Laguna plans budget workshop for Tuesday

The city’s economic outlook and a draft budget prepared by City Manager John Pietig will be reviewed by the council and open to public comment at a 3 p.m. workshop Tuesday at City Council chambers, 505 Forest Ave.

“Laguna is experiencing some economic recovery,” Pietig wrote in his conservative summation of the city’s economy for fiscal year 2011-12 and projections for 2012-13.

Pietig cautioned that the projected percentage of increases in sales, bed and property tax revenue for the current fiscal year are not expected to continue. However, Laguna is keeping its head above the choppy financial waters thanks to reductions in spending over the past few years and the improving revenues from taxes.

The proposed budget is balanced with revenue and net transfers to the General Fund totaling $47,133,000 and expenditures of $47,062,000. Revenue for the beginning of the 2012-13 fiscal year, including dedicated funds, is estimated at $7.7 million, with estimated expenditures of $7.1 million.

Property taxes are the city’s major source of income, accounting for 55% of the revenue in the General Fund.

–Barbara Diamond, Coastline Pilot

…Continue reading “Laguna plans budget workshop for Tuesday”

Laguna police Citizen’s Academy graduates 22

Graduates of the Laguna Beach Police Department Citizen's Academy pose after the ceremony. From top row, left to right, are Bart Zanbergen, James Conway, Robert Johnson, Mark Linton, Tommy Toman, Joe Volpe, Lawrence Lee, Natalie Sundean, Don Sundean, Michael Harrington Suzanne Scallon, Rowena St. Moritz, David Sanford, Todd Snider, Jim Rue Salome Bruner, Michele Linton, Julie Brickman, Ashleigh Harrington and Sara Novak.

Twenty-two folks around Laguna know a lot more about how and why Laguna Beach police operate than they did three months ago.

They are graduates of the 17th annual Police Department Citizen’s Academy, and were awarded certificates of completion in a ceremony held May 3 at Tivoli Terrace.

“I now have more appreciation for what the police do,” said graduate Joe Volpe.

The program is designed to provide community members with a better understanding of the Police Department and help foster better communication, according to Lt. Darin Lenyi, the class facilitator.

“It is a way to get to know us,” said Police Chief Paul Workman. “We want to expose the community to a different side of law enforcement than what they hear about — corrupt or incompetent officers on television or in movies.”

–Barbara Diamond, Coastline Pilot

…Continue reading “Laguna police Citizen’s Academy graduates 22″

Students plan to protest social host ordinance in Laguna

Laguna Beach High School students are challenging a proposed municipal law that would hold adults responsible if underage drinking takes place in their homes.

The proposed social host ordinance would fine adults whether or not they are present when teens drink.

LBHS students opposed to the proposal say they are not advocating for underage drinking — quite the contrary. They argue that the proposed city law does little to combat the root problems of underage drinking and that the community needs to provide more activities for minors.

The City Council, citing other cities adopting similar ordinances, directed staff to draft the ordinance May 1. The ordinance does not refer to parents, only to anyone 18 or older who controls the property where underage drinking occurs.

Groups such as the PTA, local principals and the city’s Community Coalition spoke in support. Out of the 17 speakers, 13 were in favor.

–Joanna Clay, @joannaclay, Coastline Pilot

…Continue reading “Students plan to protest social host ordinance in Laguna”

Moms, this is your weekend

Regardless of whether your mother would rather imbibe a Bellini or inlay a bracelet, ourMother’s Dayguide has you covered. Read on for lots of area options:

Gimme Shelter

If your mother would rather spend time in a Home Goods store than in her own home, this is the option for you. The 13th annual Huntington Beach Home and Garden Tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The day includes a tour of several picturesque local homes, a gourmet buffet lunch and dessert, and a Mother’s Day boutique at the Huntington Beach Art Center, 538 Main St.

The cost is $50. Proceeds benefit students and teachers of the Huntington Beach City School District. For more information, call (714) 378-1512 or hbef4kids.org.

Walk the talk

Moms who are more set on saving the world than salivating over brunch would love to walk with their loved ones in the annual Orange County Walk Like MADD 5K.

Once again starting at Huntington City Beach at Pacific Coast Highway and Beach Boulevard, the day’s opening ceremonies begin at 8:30 a.m. The paved walk begins at 9 a.m., with closing ceremonies at 11:30 a.m.

The family health and safety fair runs from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It includes booths and activities, prizes and tributes to DUI victims. For more information, call (714) 838-6199 or walklikemadd.org.

–Candice Baker

…Continue reading “Moms, this is your weekend”

Laguna mayor kicks off reelection campaign

Mayor Jane Egly, with her husband, Paul, in 2007.

Laguna Beach has some issues that Mayor Jane Egly would like to have a hand in solving.

Egly, who is running for her third term on the City Council, kicked off her reelection campaign Sunday at Madison Square and Garden Café, dwelling on the practicalities of running a city.

Among her topics were upgrading aging infrastructure and safeguarding pedestrians by installing sidewalks; using the city’s water supply, all imported, more judiciously; and a balanced budget that still preserves Laguna’s quality of life.

“I shall continue to watch the dollars,” Egly said.

Egly is also passionate about making Laguna a “Complete Streets” city, with streets that reduce traffic congestion and are more inviting to all modes of transportation.

“This makes our city more livable and sustainable,” Egly said. “And it now the law.”

Married to retired Judge Paul Egly, an early advocate of open space preservation, the mayor has a vested interest in protecting the environment and increasing open space, particularly the buffer areas that protect homes and people.

–Barbara Diamond, Coastline Pilot

…Continue reading “Laguna mayor kicks off reelection campaign”

Modifications proposed to artist live-work ordinance in Laguna

A moratorium on projects where artists live and work at the same site in Laguna Canyon could be lifted if the City Council gives final approval to a proposal by the Planning Commission.

The council gave preliminary approval at the May 1 meeting to modifications to the existing ordinance and recommended incentives aimed at providing affordable space for artists to live and work in the M1A and M1B zones in Laguna Canyon, the city’s only industrial zones.

“This is a serious effort to keep emerging artists in Laguna Beach and to maintain and renew the synergy of the traditional art community,” said Planning Commissioner Anne Johnson, who co-chaired the subcommittee with Commissioner Linda Dietrich.

The subcommittee held workshops with local artists, architects, contractors and art groups to craft changes to the existing, but moribund Artist Live/Work ordinance. Emphasis was placed on work space and ordinance name was flip-flopped to Work/Live to reflect the precedence over the ancillary residential component.

Recommended incentives to encourage construction of the units include reduced parking and greater density than otherwise permitted.

–Barbara Diamond, Coastline Pilot

…Continue reading “Modifications proposed to artist live-work ordinance in Laguna”

GOP presidential candidate Karger marches through Laguna

Fred Karger and supporters walked the streets of Laguna on May 5 to talk to voters and hand out Fred Frisbees. (Courtesy Fred Karger)

Fred Karger, the GOP presidential hopeful, held his precinct walk in Laguna Beach on May 5 with about a dozen volunteers and a bagpiper, according to a news release.

Karger and volunteers walked up and down the streets, talking to voters and handing out “Fred Frisbees.” They started in North Laguna, then headed to Heisler Park and Main Beach and down Forest Avenue to the Fire Station.

The bagpiper gave concerts along the route, and upon arriving at the fire station, a local firefighter grabbed his bagpipe and formed a duet, the press release said.

The event ended with a Cinco de Mayo lunch for all the volunteers at the White House.

“We interacted with several thousand voters from Laguna and Southern California about my message of bringing back the American Spirit and opening up the Republican Party,” Karger said in an email.

For more information on his campaign, visit www.fredkarger.com.

–Alisha Gomez, Coastline Pilot

Police: Father accused of striking son in Laguna

A Laguna Beach man was arrested Friday on suspicion of willful cruelty to a child after his son ran into the Pavilions market at 600 N. Coast Hwy. to hide from him, police said.

The 12-year-old boy said he ran into the supermarket because his father was hitting him, according to police.

Officers arrived around 9 p.m., around the same time the 46-year-old father got to the store.

The father and son had been at a baseball game at nearby Riddle Field earlier in the day.

According to Lt. Jason Kravetz, the father reported that the boy “acted out” and was disciplined when they arrived home. That’s when the boy fled the house and ran to Pavilions.

Kravetz said the father is accused of striking his son and leaving marks on his body.

— Joanna Clay, @joannaclay, Coastline Pilot

Zpizza granted extension to stay at original Laguna site

ZPizza founder Sid Fanarof pulls a pear and Gorgonzola cheese rustica pizza out of the oven at ZPizza in Laguna Beach. (File photo)

Zpizza may keep its doors open at its original site through summer, thanks to an extension it was granted.

The pizzeria had anticipated being booted from its location at 30902 Coast Hwy. on April 16, after being told in March it had 30 days to vacate the space due to a five-year lease option not being exercised.

The spot is the origin of the international, artisan-style pizza company, which now has restaurants across the U.S., Middle East and Asia. It all started 26 years ago at the Laguna Beach location with local founder Sid Fanarof and a pizza oven.

Zpizza Operations Manager Summer Tarango said they were planning to stay until they were kicked out.

She said on April 13 they received notice that they’d have through August, which was good news since summer is the pizzeria’s busiest season.

Fanarof is scouting other locations in South Laguna, not far from Zpizza’s first spot, according to Tarango. They are already in negotiations with two spaces, she said.

–Joanna Clay, @joannaclay, Coastline Pilot

…Continue reading “Zpizza granted extension to stay at original Laguna site”

TCN South wins statewide awards

SAN JOSE — Journalists from the Daily Pilot and its Orange County sister papers won statewide awards for writing, photography and page design, an industry organization announced this weekend.

The California Newspapers Publishers Assn.’s annual Better Newspapers Contest pits the state’s papers of similar size against each other. Winners were announced Saturday in San Jose.

Pilot staff writer Mike Reicher took first place in education reporting for his School Flight series, an in-depth look at why affluent families from Costa Mesa’s Mesa Verde have abandoned their neighborhood’s schools.

Designers and editors at the Pilot — Kelly Parker, Matt Murray, Hamlet Nalbandyan and Bradley Zint — took second place for best page layout and design. (Parker has since been promoted to web editor.)

The same design and news team won first place for the Huntington Beach Independent’s page layout and design.

The Independent, Daily Pilot and the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot brought home a total of six awards for their coverage in 2011. All three papers, which are published by Times Community News (TCN), are based in Costa Mesa and share some staff members.

–Daily Pilot staff reports

…Continue reading “TCN South wins statewide awards”