys

Best Ever CIF Finish for Boys

The Southern Section’s CIF swimming and diving championships got underway at Riverside Community College Thursday afternoon with a come-from-behind victory for the Laguna boys in the 200 medley relay. Four hours later in the cool evening air, they capped their best overall post-season performance with a runner up finish behind Alhambra’s Mark Keppel High 311 [...]

Hedden For God’s Country

Hedden For God’s Country

From Bongos To Head Banging To Maxiwhacking By Andy Hedden Originally published in 2005. It all started when my Aunt Pat gave me a set of bongos for my 6th birthday.  They say some people are born to play, and I guess it’s true, because 42 years later I’m still a drummer. I still have [...]

Design House Crowns a Laguna Hilltop

Design House Crowns a Laguna Hilltop

Welcome lookie-loos! Tis the season for house and garden tours and here’s one for a good cause. The annual Philharmonic House of Design, now in its 20th year, finally celebrates its debut in Laguna Beach, a to-be-expected month-long luxe open house extravaganza that kicked off last week. Here, the house of 11,333 square feet has [...]

Other Recent Posts

Compost Gift-Away, a Success

Compost Gift-Away, a Success

| May 16, 2012 | 0 Comments

Editor, A round of applause is due Liz Avila with the Public Works Department for organizing a successful compost giveaway last Saturday, May 10, in the ACT V parking lot.  Arriving at 8 a.m. with my gloves and shovel, I joined in with 20+ locals in scooping up rich, nutritious compost into my six sand [...]

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Simple Signal Solution

Simple Signal Solution

| May 16, 2012 | 0 Comments

Editor, Re: proposed Emerald Bay signal My suggestion is to move the entrance further into the complex, getting the cars off the street or letting the workers in earlier.   Warren Goff, Laguna Beach

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Signal Supporter Outlines His Argument

Signal Supporter Outlines His Argument

| May 16, 2012 | 0 Comments

Editor, (The letter was also addressed to top city administrators and elected officials.) I write in support of installing the proposed traffic signal at Emerald Bay and Coast Highway. My opinion is informed by personal history. I lived in Three Arch Bay before there was a signal, and even before there was a guard gate [...]

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