Opinion
Downtown biz owner on "empty stores"

    Editor: Mr. Hagle's March 21 article in the Independent motivated me to express my thoughts concerning "empty stores." As a retailer of 25 years on Forest Avenue I've had my finger on the pulse of the downtown business community for a long time. Full Story
A true "L" raiser

    Editor: A loud cheer and hats off to the person(s) who restored the "L" on the hill over the holidays. Dave Gibbs and I had planned to give it a try on Easter Sunday but we are both pleased and impressed with your efforts. I wonder if one of you would give me a call (Iím in the book and Iíd like to hear from you). Full Story
Beyond a headline re: Connell's letter

    Editor: As president of the Laguna Beach Business Club, I would like to respond to the letter of Dave Connell (3/21/2008). Mr. Connell implicitly criticizes the club for inviting Army Lt. Col. and counter-terrorism analyst Stephen Abraham (Ret.) to speak about his experiences serving on a tribunal evaluating the status of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Had Mr. Full Story
Sticking little yellow flags in their neighbor's yard…

    Editor: Hitler would be proud, Do I understand correctly that Laguna's Water Department wants to initiate some system for folks to report neighbors that they think may be using too much water; even to the extent of sticking little yellow flags in their neighbor's yard? Full Story
LBHS - a prime spot for yellow flags?

    Editor: While I understand the desire to conserve water, I think it needs to start with our city first. On a majority of nights when I drive by the high school, I see a steady stream of water flowing down Park Avenue from the sloped grass area being watered. The sprinklers run almost every night and I have seen them running the night after a heavy rain. Full Story
Add culinary arts to LBHS curriculum

   Editor: Just prior to WWII, with an academically short-changed and Most Wanted Truancy Rap Sheet, albeit straight "As" in Auto- Wood-Metal Shop and Home Ec (now Culinary Arts); my Parents shipped me off to a military school that included Cavalry Full Story
Proud history

    Editor: "This Gate Hangs Well…" We are one of the few towns in the world that has had three people greeters. Our first greeter, Joe Lucas, welcomed people on stagecoaches back in the 1880's. Eiler Larsen, our most famous greeter, is remembered by statues and pictures in front of Sapphire, the Greeters Café downtown and the waiting area inside the Cottage. Full Story
Disagree - but disagree respectfully

    Editor: Last week's paper contained Jack Camp's response to Dennis Myers' response to Mr. Camp's letter attacking virtually everyone under the sun as incompetent and bad intentioned for not doing what he wanted. Mr. Camp concluded that Mr. Myers "just didn't get it". Full Story
The sum of a writer's 20 cents worth

    Editor: I'd like to offer my thoughts on some issues that have been receiving a lot of press lately - not trying to win any letter writing contests, just throwing in my 20 cents. Regarding preferential parking permits - bad idea. Full Story
DUI checkpoints

    Editor: As I was returning home last Saturday evening around 11 p.m. coming north on PCH to make a left turn into Three Arch Bay at Vista Del Sol I noticed all the bright floodlights and activity just North of the intersection. It looked like the Border Patrol had moved north from their normal position at Camp Pendleton. Full Story
Tooting your own horn is legal only in an emergency

    Editor: Last Saturday there was an anti-war demonstration at Main Beach in our town. Traveling south on PCH at 11:30 a.m., I acknowledged support for my fellow citizens with two short honks and a victory sign. Two police officerswere standing on the sidewalk on the south end of the park. One of them signaled me to pull over. I did. Full Story
Transcending race

    Editor: If we want to transcend race, to get past race, why don't we just stop talking about race? After all, science now tells us that "There's No Such Thing as Race", the February 8, 2008 article by Jennifer Millman: "Science shows that 99.9 percent of our DNA is the same, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute, but what makes up the remaining 0. Full Story
The cost of Iraq

    Editor: As a local resident of Laguna, I feel a bit of activism in the area of the cost of the Iraq war and its consequences at home. How long will it take for us in the US of Amnesia to wake up the possibility if the money were better used for some of the examples below? Full Story
"…our tolerance for flying feces."

    Editor: I spoke before the Council during "public remarks" last week. As many readers of The Independent know, I have been trying to make the case that feeding wild birds here and leaving standing water out in public are public health threats, which justify steppedup measures from our elected representatives. Full Story
Anatomy of a strange council meeting

    meeting Editor: While visiting southern France last year, Bonnie and I came across a tiny town with a downtown of medieval buildings that housed old - or olde - shops, apothecaries and the like. Old, stately, lovely beyond words - a scene out of history. Full Story
Our letter policy

    Letters to the Editor are important - it's a Laguna Forum Letters to the Editor have been a community right in Laguna Beach for a long time and this paper will provide space to all who wish to express their opinions on just about any subject - whether it deals with a local issue or not. Full Story