Opinion
City did a beautiful job with Heisler Park renovation

    Editor: I am a long time resident of North Laguna and have been taking almost daily walks in Heisler Park for years. Being a creature of habit it was very difficult for me to have to walk around the fencing that surrounded most of the Park for so many months while the City and its contractors worked feverishly to complete the rebuilding and upgrading of the facility. Full Story
Council needs to reconsider Alta Laguna Park play equipment

    Editor: Alta Laguna Park is well used by our local children and visitors alike. It is unfortunate that the Council could not hear the comments from many of the Top of the World parents at your Sept 2 hearing when you made the decision to overrule the Design Review Board and accept the Recreation Committee's selected play equipment for Alta Laguna children's play area. Full Story
Thanks to LBUSD for making CaDance possible

    Ed. Note: The following is an open letter to the school district and parents/students As a mother of two LBHS graduates and a 40+ year Laguna resident, past Chair and co-author of the AIPP (Arts in Public Places) serving the arts for ten years in the UCI School of Fine Arts, it was a thrill to attend this year's CaDance performances held in the LBHS Artists theatre. Full Story
Robin Rounaghi deserves the credit for SchoolPower Palooza

    Editor: I was happy to see your coverage of the SchoolPower Palooza; a great family event that I hope will become Laguna tradition. With success should come proper recognition, and in this case, all credit should be given to Robin Rounaghi, the vice president of SchoolPower. Full Story
Separate but not equal

    Editor: I would like to thank Ed Peterson for his thoughtful letter about civil unions for gay and lesbian Americans. Assuming that Ed is in a heterosexual "marriage" with the 1100+ benefits that marriage allows, Gay and lesbian Americans are asking for those same benefits. Full Story
Having a baby is not a prerequisite for getting married

    Editor: I agree with Ed Peterson about the importance of families, but not with his attempt to introduce "having babies" as a requirement for producing a family unit. Lots of married men and women don't have children and lots of gay and lesbian couples do. Full Story
It's simple - just change the term 'marriage' to 'civil marriage'

    Editor: Well, Mr. Petersen, your only objection to same gender marriage is that it cannot produce babies. I am always entertained by the rationale people produce for their prejudice; but never the less, let us first address this 'reason'. Full Story
Kelly & Charlton Boyd are not related

    Editor: I just read Boyd's Corner [ad 9/26] and while I respect Charlton Boyd and have for over forty years, I want people to know we are not related. Charlton has always been a friend and to this day he remains a valued friend. Full Story
Egly & Rollinger will bring change to Council

    Editor: Ten years ago our problems in town were pretty much the same as they are today. There has been relatively no progress on traffic, as the Council majority just approved their 10th traffic study and still can't make a decision; analysis paralysis. Likewise with parking, the Village Entrance, mansionization, City Hall service, Montage/ Athens, etc. Full Story
Support Cheryl and support local arts

    Editor: My family has supported the Arts Community in Laguna Beach since we moved here in 1976. Two of our four children received scholarships from the Festival of Arts that helped support them through their college years. Three of them have BFA degrees in Theatre. Full Story
Verna blends old Laguna with new Laguna

    Editor: If I had to choose from the whole town's 25,000, I could not come up with a better candidate than Verna Rollinger to right our ship and get the City Council moving in the right direction. She ran two years ago and lost by 138 votes. Can we find her 139 more votes? Verna has the right temperament for a job that needs a cool head and a steady hand at the tiller. Full Story
Kinsman has the essential financial expertise

    Editor: I've been watching the latest financial news with gratitude that our current City Council's capable leadership has kept our city fiscally sound. While the rest of the world has gone mad, our local officials have kept us more than solvent and should be applauded for their prudence. I hope we continue in the same responsible manner. Full Story
Aliso Canyon area needs affordable improvements for all

    Editor: Most Laguna townsfolk believe councilperson and protem mayor Cheryl Kinsman and her sidekick, councilperson Kelly Boyd, were financially supported by the big corporation who owns the hotel adjacent to Treasure Island Park and the Aliso Canyon resort and golf course. Full Story
Vote by Mail - your vote will be counted first

    Editor: This is a quote from the Orange County Registrar of Voters website: " Last Friday we operated a mock polling place and ran through staff to study the time it took to process voters and vote in a simulated high-turnout precinct. Full Story
Prefer the human voice to an email

    Editor: I'd like to thank the folks who wrote in and emailed me with positive thoughts after my letter a week or two ago (including James, in the 'other' paper). Also, I'd like to extend a sincere thank you to Greg White who is responsible for the wonderful review on my latest record in what turned out to be one of the last 'Reviews By Haleh' columns. Full Story
Get Lifeguard HQ facts for yourself at Main Beach

    Editor: I've heard a lot about the proposed new lifeguard HQ at Main Beach. If you're interested in determining the facts you can easily go and see for yourself, as I did last week. I was greeted at the beach side front door by a couple of guards who gladly and professionally showed me quickly around. Full Story
Nebulous help

    Editor: Hey voters, have you noticed the mess this often alluded to Christian Nation is in? Our president and many members of the congress, when taking their oath of office, added at the end the words, "So help me God" (hands upon a holy book). The godly help these pious politicians asked for has been underwhelming. Full Story
Palin in comparison

    Editor: From her complete failure to answer the questions, to her nonsensical responses evidencing her utter lack of qualification for the job, to her habit of dropping her 'G's, when one hears the Alaska Governor debate the intelligent, articulate, eminently qualified and genuinely patriotic Joe Biden, she's Palin in comparison. Full Story
Palin was disrespectful

    Editor: One of the reasons for watching the Vice-Presidential debates is to discover the character of the person who will be the second-in-command and possible leader of the Nation. Palin revealed how disrespectful she is of others and of the Constitution. Full Story
The name Eugene V. Debs comes to mind

    Editor: This political season has me thinking of past years and events, which I vaguely remember in many cases. For some reason I can't explain, the name, Eugene V. Debs comes to mind. Why it should I can't explain because this man died in 1920 when I was only six years old. Full Story
Dems could win big and must include the GOP in this dangerous time

    Editor: Last week Sarah Palin tanked repeatedly and dramatically with Katy Couric. Then she couldn't bring herself to answer the questions in her debate with Joseph Biden. Perhaps she had been dipping into Cindy's supply of Vicodin. Full Story
Loans to low-income borrowers doomed Fannie and Freddie

    Editor: For those trying to understand the financial mess the country is in, there was a New York Times front-page Oct 5, 2008 article "Pressured to Take More Risk, Fannie Reached Tipping Point" by Charles Duhigg. • "When the mortgage giant Fannie Mae recruited Daniel H. Mudd, he told a friend he wanted to work for an altruistic business."…"Mr. Full Story
Washington ought to 'bail out' homeowners in peril

    Editor: Hundreds of thousands of U.S. families are being evicted. George Bush, a terrific salesman, has again persuaded the United States to adopt a grossly misconceived scheme, which attempts to value failing residential properties, without concern for the Americans being evicted as mortgage expenses are pulled upward. Full Story
Bailing out NASCAR, Hollywood producers, Alaskan fishermen, etc.

    Editor: We were told that our credit markets had to be propped up by the massive "bail out" bill or our economy would collapse. We were caught between a rock and a hard place. Just maybe we needed this bill, regardless of which political party was responsible for the financial mess (and probably both were) and no matter how hard it was for most of us to accept. Full Story
Recession and Normalcy vs. Depression

    Editor: By any measure, we are in crisis mode just now. The citizenry is shell shocked by reversals and bad news in the daily news. Russian and Chinese frigates in the Caribbean supporting Venezuela and Cuba. A murder-suicide rampage in a tony suburban home. The mud-slinging desperate phase of the Presidential campaign. Full Story
E-mail letters to: Stu@LBIndy.com

    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