Main Beach

Police discovered a homeless man's body on Main Beach early Monday morning during a routine patrol. The man has been identified as Robert Hurd, 59. He was found at 12:39 a.m. near the lifeguard tower. Police believe he died a couple hours before he was found. Police said there were no signs of foul play. The coroner's office took custody of the body. — Joanna Clay

The city of Laguna Beach is hosting The King and Queen of the Beach volleyball tournaments this weekend at Main Beach. The men's tournament runs all day Saturday and the women's event is all day Sunday. The tournament is a round-robin format and players team up with a different partner for each game. Check-in time each day for the tournaments is 8 a.m. at the south end of Main Beach. For more information, call or text Kirk Morgan at (714) 381-4000. * Boys & Girls' Club hoops evaluations end Friday In-house registration and player evaluations are under way for the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach Boys' Basketball League at the club's main branch, 1085 Laguna Canyon Rd. Evaluations run through Friday and practices start Oct. 31. The season officially starts Dec. 6. All participants must be members of the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach.

Onlookers crowded Main Beach this week to get a glimpse of the cast of "Savages," a film by director Oliver Stone. "Traffic" star Benicio Del Toro, Taylor Kitsch of "Friday Night Lights" and Demián Bichir of "Weeds" were some of the stars spotted on the beach this week. The cast also includes John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Emile Hirsch, "Gossip Girl" actress Blake Lively and Salma Hayek. The film, which is set to be released in 2012, is based on the book of the same name by Don Winslow.

A lot of planning has kept the mammoth Main Beach sewer lift station project on time and within budget to date. The project included digging a hole wide enough, stable enough and deep enough to safely bury a new sewer lift station. It will replace the aged and stinky facility under the Lifeguard Headquarters on one of the most visible sites in Laguna. "It is certainly the most prominent project I have been involved with in Laguna, although the Nyes Place rehab in 2005 was more difficult," said Water Quality Director David Shissler.

What a remarkable and important day it was here in Laguna as the community and the Laguna Beach HIV Advisory Committee gathered at Main Beach to honor World AIDS Day. The city's appointed Laguna Beach HIV Advisory Committee, which includes Shanti, AIDS Service Foundation (ASF), AIDS CareTeams In Our Neighborhoods (ACTION), Laguna Beach High School, community members and the Laguna Beach Community Clinic (LBCC) placed hundreds of memorial ribbons throughout the downtown and the cobblestone area, offered free HIV testing, provided educational tables and a candlelit ceremony to honor loved ones lost to AIDS.

Barbara Diamond Clusters of pedestrians crossing the highway at Main Beach, rather than straggling across in twos and threes, may be key to unblocking the Broadway intersection and moving traffic more smoothly on the highway. The City Council unanimously approved on Tuesday a pilot program that will include testing a pedestrian-only signal phase and restoring the crosswalk on the south side of the intersection. Both measures will require the cooperation of Caltrans.

Visitors to Laguna’s famed tidepools will soon have more supervision. The Laguna Ocean Foundation’s Tidepool Education Interpretive Program has been expanded to the north end of Main Beach, according to the foundation. The expansion, which will provide on-site docents to make sure tidepool rules and regulations are followed, is funded by a grant through the sale of Whale Tail License Plates from the California Coastal Commission. “We are excited to receive funding to expand the Tidepool Education Interpretive Program beyond the Treasure Island tide pools to the Heisler Park tidepools,” said Louise Thornton, chairwoman of Laguna Ocean Foundation.

You get a funny look at the human psyche when you run a volleyball tournament, especially when you run a ?draw? tournament, where playing partners are drawn randomly from a hat. Almost everyone worries about how they?ll play, how they look in a swim suit, will they disappoint their partner. Like any sport, you can have good days and bad days and I?m sure there?s much of the same before a tennis tournament or a team golf tournament. Last weekend, it was the beach volleyball crew?

City officials have trumped an ordinance that says holiday lights and decorations with no commercial message are allowed only between Nov. 15 and Jan. 15. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to allow the holiday lights that illuminate the trees and lifeguard tower on Main Beach to glow from dusk to midnight, justifying them as decorations erected by the city. The city code specifically allows city-installed decorations to remain in place. “There is no time limit on ‘decorations erected by the city,’” Mayor Kelly Boyd said.

A group of local business owners and residents have banded together to oppose the proposed lifeguard headquarters at Main Beach and are drumming up support. Savemainbeach.org has been created to lobby against the lifeguard headquarters project being considered by the city. The project, as proposed, includes two buildings with a total square footage of 4,430 square feet. The 3,200-square-foot Building A, which also houses the public restrooms, will provide lifeguards with locker and training rooms, showers and storage for emergency equipment and four vehicles.

The men's and women's Laguna Open Volleyball Tournament starts Saturday at Main Beach. The tournament is seeking volunteers to serve as line judges during pool play and the playoffs. Volunteers will receive a T-shirt, gift certificate and front row seats to the tournament. Competition will take place in both AAA and Open level divisions. The tournament continues June 16-17, also at Main Beach. The City of Laguna Beach has set the 2012 summer volleyball schedule as follows: Saturday: Laguna Open Women's; June 16: Laguna Open Men's; June 17: Laguna King and Queen of the Beach; July 5: Girls' 14-and-Under Doubles; July 12: Girls 16U Doubles.

Laguna Beach High boys' basketball Coach Bret Fleming is running a series of basketball clinics for local youth, beginning Saturday. The clinics are open to seventh- and eighth-grade students. Clinics are from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturdays through June 9. * Volleyball club clinics start Sunday 900sqft Volleyball Club of Laguna Beach will begin its spring volleyball 4 Fun Clinics for boys and girls grades K-through-3 on Sunday. Clinics run from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays through June 24. No clinic will be held Memorial Day weekend.

Saturday Kelpfest The annual KelpFest celebration will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Main Beach cobblestones. There will be a reconstructed kelp forest for visitors to walk through, stand-up paddle board rides, tidepool tours, arts and crafts, musical performances and even a mermaid. For more information, visit http://www.kelpfest.org. Earth Day Challenge BlueWater-Greenearth is challenging residents to clean every beach and street in during the seventh annual Earth Day Challenge.

The sound of laughter may be loud enough to drown out the noise of waves crashing and sea gulls screeching at Main Beach every morning. And it's all thanks to Laguna Beach resident Jeffrey Briar, who has been leading a laughter yoga group on the beach, aptly called the Laughter Club. The unofficial group that's free to join has met every day for the last seven years, rain or shine. There's no jokes told to spur the giggles, though. The laughter is simply that - laughter.

The movie poster and full trailer for the Laguna Beach-set movie "Savages" was released this week. The trailer premiered exclusively on MTV.com on Thursday. "Savages," directed by Oliver Stone, is based off the Don Winslow novel of the same name. The movie and book both take place in Laguna, and the cast and crew took over parts of Main Beach in September to film on location. The film stars Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro and more.

Laguna Beach lost an icon Sunday when Harry James Lawrence died, with his wife, Zahide, holding his hand. He was 98 and in ill health for several years. "It was time," said Zahide, who Harry married in 1996. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Laguna Presbyterian Church to celebrate the life of the man dubbed "Mr. Laguna" in honor of his contributions to the city. The Patriots Day Parade Committee named him grand marshal in 2008, referring to him in the program as one of Laguna's most distinguished residents.

A lot of planning has kept the mammoth Main Beach sewer lift station project on time and within budget to date. The project included digging a hole wide enough, stable enough and deep enough to safely bury a new sewer lift station. It will replace the aged and stinky facility under the Lifeguard Headquarters on one of the most visible sites in Laguna. "It is certainly the most prominent project I have been involved with in Laguna, although the Nyes Place rehab in 2005 was more difficult," said Water Quality Director David Shissler.

On-the-job training counted when it came to choosing a successor to Ken Frank, Laguna's longtime city manager who retired in 2010. John Pietig was selected from a field of more than 100 applicants, none of whom could match his record of achievement on behalf of Laguna Beach. He had spent almost 10 years as Frank's chief assistant when Frank announced his retirement. That experience was a determining factor in the council's decision to hire him, despite rumblings from some quarters that a complete change was in order.

Alexander John Wentzel, 84, died Jan. 5. He helped found RUFF (Rescuing Unwanted Furry Friends and was on the founding board of directors of the AIDS Services Foundation. Charlton "Charlie" Phillips Boyd , 91, a former Laguna Beach mayor and businessman, died Feb. 3. Leah Leary , 72, a longtime Laguna Beach businesswoman and owner of the Laguna Gander store, died from complications following back surgery March 2. Susan Trager , 63, the first woman to serve on the Laguna Beach County Water District board of directors, died of cancer March 22. Arno Chauvel , 60, vice chairman of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, died after a battle with bone cancer on April 19. Andrew Brislen , 40, of San Clemente died after diving off Laguna's Picnic Beach on May 27. Jonas Gregory Bevacqua , 33, co-founder of the Irvine-based streetwear brand Lifted Research Group, died due to natural causes in his Laguna Beach home May 30. Gregg Gaynor , 43, died June 21. He loved the water and could always be found surfing, diving and paddling.

The Laguna Beach fifth/sixth grade girls' basketball team ended 2011 on a winning note Saturday by defeating Santa Margarita, 38-29, in National Junior Basketball action at Thurston Middle School in Laguna Beach. In a game that was tight throughout, Sophia Lucas finished with 17 points, Mia Pitz scored eight and Jule Duran added four points as Laguna remained undefeated through three games. The Laguna boys' 5/6 team No. 2 suffered another close loss Saturday when the Laguna Hills "Santa Cruz" team held on for a 49-40 victory.