Teen Service Group Collecting Unwanted Halloween Candy

The Laguna Beach Chapter of Lion’s Heart Teen Service Group—Girls Class of 2019 is collecting unwanted Halloween candy to donate to Operation Gratitude from Nov. 1-9.

Collection bins are at the Laguna Beach Library. Operation Gratitude sends over 200,000 care packages annually, filled with food, handmade items and personal letters of appreciation to veterans, first responders, new recruits, wounded heroes and their caregivers, and to individually named U.S. service members deployed overseas, as well as their families at home.

For more information, visit www.operationgratitude.com. Last year the group collected almost 500 pounds of candy. Email [email protected] with any questions.

Free Talk on Cannabis Industry This Sunday

The public is welcome to join members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Laguna Beach at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4, for “Legal Marijuana—A Look at the Cannabis Industry in California,” an update on one of the most exciting new industries in the state. Learn about recent successes for both the cannabis industry and consumers, and the challenges that remain.

Kandice Hawes-Lopez is the Executive Director of OC NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). Hawes founded Orange County NORML in 2003 after losing her college financial aid due to a marijuana possession charge. OC NORML has been instrumental in getting recreational marijuana legalized in California, organizing the Medical Cannabis Conference for Seniors in Laguna Woods Village, and working to end the lengthy incarceration of non-violent marijuana prisoners. Hawes-Lopez recently graduated from California State University Fullerton with a degree in Political Science and Public Administration. She is also the Director of Community Outreach at Bud and Bloom, a licensed collective in Santa Ana.

For additional information contact Rachel Daniels at [email protected] 310-714-2699. The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Laguna Beach is located at 429 Cypress Drive.

Real Talk Returns with Human Rights Discussion

On Wednesday, Nov. 7, the public is invited to attend a free showing of and discussion about “Changing the World, One Wall at a Time,” a film about one of the world’s largest street art and human rights campaigns that is raising awareness of education discrimination in Iran and around the world.

The film will be shown from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Susi Q Center, located at 380 3rd Street in Laguna. The event is sponsored by the Laguna beach Interfaith Council and the Baha’is of Laguna Beach. RSVP to [email protected].

Honorees Named for 2019 Patriots Day Parade

The Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade committee has announced their honorees for the 53rd Parade on Saturday, March 2, 2019.

The Grand Marshal is Barbara Diamond, longtime news writer; Honored Patriot is Arnold Silverman, U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War and past Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5868 commander; Citizen of the Year is Sande St. John, community volunteer; Junior Citizens of the Year chosen by the Laguna Beach High School staff are Alexis Yang and Cal Nielson; and Artist of the Year is Roxanna Ward, choral director at Laguna Beach High and former director of Laguna Tunes.

The 2019 parade honorees will be recognized at the annual “Honoree Brunch” on Saturday, Feb. 2, at Seven7Seven (formerly Tivoli Too). Cost is $35 per person. For reservations or information, call Sandi Werthe at 949-494-6016 or email [email protected].

Women’s Group Raises Funds and Awareness for Children’s Services Charity

On Oct. 16, the latest Chew for Charity was held at Brio Tuscan Grille at the Irvine Spectrum and raised $400 for Waymakers and their youth shelters in Laguna Beach, Tustin and Huntington Beach.

For nearly a decade, this group of 40 women has met monthly and has been known to raise as much as $12,000 to $15,000 a year for Waymakers. In addition to regular lunches, guild members also help to sell tickets for Waymakers fundraising events, and advocate on behalf of Waymakers throughout the Orange County community. Waymakers, formerly called Community Service Programs, is a nonprofit that provides counseling and support services to struggling OC children and families at their greatest time of need.

With 24 beds across all three locations, Waymakers serves as a 24-hour family crisis resource to parents and youths residing in Orange County, especially those who do not have the means to seek private help. Learn more at WaymakersOC.org.

City to Update Landscape Guidelines

The City Council will review two documents, the Landscape and Scenic Highways Element and the Landscape and Scenic Highways Resource Document on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at its regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 505 Forest Ave. Both provide guidelines that help the community define the city’s landscape goals, policies and programs. The latter contains landscape guidelines for Laguna’s two scenic highways, Laguna Canyon Road and Coast Highway, and 38 neighborhood landscape areas.

A first draft of the Landscape and Scenic Highways Element and Resource Document was reviewed by the Council on April 10, where they provided comments and directed staff to incorporate changes to each document. The Council recommendations have now been incorporated into an updated draft that the Council will review and consider adopting.

For more information or to view a copy of the public review draft of the LSHE and LSHRD visit: lagunabeachcity.net/cityhall/cd/planning/mjrplanginitv/lndscnhwy.htm or contact Jim Pechous, assistant director, at 949-497-0320 or [email protected].