Forest Avenue

Barbara Diamond City Manager Ken Frank invoked a seldom-used section of the city code Tuesday night that allowed work to begin Wednesday on the Forest Avenue street rehabilitation. Frank authorized a $281,935 contract because there was not a council majority that could vote on it at the meeting. State law barred Mayor Cheryl Kinsman and Councilman Wayne Baglin from voting because they own property within 500 feet of the project. Councilman Steve Dicterow, who could have voted and would have formed the required majority with council members Toni Iseman and Elizabeth Pearson, was absent.

A Forest Avenue commercial building that has struggled to keep its retail tenants may have its next incarnation as a real estate brokerage. After being rejected by the Planning Commission, the proposed realty office on the ground floor of Landmark Plaza in downtown Laguna Beach was on the verge of approval by the City Council Feb. 6, but the council voted to wait for a parking report and additions to conditions of approval before making a...

The city of Laguna Beach will celebrate cultural and musical diversity, de la maniere Français de la maniere Français . The Sister City Assn.?s second annual Fete de Musique, a festival that originated in France in 1982 and has since spread to many countries across the globe and has been dubbed ?world music day,? will take place from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday in downtown Laguna. Lisa Morrice, communications director for the association and a professional singer who works primarily with Gallimaufry Performing Arts, said the event will emulate the music celebration that takes place in Paris on June 21 each year.

The 44th annual Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade will start at 11 a.m. Saturday from Laguna Beach High School on Park Avenue. The march will turn right on Glenneyre Street, then right on Forest Avenue, then left past City Hall. Between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., traffic will be heavily impacted in the downtown area due to road closures for the parade. Pacific Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road will be open, but several downtown streets will be closed. Motorists are advised to use alternative routes.

A number of streets in downtown Laguna Beach will be closed from 9 a.m. to about 2 p.m. Saturday for the Patriots Day Parade. Laguna Beach police are advising motorists to use alternate routes during parade hours. Pacific Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road will remain open during the parade, but traffic is expected to be heavily congested due to the surrounding street closures. Roads which will be closed or directly affected during the parade are: Park Avenue (between Wendt Terrace and South Coast Highway)

Times are getting tougher for medical marijuana users in Laguna Beach. Four months after the Laguna Beach City Council declined to approve an ordinance amendment to bar business licenses for medical marijuana facilities — citing "compassion" for cancer and AIDS patients — city officials have succeeded in pushing the facilities out. A medical marijuana dispensary that has operated since August closed up shop last week, lacking a...

Expect a difficult day downtown on Wednesday. Asphalt repaving on upper Forest Avenue is scheduled and during resurfacing, Glenneyre Street will be closed between Forest and Park avenues and the left-hand turn from Broadway onto Forest Avenue will be closed. Pavement will be ground down 24 to 48 hours before repaving. All asphalt work will occur between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Trash collection will be before 7 a.m. Traffic congestion and delays are expected during.

There are new meters to feed in Laguna Beach, but these meters won’t buy time at a parking space. Instead, they’ll help feed the homeless. As a part of a pilot program to discourage panhandling, the City Council last Wednesday unveiled specially painted meters by local artists Bob Bonn, Colleen Corbett, Robbie Reddy, and Marcel Mead on the corner of Forest Avenue and South Coast Highway, in front of Chantilly Ice Cream. The meters will collect change that will then be donated to Laguna Relief and Resource Center’s programs for the homeless.

I read with great enthusiasm the council?s approved ?Third Thursday?s Hospitality Night,? and the closure of the west end of Forest Avenue(?Businesses to be bolstered,? March 27). This is a great beta test of how the city might look and function with a permanent pedestrian mall. This could become our de facto town square, a nexus for community interaction and celebration ? and a boon to downtown merchants. Just imagine how beautiful the block would look without the cars blocking the sight lines.

Area 1 North Coast Highway: An Oregon man was arrested on suspicion of DUI in the 600 block at 1:54 a.m. April 25. * Area 2 Laguna Canyon Road: A Florida man was arrested on suspicion of DUI in the 20600 block at 3:49 a.m. Sunday. * Area 3 Forest Avenue: A vehicle burglary was reported in the 500 block at 4:18 p.m. April 26. Ocean Avenue: A male was reportedly urinating in public in the 300 block at 1:08 p.m. April 27. A man was arrested for public intoxication.