Mighty Telephone Pole

I was watching the movie To Catch a Thief a few days ago that was made back in 1955. As many of you know the film was made in Cannes and Nice, France along the French Riviera. The views of the countryside reminded me very much of our Laguna Beach. The climate there is very similar to the climate we so appreciate here. Flora of the hillsides looks very similar to our hillsides as well. 

Both of these French cities are destinations for millions of tourists, again very similar to Laguna Beach. When the camera filmed scenes of the countryside many telephone poles were noticed lining the winding roadways of the area. Some of these poles were located very close to these narrow roadways. What is seen reminded me a great deal of the many telephone poles that exist in our fine City. 

Yes, the film was done years ago and yet one could just bet those very same poles still exist today. Folks in that area of the world do the same as folks here in Laguna Beach, they have learned to live with their poles and we all have to until there comes a time when technology can eliminate the poles completely. The French are not attempting to underground their poles most likely because of the cost to do so and with no demands being made by the citizens or their government. 

Additionally, during my drives to various locations close by, that many of us have been to, such as Glen Oak, Arrowhead, Big Bear, Mammoth, Julian and other highly forested communities that are tourist destinations [which] would be considered high risks for fires as is Laguna Beach, I see that the poles are there. The transformers are there. The roadway through many of these communities is even way more dangerous then our Canyon Road. 

So, why the alarm in our town about the fire risks we face that are so similar to many other communities? Why this race to underground? How are similar communities dealing with their poles? One must admit however, do these poles add any beauty to our town? Absolutely not. Try getting a telephone pole included in your landscape planning. The pole in your garden covered with morning glory vine will not be allowed. Have any of you ever seen a pretty pole?

However, at this time, in our community, we must learn to live with our very own telephone poles just like hundreds of thousands if not millions of others must do the same for the decades yet to come. What has been expressed in the news media about causes of fires the telephone pole is ranked way down the list. Those businesses that are responsible for the maintenance of all poles in our town take extra caution to be sure the poles remain safe and good repair. If poles are neglected these companies will be held accountable. 

The fear that is being generated by those citizens in our city and those in our government who support this costly undergrounding is both unfounded and unnecessary as well as a poorly laid tactic. Many of us are waiting to be more and more informed about this costly project and how it dictates such a rapid decision. 

In the meantime...let’s continue to live with the poles as best we can. We have been doing so for many years. 

Jim Gothard

Laguna Beach resident and property owner

Undergrounding Survey necessary?

After attending the council meeting last night and watching the presentation regarding the results of the community survey, I’m convinced these surveys and committees are a waste of time and our tax dollars.  

This survey was directed entirely toward placing the blame of a catastrophe from fire, flood or earthquake on the utility poles. It blames the poles as the cause of our lack of safety when evacuating and congestion when there is an emergency. Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t remember the poles being a problem during the evacuation in the 1993 fires.  

The property owners for the last 20 years have been undergrounding their neighborhoods on their own at their own expense to improve their views. The thought of creating a better “evacuation route” was not even considered.  There were neighborhoods currently going through the process when they heard about this bond issue and learned their street was designated an “evacuation route”. Of course they stopped the process with the expectation that the rest of us will now be paying for their properties. Several property owners last night urged the council to extend the evacuation route to include their neighborhood so they can also benefit on free undergrounding.

This survey should have had a fourth option. The property owners should be required to pay their own undergrounding regardless of any arbitrary “evacuation routes”.  Every street is an evacuation route in an emergency depending on which direction the threat is coming from. Those of us that have already paid for our neighborhood shouldn’t be required to pay for those that haven’t.

All the time and money going out for this survey could have been better spent to possibly help offset the costs for the neighborhoods and canyon where there are larger poles. FYI, this survey would have been free if they utilized Google Form or for a minimal charge with Survey Monkey. The council wasn’t happy with how the survey was conducted or the results and wants the panel to do another survey and report back in several months. 

 Of course, at an additional expense from our tax dollars.

Jill Cooper

Laguna Beach

Good news to share

I have some good news to share. 

The City Council is often bombarded by people expressing concern about the challenges faced by Laguna brick and mortar businesses and expressed in terms of the number of vacant storefronts. And the general message is that “The City needs to do something about it.”

There was an excellent example of that at midnight two weeks ago when a parade of speakers, some of whom even live here, explained to us how Laguna, with 6,000,000 annual visitors and well over $700,000,000 of annual retail and hotel room sales, is blighted and comatose and is on the road to ruin – like La Jolla -- if the City Council doesn’t take extreme measures to reinvigorate the economy through massive injections of alcohol into visitors.

In an era of fake news, it’s important to do some occasional fact checking into just how critical the patient is.

And what better source of information could there be than the Chamber of Commerce website which lists commercial vacancies?

Checking that site, I found there are currently 36 retail, office, and industrial properties available.  Some are vacant and some will become available in the future. 

I checked with commercial property brokers for a Laguna Beach commercial vacancy factor, but being a small market, the larger providers of commercial data do not break out numbers for Laguna.

So, I checked to see how many businesses there are in Laguna. There are nearly 3,900 business licenses in Laguna. 36 vacancies for 3,900 businesses didn’t sound so bad.

But since not all businesses occupy a commercial address, I checked with the post office for business addresses, and there are 1,447 business addresses in Laguna (not counting Post Office Boxes) so, 36 vacancies out of 1,447 physical addresses is about two and a half percent commercial vacancy.  That’s probably a good estimate of commercial vacancies.

For comparison, I then looked for vacancies in Orange County and nationally and found that while the national average for retail vacancy is 6.6 percent, Orange County does much better with only 3.6 percent.  But at two and a half percent, Laguna is far more healthy than either Orange County or the nation as a whole.

I also looked at new business formations and failures and found that nationally about eight percent of all businesses either start up new or fail in any year. 

And, in fact, only 50 percent of new businesses survive five years.

So, businesses turn over. For many reasons.  Sometimes success. Sometimes failure. Sometimes due to growth. Or sale of the business.  And turnover can cause vacancy, but turnover is normal. And that’s the point. And, in fact, Laguna is doing much better than most.

There is no question that this is a trying time for brick and mortar retail. And, while no one wants to see businesses falter, on the other hand, our City Council has no obligation to guarantee the profits of private businesses.

And if an investor pays too much, or promises his investors too much, the City has no duty to bail him out.

John Thomas

Laguna Beach

Obituary

Laura Dorothy Krill

February 17, 1920 – September 30, 2017

Dorothy died on September 30, 2017, at her home in Laguna Beach, CA.  She did it on her own time and with her usual flair, stubborn to the end. She is survived by sons John S. Krill, Laguna Beach, CA, C. David Krill, Atascadero, CA, and daughter Nancy M. Krill, Port Townsend, WA, 7 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Laura Dorothy Phillips was born February 17, 1920 in Hartford, CN and grew up in Queens, NY. She was the oldest of 5 children, and the last surviving sibling. Her father died when she was 7 years old and she always felt the need to look after her brothers and sister. The family was active in the Salvation Army and she liked to tell stories of playing the trumpet and alto horn during the holidays for the Army. Her mother was from Halifax, Nova Scotia and she had many fond memories of a visit to Halifax when she was 12 years old. Throughout her life she maintained close contact with her Canadian cousins.  In 1939, she earned a certificate in infant care from the Salvation Army’s Brooklyn Nursery and Infants’ Hospital.

She met her husband Charles (Chuck) Kennedy Krill, an electrical engineer, in Chicago and they were married in Brooklyn on November 26, 1942. They moved to Southern California in 1947 living in Burbank and Glendale in the 50’s and 60’s, where she became a member of the First Methodist Church and active in the choir. They had four children, John, David, Nancy and Brian.  Vacations in those early years were spent camping at Yosemite, Sequoia, Lake Tahoe, as well as many summers camping at Carpenteria Beach.  

In August 1964, Dorothy, Chuck, Nancy and Brian moved to Tokyo, Japan, where they lived for two years. Dorothy took up flower arranging, taught English, and took full advantage of being in Asia, traveling within Japan as well as Hong Kong and Cambodia.  In 1966 the family returned to California via the old USSR, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Britain. The travel bug had captured her sense of adventure.

In 1972 Dorothy started Krill Tours & Travel in Laguna Beach and soon thereafter her daughter Nancy joined her. Over the next 10 years Dorothy and Chuck traveled all over the world, taking several foreign trips a year. One of her favorite places was Hawaii which she first visited in 1950. They bought, along with three other couples, a condominium on Kaanapali Beach, Maui in the 70’s and, after Chuck’s death in 1982, she bought an apartment near Diamond Head in Waikiki. She continued to run the travel agency another 20 years. She loved to tell stories of all her many travels to the delight of all who listened.

Social activities were important to Dorothy and she loved to host groups in her home. She was a very active member of the Business and Professional Women, the Laguna Beach chapter of Soroptimist International, and the Laguna Beach United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir, was involved in the Missions Committee and was a member of a Bible Study Group. Originally a Republican, she became a Democrat after the Barry Goldwater nomination, and remained a very active member in the Orange County and Laguna Beach Democratic clubs. Before elections she could often be found in front of the Laguna Beach Post Office registering voters.  

Music played an important part in Dorothy’s life. When she was a young girl, it was common for family friends to visit and sing hymns. She began singing in her church choir in the early 1950’s and continued to do so until her death, more than 60 years later. In the late 1950’s she was part of a singing trio called the 3 Clubs, performing at local community and church events. She was very proud of the fact that she had sung at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, and Carnegie Hall, NYC. Dorothy’s Bible Study Group has purchased a memorial plaque for her to be placed alongside the one for Chuck in the Laguna Beach United Methodist Church courtyard. The plaque will be dedicated on the 18th of February at 11:30 am. She was known for her loyalty to friends and will be missed by them and her family. Donations in Dorothy’s honor can be made to the LBUMC Missions Committee.

No military parade, Mr. President

I don’t want a military parade like President Trump does. I want an America where people celebrate our nation’s long-held values and principles daily. You know, like my Laguna friends who support the Food Pantry, SchoolPower and Friendship Shelter. They are the real patriots. No amount of tanks driving by or troops marching in formation can match what they do.

Denny Freidenrich

Laguna Beach