Mayor Elizabeth Pearson wields a sledge-hammer to start the demolition of the Festival of Arts’ entry.

Several arts leaders and Laguna Beach’s mayor took turns pulverizing a faux stone entry arch at the Festival of Arts this past Monday, Oct. 13, marking the start of a $3.5 million construction project on the city-owned land that since 1941 has been the permanent home to the city’s original art festival and Pageant of the Masters production.

The current façade was built of foam 15 years ago as a temporary structure that has weathered surprisingly well, Festival of Arts President Fred Sattler said. “We have done our best to modestly expand and ingeniously dress it up year after year with banners, planters, trim, columns, new fonts, and paint. But now, even the most aggressive cosmetic surgeons we could find have refused to work on it. They offered no hope, not one more year.”

In addition to replacing the foam and plywood facade, the project now includes a reoriented entrance into the grounds, an entrance canopy, a pedestrian promenade, seating elements and added landscaping, says the staff report on the project, which received City Council approval in August.

The new façade’s designer, Bauer architects of Newport Beach, recently received an award of merit in the un-built category for the project by the Orange County chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

“What we will be constructing is a beautiful, functional, more easily accessible and flexible gateway to the grounds that will be a community-wide asset here at this strategic location,” said Sattler, who pledged that a new, functional structure will be ready for by next spring. The arts organization financed the improvements, a decade in development, Sattler said.

Earlier, Sattler described the renovation as the first step in a broader beautification effort by city officials for the streetscape along Laguna Canyon that adjoins all three art festivals and the still-in-development village entrance.

Laguna Beach artist and Festival of Arts exhibitor Pat Sparkuhl wields a sledge-hammer with relish to start the demolition of the Festival of Arts’ entry. Photos by Jody Tiongco.

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By Donna Furey | LB Indy

Park trail boss Alan Kaufmann.

After moving to Newport Beach a year ago from Flagstaff, Arizona, Alan Kaufmann worked with Earthroots Field School, based in Trabuco Canyon, teaching children wilderness survival skills.

Kaufmann is now working on wilderness survival of a different sort. Recently hired by the Laguna Canyon Foundation for the newly created position of habitat and trails restoration manager, he spends his days repairing damage on trails and to habitats within the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and the Aliso and Wood Canyon Wilderness Park, open lands that encircle Laguna Beach.

After taking the lead role at the foundation a year ago, Executive Director Hallie Jones says she saw a need for a full time position devoted to trail and habitat maintenance.

Kaufmann joins a small staff of seven paid employees who manage the 200 volunteers in the parks, leading hikes, coordinating education programs and manning the Nix Nature Center on Laguna Canyon Road.

The job entails much more than restoring habitats by planting native plants and repairing trails. Though the preservation and maintenance of the combined 20,000 acres is under the jurisdiction of OC Parks, they shoulder the responsibility with assistance.

“There are more than 20 friends-of type organizations lending a hand in addition to state agencies,” explained Jones. “We all work together; it’s like a tangled web which I would not want to untangle because it works,” she says.

Among the organizations that assist are Laguna Greenbelt, Safe Trails Coalition, Laguna Canyon Conservancy, the state Fish And Wildlife Department and the Irvine Ranch Conservancy.

Kaufmann is also charged with learning how this collection of organizations works together to accomplish their common mission of preserving the native ecosystem, providing refuge for urban dwellers and maintaining wildlife corridors. “I’m still learning about soil, flora and fauna here too,” says Kaufmann.

Jones considered 40 candidates. “But Alan’s skill set was the best match,” she said. Kaufmann graduated from Pomona College in Claremont with a bachelor’s degree in geology and holds a master’s degree in ecological restoration from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He has done trail and habitat restoration work for the Arizona Conservation Corps and trained AmeriCorps volunteers.

In his new job, Kaufmann says he would like to involve more hikers, bikers and runners as park volunteers.

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Madison Loses Key Supporter

Incumbent Kelly Boyd, after remaining steadfast in his support of Laguna Beach City Council candidate Jon Madison over the last month, reversed himself this week.

“I waited patiently for his information to come in,” said Boyd, referring to the well-liked restaurant owner’s promise to produce university diplomas after his academic credentials at Cornell University and UCLA School of Law could not be independently verified last month. The single document he did release purported to be a diploma from Cornell University was issued on the wrong day of graduation in 1979, with the wrong name of the college department at the time and the wrong names and signatures of the dean and president that year.

For Boyd, who announced his support early in Madison’s campaign before 150 fans, the error-riddled diploma was a tipping point. “It’s not right to continue,” Boyd said of his former stance.

“He’s done a phenomenal job with the restaurant and the Heritage Committee and for nonprofits in town,” Boyd said, “but I find it hard to support him.”

Meanwhile Mayor Elizabeth Pearson, also a Madison loyalist, announced she is endorsing Boyd and Michele Oliver Hall in the race, but did not provide an explanation as to whether she was withdrawing her support for Madison. She omitted mentioning it from her statement, and didn’t respond to a query for clarification.

“I am pleased to announce my endorsement of two Laguna Beach City Council candidates whose philosophies are similar to mine as it relates to property rights, pro artists and pro businesses — and who have convinced me of their fiscally responsible approach to governing,” she said in a statement. “I am announcing support for my colleague Kelly Boyd and a long-time supporter of mine, Michelle Hall.”

Forum Provides a Primer on Ballot Issues

The pros and cons of initiatives on the Nov. 4 ballot will be explained by a representative from the Laguna Beach branch of the Orange Coast League of Women Voters twice in the next two weeks.

The presentations will take place at noon Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Universalist Union Fellowship, 429 Cypress Dr., and at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the Laguna Beach Library.

 Firebrand Hosts Final City Council Forum

Issues of interest to five neighborhood associations around Laguna Beach are the focus of Firebrand Media’s final debate Wednesday, Oct. 29, just four days before voters decide the fate of seven candidates seeking election to the town’s City Council.

The public is welcome to attend the 6:30 p.m. program at City Hall, which will be preceded by a 6 p.m. reception.

Andrea Adelson, the editor of the Laguna Beach Independent, will moderate the program.

Merritt Invites Voters’ Questions

The public is invited to attend an informal meeting from 6:30- 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 1294 S. Coast Highway #B, to hear city council candidate Paul Merritt lay out his vision of Laguna Beach and to answer questions.

Republican Supports Democrat’s Candidacy

Republican Congressional candidate Wendy Leece endorsed her Democratic opponent Sue Savary in the race against the incumbent, 48^th District Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who is trying for his 13^th term. The district includes Laguna Beach.

Leece announced her decision Oct. 4 on the KX@OneLaguna radio show, “Perspectives.” “Laguna Beach has so many Republican and independent voters that cannot reconcile their values with Congressman Rohrabacher’s,” said host Ari Grayson.

Savary, of Newport Beach, taught at USC’s Marshall School.

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HOMECOMING KINGS

The half time performance at homecoming. Photos by Doug Landrum.

2014 Dominic Droulez

2013 Andres DeLaRosa

2012 Robbie McInerny

2011 Erik Henrikson

2010 Jake Michaels

2009 Chris Hillemann

2008 Graham Harris

2007 John Robinson

2006 Dylan Fait

2005 Adam Kaplan

2004 Brent Kling

2003 Nima Mortazavi

HOMECOMING QUEENS

2014 Brenna Merchant

2013 Cyanna Atkinson

2012 Amanda Kimball

Half time antics.

2011 Marley Donenfeld

2010 Taylor Capobianco

2009 Alison Bloom

2008 Rachel Busic

2007 Kelly Hancock

2006 Candice Field

2005 Stephanie Darnall

2004 Cambria Lynn Steel

2003 Maura McManus

2002 Mahila Hines

2001 Lindsey Butterwick

1999 Lacy Hines

1998 Rachel Heussenstamm

1997 Mia Janson

1996 Leah Rodig

1995 Sarah Cohen

1994 Jennifer Prewitt

1993 Calthea Richards

1992 Linda Schwartz

1991 Tori Scott

1990 Molly Wetmore

1989 Kit Spath

1988 Stacy Trager

Homecoming royalty Brenna Merchant and Dominic Droulez, crowned at last Friday’s football game.

1987 Tamra Aguinaldo

1986 Katee Thorson

1984 Jeni Englander

1983 Karen Pearse

1982 Mollie Merchant

1981 Liz Wilcoxen

1980 Louise Girard

1979 Lyn Halbert

1978 Jill Robertson

1977 Elisa Tyner

1976 Liz Jenison

1975 Mary Ann Ottmer

1974 Marla Johnson

1973 Teri Huston

1972 Kathy Keon

1971 Melissa Almon

1969 Jeanine Benton

1968 Christy Mikels

1967 Sue Davis

1966 Jill Allen

1965 Suellen Coen

1964 Janis Zimmerman

1963 Siew Hwa Beh

1962 Corinne Brumfield

1961 Susan Turner

1960 Joan Crowley

1959 Janice Cornecl

1958 Marilyn Huston

1957 Pat Enfields

1956 Suzanne Tinkey

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Shaena Stabler

Local resident Shaena Stabler performs a full set of original tunes from her debut recording Tuesday, Oct. 28, at Mozambique restaurant.

Her 9 p.m. show is preceded by Jill Moran and Connie Lim performing sets at 7 and 8, respectively.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

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By Jennifer Erickson | LB Indy

Silk artist Olivia Batchelder in the ravine that channeled floodwaters laden with broken glass into Sun Valley Drive houses, including her own.  

The clean-up of a decades-old dump site for broken glass and debris in a Laguna Canyon ravine should be completed by Nov. 15, but the City Council learned Tuesday that the cost of remediation and restoration is $1 million more than the $2.25 million budgeted.

The Council approved borrowing $1 million internally by reducing previously approved capital improvements on three other projects.

City Manager John Pietig said he is optimistic at the next mid-year budget review the funds for the postponed projects will be restored.

In the meantime, the council’s action will allow the hillside above the Sun Valley neighborhood to be rejuvenated to its natural glory by mid-December, weather permitting, said the project manager Bob Burnham.

Burnham said another $450,000 is required to complete the process of removing waste that has been termed “hazardous” under California law. In addition, he asked Council to approve a restoration budget of $550,000, bringing the project’s total cost to $3.25 million.

When the city first decided to move forward with the project in January 2012, 13 months after the dump site disgorged its contents on the properties below it during a flood, Pietig quoted a $1 million estimate just to clear the site, with the caveat that unknowns could up the ante.

In May, when the City Council signed off on the final environmental impact report for the project, the budget for remediating the site had reached $2.05 million, with $1.3 million sourced from the city’s general fund and the remaining $750,000 acquired through a CalRecycle grant. When the city budget was revised in June, the Council also okayed an additional $200,000 injection, bringing the total to $2.25 million.

The project has been “a challenge,” in terms of obtaining permit approvals and accurately estimating the amount of waste involved, the staff report says. Extracting the waste and transporting it to Yuma, Ariz., began on Oct. 13.

Burnham attributed the cost overruns to an expansion of the cleanup dictated by the regional board and various permits.

Indicating the project’s complexity, in 2012, the ravine’s floor and walls were fortified with concrete to temporarily protect the neighborhood from errant debris until the waste could be removed. This summer, prior to the waste removal, the fortification had to be removed.

Another complication came in the form of a temporary water line that had to be installed, lest the heavy trucks rupture the existing water line running under their access route. “It cost a lot of money, but it was necessary,” said Burnham.

A bit less than half of the $550,000 restoration budget will pay to restore a drainage course. Other items include temporary irrigations systems to support the new vegetation for three years, installation of natural rock elements, and, of course, the inevitable permits.

“This site, when we have completed the restoration, will be something of a showpiece in that area,” said Burnham, who described “a beautiful sandstone amphitheater” surrounded by some vegetation. “We sincerely hope that this is the last time the Council is presented with this.”

The lesson learned from previous disasters is that sometimes “we have to delay other projects when we have a disaster,” said Mayor Elizabeth Pearson, addressing the need to temporarily borrow funds from budgeted capital improvements. She lauded Burnham, who also oversaw rebuilding after the Bluebird Canyon landslide of 2005.

Council member Steve Dicterow asked how certain staff could be that this new cash infusion would finally be enough. Admitting that this was the third time revising the budget, and that the true extent of the restoration is still unknown, Pietig said they have 80 to 90 percent confidence in the numbers.

As Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whalen said, “We have no choice,” but to approve the funding since the city is responsible for the site.

“It may seem like four years is a long time to remediate a burn site,” said Burnham, “but it’s really quite quick.”

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By Donna Furey | LB Indy

Patrick Saunders applies make-up to his sister, Peyton, one of the participants in the annual Halloween freak show.

Three-headed monsters, body parts littering the ground, heart removal surgery and scary clowns that suddenly come to life are some of the treats in store for visitors to the annual Freak Show.

A carnival theme animates this year’s show at the adult-oriented haunted house now in its fourth year, put on by the Saunders family. This year’s final show takes place on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 337 Bluebird Canyon Road.

The creators, parents Ken and Christen Saunders and their children Patrick and Peyton, are already thinking about next year’s theme. Patrick sketches the scenes while his father executes them in plywood and two by fours. “It’s an event our family rallies around,” Ken Saunders said.

Actors in the three October shows include Laguna Beach High School freshman Patrick, his friends and sister Peyton, a Top of the World student, all of whom enjoy tweaking the presentation from week to week.

As word of the freak show spread, attendance increased and patrons began offering to pay for the privilege of walking through the haunted house. Taking the opportunity to turn a family passion into a fundraiser, the Saunders now accept a $2 donation. All proceeds go to a favorite charity of Christen Saunders, the Mauli Ola Foundation of Laguna Beach, started by surfers to introduce surfing to people with cystic fibrosis as a natural treatment.

A rubber, three-headed monster.

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By Rita Robinson | LB Indy

For the first time, Laguna Beach will have a continuous, marked north-south bike route through town, as unanimously approved by the City Council Tuesday. And it’s not on Coast Highway, where several pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities have occurred just over the past year.

Due to statistics that make Laguna Beach one of the state’s most dangerous small towns to ride a bike or walk, the Council also unanimously approved an 11-point plan intended to improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety.

The plan, considered a “start,” is the result of increased roadway fatalities, the number of drinking and driving violations and the amount of both drivers and pedestrians texting while navigating busy streets,

The points include increasing public awareness of traffic safety rules and signs cautioning motorists to slow down, share the road and not to text and drive. The city will also prepare a pamphlet on bicycle safety rules, which will be given to violators and distributed to sports shops and hotels.

The safer bike route alternative to Coast Highway already exists in North Laguna starting at Ledroit Street on the inland side and Cliff Drive along the ocean. Indicated by sharrows, bike-and-arrow symbols painted on the pavement, the routes there will now merge at Lower Cliff Drive and wend their way through downtown Laguna via a myriad of marked streets to link with Glenneyre Street.

After navigating through downtown, a bicyclist can follow existing sharrows on Glenneyre to Caliope Street and then catch new sharrows on Glenneyre to Nyes Place. Or the cyclist can peddle hard over to Catalina Street via Park Avenue, where new sharrows give riders the right to occupy the lane on both sides of the road.

Source: city report.
A non-highway route for cyclists will get new sinage.

A new “loop” will even take riders to Laguna Beach High School on Park Avenue following El Camino del Mar and Wilson streets and then up Anita Street to Temple Terrace and back down to Catalina via Mountain Road. All routes funnel riders to Glenneyre at Caliope, which eventually ends at Nyes Place.

From there, there is nowhere to go south except on Coast Highway. Connecting all the missing pieces in a town with difficult topography and adding the high school and Temple Terrace “loop” give bicyclists several options of designated shared roadway and the opportunity to leave their car at home while getting around town, according to reports.

The Council’s only objection to the route came from Council member Toni Iseman, who is seeking re-election in November. Iseman maintained that Glenneyre narrows to a one-lane road from Diamond Street south, where four speed bumps and speed limit signs of 15 mph slow traffic. She also said unwitting bicyclists will suddenly be caught riding a “diamond slope” where Glenneyre intersects with steep Alta Vista Way and Solana Way before ending at Nyes.

“You’ve got a one-way street, basically, where people take turns passing each other,” Iseman said. “I’ve been criticized because I don’t want bikes riding in front of my house. That’s not the issue. I just know the street.” Iseman suggested putting the route back on Coast Highway between Nyes and Diamond.

Billy Fried, one of four local residents and recreational bicycling enthusiasts who formed the Bicycle Working Group with city representatives to map out the new routes, disagreed with Iseman’s assessment.

Fried said the narrow part of Glenneyre “calms” traffic because of its width and speed bumps. “If you put them on Coast Highway,” he said, “you’re going to have another fatality.”

The new route links are intended to offer an option off the increasingly treacherous Coast Highway. It is the first contiguous, albeit crooked, north-south bikeway through town.

“When we start to implement some infrastructure to accommodate the bicycles, that’s really the only way we’re going to begin to reduce the conflict between the bikes and the cars,” said Max Isles, a member of the working group. “They’ve got to co-exist together. It’s not going to make Laguna Copenhagen but it is definitely putting a good foot forward.”

The Bicycle Working Group consists of residents Isles, Chris Prelitz, Tamara Hlava and Fried. Council member Kelly Boyd and Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whalen, City Manager John Pietig, Assistant City Manager Krista Johnson and Public Works Director Steve May complete the group.

The Council approved a contract of $8,000 with Fehr and Peers engineering firm to design the map outlining existing and new routes. Installing bike-route directional signs and striping will not exceed an already-earmarked $20,000 to install, a city report says.

Signs will mark the beginning of routes and where directions change. New sharrows will be painted in the middle of the lane 15 feet from an intersection and every 250 feet after that.

A dedicated northbound bike lane using the shoulder on the inland side of Monterey Drive in north Laguna will be indicated by green paint and shared with pedestrians and even right-turning vehicles, according to the city’s report. A short segment on Dartmoor Street will be added to connect cyclists to trails in the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. Short segments on Broadway require approvals from Caltrans.

Additional bike racks and bike safety programs are also on the working group’s agenda

So Cal Bike Tour Avoids Laguna, Newport

By Rita Robinson | LB Indy

The death of a bicyclist on Pacific Coast Highway at Crystal Cove this past Sunday, Oct. 19, solidified the decision of a regional bike tour to avoid Laguna Beach and parts of Newport Beach as high-risk zones for safe bicycling.

Joan Marcus-Colvin addresses cyclists assembled in Heisler Park before the memorial ride in honor of her husband.

Three bicyclists have been hit by cars and killed on Coast Highway between Laguna and Newport since August 2013. The latest fatality was Shaun Eagleson, 30, of Fountain Valley, the eighth cyclist killed in Newport since 2010, according to police statistics and other sources.

Laguna has also earned disparaging rankings as the most dangerous small town in California for pedestrian injuries and fatalities and 18th for cycling accidents, based on the state Office of Traffic Safety’s 2011 statistics, the most recent available.

Debbie Brubaker, tour director of Surf N Turf, a 241-mile bike tour from Santa Barbara to San Diego, said all it took was driving the route herself.

Before Sunday’s fatality, Brubacker, an avid cyclist who works for the California Biking Coalition, said she she had driven Pacific Coast Highway through Newport and Laguna to scout the route. “I don’t want to ride this road,” she said she remembers thinking. “It was a gut feeling. It made me uncomfortable. As beautiful as it is, it’s not as bike-friendly as other parts of the highway.”

The sold-out Surf N Turf starts Nov. 1 and is the inaugural bicycle tour of the California Bicycle Coalition, whose goal is to double the amount of bicycling in the state by 2017 in part by promoting safe biking routes. The bike safety advocates pushed the Complete Streets Act, passed and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008. The law requires California communities to make roads accessible to pedestrians and cyclists as well as cars. The bike coalition also propelled the Three Feet for Safety Act, which went into effect Sept. 16 and requires motorists to remain a yard-length’s away when passing a bicyclist.

To avoid East Coast Highway at Crystal Cove in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach altogether, bicyclists on Day Four of the Surf N Turf tour will cruise from Long Beach to the Balboa Peninsula, take the ferry across to Balboa Island, cross to the Back Bay and detour to Irvine along the San Diego Creek Trail, said Brubaker. They will then follow Moulton Parkway, “a bike-friendly road,” she said, which changes to Golden Lantern and Camino Capistrano en route to Laguna Niguel, Dana Point and San Clemente. The route ends in San Diego on Nov. 5.

“Bicycling has almost doubled since 2000 in the state,” said Dave Snyder, CBC’s executive director. “It’s getting more popular and it’s getting safer. I would say Orange County is not keeping up with the rest of the state. Just look at the recent fatalities.”

Snyder said he’d like to route future tours through Newport and Laguna along Pacific Coast Highway if improvements are made. “There needs to be wider shoulders and protected bike lanes in order for us to do that,” he said. “And the speeds are too fast. It’s not safe to share the road there now.”

Green road signs that denote the Pacific Coast Bike Route along Pacific Coast Highway fall off in Newport and Laguna, said Brubaker. “The trail kind of disappears,” she said. “It’s not worth the risk right now until they make improvements and there’s definitely room for improvement.”

The five-day Surf N Turf fundraising tour costs $2,150 a person, which includes lodging and most meals. Proceeds benefit cycling advocates. Up to 30 bicyclists are expected to join the 16 five-day tour riders at any point along the route, said Brubaker. “There’s a lot riding on this, literally,” she said. “As tour director, we want to highlight the better routes. When you put a certain number of people out on the street, safety is the first concern.”

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By Andrea Adelson | LB Indy

Mission Hospital temporarily suspended elective surgery after an outbreak of infection.

By Andrea Adelson | LB Indy

Elective surgeries resumed this week at Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo after an extraordinary voluntary eight-day suspension, hospital officials said.

As a precautionary measure, elective surgeries at both campuses were temporarily halted Oct. 9 after three surgical patients contracted an infection whose source couldn’t be identified, Michael Beck, executive officer of the Laguna Beach campus, told the City Council on Tuesday. The resulting halt at the hospital, where 17,000 surgical procedures are done annually, meant the postponement of 275 elective surgeries, a spokeswoman said.

An in-house team of infectious disease specialists first detected the uncommon bacterial infection in three surgical patients in Mission Viejo between May and July, Dr. Chris Bailey said in an interview Wednesday. Among the variables monitored by his team are patient infections, antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance.

In the investigation of nine operating rooms in Mission Viejo and five in Laguna Beach, “we couldn’t find a smoking gun to blame,” said Bailey, who in 20 years with Mission has not previously seen such a widespread closure. Emergency operations continued uninterrupted throughout the suspension.

The patients were treated with antibiotics and recovered. “Keeping patients safe will continue to be our utmost concern and we are taking all actions to ensure a safe environment,” Chief Executive Kenn McFarland he said in a statement released last week to the Laguna Beach hospital advisory committee.

Though investigators could not find a sole cause, administrators focused their efforts on equipment that controls operating room humidity and temperature installed in Mission Viejo and standardizing documentation on the sterilization of surgical instruments at both campuses, said Bailey.

Though the infection was isolated to Mission Viejo, staff work in both campuses and need to have consistent procedures across locations.

Officials of the state Department of Health Services and the Joint Commission, which certifies hospitals for Medicare and Medicaid funding, were informed of the infection cluster and concurred with the focus of the inquiry, Bailey said.

The Joint Commission conducted a survey Oct. 7-8 and issued a preliminary denial of accreditation as a result of an immediate threat to the health or safety of patients or the public, said Katie Louze, a commission spokeswoman in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. The decision is subject to review and appeal.

A Joint Commission survey would normally be anticipated at Mission Hospital in the six months preceding its expiring accreditation in May, said Mission Hospital spokeswoman Susan Cole.

“The cluster put more scrutiny on other practices,” said Bailey, such as instrument sterilization. Simplifying procedures will make oversight and compliance easier. “That’s the improvement moving forward,” he said.

Whether due to corrective actions or coincidence, no other infections of Enterbacter have surfaced since July, said Bailey, who believes Mission is ready for a return inspection by regulators.

Meanwhile, nurses at St. Joseph’s hospital in Orange, operated by the St. Joseph Hoag Health Alliance that also owns Mission Hospital, publicly called on hospital management to take immediate measures to ensure the health and safety of nurses who may be confronting Ebola patients.

The hospital has failed to enact adequate measures to protect against Ebola, the nurses aid in a statement issued by the California Nurses Assoc., which does not represent St. Joe nurses.

“We believe management should listen to the caregivers and enact these standards now, for the good of RNs, other healthcare workers and the patients in our community,” said the statement by nurse Marlene Tucay, in the medical tele unit of St. Joseph Hospital.

Staff will have been trained in protocols for Ebola set out by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and will start drills next week, Beck told council members.

Because of new protocols, patients may notice extra screening precautions because of the new protocols, Beck said.

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The city’s installation of new, uniform parking signs prior to summer is credited with helping guide motorists and lessening congestion.

By Jennifer Erickson | LB Indy

Better promotion of peripheral parking lots supported by a strong trolley system prevented more cars from circulating downtown in Laguna Beach this summer, according to a city report.

While aspiring candidates espouse the strategy in campaign speeches, the current City Council has implemented it.

Preliminary data shows a dramatic increase in the number of motorists who took advantage of the two free lots at each of the city’s Coast Highway entry points – Mission Hospital Laguna Beach to the south and Pavilions to the north, while newly offered free weekend parking at Laguna College of Art & Design reached near-capacity levels from the start, the City Council learned in a report presented Tuesday. At the same time, trolley ridership rose 18.6 percent over last summer.

“I think the program was a huge success,” said Council member Toni Iseman, who is up for re-election in November. Despite the lifeguards reporting 5 million beach-goers and visitors crowding the hotels, restaurants and shops, “traffic was less,” she said.

The new parking strategies generated $1.9 million in revenue, $500,000 over last year’s take and 57 percent more than the $318,000 predicted increase.

Recommendations to reduce congestion downtown and along Laguna Canyon Road, culled from a parking management plan by Irvine-based RBF Consulting, were put to the test July 1 to Sept. 1.

The plan aimed to intercept more vehicles at the town’s periphery, Deputy City Manager Ben Siegel told the Council.

Strategies involved expanding capacity through added spaces at LCAD and valet parking; highly visible signage and robust marketing by Visit Laguna Beach; efficiency and service improvements that included smart meters, solar powered pay stations, and trained attendants in city lots, and demand-based pricing (higher at center, lower at periphery), Community Services Deputy Director Tom Toman reported.

Bringing 130 free weekend spaces in the LCAD parking lot into play this summer “exceeded staff’s expectations,” said Toman. Since the inability of standard trolleys to navigate the parking lot prevented use in the past, this summer the city employed mainline buses and small-scale trolleys to shuttle visitors to the ACT V lot where they could catch trolleys into town. As a result, the lot kept over 4,000 cars out of downtown.

A survey of the 19,000 occupants showed that 95 percent liked the arrangement and that 70 percent were headed to the art festivals, Toman said.

Interestingly, usage of the $7 a day ACT V lot fell 6 percent, or 1,000 cars, compared to 2013, the only lot where occupancy decreased. Staff surmises the free LCAD lot may be the culprit.

The 66-space lot at 725 Laguna Canyon Road, purchased by the city last year, filled up throughout the run of the Pageant of the Masters production, as did the nearby Forest/Laguna Canyon and Lumberyard lots. Visitors benefited from reduced queuing at all three lots thanks to solar-powered pay stations rather than a fee-collecting attendant at the entry, the report says.

New signs and electronic message boards appeared to boost use of peripheral lots. In South Laguna, hourly use of the 150 free spaces at Mission Hospital went up close to 30 percent on weeknights and doubled in use on weekends compared to last year. In North Laguna, use of the 50 free spaces in the Pavilions lot increased four fold.

Despite parking meter rates double those of last summer and extended hours, spaces in town maintained 95 to 100 percent occupancy on evenings and weekends, showing parking there to be very inelastic, said Siegel. Parking experts say 85 percent occupancy is the optimum level for circulation, but “absent significant rate increases,” that is unlikely to be achieved, he added.

Fledgling efforts at offering valet service for convenience and greater capacity in two locations fell short of expectations, but offered a learning experience, said Toman.

A contracted valet service that set up at the Boys and Girls Club and at the US Bank parking lot had to lower prices at both locations before attracting customers. They may revisit the concept next year, but in a different configuration, said Toman.

Revenue for on-street meters across town increased by 47 percent to $1.1 million compared to last year, and income from off-street lots rose 23 percent to $837,608 this year over last summer.

The results show that peripheral parking linked to trolleys is viable. “People will park there if they can find it,” said Siegel.

Customer satisfaction also achieved high marks, thanks to the city’s decision to educate visitors about the new parking hours, rather than enforce them, and citations this summer were down 25 percent compared to last year, said Siegel.

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Final Public City Council Candidate Forum Set

The public is welcome to witness and participate in the final forum among seven candidates seeking election to the Laguna Beach City Council, set for Wednesday, Oct. 29.

Andrea Adelson, editor of the Laguna Beach Indy, will moderate the 6:30 p.m. event hosted by Firebrand Media in City Hall’s Council Chambers. A 6 p.m. reception will precede the question and answer session.

Adelson has invited questions from nine of the city’s neighborhood associations and will put their queries to the two incumbents, Toni Iseman and Kelly Boyd, and five challengers, Jon Madison, Rob Zur Schmiede, Michele Oliver Hall, Paul Merritt and Eli Grossman.

Audience questions will be invited and added to the line-up as time permits.

Candidates Tour Town’s Safety Net

Clinic Dr. Corey Jorgensen, second from left, with committee members Gail Duncan, George Weiss and Marc Bruderer and candidates Toni Iseman, Rob Zur Schmiede, and Eli Grossman.

Rob Zur Schmiede, Paul Merritt, Eli Grossman and Toni Iseman on Wednesday took the opportunity to see for themselves what the town’s social safety net looks like.

The entire slate of seven candidates was invited on the four-stop tour to familiarize potential office holders with the local organizations that provide social services to the homeless and low-wage earners, said Barbara McMurray, a Friendship Shelter supporter. She also invited members of the city’s Housing and Human Services Committee.

Stops included the privately run Friendship Shelter, Community Clinic and Laguna Food Pantry and the city funded overnight shelter.

Be An Informed Voter

The League of Woman Voters’ Jean Raun will discuss the pros and cons of ballot propositions from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the Laguna Beach Library, 363 Glenneyre St.

The public is invited to come with their questions.

Taxpayers Association Announces its Endorsement

The Taxpayers Association endorses Michele Oliver Hall and Kelly Boyd in their quest for election to the Laguna Beach City Council.

Village Laguna Reworks Joni Mitchell Hit

Village Laguna released its self-produced YouTube video, “Don’t Pave Paradise…Laguna,” to express concerns of its members about proposed construction projects that could impact the town’s atmosphere, said Ginger Osborne, president of Village Laguna. The organization supports village atmosphere and is a political action committee.

The music video features the Joni Mitchell song “Big Yellow Taxi”, which is sung by local vocalist Sasha Evans accompanied by The Moon Police..

The video was produced by local residents Alan Boinus and Rosalie Marsh and directed by Art Z, a Sawdust Festival artist.

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Steve McIntosh redirects his creativity to summon a Short Street Cemetery, open through Oct. 31. Photo by Jody Tiongco

More details from the Short Street cemetery.

By Donna Furey | LB Indy

Laguna Beach resident Steve McIntosh concedes his motive is to lure trick-or-treaters to visit his Short Street neighborhood. He’s noticed a drop off in trick-or-treating traffic over the years and wasn’t making his own elaborate Halloween costumes anymore. So he decided to re-channel his creative energy by turning his grassy front yard into a cemetery.

“I’m not anti-Oak Street, but it gets a little crowded over there,” he joked, referring to the nearby Laguna Beach neighborhood that for years has ensnared mobs of costumed goblins, witches and fairies and assorted parents as a favorite Halloween destination.

The animated decor at 607 Short St. goes beyond faux coffins and dismembered skulls. It includes four projectors conjuring ghosts who fly through thunder and lightening and stop to chat with fellow apparitions, singing pumpkins and ghouls lingering in the fog around their tombstones. McIntosh believes he’s inspired his neighbors to become more imaginative with their Halloween displays as well. The family friendly display will be up and running every night until Halloween.

The acclaimed Oak Street party will once again be closed off to vehicular traffic from 5- 10 p.m. on Oak and Brooks Street between Catalina Avenue and Temple Terrace. In front of the Taub residence, KX 93.5 will broadcast live with lights and a disco ball, while trick-or-treaters can circle the block reveling in some of the best décor in town.

For adults, two local watering holes offer their own version of Halloween treats.

Bruce White’s 27^th annual Dead Man’s Party and Costume Ball convenes at the Shark Bite Lounge, aka the White House Restaurant, 340 S. Coast Highway. The graveyard opens at 9 p.m. with a $20 cover change and live music from rock band Party Foul. Or take in the Halloween Spectacular beginning at 9 p.m. at the Marine Room Tavern, 214 Ocean Ave. DJ Jonny Carson performs for a $5 cover and best and worst costumes win $200.

While blocks of Santa Ana’s downtown on Saturday, Nov. 1, will be filled with Dia de los Muertos shrines, local artist Sandra Jones Campbell hosts a local version. She’ll co-host a party with the Laguna Beach Sister Cities Association from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at her studio, 2173 Laguna Canyon Road. Festivities will include a taco cart, buffet, wine, beer, dancing and a costume contest with prizes. Admission is $25 for the party. Donations to fund hurricane relief for one of Laguna’s sister cities, Cabo San Lucas, are welcomed.

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By Donna Furey | LB Indy

Laguna Beach police selected Officer Zachary Fillers as handler of a new police service dog, which is expected to join the department next month and start work in January.

By then, both the service dog and Fillers, a three-year member of the force, will have completed six weeks training, which will focus on teaching the dog to catch a fleeing suspect or assist one that resists.

The City Council recently approved the addition of a K-9 officer after the Woman’s Club pledged $14,000 towards the dog, equipment and training.

Former elected official Cheryl Kinsman initiated the campaign with a $1,000 donation. “We need a dog. It’s about safety of citizens and the police,” she said.

Earlier, police and some members of the public pleaded for the addition of a canine detective to help with what they portray as a rising problem with drug enforcement. Larry Bammer, president of the Laguna Beach Police Employees’ Association, said a K-9 unit, a trained dog and an officer, will help catch people dealing drugs.

Officer Zach Fillers will soon patrol with a sidekick.

illers, along with Lt. Jeff Calvert and Sergeant Lee will pick up the department’s as-yet unnamed recruit on Friday, Oct. 31, from Adlerhorst’s kennels in Riverside. The City Council requested a dog with a temperament suited to interaction with the public, especially children. The dog, either a German shepherd or a Belgium Malinois, which looks similar to a shepherd, will live with Fillers.

The department first recruited a K-9 officer in 1988. Gero and his handler served the department until the dog’s retirement in 1996. Max stepped in until his retirement in November 2003, recounted Captain Jason Kravetz in an email.

Besides detecting narcotics, a canine can assist in locating missing persons or lost children, Kravetz said. It can overtake and detain fleeing suspects without risk of injury to an officer and reduce an officer’s risk of exposure during a building search, he said.

Also, hostile, intoxicated or mentally impaired people often back down in the presence of a dog, he said.

Fillers will learn proper and legal deployment of the dog based on current case law, Calvert said in an e-mail. Lee, Fillers’ supervisor, will attend the first week of K-9 training to learn his responsibilities in overseeing the program.

Following the initial course, Fillers will begin acclimating the dog to police department personnel and working in the field; a five-week narcotic detection school will follow, Calvert aid.

Fillers, a 2009 graduate of the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy, holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from UC Irvine.

The Woman’s Club has not yet raised the full amount pledged for the dog and the kennel has agreed to monthly $1,000 payments until the cost of the dog is paid in full. Donations can be sent to the Woman’s Club and mailed to Kinsman’s office, 32355 Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, 92651.

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Ocean Collage to Emerge From Workshop

Art by Grant Bathke

Laguna Outreach for Community Arts presents a family-friendly 9 a.m. art class at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Canyon on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Instructor Grant Bathke will guide participants in how to paint watercolor cut-outs of sea lions, fish, and kelp following a guided viewing of live sea lions.

The cost is $20 for adults, and $15 for kids ages 6-up with a paid adult. All supplies and free parking are included.

Register at www.LOCAarts.org or by calling 949 363-4700.

Rosalie’s Coming to Art Walk

Local Laguna artist Rosalie Marsh will exhibit and talk about her latest paintings and vintage style bags during Art Walk from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6. at the Violet Boutique, 341 Forest Ave.

There will be a drawing for one of her artistic creations. For further information, please contact Rosalie at rosalie.lagunaartists@gmail.com.

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Boyd, Madison Skip Firebrand Forum

Incumbent Kelly Boyd and candidate Jon Madison skipped the final public forum Wednesday, Oct. 29, for candidates seeking election to the Laguna Beach City Council.

Kelly Boyd

Madison, who also failed to make a scheduled appearance on a KX 93.5 radio show this past Sunday, could not attend due to “unforeseen business matters,” he said in an email on Wednesday. Boyd provided no specific explanation, but said earlier he felt the forum unnecessary because most of the electorate has already made up their minds or has already cast absentee ballots.

Though his academic and professional claims were discredited in September, Madison, the owner of Madison Square Garden & Café, has

Jon Madison, age-un-clear, Cafe owner.

remained in the race, having collected the second-largest campaign kitty among the seven candidates.

The five candidates participating in the campaign’s seventh forum since August fielded a dozen questions. They were the priorities expressed by five neighborhood groups that submitted questions to the editor of the Indy.

Paul Merritt

In a last pitch to voters before an audience of about 60 people, candidate Paul Merritt reiterated his campaign mantra that Laguna Beach is a masterpiece that Council members have a duty to preserve and promised to be an “action candidate.”

Robert Zur Schmiede

Rob Zur Schmiede summed up his credentials, citing 20 years as a resident, a 36-year career in urban planning and economic development and 13 years on the city’s Planning Commission, among other community contributions. He said candidate selection should be based on four criteria, all of which he meets: qualifications, experience, commitment and integrity.

Eli Grossman

Eli Grossman derided what he views as corruption among current city officials and spoke to his ability to know “when it is proper to question authority.” He said that with “most citizens ignorant,” media that doesn’t inform them about what’s going on, and leaders who cater to the affluent, he can provide the character that is lacking and lead Laguna Beach.

Michele Hall

Michele Oliver Hall agreed that the character of the candidates is of equal importance in the election as issues. While she conceded to less experience than some rivals, “I will be the hardest worker,” pledged Hall, 47, the youngest candidate. She might not always know the answer, but she will find it, she said, promising new leadership, energy and ideas.

Toni Iseman

Four-term incumbent Toni Iseman wanted to dispel what she described as a myth that newcomers to town want a different Laguna Beach. “When you come here, you come here for a reason,” she said, noting that residents and businesses support each other. She appealed to voters to recognize the value of her experience and breadth of contacts with county, state and federal officials. “I want four more years to complete what I’ve started,” she concluded.

Zur Schmiede Still Leads in Fundraising

Among groups exerting their influence in the Laguna Beach City Council election, Village Laguna appears to be the biggest spender on behalf of incumbent Toni Iseman and challenger Robert Zur Schmiede, listing a campaign kitty of $32,000 and expenses of $21,716 on the campaign so far, according to the latest disclosure reports.

The O.C. Professional Firefighters Assoc. declared a kitty of $11,000 and is also supporting Zur Schmiede; the Laguna Beach Police Employee Association disclosed $2,375 in expenditures and backing for Iseman and Zur Schmiede.

A late filing by the Laguna Beach Taxpayers Association disclosed $5,350 in campaign contributions coming almost entirely in a $5,000 contribution by a retired local resident, Carroll Dawson. Taxpayers endorsed incumbent Kelly Boyd and challenger Michele Hall.

The cumulative campaign war chests of candidates and organizations tally $315,017 so far, making the 2014 City Council race the most expensive since 2000 when a record $411,452 was spent. A final expenditure report covering the two weeks prior to the election is due in January.

Among individual campaigns, Zur Schmiede still leads in individual fundraising, having collected $57,000 in contributions to Jon Madison’s $55,000 as of Oct. 18, according to campaign disclosure statements filed with the city clerk last week. Madison’s total included a $1,000 personal loan.

Incumbents Iseman and Boyd placed third and fourth in terms of donations, while Hall and Paul Merritt placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Eli Grossman has not declared any contributions.

Both Hall and Merritt have made personal loans to their campaigns that account for a major portion of their war chests, the filings show.

Register Endorses Hall, Boyd

The Orange County Register endorsed the candidacies of Michele Hall and Kelly Boyd for Laguna Beach’s City Council in an editorial published Monday, Oct. 27.

The paper described Boyd as a “consistent voice against onerous city regulations.” The editorial board was impressed with Hall’s “Mandate for Renewal,” an outline for transparency, accountability and efficiency in local government. It included an aim to “sunset” obsolete acts and statutes.

Top of the World Endorses Iseman, Zur Schmiede

The board of the Top of the World Neighborhood Association announced its endorsement of the candidacies of Toni Iseman and Rob Zur Schmiede for Laguna Beach City Council for the upcoming Nov. 4 election.

— Andrea Adelson and Jennifer Erickson

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Editor,

The parking fiasco on La Mirada Street was settled in the worst possible scenario for a city that yearns for more parking spaces, especially those that are easy to incorporate into the flow of traffic without jeopardizing the space needed for emergency vehicles.  The right of way area that the property owner continually blocked and even fined $250 by the city,  well that area will be paved over and no parking allowed.  Is that called dysfunctional?

It appears that decision to pave and no parking was made before the actual council meeting. We never had a real chance to present our case despite having 17 legitimate signatures and clear photographs showing that this was not an either or but both is possible scenario.  We even had a photo showing the car belonging to the homeowner parking in the area that they did not want parking. Members of City Council sat impassively and quickly voted for no parking. The order to pave and no parking was signed by staff before the City Council even met. It was a done deal because one of the signers of the “no parking” petition has a private driveway that can accommodate 10 cars.  The other person, a former employee of city hall/elected official, has a wall that extends into the street and cuts the street by 13 or more feet – the street is 14 feet wide. The four houses beyond this point have concerns about emergency vehicles servicing them.  Trash trucks have to drive down backwards. This person wanted paving/no parking so that emergency vehicles could navigate our street, which is silly since it always has been navigable for as long as we can remember.  According to several people, this person has told them that if they have problems with the city that she can take care of it.  Both of these folks also belong to Village Laguna.  Isn’t that nice that they can do this?

John Peitig remarked at a previous city council meeting that there is no democracy in Laguna. I don’t know if he implied that because of the power Village Laguna has in city hall,  their members on various committees such as Design Review, PTC,  etc. to help their members. After all they are a mutual benefit corporation. Please carefully review the various candidates’ qualifications, affiliations/non affiliations, and integrity before casting your votes. This is a contentious race for City Council.

Ganka Brown, Laguna Beach

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Editor,

So Jon Madison catches hell for embellishing his past, and Michele Hall is accused of being “dishonest” for saying she is a “community volunteer.”

But Rob Zur Schmiede claims on a fake Republican mailer he’s a “Proven business leader” who will “protect our tax dollars,” and the press in town gives him a free pass on all three misrepresentations!

Rob is a 36-year career city-planning technocrat for Anaheim and Long Beach. Caught in his “business leader” fib, he claimed government bureaucrats “work with businesses.” As a junior level consultant eight years ago and government affairs lobbyist now, Rob isn’t “proven” anything in the business world.

At least Madison took liberties with truth about his past, then told voters it is what it is, take it or leave it. Zur Schmiede is calling to be a “proven business leader” right now.

In contrast, Michele Hall spent countless hours serving food at Friendship Shelter, fundraising for Boys & Girls Club, volunteering in public and private schools, rallying people to assist kids with cancer. Still, she was forced to answer irrational poison pin accusations of “subterfuge” for “failure to disclose” her political party volunteer work on the ballot.

That would be funny, since the Registrar of Voters doesn’t allow political party work on a ballot profile, but the ignorance of her accusers was not amusing. The press never got to the truth, which is that Hall listed community volunteer service because that’s closest to her heart.

As for “protecting our tax dollars,” Zur Schmiede recently said, “The thing wrong with the village entrance was lack of public support.” So he supported the $60 million revenue bond for the village entrance in 2013, but not now because the public rejected it? Wow, true leadership!

Zur Schmiede won’t say if he openly opposed extra property tax to buy public parcels of land in residential neighborhoods or if he supported the $5.2 million city paid for the Christmas tree lot.

Rob promises inclusion using grandiose “Big Tent” sloganeering.  But Rob and his wife, a former Newport Beach City Attorney, have presided over all design review for years, picking winners and losers under vague standards applied arbitrarily more often than not.

Zur Schmiede is Verna Rollinger on steroids. That’s why he’s Village Laguna’s boy.  Why should they mind if denying it helps him get elected?

Christopher Kling, Laguna Beach

The author is the platform committee chairman of the Laguna Beach Republicans.

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By Rita Robinson | LB Indy

In the first eight weeks of the school year, 12 Laguna Beach High School students have been diagnosed with concussions, as many as suffered the injury for the entire 2013-14 session, according to a report presented to the Laguna Beach school board Tuesday.

Football players accounted for 11 of those traumatic brain injuries (tbi) and one soccer player completed the dozen. Two more athletes, a soccer player and a volleyball player, suffered concussions while playing at a private sports club, bringing the total to 14.

Irene White, director of special education and student services, and Mike Churchill, athletic director at Laguna Beach High School, presented the report on the school district’s concussion management guidelines. The protocols meet the legal requirements for reporting and diagnosing concussions that become effective on Jan. 1. A change to the state education code requiring concussion management was made into law in 2011. “We’re getting a lot more direction,” said White.

School staff members are becoming more aware of the signs and symptoms, Churchill explained, and are more likely to ask students demonstrating uncharacteristic behaviors about recent injuries.

In a town where intense outside-school activities range from downhill skateboarding and mountain biking to surfing and body-surfing, concussions can happen. Up to 3.8 million people nationwide sustain a brain injury annually, but most are considered mild, the report says. Symptoms include atypical headaches, disturbed sleep, confusion, distraction and difficulty concentrating. If indicated, the student then tests for head injury.

The prevalence of liability lawsuits in California plays a big role in meeting state requirements, Churchill said.

The district’s guidelines list the procedures for dealing with concussions students incur in and out of school. Before each sport’s season begins, each student athlete is now asked to take a test for cognitive abilities, establishing a personal baseline, Churchill said. So far this year, 700 of 998 students enrolled at the high school have provided a baseline, a protocol established by the district. When a concussion is suspected, the student is given the same test again and results are compared to the student’s baseline.

If the student tests lower in cognitive ability, he or she is directed to see a health-care practitioner specifically trained in concussions, per the new law, for diagnosis. The student can only return to sports activity when the physician gives permission. “A lot of athletes won’t say anything because they don’t want to be taken out of the game,” Churchill told board members.

If the student is diagnosed, the new law requires seven days of “brain rest” without athletic activity or any physical or mental overexertion. Brain rest, explained White, means no cognitive activity, including video games. “I’m a parent; you’ve got to set those limits,” she said. The student athlete will agree, she said, once they understand the importance of rest if they want to play again.

Allowing the brain completely heal from a jarring impact is crucial, says a 2009 article released by the National Institutes of Health. Now known as Second-Impact Syndrome, a secondary impact can cause permanent brain damage and even death. “While rare, it is devastating in that young, healthy patients may die within a few minutes,” Tareg Bey, M.D., and Brian Ostick, M.D., stated in the article. “Emergency physicians should be aware of this syndrome and counsel patients and their parents concerning when to allow an athlete to return to play.”

The rest time fosters the return of concentration, learning ability and memory. “If you stop and think about it, it’s common sense,” said Churchill. “If you sprain your ankle, you stay off of it. If you sprain your brain, get off it and rest. We don’t think about the brain because we don’t see it.”

One of the problems in spotting concussion is that the student may look fine and engage normally with others because the symptoms are subtle, said White. A handbook for parents on concussion resulted from questions asked by a parent last year about symptoms and what to do next, she said.

The new law limits the amount of time a student can participate in full-body contact during practices, like tackling practice at game speed, defines concussion and describes when a student is able to return to the playing field. There’s no limit for full-body contact during a game, White said.

“If the athlete bobbles off the field, we check for concussion,” said Churchill. “It’s like a field sobriety test. We check balance; they follow the finger. If they can’t do that, they can’t go back on the field.” Two full-body contact practices are allowed each week, not to exceed 90 minutes in a day, according to the new rules.

The new law requires the school, the athletic director, athletic trainers and coaches to inform parents if a concussion is suspected. The district has been working on meeting the state’s requirements for the past 2½ years, White said.

The district is using an outside consultant for baseline testing until the staff is fully trained, White reported. “Quite honestly,” she said, “most M.D.s don’t have a mechanism for post-concussion testing.”

White described the process as a “living document” in that it can change according to the circumstances. “It’s not until you live through it that can you see what’s wrong with it, and we’ll tweak it from there,” she said. If it hadn’t been for testing against a baseline, Churchill said concussions in the soccer and volleyball club players would have gone undetected.

School parent Sheri Morgan suggested to board members that the information to parents about concussion detection and protocols for treatment be made available through the district’s website, adding that one of her children got rear-ended in the canyon, a common concussion-producing accident.

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Remembering the Fight to Save the Canyon        

A rally of 7,500 people protesting development in Laguna Canyon halted an Irvine Company developing 25 years ago.

The Laguna Canyon Conservancy marks the 25^th anniversary of the Walk in the Canyon with a special presentation during its regular 6 p.m. meeting Monday, Nov. 3, at Tivoli Terrace, 650 Laguna Canyon Road.

One of the original organizers of the anti-development rally, Harry Huggins, will recount the successful efforts of diverse groups that included former Mayor Lida Lenney, Village Laguna and the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce, which will be recognized for their participation.

Photographers Mark Chamberlain and Jerry Burchfield 25 years ago gathered support to build a collaborative art project constructed at Sycamore Flats, now the Jim Dilley Preserve, along Laguna Canyon Road. Using over 100,000 photographs donated by people throughout Orange County, the artists arranged them by color to draw pictures with the knowledge that over the summer the color photos would fade.

On Nov. 11, 1989, the Walk in the Canyon started at Irvine Bowl Park and ended at “The Tell,” as the art project was known, in Sycamore Flats. About 7,500 people made the trek, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. A direct result of the protest was the halt of Laguna Laurel, a planned development of 3,500 houses by the Irvine Company in the canyon. The city of Laguna Beach negotiated the purchase of the property and residents passed Measure H, a $20 million bond measure to fund the purchase with a nearly 80% yes vote.

Tickets to the celebration, $10 to conservancy members and $15 to the general public, are available by reservation. Contact Sharon Larimer 949-545-7669.

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By Jennifer Erickson | LB Indy

Residents who want to help resolve local view disputes can apply for appointment to Laguna Beach’s newest citizen-led panel, the View Restoration Committee that is being established to arbitrate claims under the new and still-controversial view ordinance that takes effect Dec. 17.

Anyone interested in serving a two-year term on the committee must submit an application to the City Clerk by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12. The City Council will interview all applicants at their regular meeting on Jan. 6.

As prickly battles erupt between neighbors who fail to resolve their differences over view-blocking vegetation, the panel will step in to rule on whether property owners have submitted enough evidence to support their right to reclaim prized views and maintain original property values, or whether they are trying to inflate their property values by creating views they never paid for in the first place. But that’s only if an expert mediator can’t settle the dispute first.

The arbitrating committee should be comprised of “smart, honest, rational, objective and fair people” who will give participants in the process and the community at large a sense that the law is being interpreted and applied fairly, said local attorney Larry Nokes, who chaired the group tasked with drafting the ordinance. You need individuals “who can apply the ordinance, and who will not seek to impose a particular agenda,” he said.

Earlier this month, the City Council authorized engaging the same mediator responsible for resolving view disputes in Rancho Palos Verdes, whose court-tested view ordinance served as a model for Laguna’s. After a year of public hearings by a task force responsible for developing a new ordinance, the Council adopted the new law on June 17, but stipulated that it not take effect for 180 days to allow staff time to prepare a system for implementation, including hiring a new full-time associate planner to handle the view-related workload and retaining the services of a professional arborist.

The new view restoration and preservation ordinance replaces an existing law that went into effect on Nov. 4, 2003, and was derided for its lack of enforceability.

Under the new law, a homeowner trying to recapture a lost view has recourse to an enforceable result, provided that the obstructing vegetation is within 500 feet of his property and provided he can prove the view existed either at the date of the property’s purchase or at the time the original ordinance went into effect in 2003, whichever is earlier.

The re-written ordinance encourages neighbors to cooperate. The view restoration claimant must first prove that he tried to reach an agreement with the vegetation owner before coming to the city for recourse. At that point, the homeowner can file an application for a notice of intent to file a claim, which triggers a city-facilitated mediation. A majority of the view issues in Rancho Palos Verdes are now resolved in mediation, according to a staff report.

If the mediation fails, the claimant can then file an application for a view restoration claim, including evidence of the pre-existing views. The as-yet-unassembled five-member View Restoration Committee, will visit the property and hold a publicly noticed hearing. If they find that a significant view is impaired, they can issue a view restoration order, including a long-term vegetation maintenance schedule, and the vegetation owner must comply, subject to code enforcement. Both parties may appeal the decision to the City Council.

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