Mailbag: Murals make inviting public space
I thought Verizon and Whole Foods Market were planning to convert their shared parking lot into a drive-in theater and fill the former seating area with sand and a merry-go-round.
Then, instead of a movie screen on the south gray wall, it got a fresh coat of paint and four large murals by artists Bob Bonn, Patrick Moran, Tom Swimm and Mike Tauber appeared mysteriously.
What an inviting colorful transformation to that formerly bleak-looking building. The project transformed a space for garbage collection into an inviting public space.
What more is planned for the new nook? Thank you to both Verizon and Whole Foods for the make-over; your shared cooperation is a model for other businesses throughout Laguna to improve livability in our town.
Les Miklosy
Laguna Streets
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Housing homeless isn’t helping them
I must finally write this letter to express my frustration and sadness about what is happening in our beloved town.
The homeless problem has changed the character and quality of life here. People are now being accosted on the streets for money and food. I have witnessed a homeless man urinating in broad daylight at the bus station and my friend has seen even worse in a public park.
Can we feel comfortable letting children play in our parks knowing this? There now seem to be homeless people at the community garden stealing the fruits and vegetables so lovingly planted and tended by others.
There are people passed out in front of our beautiful public library and on every bench in town. If you want to see the future of Laguna, just visit Venice or even Santa Monica.
As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he eats for one day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for the rest of his life.”
To those who want to feed and house the homeless, I’d like to offer this: There is a big difference between helping and enabling. As an example, I joined an organization about five years ago that helps women around the world to learn skills that help them break the cycle of poverty and abuse.
This approach improves everyone’s lives. I would ask the well-intentioned but misguided folks of Laguna to consider whether what they’re doing is breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness or just allowing destructive patterns to continue.
I wonder if the would-be-rescuers would profess the same permissive philosophy if their businesses were being adversely affected, as many are.
The controversial plan to build housing for 40 homeless is not going to accomplish anything but the further ruination of what was once the safest, cleanest and most beautiful community ever. I beg you to reconsider.
Marilyn Evans
Laguna Beach
* Wasting water affects us all
Living in a community means we as individuals have a responsibility to the whole when making decisions that affect us all.
It may be your right to plant a lawn in the middle of a drought, but it is irresponsible to hose down your driveway sending gallons of fresh, clean drinking water into the ocean because you are too lazy to sweep.
We need rain, but it is not likely to happen this summer. So until our reservoirs fill and our ground water is replenished, please conserve. It is not about you, it is about us.
Cheryl Michelon
Laguna Beach
* You can’t compare Laguna with large cities
David Hansen is one of my favorite columnists. But I think that he’s way off base in his June 20 column, “Laguna can’t be afraid of change.”
Hansen expresses admiration for planning changes in such large urban centers as Los Angeles with a population of 3.8 million; Irvine, population 242,600; Berlin, population 3.5 million and Prague, population 1.25 million.
He seems to be advising that we use these cities as examples of what we might do in Laguna, which has a population of 23,000. Yet he talks about keeping the village atmosphere. This is not comparing apple with apples. Or even apples and oranges. This is comparing watermelons and raisins.
I would hope that the city is wise enough to pick a planner who knows how to design effective changes in a village.
Bonnie Hano
Laguna Beach