Kelpfest Rolls Out a Month of Ocean Celebration and Awareness
By LB Indy Staff
Laguna Ocean Foundation kicked off National Ocean Month with its annual Kelpfest celebration held on National Ocean Day, last Saturday, June 8. The free festival featured live music from Mana and the Garden Band, ocean awareness activities, plenty of informational booths, games and art for ocean lovers young and
old. The fun will continue June 22 when Laguna Ocean Foundation, Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and The Ritual Refill team up to host a beach clean-up at Main Beach. Finally, National Ocean Month concludes with the Laguna Ocean Foundation and the Pacific Vocal Series Out of the Sea - Arts & Conservation on Friday, June 28, from 7 p.m. to 9
p.m. Hosted at the Rivian South Coast Theatre, the “Art for a Cause” recital invites listeners into a meaningful story of conservation and nature through music, cinematography, and curated storytelling, and features Southern California opera singer Jana McIntyre. Details about the upcoming events can be found at lagunaoceanfoundation.org.
‘Holmes and Watson’ at Laguna Playhouse is Awash in Enjoyable Red Herrings
By Eric Marchese |
Special to the LB Indy
Were the peerless detective Sherlock Holmes to meet his demise, who would plumb the mystery and catch the killer? That’s the tantalizing premise posited by Jeffrey Hatcher in his 2018 play “Holmes and Watson.” In Laguna Playhouse’s production, director David Ellenstein
and company sink their theatrical chops into this fast-moving, tantalizing mystery, taking us along for the ride and often leaving us breathless.
It’s 1894, and Dr. John Watson (Richard Baird) explains to us that it has been three years since he and Holmes were lured to Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland by the sleuth’s arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty,
where Watson saw Holmes plunge to his death.
Since then, though, Watson has heard of countless “false sightings” of Holmes, setting him on a task, he tells us, “To dispute the claims of these impersonators.”
The trail has led Watson to a secluded
PLAYHOUSE, PAGE 20
Laguna Art Museum Gets Wild with Fred Tomaselli: Second Nature
By LB Indy Staff
Laguna Art Museum will present Fred Tomaselli: Second Nature, set to showcase the influential work of Southern California-native artist, Fred Tomaselli. The exhibition explores the intersections of art, nature and contemporary culture, and will be on view from Oct. 6 to Feb. 2, 2025.
Fred Tomaselli, who grew up and formed his early artistic sensibilities in Southern California, attended California State University, Fullerton, where he graduated with a bachelor’s in painting and drawing in 1982. His work is deeply influenced by the fantasy culture and natural beauty of the coastal environment, themes that are prominently reflected in his artworks.
“Fred Tomaselli’s work offers a vital narrative emphasizing the beauty and turmoil of our times. His uncanny ability to incorporate contemporary issues within his unique and eye-catching artistic approach allows for important conversations and deeper enjoyment of his stunning work,” said Julie Perlin Lee, executive director of Laguna Art Museum.
The exhibition, guest-curated by Laguna Art Museum Curatorial Fellow Rochelle Steiner, will feature approximately 50 of Tomaselli’s new and recent works. The works highlight his unique approach
TOMASELLI, PAGE 3
THE ULTIMATE REAL ESTATE GUIDE FOR HOMEBUYERS & OWNERS IN NEWPORT BEACH AND LAGUNA BEACH
Left: Mana and the Garden Band play at Kelpfest. Above: Members of the public stop at one of the many informational booths to learn about ocean conservation during the 2024 Kelpfest. Photos courtesy of Jim Collins.
Celebrating Dad: Why Father’s Day Deserves More Love
By rachelle caNO
Why is it that Laguna Beach restaurants, for the most part, are not celebrating Father’s Day this coming Sunday with the same fervor as they do Mother’s Day?
After calling up all of Laguna Beach’s top restaurants listed online on review platforms and checking restaurant websites, only to find out there is no special celebration or menu for Father’s Day, I came to the conclusion that even Laguna Beach and its most beloved restaurants are passively and collectively dissing dads–those fathers who are equally important in the family structure, yet historically, do not evoke the same sentimental or societal emotions that surround motherhood.
The stark differences in how America celebrates Father’s Day compared to Mother’s Day largely stem from cultural, historical, and longstanding social constructs
Tomaselli
1
tied to traditional gender roles. However, should there be a disparity in honoring those who gave us life and nurtured us into adulthood? It seems society is still fixated on these set gender roles without considering how they may have evolved or the equal importance of each in parenting. Many single fathers today are as nurturing as any mother, demonstrating that being a dad transcends the traditional roles of ‘protector’ and ‘provider.’
Responsibilities and tasks have increasingly crossed gender lines, with children now turning to both parents for emotional support and understanding. Perhaps it was always this way, but less apparent when fathers consciously adhered to expected traits and roles. I believe we need to show our fathers more love for all their previous roles in our lives.
For those of us who grew up in the last century, celebrating our fathers was a family affair that we cherished just as much as celebrating our mothers. While dining out wasn’t always the tradition, times have changed. Today, fathers have evolved in their tastes and ideas for marking special occasions, deserving the same festive recognition and appreciation as mothers. But it seems the anticipation of the day has since diminished, and marketing efforts are practically non-existent. You will not see a flower ad for Father’s Day, or items pushed beyond the gadgets advertised at hardware
to collage-based resin paintings and his engagement with topics such as global warming, the impact of the pandemic and today’s most pressing social issues.
“Tomaselli’s work is a powerful exploration of the world at large through ideas of individual perception, shared reality, and the altered states between,” said Rochelle Steiner, guest curator for the exhibition. “This exhibition promises to provide an insightful look at today’s most pressing issues by considering collisions of nature and culture, humans and animals, science and art and our need to process the fever pitch noise that surrounds modern life.”
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Laguna Art Museum will publish a fully illustrated catalog authored by Rochelle Steiner;
stores that further portray father in the utilitarian light vs. the caring and nurturing role he often plays in the lives of his children. The commercialization of Father’s Day has not kept pace with changing societal norms to include dining experiences as much as power tools and barbeques.
But what if Dad now prefers gnocchi or huevos rancheros at his favorite beachside restaurant over a ribeye? He doesn’t have a choice unless his family does a little legwork to scout out which restaurants are going out of their way for dads. In my search, I found a few chefs who are also young fathers themselves and who value this special holiday day enough to create special menus. I’m impressed.
The two I found have thoughtfully
it will also feature a conversation between Tomaselli and writer Dan Nadel and include images of all of the works in the exhibition. Specially designed by Barbara Glauber/ Heavy Meta, the catalog provides insights into Tomaselli’s West Coast inspirations and deeper understanding and appreciation of his recent practice. The publication will be available in late 2024.
The exhibition aligns with the museum’s annual Art + Nature initiative and will include public programs such as a talk by Fred Tomaselli on Oct. 6. Further details about the series of talks, and lectures elaborating on the exhibition themes, as well as the launch of the new publication, will be announced.
created a menu for Father’s Day I’d like to share with Laguna Beach readers.
Executive and Celebrity ChefPartner Amar Santana and his business partner, Ahmed Labbate of Vaca and Broadway, did not forget Dad. Oh, no, they have created a special menu that will definitely get Dad away from the television and into the restaurant to enjoy amazing food and drinks and, most of all, to create special memories with the people he loves. Aside from the special menu, Broadway has something for just about everyone. What if Dad could put down the barbecue tools, turn off the TV, and have a world-class grilled prime New York steak prepared just right for him? He’d definitely feel like a king, much like a mother feels
CANO, PAGE 22
Did you know… Laguna Beach taxpayers subsidized city visitors by more than $20 million in 2017; how high is it now?
Ref: Balancing the costs and revenues research paper, posted on Village Laguna’s website
Ad paid for by Village Laguna
Fred Tomaselli’s Irwin’s Garden, 2023, acrylic, photo collage, leaves, and resin on wood panel, 48 x 48 inches, courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York, 2024. Photo/Dan Bradica Studio
Above left: Executive Chef Amar Santana has created a special Father’s Day menu at Broadway by Amar Santana. Photo/Amar Santana. Above right: Shrimp Diablo is part of Newport Beach’s Todos Santos’ Father’s Day menu. Photo/Rachelle Cano
Laguna Beach Business Club 2024
Speaker Series: Mark Kelly
Laguna Beach Business Club’s June 20 speaker is Mark Kelly, founder of Silicon Storm. The LBBC holds monthly breakfast meetings starting at 7:30 a.m. and hosts speakers who discuss topics valuable to achieving personal and professional success. Kelly will discuss his career, past and future projects and the phenomenon of copyright and patent trolls.
Most recently, Kelly founded Silicon Storm, a technology development company that focuses on creating cutting-edge hardware and software applications for User Experiences, Product Development, Augmented/ Virtual/Mixed Reality, and AI solutions.
Meetings are hosted at Nirvana Grill, 303 Broadway St., #101, Laguna Beach, Calif. 92651. Non-members are welcome. The non-member guest fee is $30, payable by Venmo or cash/ check payable to the Laguna Beach Business Club the day of the meeting. Space is limited. Guests, be sure you receive RSVP confirmation. For more information about the LBBC or to register, visit lagunabeachbusinessclub.com or email Info@ LagunaBeachBusinessClub.com.
Town Crier
IN AND AROUND LAGUNA BEACH
Laguna Playhouse Announces: The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron? And Woody Sings: The Musical Legacy Of Woody Guthrie Laguna Playhouse has two special events coming up this June. Robert Dubac’s critically acclaimed, hilarious and insightful, “The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron?” and an evening of music from the legendary American songwriter Woody Guthrie, Woody Sings: The Musical Legacy of Woody
Guthrie” starring award-winning actor/singer David M. Lutken and his band of talented multi-instrumentalists. Both shows will perform beginning the week of June 26 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Drive in Laguna Beach. Tickets can be purchased online at lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling 949-497-2787. Laguna Playhouse is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.
Laguna Beach’s Only Community Theatre Reaches Halfway Point Matching Grant Challenge
Thanks to a generous group of donors, beginning with the late Jon Cobain for creating the fundraiser, No Square Theatre is more than halfway to its $100,000 matching grant challenge. “Through the generosity of our most supportive community members, we launched this fundraiser with a bang,” said board member Dr. Tom Bent. “We want others to know that Laguna’s beloved Lagunatics of 20 years could be funded for the next five years due to Jon Cobain’s generous gift if we meet the challenge and we just need a little more support to reach our goal. Of course, if we exceed it, all the better for Laguna’s only commu-
nity theatre.”
No Square Theatre launched its $100,000 challenge grant in May with a successful kick-off party.
No Square said that thanks to the generosity of Dr. Tom and Carolyn Bent, Greg and Barbara MacGillivray, Janet Chance and John Loomis, Chris Quilter, Patrick Quilter, George Heed and others, the kick-off evening reached $50,000 plus in pledges.
June at the Susi Q: You, too, can play the ukulele or catch a co-ed core strengthening class
Tom Joliet, Laguna Beach’s popular ukulele instructor, will be offering both beginning and intermediate classes in person at the Susi Q this June and July.
No prior music knowledge is needed for the beginning class. Starting with ground zero basics, by the end of nine week’s participants will have been introduced to 13 chords, five strum patterns and over 35 songs.
The beginning class takes place between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. from Thursday, June 20 to Aug. 29, with a break from July 4. Fee is $70.
CRIER, PAGE 18
www.lagunabeachaesthetics.com 949.415.4310
Laguna Beach Business Club’s June 20 speaker is Mark Kelly, founder of Silicon Storm. Photo courtesy of Mark Kelly
Due to printing logistics, home delivery of the paper for next week will take place on Saturday, June 22nd. Bulk copies will be available at our more than 100 locations on Friday as usual.
VIEW THE FULL ISSUE OF THE INDY ONLINE AT LAGUNABEACHINDY.COM
LBUSD Should Reconsider Pool Size
As a Laguna Beach resident, I would like the Laguna Beach Unified School District’s actions and direction regarding the redevelopment of the high school aquatic facilities to address the actual needs of the high school and address and respond to residents’ concerns regarding the redevelopment.
The city has announced it will not be participating in this project. This decision eliminates city-sponsored programs and significantly reduces the number of individuals utilizing the high school facilities. Due to these factors, it is prudent for the LBUSD to direct staff to include in any further design work the previously proposed 35–38-meter competitive pool. A smaller pool will meet the routine needs of the high school, meet the competition needs for the student aquatic programs, reduce construction time, minimize the impact on the neighborhood, and reduce construction traffic congestion. As a bonus, a smaller pool will cost significantly less to build and maintain.
Since the pool will be a high school pool, not a high school/community pool, the LBUSD must reevaluate and adjust the needs assessment accordingly. Please reconsider the 35-38meter pool design in the planning process.
CITY HALL MEETINGS:
Thank you for your consideration and willingness to include residents in future design workshops and committees.
Robin K. Hall, Laguna Beach
School Year Ending is New Beginning
We all want our young people to have big dreams come true, including the LBHS Class of 2024. We are reminded that our highest duty is to give children hope for the future, knowing we care about their choices and that what they do with their lives matters.
LETTERS, PAGE 9
theIndyPoll
LAST WEEK’S QUESTION
After the recent opening of Laguna Woods’ cannabis dispensary, should Laguna Beach follow suit?
- Yes 42.86% (3 votes)
- No 57.14% (40 votes))
TOTAL VOTES: 70
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION
Do you support Neighborhood Congregational Church’s affordable housing project, which hopes to bring 72 affordable studios to Laguna Beach?
- Yes - No TO VOTE, VISIT THE POLL TAB AT LAGUNABEACHINDY.COM. SUBMIT POLL QUESTIONS TO CLARA@FIREBRANDMEDIAINC.COM. The LagunaBeachIndy.com
June 19 -Administrative Design Review Meeting at 3 p.m. June 19 - Planning Commission at 6 p.m.
Alex Rounaghi Mayor Pro Tem arounaghi@ lagunabeachcity.net
DESIGN REVIEW BOARD
SECOND AND FOURTH THURSDAYS, 5 PM
LOUIS WEIL: lweil@lagunabeachcity.net
KRISTINE THALMAN: kthalman@lagunabeachcity.net
DON SHERIDAN: dsheridan@lagunabeachcity.net
JESSICA GANNON: jgannon@lagunabeachcity.net
TOM GIBBS: tgibbs@lagunabeachcity.net
George Weiss Council member gweiss@lagunabeachcity.net
PLANNING COMMISSION
1ST AND 3RD WEDNESDAYS, 6 PM
STEVEN KELLENBERG, steve@kellenbergstudio.com
KEN SADLER: 616-0517, ken.sadler@cox.net
JORG DUBIN: 497-2618, jdubinart@cox.net
STEVE GOLDMAN: 203-554-2290, steveg415@ymail.com
SUSAN McLINTOCK WHITIN: 838-6317, whitinsusan@gmail.com
lagunabeachcity.net
OTHER ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES: REP. KATIE PORTER,, 1113 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515. 202-225-2415
EDITORIAL
MANAGING EDITOR
Clara Beard clara@firebrandmediainc.com
DESIGN
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Tracy Powell
SALES
ADVERTISING SALES TEAM
Carol Josepher
Chris Mattingley
Adrienne Kruse
Mara Hertel
PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Tina Leydecker tina@firebrandmediainc.com
ADVERTISING & CIRCULATION: Tel: 949 715-4100; Fax: 949 715-4106
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Tiffany Thompson
MAILING ADDRESS: 900 Glenneyre St., Suite B Laguna Beach, CA 92651 Tel: 949-715-4100; Fax: 949 715-4106 www.lbindy.com
A publication of
PUBLISHER
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Steve Zepezauer
CREATIVE &
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Tracy Powell
PRESIDENT OF SALES & MARKETING
Scott Sanchez
OUR LETTER POLICY
E-mail letters to: Clara@firebrandmediainc.com
Letters strengthen community ties and provide a community forum open to all. Due to space constraints we ask letter writers to limit their topics to local concerns, make their submissions exclusive to the Indy alone and be of 400 words or less. Letters should be submitted by Tuesday, 5 p.m. They may be edited for clarity, length or appropriateness as needed. We decline to publish letters that we perceive as personal attacks, even of public figures. We strive for civil discourse over ideas and issues, not personalities. Letter writers must supply their name and contact information. Published letters will only use the writer’s name and city of residence. E-mail letters are preferred.
FOR
PLEASE
949-715-4100 delivery@firebrandmediainc.com
Sue Kempf Mayor skempf@lagunabeachcity.net
Bob Whalen Council member bwhalen@lagunabeachcity.net
Mark Orgill Council member morgill@lagunabeachcity.net
Ann Marie McKay City Clerk amckay@lagunabeachcity.net
Laura Parisi City Treasurer lparisi@
Heidi Cleveland at Douglas Elliman
The Village of Laguna Beach
Updated Cottage With Views
667 Glenneyre Street, Laguna Beach
$2,995,000 | 3 BR, 3 BA
Approx. 1,459sf | Approx. 2,825sf Lot
Nestled in the heart of Laguna Beach, this welcoming cottage embodies the quintessential coastal lifestyle, offering a harmonious blend of historic charm and modern convenience. This home provides unique opportunities as it is located in the Local Business Professional (LBP) zone, which allows for office/professional uses, service-oriented businesses, and potential short-term rentals. Web# LG23147319
In Escrow
556 Through Street, Laguna Beach
$2,222,222 | 2 BR, 1 BA
Approx. 961sf | Approx. 6,000sf Lot
Just moments away from Main Beach and the vibrant Village, this enchanting cottage epitomizes the quintessential Laguna Beach lifestyle. Warmth and character abound from the moment you enter the front porch. Web# LG24097363
In Escrow
464 El Bosque, Laguna Beach
$4,250,000 | 3 BR, 2.5 BA
Approx. 1,903sf | Approx. 6,480sf Lot
Meander up the pathway to this enchanting 1933 home that was beautifully restored by Andra Miller with exquisite attention to detail while retaining its original character. Ideally situated on El Bosque in the heart of the Village of Laguna Beach. Web# LG23147319
GUEST OPINION: RANDOM GUY NOTICING STUFF
Information Rich, Information Poor — Your Choice
By Gary Stewart
In last week’s edition, Indy columnist Tom Osborne described a recent event providing information about home electrification. The keynote speaker, Peter Marsh, spoke about numerous aspects of what benefits home electrification offers, what it entails, and how to personalize an electrification plan for whatever makes sense for your home. In addition, the organizations that also participated (Quit Carbon, OC Goes Solar, and Switch Is On) provided excellent resources to anyone contemplating electrification upgrades to their
home. Quit Carbon, as one example, is a non-profit that offers a free in-home consultation to analyze the electrification options and makes referrals to contractors they have vetted. If the homeowner has work done by one of the named contractors, the non-profit gets a finder’s fee. OC Goes Solar is all about “simplifying the process of going solar for residents.” It provides relevant instruction, pre-selects equipment, negotiates prices and warranties. They have partnered with the City of Irvine. Group purchasing reduces prices for the homeowner, both for solar panels and battery storage.
This event was information rich.
I recently had occasion to watch an hour of CNN, which allegedly is a major source of information in the world. That was not my experience.
For a non-TV watcher, the amount of advertising was jarring. Secondly, the programming was extraordinarily narrow. What I watched was so obsessed with every minuscule detail and rampant speculation about Donald Trump’s election interference trial that it might as well have been renamed DonaldTrump’sTrial.com.
What most consider “normal” advertising stood out as bizarre. The hyper-reality of idealized colors, textures and smiles. People constantly smiling, even when the pharmaceutical ad voice-over is talking about medication side effects that “can be fatal.” Super-quick edits, innumerable details that emerge upon repeated viewings, the sad tail end of celebrityhood (yes, Martha Stewart selling kitty litter), cutesy last-second endings, and always, always, the honed messaging music, down to the millisecond.
CNN.com explains that its goal is to provide “ads that are relevant to you.”
And yes, there is a world of difference compared to what is advertised during the Super Bowl: Cars, trucks, movies and the latest technology. CNN viewers are apparently people whose eyes, ears, teeth, skin and erectile function are failing, obsessed with their pets, their appearance, and being clean, but still love a good snack now and then, like a foot-long cookie from Subway. How often did I hear the phrase, “Ask your doctor about…” some cutting-edge (and expensive) medication? Plus, never forget that you can get a monetary settlement if you have mesothelioma.
The advertising on a Perry Mason rerun was so similar that you could switch from Trump’s real trial to a Perry Mason fictional trial without missing out on your favorite smiling actors. (Full disclosure – I won the Perry Mason Find-The-Murderer sweepstakes that my friends and I held over a semester – four points if you correctly name the murderer in the first 15 minutes, down to one point if you name the murderer right before they break down and confess. I acknowledge that my willingness to sit through these OMG-ads was greater, but even so, I don’t think I could last more than a few shows.)
One way to identify that an information desert is posing as an information fountain is that the small amount of information is endlessly repeated. This is bipartisan. The Substack blog Decoding Fox News compares each week’s content on Fox News shows and NPR and lists major news stories that Fox News did not mention. For the week ending March 22, there were 33 unmentioned topics, which included updates about the violence in Gaza and the war in Ukraine and articles
STEWART,
We do that best by supporting families and students through proven education programs that empower young people with competence and skills to endure challenges, but still find their purpose and succeed.
Now, as the 2023–2024 school year ends, we hear more voices in the public school community committed to balancing modernization and tradition to enrich the quality of both education and family life in our town.
That includes the Laguna Beach Parents Club (LBPC), exemplifying local “self-help” networks supporting resourceful parents seeking a balance in life and school best for themselves and their children.
LBPC recently was to co-host a “Parents Night Out” in partnership with SchoolPower, our most prominent public school “self-help” organization. That kind of collaboration is how small-town cohesiveness is strengthened even as we innovate and modernize, especially when we reach out to meet special needs in the community.
The volunteer civic coalition
Sensible Laguna is another example of positive grassroots “self-help” and bottom-up activism that can unite people instead of top-down outcomes that too often divide us.
When the school board rejected proposed neighborhood and community consultations before funding plans for modernization of LBHS and LBUSD offices, the Sensible Laguna network did research and data gathering school board and staff failed to do.
Sensible Laguna didn’t cause but thankfully exposed a glaring lack of an informed meeting of the minds between the city council and school board regarding costs, management, benefits and burdens of a new expanded combination city and public school aquatics facility.
That turned out to be the tip of the iceberg ahead for the school board facilities plans. Sensible Laguna reminds us positive change requires telling hard truths, and the harder the truth the truer the friend who tells it.
For my generation of local school alumni, LBPC and Sensible Laguna are reminiscent of successful self-help networking by our grandparents in 1930s and 1940s, when our parents, aunts and uncles attended the new high school, always a neighborhood school serving the whole community, which needed and got active public support.
Howard Hills, LBHS Class of 1970
Help Our Town
I dream of summer days with my family spent by the beach I have watched my kids grow up on. We don’t have the luxury of vacationing outside of this beautiful town, but never really yearned to leave Laguna. Our beaches keep our family here as we commute out of the county for our
jobs, and some leave for school. But now, I struggle to find what keeps us here as 23-year residents.
For the past couple of years, I have watched our beaches turn to nothing less than “trash “on any given summer day. This year has brought some of the worst crowds( mid-June, stay tuned!) I have ever seen. I am heartbroken. The only thing that was left in this city has now lost its beauty. We have allowed the tourists
and day trippers to take over this entire community completely. I ask the mayor and council members what the vision for our city is? It seems lost, buried underneath stacks of useless paperwork for promenades and parking. When will the powers that be wake up and see that we are dying a slow death? Revitalize our town to get some tourists who spend money on things besides ice cream and the occasional beach toy. They will come!
Give us surveys about what we want changed in our town, what we want to see and need, not how you’re doing. Help businesses open that will help our economy aesthetically and economically. You need a task force with residents who love and respect this town to help it get back up. Enough is enough. Please save Laguna.
Jay Niederberger, Laguna Beach
Street Beat
EXCERPTS FROM POLICE LOGS
Thursday, June 6
DUI. Sabastian David Clavijo, 24, of Mission Viejo was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving causing bodily injury. He was held on a $100,000.
Friday, June 7
DUI. A 62-year-old Laguna Beach man was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. He was held on $2,500 bail.
Vandalism, burglary. Anika Baima, 26, of Laguna Beach was arrested on suspicion of vandalism and burglary. She was held on a $40,000 bail.
Vandalism, burglary. Patrick Jonathan Meyer, 32, of Laguna Beach was arrested on suspicion of vandalism and burglary. He was held on a $40,000 bail.
Saturday, June 8
Disorderly conduct. Dashel Tarne Piersonplesa, 32, of Los Angeles was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct. He was held on $500 bail.
Bench warrant. Andrew James Hickey, 58, of Laguna Beach was arrested on suspicion of an outstanding bench warrant. He was held without bail.
DUI. A 20-year-old Fullerton woman was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. She was held on a $2,500 bail.
Sunday, June 9
Bench warrant. Brunilda Rios, 41, of Downey was arrested on suspicion of an outstanding bench warrant. She was held without bail.
Trespassing. Moses Kidd, 36, of San Diego was arrested on suspicion of trespassing. He was held without bail.
Battery on person, disorderly conduct. David Edward Lente, 58, of Laguna Beach was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and battery on a person. He was held on $1,000 bail.
Monday, June 10
Bench warrant. Alejandro Antonio Armenta, 33, of Anaheim was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance and five outstanding bench warrants. He was held without bail.
Tuesday, June 11
DUI, obstructing a police officer, throwing substance at vehicle. Brian John Douglas Kennedy, 43, of Gardena was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, obstructing a police officer, throwing a substance at a vehicle and driving a vehicle while addicted. He was held on a $5,500 bail.
Possessing marijuana for sale. Tyler Brandon Vidro, 23, of Marina del Ray was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana for sale.
Bench warrant, possession of a controlled substance. Jayryan Samsona Basiao, 30, of Laguna Hills was arrested on suspicion of a felony bench warrant and possession of a controlled substance. He was held without bail.
Trespassing. Marcus Frank Zavala, 50, of Laguna Beach was arrested on suspicion of occupying property without consent. He was held on a $500 bail.
Wednesday, June 12 No arrests reported.
PAGE 8
about climate change, corruption, and things making life more difficult for millions of Americans, such as shrinking federal housing assistance.
Takeaway: If you want to inform yourself without becoming the product that the media outlet is selling to advertisers, you have to look. Consider: Our local library has 539 items related to “Global Warming,” including numerous books and DVDs, which are free of ads for hearing aids or snack foods. To identify podcasts that are providing valid information, not disinformation, take the free online course Checkology from the News Literacy Project.
Get informed, not sold.
Dr. Stewart, a native of St. Petersburg, Florida, stopped in Nashville and St. Louis for education before arriving in Southern California in 1977. A happily married internal medicine physician with three accomplished children, he is equally enthusiastic about the arts (piano player, art collector, bachelor’s in English, widely read), the sciences (physician, climate activist with Citizens’ Climate Lobby) and fun.
City Releases Residents’ Feedback from First Facilities Master Plan Workshop
By Clara Beard | LB Indy
The City of Laguna Beach recently released its findings from the first public meeting regarding the new Facilities Master Plan.
The May 16 meeting at the Susi Q marked the plan’s first phase: assessing and addressing the needs of more than 288,000 square feet of facilities across Laguna Beach.
During this process, city staff will collect ideas and feedback from residents on public safety buildings, community and art centers, parking lots, library and more. The first meeting focused on the Community & Recreation Center and Susi Q, Festival of Arts and Laguna Beach Playhouse, Laguna Beach Animal Shelter and library.
“Listening to residents and understanding their perspectives on the history, use, and vision for our facilities provides invaluable insights toward developing the Facilities Master Plan,” said Gavin Curran, assistant city manager. “Their feedback will help create a plan that reflects the community’s needs and improves facilities that serve everyone in Laguna Beach.”
Susi Q and Community & Recreation Center
The city reported that residents voiced the need for more meeting spaces for nonprofits, improved parking and accessibility and better use and modernization of the center’s existing spaces. Residents found emergency and digital capabilities also necessary, along with the addition of outdoor and social spaces like bocce ball courts and lounges. Some suggested temporary and rooftop community pools.
Festival of Arts and Laguna Beach Playhouse
Residents’ feedback highlighted the
need for ADA compliance and structural updates at the Playhouse. Suggestions included repurposing existing spaces for arts centers, such as tennis courts. Attendees also identified a need for more performance and rehearsal spaces. Parking issues, especially during peak times, were also a concern. There was also strong support for expanding spaces dedicated to performing arts.
Laguna Beach Animal Shelter Workshop participants stressed expanding the shelter’s space and improving its outdated building structure. Upgraded technology to give better information about the animals and dedicated adoption spaces were also raised, along with enhancements to volunteer facilities and ADA compliance, the need for power backup systems and overall facility resilience during emergencies.
Laguna Beach Library
Participants supported keeping the library downtown while undergoing comprehensive renovations to improve study spaces and meeting areas. Addressing parking and traffic issues around the library was a key concern. Residents also suggested incorporating local art and expanding the library’s role as a cultural and educational hub, emphasizing its cultural, historical and communal importance.
Additional Feedback
During the meeting, residents also made note of more general issues facing Laguna, including the need for better parking solutions citywide and offering creative options like converting fields into parking lots. There were calls for improved mobility plans to address the lack of bike and pedestrian infrastructure and suggestions to lessen traffic and noise pollution around neighborhoods.
New Ordinance Requires Laguna Landlords to Inform City of Future Tenant Evictions Community
Workshop on Ordinance to be Held June 18
By Clara Beard | LB Indy
The City of Laguna Beach recently adopted Ordinance 1696 which establishes new notice and reporting requirements for tenant evictions.
City officials voted the ordinance into place to improve transparency and adherence to state laws, specifically Assembly Bill 1482 and Senate Bill 567.
The ordinance went into effect on April 12.
“This ordinance adds important safeguards protecting the rights of
tenants and ensuring transparency in the eviction process,” said Councilmember Bob Whalen, who spearheaded the effort. “By requiring timely submission of eviction notices and providing tenants with access to critical information, we are fostering a more equitable and accountable housing environment in Laguna Beach. Our community deserves to be informed and supported, and this ordinance is a crucial step in that direction.”
PAGE 19
GUEST OPINION:
The Great Laguna Drone Fiasco
By michael ray
Our esteemed City Council appoints the Environmental and Sustainability Committee, which “provide(s) recommendations to the City Council on matters pertaining to the environment and sustainability.”
The city does have substantial issues on the environment, the most pressing of which is the City’s very own toxic waste dump. Let me
explain. Laguna owns and operates its water and sewage systems, and according to state water resources data, we---hey, Laguna residents, US!! WE!!---have dumped some 2.7 million gallons of raw sewage into our own ocean since 2007. This is more than ANY public agency in Orange or northern San Diego counties. Yes, raw sewage. The kind that kills fish, people, and little puppies.
This has been going on for years, yet the city has done nothing about it. NOTHING. Instead, in a move to demonstrate it can do something, anything, and perfectly designed to piss off most Laguna residents, the Council just voted to accept a committee recommendation to ban our annual Laguna Fourth of July fireworks show!!! You know, the one in which more than 20,000 locals and visitors ohh and awe, children scream with delight, and is punctuated with competing firework blasts from Emerald Bay.
In its stead, we will get….wait for it…wait…A DRONE SHOW!!!!
Yes, instead of July 4th fireworks, we’ll get a drone show. The reasoning is so quintessential Laguna Beach, I almost want to cry---or vomit. Here are quotes from Committee
and Council members: (from “The Register”) “Fireworks would spook the dogs into running wild in the streets; vets would get PTSD; and “Thousands of people watching the show (are) from out of town and … there’s a riot when they leave.”
It’s so stupid, it should have its own meme: an image of a lunatic screaming, “We don’t really do something of consequence---or for that matter, anything--- so we’ll pretend we’re doing something by banning the most popular annual event, the 4th of July fireworks celebration!!!”
Instead, the city will sponsor a frigging drone show.
For twice the cost.
I looked up how drone shows usually work. They depend upon hundreds of drones attached to and pulling huge nets of lights into the sky creating images like an American Flag while huge loudspeakers blare out songs such as the Star-Spangled Banner. Oh boy, can’t wait for that!!
There are two major problems with this. First, coastal fog; on the 4th, it usually is foggy and if it is too thick, it is not safe enough to fly the drones, nor can they be seen properly, and the show would be
cancelled. Secondly, drone shows depend upon hearing music from huge loudspeakers---which is fine in a stadium, but not over Laguna. The acoustics would never work. Yes, over Main Beach you would hear them, maybe, but not in the hills, north Laguna, south Laguna, or anywhere else.
So, when the thousands of families fire up their barbecues, fry their hamburgers, and wait until that magic time of the evening as the sky turns fully dark (usually about 9:15) when the fireworks usually start to explode over our heads, what will we get? A lame drone performance that might be cancelled, music we cannot hear, and a disappointed and angry audience.
But hey, this is Laguna Beach. We don’t solve real problems, like the fixing the worst human waste system in Southern California, or actually building the permanent promenade, fixing Laguna Canyon Road, or you know, anything of consequence.
No, we nibble around the edges and do something stupid, outlawing one evening of fireworks in celebration of America. If you are as angry as me, please email Mayor Sue Kempf at skempf@ lagunabeachcity.net, or Mayor Pro Tem Alex Rounaghi at arounaghi@ lagunabeachcity.net.
It is not too late.
Laguna Board of Realtors Spreads Sunshine With Summer Care Packages for Seniors
By LB Indy Staff
As the summer sun cast its warm glow, the Laguna Board of Realtors (LBOR) Community Outreach Committee came together to spread joy and care to those who need it most.
With an initiative as heartwarming as it is vital, LBOR volunteers filled care packages with essentials and
treats for seniors a couple of weeks ago. These summer care packages were not just a collection of items. They represented a collective effort to brighten the lives of our beloved seniors.
LBOR Community Outreach Committee chair Kendall Clark, in coordination with Susi Q’s Aging in Place Service Director Rickie
Redman, spearheaded the effort. Contributions poured in from LBOR members to stock the packages, recognizing the need and wanting to give back on a “Day of Love.”
The summer care packages were more than just a collection of practical items; they delivered a little bit of sunshine to the residents’ doorsteps. The packages were
crafted for those needing items to keep them cool through the warm summer months, and each was carefully curated to cater to the recipients’ physical and emotional needs. Practical essentials such as non-perishable food items, hydration drinks, reusable straws, lip balm, lotion, cooling towels, a deck of cards and uplifting notes from volunteers.
Above: Left to right, Brendy Michael of Compass, Kendall Clark of Berkshire Hathaway and Cherese Denny of Coldwell Banker Realty. Above right, some of the completed care package put together by Laguna Board of Realtors wait for distribution. Photo/LBOR
BREAKER SPORTS UPDATE
By Frank Aronoff | LB Indy
LATE SPRING SPORT
HONORS
ALL-CIF Honors
The All-Southern Section Spring CIF teams were announced last week, with the Breakers earning honors in girls’ lacrosse for the second straight season. Girls’ lacrosse has been a sport at Laguna for seven seasons, and Laguna experienced its best run this past year, with a 13-6 overall record under coach Paul Storke.
2024 Honorees:
1st Team: Ruby Sampson (Jr) 2nd Team: Tess Smialowicz (Jr) Summer DiMaggio (Sr)
OCADA AWARDS
The Orange County Athletic Directors held their annual awards event on Monday, June 3, at Servite High School. Once again, a Laguna athlete earned league Athlete of the Year honors representing the Sunset Conference. Ava Knepper (water polo, swimming) was selected for the 8-team conference along with Huntington Beach softball athlete Zoe Prystajko. Knepper will continue her career at SC, while Prystajko will
Sports/Schools
SUBMISSIONS WELCOME BY 5 PM TUESDAY
attend Stanford. Knepper joins five other Laguna athletes who earned Sunset recognition in the six seasons the Breakers have been conference members.
Past Laguna Sunset Winners: 2023 – none selected from Laguna 2022 – Will Kelly, Ava Houlahan 2021 – Mateo Bianchi
2020 – Logan Brooks
2019 – Ryan Smithers Next season, the Breakers will rejoin the Pacific Coast League (except football), with competition beginning this August.
SUMMER NOTES:
Laguna Beach High School
Athletics summer programs will start soon. Check out the programs for all sports at lbhs.lbusd.org. Baseball’s program begins July 1 to July 26.
Boys Cross Country is July 8 to Aug. 24 from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at El Moro. The Thurston Middle School camp is the week of Aug. 12, the same time and location as the high school program. The 2024 fall season officially starts Aug. 26.
Girls Cross County runs July 8 to Aug. 20 from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Ava Knepper Named Sunset Conference Female Athlete of the Year
outstanding athletic achievements and dedication to sport.
A standout athlete, Knepper has achieved success in both water polo and swimming throughout her high school career, including secondteam All-Sunset League, secondteam All-County, and second-team All-CIF Open Division during her sophomore and junior years. In her senior year, she earned first-team All-Sunset League, co-MVP of the Sunset League, first-team All-County and first-team All-CIF Open Division honors.
By Clara Beard | LB Indy Laguna
Beach High School senior
Ava Knepper has been named the Sunset Conference Female Athlete of the Year by the Orange County Athletic Directors’ Association (OCADA).
Knepper was honored on June 3 at OCADA’s Athlete of the Year dinner held at Servite High School. The recognition acknowledges
“Ava Knepper is a truly unique and special talent,” LBUSD Athletic Administrator Denise Selbe said. “Being named the Sunset Conference Female Athlete of the Year is a testament to her dedication and hard work. We are incredibly proud of her accomplishments and excited to see her continue her athletic journey at USC.”
Brian Krinsky, Jared McLenigan, and Lauren Weinberg. Photo by Aaron Rumley.
Ava Knepper receives the Athlete of the Year award from CIF Commissioner Mike West. Photo courtesy of Orange County Athletic Directors
KNEPPER, PAGE 18
Letter to the Community
By DaVe KiFF, city maNaGer
We’ve gotten some good comments recently about adding back in an online platform (like Zoom) that would allow more people to offer their thoughts about city issues and items before the city council.
With the important caveat that I wasn’t here to experience the earlier Zoom bombing events in Laguna (such as the council meeting on Feb. 13), my previous employer had seen these, too. As I know you’ll agree, those interactions are traumatic for all, but especially for persons who may already feel marginalized or “othered” in society.
On the other hand, Zoom allows greater participation from many, including busy parents, seniors, mobility-impaired individuals and others who may not find it easy to attend in person.
Balancing the goals of increased access and ensuring that in-person attendees, council members, and city staff are somewhat protected from traumatizing speech isn’t easy. Because City Hall and council meetings are a workplace, we are especially aware of how we must avoid speech that can cause racebased, religion-based, or gender- or orientation-based trauma.
We did ask our city attorney to take a look at this and to specifically see if we could interrupt a person using hateful speech during a Zoom bombing. Here’s what she thought (and I’m paraphrasing):
The effective way to cut off or end hateful speech is to determine that the comments are out of line because the comments are unrelated to city business. But, if the city and community want to continue to have the city celebrate things like LGBTQ+ Pride month or Juneteenth, then someone making hateful speech might have a case that their hateful speech IS related to City business. In that instance, we’d likely have to endure the hateful speech.
I worry, too, that as November
nears, the national discourse will get rougher. If (or when) that translates into local discourse—or non-local folks joining in on our discourse in a toxic way—then that will be both hard to stop and disruptive to community decorum and city business. It will also hurt those who can’t escape it (such as in-person audience members and our city workforce).
This is just my opinion, and I am
not a council member of course, but it may make the most sense to keep watching the law and the technology to see if protections can be improved, and to revisit our online platforms after November. In the meantime, I know that all of us want to hear your voices— whether that be in person, via email or by letter—and we warmly invite you to participate in the city council meetings. Find out more
about how you can participate on the city website at lagunabeachcity. net.
Thanks for your patience and understanding as we navigate this. Your involvement is essential as we work to ensure safe and inclusive participation for all. As always, I enjoy hearing from you on this and any other city issue – you can always email me directly at dkiff@ lagunabeachcity.net.
OBITUARY
In Loving Memory Phillip Winton (Phil) Good 1938 – 2024
Phillip Winton (Phil) Good passed away peacefully and with family present on May 27, 2024, at his home in Fallbrook, Calif. at the age of 85.
Phil was born on July 8, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Okla., to Howard Winton Good and Clara Inez (Arnett) Good, who predeceased him in 2008. The family moved first to Wichita, Kansas. and then to Gunnison, Colo. before arriving in Southern California shortly after World War II. The Goods ended up calling Laguna Beach home for over a decade, where Howard established himself as a custom home builder, and Inez ran the very successful “Good Real Estate” office in town. At the same time, Phil and his brother Mike surfed, played football and ran track.
Upon graduating from Laguna Beach High School in 1957, Phil relocated around Southern California while putting himself through college. After stints at Pasadena City College and Orange Coast College, Phil graduated with a criminology degree from Cal State, Long Beach. He later received his master’s in public administration from the University of Southern California.
In 1963, Phil enlisted in the California Army National Guard, serving at Fort Ord, Calif., Fort Lewis, Wash., and Camp San Luis Obispo, Calif. before being commissioned as an infantry officer in 1966. As a lieutenant, he served as a platoon leader in several units before assuming command of Co A, 3rd Bn 160th Infantry (Fullerton Armory), completing his service in 1970.
After graduating from college, Phil began working as a counselor at Orange County Juvenile Hall, where he met and, in 1968, married a young probation officer, Carol Jean Witkowski of San Diego. Thereafter, when asked how he met his wife, he would reply with a leer, “We met in jail.” The couple and their two children settled in Huntington Beach, where they lived for over 40 years, ending with Carol’s untimely
passing in 2012.
Taking a break from youth counseling in the early 1970s, Phil partnered with his best friend and fellow Laguna Beach High School graduate Jerry Facinelli around their shared love of boating. Incorporating as GF Marine in Costa Mesa, Phil and Jerry built a series of popular Crown 18 sailboats over several years of production, one of which was prominently featured in the intro to the 1970s sitcom “Three’s Company.”
Returning to his primary vocation in the mid-1970s, Phil served for over 15 years as the Director of Project JADE (Juvenile Assistance Diversion Effort), a program that identified youth at risk for gang involvement and provided academic and vocational alternatives.
JADE covered some of the most challenging communities in L.A. County, including South Gate, Bell Gardens, Compton, Industry, Cudahy and others.
Retiring early to help care for his developmentally disabled daughter, Phil poured himself into his lifelong loves of boating and junk collecting along the Los Alamitos, Huntington Harbour and Newport Harbor waterfronts, puttering around in his 1946-vintage 36’ powerboat “Good Grief II.” He remained tightly connected to the Laguna Beach community through his service as a reunion coordinator for the LBHS Class of 1957 (and others) and his oversight of a family LLC owned property in Laguna Canyon. Phil is survived by his younger brother Kermit Michael (Mike) Good of Laguna Beach, son Charles Preston (Rusty) Good and daughter-in-law Cara Rosson Good of Chula Vista, daughter Kristin Meredith (Kristie) Good of Fallbrook, grandson Samuel Winton (Sam) Good and granddaughter Annie Jean Good, and many nieces, nephews and cousins from the Good, Arnett, Blazo and Seybold families.
Although Phil declined to participate in church, he accepted Christ shortly before his passing through the patient and loving efforts of his grandson Sam, bolstered by the prayers of many. In lieu of a funeral, his family will send him off Viking-style, clad in his traditional garb of gym shorts, ratty T-shirt and flip-flops, riding a flaming Dewey Dumpster slowly down the hill atop a mounded horde of his “treasures.”
An Exhibit Within An Exhibit: Gallery Q’s Visual Creations
By M. “Charlie” Ferrazzi
A collaboration of Community Art Project (CAP) and Gallery Q at the Susi Q Center brings together a selection of work by seven artists in a variety of subjects, styles and mediums, juried by CAP, to participate in Gallery Q’s newest exhibit.
A unique part of the exhibit is CAP’s exhibit within the full exhibit. The juried works of Kate Carmell, Jill Cooper, Phyllis Edmonds-Themis, Veronica Gray, Christine Sullivan, Mike Tauber and Karen Wiechert are displayed in the Susi Q’s library.
Kate Carmell, a plein air painter with the beach as her love, is also exploring abstract style and the use of color.
“Painting the beautiful coastlines in Laguna Beach has been the main inspiration for my paintings, until last year when I decided to spread my wings and paint abstracts,” Carmell said. “They offer me a new freedom of artistic expression.”
Examples of both styles are on display.
Jill Cooper’s subject is also nature, but instead of brush and paint, she
uses glass, fused in a kiln, to create her images. Stand alone, or back lit, the pieces take you to the beauty of the outdoors.
“All my fused glass art is constructed of cut glass, layered in a design and fired in a kiln,” she said. “This makes each one a unique oneof-a-kind piece of art.”
Phyllis Edmonds-Themis, is another plein air painter with a love of the ocean. Be it one of the coves of Treasure Island or enjoying lunch under an umbrella on a dock,
her rich colours and light show her appreciation of the subject.
Veronica Gray composes her work through the lens of her digital camera.
“In my exploration of impressionistic ‘scapes,’ I embark on a visual journey to capture my love of nature and the interplay of light, colour and texture,” Gray said. “I invite the viewer to immerse themselves in the poetic ambiguity
Veronica Gray’s “Reflections On A Summer Morning.” Image courtesy of Veronica Gray
Jill Cooper’s “Morning Foliage.” Image courtesy of Jill Cooper
Kate Carmell’s Profusion. Image courtesy of Kate Carmell.
PAGE 4
Students should bring a 3-ring binder to class to start collecting songs and worksheets.
Joliet’s Intermediate Uke Techniques class will take place on the same days from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Attendees in the intermediate class must be able to play all the “EZ Dozen plus 2” chords. The workshop focuses on advanced strumming techniques, finger-picking, and playing chord melodies.
Visit thesusiq.org, click on classes/ events and registration and scroll down to the link to register.
Tune up your core, too: newcomers can try out a class for free Leslie Davis is back in person in Studio 1 teaching her kinesiology-based workout, Leslie’s Co-ed Stretch & Strengthen Workout, founded on the Harris Method.
“The workout that I teach was developed by Ian Harris to keep
injured ballet dancers exercising, who had been injured during performances at his Philadelphia ballet company,” Davis explained. “[This approach strengthens the ligaments around every joint in your body,
GUEST OPINION: PET PEEVES
Wave Watch
By marK D. craNtZ
Laguna Beach just christened a new rescue boat called “Wave Watch.” The name is a good one. Certainly better than Prairie Dog. Wave Watch goes with the terrain. That’s reassuring to residents who play in the ocean. You might not venture in the great blue ocean if you knew your rescue was in the hands of a prairie dog.
I have nothing against prairie dogs. But they seem too skittish to be driving a boat. I’m not even sure they can swim. I believe their distant cousins, the sea otters can swim with the best of them. But again, I think sea otters are by nature goofy balls, who wouldn’t interrupt their playtime to save your sorry bass.
Okay then, Wave Watch, it is. I hope not to be using their services. I’ve been worn down by time. I’m a landlubber now. I’ll go in up to my ankles, but that’s it. You see, I had a bad experience in the ocean about a year ago. For some unexplained reason, I felt years younger and
ventured out with my cool-looking board shorts, flippers and boogie board. I came back in with flippers and boogie board, sans bathing suit. Who knows what happened. I was wave watching, just like the boat’s name, and a hungry wave ate my suit. It was a traumatic experience that required years of therapy for the unlucky beachgoers who witnessed this eye-gouging spectacle.
My wife calls me a baby about it. She loves the ocean and still goes in.
One time, the waves were rough. She was struggling some to get back in. A fellow swimmer was in more trouble near her. A Laguna lifeguard came to the fellow swimmer’s rescue. My wife asked the lifeguard, “If it’s not too much trouble with you being out here, could you save me, too?” The lifeguard was more than happy to rescue two lives for the swim out of one. That’s my wife for you. Always thoughtful and polite no matter how close to the end she is.
One of my favorite past times is to go to Dana Point and look over the names of the boats. Some are cute. Some are nautical. Others inspirational. However, my favorite was found in a Michigan marina. The name of the boat was “She Got Everything Else.” So you could surmise while she got everything else, he still managed to stay afloat. Stay afloat, Lagunans. I’ll be watching from the beach with my pants firmly hitched up.
Crantz tells the Indy that he would never own a boat because he’s more an otter kind of guy. Otters shouldn’t drive or ride in boats.
Gayle Joliet’s painting of Tom Joliet at Main Beach. Joliet will be offering ukelele classes at the Susi Q for beginner and intermediate levels. Image courtesy of the Susi Q
favorite Jason Feddy on July 20, then Reggie Christian with Lewis Cervante and Bill Schley on Aug. 17. Shauna McFadden and Bob Gunn will round out the concerts on Sept. 14. Dinner boxes from GG’s Bistro and Noonerz are available by preorder.
The ECW group, made up of volunteers, will donate all proceeds to local charities such as the Community Clinic, Friendship Shelter, Sally’s Fund, Waymaker’s Youth Shelter, and the Susi Q Community Center, among others (17 this year!). For complete information and to buy tickets, go to ecwstmaryslb.org.
Celebrate the Bluebelt and Win a Prize
increasing circulation to speed healing from any injury.
“This is a chance] to pursue a healthy lifestyle and friendships in a low impact heart-healthy class.”
Davis welcomes everybody to try the class one time for free to see if this class is a good fit for their physical ability.
Participants should bring a towel, mat, a pair of 2—or 3—pound hand weights and water. The Susi Q is located at 380 Third Street, Laguna Beach.
Call Christine Brewer at 949-7158105 to sign up or register by visiting www.thesusiq.org and clicking on classes/events and registration. Scroll down to find the direct registration link.
Visit thesusiq.org to review the ongoing programs that Susi Q offers, from ukulele lessons, to standing yoga, to bridge and mahjong classes, not to mention support groups and clubs for special interest groups ranging from genealogy to current affairs to books and so much more. The Susi Q’s Care Management Department (now the Dorene Cares Office) provides free consultation, education and practical resources for vulnerable seniors, enabling them to stay safe, informed, and independent.
No Sleep ‘till Brooks Street!
The waiting period for the 58th Annual Brooks St. Surfing Classic opened last Saturday, June 1. The organization has announced that the Women’s Division will now be the Women’s Pro/Am Division with equal prize money as the Men’s Pro/Am Division. The Classic has also revealed this year’s contest t-shirt, which features art by Bill Ogden from a design he did for Sageman Drums many years ago and some font addition by Your Design Bro, Alexander “Curly” Carter.
Upcoming Episcopal Church Women Community Fundraising Concerts
A series of community fundraiser concerts and events this summer is planned on the ocean-view terrace behind St. Mary’s at 428 Park Ave. in Laguna. The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) is hosting local
The 13th Annual Laguna Bluebelt Photo Contest continues to accept entries until June 22. Photo Contest winners in professional and amateur categories will receive cash prizes and be exhibited at the Laguna Beach College of Art and Design Gallery following an Artist Reception on Aug. 1 at 6 p.m. Find more information at contest.lagunabluebelt.org
The widely popular photo contest celebrates how residents and visitors experience and enjoy Laguna Beach’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – the only citywide MPA in California dedicated to sea life recovery. The contest invites entries to include photos from the beach to the deep ocean.
This year’s photo contest coincides with KelpFest 2024 on Worlds Ocean Day, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Main Beach.
Contest judges include marine scientist Julianne Steers, Project O Founder Rich German and conservation photographer and videographer Kate Vylet.
Summer Neighborhood Movie Series
This summer’s Neighborhood Movie Series kicks off on June 27 at Alta Laguna Park!
Join us for a screening of Trolls Band Together at Alta Laguna Park on Thursday, June 27 at 8:30 p.m. Bring low-back beach chairs and nibbles for the movie. Call 949464-6645 or email recreation@lagunabeachcity.net to learn more.
Knepper
PAGE 14
Knepper’s athletic stats include 101 goals, 37 assists, and 39 exclusions drawn in her senior year alone, culminating in a total of 337 career goals and 243 career assists in water polo.
Additionally, Knepper excelled in swimming, holding LBHS records in the 200 medley relay, 50 free, and 100 free, and qualifying for CIF competitions for three consecutive years. Knepper’s achievements have earned her a scholarship to USC, where she will continue her water polo career.
Sports
PAGE 14
BASKETBALL
Coach Rus Soobzokov announced the varsity will be in the Beckman and Marina leagues and will have a couple of tournaments at Corona Del Mar and Newport Harbor. This summer, Laguna will host its first summer Tournament from July 19 to 21 to end the summer. JV will be in the Aliso Niguel league for three games and in the Tesoro (July 1-July 6), Newport Harbor (July 12-14) and Capo Valley tournaments (July 10-12). Incoming freshmen will also be in the Beckman League and the Edison, Newport, and Corona del Mar tournaments for a competitive summer.
SUMMER NOTES:
Griffin Naess makes All-American Team in Collegiate Baseball Laguna grad Griffin Naess was honored by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association this past Monday as one of 34 freshmen chosen as “All American” this season for his outstanding performance as a true freshman player at Cal Poly. Naess went 7-0 this season as a starting pitcher for the Mustangs, who finished third in the Big West Conference this season 35-22 overall and 20-10 in conference play. Have a note/question on Laguna sports/correction/update? E-mail Frank at Frank@twometer.net. Looking for the 2023-24 high school schedules and scores?Check Laguna Beach High School on the Max Preps website.
Evictions
PAGE 11
Laguna Beach residents will receive a detailed overview of the new ordinance at a workshop this Tuesday, June 18, at 3 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 505 Forest Avenue.
Ordinance Requirements:
Property owners and landlords must submit a copy of any notice to end a tenancy to the city within three calendar days of giving an eviction notice to a tenant. This requirement guarantees that the city is notified of all eviction notices.
If the landlord fails to submit a copy of the notice, the city may withhold building permit inspections for “substantial remodels,” the city said in a press release. The move is intended to protect tenants’ rights and enforce compliance.
Tenants can use the tenancy termination notice portal on the city website to confirm their property owner or landlord has submitted the
GUEST OPINION:
Haiku Corner
By cheryl PrOcacciNi
fog rolls. sits heavy. bright wildflowers, like lanterns, reveal the path home
house wren’s bubbling trill claims its spot in this morning’s feathered orchestra
bush monkey flowers open to the sun, ready to share sweet nectar
walking up these hills, i’m slower than I once was. i see much more now
Cheryl is a resident of Laguna Beach and writes Haiku poems inspired by the local flora and fauna around her. She is also a certified EMDR psychotherapist and the creator of Birdsong and the EcoWonders BirdsongTV.
necessary eviction notice. This portal assures tenants that their eviction process is being monitored for legal compliance.
Property owners must give detailed information to their tenants concerning any planned demolitions or substantial remodels, including the scope of work, estimated duration and relevant permits or contracts.
“With this ordinance, we are taking a decisive step toward greater fairness and transparency in our housing practices,” Laguna Beach Mayor Sue Kempf said. “Our goal is to uphold the rights of tenants while ensuring that property owners adhere to clear and consistent standards. This ordinance reflects our commitment to creating a balanced and just community for all Laguna Beach residents.”
Visit the City of Laguna Beach website for further details and to access the tenancy termination notice portal. For more information, contact housing program coordinator Jennifer Savage at 949-715-1141 or jsavage@lagunabeachcity.net.
SHULDINER,
Playhouse
PAGE 1
island now being run as an insane asylum by Dr. Evans (Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper). Cut off from the mainland by a raging storm, Watson stays overnight, meeting and interviewing the only three patients, each of whom insists he’s Holmes.
Among the most intriguing aspects of “Holmes and Watson” is that it takes us deeper into the quagmire surrounding what became of Watson’s lifelong friend, and plunges Watson into the role of lead detective as he reflects on and draws from his many years alongside Holmes.
The play also shows Watson as a scientist, experimenting with each of the three Holmeses at hand in his efforts to arrive at the truth.
“Holmes and Watson” is a tight, taut, compelling piece of stagecraft. We’re almost immediately drawn into its multiple mysteries, starting with the question of “Who is the ‘real’ Holmes?”
Hatcher, best known for the play “Scotland Road” and stage adaptations of “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde,” “The Alchemist,” and “Dial M for Murder,” gives Watson and us plenty of raw material on which to contemplate.
Holmes 1 (Matthew Floyd Miller) initially strikes us as most likely to be Holmes, given his pointed observations of Watson and his shrewd deductions about the situation at hand.
The first words uttered by Holmes 2 (Matt Koenig), who is bound in a straitjacket, are “This man isn’t Watson,” while the silent, motionless Holmes 3 (Christopher M. Williams) startles us all as Dr. Evans informs Watson the patient is deaf.
Flashbacks play a key role in Hatcher’s carefully plotted story – not just Watson’s accounts of his and Holmes’s experiences at the falls but Dr. Evans and others dredging up their recollections of key events.
The script abounds in delightful proclamations akin to what we’d find in the works of Conan-Doyle, such as when one character asserts, “We are dealing with vicious and resourceful felons.” When one of the true culprits
is revealed – and sorry, but we can’t say who without spoiling the show – the actor’s voice fairly drips with gleeful self-satisfaction.
You’re to be forgiven if you take much of this review with a grain of salt because that’s good advice for anyone watching this staging. It almost goes without saying that Hatcher generates countless red herrings.
One such possibly misleading lead, for example, is when Inspector Patterson is shot to death, uttering two words: “Sherlock…Holmes.”
We’re told this means one of the three Holmeses is his killer, though we later learn otherwise.
The play itself and Laguna’s production of it succeed in drawing us into its hermetic world. The incisively written script is studded with sparkling dialogue, witty turns of phrase and laugh-inducing one-liners, and the wry tone Hatcher generates is reflected by the tongue-in-cheek ambiance of Ellenstein’s staging.
In terms of its many twists and turns, this devilishly clever script is skillfully performed at Laguna Playhouse. Baird’s Watson isn’t just starchily, stiffly proper, but the calm, patient soul of equanimity. With his crisp mannerisms and spot-on British dialect, Baird is ideal.
Miller’s Holmes 1 projects authority and self-confidence. Koenig’s Holmes 2 is emotionally erratic and easily rattled (as scripted).
Williams’s Holmes 3 is at first so stock still he’s nearly catatonic. When we later learn the reasoning behind this is fiction, the actor’s delivery and articulate manner reveal Holmes 3’s sharp mind.
Mongiardo-Cooper paints a polished, erudite Dr. Evans, ever skeptical of Watson’s insights into who Holmes was – and who he is now if he has, in fact, survived death.
Mike Peebler’s vocal delivery delineates two dissimilar characters: He’s all snide, sharp edges as the crafty, treacherous Moriarty and uses a tangy Scottish brogue for the dogged, insistent policeman, Inspector Patterson. Peebler also
plays the almost non-descript orderly. Overlook the character at your own risk.
As a matter of fact, it’s safe to say that none of the characters we meet are who or what we believe them to be.
Like several cast members, Alice Sherman handles multiple roles – the asylum’s coldly efficient Matron and a mystery character known only as “The Woman” whose identity is tightly bound up in the numerous mysteries eventually unraveled.
Stephen Gifford’s scenic design of the cavernous asylum and its stone walls, steel-gray coloring and mood of gloom and foreboding ideally suit the nature of the story.
For the flashbacks to Holmes’s fateful meeting with Moriarty, Ellenstein darkens the stage and lights the upstage high window, where water
showers down outside and mist seeps in below it.
Kate Bergh’s monochromatic costumes suit the setting and the dark mood of Hatcher’s script, and the combined work of Jared A. Sayeg’s lighting and Ian Scot’s sound and projections completes the effect of a late 19th-century hell on earth where the truth is likely to be strangled before it can emerge.
With so many clues so carefully created, then planted to confuse us, “Holmes and Watson” also generates, along with the suspense, tons of theatergoing fun.
Moulton Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Drive, Laguna Beach. Through June 16. Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (no intermission). Tickets: $45 to $84. Ticket purchase/information: 949497-2787, lagunaplayhouse.org.
Mike Peebler (top), Richard Baird, Christopher M. Williams and Nicholas MongiardoCooper star in the Laguna Playhouse production of “Holmes & Watson.” Photo/Laguna Playhouse
Matt Koenig, Matthew Floyd Miller, Mike Peebler, Alice Sherman, Christopher M. Williams, Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper and Richard Baird star in the Laguna Playhouse production of “Holmes & Watson.” Photo/Laguna Playhouse
Richard Baird, Mike Peebler and Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper star in the Laguna Playhouse production of “Hoilmes & Watson.” Photo/Laguna Playhouse
Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper, Mike Peebler, Matt Koenig and Richard Baird star in the Laguna Playhouse production of “Holmes & Watson. Photo/Laguna Playhouse
of my impressionistic perspective.”
Christine Sullivan is a watercolourist and mixed media artist, who combines watercolour, textured papers, and ink to create her 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional works of nature.
Bright sunlight in Sherman Gardens or the strength of waves crashing against the coast, become alive in the mix of colour, texture and line.
Mike Tauber’s tile works are well known in Laguna Beach.
“They look like classic oil paintings, but they’re done in ceramic tile,” Tauber said. “I just like the medium because of the way it looks. I lay it on really thick so it has a very rich, glossy texture when they’re fired.” Views of Newport Back Bay and Treasure Island in Laguna Beach are the subjects of his works.
Karen Wiechert is familiar with many art styles and movements and experimented with watercolour and collage.
She is most interested in representational painting and oil on canvas is her preferred medium.
& ANDERS OSBORNE with Special Guest JD SIMO 8/29 THE PETTY BREAKERS 8/30 GLENN HUGHES - Deep Purple Set 8/31 MICK ADAMS & THE STONES 9/1 MIDGE URE 9/7 SOUTHERN ROCK THROWDOWN ( l ynyrd s kynyrd , B
) 9/12 GRAHAM BONNET P erforming r ain B
&
,
C aT ra ZZ 9/13 RICHIE KOTZEN with Mark Daly 9/14 JOURNEY USA (J ourney T ri B u T e ) 9/15 BENISE: Fiesta! 9/19 THE MAN IN BLACK 9/22 JANE MONHEIT 9/25 ANA POPOVIC 9/27 DAVE MASON 10/3 ZEBRA 10/4 MIRAGE ( f lee T wood
In her current floral works she shows the richness of oils in her small close up “Moss Rose” and yet there is delicateness in a spray of “White Anemones” as they burst across the canvas.
Take a break and visit “Visual Creations” at the Susi Q, a double header of an exhibit that will only be around till July 10.
CAP’s mission is to increase the visibility and appreciation of Art and serve as a catalyst for Art Education. Visit caplaguna.org for information about ongoing or upcoming exhibits, to be on the e-mail list or to become a member and support of CAP.
) 10/5 KIMBERLY PERRY (of The Band Perry) 10/6 DAVE HAUSE 10/10 HENRY KAPONO 10/11 HENRY KAPONO 10/16 JIMMIE VAUGHAN 10/18 GARY PUCKETT & THE UNION GAP 10/20 THE YOUNG DUBLINERS 10/31 OINGO BOINGO FORMER MEMBERS UNTOUCHABLES 11/1 OINGO BOINGO FORMER MEMBERS UNTOUCHABLES 11/2 VENICE 11/3 THE WINEHOUSE EXPERIENCE 11/8 COMMON SENSE 11/9 TYRONE WELLS 11/13 JOHN HIATT 11/15 RONSTADT REVIVAL 11/16 JOSHUA RADIN & RON POPE 11/22 SPACE ODDITY ( d avid B owie T ri B u T e ) 11/23 RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
11/26 LEONID & FRIENDS (C hi C ago T ri
11/27 BEATLES VS STONES 11/29 THE PLATTERS
11/30 LEE ROCKER of the Stray Cats
)
12/4 LIVINGSTON TAYLOR and LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III
12/11 DAVID BENOIT
12/12 KY-MANI MARLEY
12/15 THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA 12/21 AMBROSIA Holiday show
12/29 L.A. GUNS
12/31 THE ENGLISH BEAT 1/24 GENE LOVES JEZEBEL / BOW WOW WOW 2/16 INCENDIO w / a rdeshir f arah
Mike Tauber’s “Keyhole Arch.” Image courtesy of Mike Tauber
Christine Sullivan’s “Storm Surge.” Image courtesy of Christine Sullivan
Exhibit
PAGE 17
Phyllis Edmonds-Themis’ Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay. Image courtesy of Phyllis Edmonds-Themis
Artist: Karen Wiechert; Title: Moss Rose Medium: Oil on board
My Hero Hosts World Oceans Day Celebration at Rivian South Coast Theater
By LB Indy Staff
The Rivian South Coast Theater was packed Saturday evening, June 1 to celebrate World Oceans Day.
The My Hero Project hosted the event, which featured short ocean-themed films, music and speakers.
The program began with a selection of short films from the “Laguna Eco Heroes” documentary, funded by Massen Greene Foundation. The films highlight the work of Laguna Bluebelt, The Pacific Marine Mammal Center, One World One Ocean, the Kelp Lady - Nancy Caruso, Eco Warrior James Pribram and Wyland.
Speakers from local organizations gave updates on their efforts to protect our coastline. Mike Beanan of Laguna Bluebelt spoke of its efforts to expand Laguna’s Marine Protected Areas.
Nancy Caruso, founder of Get Inspired Inc., acknowledged the collective efforts that had helped bring a healthy environment for fish to thrive off Laguna’s ocean waters. Ed Alonzo of Laguna Ocean Foundation spoke about the organization’s work protecting tide pools and efforts needed to clean up water from polluted creeks that feed into our oceans.
Founder of Project O and paddleboard photographer Rich German received a local hero award for his efforts to inspire future environmental activists by bringing underserved youth to Laguna to experience the magic of the ocean.
A highlight of the program was a live performance by local Whitney Winefordner of her original song “My
Blue Heart,” a beautiful musical tribute to Dr. Sylvia Earle. With her brother Ian on keyboards, Winefordner sang in front of a stunning backdrop of ocean footage, courtesy of MacGillivray Freeman Films.
My Hero International Film Festival Director Wendy Milette announced the 2024 Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award winners. The annual award is named for renowned oceanographer and marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle and is sponsored by MacGillivray Freeman Education Foundation’s One World One Ocean campaign.
Barbara and Greg MacGillivray were on hand to share in the festivities. Barbara spoke about their desire to highlight the work of individuals who are making a positive difference through this award.
The two winning films were screened. Artist Max Romey’s short documentary “If You Give a Beach a Bottle” depicts the efforts of a group in Alaska to clean up tons of ocean debris in the water near a remote shoreline.
The student winner was “Spear. Spatula. Submarine,” directed by USC student Shannon Morrall. Her documentary focused on the efforts of passionate Florida residents battling the predatory lionfish, an invasive species destroying sea life in their local waters.
Previous winner Dana Frankel flew in from San Francisco to participate in the screening of her film “Voice Over Water.” The film features an 80-year-old Indonesian man who uses his kayak to retrieve plastic from the ocean.
Jeanne Meyers, cofounder and director of My Hero, acknowledged Wendy Milette for her outstanding work producing The My Hero International Festival for the last 20 years.
“My Hero began as an idea for a TV series 30 years ago, from my home in Laguna Beach,” Meyers said. “To see the accomplishments of our local and global heroes on the beautiful screen at the Rivian as part of My Hero World Ocean Day Celebration was a dream come
true. We hope to have an opportunity to continue the program here and invite everyone to explore the library of short films we host online on My Hero” Submissions are now being accepted for other Special Awards and Best of Fest, for The My Hero International Film Festival. The final deadline is Sept. 1. All winning films can be viewed on The My Hero Project website.
on her special day. If Dad is more of a pescatarian, the fish choices are extraordinary, from Mediterranean branzino to Scottish salmon to Chilean seabass. Are you with me? Let’s take a stab at changing societal norms. Open for dinner at 4:30 p.m. Reservations recommended.
In Newport Beach, hidden in Balboa’s quaint residential community, Todos
Santos on the island is a local favorite. Their special Father’s Day menu will include a variety of choices for brunch or dinner. Restaurateur Daniel Osorio has dreamed up a special margarita just for dad, calling it the ‘Jefe Spicy Margarita’ made with premium, topshelf tequila. It’s strong but kind,” he says. I had to include Osorio in this article, highlighting extraordinary food and fathers. He also knows how to bring the love to dad’s palate.
The restaurant’s main location in
Rancho Santa Margarita was added to the prestigious Michelin Guide within two years of operation, and the Balboa Island location offers the same delicious, healthy and authentic Mexican cuisine.
Laguna locals may recognize Osorio from his decade-long tenure at Carmelita’s, where he transformed it into one of Laguna’s premier destinations for fresh Mexican food with a gourmet twist. He has brought that same passion and creativity to
his new restaurant, Todos Santos and has created a special menu for this Sunday’s Father’s Day celebration. He and his chefs will be in the kitchen early, simmering the chile verde and baking those scrumptious butter cakes to serve with fresh berries for dessert. Todos Santos makes delicious Succulent Coffee Roasters branded coffee to complement any dessert. It’s the perfect way to start the day with breakfast and coffee by the sea, especially on Father’s Day.
Mike Beanan of Laguna Bluebelt speaks to audience members about the Laguna Bluebelts efforts to expand Laguna’s Marine Protected Areas. Photo courtesy of My Hero Project
