Laguna Beach Local News

I want to thank the Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring the 2024 State of the City address. The event was well-planned, executed and held in a beautiful setting. My most meaningful takeaway was the convocation by our local Bishop Samuelian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Bishop talked about arriving in...

Isn't Laguna Beach such a wonderful town! Such special events and places include the Patriots Day Parade, Hortense Miller Garden, and the Village Laguna Charm House Tour, among others. If you want to really enjoy a day savoring some of the wonderful homes in Laguna Beach, the Village Laguna Charm House tour is coming up. It...

Crime statistics: As any good detective (or readers/writers of who-done-it literature) can tell you, there are no coincidences. So, "coincidentally" with the publication of Michele Monda's latest column, voila! The annual report/update Ms. Monda petitioned the city council for was released and published. First, Chief Calvert and his staff should be congratulated for the apparent good news regarding key crime rate...

At the March 14 Laguna Beach School Board meeting, over $2 million in contracts for design and planning to demolish and rebuild the existing high school pool were approved by a 4-1 vote. While those contracts specified a 50-meter pool, the board president stated that the size of the pool should be part of...

As the city moves forward with its own pool, you may wonder where this leaves the school district project.  For clarity, city recreation manages and operates all aquatics programs except high school teams. That means virtually everything, and everyone moves to the new city pool facility when it opens. For the...

All Lagunans should be concerned about the Southern California Edison unpermitted grading bulldozing paths in the open space. We appreciate the updates we have received from Interim City Manager Sean Joyce, but hopefully, new City Manager Dave Kiff will insist on better compliance from Edison. In January, the city stopped...

Last I read, hundreds of nonprofit organizations call Laguna Beach home. Whether your heart lies with housing and feeding the unsheltered, saving the oceans, protecting the environment, building up our public schools, growing community gardens, maintaining open space, protecting animals on land or sea, or Laguna's legacy of supporting...

In the shadows of early morning or in the dark of night, the angel statue at our door was whisked away. It wasn’t perfect, perhaps a tad weathered and missing a right wing. Having watched patiently over our rose garden for years, it showed some wear. It’s hard to imagine...

Thank you, Tom Osborne and the Laguna Beach Independent, for your March 29 City Council update. Living in your neighboring city of Laguna Niguel, I appreciate Mr. Osborne’s quote, “Laguna Beach will exemplify the best practices that are required in our neighboring south Orange County cities.”  I agree and have...