Featured Articles from the Coastline Pilot

Beach Pit BBQ, which started with six Orange County locations, is down to three after its most recent closure in Aliso Viejo. Beach Pit BBQ closed its Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach restaurants in the fall. Owner Tim DeCinces cited high rent costs and the mall setting that made the three locations fail. "BBQ isn't a staple for Southern Californians like tacos, burgers or pizza. It is more of an experience or novelty dining choice," DeCinces said in an email. "Going into strip mall lost the character of visiting our original three stores.

There is a drug craze hitting the streets of Laguna Beach called "bath salts" and this drug has nothing to do with relaxing in the bath tub. Bath salts, or mephedrone, methylone, and/or methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), are a new synthetic designer drug used to produce a high in its users via the stimulation of the central nervous system similar to ecstasy. These drugs are labeled as bath salts because distributors realized they can sell them legally as bath products not for human consumption.

The red palm weevil, a pest dreaded for its lethal effect on stately palm trees, has been lying low in Laguna Beach, where it was first discovered last year. Although some palm trees have been treated in Laguna Beach as a precaution, the Orange County agricultural commissioner's office says no live specimens of red palm weevil have been found since October 2010. "Nothing is new in terms of the population of the weevil," said Nick Nisson, an entomologist with the agricultural commissioner's office.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second part of a two-part recap of the past year in Laguna Beach. Items are listed according to the month they were reported in the Coastline Pilot. JULY A widely rumored appearance of Paul McCartney failed to materialize at a June 29 fundraiser for families displaced in the June 1 landslide. Organizers called it a "small disappointment." The event raised more than $40,000. Councilwoman Toni Iseman was not reappointed to the California Coastal Commission, leaving Orange County without any representation on the commission.

Zoey Stevens, a fine artist whose work is internationally known, is now trying his hand at a new artistic medium: tattooing. Not only that, but he is attempting to combine his new interest with his adoration of art at the Living Art Gallery in San Clemente, which is part tattoo parlor, part fine art gallery. Stevens , of Laguna Niguel, has shown in Las Vegas, Miami and Frankfurt, Germany, but admits that Orange County has never been in his reach due to the gallery business' apprehension surrounding "counter-culture" artwork.

Barbara Diamond It's all in the family. And it makes a difference. "Businesses like ours make Laguna Beach unique," said Sheila Bushard Jamison, second generation owner of Bushard Pharmacy. "Our customers are not just a prescription number." However, numbers demonstrate the effect of family-owned businesses on the economy, if not the heartstrings. Almost 11 million companies in the United States are run by the business founder or descendant, with the intention of keeping it in the family, according to a study conducted by Joseph Astrachan and Melissa Shanker of Family Business Consulting Firm in Marietta, Ga. The study was based on statistics compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Treasury Department.

The Economist article "Lessons from California: The perils of extreme democracy" sums up the political environment in California like a Webster's definition. It's alarming not because of its explanation of broken state government under the thumb of special interests who control between 70% to 90% of the state's budget. It's alarming because local special-interest groups have found they can make just as much money at the city level as they can in Sacramento, at a fraction of the cost and none of the regulations.

At Blast Consignment shoppers get more than a good deal; they get a personal experience. Not only does owner Nikki Krohnfeldt make an effort to know your name, but she'll learn your tastes as well. The Laguna resident opened her designer consignment store March 3 and has been very content with response. On opening day, they kept their doors open past midnight because people were still shopping. Set in a quaint, converted cottage, Blast offers designer labels such as Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Guess, Versace, Michael Kors and many more at 65% to 90% off. They also carry vintage items dating from the 1920s.

Updated on Sept. 12: Lt. Jason Kravetz of the Laguna Beach Police Department has confirmed that six more women have come forward with claims against Sirous and Sons Rug Gallery manager Saeid Boustanabadi Maralan. The claims are under investigation, but no additional charges have been made so far. According to the Orange County Sheriff's Department website, Maralan has been released on bail. *** The manager of Sirous and Sons Rug Gallery has been charged with sexually assaulting three women and showing pornography to a minor at his 222 Ocean Ave. store.

The school bell rings at 12:36 p.m. on a recent Tuesday at Thurston Middle School. Teenage boys run into the gymnasium, and the sound of yelling and sneakers screeching on the wood floors envelops the room. It's only a couple minutes until the first dodgeball game starts. The boys run to their teams and line up the balls. Physical education teacher Michael Bair pops a student-made CD titled "Dodgeball" into the sound system. Billy Idol's "Dancing with Myself" and other songs play in the background as a game commences, balls flying across the gymnasium.

An Orange County jury has awarded a father $1.2 million in damages in a lawsuit against a landlord for neglecting the repair of a mold-infested house in Laguna Beach. Patrick Fetzer accused the lease owner of neglecting to eliminate the water intrusion in the home. According to Fetzer’s attorneys, the elevated moisture and water intrusion in the home caused mold to spread throughout the home at 255 Center St. According to the lawsuit, the mold caused Fetzer’s daughter, Lauren, to develop severe respiratory problems from 2006 to 2008.

Former internationally ranked surfer arrested Former professional surfer and founder of surf apparel brand Gotcha was arrested last week on DUI and drug charges. Michael Tomson, 57, was arrested on suspicion of DUI and possession of a controlled substance about 11 p.m. Dec. 8. Officers stopped Tomson regarding his vehicle's lights and noticed symptoms of impairment. Tomson did not pass a field sobriety exam, but passed a Breathalyzer test, which led the officer to believe he was under the influence of medication or drugs, according to Laguna Beach police Sgt. Robert Rahaeuser.

In Laguna Niguel, a dog's bark may be not be worth the bite - if a proposed ordinance passes. Concerned citizens gave their opinions Tuesday to the Laguna Niguel City Council about a proposed barking dog ordinance. The new ordinance will add citations after three warnings. Mission Viejo, which handles animal services for Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo, has called the process successful and has never had to give more than one citation to stop the problem. FOR THE RECORD: Citations for barking dogs will be issued after three warnings, not five as originally reported.