Before South of Mission in San Francisco there was SoHo in New York, and now NoHo and The Bowery, and every city seems to have an evolving cutting edge part of town. In Laguna, the southern end of the so-called Hip District, at the corner of Pearl Street and Coast Highway, is home to a [...]
Some of us, okay, many of us, frequently bemoan the absence of the little things we think are missing around town. We comment on Facebook, tweet, write letters to the editor, or columns, or carry on at city council meetings. Others look around and decide to fill the gap. One of those people is Lisa [...]
Santina Davies is in the business of rehabilitation. Her own physical rehabilitation has been her full-time occupation for six years. Following a successful climb on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Davies slipped off Table Mountain in Capetown, South Africa, which she hiked only to take in the view. She fell 125 feet and had to be airlifted to [...]
I just signed on for the Five Points plan at Heidelberg Café. Why not? They didn’t ask for my email address, so no spam, and they don’t require a commitment, and after a few visits, I might win a free iced-tea. Why not? My Zinc card is well worn and in my wallet at all [...]
Paul Greer is learning to cook with spices. All sorts of spices, with which he is becoming familiar as he prepares to open, with his wife Mary, the Laguna franchise of The Spice Merchant. Tucked into the former Latitude 33 bookshop, one imagines each of the 300 spices, teas, salts, sugars, olive oils and specialty [...]
Another gallery has shuttered its doors – Swenson – and in its place, an upscale concept store promises simplicity with style. Joining the ranks of swank shops like Trove, Riga and Anastasia, what you might call not-so-shabby chic, this new addition, Simple, is another doorway to downtown renewal. According to proprietors Hesham and Jenni Elmished, [...]
A few years ago, I noticed a striking woman with an elegant short hair cut and asked who styles her hair. I had a short do only once, what they called a pixie when I was 12 and in a fit of adolescent rebellion cut it off, and all these years later, I had the [...]
I reside just over the Laguna border in Dana Point, aka SoLa: South of Laguna, not to be confused with South Laguna. However, my work, my friends, my bookstore and hairstylist, and better places to eat, are in Laguna, so several times a week, I drive north on Pacific Coast Highway where the iconic sign [...]
Valentine’s Day arrives for me in the form of giant red hearts perched on poles along Coast Highway bordering Laguna Nursery. Just as pumpkins announce Halloween and glittery lights mark Christmas, owner Ruben Flores decorates our urban landscape as well as the yards and gardens of clients throughout the world. I am an unabashed fan. [...]
Crank Brothers are not brothers. Founding partners Carl Winefordner, lead engineer, and Frank Hermansen, industrial designer, share a passion for sport and excellence in design. That combination has catapulted the Laguna start-up into an international enterprise with a reputation for innovative product engineering and aesthetics. You might call Crank Brothers the Apple of bicycle essentials. [...]
When Laura Linsenmayer, 34, decided to open Roots: The Beauty Underground, it made sense to set up shop in the town in which she was rooted. Her family relocated from Ohio to Laguna when she was 10 years old and this is the place she calls home. First, however, she set about learning all there [...]
In the interest of full disclosure, I do not drink coffee. Never got the taste for it, although I love the scent. What I do like is to sit at a comfy café chatting with friends, reading or writing. I enjoy the energy of human connection, the occasional eavesdrop on conversation, and the warmth of [...]
Thirty-three years ago, when my first-born was a newborn, my husband and I, at that time living in New York City, were considering a move to suburban Connecticut. He had accepted a position in Bridgeport, on Long Island Sound, on the northeast corner of Fairfield County, so we mapped a radius of roughly 30 minutes [...]
When I relocated to Laguna Beach nearly seven years ago, the embers of battle between the various factions within the city’s populace and the developers of the Montage resort, were still smoldering. Having not lived through that war, I saw only the outcome: a stunning resort on a gorgeous beach with a lovely park where [...]
I took a stroll through Laguna this past Saturday, merely for the sake of enjoying the balmy day, and the pleasure of watching families together doing the same. A stroll is by definition without purpose and I had no mission, only window shopping, which is always fun in town. I’ve never done the black Friday [...]
Ill Prepared Hiker Rescued from Hillside
A sheriff’s helicopter was used to extract a hiker who suffered an anxiety attack and was unable to move from a steep trail in Laguna Beach’s open space about 6 p.m. Sunday, June 9, police said. Lifeguards in an all-terrain vehicle coordinated the extraction from thick brush and a steep slope between Alta Laguna Park [...]
