Treasure Island

Barbara Diamond Low interest rates have triggered a national refinancing frenzy and some city officials would like to take advantage of it. "The city can save $400,000 by refinancing the debt for Treasure Island Park using tax-exempt rates," Mayor Toni Iseman said. City Manager Ken Frank was instructed to provide options for paying about $8.5 million that's still owed by the city for Treasure Island Park. The current rate is 8.5%. "No question we could save money," Frank said.

A diver missing since Thursday evening off Treasure Island beach in Laguna Beach has still not been found. The missing diver has been identified as John S. Park, 29, of Buena Park, said Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jason Kravetz. A massive search was called shortly after friends reported Park missing at 7:11 p.m. Sept. 11. He was “free diving” without scuba tanks while spearfishing with two friends, Kravetz said. “Apparently, all three had driven to the beach together in order to go ‘free diving.

Barbara Diamond City officials unanimously agreed to refinance the Treasure Island Park debt, even if they couldn't agree on how to spend the estimated $1.2 million saved by reducing the interest rate. Various city projects and funds were tapped to pay off the $8.1 million owed to Montage Resort developer Athens Group, which had fronted the park costs. The city was paying 8.1% interest on the debt, deducted from the resort's reported bed tax. City Manager Ken Frank offered three options for refinancing the debt, but shot down two of them.

Barbara Diamond Mayor Wayne Baglin is steamed about a deal cut by the city Tuesday night that would allow the developer of the soon-to-be completed Laguna Colony Resort to get building permits in exchange for capping the city's costs of the park at the controversial project. "I see this as $1.5 million of smoke and mirrors," Baglin said. Despite Baglin's opposition, a council majority voted Tuesday to instruct city staff members to confirm changes in the development agreement proposed in a letter from Athens Group, owners of the 26-acre oceanfront property most folks still call Treasure Island.

WHAT: Treasure Island WHAT'S BEHIND IT: Monthly Progress Reports keep the City Council apprised of glitches in the Treasure Island project, actions by other agencies that pertain to the project. The reports give council members time to challenge any administrative approval and keep the public informed. WHAT NOW: City staff gave the developer permission to replace shrubs with a 40-by 100-foot lawn starting at the bottom of the public staircase and extending along the sidewalk to the drop-off entry to the public park.

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.

Laguna Beach lifeguards rescued 40 swimmers last weekend as big swells hit the coast. The largest waves occurred Friday - sets averaged 6 to 8 feet, but occasionally topped 9 feet, Marine Safety Officer Joshua Bynum said. Saturday sets averaged 4 to 6 feet, but clouds kept crowds at bay. "With swells like that, if the weather was good, the number [of rescues] could have gone up to 150 or 200," Bynum said. There were no serious injuries or medical emergencies associated with the rescues, which were evenly split between surfline breaks and swimmers caught in riptides from Friday through Sunday, Bynum said.

The City Council won't have a subcommittee working on the development agreement for the Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course project after all. The appointment of a subcommittee was pulled from Tuesday's agenda by City Manager Ken Frank. "It was on the agenda of the last meeting," Frank said. "It is back on the agenda tonight. "But things happened. People objected, and I can't find a council member who thinks it is a good idea." The idea was to appoint a subcommittee made up of elected council members to work with city staff and representatives of developer Athens Group on parameters for a development agreement.

I?d like to clarify several aspects of Barbara Diamond?s story (?Kayaking proposal resurfaces,? Oct. 17). I have been operating a quiet kayak tour business in North Laguna for several years. I?ve conducted business in the same manner as the other kayak company, the numerous surf instructors, and the scuba and yoga classes: The reservations are made in advance and no money is exchanged on the beach. I bring the kayaks down for the tour and remove them immediately after.

Laguna Beach lifeguards rescued 40 swimmers last weekend as big swells hit the coast. The largest waves occurred Friday - sets averaged 6 to 8 feet, but occasionally topped 9 feet, Marine Safety Officer Joshua Bynum said. Saturday sets averaged 4 to 6 feet, but clouds kept crowds at bay. "With swells like that, if the weather was good, the number [of rescues] could have gone up to 150 or 200," Bynum said. There were no serious injuries or medical emergencies associated with the rescues, which were evenly split between surfline breaks and swimmers caught in riptides from Friday through Sunday, Bynum said.

The California Coastal Commission has sent an informal letter to the city and the Montage Laguna Beach, asking for the resort's security to stop confronting the public at Treasure Island Park adjacent to the resort. The Coastal Commission has received several complaints over the past couple of months regarding the presence of private security in a public park, said Andrew Willis, an enforcement officer with the state agency. Patrick Veesart, the commission's Southern California supervisor, said it has independently confirmed that security guards have been asking park visitors to refrain from taking pictures of people in the private residences near the hotel.

Volunteers bagged more than 2,800 pounds of trash at the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day. About 800 volunteers scoured Laguna’s beaches from Treasure Island to Divers Cove and Heisler Park, despite fears that recent publicity about city homeless issues kept some people away. “I had the most interest for the Coastal Cleanup Day this week in the past several years before the story on the stabbing at Heisler Park,” said Roger von Bütow, founder of Clean Water Now!

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.

Billy Fried won’t launch his kayaking business at Treasure Island Beach after considering the conditions imposed on the permit by the California Coastal Commission. At the June 11 hearing, the commission sided with opponents of the project, who claimed the City Council’s terms of approval for the project conflicted with the Treasure Island Local Coastal Program, certified in 1999. “We are going to pick up the permit, but we won’t be pursuing operations at Montage at this time,” Fried said.

A new children’s book aims to make environmental education enjoyable. “See into the Sea,” written by Laguna Beach resident and Ocean Foundation member Molly Peckels and illustrated by Australian artist Svett Strickland, is a 16-page coloring book designed to educate children about tide pool behavior, sea critter identification and environmental responsibility. Each page has an illustration of common shore and near-shore animals for coloring, information about the creatures and a “Wacky Wave” insert that reveals unusual and quirky characteristic about each animal.

Party starting on Forest Avenue on Thursday The Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce will inaugurate the Forest Avenue Promenade from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday when Forest Avenue between South Coast Highway and Glenneyre Street will be closed to allow music, entertainment, sidewalk cafes and sales by local merchants. The Forest Avenue Promenade will continue on the third Thursday of the month. Parking will be free after 5 p.m., and a trolley will provide transportation on Coast Highway and to the Laguna Beach High School parking lot, 625 Park Ave. For more information, visit www.lagunabeachchamber.

Billy Fried is gambling that his kayaking business will not prove damaging to the beach ambience at Treasure Island Park and will go unchallenged by the California Coastal Commission. The City Council approved a five-month temporary use permit Tuesday to La Vida Laguna to stage, rent and launch kayaks at the beach below the Montage Resort and Spa. Conditions imposed on the business by the Planning Commission to reduce at least the appearance of commercialism on the beach were eliminated.

A Buena Park man reported missing in the ocean off of Treasure Island in Laguna Beach Sept. 11 is believed by police to have faked his own death, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jason Kravetz said Tuesday. John Sung Park, 29, is suspected of trying to run down a woman with his car less than two weeks after his two companions reported that he never returned from spearfishing. Divers searched for Park for several days, but no evidence of him came to shore, Kravetz said. “That was unusual,” Kravetz said.

It’s astonishing to get to the end of a year and realize all that has happened since the last time we took stock of events. There weren’t any landslides or other local disasters in 2008 (knock on wood, since there are still a few days left) but the year didn’t lack for drama or crises. Of course, 2008 will be known as the year the bottom dropped out of the world economy and the ramifications of that are still unfolding. In Laguna Beach, however, property values have so far held up, and the city and school district both counted their blessings throughout the year with no decline (actually some increase)