Newcomers Ascend to New Roles

New Leader Steps into the Pulpit

The Rev. Dr. Robert Honeychurch was named interim rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Laguna Beach, says a church statement released last week.

He succeeds Rev. Elizabeth I. Rechter, who after 10 years in Laguna left in September to become executive director of Stillpoint: The Center for Christian Spirituality, in Pasadena.

Honeychurch will working with the local parish while its leaders seek a permanent replacement. He has served in a similar capacity as interim rector at Episcopal churches in Santa Barbara and in Simi Valley, a church statement says.

A professor of theology at the Episcopal Theology School at Claremont College, Honeychurch teaches about parish leadership, mission and ministry.

He worked as a parish priest for almost 25 years in Montana, Idaho and California. He and his wife, the Rev. Sylvia Sweeney, live in Altadena.

Laguna Hires a New City Engineer

San Clemente resident Christina Templeton, a 24-year civil engineer, has been appointed city engineer and begins work on Nov. 12, City Manager John Pietig said in a statement.

Templeton, who succeeds retiring Steve May, has worked as a civil engineer working for the city of Irvine since 2001.

Top Chef Takes a Star Turn on Television

Laguna Beach chef and owner of Broadway by Amar Santana, 328 Glenneyre St., will be competing in the next season of “Top Chef” on the Bravo network.

Season 13 of the series returns Wednesday, Dec. 2.

Local Lawyer’s Firm Earns His Peers’ Praise

The Los Angeles Daily Journal recently recognized Laguna Beach resident Lester Savit and his One LLP partners, who specialize in intellectual property law, as one California’s top 24 boutique law firms.

The Journal describes such firms as “hyper-focused firms that take on big legal matters and win.”

“Sometimes its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog,” said Savit, expressing gratification for the recognition as “a firm that can even the playing field for those that might otherwise not have a fair chance to be heard.”