Checking out the headlines

BARBARA DIAMOND

Sometimes Laguna seems like a cart being pulled by five horses -- all

in different directions.

The council is made up of five individuals elected for a common

cause, the well-being of the city. Unfortunately, the best-intended

person can be blind or deaf to another’s good points when deeply held

conviction sours to animosity. It gets to the point where they just

can’t believe it isn’t always about them and any chance of compromise

is out the window.

The bloodiest battles are always those on which opposing sides are

nearly equal. Montage Resort and Spa was one example. Relocation of

the corporation yard to the ACT V parcel in Laguna Canyon is another.

The council saved the city an estimated $1.2 million in interest

by loaning itself $8.1 to pay off the Treasure Island Park debt.

Council members wrangled about how to spend the savings, but reached

no decision.

Hey, can’t we all get along?

Here is an abridged look back at 2003, culled from the pages of

the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. It is the first of two parts.

Jan. 3: Ramped-up emergency services in the wake of 9/11 included

stocking fire engines with antidotes for nerve gas, improving the

Laguna Beach County Water District’s alarm system and reviewing the

telemetry, which got an A-OK.

Jan. 10: Ground was broken for the Laguna Canyon Road realignment

and widening, 10 years on the drawing board.

The Log Cabin Club honored North Laguna resident, Frank

Ricchiazzi, a founder of the gay Republican organization.

Funeral services were held Jan. 11 for Ballet Pacific founder Lila

Zali, 84.

Jan. 17: Susie McCalla Ornellas announced that McCalla’s Pharmacy

would close Jan. 28 after 44 years on Forest Avenue.

Mayor Toni Iseman was appointed to the California Coastal

Commission.

City Manager Ken Frank reported a $2 million loss of revenue in

the previous month. The council roll back of parking meter fees from

$1.50 an hour to $1 an hour cost the city $500,000 a year.

Reflector lights were installed at the intersection of Cliff and

Rosa Bonheur drives where Laguna Beach resident Elizabeth Stock was

killed by a hit and run driver Jan. 18, 2001.

Jan. 24: The discovery of possible hazardous waste on the site of

the proposed affordable housing project on Glenneyre Street upped the

potential costs. The City Council appropriated $148,000 from the Housing in Lieu Fund in case it was needed to help pay for the clean

up.

Jan. 31: Proposed state budget cuts had Laguna Beach Unified

School District Supt. Theresa Daum in shock. The district, which is

primarily funded by property taxes, was threatened with the loss of

about one third of its income, a reduction from an estimated $24

million to $18 million. “We would be a bare-bones organization,” Daum

said.

Feb. 7: Laguna Beach resident Richard Varner died in a snorkeling

accident at Woods Cove Beach. He was 49.

First Thursday Art Walk celebrated its fifth anniversary. What a

success story!

Feb. 14: The Laguna Beach Woman’s Club honored 2002 mayor Wayne

Baglin at a luncheon. “You have treasured our ocean, you have

treasured our hills, our neighborhoods and our village, and we thank

you for that,” said club member Anne Johnson.

South Coast Water District, which serves Laguna Beach, from Nyes

Place south, and Dana Point, offered the state Regional Water Quality

Board San Diego $105,000 to settle a civil liability complaint.

Feb. 21: The teen-aged driver of a Ford Explorer that overturned

Feb. 12, killing Laguna Beach resident Jennifer Bammer, was arrested

on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. Police said 19-year-old Audry

Brecht as driving under the influence of alcohol when she lost

control of her vehicle.

A Laguna Beach homeless man was found brutally beaten at Table

Rock Beach. Larry Whitmarsh, 53, suffered facial lacerations, a

collapsed lung and broke ribs from an attack by three men

Feb. 27: Brandy’s Friends founders Carlton and Cheryl Post

announced they were closing the 10-year-old counseling center for

young people at risk from drug abuse and their parents. The center

was named for their son, Brandy Balsinger-Post, who died of cocaine

poisoning at 21. “Cheryl and I feel in our hearts that our mission is

now complete,” Carl Post said.

March 7: The council accepted the Vision 2030 report, distilled

from information gained during months of community meetings.

March 14: Pink slips were distributed to every principal in the

Laguna Beach Unified School District and 30% of the teachers, whose

jobs were in jeopardy due to the state budget crisis.

March 21: The Laguna Beach Exchange Club honored Police Officer

Larry Bammer with the Blue and Gold Award, the highest honor the club

can bestow, given only to officers wounded in the line of duty.

Bammer was shot in the fall of 2002 during a robbery on South Coast

Highway.

March 28: About 100 Laguna Beach High School students took to the

street to speak out on the war with Iraq. They spent 20 minutes

protesting or applauding the war from opposite sides of Park Avenue.

April 4: Construction worker Ben Bonin pulled a 4-year-old girl

from certain death by drowning in the waters off of Crescent Bay. The

little girl’s mother said he must have had wings, he ran so fast down

the hill from the house he was working on and into the water, where

he dove until he came up with the child.

Laguna Beach High School graduate Ethan Slattery was deployed to

the Persian Gulf.

April 11: Laguna Beach school district officials approved a budget

on April 10 they hoped would enable them to rescind every layoff

notice sent out in March, action triggered by the state’s budget

crisis.

April 18: The council at the April 16 meeting named the Planning

Commission to lead the city into the future as envisioned in Vision

2030 report. The seven elements recommended by the Vision Steering

Committee were to be implemented by community groups that volunteered

or were recommended by Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson.

Lagunans Mike Marriner and Nathan Gebhard were traveling the

country in April, signing copies of the their book, “Roadtrip

Nation.”

A 22-year-old Mission Viejo woman who planted razors in South

County Parks, including Main Beach, was given probation at her

sentencing April 14. Psychiatric treatment was recommended.

April 25: A state Assembly subcommittee unanimously rejected Gov.

Gray Davis’ budget proposal that would have severely reduced revenue

to basic aid school districts such as Laguna’s, which are financed

mostly by property taxes.

May 2: Laguna Coast Wilderness Park celebrated its 10th

anniversary. Orange County Supervisor Tom Wilson was among the

speakers.

Aliso Shopping Center management began towing cars of parked at

the center for more than two hours, on the supposition that the cars

were parked there by people going to the beach below the Montage

Resort or Treasure Island Park, not shoppers.

May 9: Trained Tidewater Docents began to share their knowledge

May 7 with the public. Fred and Jan Sattler organized the program.

A contentious two-hour hearing on campaign spending May 6 cracked

the veneer of civility that had previously cloaked the deep

philosophical divisions on the City Council. Village Laguna endorsed

2003 Iseman in the 2002 election. The Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn.

endorsed Pearson and Dicterow were endorsed by the Laguna Beach

Taxpayers Assn. No love is lost between the two groups and they took

advantage of the public hearing to vent.

May 16: The Boys and Girls Club Gala at the Ritz-Carlton raised

$83,000 and celebrated the completion of the $3.3 million capital

campaign.

Mark’s Restaurant closed. Owner Mark De Palma, who was known for

his generosity to worthy causes, said he wanted to concentrate on his

catering business.

May 23: Festival of Arts Board member David Young celebrated his

90th birthday at Tivoli Terrace, surrounded by friends and family.

May 30: The Laguna Beach Woman’s Club honored community activist

Carolyn Wood as the Woman of the Year. “Hunks in Trunks” fashion show

at Laguna Art Museum raised $38,000 for Laguna Shanti. Sundried

Tomato catered the event.

June 6: The City Council voted 3-2 to relocate the corporation

yard to the ACT V parking lot, a parcel owned by the city, but never

annexed.

El Morro Elementary 4th grader Drew Wheeler, was named Outstanding

Orange County Author in his age group. The 10-year-old won for “Bob

and the Flame,” about life in 14,000 BCE and already had begun work

on a more contemporary tale of classroom struggles between popular

kids and outcasts.

Steve Josephson was named to succeed Bree Burgess Rosen as

artistic director of No Square Theatre, the community theater group

she founded.

* The review of June 13 to the end of the year will be published

in our Jan. 2 issue.