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My house was robbed the other night. Actually, it was very early on a Thursday morning. My dog and I were in my upstairs bedroom and did not awaken. The door to my bedroom was closed. I suspect my dog was in some kind of “dog rem” sleep because usually she barks at any strange...

A Plea for Civility in Laguna It seems our city has lost its very “civility.” A lot of people, including Mayor Bob Whalen who just centered his State of the City address on the topic, certainly think so. And all over social media and in letters to the Indy, NextDoor and StuNews,...

The Last of the Founders Today, most of Orange County is “blue,” meaning most partisan offices in Orange County are held by Democrats. This is a change of earthquake proportions. Orange County, BLUE? This is the county one Republican president after another said was the bedrock...

Climate Change Comes to Laguna The other day I went to an event for Cottie Petrie-Norris, the newly-elected State Assemblywoman who represents Laguna Beach. She is obviously smart, a great speaker, elegant, and to use a cliché, bubbly. She told us she was on a committee studying...

Huh, The Hot Blonde? Scene: The Lumberyard Time: 6:30 p.m. Day: Wednesday, mid-week, not very many people there. The Players: Jean, the gorgeous barkeep; me; and someone new who arrived unexpectedly. The Drink: The usual gin martini, my way. I arrived at The Lumberyard, pulled...

The Diaries of the Hot Bot in Trump’s Hair  Chapter One: The Hot Bot My name is Petra the Hot Blonde. I first was tasked to sit on Trump’s shoulder when Obama was elected president, and my assignment was to create a monster. So, I whispered into Donny’s ear to play-up t...

Leaving California, Leaving Laguna There has been a lot of news about people leaving California for other states. The reasons usually specified are high housing and tax costs. Here are the facts: The net out-migration from California is about 100,000 people per year, mostly going...

An Economic Primer for the New Year If you are worried about our economy, you have a lot of company. The stock and housing markets are off and a lot of people are scared. In my business, I have two main jobs: obtaining funds for our real estate projects and predicting the...

The Attack on Young Families Youngish families are leaving California. The stats are depressing. People aged 26 to 44, in prime family-forming age, no longer can afford to buy a home here, so they leave. They do not want to leave, but if they want the American dream,...

The Hot Blonde: Back by Popular Demand   Yeah, Petra waltzed in again to the Lumberyard, looking her usual smashing self: tight leather pants, 4-inch Christian Louboutin do-me pumps with red bottoms, a fur jacket she soon shed and a red sweater so thin you could almost see...

Not So Random Thoughts This column is random-but-connected thoughts, beginning with: THE NATIONAL ELECTIONS We’re back to a two-party system. This means the Democrats will investigate all kinds of things, and Trump will have enemies other than the press to attack. That is what he...

Liberate Laguna  Here is the origin of Liberate Laguna: we got tired of being bullied. The “we” is Cindy Shopoff, Sam Goldstein and me. We are the founders of Liberate Laguna. We all were bullied by the city of Laguna Beach, its Design Review Board, Heritage Committee, Planning...

Kansas Cousin Darold Comes A-Visiting Cousin Darold Longhofer grew up in rural Kansas and now lives in Kansas City, Kansas.   He always is very careful to add the state name, “Kansas,” to the end of “Kansas City” to distinguish it from Kansas City, Missouri, which is next door....

Thoughts from Croatia We’re on the Island of Vis, named for the town of Vis, founded in 397 B.C. It was the first town founded in all of Croatia, mainly because of its natural deep-water harbor.  It made its money from fishing and eventually trade. I’ve rented a house for two...

The Secret My niece Mary (not her real name) and her husband John (not his real name) live in Maryland and work for companies that work exclusively for the CIA. Neither will tell me what they do except engage in “research.” We were sitting together at dinner at one of our big...