Editor,
I am so glad the assistant manager at Verizon is “getting his way”. $7.1 million of my tax dollars are going to be spent on a new village entrance which many, if not most, Lagunans do not want. And Mr. Piggott won’t have to look at a chain link fence – the horror.
I live in town, own a home, pay truckloads of tax and have my ocean view diminished daily by neighbors’ trees. Yet in a middle-finger salute to the home owners here, City Council does nothing to abate view-blocking trees, which erode our home values, utility poles remain above ground giving a serene turn-of-the-century slum feel to most of Laguna, and streets are crumbling beneath us. All the while businesses and tourist dollars get coddled.
Personally, I don’t give two steamy fertilizers what a Verizon assistant manager or a tourist’s first impression of Laguna is; my impression, me, the local, tax paying resident is that it’s already too crowded and our pleasant communal lifestyle is being bartered away to fill your coffers.
$7 million would go a long way to restoring views around town or undergrounding utility poles. Look at pictures of Laguna 100 years ago. The tallest plant was probably six feet high. We have ruined the pristine coastal hills with non-native trees and landscaping, not to mention stealing views from their rightful owners.
Because of poorly-executed, short-sighted ideas, commuters now spend countless hours in canyon traffic behind LCAD’s moronic pedestrian light so that SJWs can wake up at noon and work in pastels. I shudder to think of the product of your committees and consultants when it comes to the village entrance.
The entrance to Laguna has always been what it is. There is no reason or need to change it. It works fine. Your addiction to spending frightens me. Step away from the checkbook. Leave it alone.
Michael Rybah, Laguna Beach
“Because of poorly-executed, short-sighted ideas, commuters now spend countless hours in canyon traffic behind LCAD’s moronic pedestrian light so that SJWs can wake up at noon and work in pastels”
Wow Michael, what a breathtakingly ignorant and dismissive view of an entire institution and field of study. You do know that Laguna Beach was originally an artists colony, correct? And that Laguna’s dedication to public art works and its wide variety of art galleries are an essential part of its charm and allure? Did it not occur to you through the annual Sawdust Festivals, Art-a-Fairs, first Thursday Art Walks, and Pageant of the Masters that maybe (just maybe) Laguna Beach is a community that appreciates and respects art?
People like you are the reason the English language has blessed us with the world “philistine”. Since you seem to enjoy disrespecting entire swaths of the population with your idiotic generalizations, then you shouldn’t mind if others do the same to you. That being said, perhaps this artsy beachside village simply isn’t for you; you’d be much more comfortable in Newport Beach.
“SJWs”? As in “Social Justice Warriors”? Really? First off, Mr. Rybah, what does this infantile and irrelevant pseudo-insult have to do with your topic? Second, we get that it’s all about you, your view, and your real estate investments, but your watered-down vitriol isn’t helping your case. Pro tip: If you’re going to pretend to be all about the Laguna Beach community, maybe you should stop calling it a slum. Some of us like it here.
I’ll agree the light needs some work because of the flashing after the stop, but a student died there before there was a light. I’ll wait if it prevents another death.Cal Trans is responsible for the design of that light.Also, lets encourage what’s left of the artists in this town. It’s not easy for them to live here since big money came to stay.
Totally agree with you though on the stupid village entrance though. It’s already beautiful, that’s why people come here!