ACT V is not only option for...

ACT V is not only option for yard

Let’s be fair. The city of Laguna Beach did not exactly explore

all their options and other sites before settling on ACT V. The

evidence is clear, just ask the city for a copy of an alternatives

analysis. They will kindly inform you that one does not exist. They

will also explain that they do not know what moving the maintenance

facility to ACT V will do to traffic, to local business or to the

operations of Laguna Transit. The theme for this project appears to

be see no evil hear no evil.

The California Coastal Commission finding of substantial issue is

very important. The commission does not take up many appeals, the

decision was unanimous and the staff report was scathing in its

analysis of the city and county’s actions. My client and I both look

forward to a de novo hearing where the city will finally have to

explain its evasion of the coastal act.

CHRISTOPHER KOONTZ

Los Angeles

* Christopher Koontz is a lobbyist representing Laguna Canyon

Conservancy before the Coastal Commission

Montage resort area is not a scary land

I walk along Victoria Beach and thence to the walkway around the

Montage (and the Montage pool) with my 32-month-old son and

7-year-old dog just about every weekend. We have never even seen a

security guard, let alone been told to leave.

In fact, about two weeks ago, my son fell down in front of the

Studio Restaurant and badly bloodied his right knee. I decided to

call my wife and have her pick us up at the hotel lobby. My son was

screaming as I walked by the pool-side restaurant. The young man who

seats people at the restaurant immediately came over and offered his

help, even though it was fairly obvious that I was not staying at the

hotel.

Without my even asking, he left for a minute or two and returned

with some first aid items. A couple of the dining patrons also

offered to help. I felt I could not take my wet, 55-pound dog though

the hotel to the lobby, and the young man said he would take care of

it. About five minutes later, he met me in front of the hotel with my

dog. The next week I went back to pool restaurant to thank the young

man for his help and my son now thinks that this fellow is a doctor.

In short, I wander around the Montage with my wet dog and son on a

regular basis and the people there have always been extremely

courteous, even though I am not a hotel guest and am on Montage

property.

DAVID SELMAN

Laguna Beach

City needs to fix the stairway access trail

Can you believe the Laguna Beach City Council is spending $65,000

for three artsy benches at the bus station, when the coastal access

stairway-trail at 31351 S. Coast Highway needs handrails and other

improvements?

Mayor Cheryl Kinsman should stop this unnecessary expenditure and

fix the worst of six stairways in South Laguna, where mysteriously 10

coastal access signs have been torn down.

Kinsman should ask citizens three questions:

1. Should the $65,000 artsy bench money be spent to improve South

Laguna stairways to the beach;

2. Should Laguna Beach take ownership of these six major stairways

away from the county -- especially since the city attorney says the

city is liable for them;

3. Is the City Council running the city or the city manager?

City Manager Ken Frank has known these stairways need repairs for

years, and has done nothing.

ROGER CARTER

Laguna Beach

Public needs to look at reality of business

To answer the question, “Is the makeup o Laguna businesses

changing? If so, for the better or worse?” (Coastline Pilot, Feb. 20)

I see some general improvement in the types and varieties of

businesses. The lingering question is will they survive the overall

negative attitude toward commercial development. Even older, local

businesses have called it quits. Has there been any change in the

climate that fosters businesses to change for the better? That is the

real question.

As an economic engine, I sense a move backward. I don’t see the

merchants winning the battle of generating increased sales that can

possibly cover their overhead costs that have to be soaring. If you

look at the overall composition of the Laguna business economic base,

it is weak because it consists of small shops with limited ability to

generate income revenues and little community and government support

to fuel growth.

This condition exists because the public support for antiquated

rules, regulations, requirements, and taxes favor no real growth.

Parking issues continue to be unresolved, traffic hinders commerce.

Communities surrounding Laguna Beach are fostering much more positive

environments for economic growth. That pulls many of the dollars out

of this community. Seems the fact that serious commercial areas are

creeping closer to borders of Laguna Beach is going unnoticed in the

unbalanced quest to stay “quaint.”

Quaint does not sell, it only attracts. Quaint cannot cover up

inferior goods and services. Quaint does not make up for lack of

exclusive availability of unique, special products and services.

Quaint does not wash with basic demand for goods and services that

our culture demands and will buy -- somewhere other than in Laguna.

Quaint only supports ego, not economics.

All of the infighting by the many tribes of the Isle of Laguna

Beach continue to forestall real progress and builds a real barrier

for smart business people who might choose Laguna as a place to grow.

Why come to Laguna where the odds for success are stacked against you

from the moment you apply for a license? A place where you cannot

look commercial, have proven marketing practices that work elsewhere,

where success is not admired but criticized. This isle has a

reputation in the business world as a place that cannot be changed

because there is some city regulation, ecological myth, or arcane

public opinion that is held sacred beyond any reasonable compromise.

Even if you get past all these barriers you can’t find a place to

park and if your meter runs out faster than the meter maid can run --

well you know! Why bother?

DENNIS MYERS

DE Myers Group

Laguna Beach

There’s a price

to pay for freedom

Freedom is not free

There is a price to pay

For you to have admission

To another carefree day

Just ask a veteran’s family

Or a soldier standing guard

Enjoying life is easy

Defending life is hard

We need to take these moments

In our community

To walk the walk and wave the flag

That shows our unity.

Today we march in Laguna Beach

The Patriot’s Parade.

To show that we remember

The price that we have paid.

So when you see us marching by

Please join in on the fun

But remember those that cannot march

When the parade is done.

MARY CASTALDI

Laguna Beach

Golden Rule even applies to neighbors

How is it that a small group of Laguna Beach citizens of hardened

sentiments keep blocking the precious views of their neighbors with

their trees and other vegetation?

Steve Kawaratani, in his column last week, added his eloquent

voice to those who wish so fervently to persuade those with view

blocking plants to become good neighbors. Twice in his article he

suggests ways and means of retaining neighboring views, namely the

choice of the proper tree species and the healthful and regular

pruning and trimming of such and existing trees.

I am a landscape architect and do not specify any plant material

that has a potential to block someone’s view, contrary to Dave

Connell’s belief that all landscape architects are the villains in

this ongoing problem.

Does not the golden rule apply? Is the good will of a neighbor not

more important than the height and density of a tree?

PETER WEISBROD

Laguna Beach

Thanks Community Learning Center

On the 20th anniversary of the Community Learning Center, I would

like to commemorate a group of people and an institution that has

profoundly affected my life.

As part of an exemplary educational system here in Laguna -- full

of incredible teachers, parents and administrators at all school

levels -- the learning center provided me with a meaningful, lasting

foundation for my educational career and life.

I attended the learning center from 1988-92 at Top of the World

Elementary, just a few years after it first opened its doors to

students. Like today, it was a volatile time in America and abroad.

Numerous wars raged on, the Soviet Union collapsed, the Exxon Valdez

ran aground, and American forces battled in the Persian Gulf. As

young children, we may not have understood these things, but we were

aware of them and we talked about them openly.

I remember a teammate arriving to our basketball practice at the

Boys and Girls Club, running with the news that we had begun bombing

Iraq. There was an uncomfortable feeling of anxiety and excitement

among us. It was surreal to think that our GI Joe games were being

played out in the real world, with real consequences. We felt

excited, sad, confused -- the awkward feelings of 9-year-old kids

trying to make sense of a vast, adult world.

Amid all this, was the Community Learning Center -- a place where

we could not only talk about the planet and its people, but we could

actually engage in constructive ideologies for making it better. The

learning center was a remarkably dynamic forum for education. We

weren’t confined simply to the textbook -- the world was our

chalkboard, our teachers were ambassadors, and we journeyed through

this landscape not as passive travelers, but as active participants.

I can remember dozens of profound moments at the learning center;

indeed, nearly every day was marked by vibrant, positive learning.

Our teachers pushed the boundaries of traditional education in a

beautiful, constructive way. Sure, we studied fundamentals -- many of

us going on to score well on AP, SAT and college exams. But, in a

system in which teachers are increasingly forced to solely teach a

test, the learning center complemented our fundamentals with an

extraordinary, worldly curriculum. At the center, we came to

understand the importance of an empowered democracy, of a united

community, of art, culture, friendship and above all, the power of

individuals working together for positive change

I’m now 22. I’ve recently graduated college and taken my first

real job. It is a time of great transition, and as many of you likely

remember, a time in which you reflect a lot on who you are and where

you are heading in life. As I chart my course, I look back on the

things I have experienced and what they have shown me. In 22 years, I

have seen tremendous kindness and horrible violence. I have seen

people lay down their lives for others and people turn their

shoulders in neglect. I have seen extraordinary wealth and

extraordinary poverty ... war, love, politics, hatred, joy, sorrow.

It is the tapestry of a society in which we all live -- yet it is

a society made up of individuals, of you and I, and at the heart of

everything we are is our education, our knowledge, our very minds.

Knowing this, it means a lot to me that, as I navigate my way

through light and dark, through slings and arrows, I return to the

values of the learning center to guide my way. That I do so is a

testament to an institution that does not merely teach a textbook, it

does not solely prepare you for a standardized test or intense

memorization. What the center teaches above all is a vision for

humanity.

Caring for the environment, kindness, a devotion to knowledge and

education, positivity, community. These are ideals that myself, and

countless other center graduates, have based their lives around. They

are cornerstones of our identity, they are guideposts for our future,

they are the lasting legacy of the Community Learning Center.

DEREK OSTENSEN

Laguna Beach

The Coastline Pilot is eager to run your letters. If your letter

does not appear, it may be because of space restrictions, and the

letter will likely appear next week. If you would like to submit a

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