Letters to the Editor

New tone at council meeting was appreciated; now we just need a proper leadership rotation and things will be fine

It was a pleasure to watch the first full meeting of the 2023 City Council on Jan. 10th where speakers were treated respectfully and the council had congenial discussions at the dais. 

For the past four years what was allowed to take place at each City Council meeting was a failure of leadership and that lack of leadership falls to the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem. 

Many of us will not easily forget the part they both played in not maintaining civility and sadly this was perpetuated by rotating the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem positions between them for years and not allowing for the long-standing council tradition of rotating those positions through the council. 

What we were put through during those four years is painful to remember.  It’s especially painful for me because I was the target just about every time I spoke. It was painful for Village Laguna, the nonprofit civic organization whose main mission is to Preserve and Protect the Village Atmosphere and, without a doubt, it was painful to the residents of LB. We all endured the abuse for the last four years regardless of if you were the target or not. The Mayor’s and Mayor Pro Tem’s responsibility should have been to protect citizens from the perpetrator instead of protecting the perpetrator. 

It’s evident that during these years, the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem had little comprehension of what it took to return to council meeting after meeting after being verbally abused time again and knowing to expect more of the same, but nonetheless some stood up to speak their truth in spite of the abuse. But sadly, many did not.

Hopefully this chapter is behind us now and, hopefully, come next December the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem will give up their tight grip on the council and allow the regular rotation to resume. 

Johanna Felder

Laguna Beach

Add some color to your wardrobe to be more a part of our culture and history

I am always surprised to see so many people dressed in black, especially men in black T-shirts, when I’m out in town. Black is beautiful, but I thought it was a popular evening color.

Years ago, the owner of the Riviera hotel told his fellow Rotarians and others that he thought business owners and workers could wear colorful Hawaiian and other “beachy” friendly clothes because he said we are a beach town, famous for our wonderful beaches. After all, art is a big part of our culture with dozens of galleries, three summer festivals and a pageant, to say the least.

The next time you reach into the closet, pick something colorful and you too can be part of our culture and history. 

Roger Carter

Laguna Beach