OUR LAGUNA:Wine tasting held to benefit students

Four $2,000 scholarships will be split between students at Laguna Beach High School and the Laguna Beach College of Art & Design, funded by Grapes for Grads II, held Sunday at Tivoli Too.

The fundraiser was presented jointly by Laguna’s Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce. This year’s event doubled the number of scholarships funded by the 2006 event and a $500 prize was awarded to college junior Katherine Corcran, who won the contest for the program cover design.

“We started working on this event in September, building on last year,” said chamber President Elect and event chair Jeff Redecker. “The committee met once a month until March, when we started meeting for two hours a week. We have easily spent 200 hours on the event.

“But it is all for the kids and it is important to support education and the arts to keep Laguna what we want it to be.”

The committee also included Bill Buus, John Campbell, Yvette Cercone, Steve Dotoratos, Maggie Hempen, Jerry Immel, Peter Jones, Tom and Pamela Simpson and Tracy Otto, the college’s associate director of development.

“All the work done by volunteers was admirable,” said chamber President Dave Sanford.

Jones, formerly in the wine department at Pavilions in Boat Canyon and a familiar face in “Lagunatics,” organized the wine donations.

“Whenever Peter asks, I’m in,” said Paul Parks, of Don Sebastiani & Son winery.

As for questions about the appropriateness of raising money for students by serving alcohol, Sanford said, “This is a wine tasting, not a beer bust, for adults to have fun and to raise funds for kids. We even have a couple of recovering alcoholics here, who don’t drink but want to support the community.”

Besides the participation of more than 20 wineries and distributors, the event included live entertainment, a silent auction, a raffle and displays of art by Laguna College of Art & Design students and Karen Pike, who is represented by Mark Hefferan, a local for 30 years.

Two of Pike’s paintings were donated to the auction, alongside a basket of Rumors Salon products, Angels tickets, a donation from Bubbles, a Callaway putter, tee time at Aliso Creek Golf Course, a stay at Capri Laguna and an hour’s massage by chiropractor Veronica Nice.

Bank of America, John L. Campbell Insurance, the Marine Room, Coldwell Banker, RTC Mortgage, Rumors Salon and Day Spa, Simpson Termite & Construction and Super Dave’s Print & Mail were major sponsors of the event.

In-kind donors included A la carte, which contributed all the food for $500, served for $5 a plate; Waste Management, which provided trash containers for the used plates; Such a Great Party, which did the setup; Tivoli Too! and the Jazz Angels, with saxophonist Dan Reckard, who went to elementary and middle schools in Laguna Beach and now attends the Orange County High School of the Arts.

Wining, dining and/or helping out at the event: Michelle and Councilman Kelly Boyd; Harry Bithell, Bob Ward and Dave Norton of Rotary; Rose Hancock, executive director of the chamber; Cindy and Pat Barry, chamber government affairs consultant; Gary Alstot, former president of the Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn.; Patsee Ober, college vice president of development; Sheila and Chad Conley and son, Max; publicist Joan Gladstone; and Kristie and Paul Endraske, who are remodeling the home of tablemate Rick Cirelli; and Bree Burgess Rosen, who will be giving a benefit concert Saturday at the Woman’s Club of Laguna Beach to fund badly needed upgrades of the club’s sound system — tickets may still be available at the door.

GUIDE DOGS MUST BE WELCOME

Guide dog Hastings and his human companion, Michael Osborn, have lived and traveled together for more than five years, welcomed in cities around the world, but not in a fast-food enclave in their own home town.

Osborn said he was told by an employee at Taco Laguna in the Food Village on April 24 to leave Hastings outside.

“I explained that I was blind and my guide dog was permitted to enter the establishment,” Osborn said. “However, the employee said his boss would not allow the dog inside.”

Osborn asked to speak to the owner and was told he was in the Breakers by the Sea restaurant next door, which he also owned.

According to Osborn, restaurant owner and Chamber of Commerce member Mark Balan reiterated that the dog would not be allowed in the restaurant.

“I explained that denying a service dog access is a violation of both federal and state law,” Osborn said. “The owner said he had never heard of any such legislation.”

“It is hard to believe that someone who has owned at least two restaurants in Laguna Beach has never heard of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

Telephone messages to Balan were not returned, as of Tuesday.

In addition to contacting the restaurateur, the chamber and the Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau, Osborn notified the city’s code enforcement officer, the Laguna Beach Police Department and the county Health Department of the incident.

He suggested that the chamber e-mail its members copies of a video created by the California Hotel and Lodging Assn. called “We Welcome Service Animals” and that the police take a look at another video which addresses calls about service animals.

“Under certain circumstances a service animal can be excluded — such as for aggressive behavior or constant barking in a movie,” Osborn said.

And, although service dog’s human companions cannot be required to show certification of a service animal, or asked about their disability, they can be asked what service the animal provides.

“If the answer is emotional support or comfort, the animal can be kept out,” Osborn said.

Service animals are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities, such as guiding the blind, alerting the deaf, pulling wheelchairs, or protecting a person having a seizure.

Violators of the act can be required to pay money damages and penalties.

“I am not interested in filing a lawsuit,” Osborn said. “All I want is for a disabled people to have the rights to which they are entitled.

“This is the first time this has ever happened to me in Laguna and I don’t want it to ever happen to anyone else.”

For more information about ADA and service animals, call 1(800) 514-0301 or Osborn at (949) 376-9242.

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SORRY!

Frank Ricchiazzi is a co-founder of the Log Cabin Club and the Laguna Beach Republican Club, not a founder of the Lincoln Club, as reported in the April 27 edition of this column. Apologies to “Uncle Frank.”