Welcome lookie-loos! Tis the season for house and garden tours and here’s one for a good cause. The annual Philharmonic House of Design, now in its 20th year, finally celebrates its debut in Laguna Beach, a to-be-expected month-long luxe open house extravaganza that kicked off last week. Here, the house of 11,333 square feet has [...]
Editor, We urge all residents of Temple Hills to vote “no” on the new Temple Hills Community Association bylaws. Ron Chilcote has been the president of THCA for 40 years. Prior to the December “meeting”, we submitted a motion to amend the bylaws to include democratic voting procedures and other changes that would reform THCA [...]
Changes at the San Onofre nuclear power plant that “crammed” 400 additional tubes into one generator required drilling that allegedly weakened the generator’s foundation, according to a study by the nuclear watchdog group Friends of the Earth. The weakened foundation along with removing a support piece called the “stay cylinder,” designed to prevent vibration, caused [...]
An ordinance that would prohibit hosts from serving minors alcoholic drinks or controlled substances in private homes and impose penalties on violators will be considered by Laguna Beach’s City Council on Tuesday, May 1. This week, the school board unanimously voted its support for the proposal. The measure aims to dissuade parents from allowing underage [...]
Show Me the Dividend Dividends have always been an important factor in successful investment returns. They seem likely to become an even more significant part of future returns. The stock market is subject to swings from emotion and periods of overconfidence have often pumped up stock prices of companies with little prospects of paying out [...]
The menu of local restaurants shrank by two entries unexpectedly with closures at either end of town. Patrons of Royal Hawaiian, a landmark watering hole since 1947 in North Laguna, on Sunday drank up the inventory, including its signature lapu lapu cocktail, in a free-for-all send-off and quasi wake. The Sunday before, Café Vienna, a [...]
Am I Crazy? The answer is a resounding “yes!” But that’s beside the point. I have been homeless three times. I also have a mental illness, which I believe to be the underlying cause of my homelessness. I recently started taking a medication that appears to be working, and one more time I am [...]
Trying to find the balance between a homeowner’s prerogative and historic preservation, the City Council in a special meeting Wednesday voted 3-2 to ultimately lift a controversial stop-work order imposed the week before on the iconic Halliburton House in South Laguna. On one condition. Remodeling work will recommence on the famed Hangover House, once home [...]
Editors, While still attending U.S.C. in 1951, we would drive to Laguna Beach for a day at the beach and dinner at the Royal Hawaiian. Navy Grogs, “Wiki Wiki” steaks, a salad with a wonderful dressing, and flaming ice cream volcanos for desert; all at a price Don could afford ( guys paid in those [...]
Editor, I think the article on Halliburton’s House (“Work Frozen on Halliburton’s House,” April 20 edition) was titled wrong. It should have been titled: City Council ignored city building department so Ann Christoph could have more time to fleece money from the homeowner. John Kreber, Laguna Beach
Editor, I clicked up the March 28 Planning Commission meeting that extinguished the life of the Royal Hawaiian and asked myself: What has happened to our town? What has our city government done to us? First they take away our beaches, then our fishing, and now, because of one cranky old lady they drove the [...]
Editor, Saturday was a spectacular day in Laguna. It seems most everyone escaped the inland heat by descending upon Laguna, where they were treated to an Earth Day / Kelp Fest collaboration that showcased the best of our environmental sensibilities. Nancy Caruso’s third annual Kelp Fest was by far her team’s best effort yet. The [...]
Editor, One of the most bizarre Laguna Beach City Council meetings in history took place April 17 when four city council members voted a stop work order, to take affect April 18 at 7:30 a.m. on a permit issued by the planning department to allow the new owners of the Richard Halliburton “hangover” house in [...]
Baseball (12-7, 5-4) Laguna took a 1-0 victory over Estancia last Friday, April 20, at Skipper Carrillo Field as Grant Wilhelm scored off a Blake Hester double in the first inning for the lone score in the game. Jackson Rees went the distance giving up only four hits, one walk, striking out four. Breakers faced [...]
Surprised Car Burglar Arrested The owner of a vehicle surprised a burglar partly dangling out of his car’s sunroof about 6:50 p.m. in an underground parking structure at Oak and Glenneyre Streets last Thursday, April 19, police said. The owner, who reported seeing white shoes poking out of the sunroof and someone inside with a [...]
Police Use Taser to Subdue Assault Suspect
An assault involving three men escalated into a struggle with Laguna Beach police, who ultimately deployed a taser twice to subdue the younger combative suspect in the 300 block of Cozumel around 1:15 a.m. Friday, May 10, police said. Police ultimately arrested Laguna Beach resident Sergio Gabriel Borgognone, 51, for allegedly resisting arrest and his [...]
