EDITORIAL:A year of rebuilding

Another active year is coming to a close in Laguna Beach. The year 2006 could probably be considered a year of picking up the pieces and moving ahead after the devastation of the 2005 landslide and its aftermath.

That’s why we think the photo on the cover is our “photo of the year” in Laguna. It shows Laurel Meister and her son, Ty, carrying belongings back into their Bluebird Canyon home.

The Meisters lived in one of the donated trailers off of Laguna Canyon Road for more than a year until their home was habitable again.

Even so, they were the first of some dozen families forced out by the slide to be able to return. (We won’t count the late Lew Geiser as a returnee, since he went home to his red-tagged Bluebird Canyon dwelling to spend his final days by special permission of city officials. He died on April 1.)

The Meisters were relatively lucky. Their home was reparable. Most of the others have long since been demolished and are awaiting reconstruction of the lots on which they sat in order to rebuild.

The community of Laguna Beach has shown its pluck and ability to bounce back from adversity before, and this, the first year following this major landslide, was no exception.

Now it’s time to head into the new year with the knowledge that Bluebird Canyon is on the mend, and the foundation has been laid for a return to a normal life for the other displaced families.

It’s a lesson in overcoming hardship and “keeping on keeping on” that we all can benefit from.

Happy New Year!

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

What is your New Year’s resolution for 2007? Write us at P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, CA, 92652, e-mail us at coastlinepilot@latimes.com or fax us at 494-8979. Please give your name and tell us your home address and phone number for verification purposes only.