I found Michael Ray’s comparison of Laguna Beach with the Crystal Cove Shopping Center to be ludicrous. Although Laguna Beach may have its flaws, it is an actual town where people have lived for a long time.
People come to Laguna primarily for the beach, but also spend some time strolling its quaint streets and dropping some cash in town. As a long-time resident of Laguna Beach, I visit my downtown often, and make use of the library, the Senior Center, the drugstore, and other hospitable and community-friendly venues, as well as Main Beach. The Crystal Cove Shopping Center, on the other hand, is an overpriced, artificial environment, where no one lives. The only affordable shop there is Trader Joe’s.
And if the merchants are doing so well, why has there been such a large amount of turnover there over the years, including the recent closure of Pier 1? Shall we turn Laguna Beach into an upscale Shopping Center so that we can attract more Rolls Royces and Bentleys?
Roger Owens, Laguna Beach
I find most of Ray’s opinions to be ludicrous. He is the founder of Liberate Laguna. His main objective is to see that political candidates are placed in government positions – City Council (Blake and Kempf 2018), Boards, Commissions and Committees (Jorg Dubin/ Planning Com., and most recently Tyler Russell McCusker, his wife and a Honarkar employee), all pro-development supporters. So his messages always focus on some form of resident fear-mongering about Laguna Beach dying unless the investors and developers save it. Crystal Cove, Corona Del Mar, etc., all have empty buildings. It’s a crock that Laguna is the only one experiencing retail woes. Finally, it was so apparent that Ray just wanted to promote his buddy Peter Blake’s ex-wife’s retail store in crystal cove.