The Boys & Girls Club named Laguna’s school district an outstanding partner at an event last week. “The openness, innovation, and mission-driven dedication of the people who make up the Laguna Beach Unified School District is what makes our partnership so special,” Executive Director Pam Estes said. The two organizations have an established history of [...]
Editor, I applaud the school board for not wasting more staff time, energy and resources defending its indefensible unilateral decision to end summer early. If not rescinded, that policy – falsely touted as a truancy prevention measure - would have triggered a boycott with 75 percent truancy on any school days in August. The school [...]
“It appears there is a progression of introversion [among the Laguna Beach School Board.] The families and students come first. They are your clients. The union is not your client. You should be transparent, but have shown to be insular.” –Rick Putnam to the Laguna Beach Unified School District board members. There has been [...]
A new teen center for high-schoolers-only is being planned by St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and the Boys and Girls Club but some parents feel teens have been left out in the cold. The impetus for the new center stems from the growing number of 13- to 18-year-olds joining activities at the current teen center in [...]
Editor, If the school board is apologizing to parents then it is only fair that they correct their mistake. Put the calendar back and leave it alone until you’ve allowed a proper public debate. When a student does something wrong in class he is required to correct it and/or fix it until he gets it [...]
Laguna Beach’s school board stuck to their unanimous decision to start school before Labor Day, prompting grumblings by disgruntled parents to boycott the earlier start in August and even recall school board members. “What is it they can’t hear?” Rick Putnam, who has two daughters at the high school, said in frustration. Putnam had just [...]
Editor, It’s been a couple of years since the high school all-weather track (which we all paid for) was closed to the public during the hours it was most useful. On New Year’s Day, no less. Now, people who want a flat, hazard-free, safe place to exercise have no option except to drive to the [...]
Editor: Our Laguna Beach School noard members and Superintendent Sherine Smith state that parents should attend school board meetings if they want to get up to speed. Unfortunately, these meetings are held at 6 p.m., which is probably the most difficult hour to attend, as parents are coming home from work, trying to get dinner on the [...]
Editor: I’m writing to you to communicate my frustration and displeasure with the school board’s sudden decision to change the district calendar. My family doesn’t want a whole week off of school at Thanksgiving. As it is, we already have so many breaks during the school year that by the time our kids get out, [...]
“A law to prohibit secret meetings of official bodies, save under the most exceptional circumstances, should not be necessary. Public officers above all other persons should be imbued with the truth that their business is the public’s business and they should be the last to tolerate any attempt to keep the people from being fully [...]
Editor: The Laguna Beach school board has now decided for us parents, and our children, that the students of Laguna Beach would be better served by starting school in August and having a full week off at Thanksgiving, just like they mistakenly assumed that parents and students would embrace the social host ordinance. What bothers [...]
Editor: To all my passionate supporters: I am grateful to the people in our community who were open to the dialogue created by this election process and I greatly appreciated your support and encouragement over the past few months. Many people not only became interested in this election, but were motivated and compelled to take [...]
Editor: What Bill Landsiedel fails to recognize is that this current school administration has repeatedly dismissed or disregarded any and all positive and great ideas of the parents in the Laguna Beach school district. Quite frankly, parents and students are fed up with not being heard. He labels anyone who tries to voice an [...]
Laguna Beach voters elected two challengers to the City Council and returned two incumbents to the school board, according to unofficial and nearly complete results from the county registrar. Robert Whalen and Steve Dicterow received more votes than incumbents Verna Rollinger and Jane Egly in the race for Laguna’s City Council. Jan Vickers and Bill [...]
Editor: Election Day is upon us. As we collectively ponder the wisdom of the various candidates, it is important to remind ourselves that without their effort and dedication to public service it would be a sad state of affairs in communities such as Laguna. It is important to acknowledge that despite political differences, each candidate [...]
Ill Prepared Hiker Rescued from Hillside
A sheriff’s helicopter was used to extract a hiker who suffered an anxiety attack and was unable to move from a steep trail in Laguna Beach’s open space about 6 p.m. Sunday, June 9, police said. Lifeguards in an all-terrain vehicle coordinated the extraction from thick brush and a steep slope between Alta Laguna Park [...]
