South Coast Highway

It's not every day that people get the chance to do something creative that they're not only passionate about, but also pays their bills. Toes on the Nose window dresser Sydney Hensler says she got lucky. "It's something I never expected to do, but it totally fits me in a weird way," the Newport Beach resident said. "I really enjoy doing it, and I really enjoy doing it in Laguna Beach because I feel like it's a community that appreciates it. " Hensler, 28, was working at Toes on the Nose in downtown Laguna about two years ago when she was asked to try her hand at the storefront windows that face South Coast Highway.

The new year started off with tragedy in Laguna Beach. A 36-year-old San Pedro man shot himself dead in midtown Laguna after being pulled over by police investigating a drive-by police shooting at about 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sgt. Jason Kravetz said. The victim, identified as Daniel Armijo, was pulled out of a Silverado pickup truck at the corner of South Coast Highway and Cress Street, taken to South Coast Medical Center and pronounced dead. Preceding the deadly shooting, police said Armijo pointed a semi-automatic handgun out of the truck window and fired at a Laguna Beach patrol officer before he was pulled over by police.

Laguna Beach police are trying to locate a wrong-way hit-and-run driver who allegedly struck an off-duty Orange County Firefighter at 12:55 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 at Brooks Street and South Coast Highway, Lt. Jason Kravetz said. Witnesses told officers that the victim was crossing South Coast Highway, in a marked crosswalk, when a vehicle traveling southbound in a northbound lane struck him. The victim, Luke Perisin, 38, of Dana Point, was thrown approximately 50 feet before landing in the roadway.

The Laguna Beach Visitors and Conference Bureau's information center will temporarily be tucked back into Forest Lane, as long as it conforms to city regulations. The City Council on Tuesday approved the temporary relocation of the center while visitors bureau officials try to find a permanent spot. The center previously was located on the ground floor of Coast Sotheby's International office at 361 Forest Ave., which it vacated last month. Council approval is subject to Planning Commission approval of a coastal development permit, a temporary use permit for up to three years, and the design of the project.

Doris Helen Thurston Boyd Doris Helen Thurston Boyd, a native Lagunan, died Aug. 20, surrounded by family. She was 89. Mrs. Thurston Boyd was the youngest of two daughters of Laguna pioneers Joseph Smith Thurston and Marie Harding Thurston. Joe Thurston came to his father's homestead in Aliso Canyon in 1871 and was noted as being one of the founding fathers of Laguna Beach. Marie Thurston was one of the first school teachers in Laguna Beach, teaching in a one-room school house and was later honored with having the junior high school named after her. In her early years, Mrs. Thurston Boyd was a participant in the opening celebration of South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, which was attended by Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.

TUESDAY Broadway and Forest Avenue: A driver was cited on suspicion of possessing marijuana and driving with an open container of alcohol at 2:35 p.m. Broadway and South Coast Highway: A person was reported yelling and screaming on the boardwalk at 7:44 p.m. Cliff Drive and North Coast Highway: A woman reported her purse had been stolen from her vehicle at 11:29 a.m. on Saturday. Forest Avenue: A person went to the Laguna Beach police station to report finding a tennis racket at 9:49 a.m. North Coast Highway and Emerald Bay: A Los Angeles resident was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest after he reportedly fled from officers who were warning him not to walk on the highway at 1:12 a.m. South Coast Highway: A customer and grocery store employee were reportedly having an argument in the 30800 block at 1:48 p.m. MONDAY 2nd Street and Forest Avenue: A hit-and-run by the driver of a small SUV was reported at 12:18 p.m. No injury was reported.

MONDAY Broadway: A small fire was reported in a kitchen at 5:31 p.m. in the 300 block. Ocean Way: A woman reported to police that her neighbor was throwing trash and plants into her backyard at 12:42 p.m. in the 1700 block. Sandpiper Drive: A group of 20 people reportedly saw someone doing drugs in a driveway at 10:12 p.m. in the 700 block. South Coast Highway: A man was reportedly in a hotel lobby threatening to kill someone at 11:43 a.m. in the 400 block.

An underground transformer on South Coast Highway failed at 11:04 a.m. Tuesday, dousing the lights for some 2,000 Southern California Edison customers in the area of downtown Laguna Beach. Most of the area was restored to power by noon, but about 40 customers between Mermaid and Cleo Streets on South Coast Highway will be without power indefinitely while the transformer is repaired or replaced, said Steve Conroy, spokesman for Southern California Edison. "This will be an extended outage [for the 40 customers]

AREA 1 Broadway Street: A caller reported a man was sunbathing on the deck of a building in the 300 block at 3:35 p.m. Sunday. Crescent Bay South: A caller reported canopies were put up after lifeguards left the tower at 5:53 p.m. Sunday. Circle Way: A caller reported three men and three women were drinking and smoking on the beach at Crescent Bay North at 4:43 p.m. Monday. Crescent Bay Drive: A caller reported people took bong hits inside a silver car in the 200 block at 6:52 p.m. Monday.

Two dogs jumped out of a car and bit a woman along South Coast Highway on Tuesday, Laguna Beach police said. At least one of the dogs bit a 54-year-old Laguna Beach woman's leg as she walked out of a business at 12:37 p.m. on the ocean side of South Coast Highway at Center Street, Sgt. Louise Callus wrote in an email. The woman fell and suffered abrasions, according to police. The two dogs, a 4-year-old Labrador-boxer mix and a 7-year-old Labrador-whippet mix, reportedly jumped out of a car that had its windows rolled all the way down, Callus said.

A woman was hospitalized after being hit by a car while crossing South Coast Highway around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Laguna Beach police said. Three 911 callers reported a traffic collision at 9:32 p.m. in the 1900 block of South Coast Highway near Center Street, Capt. Jason Kravetz wrote in an email. A 58-year-old female Dana Point resident attempted to legally cross where there is no electronic walk sign, police said. Police said the woman sustained multiple injuries, though none is life-threatening.

A high-end steakhouse planned for the former French 75 site in Laguna Beach by a group that includes Anaheim Ducks' player Teemu Selanne is expected to open later this summer. Jim Shumate, owner along with Selanne and Kevin Pratt, hopes to open the restaurant, now set to be called Selanne's, July 1. The three friends got together five years ago to discuss opening a restaurant, said Shumate, former general manager of the Chart House in Dana Point. The search spanned coastal areas from Laguna Beach to Newport Beach.