There’s something fishy in this city
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JAMES PRIBRAM
What happened Laguna Beach?
We use to be the beach town that prided itself on not letting the
big-name chain stores into our town. You know the ones: Banana
Republic. Starbucks.
Wow. I can’t even get into naming them all right now, it’s too
upsetting.
Shhh ... what’s that? A Coffee Bean is going in, in North Laguna
across the street from another coffee shop that has already been
there for years.
Is this rumor or fact? Or does it matter since the locally-owned
businesses here in town continue to get no support from the City
Council or Design Review.
It just smells fishy to me -- and not because of the Ocean
Pollution problem. I don’t see any dead fish on the beach but at this
rate it is probably just a matter of time.
No, I only see the soul of our town dying and one isn’t worse than
the other. Pollution is pollution, even if it’s pro-development
pollution.
As someone remarked to me today, we have a whole new breed here in
town, actually they have been here for years. (Some of them at
least.) The only difference is now they’re developers still posing as
architects.
Sweet, the Pottery Shack is leaving, so let’s take that spot and
turn it into 15 new shops or boutiques or whatever. Maybe a
restaurant or two, a couple more coffee shops -- forget the
neighbors, worsen the traffic and parking conditions.
“But hey it was a good investment.”
For who?
Again, sweet.
Maybe when we lose South Coast Medical Center we can replace it
with another coffee shop. That’s what Laguna needs -- instead of
going to the emergency room they can get a fancy espresso.
You know what’s not sweet is getting an e-mail from a 10-year-old
boy thanking me for the column I wrote about his pleading with City
Council not to make him tear down his beloved tree house. However, he
also wrote to inform me that “in truth” they told him to take it down
despite his pleadings.
There’s something deeply wrong with that and the direction our
once beloved soulful town is headed.
Sorry kiddo, you should’ve just ask the City Council if you could
sell it instead.
Peace.
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