Featured Articles from the Coastline Pilot

A high-end steakhouse planned for the former French 75 site in Laguna Beach by a group that includes Anaheim Ducks' player Teemu Selanne is expected to open later this summer. Jim Shumate, owner along with Selanne and Kevin Pratt, hopes to open the restaurant, now set to be called Selanne's, July 1. The three friends got together five years ago to discuss opening a restaurant, said Shumate, former general manager of the Chart House in Dana Point. The search spanned coastal areas from Laguna Beach to Newport Beach.

Auri Inc., an upscale shoemaker once touted as one of America's most promising companies by Forbes, has shuttered its line of shoes to focus on licensing its technology to established luxury footwear brands. The company closed its North Laguna showroom and headquarters earlier this year as part of the move. "The costs associated with being a footwear brand are exorbitant," said founder Ori Rosenbaum. "It's overwhelming. " Rosenbaum, a Laguna Beach resident, cited the high costs associated with trade shows, samples, marketing materials, factories, inventory and being a public company.

Most people of a certain age grew up with three of everything - three TV stations, three friends and three sports: football, baseball and basketball. Now, kids have thousands of limitless TV channels, virtual friends and a wide world of sports that has truly become global. On any given Sunday, my three boys can do lacrosse, water polo, Jujutsu, sea kayaking or almost any of the 8,000 official sports. Why? Why not? When there is lawn bowling in your backyard, why not try it?

Katsuya by Starck, a Japanese restaurant along Coast Highway, closed following Monday's dinner service. A receptionist confirmed the news midday Monday. "While the restaurant enjoyed nearly two years of success in the community, sbe is pursuing a new Orange County location for the brand," according to a statement from sbe Entertainment Group, which Katsuya is a part of. "Despite the closure, sbe remains committed to the Laguna Beach community through its partnership in the Umami Burger property as well as its desire to find future Laguna Beach locations for its hotel, restaurant and nightlife brands," the statement read.

A dog that belongs to a relative of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords attacked and killed a sea lion Saturday along the shoreline in Laguna Beach, police said. The violent attack, which shows Giffords' stepdaughter and husband trying to remove the canine from the limp sea mammal as the surf rolls in, can be seen on a YouTube video sent to The Times. (Editor's note: The video features graphic images and curse words.) Laguna Beach police received a call at 2 p.m. and arrived to find that the 65-pound American bulldog mix had broken free from its 18-year-old owner and attacked a beached sea lion on a public beach below the Montage Laguna Beach, a luxury hotel, Capt.

Doris Helen Thurston Boyd Doris Helen Thurston Boyd, a native Lagunan, died Aug. 20, surrounded by family. She was 89. Mrs. Thurston Boyd was the youngest of two daughters of Laguna pioneers Joseph Smith Thurston and Marie Harding Thurston. Joe Thurston came to his father's homestead in Aliso Canyon in 1871 and was noted as being one of the founding fathers of Laguna Beach. Marie Thurston was one of the first school teachers in Laguna Beach, teaching in a one-room school house and was later honored with having the junior high school named after her. In her early years, Mrs. Thurston Boyd was a participant in the opening celebration of South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, which was attended by Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.

At first glance, the grand house sits like a beacon above Abalone Point, high above Crystal Cove, at the north entrance to Laguna Beach. But then you see the graffiti. The house is, according to the California Coastal Commission, "among the most visually prominent sites along the Orange County coastline. " And for a long time over the past year, tourists were able to see "The Clash" spray painted in vintage punk-rock style. So was the house the victim of another financial flame-out?

Dr. Seuss kept two secrets under lock and key - his hat and art collections. Born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Mass., he became a household name and national icon for his colorful illustrations and jaunty rhymes. But only his wife Audrey and their closest friends knew about Seuss' clandestine art or the whereabouts of his hats - hidden in a library closet of their La Jolla estate. The "Hats Off to Dr. Seuss!" touring exhibition is making a pitstop in Fingerhut Gallery of Laguna Beach from Friday through June 2. Viewers can survey 26 hats, from a collection of more than 150, as well as limited-edition reproductions of Seuss' original artwork.

The co-founder of a specialty coffee-and-tea chain said it will be "some time" before the business opens in the former restaurant space of The Cottage. "We really want to preserve and restore the place to its bungalow splendor," Shallom Berkman of Urth Caffe said in a phone message. Los Angeles-based Urth is working with a historical consultant to create artist renderings for the North Coast Highway spot north of Main Beach. The renderings would then move on to a Laguna Beach Historical Society committee for approval, Berkman said.

Hats and books were the order of the day at the luncheon hosted by the Friends of the Library on Tuesday at Three Seventy Common. "Ladies Who Lunch….and Read" reviewed books they recommended to supporters of the library and competed for prizes for their hats. Angela Irish won first prize in the hat contest, for a hat she had designed and Lara Cerdes had created for the Laguna Beach High School production of "Hello, Dolly!" Lee Winocur Field placed second with a pink and white confection and Sharael Kolberg's "fascinator," those tiny hats popularized by the Duchess of Cambridge, took third place.

Amid a spate of promising economic news, home values are climbing. Now for the bad news. For the first time in human history, the concentration of climate-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is nearing the milestone level of 400 parts per million. We continue to ingest the hazardous waste known as processed and genetically modified foods. And if that's not enough to kill ya, there's talk of opening San Onofre again. The Nuclear Regulatory Committee, a notoriously fractured committee composed of industry insiders, is about to rubber stamp a "no significant hazard" certification, allowing San Onofre to reopen its failed reactors as early as June.

The following is from the May 7 City Council meeting. All council members were present. * PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS The public is allowed to speak on any subject not on the agenda. Speakers generally are limited to three minutes, but the time can be adjusted by the council. •Kendra Ulrich of Washington, D.C., thanked the council on behalf of Friends of the Earth for showing leadership and passing a resolution expressing concern about the San Onofre nuclear reactors.

David Koning was born with hypoplastic left-heart syndrome. He said he was dead for six minutes as a toddler before being revived and he literally has half a heart. He also has cerebral palsy and suffers from seizures. Yet, he wants children to know that there is always hope. That?s the idea behind the event that Koning, 22, said he?s put together on Monday. The Laguna Beach High volleyball team manager has set up a ?Changing Children?s Lives? event at the Los Angeles Clippers game that day. The Clippers play the New Jersey Nets at 12:30 p.m., which happens to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Thanks to Koning?

It has been said that a stylish woman can make a garbage bag look like haute couture. So can artists. The Festival of Arts Runway Fashion Show featured designs created by festival exhibitors from recycled, reclaimed or re-used materials, including trash bags, competing for four $1,000 prizes and the People's Choice Award. "There was nothing trashy about this," said Pat Kollenda , a festival board member and fashionista. Ten entries were paraded down the runway to be judged by a panel of three judges and an audience of more than 1,500.