Messy Church to gather on June 26

Messy Church, which welcomes everyone to its monthly get-togethers at Laguna Beach United Methodist Church, will gather this Sunday, June 26 from 4-6 p.m. This month’s theme is “Bless the Beasts and the Children.” 

Using arts and crafts, science experiments, play-acting and activities suitable for all ages, Messy Church offers spiritual exploration in a non-traditional atmosphere. A communal meal is always served as well.

“Messy Church shares the message that God loves us and we love one another,” said Barbara Crowley, who leads Messy Church at LBUMC.

A $5 donation is requested, but not required. RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information, visit www.lbumc.org/ministries.

Laguna Beach United Methodist Church is located at 21632 Wesley Drive, Laguna Beach, up the hill from the Gelson’s Shopping Center.

Fair Game

By TOM JOHNSON

Laguna to introduce new fire chief and in-house ambulance service in the first days of July

Laguna Beach has a new Fire Chief. His name in Niko King and he comes to the city with almost three decades of experience. He’ll assume the duties from retiring Fire Chief Mike Garcia on Tuesday, July 5.

There will be a community meet & greet following Chief King’s swearing in ceremony. The badge presentation and meet & greet will take place from 4-6 p.m. on July 5 in the City Council Chambers, where refreshments will be served.

• • •

The City of Laguna Beach has received their first of two ambulances to initiate their new In-House Ambulance Transport Service that begins next Friday, July 1.

The plan is to have dedicated ambulances, staffed 24 hours a day with two EMTs, placed at Fire Station #1 at 501 Forest Ave. and at Fire Station #4 31646 2nd Ave. The ambulances will be dispatched by the Laguna Beach Emergency Communications Center.

• • •

The City is planning a fireworks show on the Fourth beginning at approximately 9 p.m. The show will originate from Monument Point in Heisler Park.

Outside of that, fireworks are outlawed within the City of Laguna Beach. That includes those titled “Safe and Sane.”

Laguna Beach Police, Fire and Marine Departments can and will seize any fireworks, including firecrackers, bottle rockets, mortars, roman candles, or anything that flies/shoots through the air, and those in possession may be cited for a misdemeanor offense, which carries a fine of up to $1,000 and jail time of up to six months.

This is especially a sensitive time for dog owners, whose pets do not normally do well with the noises created. 

And, everyone should be concerned about the fire dangers. One misplaced firework could cause tremendous damage.

Residents who see and/or hear fireworks being used within the City can call the non-emergency hotline at 949.497.0701. Officers in the area being reported will be dispatched to investigate.

• • •

Other things that come into play during particular holidays, such as the Fourth, and certainly in the warmer summer weather that we need to be reminded of, are: 

–NO alcohol is allowed on the beaches.

–There is NO smoking in public places.

–Single-use plastics are NOT allowed on beaches, trails or in parks.

–NO drones are allowed to be used over City beaches, Heisler Park, Main Beach Park, Treasure Island Park, or Crescent Bay Park without a valid Remote Pilot Certificate issued by the FAA.

–NO canopies, awnings, umbrellas, tents or covers over six feet in height or wider than six feet square on or in any public beach, park; and, any canopy, awning, umbrella, tent or cover installed, shall have no more than one side closed to public view.

– No portable barbecues are allowed on City beaches or in parks.

– No dogs are allowed on City beaches from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. during the summer season, which extends from June 15 through September 10.

–All OC Park trails will be closed at sunset.

The Laguna Beach Police, Fire and Marine Safety Departments will be strictly enforcing all of these ordinances.

• • •

Heal the Bay just released their latest Beach Report Card that assigns letter grades from “A-to-F” for some 500 California beaches.

Two local beaches scored perfect water quality grades in all three segments year-round (Summer Dry Grade/Winter Dry Grade/Wet Weather Grade): Laguna Lido and Treasure Island.

Most other areas along the Laguna Beach coast also graded out well. 

A link to the complete 2021-2022 Beach Report Card, including all grades, can be found here.

• • •

Maybe you’re thinking about running for a Laguna Beach Unified School Board of Education spot. If so, there will be a virtual orientation for potential 2022 candidates next Thursday, June 30 at 12 p.m.

Interested parties should contact Victoria Webber at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Wednesday, June 29, in order to receive the link for the Zoom session.

• • •

Remember the elections…seems like months ago. Anyway, here’s our final look at the unofficial results (minimal votes continue to trickle in) and who is advancing on to November.

U.S. Representative 47th District 

*Katie Porter (D) – 86,719, 51.71%

*Scott Baugh (R) – 51.765, 30.86%

Amy Phan West (R) – 13,944, 8.31%

Brian Burley (R) – 11,950, 7.13%

Errol Webber (R) – 3,341, 1.99%

State Senator 36th District

*Janet Nguyen (R) – 120,124, 57.30%

*Kim Carr (D) – 89,503, 42.70%

State Assembly 72nd District

*Judie Mancuso (D) – 59,003, 43.31%

*Diane Dixon (R) – 58,120, 42.66%

Benjamin Yu (R) – 19,111, 14.03%

OC Supervisor 5th District

*Katrina Foley – 64,877, 41.76%

*Patricia “Pat” Bates – 34,458, 22.18%

Diane Harkey – 28,800, 18.54%

Kevin Muldoon – 27,223, 17.52%

(* Advances to November Election Day)

Other key races around OC included District Attorney Todd Spitzer who easily outdistance a field that included runner-up Pete Hardin. Spitzer received 62.49% of the vote and seems well on his way to a November victory. 

Cottie Petrie-Norris, who currently represents Laguna Beach but is moving to a new District, defeated Steven Choi in the newly redrawn 73rd Assembly District while getting 56.22% of the vote; and, Michelle Steel outpaced a field of three others with 49.03% of the vote in the 45th District U.S. Representative race.

City of Laguna Beach welcomes new Fire Chief Niko King

The City of Laguna Beach welcomes Niko King as the city’s new Fire Chief.  King brings almost three decades of well-rounded fire experience to the position and will begin his service to the City of Laguna Beach on July 5.

King’s fire experience includes 28 years with the Sacramento Fire Department, where he most recently served for six years as Deputy Fire Chief.  He has extensive supervisory and management experience, and his background includes expertise in the areas of fire operations, administration, fire prevention, emergency preparedness, training and development and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) divisions. Prior to becoming the Deputy Fire Chief, King served more than five years as Sacramento’s Assistant Fire Chief overseeing the Training Division to include a new recruit academy. King spent years as a Strike Team Leader in the field, a Type III Incident Commander leading an All-Hazards Incident Management Team, as well as a member of FEMA’s Incident Support Team under Urban Search and Rescue, with several federal activations to large scale disaster sites across the country.

Click on photo for a larger image

Courtesy of City of Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach’s new Fire Chief, Niko King

“Chief King is recognized as a professional, dedicated, fair leader of high integrity who motivates others and has a great passion for the fire service,” said City Manager Shohreh Dupuis. “We are delighted to have Chief King continuing the Fire Department success in providing outstanding services to our community in fire prevention, fire protection and emergency management.”

King holds a master’s degree in Homeland Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School; a Master of Science degree in Emergency Services Administration from California State University, Long Beach and a bachelor’s degree in Applied Sciences, Business Administration and Organizational Communication from California State University, Sacramento. King is relocating to Southern California and said he has always enjoyed visiting Laguna Beach.

“I am excited and honored to be selected to serve as the next Chief for the Laguna Beach Fire Department,” King said. “I look forward to working with the great men and women of the Fire Department, the city’s leadership team, local residents and businesses owners in continuing to ensure the department carries out its mission at the highest level.” 

King will take over duties as Chief from retiring Fire Chief Mike Garcia on July 5.  King is the city’s 20th Fire Chief and will have a salary of $225,500 per year. The public is invited to meet Chief King at a badge presentation and swearing-in ceremony on July 5 at City Hall (Council Chambers) from 4-6 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

Dennis’ Tidbits

By DENNIS McTIGHE

The heat is on! 

“Summer’s here and the time is right for dancin’ in the streets”

–Martha and the Vandellas, 1965, Motown Records

Yep, the heat’s on in a big way pretty much nationwide from border to border and coast to coast.

How heat waves occur: A heatwave occurs when a system of high atmospheric pressure moves into an area and lasts two or more days. In such a high-pressure system, air from upper levels of our atmosphere is pulled toward the ground, where it becomes compressed and increases in temperature.

The anomaly is usually associated with a change in the planetary waves, so that the prevailing winds from the southwestern deserts sweep farther north than usual and blanket a large region with hot, often humid air at ground level. 

An upper level High may settle over the mid-continent, thus destroying any cloud cover with its descending compression-heated currents until the blessing of fair weather turns to the curse of drought. In addition, heat from the hot, dry ground feeds back into the atmosphere, tending to perpetuate the heat-wave circulation. Whatever the cause, the effect is uncomfortable and dangerous. Continental heat waves like the one that’s going on right now live in human memory the way fierce winters do.

In summer the jet stream can be an ill wind indeed. As the sun drives the polar front back into Canada, the jet stream keeps to the cool side of the boundary and shifts northward where it pretty much rides in a semi-straight line the skirts the U.S.-Canadian Border from west to east – so the summer is a “normal” one, hot but not too hot and humid but not too humid. 

However, in some summers, the polar front and the jet stream may be oriented so that their eastern segment is displaced farther to the north, setting the stage for a midwestern and eastern heat wave. A persistent High can block the jet stream northward and sometimes in other summers, the High’s clockwise sinking circulation draws in hot dry air from the southwestern deserts and dry air from the northwest. This classical Dust Bowl pattern brings hot and dry weather to the mid-continent but often means cooler-than-normal conditions in New England and the far northwest like it’s been all month up until the 21st.

Heat index: (It isn’t the heat; It’s the humidity). The job of keeping the body cool falls increasingly upon the evaporation of sweat as the temperature rises. Meanwhile, the other forms of heat dissipation such as radiation and convection which depend upon temperature differences between the skin and surroundings, are reduced in effectiveness. In turn, the rate of evaporation of sweat is influenced by the humidity in the surrounding air. (Wind speed and thermal radiation are also factors).

 Discomfort is usually a complaint as soon as sweating begins, although, to be sure, the discomfort and heat stress on the body would be much greater if one could not sweat. Clothing reduces the effectiveness of sweating, but it is needed for protection from the sun. In order to reflect heat and enhance circulation of air, hot-weather clothing should be light colored, lightweight, porous and loose fitting. For most individuals, cotton or high-cotton blends are still the best hot weather fabrics.

Finally, Laguna and surrounding areas were treated to a rare thunderstorm on Wednesday morning thanks to remnant moisture and unstable air from post tropical storm Blas which dissipated off the Baja west coast. Now we have tropical storm Celia who is intensifying about 300 miles SSW of Acapulco, Mexico, and she’s expected to become a hurricane in a couple of days. Stay tuned on that one.

Have a safe and healthy and happy weekend, ALOHA!

Oranges and yellows

Click on photo for a larger image

Photo by Scott Brashier

The sun peeking behind the hillside on a cloudy evening makes for a cascade of orange and yellow hues