Letters to the Editor

Thanks for the look at the very special Sawdust

Cool perspective from Tom Johnson. Especially the more intimate notes about Ms. Petty and the London dialect of Ms. Brokenshire. But what part of London? Hmm Mr. Johnson?

We own several (probably more like 20) of Patsee’s unbelievably gorgeous sea life photos and will probably be purchasing more this year since my wife’s new business has some awfully stark white walls that sure could use a little color!

What a treat too that James was playing that day! We so miss him playing locally. And now that his protege (Andrew Bloom) is gone too…we don’t get that level of singing and guitar playing around town anymore. We’ve looked. 

We eventually hired James for my 55th b-day party since he doesn’t do clubs anymore. Amazing. Music is such a huge part of why we go back to the Festivals every year.

It’s (Sawdust grounds) such a beautiful spot. They really are quite breathtaking even after not missing one for 14 years running. Thank you for giving every one of those well-deserved artists a lovely word or two. Happy summer!

Tom Stephens

Laguna Beach

Letters to the Editor

Village Laguna concerned with proposed removal of mature trees near Sawdust Festival

For some time, Village Laguna has been following the County Flood Control District plans for replacing the channel that encloses Laguna Canyon Creek near the Sawdust Festival. While it is clear that repairs are needed to the concrete channel walls, we are concerned that the County proposes to remove nearly all of the existing mature trees from Woodland Drive all the way to the Frontage Road entrance. Five large pine trees and three large sycamores will be removed. 

The decision about the trees is driven by the Flood Control District and Caltrans which both have easements over the 20 ft. wide strip of land between the channel and the Laguna Canyon Road curb. But this area adjacent to the flood control channel is more than just a place for easements for maintaining the creek channel or providing a buffer area for Laguna Canyon Road for Caltrans. It frames the most important entrance to our city. It should continue the character of the Canyon that we are so dedicated to preserving, and it should be beautiful, creating the setting for the art venues that follow. 

The Flood Control District doesn’t seem to be willing to consider working around the existing trees and preserving them. If we can’t save the existing trees, can we replace them? Not with trees that will grow to the same size of those we will lose. Both Caltrans and the Flood Control District have criteria that severely limit the size of proposed trees to be planted in their easements. In other words, they will only be happy with “trees” that look more like shrubs – not the Laguna Beach recommended sycamores and oaks that characterize the Canyon. 

Both the Council and the Planning Commission have been concerned about the project’s aesthetics, given its prominent location at the entrance to our village, and in April 2021 the Council voted to pay for more attractive fencing and walkway paving. In August 2021 and May of this year the Planning Commission reviewed the plans and expressed concerns about the loss of the site’s mature trees. They suggested several mitigations which have not been accepted by the Flood Control District. 

The Council will consider the proposed plan on August 2. Don’t wait to be shocked and upset when you see the devastation along the channel in front of the Sawdust. Don’t wait to be disappointed when no substantial trees are replanted. Now is the time to support another link in “saving the Canyon.” Support preserving more trees and replacing the rest with substantial Canyon-appropriate trees like the oaks and sycamores that have been planted at the Village Entrance. 

Laguna Beach is a town designed by artists and appreciated by nature-lovers. That’s why it has the character we all appreciate. Agencies proposing work within our town need to respect that tradition. 

Send your concerns to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and join Village Laguna to protect our village atmosphere at www.villagelaguna.org/.

Anne Caenn, President

Village Laguna

Having issues with our organic waste bin, what to do?

We have been diligently using our organic waste bin since the beginning of the year. I’m sure you’re aware that the green-top containers get disgusting no matter what one tries to do to reduce the gunk that collects in and around the containers. 

Many of the methods such as keeping food in the freezer or refrigerator until trash day, layering yard waste with food waste, adding baking soda, etc., do not work for many of us who live in smaller homes. We have a small freezer/refrig, our yard is small, and mostly paved (the Fire Chief will be happy) and we don’t generate much yard waste. Baking soda would need to be added in 10-pound increments.

I’ve also looked at the trash container cleaning services that come once a month for $60+ dollars (suggesting) rinsing our own trash container. However, with a small, mostly paved yard, this is a health hazard, adding flies, rats and stench in our small yard.

I have neighbors who refuse to recycle their organic waste because of these issues. And, I’ve seen other neighbors who rinse out their organic waste bins in the street!

Waste Management has instructed us NOT to use compostable bags to collect our organic waste. I don’t understand why. Cities that use CR&R waste collection can use compostable bags, so this can’t be a conflict with the state’s efforts to keep organic waste out of the landfills. Here’s what’s on San Clemente’s website:

Organics Cart Tips

–Put yard trimmings and/or newspaper at the bottom of your organics cart.

–Alternate layers of food scraps and yard trimmings to keep your cart cleaner.

–Compostable bags are optional. Other plastic bags, including grocery bags, are not accepted.

–Store your cart in the shade during warm weather.

–Keep your food scraps in the freezer until collection day.

–Sprinkle baking soda in your organics cart.

Would you please push Waste Management on the issue of allowing us to use compostable bags with our organic recycling? There has to be a reasonable solution to this growing health hazard so we can safely recycle our organic food waste.

Meg Monahan

Laguna Beach

Presbyterian parking structure is a good idea

 I believe the parking structure proposed for the Presbyterian property on Third St. is a good idea. It will provide parking for the Laguna Beach Community Center and Susi Q Center events when their underground 72 spaces are full and also for City Hall, Farmers Market, Sawdust, Pageant/Festival, east side downtown shops and nearby restaurants, including Slice, Lumberyard, Zinc, Shirley’s Bagels, etc., and of course, the Presbyterian church.                   

I think we/the city should own the property, not the church.               

Roger Carter

Laguna Beach

Letters to the Editor

Concerned about behavior from those on the dais

I wanted to acknowledge Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whalen for telling Mr. Blake at the July 12, 2022 City Council meeting that his behavior does reflect on him and his colleagues. I thank you for finally speaking out about the horrible behavior that we’ve had to witness these last 3 1/2 years. 

If Bob Whalen continues to speak up at the council meetings and lets everyone know he will not put up with this kind of behavior, and if he calls for point of order when Mr. Blake interrupts the citizens, city staff and councilmembers, he’ll get my vote. 

As for Mayor Kempf’s remarks, after hearing Mayor Pro Tem Whalen’s comments about how Mr. Blake’s behavior reflects on them, she says nothing about Mr. Blake’s behaviors but tries to put the blame on Councilmember Weiss for Mr. Blake’s behavior. Councilmember Weiss has only been on the council for 1 1/2 years, how could she try to blame him? This only confirms she is okay with Mr. Blake belittling Laguna Beach residents and her colleagues. 

One council meeting, Councilmember Mr. Weiss, excited about the subject Mayor Kempf was sharing about, jumped in with his comments before the Mayor was finished; she was right to tell him to not interrupt her, but the next week there were several letters from citizens complaining about the mayor being interrupted by Councilmember Weiss. These concerned citizens have never commented on how Mr. Blake interrupts citizens, the staff and all the councilmembers; one must question this! 

I’ve heard Mayor Kempf interrupt Councilmember Iseman several times, why didn’t those concerned citizens write letters about that? I’ve also heard the City Manager, Shohreh Dupuis, interrupt Councilmember Iseman several times in one meeting, never letting Councilmember Iseman finish a comment. This behavior needs to stop.

I don’t understand it. They all, the mayor, mayor pro tem, the councilmembers and the city staff all work very hard, all have important jobs that we desperately need. All of them need to work together for the citizens and businesses and not try to make each other look bad by yelling at each other; no one needs to interrupt. Even when some of you have conflicts with a project being presented, or a citizen’s point of view is not yours, there is no reason for interrupting with rude comments. 

My suggestion is, get counseling, learn how to present your opinions with grace and by not belittling other colleagues or citizens. When you vote, we understand where you stand on certain items, so there is no need to force one’s opinion onto others. 

Mayor Pro Tem, again, thank you, if you continue trying to get civility in the council meetings, you’ll have my vote.

Liza Interlandi Stewart

Laguna Beach

Letters to the Editor

Rebuttal Letter to “Abortion hypocrisy a bit rich”

I am writing in response to Jennifer Zeiter’s Letter to the Editor published in the Friday, July 8 edition of Stu News Laguna and entitled “Abortion hypocrisy a bit rich.” 

For 25 years, I taught students how to read. What is easy to miss about reading is how difficult it is to do well. Reading trains the mind to be discerning and exact, particularly when making an argument. Careless arguments are commonly made, so much so that categories have been well-established to address – and warn us of – our errors in reasoning. These are known as logical fallacies. 

Ms. Zeiter’s letter commits two logical fallacies: first, the false equivalency, which is often referred to as the mistake of comparing apples to oranges; and, second, the ad hominen fallacy in which an argument strays from its line of reasoning and instead makes an attack against a person, or in this case a group of people, thereby abandoning one’s argument for what could be characterized as the cheap shot. 

To equate the state of being pregnant with a deadly virus that has killed 6.3 million people worldwide in 2 1/2 years is a non-starter because one simply cannot compare the two. Pregnancy is not a life-threatening communicable disease. Although it will now be a potentially life-threatening condition for many women. 

It is unfortunate that COVID deniers and those reluctant to protect members of their communities by rolling up their sleeves for a thoroughly researched vaccination have co-opted the phrase Our Bodies, Our Choice. This phrase is an outgrowth of the seminal book Our Bodies, Ourselves, which explained to women for the first time how their bodies worked. This phrase has long been used by women to underscore their right to have autonomy over their bodies, and specifically, all decisions about protecting their reproductive health. 

Women are no strangers to shame. Since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, women have been shamed and assaulted when they have presented themselves at Planned Parenthood facilities across this country for services that encompass the entire scope of well-woman care. 

My husband and I were part of the rally at Main Beach the evening of Friday, June 24. There, we joined men and women – young and old – who were, like us, sincerely outraged over the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision handed down that morning overturning Roe v. Wade, a civil liberty that had been protected by legal precedent for 50 years. 

Ms. Zeiter, abortion needs to be destigmatized. It deserves its proper place in the arsenal of women’s health care and should be removed from the dogma of religion and the scourge of other’s moral judgment. It is a fundamental medical procedure, and I will tell you why. Medical advancements still cannot predict who will have a normal pregnancy. Normal pregnancies turn abnormal, and quickly, all the time. 

Now, 11 states ban or severely limit abortion. Eleven more states have laws poised to do the same, and several additional states are planning to pass new more restrictive laws. This means that in every one of these states, women who suddenly find themselves in a high-risk pregnancy face death. 

Medical staff will be increasingly reluctant to act in a timely manner for fear of being at the wrong end of the fluid abortion laws in their states. When it comes to saving the life of the mother, sometimes a few moments is all it takes to make the difference. Doctors are reluctant to help a woman through a miscarriage – one in three pregnancies ends in miscarriage – for the same reasons I have stated above.

Here is the biggest reason for destigmatizing abortion and abortion care: Not all abortions are created equal. In other words, in many states, abortion is not an elective procedure because at least 11 states make no exceptions for rape or incest. Please read that sentence again, and you will begin to understand why so many of us were on Main Beach Friday evening, June 24. (The anti-abortion activists are working now to criminalize abortion in ALL 50 states. How the Supreme Court plans on threading the needle on distinguishing between states’ rights v. federal on that decision will be one for the history books because it could never survive any true test of legal authority.) 

Imagine this: A 12-year-old girl is impregnated by her father and is forced to have the baby. This, Ms. Zeiter, is the furthest thing from a choice. It is a travesty, a denigration of the most fundamental right of being female. We, too, are entitled to the guarantees of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is the reason for the outrage on June 24, 2022. 

Sarah E Vogel

Laguna Beach

Dee Perry is a Laguna Beach treasure

School board member Dee Perry was named the Woman’s Club “Woman of the Year” and deservedly so. I’m sorry to have missed the commemorative event due to an overseas vacation, but this great honor did not go unnoticed. Dee has been the singular voice of reason on the school board for years, questioning the rubber stamping of school initiatives and financial oversight. 

Most recently she was the only school board member to vote against the outrageously inflated salary increase for LB School District Superintendent Jason Villoria ($331,00 per year, plus benefits) for a small four school district with less than 3,000 students, plus three assistant superintendents, one of which received a whopping 14.7% raise, with the other two receiving a 7.7% raise. Villoria also received a $1,000 monthly stipend for cell phone, internet and “other expenses.”  That’s an additional $12,000 per year. That’s outrageous and fiscally irresponsible. 

By comparison, the Irvine Superintendent oversees 36,000 students and 43 schools with a similar salary. What is wrong with this picture?

I’m proud that Dee Perry’s contributions to our community and dedication to our schools and students was honored. She has been ostracized by the other members of the LB school board, who act like school yard bullies against Dee Perry. Shame on them. 

Thank you, Dee Perry for your service and for standing up. Let’s hope some new candidates run for school board this year in November’s elections to help support Dee Perry’s wisdom and responsible critical thinking. We could use some new blood to support accountability in our schools, listen to and respect parents, fight against the dumbing down of curriculum, revisionist history and race baiting divisive teachings, oversexualization of our children and continual floating of a bloated administrative bureaucracy. 

The filing window to run for school board is July 13th through August 7th.  Here’s the link to get started.

Candidates would be well advised to view the documentary “Whose Children Are They.” It’s an eye opener as to what the schools are teaching your children.

Now is your opportunity to make a difference.

Jennifer Zeiter

Laguna Beach

Would love to see a permanent lifeguard tower put at Woods Cove

I do not live on Moss Point in Laguna Beach. I did collect most of the signatures on the petition to our City Council. The majority of those who signed are everyday LB beach lovers and swimmers.

We all agree that Moss Point beach does not need a permanent lifeguard tower. It is our smallest beach with the fewest number of visitors. During high tide there is no beach and the rocks have to be used by the sun bathers. The tower will take away scarce beach space and be a major eyesore.

I walk my dog on Ocean Way every day, the street that provides access to Moss, Diamond, Pearl and Agate beaches. I usually am walking during the time that the relief lifeguards are running to their next beach assignment. I always joke with the guards about “how was it at Moss?” The overwhelming comment is “boring.”

I live on Woods Cove (which has no permanent lifeguard station) the next large double beach to the north that has hundreds of beach goers from 7 a.m. till approximately 9 p.m. during the season. This beach is also home to a fantastic tide pool that is enjoyed by young and old visitors and an added challenge for the lifeguards. It is a wonderful beach that represents all the diversity of California. 

I, and my fellow petition signers, would love to see the permanent lifeguard tower placed on Woods Cove to provide a better view access for the guards. There are only 15 beachfront homes on this cove. Only two homes on each side have permanent residents. It is the right time to make the investment of city resources in a permanent lifeguard tower to support our exceptional Marine Safety personnel on Woods Cove instead of on Moss Point. 

I believe that if you review the statistics from last season regarding lifeguard interventions on Moss Point and Woods Cove vs. all other beaches that Moss will have the fewest interventions by lifeguards.

Thank you for your service,

Jim Kelly 

Laguna Beach

Appealing to City Council for reconsideration of plan for permanent lifeguard tower at Moss Cove 

I own and reside on Ocean Way. I co-filed the appeal for the council meeting regarding the permanent concrete caisson lifeguard tower proposed for the Moss Beach Stair Rehabilitation project coming up this fall. I am out of the country and will not be able to attend the city council meeting, or any of the on-site visits many of you have been so kind to schedule. 

The proposed permanent tower came as a surprise as it was not discussed during the initial city neighbor meeting. It was later posted as part of the plan. 

I do understand Marine Safety’s interest in wanting to include it during the extensive stair rehabilitation, and I respect that enclosed towers are part of the future plans for all beaches and is part of the 2022 Strategic Plan.

The Planning Commission spent a fair amount of time and interest in debating its inclusion and two commissioners were firm on no votes for the permanent tower, with a third vote under consideration. Russell (city staff) interjected during deliberations that “this is what City Council wants” which swayed everything. One vote stuck, one definite vote said, “if this is what everyone wants, I will go with it,” though he originally felt it was not a good use of our budget.

I believe in a respectful way, that perhaps during City Council’s strategic planning session that there may not have been specific situations discussed beach by beach. “One size doesn’t fit all….” Perhaps it is not logical for our smallest beach to be grouped with all beaches.

I urge you to consider the options we are proposing as an alternative to a permanent tower that will forever change the tiny cove. A permanent tower is not needed, may not withstand the beating the stairs have always taken. It may be an invitation for vandalism and is out of scale for such a small pocket cove.

The petition I recently submitted was signed by genuinely concerned local neighborhood members. All very passionate about little Moss Cove. The petition was not a blanket effort to simply secure numbers of signatures.

Our lifeguards deserve what City Council has deemed to be a safe and comfortable work environment. I believe that can still be achieved with an enclosed temporary tower. The challenge may still remain in moving the tower up and down the new stairs, but it can be done to meet everyone’s needs and desires.

Please know we are all respectful of the time required for an appeal and we appreciate your efforts, time and interest.

Debbie Lewis

Laguna Beach

Saddened by closing of Royal Hawaiian

We are disappointed to learn of the sudden end of local Mariano Molteni’s friendly, family-run restaurant, Royal Hawaiian, this July 31. Why couldn’t its landlord, Mohammad Honarkar, allow Royal Hawaiian to operate through this calendar year? 

Please support Maro by patronizing Royal Hawaiian now and hopefully into the future.

Ellen and Roger Kempler

Laguna Beach

Obituary

Tom Lyster

Click on photo for a larger image

Courtesy of Brock Lyster

Tom Lyster

Tom Lyster passed away on June 28, 2022. He was 98 years old.

The story goes he was working as a lifeguard at the Kirkwood pool in St. Louis and saw a beautiful young woman and dove into the pool and swam over to where she was sitting by the side of the pool and he told her she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her name was Jackie Jett. They were soon married and driving to California to start a life together.

They ended up in Belmont Shores and got a small apartment there and set it up with modern furnishings. My sister Jamie was born there. Dad got a job selling steam cleaners in Orange County to the agricultural farmers there, as all the sales positions in Los Angeles County were full. 

When I (Brock Lyster) was born in 1954, the apartment was too small for the four of us and my Dad’s three older brothers and two older sisters convinced Jackie and Tom to buy a brand new tract house in Garden Grove rather than the cute little old cottages they liked in Corona del Mar.

So, our early childhood years were in Garden Grove where our brother Mark joined us after he was born and we were a family of five. My Dad would always introduce his beautiful wife Jackie and his wonderful three kids, a blond, a brunette and a red head. He loved his family and was very proud of all of us. 

Our house was close to Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland and we could also choose between all of the beaches from Huntington to Laguna to go to the beach. 

He would later take that steam cleaning technology and build two car washes in Orange County. At that time, he was racing early handmade go-carts on a dirt lot near one of the car washes. 

When the Garden Grove Freeway was starting construction it was too close to our house, and we all voted as a family to move to Laguna and live by the ocean. We chose to have less money but a bigger life at the beach.

Our friend and artist Jan Peters helped us find a lot in a steep ravine full of avocado trees on Diamond Street. She also introduced our Dad and Mom to Lamont Langworthy, the architect.

Our Dad had transitioned from car washes to selling roof trusses and the only requirement he asked of Lamont was to use roof trusses in the design.

The house was built in 1963 and was a modern wood and glass house and felt like a tree house among the avocado trees.

Our Dad was so proud of the house, that if anyone slowed down at all and looked at the house he would go out and meet them and invite them in for the Grand Tour. 

Lamont and our parents would invite friends over to have yoga sessions with soup and bread after.

When the Unitarian Fellowship did not have a place to meet, our Dad offered up our house.

Soon after the house was completed, our Dad went up to call on the renowned architectural photographer Julius Shulman to come photograph our house. He agreed to do it for free and the photos are now part of the Shulman Collection at the Getty.

For the photo session, Jan had many of her artist friends drop off art pieces. Our parents ended up having many friends who were artists and educators. 

When the lot below our house went up for sale, our Dad struck a deal with the lot owner to let him build on the lot and pay him when the house was sold.

That was the Bridge House that Lamont designed with my Dad’s trusses to span across the ravine so that we would have a nice house to look at below our house.

The design of that house led to a company our Dad, Mom and Lamont started called Concept Environment that used the truss bridge technology to create pre-fabricated houses. The first prototype was at the base of Park Avenue by Wendt Terrace.

Then they stacked three of them up for their friend Fred Lang above Aliso Beach for his landscape architecture business.

They would build 100 more to go out to places around California before Ford Motor Company bought them out.

Around 1966, our parents and Lamont and a lot of their friends started a group called The Citizens Town Planning Association or CTPA. The idea was to get the public educated and involved in the city planning process. I remember our Dad hiring the Byrds rock group in 1967 to play at the Irvine Bowl at the Festival of Arts to raise money for their new organization. 

Our Dad loved his family, doing whatever work he did from steam cleaners, car washes, selling roof trusses and building houses. 

When he got excited, he would slap the table hard with expression and if you were in the car with him – look out – because he would slap your knee. He would also rub his hands together really fast and then clap his hands. His excitement for life was catching and we all got it. 

When he figured out he could live on less and have more he started spending his time running on the beach and doing yoga. He would travel the world to study yoga and widen his knowledge.

I once asked him what he had learned from all of his yoga study and travels and he said, “Pal, whatever you do, whether it is something you do not look forward to, or you know you are going to really enjoy, get into it 100 %. Really get into it.” 

So, we are going to remember you that way Pal, Tom, Dad. Here’s to you!

His kids Jamie, Brock and Mark, and his grandkids Sylvi, Lauren and Lynn survive Tom.

A memorial gathering is not planned at this time. You can send thoughts about Tom to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Submitted by Tom Lyster’s son, Brock Lyster.