Aug. 5, 1921 – May 17, 2018 By Christy Cones, Special to the Independent Bruce Hopping (a.k.a. “Brucey”, “Mr. B”, et al.) passed away peacefully just after midnight on Thursday, May 17. He is survived by his nephew and niece, Rick and Melissa Hopping, of New Jersey. Hopping was a...

Two men with burglary tools were arrested in the 1500 block of Catalina Street in Laguna Beach early Sunday after a witness provided police with a description of people tampering with a vehicle in the Arch Beach Heights area. Dennis Michael Busch, 38, of Laguna Woods, and Brent...

The Laguna Beach High School boys tennis team excited the crow with a nail-biting win this past Friday, May 18, over Redlands East Valley for the CIF championship, the first in 36 years. Boys singles and doubles won in the first round. In the second round, singles players Mason...

Staying true to his practice of foregoing oratory for the quick anecdote, Mayor Kelly Boyd summed up in short order the State of the City during the annual address.

Residents and business owners in Laguna Beach may think twice before yelling “timber” after elected officials voted to establish a tree removal permit process, including setting fines as high as $30,000 for violations.

Updated: An aesthetician was killed and three clients injured in an explosion within an Aliso Viejo cul de sac of dental and medical offices Tuesday, May 15, during business hours. Sheriff’s deputies, who served search warrants in Trabuco Canyon...

Donations amounting to several thousand dollars tipped into candidate Harley Rouda’s campaign treasury in the past few days following the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s decision to back him in the hotly contested June 5 primary...

Being Spiritual Over a century ago, in Los Angeles, a little-known Black evangelist named William J. Seymour started a revival on Azusa Street. The setting was humble, but he was a spirit-filled preacher and in his sermons, began to speak in...

Laguna local Ann Shea will host a party in her home to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Chhahari Hostel, which houses 19 children in central Kathmandu,Nepal. Chhahari, founded by local Christine Casey, supports and educates 23 orphans on a budget of $40,000 a year. Tickets of $75 each...

Dr. Donald Joseph Bédard died Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at his home in Seal Beach, Calif. He was 91 years old. Don was born on July 24, 1926, in Argyle, Minn., the first born of five children to Joseph and Grace Riopelle Bédard. The family moved to Red Lake Falls, Minn., in 1936 and then to Long...

Sideways Motions Halfway through the second quarter, the market has gone nowhere so far this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is where it started the year while the S&P 500 has eked out a 2% gain. A year ago, their gains at this point were 18% and 11% respectively. Each added gains...

Penny Susan Steris, known to many as “Coach Penny,” passed away on May 5, 2018, at the age of 67 years. A California native, she lived in South Laguna for 50 years and had a positive...

Carbnb My wife has a favorite story she tells…  “Hey Debbie, there’s a homeless guy living in your car,” her friend announced while bringing in a case of beer.  It was early in the day to begin...

Read the Personals EXPIRED FROZEN PIZZAS for sale.  Okay, I’ve got a dozen frozen pizzas dated April 30, 2018; nobody in my family will eat them and I hate to throw them away.  They are still...

“The Grass is Blue: America’s Legacy of Bluegrass and Spirituals,” finds a home at Mozambique Tuesday, May 22, when Laguna Beach Live! presents Pacific Chorale’s artistic director, Robert Istad....

Editor, Local issues like traffic, crowded beaches and parties at summer rentals often are the focus of resident complaints as summer gets under way. But another issue lurks behind the scenes...

Editor, Laguna Beach city staff has just helped raise your insurance rates. City staff, in an effort to convince and scare you to pay for undergrounding utility poles, made a visit last year to...