Main Beach

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.

Register contact information with AlertOC The city of Laguna Beach is encouraging residents to register with AlertOC during September, which is National Disaster Preparedness month. AlertOC, the county's mass notification system, plays a crucial role in providing residents with information or instructions in case of wildfire, flood or other disaster. Local home phone numbers are already registered with the program, but if residents wish to include cell phone numbers, email addresses and more, they can add their information at http://www.AlertOC.com . Also, at 5 p.m. Oct. 21, the city will participate in an emergency test coinciding with the Great Shake Out, which replicates a large-scale emergency.

The following is from the Sept. 6 City Council meeting. * City competes for most license plates sales Mayor Toni Iseman announced that the city is competing with Dana Point for the most sales of the whale tail license plates designed by Laguna Beach artist Bill Atkins. "The Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau is encouraging us to get the most sales in California," Iseman said. Proceeds from the sales will be used to fund environmental educational programs.

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.

All veterans, but particularly one of Laguna's own, were honored July 21 at a fundraiser hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5868 at the Laguna Beach Woman's Club. About 75 people attended the tribute for vets and, specifically, Harry James Lawrence — yes, there are two Harry Lawrences in town, hence the middle name. Among the guests: family, friends, admirers and members of the post, its auxiliary and of American Legion Post 222. "Harry was in the hospital for two weeks before the event, and it took a tremendous effort on his part to attend," said his wife, Zahide . "I was so grateful he was able to be there.

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

Everybody who loves summer, clap your hands! Can you hear the pounding echo of joyous palm-smacking up the canyon walls? School is out, the weather has turned warm, and June gloom has been reduced to a touch of early morning grey. Beach days ahead. There should be a sign on the outside of town that reads just that. As if to celebrate the solstice and change of season, the wave machine cranked up a couple of nice southerlies that plied the southern California coastline with some decent overhead sets.

YOUR WEEKEND FRIDAY: Celebrate the reopening of Heisler Park with a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. by Mayor Toni Iseman near the "Breaching Whale" sculpture by the Rockpile Beach restroom. This marks the completion of the final phase of park renovation. SATURDAY: : Enjoy an afternoon of music and eclectic performance during "Fête de la Musique," presented by the Laguna Beach Sister Cities Assn. at 2 p.m., with an opening ceremony at Main Beach cobblestones. Musicians and singers will perform at several locations downtown.

Laguna Beach lifeguards will host open houses at Main Beach headquarters from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday to kick off National Beach Safety Week. The Marine Safety Department's open houses will be held in coordination with the United States Lifesaving Assn.'s national efforts to promote beach safety and educate the public. Educational materials will be displayed, and children can receive coloring books and have their pictures taken in the Lifeguard Rescue Vehicle. "Every week in Laguna is National Beach Safety Week," Marine Safety Department Chief Kevin Snow said.

I wanted to share with you some about my experience with KelpFest on Saturday at Main Beach. We had nearly 2,000 attendees! This event was coordinated by Nancy Caruso through her nonprofit called Get Inspired Inc. There were numerous press releases put out about this celebration of the return of the kelp to our local waters, and yet we saw no articles in your newspaper. Why? There were so many volunteers who made this event happen, you'd need to check with Nancy to get the exact number, but my role in this event was to coordinate a Live Underwater Broadcast from the kelp forest itself that was viewable on a large screen on Main Beach, but also on UStream.tv, the same site that the NASA guys broadcast on live from the Space Station 24 hours a day. There were 11 volunteers on my production team alone — all of whom were the most enthusiastic, reliable and resourceful individuals that I've ever worked with!