Editor, My name is Taylor Mellinger and I have enjoyed growing up as a local and regular visitor of Laguna Beach. Ever since a young age I would see spear fishermen make their way out into the water and would watch them disappear into the vast blue in awe. Then in seventh grade after receiving [...]
With the federal government declaring the extraordinary number of starving sea lion pups along the Southern California coastline an “unusual mortality event,” the door is opened for possible emergency funding for the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, a center spokesperson said this week. Nearly 150 young sea lions are now receiving emergency care at PMMC, the [...]
Massive 100-year floods, like the one Laguna Beach experienced two years ago that raged through Laguna Canyon neighborhoods and sent overflowing runoff and sediment through downtown shops, will happen every year in less than 40 years, according to an expert in flood-water mapping. While floods of that magnitude have a slight 1 percent probability of [...]
Casa Laguna Inn and Spa was chosen as one of the nation’s top 10 hotels in the romance category by TripAdvisor in its 2013 Travelers’ Choice awards. Five California hotels were listed in the top 10 category, and Casa Laguna, , listed in seventh place as the sole Southern California nominee. The boutique hotel at [...]
Mary Louise Ferguson of Laguna Beach passed away peacefully at her home on Dec. 31, 2012 after 94 years of vibrant living. She had a smile on her face until the very end. Born in Detroit, Mich., Mary Louise spent her young years in Glendale and raised a family in Whittier and Newport Beach. She [...]
Editor, Thank you Rita Robinson for your timely article, “Group Calls for Keeping San Onofre Closed,” Jan. 18 edition. Many signs show SCE plans to restart one reactor dome in March. I have attended all of the NRC meetings held here in Southern California. At the last one in November I could not believe that SCE [...]
The Buy Hand store celebrates its grand opening on Thursday, Oct. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. at 670 S. Coast Highway, Unit B. The storefront offers handcrafted gifts and treasures, including work of local Southern California artisans. Owner Kavita Reddy will unveil “The Handmade Promise,” an opportunity for guests to pledge towards the creation [...]
Museum Hosts March Events Laguna Art Museum hosts a free family day on Sunday, March 11, in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibition Victor Hugo Zayas: Mi Obra, and a panel discussion on Sunday, March 18, about rethinking the birth of art in Southern California with panelists Paul Karlstrom and Hunter Drohojowska-Philp in conjunction [...]
Editor, I rarely see coverage of our local legislators and their voting records in the Independent. However, because Southern California sends so many politicians to Washington, the bigger newspapers don’t usually single out any of them for scrutiny either. Case in point: The U.S. House of Representatives passed an ethics bill on Feb. 9, S. 2038, [...]
Laguna Beach-based LED lighting manufacturer Cerno lit up the New York International Gift Fair at the Javits Convention Center recently, when they exhibited their current line of modern LED light fixtures from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. Established in 2009 in the hometown of its three founders, Cerno is an industrial design and manufacturing company [...]
Editor, Green architect Chris Prelitz’s proposal to transform and revitalize Laguna Beach as an eco-destination is right on the money (“Eco-Trade Not to be Ignored,” Nov. 28). In the face of economic uncertainty, art and other luxury items are the first thing to go; this fresh identity for the town could save it from eventual [...]
Sea and Sky Energy! With last Sunday’s generous helping of rain, nearly ¾ of an inch, we’re on a pace for an 18 inch season, a little over 4 inches above the seasonal normal of 13.95. So far there’s been good distribution of rain with a 5-7 day dry period between storms. As of today, [...]
BC Space Gallery hosts a public reception for the art exhibit “Homeless in Paradise” Saturday, Nov. 5, beginning at 5:30 p.m., offering a penetrating look into life on the streets of sunny Southern California.
“This can’t be cancer, because I had a mammogram,” Laguna Beach resident Sol Roberts recalled thinking when she found a lump in her breast in December 2006. Though the uncomfortable test intended to detect cancer found none just five months earlier, Roberts’ self-examination saved her life. After a lumpectomy, followed by chemotherapy and then radiation, [...]
Jarrett Jensen, a Laguna Beach firefighter, was invited to compete in men’s indoor volleyball at the 2011 World Police and Fire Olympics in New York, Aug. 26-Sept. 5. With 18,000 competitors from over 70 countries, he will be on a team with other firefighters from Southern California while representing Laguna Beach Fire Department on [...]
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 [...]
