Editor, What does it say about a town when its greatest cultural landmark is a former gas station tower? Local historian Andy Alison compared our Main Beach lifeguard tower to the Orange Circle and the San Juan Mission in last week’s story (“Restoring the Town’s Sentimental Sentinel,” April 26 edition). If we really want something [...]
Cycling enthusiasts lobbied Laguna Beach’s Arts Commission to consider adding an artist designed bike rack competition to its portfolio of publicly funded projects during a meeting on Monday, April 22. Under state mandates to create streets accessible to bicyclists, pedestrians and autos, Laguna is moving towards designating bike routes through town and have added painted [...]
Editor, I would like to thank Billy Fried for his wonderful letter about our local musicians and their impact on Laguna’s cultural and artistic heritage. In our day to day rush to succeed, we too often fail to notice or to honor those that have given so much of themselves for the betterment of our [...]
Nominees for the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Spirit of Laguna Award were announced at the December board meeting. Awardees will be announced at the annual officers installation Jan. 25 from 6–9 p.m. at Tivoli Too!, 777 Laguna Canyon Rd. The 12 categories and nominees are: Business of the year, Seven Degrees, Marine Room, Lagunabeach.com; Volunteer, [...]
Editor, Now that we have witnessed the colossal impact of global warming, lived through fires, earthquakes, mud slides, radiation leaks and grid failures, and have the knowledge that oil supply can’t meet demand, doesn’t it make prudent sense to prepare our vulnerable city the best we can? We are a coastal town near a fault-line with tinderbox [...]
Editor, There seems to be a positive shift occurring in our local government. For the first time in years, the city is listening and collaborating with the public. Take for example the recent decision to install bike racks around town. Members of the community joined the Complete Streets Task Force to highlight a shortage of [...]
A recent story in the LA Times (Take the Din out of Dinner) was close to my heart and stomach: the insanely high decibel level at so many restaurants. It’s gotten so bad that review sites like Yelp and Open Table have taken to rating noise levels. According to Zagat, noise has become the second [...]
Editor, Now that we saw Billy Fried’s excellent biking map of Laguna last week (“Peddling the Uncongested Path,” Letters, Feb. 17), Mike Hoag and I have a proposal to further promote bicycling and walking in this town. We have seen the success of what are known as Ciclavias in other cities. The concept originated in Bogota, Colombia, and has [...]
Editor, I’m excited to introduce the new Laguna Bike Map, a guide to riding Laguna’s safe and scenic back roads. I know there has been debate over the safety of biking in our town, but with traffic congestion, parking issues, obesity problems, and an uncertain energy future, we can’t afford not to ride. Plus there [...]
Editor, The start of the new year is a good time to consider where our energies as a city should be focused. Most people agree that public safety is one of the top priorities. Having laws, fire and police are of course tent poles. But long-term safety requires a sustainable infrastructure for power, water [...]
Editor, Friday night’s wonderful Hospitality Night was our annual reminder of how much better Laguna would be if we closed the west end of Forest permanently to cars. I don’t know anyone who thinks this is a bad idea, except one or two retailers clinging to an old paradigm. The failure of the [...]
Editor, David Vanderveen’s column comparing the Occupy movement to his own charmed life (“Occupy Laguna,” Nov. 11) is at best trivializing a historic shift in the American political discourse and at worst an exercise in narcissism. David, you say it’s difficult to relate to the Occupiers of Wall Street when you live in [...]
Editor, Regarding Sandi Cain’s complaint (“Stepping on the Soapbox for Sidewalks,” Sept. 30) that a few zealots have been writing too many letters advocating more biking in town, I tip my hat to Les McCloskey, Charles Alban, Justin Gersh, Michael Hoag and Chris Prelitz for their tireless efforts to reduce traffic and pollution while increasing [...]
After five days of painstaking work to create an intricate circular painting of boldly colored sand, Tibetan monks visiting Laguna Beach brushed their masterpiece into a gray green pile and threw the remainder into the sea on Sunday.
Two of the town’s best drummers, Greg White and Congero Higgy, are offering a weekly drum workshop Tuesdays, at 7 p.m. in Color Salon, 1705 S. Coast Highway, throughout August. Come learn African, Latin percussion and other styles, said Billy Fried, who leads a monthly drum circle at Aliso Beach’s outh end. The final [...]
Police Use Taser to Subdue Assault Suspect
An assault involving three men escalated into a struggle with Laguna Beach police, who ultimately deployed a taser twice to subdue the younger combative suspect in the 300 block of Cozumel around 1:15 a.m. Friday, May 10, police said. Police ultimately arrested Laguna Beach resident Sergio Gabriel Borgognone, 51, for allegedly resisting arrest and his [...]
