CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP:Santa Claus is coming downtown

Santa is making an early stop in Laguna Beach.

The Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce will kick off the holiday season Friday, Dec. 1, with the 50th annual Hospitality Night from 5 to 9 p.m. in downtown Laguna Beach.

Illuminated streets and carolers will welcome Santa as he parades down Forest Avenue to City Hall for the official Lighting of the Pepper Tree. Then Santa will parade down Forest to his house on the corner of Glenneyre Street.

Forest Avenue will be blocked to traffic as shops stay open until 9 p.m. Many downtown businesses will have open houses.

The festivities will start around 5 p.m. The Thurston Middle School band will perform holiday tunes on the front lawn of City Hall. Following at 6 p.m., Santa will arrive on the fire truck to take charge of the honorary lighting of the pepper tree, along with the mayor.

Santa will then be paraded down Forest Avenue in a Mini Cooper — which will be raffled off — to his house “pulled” by a fleet of greyhound-reindeer. He will then draw a ticket for the winner of the MiniCooper.

Throughout the evening, Santa will greet children and listen to their wish lists as a photographer takes photos.

The Showpros Group will capture the holiday spirit with electronic multimedia techniques projected larger than life on a huge screen suspended on Forest Avenue.

Laguna Presbyterian Church will host its annual open house, offering several special events. There will be bells and caroling in the Rose Garden, with cookies and hot cider served.

The Senior Handbell Choir will perform at 5 p.m., followed by a Community Sing-Along from 6 to 7 p.m. Tamales will go on sale at 5 p.m. at Tankersley Hall, made by La Playa, a non-profit program sponsored by the Crosscultural Council. Inside Tankersley Hall, holiday gifts will be for sale, including crafts and quilts made by members of the congregation.

The Laguna Beach High School Band will entertain with holiday music on the first block of Forest Avenue. Throughout the evening, the Laguna Beach Community Band will perform and there will be strolling carolers from St. Catherine Catholic School. The San Clemente Scots Pipe Band will march, drum and pipe their way up and down Forest Avenue, Ocean Avenue and Coast Highway.

For more information, and to purchase a raffle ticket for the Mini Cooper, call the chamber at (949) 494-1018.

Transit comments sought

The public is invited to submit comments regarding the city’s transit system to the Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee.

The committee would like to know how the community feels about the Mainline Transit System, a local service that serves as a feeder service to the Orange County Transportation Authority bus system, in addition to the 10-week summer festival trolley service, and the charter bus service, which allows private parties to schedule service from September through June.

Written comments must be submitted by Dec. 4 via email at LagunaPTC@Lagunabeachcity.net, by fax at (949) 494-1864, or via mail to: City of Laguna Beach, Public Works Department, 505 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach, CA 92652.

For questions, contact Liz Vazquez-Avila, Public Works Department at (949) 497-0344 or via email at

lavila@lagunabeachcity.net.

Trash pickup delayed by Thanksgiving holiday

Waste Management of Orange County’s trash and recycling pick-up schedule will be delayed by one day in the days following Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23. This means customers in Laguna Beach who receive service on Thursdays and Fridays should place their bins out for pick-up one day later than usual, on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25.

All Waste Management of Orange County operations will be closed on Nov. 23; the hauling operations, customer service center and transfer stations in Irvine and Orange will re-open for normal operations on Friday, Nov. 24.

Customer service is available at (949) 642-1191, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.

Group seeking to save Third Street homes meets

A group dedicated to saving the Third Street Historic Neighborhood, which is slated for demolition to make way for the community/senior center, will meet from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at Wells Fargo Bank, top floor, 260 Ocean Ave.

Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Michael Hoag at (949) 494-5960.

Parking consultant to meet with public

The consultant who prepared the Residential and Commercial Parking Management Study, Kaku Associates, will be available for a question-and-answer session regarding the study at 6 p.m., Dec. 4, in the City Council chambers, 505 Forest Ave.

The Parking Management Study is available online under “Quick Links” on the city’s website at www.lagunabeachcity.net.

For more information, contact Liz Vazquez-Avila, Public Works Department, at (949) 497-0344 or via e-mail at lavila@lagunabeachcity.net.