Mailbag: Alcohol law sends wrong message

Regarding “Chamber wants more liquor sales,�� March 26.

I was so disturbed that my hands are shaking with shock over the possible acceptance of this casual proposal to have more alcohol in our community.

Here we are trying to convey to kids that drugs and alcohol will steer you into a downward spiral, and yet our chamber wants to have more sales to boost our economy. What is more important: the future of our society or sales? How can we continue to support positive decisions for our children when our leaders want to push the tide against them? Seventy-eight percent of the homeless are addicted to drugs or alcohol. This addiction is what brings them to the shelter. We spend volunteer time to rehabilitate them so they can go out into society and prove to themselves and the world that they are back on their feet and that they can make a positive impact in the world. What kind of example are we setting and what kind do we want to set? Who has our back?

If this goes through, then, please, let’s stop saying that we are a town that wants to make a positive difference because our actions are not backing the words any longer. Teaching people in our community to take care of themselves, to take care of others, and to be productive will create wealth in our community in more ways than one.

SUZY K. ELGHANAYAN

Laguna Beach

Finance issue in Frank replacement

I hope that the City Council reconsiders how we will find a new city manager. We have an assistant who has been in training for several years who should not have any transition issues, as this was one of the justifications of hiring this person. A consulting firm would charge a significant fee and may not guarantee anything.

Also the matter of compensation: Ken Frank is the second highest paid city manager in Orange County with a salary higher than many of our state officials and more than the newest chief justice of the Supreme Court. If you hire someone at the current salary and add benefits, then add Ken Frank’s benefits such as health care along with pension costs (taxpayers have been contributing to it over the years) and other benefits along with the assistant, we are paying more than $500,000 for three people’s salaries. The cost of living in Laguna as a salary issue may not hold up with so many houses in foreclosure; they could pick up something more affordable today than a year ago.

Didn’t Frank recently report that things were OK with the city’s pension plan this year, but there might be issues next year (when he is retired of course). At his retirement salary rate there would be a problem.

Since Laguna is the second smallest city in Orange County and most don’t have full-time assistant city managers, I ask that the City Council be prudent in this important step. We don’t need a rocket scientist to keep our city in fiscal balance and many people are still struggling, even here in Laguna. This should be of concern to all of us.

GANKA BROWN

Laguna Beach

Fishing ban ill-serves city

Major “dittos�� for the Don Beres letter (“Politics is winner in marine reserve,�� April 16). A concise, factual and heartfelt letter. Having lived in Laguna for more than 40 years, I am distressed that a once free-spirited, fun town has become one of rules, regulations and the ever-popular NIMBY syndrome. What happened to logic and just general street smarts?

I would venture to guess that the sea lions on the rock eat more fish in a day than every fisherman in Laguna could catch in a month or two. Banning all fishing off the coast of Laguna is not a fix “� it is a self-serving memorial to a City Council that is out of touch. I suppose it makes them feel ever so holy to pass judgment on something they know little about. Just because they don’t fish doesn’t make it an act of malice for those that do.

What a sad day. I suppose we’ll have to trek down south (and spend our money there) for a family day of fun and one little fish.

DONA LEICHT

Laguna Beach Kelp has many benefits to sea life

According to recent scientific research, as much as 80% to 90% of California’s legendary giant kelp forests are gone. Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) has fed abalone in Laguna for millions of years, weathering storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, El Niño and La Niña events and climate change. Yet Laguna’s kelp forests have diminished over the past 30 years primarily from over-fishing of keystone species (sheepshead, bull lobsters, sea otters, etc.); sewage and urban runoff ocean pollution; and neglect.

To aid the recovery of local kelp forests, a dedicated team of marine biologists, volunteer divers and schoolchildren has patiently worked together over the past eight years to replant kelp at Heisler Park. Once invasive sea urchins are removed, kelp spores grown in local classroom laboratories are transplanted to underwater rocky reefs under the direction of marine biologist Nancy Caruso. Has anyone noticed the kelp forest holding fast at Heisler Park?

Kelp forests are located along ocean coasts in cool, nutrient-rich water with a rocky bottom typical along Laguna. These conditions are provided off the coast of California by the cold California Current coming from the Gulf of Alaska. The dominant organism in a kelp forest is Giant Kelp, a brown alga. Kelps have an extraordinarily fast growth rate “� as much as two feet per day! Giant kelp may grow to be 150 feet tall “� half the length of a football field. More than 80 other species of algae also live in kelp forest.

Kelp forests grow on rocky substrates, which lack nutrients. The kelp plant is anchored to the rocky bottom by its holdfast, but the holdfast does not absorb nutrients like roots of land plants do. Instead, the whole kelp plant absorbs dissolved nutrients directly from the seawater. Kelp forests experience drastic seasonal changes as winter storms often break away the kelp sending it adrift. You may have noticed huge amounts of brown seaweed washed up on the beach “� a natural control to limit beach sand erosion. The hole where a large kelp once stood provides an opportunity for younger kelp to grow. Sunlight can penetrate to the deeper water and thus give a boost to lower-growing algae.

As many as 800 species of animals and 130 species of plants feed on kelp including highly prized abalone. Surfperch eat the smaller kelps, while sea urchins and snails usually feed on drifting pieces of the larger kelp. Tiny invertebrates such as copepods, shrimp and bryozoans live on the blades and stipes of the kelp. Small fish called señoritas skim the kelp feeding on these organisms. Larger fish such as sharks and sea bass eat the smaller fish that feed on kelp. Marine mammals such as sea otters eat snails, urchins and other invertebrates that eat kelp and kelp holdfasts. Whales, dolphins, sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters, as well as red phalaropes and other seabirds, come to a kelp forest for shelter as well as food.

We can learn more about Laguna’s kelp including free artwork at www.kelpfest.org. Join us from 9 to 5 Saturday at KelpFest 2010, Main Beach, and help celebrate the return of Laguna’s Kelp!

MIKE BEANAN

Laguna Beach

Preparing for another election

The election for City Council this year should be much fun and very critical to our future. Three council spots make for a majority. There are already two incumbents and one candidate announced. There are bound to be other candidates. Two years ago, I developed a “What I will look for in council candidates�� guide. I thought to update this for 2010 and share it with my neighbors.

There are a number of issues that are critical to Laguna’s future and that any council candidate should address to gain my vote.

1. Quality of life. Laguna is one of the healthiest and safe cities in the world to live in. The effort to maintain our environment, keep our oceans clean, our air pollution free, must be a top priority. The ideal council candidate will have a clear and unambiguous record in environmental issues. A vote in favor of the Marine Life Protection Act and to clean up Aliso Creek and keep it wild and/or a pledge to do so in the future are clear indications of a candidate’s commitment to our environment.

2. Business climate. The lifeblood of our city’s financial health is our business community. Laguna Beach’s businesses are known around the world for being unique. Millions of visitors each year come for our art, our restaurants, our “unique boutiques.�� The ideal candidate will have a clear commitment to keeping chains out of Laguna and for maintaining our existing businesses financially sound. This must include increasing foot traffic in our business areas as well as making the Laguna shopping experience a unique destination in itself.

3. Protecting our neighborhoods. For residents, maintaining our neighborhoods is our most important priority. We want a candidate with a clear record about and commitment against mansionization and any commercial project that threatens the integrity of what makes Laguna so unique: our neighborhood character. Our neighborhood’s first line of defense are the boards and committees charged with reviewing building plans, including the Design Review Board for residential projects and the Planning Commission for commercial enterprises. We should analyze each candidate’s record in appointing members of these boards and commissions as a sign of where they stand. As well, we should review candidates’ votes or positions to approve or deny large, destructive projects that threaten neighborhood integrity.

4. Our Greenbelt. Lagunans have fought hard for more than 40 years to create a green buffer, also known as the Greenbelt, which surrounds us, keeps urban development at bay and provides us with hiking and outdoor activities. Just look up any time you are outside and marvel at the green hillsides, free of urbanization! There is still much work to be done to make sure this greenbelt is expanded and protected. My ideal candidate will pledge to expand and protect the greenbelt!

5. Health and education. Given that our residents tend to be older than in the average California city, the state of our health-care infrastructure is critically important. I would look for a candidate who will fight to protect our hospital and its funding. Our future is with our younger residents. My ideal candidate will advocate for increased funding, higher standards, zero tolerance for drug and alcohol abuse and the best teachers.

6. Safety. Laguna’s Police and Fire departments do a great job in keeping us safe. The men and women who risk their lives everyday must be provided with the best environment, equipment and benefits so they can focus on our safety. In addition, some say that the jury is still out on the dangers of cell phone use and their towers. Our city must err on the side of caution when considering allowing more electromagnetic pollution in our neighborhoods and schools.

Every two years, we have a chance to change our direction, endorse the path we are on or tweak our city’s agenda. I will be listening to the candidates and casting my vote based on this list. I encourage you to make your own list early on so you can help select those candidates who can protect those qualities that make our village unique in the world.

ARMANDO BAEZ

Laguna Beach