“And go ’round and ’round and ’round in the circle game.” –Joni Mitchell Change and transition are part of life. Family and friends become ill, and sometimes a chapter closes in our lives. Many of my contemporaries are talking about collecting their first Social Security checks and being eligible for Medicare. Did I say [...]
Mayor Pro Tem Verna Rollinger’s losing bid for another four-year term on Laguna Beach’s City Council earlier this month opens the question of who will serve as Laguna Beach’s next mayor. There is no particular order that the five-member council follows for the one-year appointment, decided at the prerogative of council members during their next [...]
Unsolicited Campaign Advice The big secret to winning elections is to get more votes than your opponent. –Jesse Helms As an interested party (not to be mistaken as a candidate or a Tea Party member) during Laguna’s biennial silly season (the City Council election), I try to keep current with the latest events, [...]
A Meditation With Roots “I always think of my sins when I weed. They grow apace in the same way and are harder still to get rid of.” –Helena Rutherfurd Ely Years ago at an undergraduate horticulture class, I attended a lecture, which reviewed the best management practices of herbicides, weed eaters, and hoes, in [...]
Good Neighbors Use Shears “On most of the lists of things to worry about (is) the unrestrained growth of plastic plants.” – with apologies to Lewis Thomas Have you noticed how much taller and fuller your neighbors’ vegetation have become? Likely so, because now its blocking the best part of your ocean view. And [...]
A Night at Design Review “When I am dead, I hope it is said, “His sins were scarlet, but his columns were read.” –with apologies to Hillaire Belloc One of the pleasures of living in Laguna is greeting friends and acquaintances whilst walking, shopping, or gossiping during happy hour(s) at myriad venues. Conversations invariably move [...]
No Mystery Behind the Missing Blooms “Give a lot, expect a lot, and if you don’t get it, prune. –Thomas J. Peters Who doesn’t love the way tree aloes brighten Laguna gardens this time of year? The species, Aloe arborescens, is unrivaled for its magnificent red-orange blossoms, particularly in Heisler and Crescent Bay parks. [...]
Caring for a Legacy “Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.” –Bill Vaughan Somewhere walking between Eagle Rock and Main Beach on Thanksgiving morning, it occurred to me not for the first time that it is the lovely trees of maturity that separate our village [...]
Defined by Its Trees “I’m back in the saddle again” –Gene Autry I believe it was the scent of the Eucalyptus that imprinted one of my earliest associations of well-being. Growing up as a fairly well behaved but active boy in Laguna, it was my (mis)fortune to have the new Presbyterian minister move next [...]
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 [...]
