Crystal Cove

Jesse Heydorff likes to call the inaugural Crystal Cove State Park Junior Lifeguard program "outdoor science camp meets junior lifeguard training. " From 8:45 a.m. to noon June 24 through Aug. 2, children ages 9 to 15 will hike, swim, paddleboard, snorkel and learn about native plants and animals among the park's 2,400 woodland acres and 3.2 miles of beach. State park authorities tapped lifeguards Schuyler Kirby and Chris Heinrich to start the program this year, and the two have been creating a website and fliers to get the word out. They then tapped Heydorff, who spent 14 years as a Huntington Beach state lifeguard, to create the curriculum.

-- Lolita Harper If lifeguards at Crystal Cove wore belts they would be forced to tighten them this summer. State lifeguards are bracing for what could be the most challenging summer in the past 50 years, said Ken Kramer, the president of the California State Lifeguard Assn. As attendance to state parks and beaches has consistently increased, state coffers are being drained by the recent economic downturn and funding for seasonal lifeguards at Crystal Cove is hard to come by. As a result, Crystal Cove lifeguards will be manning less towers for fewer hours, Kramer said.

EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK A year ago July, after the last of the Crystal Cove cottage dwellers packed their bags, I wrote that there were two options for that beach that would best suit the taxpaying public, who truly owns the land. Those options were to turn the cottages into rustic getaway retreats for $100 a night, or tear down the cottage save for one or two for historic value and turn the place into a campground. After my column ran, I got a rather sarcastic message from a former Crystal Cove cottage resident who scoffed at the idea that anyone would ever be able to stay at the cottages for $100 a night.

The Laguna Beach City Council formed a subcommittee Tuesday to explore the effects that dumped sediment from an Upper Newport Bay dredging project may have on Laguna’s waters. Mayor Pro Tem Jane Egly and Councilman Kelly Boyd will make up the committee, which will aim to address questions and concerns of local water quality activists. Boyd said there is no specific plan of action for the committee, but he, Egly and City Manager Ken Frank will meet in the near future to hammer out the details of what needs to be done.

It’s been almost 30 years since a campground was proposed at the site of the former El Morro Village Trailer Park at Crystal Cove. Now trucks are rolling and a new $22 million campground for RVs and tents, plus other amenities, is beginning to take shape on the 35-acre site. The park is expected to open in spring or summer of 2010, said Ken Kramer, Orange Coast District superintendent of the state Department of Parks and Recreation, which owns the park. Earth-moving equipment is contouring a new parking lot and amphitheater at the lower level of the site, while the old trailer park configuration makes a perfect RV park on the upper property, Kramer said.

-- Barbara Diamond Once upon a time there was a little princess. Her name was Joan. Princess Joan's father died when she was two, but she still had her mother, Athalie, and her grandfather, the powerful King James II of Irvine. Joan lived with her mother in the adjoining kingdoms of Los Angeles and Pasadena. But among her favorite childhood memories are the visits with James II. She rode with the cowboys who herded the king's cattle. She watched his crops grow -- he liked to call himself a farmer.

Deepa Bharath CRYSTAL COVE -- Improving visitor facilities and restoring the 46 dilapidated beachfront cottages for public use will be high on the priority list for the state park's historic district, officials said this week. The improvements and restoration project will be expedited, thanks to $9.2 million of Proposition 40 funds set aside by Gov. Gray Davis in his revised budget, which was released Tuesday. Plans could be unveiled by the fall.

American Beach House 619 Sleepy Hollow (949) 494-9707 Beachcomber at Crystal Cove 15 Crystal Cove, Newport Coast (949) 376-6900 Canyon Lodge & American Grill 31106 S. Coast Hwy. (949) 499-2663 The Cliff Restaurant 577 S. Coast Hwy. (949) 494-1956 Greeter?s Corner 329 S. Coast Hwy. (949) 494-0361 Husky Boy Burgers 802 N. Coast Hwy. (949) 497-9605 Johnny Rockets 188 S. Coast Hwy. (949)

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama held a fundraiser in Crystal Cove on Monday morning. About 100 people attended the event, where the Illinois senator, a Democrat, spoke about the environment, health care and the war. Among the attendees were Laguna Beach residents and co-hosts Frank Barbaro and Keiko Sakamoto, with her son Nicholas and daughter Olivia. Other Lagunans included Curt Barwick and his sons Brian and Chris, Dennis Berryman, Mark Christy, Bret Englander, Richard and Maggi Henrikson, Mike Meyer and his daughter Marissa, Bob and Stephanie Mister, Joe Smith and Peter Zeughauser.

Laguna home from 1883 bought by developer Tresor Properties has acquired an 1883 home — believed to be the oldest remaining house in Laguna Beach — at 154 Pearl St. Tresor, a real estate investment, construction and brokerage firm, is working with the city to preserve the original architectural integrity and character of the Pearl Street home, according to a news statement. “As longtime members of the Laguna Beach community, we recognize the value and distinctiveness of the historic Pearl Street house as a piece of the city’s unique culture,” Ken Fischbeck, vice president of construction, said in the news statement.

Jesse Heydorff likes to call the inaugural Crystal Cove State Park Junior Lifeguard program "outdoor science camp meets junior lifeguard training. " From 8:45 a.m. to noon June 24 through Aug. 2, children ages 9 to 15 will hike, swim, paddleboard, snorkel and learn about native plants and animals among the park's 2,400 woodland acres and 3.2 miles of beach. State park authorities tapped lifeguards Schuyler Kirby and Chris Heinrich to start the program this year, and the two have been creating a website and fliers to get the word out. They then tapped Heydorff, who spent 14 years as a Huntington Beach state lifeguard, to create the curriculum.

Crystal Cove may not be in Laguna Beach, but it is of Laguna Beach, if measured by the Laguna Canyon Conservancy response to a program presented Monday by Laura Davick , Crystal Cove Alliance founder and director of external affairs. The group applauded the accomplishments of the alliance, as outlined by Davick, and future plans. Lagunans have been involved in the preservation of the cove since scores of them participated in the successful efforts in the mid-1990s to halt the state plan to develop a luxury resort on the site and to preserve the historic district on Laguna's door step.

Sunday Advent Night Advent Night, an evening of crafts and carols, is from 5 to 7 p.m. at Laguna Beach United Methodist Church, 21632 Wesley Drive. Come create Christmas-themed crafts. Dinner is provided. For more information, call (949) 499-3088 or visit lagunabeachumc.org. Tuesday Marine Protected Areas Forum The Surfrider Foundation and Reef Check California are hosting a forum about the new marine protected areas in Southern California that will go into effect Jan. 1. There will be several MPAs off the Laguna Beach coastline.

After years of legal battles and political wrangling, Crystal Cove State Park will finally have its crowning touch: a 60-space RV park atop the ocean-view site where a private mobile home park stood for many years. Just in time for the Fourth of July, this spectacular spot will be open to the public at affordable rates. There should be wonderful views of the Independence Day pyrotechnics along the coast. The opening of Moro Campground, said to be the last oceanfront park to be built in the state of California, will no doubt mean a burst of fresh economic activity for Laguna Beach and other local cities that will benefit from the added influx of vacationers.

A vacation in coastal Orange County doesn't have to be at a five-star hotel. For as little as $50 a night, one can have an ocean view and a walk to the beach with the opening of the Moro Campgrounds on Friday. The 35-acre property in Crystal Cove State Park has 60 campsites, 30 of which have hook-ups providing electricity and water. Hook-up spots cost about $65 per night. The entire Moro Canyon area redevelopment project near the edges of Newport Coast and Laguna Beach is estimated to cost $15 million.

Phase 2 of the development plan to restore the storied cottages at Crystal Cove State Beach is nearly complete. The phase renovated 7 of the 46 cottages. Phase 1, which finished in 2006, renovated 22 cottages. Phase 2 changes include 20 garage door reconstructions; converting Cottage 45 to an overnight rental; turning Cottage 5 into an office space for the Crystal Cove Alliance (CCA) and state parks; three cottages that are part of an outdoor educational commons; converting Cottage 40 to be ADA accessible; and turning iconic Cottage 13 into a film museum.

Recreational and commercial fishing will be banned along Laguna's coastline under strict rules adopted Wednesday by the California Fish and Game Commission The commission voted 3-2 on Wednesday to adopt a network of marine protected areas, often called MPAs, along the Southern California coast. Newly protected areas from the Mexican border to Santa Barbara will connect with the existing network from Santa Barbara to the Mendocino County coast. "I am very pleased by the decision," said Councilwoman Verna Rollinger, who attended all but one of the commission hearings held during the past year.

Did you know that a skunk can spray its smelly funk up to 12 feet? Or that a sea cucumber can deter its predators by jettisoning its internal organs out of its body? The Junior Ranger program at Crystal Cove State Park has returned for it's second season, to provide youngsters with fun-filled facts like these and more, with a disgustingly fun introduction to our local ecology. Aimed at children ages 7 to 12, the program meets biweekly throughout the summer and will focus on a variety of topics including bones, guts, wacky animal adaptations, and ocean acidification.

On Earth Day, 15 ?Intrepid Travelers? and special guest Mayor Elizabeth Pearson celebrated the first anniversary of the ?green? travel club of Laguna Beach Seniors by taking the bus. Fourteen minutes after boarding the No. 1 at the downtown depot, we got off at a bit of paradise just north of town: Crystal Cove. We walked the beach, admired the historic cottages, lunched at the Beachcomber and ? except for the mayor, who is too young to qualify ? flashed our $1.50 all-day senior bus passes for the photographer.

Look closely and you can still see the two scars on Katie Averill’s forehead. The Laguna Beach resident is more used to talking about her cooking. The former owner of Mirabeau Bistro in Dana Point, she is now a corporate pastry chef for Balboa Dessert Co. Yet that day nearly 20 years ago, when she fell off a 50-foot cliff in Toledo, Spain, shapes her as well. “The locals said the best view of the city was to go up this path,” Averill said. “It got really gravelly and 50 feet up, like a cartoon, I just went off the side.