CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP: LA councilman joins Boom fight

Los Angeles’ first openly gay city councilman, Bill Rosendahl, has joined the effort to preserve the Boom Boom Room and Coast Inn in Laguna Beach, Save the Boom founder Fred Karger said.

The Save the Boom effort has obtained more than 4,000 signatures on petitions, Karger said. The goal is 5,000 signatures.

Rosendahl joins former Laguna City councilman and three-time mayor Robert F. Gentry as co-chair.

“I am hopeful that we can help create a public private partnership with the city, the property owner and the gay community to preserve not only this building but gay life in Laguna Beach,” Gentry said.

“I have been going to Laguna Beach since 1981,” Rosendahl said. “I want to continue to come back to the Laguna I know and love just as I have been doing for the past 25 years. This club and hotel are an integral part of the community, and they should be there for future generations.

“The Boom Boom Room is steeped in history. It is the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the western United States and is viewed as a landmark by the gay community. It must be preserved. I hope that Laguna Beach City leaders will help us in our campaign to Save the Boom,” Rosendahl said.

Gentry, who served on the Laguna city council from 1982 to 1994, was one of the first openly gay mayors in the United States.

The Save the Boom campaign was launched June 1. For more information, visit www.savetheboom.com.

High bacteria count at West Street beach

A student effort to measure bacteria levels at Laguna beaches on a weekly basis has detected an extraordinarily high level of bacteria at West Street beach.

The beach water bacteria count was 1,119 on July 31 — 10 times higher than is required for beach warnings to swimmers. Other beaches in Laguna on that day were measured with levels between zero and 31. The county posts warning signs to swimmers when the bacteria count is 104 or above.

Marshall Thomas, a Laguna Beach High School student who coordinates the testing with the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, says he will report the West Street bacteria count to the county.

Thomas says he doesn’t know why West Street beach tested so high on that date, and that it could be an anomaly. The beach tested “clean” three out of the last five testings, but measured 202 during one of those recent testings, Thomas said.

The Surfrider bacteria counts are not considered official and do not result in posting of beach warnings.

For more information, call (949) 415-0417.

— Cindy Frazier

West Nile virus in county, says Vector Control

West Nile virus has been detected in a sample of mosquitoes collected in Fullerton — the first finding this year — and 19 dead birds collected throughout Orange County have tested positive for the virus, Orange County Vector Control District officials announced Monday.

No dead birds that tested positive for the virus were found in Laguna Beach, Tawnia Pett, public outreach coordinator, said.

In addition, no human cases of West Nile virus have been reported in Orange County to date, Vector Control officials stated in a press release. As of July 28, 16 human cases have been reported elsewhere in the state.

The district is advising residents to eliminate standing water, a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The district will provide mosquitofish free of charge to put in any unused pool or spa, or in ornamental ponds. The fish eliminate mosquitoes.

Vector Control wants the public to report any mosquito breeding sources they find.

“With the recent rains and the warm weather, there is a greater chance of mosquitoes breeding around your home,” David Swerdlin, president of the district board of trustees, said. “Make sure you dump any standing water you find.”

For more information, call (949) 654-2421 or www.ocvcd.org.

Cancer Society seeks ‘relay’ volunteers

The American Cancer Society’s annual Relay for Life will take place in Laguna Beach Sept. 22. Beginning at 7 p.m., participants will walk for 24 hours at El Morro Elementary School. Survivors, family members and volunteers will give their time to raise money.

Relay For Life is a team event in which participants walk or run relay-style around the school track and take part in activities off the track. Teams can include co-workers, club members, family and friends who have obtained donations prior to the event.

Volunteers are wanted, and participants are encouraged to sign up. Teams are made up of 12 or more people and can be comprised of companies, families, friends or survivors. Themed laps such as an ‘80s lap or an underwater lap keep the energy high through the late-night hours.

In addition, local businesses or those who can donate food or beverages for the relay are being sought. Items for a silent auction are needed.

The public is also invited to attend the luminaria ceremony, which will take place after sundown. To honor the community’s cancer survivors and commemorate those lost to the disease, survivors will circle the track rimmed with glowing luminarias while the names of survivors and those lost to the disease are read aloud. Luminarias can be purchased for a suggested $10 donation.

Funds raised go to the American Cancer Society’s programs and services, such as Reach to Recovery, a peer-to-peer support program for women battling breast cancer and community education programs to teach people how they can reduce their risk of developing cancer. Funds also go toward cancer research to find a cure and to advocacy efforts to ensure cancer remains a top priority on the legislative public health agenda.

Any group interested in participating should contact Cassandra Tomes at cassandra.tomes@cancer.org; call (800) 227-2345 24 hours a day, seven days a week; or visit www.cancer.org.

Church recycles phones, cartridges

Laguna Presbyterian Church’s Preschool is collecting used cell phones and empty toner/ink cartridges to recycle.

The proceeds go toward scholarships at the preschool and church’s youth departments.

Items may be dropped off in the white “recycle” boxes in the back of the church from 9 to 11 a.m. Sundays or during business hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the church office, located upstairs at the corner of Forest and Second streets.

For questions, leave a message at the preschool office, (949) 494-0504, or contact Mary Reiner at mreiner@lagunapreschurch.org.