Thanks on behalf of Robert McGuire Thank...

Thanks on behalf of Robert McGuire

Thank you “Cheers” of Laguna on behalf of Robert L. McGuire, Sr.

1908-2003. That’s the TLC lunch program at the Senior Center on

Legion and Catalina where “everyone knows your name and says hello.”

Thank you to the many friends there who took the time these last

eight years to join him for lunch and be friends of “Bob.” Thank you

to the Laguna Beach Fire Department for coming to his aid when

needed; these guys are really good.

Thank you to the South Coast Medical Center ER, friendly and

professional. Thank you to the many shop owners and workers who waved

and said hello on his daily walks. Thank you to the young lady at

“Quicksilver” who took the time to call up one night to say, “Your

Dad’s down here and he’s a little confused.”

It’s the people that make this city.

DON VICKERS

Laguna Beach

Dog waste research is outdated

According to the outdated research presented by Bruce Hopping

regarding dog waste and the potential effects it could have on human

health, I should either be dead right now or severely deformed --

tumors coming out of my eyes, oozing skin lesions, a severely swollen

abdomen due to enlarged liver and spleen, and a persistent cough due

to lung disease (“Dog waste can be a health hazard,” Feb. 21). I am

happy to report that I am not only alive, but very healthy. I have

worked in the field of dogs for the last 10 years. I have been

exposed to a lot of fecal matter. My employees have also been in the

dog field for at least five years each. They are also very healthy

(one employee has never taken a sick day in three years). I know many

veterinarians, groomers and people who work at boarding facilities

and none of them have contracted any of the infections stated by

Hopping.

In fact, I had a doctor’s appointment just last week for a general

health check up and he stated that my immune system is actually

stronger due to the constant exposure to various bacteria, viruses

and parasites. Also, the latest research (not research that is 30

years old) shows that medical researchers have found that by exposing

children to a variety of animals while their immune systems are in

the developmental stages actually makes their immune systems

stronger.

So the solution here is not to try and scare people, it is to just

get them to pick up after their dogs. We are not in the Cold War era

anymore, so we do not need issues to be so black and white. Dogs are

now considered family members to many owners. Legislation in some

states has even made them legally “companion animals.” I know this

must scare people, but as a community we need to get a handle on this

problem. I propose adding an extra $10 to the yearly dog license

fees. This money, as well as increased fines for not picking up dog

litter, could pay the annual salary for a new city employee in the

“Keep our Parks And Beaches Clean” department. Hey, that employee

could also pick up the garbage left by us humans.

STEPHANIE MARSHALL

Laguna Beach

Make sure to pick up after your dogs

Today we are living in a world of who gives a darn about the laws

of the land. It’s a pity we have some dog owners who feel they are

above the law and make it bad for others who abide by law to pick up

after their pets.

Today we need strong pick-up laws. They should be enforced.

I always ask where is your bag if I see no one with a plastic bag.

The newspaper plastic bags are great for pick-up.

Blatant dog owner violators of the law: you have a responsibility

to pick up after your dog or dogs.

MARGARET BUTT

Corona del Mar

Wally (April 14, 1991 -- Feb. 23, 2003)

Wally, the magic dog went off to heaven, or dog heaven or to be

reincarnated on Sunday.

If he is reincarnated it will certainly be at the highest level,

and if an angel he will capture God’s heart, as he done to everyone,

and sit at God’s feet. I call Wally magic because in all his 12 years

his beauty and remarkable charisma spread peace and joy to all who

met him. There was an aura that emanated from Wally that surrounded

and encompassed all who met him, especially children.

The magic of Wally was always apparent from puppyhood to old age.

When friends or strangers came to visit or pass by Wally, his

beautiful sister Tiffany and his courageous and smart mother Ginger

were always eager to greet them, but within minutes the magic of

Wally would capture the visitor and love was in the air.

Of course all dogs are special, being the only of God’s creatures

that are always loyal and love unconditionally regardless of how you

look, or what you posses or what you can offer them. They only want

to love and be loved. We have shed tears for four days since Wally

received his death sentence from the veterinarian, I cry now as I am

moved to write to you about Wally. Oh pity the person who has never

been fully loved by the faithful trust and deep love of a dog. How

sorry I feel for those few people who write the papers complaining of

the natural and innocent sins of dogs.

Yes, I know that some of the comments are directed against owners

who fail to pick up dog droppings or whatever, but behind it I sense

that they have never had God’s gift of the beautiful love of a dog.

How sad I feel for them. At my senior age I have lost dogs before and

felt their loss intensely, but never has a dog so captured my heart,

and the heart of all who knew him, especially the heart of our

nine-year old grandson, Austin. In Austin’s frequent weekend visits,

he and Wally were inseparable even sleeping together like two angels

side by side.

If the paper prints this letter, I am sorry to have to share our

grief with you but somehow I feel that most of you will understand

even better than I why I am doing this.

DAVE AND DIANE CONNELL

Laguna Beach

A reference guide to design review

With the stock market dipping south and the increasingly

optimistic real estate market jogging up, many people are looking to

build their extra cash into remodels, rebuilds and various home

renovation projects. Of course in Laguna Beach you don’t just add a

sundeck or tear out a carport. No, in Laguna we like to send people

through a little helper’s process called Design Review. Here you will

be either rewarded for your sense of style and reverence, or cast out

as a heretic and banished to coexist with spiteful neighbors. It can

be a luck of the draw or a trip down a steep, often rocky, hill.

Either way, here are some helpful tips for those who endeavor to

change their castle (may God be with you.)

Sometimes Design Review Board members like to use their own

language. It can be somewhat difficult to understand at first, but

hey, by the third time you have changed your plans, you too will

understand it quite effortlessly.

Mass and Scale -- Big words meaning “Whoa, your 300 square foot

addition is way too big!” These words also refer to the board

member’s opinion that your home is already big enough, why on earth

would you need a sun deck too?

Stealthy -- Usually means “I don’t really like the style of your

home, could you please make it look like it’s not really there.”

Aliso Viejo / Newport Coast -- Always held up as the example of

how NOT to use colors, turrets, front door entrances or any other

design feature.

Dense -- See Mass and Scale

Artfully placed -- Refers to where you should place anything from

trees to windows as deemed appropriate by the individual review board

member.

Hillside guidelines -- Please bury half your house into the

hillside. Thank you.

Charming -- This is the big ticket word that every applicant

should strive for. It means that your home looks like a dilapidated

shack and fits perfectly into the neighborhood. Approval is imminent.

Reminiscent of Northern Italy -- Again, a big ticket term, meaning

that you have created a slice of Europe in your home’s design and you

will be handsomely rewarded with an approval -- on your next trip to

Design Review.

A. GREENE

Laguna Beach

What to do with the Montage-Redo

Sure, there were a few people unhappy about the conversion of

Treasure Island from a dated trailer park surrounded by ugly fences

and “no trespassing” signs to a beautiful public attraction. The

majority of Lagunans voted for a quality venue and now it is a

reality for everyone. What to do?

First, make sure the city officials funnel the tax revenues back

into our schools and community facilities like they always promised.

In the Montage we have a quality business neighbor that will generate

significant tax revenue instead of another “tattoo coffee taco

lingerie boutique”!

Second, visit and enjoy the beautiful park areas. Those that

worked so hard to include park and recreation areas for the public

should be proud of their accomplishments. You sure couldn’t enjoy the

beach as it was in the past.

Third, remember that those working at the resort are ambassadors

for our city. Let’s reinforce their efforts and also become

ambassadors so those visitors from around the world will learn how

special it is to be in Laguna Beach.

Fourth, offer thanks we have a responsible business organization

managing the Montage. They did a masterful job during the

construction period. Yes, local contractors made some mistakes, but

they were acknowledged and corrected. Also be thankful that

management had a sense of quality and the financial resources to go

the extra mile to make the project successful. All the doom and gloom

predicted by a few never came true because of their exceptional

leadership.

Finally, embrace this beautiful and elegant new neighbor. Like any

gem, it is only going to grow in value to the community. Make the

true Lagunan welcoming gesture of a smile and an offer to be a good

and kind neighbor in our special community.

DENNIS MYERS

Proud neighbor of the

Montage

Council needs to fulfill role as protectors

Laguna Beach is a city known for its beauty, order and small-town

friendliness. Those qualities motivated my wife and I to leave an

attractive home and neighborhood elsewhere in Orange County last July

in order to move to a condominium on Ocean Vista Drive. Our

expectations of a high quality of life in this city were initially

fulfilled, and actually exceeded. Soon, however, we became involved

in the heated controversy over the nearby Driftwood Estates

development project and, subsequently, our good life has taken a

downturn.

We attended meetings of the Laguna Beach Planning Commission,

which determined that the developer of the proposed project, in

exchange for 200 acres of unusable wild land to be deeded to the

city, could build a 15 home project. The Planning Commission

determined that construction vehicles were to enter and leave the

site via upper Driftwood Drive a city block which has only 10 homes

that are set back from the street. Approval of the project was

disappointing to us, but the most disheartening events were to take

place beginning in January of 2003, when the City Council began

deliberations.

The City Council took the most unusual action of changing the

point of entry for construction vehicles from an open area above all

the Driftwood houses to a narrow emergency road between houses on

Ocean Vista. That move was based, at least in part, upon attention to

hearsay over fact and what appears to be special consideration by

some Council members for their friends. Over a short period I have

seen a cohesive neighborhood split into factions, where public

name-calling has become commonplace. This is most discouraging. I am

quite familiar, as an anthropologist, with the social science

literature on community factionalism where leadership was unable, or

unwilling, to meet the community needs. The City Council members, as

leaders of Laguna Beach, through their actions to date, appear to

condone such a process and, perhaps, even foment it. That is contrary

to what effective leaders should do.

Upper Ocean Vista has more than 110 homes compared to the 10 on

upper Driftwood. The actions of the council reflect negatively on its

obligations to all community members, and the arbitrary manner in

which the council has modified the Planning Commission

recommendations smacks of ethics violations. Testimony before the

council and written documentation show conclusively that construction

traffic on Ocean Vista, already a much-traveled, hilly, curved

street, would create substantial inconvenience and a potential danger

to some residents.

Should the council pursue its current course of action, in the

face of evidence that its plan to use an access road on Ocean Vista

is not feasible, it will do further damage to the community. Some

doubt has already been cast on the capacity of the City Council to

meet its ethical obligations to the community.

In my own 35 years of experience as an anthropologist, my primary

ethical obligation, ahead of financial gain, prestige-enhancing

opportunities, friendship, or anything else, has always been to

protect all members of the community where I am working. I wish that

the council members of this beautiful city would use the highest

ethical standards in determining the outcome of the Driftwood Estates

proposal and future issues.

ROBERT C. HARMAN

Laguna Beach

The district could use El Morro money

The inland residents of El Morro Village have offered several

benefits to our community in exchange for one, final extension of

their leases, including up to $10 million up front for Crystal Cove

plus $500,000 per year locally.

Apparently, neither the State Parks Foundation nor Laguna

Greenbelt, Inc., wants any of that money. Given the current perilous

financial situation faced by our public school district because of

the state’s budget crisis, is there any way some of that money could

go to our school district? If that happened, I think there would be

widespread support for an extension of those leases.

BILL STEEL

Laguna Beach