Editor, I’ll believe the city wants to do the right thing on protecting our views when they bury our power poles first. What ever happened to the idea that trees are also beautiful? Jon Chance, Laguna Beach
Editor, Not since the 36-foot height limit was challenged years ago has such a sweeping change to the nature of Laguna Beach been about to become law. Under the current draft of the tree ordinance on the city site as of May 21, anyone can ask for trees to be removed that block their ocean [...]
Editor: The Citizens for View Preservation and Restoration (CVPR) has reviewed the view ordinance issued by the View Equity Committee on May 10, 2013. More about CVPR can be found at www.lagunaviews.net We believe “Views are irreplaceable, where trees and vegetation can be managed to protect our views.” We value our trees, but recognize that [...]
Editor: Catherine Cooper’s column, “A Question of Sustainability, “ May 17 edition, on CO2 levels being close to surpassing the 400 ppm at the recording station on Mauna Loa, is a reminder of the horrendous damage we are doing to our environment whether it be Hawaii or Laguna Beach. I have been attending the View [...]
Editor: I thought that some background on the trees planted in our downtown area might be of some interest to you and your readers. Not sure if anyone “alive” knows some of the background. Decades ago a major force in Los Angeles was a women named Mrs. Valley Knudsen. She was a supporter of planting [...]
Editor, Several years ago, Buena Park’s City Council decided to remove a whole street of beautiful old jacranda trees because their roots were affecting the sidewalk. I remember thinking, “Thank God I don’t live in a city where they would cut down old trees to maintain flat sidewalks.” Little did I know that I did live in such a city. Now we have [...]
Editor: Last Thursday night, a meeting was held at Moulton Meadows Park to discuss the possibility of locating a skateboard park there (“Residents Object to Skateboard Park,” May 17 edition). Some personal observations: Kudos to Steve Dicterow and Kelly Boyd for calling this gathering. A great example of democracy in action and the courage of [...]
Editor, 2013 has been an exciting year for the Laguna Food Pantry, and the month of May has produced much of that excitement. On May 10 at its Taste of Charity gala, the Laguna Board of Realtors honored our organization as one of this year’s recipients. Our board and volunteers are so grateful to LBR [...]
Editor, I write this is to comment on the story about the House of Design fundraiser for the Philharmonic Society and the designer of the master bedroom – Veldhuis (“Local Designers Add Their Mark to House of Design,” May 17 edition). The throw on the bed and the pillows were made of real fox fur, [...]
Editor, The steering committee of Citizens for View Preservation and Restoration has issued the attached position statement on the just released draft view ordinance. We strongly support Mayor Boyd’s initiative to create a view ordinance “with teeth in it”. However, we are concerned that the latest draft includes sections that will weaken the view ordinance. [...]
Editor, On Thursday, May 10 a ‘neighborhood’ meeting was held at Moulton Meadows Park. The meeting was called because Mayor Kelly Boyd, and Councilmen Steve Dicterow have been working tirelessly for months to finally get a skate park built here in Laguna Beach for our youth. They were able to get the renowned Tony Hawk [...]
Editor, Judging by the letters to the editor, public feedback to the city council and other community commentary, the decision to kill a dozen mature, healthy and beautiful trees may have been a mistake. If the ficus trees were buckling the sidewalks, the eucalyptus probably are too. Those could all come down also. Then change [...]
Editor, How many of us have parked on the north side of Laguna Canyon Road and crossed over to attend the Sawdust Festival despite signs warning us not to do so? So why do we make this perilous decision, especially at night? Because the nearest pedestrian walkway is waaaay too far!! Surely we can think [...]
Editor, May is National Bike Month, a perfect time for our community to recognize and celebrate all the benefits of bicycling. Bicycling keeps us healthy, carries us efficiently from point A to point B, saves us from high gas prices, and makes our air cleaner and our roads less congested. Bicycling is good for our [...]
Editor, I loved Susan Velasquez’ column today (“A Season for Change,” Arts, May 10 edition). Had my name, the band concert, the Laguna Tunes, the Healthy Girls Festival and all the news of each expressed so well. I think her writing is exquisite and I look forward to reading what she says and the way [...]
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 [...]
