There’s something fishy in this city

JAMES PRIBRAM

What happened Laguna Beach?

We use to be the beach town that prided itself on not letting the

big-name chain stores into our town. You know the ones: Banana

Republic. Starbucks.

Wow. I can’t even get into naming them all right now, it’s too

upsetting.

Shhh ... what’s that? A Coffee Bean is going in, in North Laguna

across the street from another coffee shop that has already been

there for years.

Is this rumor or fact? Or does it matter since the locally-owned

businesses here in town continue to get no support from the City

Council or Design Review.

It just smells fishy to me -- and not because of the Ocean

Pollution problem. I don’t see any dead fish on the beach but at this

rate it is probably just a matter of time.

No, I only see the soul of our town dying and one isn’t worse than

the other. Pollution is pollution, even if it’s pro-development

pollution.

As someone remarked to me today, we have a whole new breed here in

town, actually they have been here for years. (Some of them at

least.) The only difference is now they’re developers still posing as

architects.

Sweet, the Pottery Shack is leaving, so let’s take that spot and

turn it into 15 new shops or boutiques or whatever. Maybe a

restaurant or two, a couple more coffee shops -- forget the

neighbors, worsen the traffic and parking conditions.

“But hey it was a good investment.”

For who?

Again, sweet.

Maybe when we lose South Coast Medical Center we can replace it

with another coffee shop. That’s what Laguna needs -- instead of

going to the emergency room they can get a fancy espresso.

You know what’s not sweet is getting an e-mail from a 10-year-old

boy thanking me for the column I wrote about his pleading with City

Council not to make him tear down his beloved tree house. However, he

also wrote to inform me that “in truth” they told him to take it down

despite his pleadings.

There’s something deeply wrong with that and the direction our

once beloved soulful town is headed.

Sorry kiddo, you should’ve just ask the City Council if you could

sell it instead.

Peace.