In the late 1980s, high-intensity stadium lighting suddenly appeared on the Laguna Beach High School baseball field without notice to the community. The entire “bowl area” and surrounding neighborhoods looked like a scene from the movie Alien. Many neighbors could read newspapers in their homes at night without indoor lights. Protests to the school board were ignored, and speakers were cut off. It was not until a community effort led by Lee Raymer (and others) marched in force to a Laguna Beach City Council meeting, and were heard. The city council’s wise decision was no more night baseball, and the lights came down. Money was wasted erecting and then removing the lights. We must not allow the present school board to waste money building an aquatic center, as a lynchpin for administration buildings we don’t need, with its attendant light, noise, and traffic pollution in the bowl area.
Merton Hill, Laguna Beach
