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I’m a 20-year-old student from Ladera Ranch that is worried about the ongoing climate crisis taking place in the world. After reading extensively about the recent wildfires in our beautiful state and their connection to climate change, I’ve realized that we need to...

At the Planning Commission meeting on the Cleo Street project on Wednesday, Nov. 7, someone attempting to defend the project against charges of incompatibility with the neighborhood asked rhetorically, “Who decided Laguna is supposed to look a certain way?” The answer to that...

Is it necessary for national political “debates” be taken up in a local paper? I can understand local issues and really digging in with passion for people who feel their opponents should be burnt at the stake. Local issues play into how we live here in Laguna. But national...

In response to Byron Nelson’s letter asking for intensification of brush management with goats, I would say, “bad idea.” Goats are no panacea. Some brush clearance with goats is useful, but more would promote a false sense of security against fire. Quite simply, brush clearance...

I am a poet and essayist who is writing a book about Jeanne Lattin, a forgotten media sensation who fell from the public eye around 1913. Based on what I’ve found in ancestry databases, it seems she spent the last 30 years of her life in Laguna Beach. Jeanne’s story before...

A column by Billy Fried is bound to combine arrogance with a political message. There is no need to go into the content of his column, as it is obvious he is a devotee of the liberal office holders. However, I must agree on one thing. I do wake up each morning, and, like Mr....

I am the “Indy reader” Howard Hills referred to in his letter last Friday. Clearly, we differ on the influence Bob Dylan’s iconic song “The Times They Are a-Changin” had on turning ruby red Orange County bright blue last month. As Howard and I both...

In response to Amy Orr’s piece regarding the lunch programs and the hard work behind them—I have an idea and also some perspective from a mom whose son would rather stick needles in his eyes than buy lunch at school. First off, school lunch was and still is a great thing to offer...

The recent rains give us a short respite from the fearsome future. But, let us not be deluded. The increasing occurrence and ferocity of firestorms of these last years everywhere, in the west particularly, are only a predicted preview of what may come. Hopefully not. Laguna Beach...

Orange County is where the blue wave made landfall. Voters of all political affiliation who voted for winning candidates earned the right to celebrate. But divided government means Democrats -must govern, not just resist Republican one-party rule. We all hope both parties will...

I’d like to thank Ann Christoph for once again stepping into the fray when the integrity of this wonderful town was threatened. And in a way it may not even have been to win or lose, but to participate. Something she has never hesitated to do. For the public at large, there are...

Now that the City Council elections are over, and the angst has died down, I would like to suggest two issues to be addressed. As J.J. Gasparotti has pointed out, tourists are a drain on the city budget. Each one costs you, the taxpayer, about $7.50 to provide police, fire,...

I hope that more thought and study is given to changing the pedestrian crossing at Ocean and PCH to the north. Wouldn’t the simple solution be to green light left turns before allowing pedestrians to cross? I shop at Whole Foods frequently and turn right onto PCH. I also exit the...

Greed. Arrogance. Selfishness. Inconsideration. Bullying. All these come to mind when reflecting on local real estate investor Mo Honarkar’s proposal for the Holiday Inn. He wants to put in a 112-room “boutique hotel” with a rooftop pool and deck. Boutique hotels don’t have...

In the aftermath of 2018’s general election and my frustration of our community’s inability to grow, I have made a list of ten major commercial properties in the city of Laguna Beach that have been totally remodeled or newly constructed over the past 20 years, of which three...