Columns

Don’t Worry, Be Happy Now that we have our town back from the great unwashed, can we not agree this was our summer of epic...

Gentleness The term “gentle spirit” evokes thoughts of kindness, compassion, empathy, refinement, presence and quiet warmth. If I took a survey, I imagine most of...

Mixing It Up There are a growing number of residents unhappy with changes to the Downtown Specific Plan. I asked one resident to explain. “I...

Bye Bye Just as a container ship full of work is about to hit the City Hall dock, Greg Pfost, Laguna’s community development director, is retiring. That is...

The Gospel of Joy Our town has been graced by an Episcopal Church since the Rev. Percy Clarkson planted one nearly a century ago, in...

Laguna’s Sea Stars and a Warming Pacific “I received a $400 check in the mail from a group of schoolchildren from Arkansas,” said Dr....

Shutting Down Residents’ Voices There are many ways to fight opposition to your point of view. At the July 23 City Council meeting, we saw...

By Denny Freidenrich With all the talk about a 2020 recession looming on the horizon, it might be prudent to start saving money now. Here's...

Make Room Parents know it is emotionally wrenching when your child leaves home and goes off to college. You’re surprised when little baby Jimmy is...

Nowhere to Go A disgusting complaint you hear about tourists, aside from the fact they cost us $4 each, is their predilection for urination and...

Planning v. Spontaneity The Beautiful Wife does our planning. Writing things on the calendar gives her comfort they’ll actually get done. It often works....

It’s Never Enough No matter how carefully researched and presented. No matter how polite. No matter how heartfelt. No matter how true. It doesn’t matter; testimony from much of...

Being Mortal When we’re young, our days are like waves on the beach—we imagine they’ll roll on forever. With maturity, we grasp the hard...

Hostage Hall When major life transitions visit us, it can feel like we are walking a tightrope with no net. Worry and self-doubt are natural...

The Big Hoax There is a big hoax in Laguna: the reason why our downtown has so much awful and/or vacant retail is because landlords...