Laguna Beach

When Laguna Beach filmmaker Christine Fugate saw Donna Hilbert read her poems ?In Quintana Roo? and ?Grief Becomes Me? in 2004, she felt inspired to make a film about the author, who transformed her grief into hope. Hilbert?s husband, Larry, was killed by a drunken driver on an early-morning bicycle ride in 1998. ?When I heard her speak, I could just see the images of her poetry in my mind,? Fugate said. ?At that moment, I thought, ?Wow, I want to take her poems and turn them into movies.

The Laguna Beach girls' fifth/sixth grade team ran its record to 4-1 Saturday and got back on the winning track by defeating Capo Dana, 26-14, in National Junior Basketball action at Thurston Middle School in Laguna Beach. Laguna earned the win after pulling away from an 11-10 halftime lead. Its defensive effort, sparked by Molly Cohn, allowed Capo Valley just four second-half points. Laguna was led in scoring by Sophia Lucas with 17 points and Taylor Glenn scored five points.

A Laguna Beach man was sentenced to six years in state prison for the molestation of a boy in a public restroom. Nicholas James Needham, 28, is currently in custody after being sentenced to nine years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. He will serve both sentences concurrently, according to a news release from the Orange County district attorney's office. On June 15, 2010, Needham approached a 5-year-old boy at a urinal inside a bathroom at the Outlets of Orange, formerly known as the Block at Orange.

TULUM, Mexico — With private beaches, aqua tide pools and local lobster, there are times here when you can squint and see Laguna Beach. At least in spirit. The reality is a little bit different, just as the name "Laguna Beach" conjures up different realities for the world travelers who come to this beach resort 90 minutes south of Cancun. In a completely unscientific poll, the international brand of Laguna Beach needs some work. Nearly everyone I talked to believes Laguna Beach is either some exclusive Beverly Hills-like enclave dripping in gold, or a spindly suburb of vapid Orange County, filled with bratty kids and silicone.

Laguna Beach gave Viewpoint all it could handle Tuesday in the semifinal round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV boys' tennis playoffs, but the top-seeded Patriots from Calabasas managed to leave Laguna with a 10-8 victory. "It was a tough match," Laguna Coach Aaron Talarico said. "Viewport played great and (give) all the credit to them." Hutton Mckenna won two of three sets in singles play for the Breakers and Mike Rubel/Teague Hamilton won two of three in doubles. Viewpoint will play Rowland for the Division IV title Wednesday at Claremont Club in Claremont.

The Orange Coast League opener between Laguna Beach and Estancia matched teams projected to battle for the championship. Round One went to Laguna. The Breakers rode a one-hitter by Chris Paul and clutch hitting by Erik Peruzzi and Steven Harrison to record a 5-1 victory March 18 over the Eagles. Paul (3-0) tied his season high in strikeouts with 12. The senior didn't allow a walk and gave up an unearned run. Peruzzi, meanwhile, got Laguna going with a key hit in the top of the first and went on to a three-hit performance.

A small earthquake struck the Laguna Beach area Tuesday morning. The 2.0 temblor struck about a mile off the Laguna coast at 8:04 a.m. There were no reports of damage or injuries. The quake was about 46 miles south of downtown L.A. and 12 miles from Irvine. The U.S. Geological Survey website did not have any data about whether the quake was felt on land. A USGS map placed the quake in the south Laguna area between Laguna Beach proper and Dana Point, parallel with Woods Cove.

    230 Forest Ave. Restaurant and Bar. Upscale food and drinks. (949) 494-2545. The Boom Boom Room has live music and dancing for the after-beach crowd and caters to the gay lifestyle. Wet Underwear contest Fridays; half-price dinners on Tuesdays served by Violet Rose Magenta, the Purple Lady of Laguna Beach; Dream Girls Review Drag Show on Wednesdays; T Dance on Sundays. 1401 S. Coast Highway. (949) 494-7588.  The Cabana, 440 S. Coast Highway. (949) 376-8595.

Recent comments by Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider and your recent editorial deserve my response. As a member of Orange County Transportation Authority's Regional Planning & Highways Committee, I reviewed recommended federal beautification funding grants of $3.8 million. Of the 39 grant applications, only 10 were recommended for funding. Two of these 10 were for Laguna Beach projects. None was for North Orange County cities. Laguna Beach is one of Orange County's most beautiful cities.

Laguna Beach is no longer "The Real Orange County." MTV's hit TV show has moved north to greener pastures. The network has announced that the show's fourth season will be "Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County," and will feature teens from Newport Harbor High School. The season will premiere Aug. 15. The show's move follows a decline in ratings in its third season, when a new crop of Laguna kids was selected to star but failed to make waves. Rumors and sightings of the show's filming in Newport have circulated for months, following rumors that a fourth season in Laguna had been begun but then stopped.

While most recall drawing and painting in high school art classes, Laguna Beach students got to try their hand at a very unique medium. Thanks to a grant by Laguna Outreach for Community Arts, silk painter Olivia Batchelder has been mentoring 22 students in Bridget Beaudry-Porter's Introduction to Art classes at Laguna Beach High School. Vibrant colors and drawings of tulips, cherry blossoms and palm trees canvassed the table tops Wednesday as students finished up their silk paintings, which will be on display during their upcoming show at the Laguna Beach Nursery.

The regular season may have come to an end this week for the Laguna Beach baseball and softball teams, but the 2012 campaign is far from over for both squads. By winning Orange Coast League games Tuesday, both have earned berths to the upcoming CIF Southern Section playoffs. * Baseball A stellar pitching effort by Grant Wilhelm, Kurt Rebone, Larry Stewart and Preston GrandPre translated into a no-hitter and a 10-0 home shutout of Saddleback. Wilhelm, a sophomore, threw four innings and got the win. GrandPre, also a sophomore, also had a big game offensively with a three-run home run. It was the final regular-season home game for the Breakers, who celebrated Senior Day on Tuesday.

Laguna Beach athletes fared well in Orange Coast League competition during the past week and two Breakers teams - boys' tennis and boys' volleyball - began CIF Southern Section playoff action on a positive note. On Wednesday, the boys' tennis team slipped past Schurr of Montebello, 10-8, in a Division 4 first-round match at Laguna. The Breakers' top singles player, Teague Hamilton, swept his matches (6-1, 6-0, 6-0) and No. 2 Morgan Lebby won two of three (4-6, 6-4, 6-3). Austin Loomis and Oliver Nasiell, at No. 1 doubles, won two of three (5-7, 7-6, 6-1)

Fred Karger, the GOP presidential hopeful, held his precinct walk in Laguna Beach on May 5 with about a dozen volunteers and a bagpiper, according to a news release. Karger and volunteers walked up and down the streets, talking to voters and handing out "Fred Frisbees. " They started in North Laguna, then headed to Heisler Park and Main Beach and down Forest Avenue to the Fire Station. The bagpiper gave concerts along the route, and upon arriving at the fire station, a local firefighter grabbed his bagpipe and formed a duet, the press release said.

Laguna Beach has some issues that Mayor Jane Egly would like to have a hand in solving. Egly, who is running for her third term on the City Council, kicked off her reelection campaign Sunday at Madison Square and Garden Café, dwelling on the practicalities of running a city. Among her topics were upgrading aging infrastructure and safeguarding pedestrians by installing sidewalks; using the city's water supply, all imported, more judiciously; and a balanced budget that still preserves Laguna's quality of life.

Janet V. Lena, 70, formerly of Long Branch, NJ, passed away on April 8, in Laguna Beach, CA.  After traveling the world including Europe, Africa and India, Jan settled in California in the early 60's and attended City College in San Francisco, where her passion for people led her to champion for Civil and Human rights.  She moved to Laguna Beach in the early 80's to pursue the arts and enjoy the beach where she was an avid body surfer and...

Historical Society to highlight FOA's 80th anniversary To mark Heritage Month and the 80th anniversary of the Festival of Arts, the Laguna Beach Historical Society on Tuesday night will put on a panel discussion and multimedia presentation at City Hall with festival leaders. According to a news release from the festival, the presentation will feature the screening of a 1950s-era video promoting the annual summer festival and milestones in the history of the Laguna art institution.

Pros and cons of the social host ordinance aimed at curbing teenage drinking in private homes was debated Tuesday in a packed City Council chamber. The council voted unanimously to direct staff to draft an ordinance after listening to remarks from 17 speakers, 13 of them in favor of the proposed ordinance requested by the Laguna Beach Community Coalition. Speakers included students, parents, school district officials and medical professionals. "A growing number of cities and counties have adopted social host accountability ordinances," Bill Landsdal said at the meeting.

The transformation of the renowned Royal Hawaiian into a noisy neighborhood problem shows the need to balance business and neighborhood interests through compliance with conditional use permit rules. This often difficult process is likely to reappear as owners submit plans for parcels under development or still vacant along North Coast Highway. Most property along Coast Highway north to McKnight Drive and back to the alleys is within the Commercial Neighborhood C-N Zone.

Although a Quarter Pounder with cheese might sound more appetizing to some than an all-juice diet, Living Juice founder Jamie Jensen swears that once you try her juice, it's hard to go back. While a sculptor in New York City in the mid-2000s, the Laguna Beach native said she felt sick and unhealthy in every way imaginable - from her mood and everyday energy to having difficulty sleeping. She was turned on to juices by her yoga instructor and decided to try a 10-day cleanse.