Curfew won’t solve problem

Every winter, on the coldest and grayest of days, it always seems like summer is so far away and then suddenly you realize the Fourth of July is right around the corner. And, as always, Laguna’s art festivals are a highly anticipated summer tradition.

The opening of the Sawdust kicked off Tuesday with residents of Laguna Beach enjoying “locals night.”

Yes, it is good to be a resident of Laguna Beach, and although our town continues to grow and change, ? we can always depend on the consistent hard work of our lifeguards. .

I would say their presence on the beaches here in Laguna is unmatched by any other city in Orange County. It has always been local-friendly and an important safeguard for the non-locals who flock to our beaches each year.

While many other lifeguard departments enjoy the luxury of having boats and/or personal watercrafts (commonly referred to as Jet Skis), our lifeguard department has never had this advantage. Nor has it ever had adequate staffing. Instead, the Laguna Beach lifeguard department has always gotten by on a bare-bones budget. We are lucky that our department has been well-taught from the top down with great knowledge of the ocean and beaches they protect.

I applaud our City Council in moving forward with the hiring of another full-time lifeguard, bringing the full-time lifeguard staff to six.

However, re-read that last sentence out loud: A lifeguard department soon to be run with a staff of six full-time lifeguards.

For the City Manager to suggest that we put a curfew on our beaches in the evening ? instead of having an on-duty lifeguard in the nighttime and/or hiring more full-time lifeguards ? is one of the most absurd things I have ever heard.

Maybe we can trade in a couple of those new statues in front of City Hall for a few more full-time lifeguards.

Now that would be money well-spent.

Peace.