Laguna Beach’s City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to temporarily renew a contract with the city’s current medical benefits broker, bowing partly to earlier protests by unions representing police and firefighters over the lack of competitive bidding. Laguna will open the insurance brokerage service contract to bids on Sept. 1 for a new contract effective Jan. [...]
Surprised and alarmed by the removal of 10 large trees last week in the downtown area, residents expressed their anguish at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “Please stop the chainsaw massacre of the ficus trees in the downtown area,” said Pamela Goldstein, blunt in her entreaty. Ocean Avenue’s aesthetic appeal will take 50 years to recover, [...]
In other business Tuesday night, the City Council approved the addition of a rooftop deck at Mozambique restaurant, subject to proposed design changes. In January, local resident Gary Hollon challenged the rooftop plan, claiming that the restaurant had not staked the proposed umbrellas, heaters and elevator shaft on the rooftop to allow neighbors to assess [...]
Mayor Kelly Boyd stunned the City Council audience by announcing that he is battling multiple myeloma, a form of bone cancer. “Fortunately, it’s at stage two, and I have no intention of stepping down from this dais,” he said, as a compassionate audience rose in a standing ovation this past Tuesday. Boyd, re-elected to a [...]
Police Use Taser to Subdue Assault Suspect
An assault involving three men escalated into a struggle with Laguna Beach police, who ultimately deployed a taser twice to subdue the younger combative suspect in the 300 block of Cozumel around 1:15 a.m. Friday, May 10, police said. Police ultimately arrested Laguna Beach resident Sergio Gabriel Borgognone, 51, for allegedly resisting arrest and his [...]
