Comments for Laguna Beach Independent Newspaper, The "Indy" - Laguna Beach News

Comment on All Ages Invited to Rhyme by Andrea Adelson

Andrea Adelson — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:04:12 +0000

thanks.

Comment on All Ages Invited to Rhyme by online dating tips

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Comment on Bad Behavior by Park Opponents by Kimberly OBrien Young

Kimberly OBrien Young — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:21:25 +0000

@Va NOPE! They actually and repeatedly used the term skateboarders, not teens in general. I had only 400 words to try and convey what occurred in my letter to the editor. I could have written 1000! Quite literally it was an out of control MOB. The Tony Hawk foundation, when they first stepped to the microphone said…”In 539 cities that we have built skate parks this is the first time we have faced a mob!”
@ Les if the ‘Me generation’ is the younger families, (not sure if that’s what you meant?) It was the opposite, 85% of the individuals who stepped to the microphone to yell and scream opposition was over the age of having children still at home. More likely grandchildren. They were primarily of the senior category. I said (when I stepped to the mic), as I pointed to the shell shocked kids and teens that stood with their helmets and boards off to the side…”This is who you are afraid of!!” Someone in the crowd screamed “get off the stage” (I was the first adult to step to the mic who was a proponent of a skate park. This was after 20-30 opposition speakers had come to the mic.) I wasn’t allowed, as they had been , to say how I felt or why. A few kids tried to speak and were boo’d. The behavior was disgusting!!
The opposition had maybe 3 or 4 speakers who spoke with decorum, asked well though out questions, and behaved as you would expect an adult to act. The rest was like a lynch mob mentality. (Incidentally the very good questions that those 3 or 4 people asked never were answered. No why? When the Tony Hawk Foundation ‘attempted’ to answer these queries, they were boo’d, and someone shouted we don’t care what you have to say!)
The worse part about the entire debacle was Steve Dicterow, whom I voted for, rewarded the despicable behavior on the spot, by giving them what they wanted. He announced right then and there that no skate park would be built at Moulton meadows! There was no fairness, there was no ‘conversation’ there was no batting around the pros and cons, or how issues of the site could be problem solved! Nothing! Done.
Our kids who witnessed this sham of a ‘neighborhood’ meeting will be the ones to suffer…but who cares there ‘just’ skateboarders…
Kimberly

Comment on Bike to Anywhere Week by Hedy Buzan

Hedy Buzan — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:20:43 +0000

After thirty five years living in Laguna Beach I have moved to Laguna Woods and love riding my bike to do my errands. I love the new multiuse path along El Toro road where usage is combined between electric carts, pedestrians and bicyclists. Would that such alternatives existed all over Southern California!

Comment on Residents Object to Skateboard Park by Sam

Sam — Sat, 18 May 2013 05:47:27 +0000

It seems like a NIMBY view from a few vocal residents. From the image in the paper, I can’t see how this would bother the neighborhood. It’s tucked out of site and away from homes. I agree with the other posts, it’s a different sport, than downhilling and I think skateboarding overall has gotten a bad rap. We need a safe place in our amazing town for our kids to skate. We shouldn’t have to drive to Laguna Hills, Costa Mesa, Laguna Niguel, Irvine, Lake Forest, San Clemente, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita or Santa Ana (just to name a few city parks in Orange County) to let our kids enjoy their sport.

This community has been saying this for years, but for some reason we keep finding excuses. Arch beach residents were complaining about soccer parents clogging their streets, and the noise of the park. Didn’t they realize they were buying a house near public spaces?

Comment on Residents Object to Skateboard Park by Taylor Osborn

Taylor Osborn — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:15:43 +0000

This is really disappointing to read as I grew up right across the street from Moulton Meadows park and use to skate in and around it. This would have been a great location for a skate park and residents back then would most likely been in support of this proposal. It sounds like yet another case of the entitled transplant syndrome complaining from an ignorant perspective. Unfortunately the “ET”s are infesting this great town these days. It’s just so sad how this town is changing these.

Comment on Bad Behavior by Park Opponents by VA

VA — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:01:54 +0000

Also, while we’re at it, my guess is that they’re more accurately stereotyping unattended teens rather than skateboarders.

Comment on Bad Behavior by Park Opponents by VA

VA — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:55:33 +0000

@Les, sounds like you’re stereotyping Arch Beach Heights residents the same way the original letter writer was up set that they were stereotyping skaters… Your comment doesn’t exactly contribute to community cooperation.
– Arch Beach Resident (who didn’t attend the meeting)

Also, some reading for you… http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/05/me-generation-time/65054/

Comment on Safety Ideas Wanted for Canyon Road by Les Miklosy

Les Miklosy — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:46:24 +0000

Dear Karen, the issue you raise is a reflection of our car-centric culture. Our streets have become so optimized for motorized travel they are no longer safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and other forms of non-motorized travel. If we encounter inconvenience on the street, our culture expects technological innovation to remove the inconvenience. Pedestrian tunnels or overpasses could be built but doing so every 100 yards is expensive. If instead we choose another mode of transportation appropriate for the distance travelled, we still reach our destination and avoid the inconvenience. For an illustration of this choice, see the chart at Laguna Streets.

Comment on Bad Behavior by Park Opponents by Les Miklosy

Les Miklosy — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:13:31 +0000

This reads like the ‘Me’ Generation now hold mortgages in Arch Beach Heights. Perhaps those attendees they never learned community cooperation is bound together by more than the entitlement of ‘Me’. In the 60′s and 70′s I witnessed community cooperation in Laguna Beach to solve the same social issues we face today, like motorcycle noise, skateboarding, fire safety, public smoking, fast cars, a high-school dress code. We held public meetings in TOW elementary classrooms or the high-school auditorium to introduce the issues, get consensus, propose solutions on-the-spot and get-the-job-done. It worked. Imagine all of this was possible before the Internet, smart phones, pagers, email, blogs and comments like this one.

Comment on Residents Object to Skateboard Park by Les Miklosy

Les Miklosy — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:15:52 +0000

Has anyone asked the skaters where they want to put the park and why choose that location? Perhaps Kimberly Young knows this.

Comment on Residents Object to Skateboard Park by Adam Redding-Kaufman

Adam Redding-Kaufman — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:35:43 +0000

Downhill skateboarding is a completely different sport to trick skateboarding. These residents have been misinformed or do not understand the difference.

Comment on Residents Object to Skateboard Park by alex

alex — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:33:07 +0000

I love how the residents think a park on the top of the hill will cause their to be a greater number of downhill skateboarders doing downhill. It just shows how little they know about skateboarding. Trick skateboarders (those who will use the park) are not the same as downhill. Downhill boards will not be used in the park at all so their main concern is completely irrelevant.

Comment on Wisdom Workout: A Season for Change by Healthy Eating Slogan – Voila the Shape

Healthy Eating Slogan – Voila the Shape — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:25:38 +0000

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Comment on Plant Man: Standing Up for Trees by Sand

Sand — Sat, 11 May 2013 20:35:31 +0000

Nicely written, Steve. Your modified Joni Mitchell quote nailed the stupidity of it all. How dare they cut down the most charming part of Laguna when valid alternatives exist.