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Editor, We rescued our Cairn westie mix, Porter, about a year and a half ago and get a big kick out of taking the little guy with us to Laguna’s nice dog park in the canyon.  In town, he loves the many terrific dog-friendly restaurants and hotels including Brussels Bistro, Ocean...

Editor: A few weeks ago, our mayor, Bob Whalen, gave a well-received talk at the Laguna Canyon Conservancy dinner. His moderate ideas and measured presentation further impressed attendees with the caliber of our newly elected City Council. One thing Mayor Whalen emphasized was...

Editor, There is an elderly Asian woman who sits out on Forest Avenue at night in a wheelchair. She seems clean and warmly dressed.  She holds up a cardboard sign that says, “Please help!”  People give her a lot of money. She is dropped off by a well-dressed man in a Prius or...

Editor: This Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period before Easter when many Christians abstain from animal foods in remembrance of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the desert before launching his ministry. But meat-free Lent is much more than a symbol of religious...

Laguna Canyon Remains a Work in Progress Anyone who departs Laguna Beach northward passes through a six-mile stretch of extraordinary natural open space of rolling hills, rock outcroppings, green wetlands and long vistas to Saddleback Mountain, and in the far distance, the snow...

You Got Game I read in the Indy with alarm about keeping an eye out for tide pool poachers. Geez. I’ve been up and over these rock formations for years. I had no idea that there were poachers, pilferers and polluters. I’m so dumb I thought I was just taking a walk. Now, that I...

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” –Denis Waitley Welcome to the first of what will be a bi-monthly column sharing my thoughts about what’s going on in...

By Bolton Colburn, Special to the Independent Richie White, a well-known contemporary ceramic artist and professor at Saddleback College’s Art Department, died Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, at his home in San Clemente. Former students, peers, friends and family flocked to the campus in...

Editor: We all know Laguna Beach to be a special community here in south OC. As such we have been fortunate to have a police department that understands the nature of Laguna and its citizens. We have been lucky to have a chief who has served this community for decades coming up...

Editor, The school district has done it again. They created changes within the village on high school property, which affect our views without input from neighbors prior to planting the bank surrounding the baseball field with 80 trees. Half of the trees will grow to be 60-feet...

Editor, As a homeowner in Laguna Beach, I have been troubled for years by the intermittent foul smell of sewage gases along Coast Highway at Glenneyre and Bluebird, and even in my immediate neighborhood in Victoria Beach. This noxious odor migrates into my house most commonly in...

Editor, We recently attended the Canyon Conservancy dinner meeting at which you spoke. Many thanks for your timely, comprehensive presentation. It quite succinctly addressed the concerns of our members and was most informative. Of the hundred or so members in attendance, perhaps...

Editor, What eight years of community organizing failed to accomplish, the LB City Council decreed at last, “Yea it shall be, yea verily it shall be done!” The long awaited alternative bike-route through Laguna Beach will be completed this month. Every manner of community...

Editor, I want to thank Daniella Walsh for writing about the open mic event for writers at Laguna Beach Books and mentioning me in her article about the event, which was published in the Jan. 30 edition entitled, “Book Store Welcomes Spoken Word Readings.” I hope it generates...

Editor, I want to publically thank the Laguna Beach Fire Department. On Jan. 24, I experienced early morning, severe abdominal pain. The pain was intense, I passed out. My wife immediately called 911. I came to just before the paramedics arrived and, of course, my macho attitude...