Laguna Beach

Thanks to KX-FM 93.5, Finding Cool New Music in Laguna Beach Isn't Impossible

By: Dawn DiMare Thiery Considered a revered epicenter of fine art, the well-to-do city of Laguna Beach isn't known as a bastion of new music discovery (unless you're looking for surf rock or reggae à la Sublime). Grant Owens--a disc jockey at member-supported KX-FM 93.5--is trying to change that. F ... More >>

KX 93.5FM Casino Night Gala

Surf & Sand Resort

Laguna Beach Church To Get Parking Income Deal From County Supervisors

Who says we can't have public-private cooperation?Or even government-church financial deals?On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors is set to approve a contract to help Laguna Beach United Methodist Church make some cash.County officials have rented space at the popular church since 1984 ... More >>

[UPDATED with Council Approval:] Laguna Beach Re-ignites Skateboard War

See the update at the end of this post on the City Council approving the ordinance for all ages.ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 16, 9:34 A.M.: The Laguna Beach City Council is poised tonight to pass an ordinance allowing police to remove a scourge of society from the streets.No, not meth, prostitutes or those g ... More >>

Tree-Killing In Laguna Beach

[Moxley Confidential] The nanny state is alive in Laguna, where officials slyly back a new 'right' to an ocean view for the well-connected who want trees killed

Nick's On 2nd Coming to Belmont Shore

Strolling along 2nd Street over the weekend, we spotted signage announcing the arrival of yet another NickCo Restaurant. With locations in San Clemente and Laguna Beach, their culinary adventure continues this summer on the corner of St. Joseph Avenue.Focusing more on their original bar & grill ... More >>

Let's Get Physical

[Hey, You!] Nice crashing into you today . . .

Five Gas Stations In Orange County That You Don't Want to Fill Up On

​It used to be said that everything was more expensive in California. And until our housing market crashed, it might have been true. But at least one thing remains ridiculously overpriced here--gasoline. California's average cost of gas is now $4.34 for regular gas, while the national average is c ... More >>

Presenting This Year's Crop of New Burger Joints: More Umami, Another The Counter, And BurgerFi

​We're still living in a burger Renaissance folks. As you may recall, the past few years saw a surge of new burger joints, some came from highfalutin gourmets chefs (think Joseph Mahon's Burger Parlor, Charlie Palmer's DG Burger, and Marcus Samuellson's MarcBurger), some came from the In-N-Out-lev ... More >>

Marbel A. Para Popped for Poaching 42 Spiny Lobsters from Marine Sanctuary

​A Riverside County man was cited Sunday for allegedly poaching 47 California spiny lobsters from Laguna Beach waters within Southern California's new marine sanctuary zone that went into effect Jan. 1.State Department of Fish and Game warden popped Marbel A. Para, 30, of Romoland, off Heisler Pa ... More >>

Laguna Beach May Change Internet Usage Rules After Police Arrest A Man For Watching Porn, Masturbating At Public Library

​There's a journalism aphorism that goes: when a dog bites a man, that is not news. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.In following that same concept, I'd argue that the story of a scruffy-looking guy jacking off to porn in a public library is hardly new. And yet, after the recent arrest of a ... More >>

Restaurant Roll Call for October 2011

SWSH Facebook​Today, as we do every month, we take a look at what's new and what's passed on in OC's eating scene. The past 31 days saw not one, but two openings in the dynamic Diamond Jamboree, as well as the debut of Jollibee in Anaheim. We also witnessed a few closures, including the Arches, wh ... More >>

Restaurant Roll Call for September 2011

​Let's get down to it, shall we? Here's our monthly roll call of what we like to dub "open and shut cases". This list compiles what we've observed over a month that saw the momentous opening of Batali's long awaited Mozza in Newport Beach and Broadway by Charlie Palmer protege, Amar Santana.See th ... More >>

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus

Hunger Artists Theatre Company

Starfish Opens Today in Laguna Beach

Starfish​Nancy Wilhelm's Starfish opens today at the Albertsons plaza in Laguna Beach. As I said in an earlier post, if the name sounds familiar, she's the woman behind Tabu Grill and David Wilhelm's former wife.

New High-Concept Restaurants Slated for Laguna Beach

Starfish​Ah, Laguna Beach.  If there was a rallying point where the high-concept restaurants flock, it'd be here.  There are at least three new restaurants slated for the Laguna coast this year, all of them fit for a town that seems to demand a new restaurant or bar to go to every weeken ... More >>

[UPDATED] Downhill Skateboarders Facing Regulations and Limitations From Laguna Beach City Council

Downhill skateboarding in LB will go on.​On Wednesday evening, a packed-house, three-hour City Council meeting in Laguna Beach presented what will be the future of downhill skateboarding within the city limits. After moving to more-or-less ban the high-speed recreational activity by trying to enfo ... More >>

Oliver Stone Bases Film on Laguna Beach Crime Thriller

Hayek​It seems Hollywood can't get enough of Laguna Beach, our county's best seaside town.Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone is building a cast for a crime thriller film based Don Winslow's Savages novel about two Laguna Beach marijuana growers who piss off a Mexican drug cartel. According t ... More >>

Coastal Commisssion Votes in Favor of Medical Pot Clubs

​Not sure how we missed this, but kudos to The Orange County Register for reporting that the California Coastal Commission voted--against the recommendation of its own staff--to deny Laguna Beach's effort to seek its approval for a ban on marijuana dispensaries. The Jan. 19 story by Claudia Koerne ... More >>

Ineffective Drive-Thru Robber With a Plastic Bag on His Head Caught in Laguna Beach

All he needs now is a toy gun.​​We love stupid criminals. Which is why this story about a stupid, completely ineffective criminal is better than most.Last Tuesday, a man with a plastic bag over his head pulled up to a Fullerton Wendy's drive-thru window, pointed what appeared to be a gun at the ... More >>

[UPDATED:] Storm Damage: Mother Nature Owes OC $23 Million

Chasen Marshall/OC WeeklyThere is substantial work to be done along the boardwalk at Laguna Beach.​Update, December 29, 4:22 p.m.: Photographic evidence of the storm-caused carnage at Main Beach in Laguna Beach. 

This Week in Food: Bad Tequila Bottles, Bánh Mì Rip-Offs, and Heather Graham!

​Here's another terrible tequila bottle to ponder: the so-phallic-it's-embarrassing Asombroso. I've had their tequila, and it makes gutter water taste downright Cabernet. Bad-looking tequila bottles were on the agenda this week, along with other issues, all after the jump!

Transition Laguna Beach: Changing OC's Food Sources, One Garden At A Time

Courtesy of Transition Laguna BeachIt doesn't get more local than your own backyard.​We're mocked a great deal in Orange County for our love of chain restaurants, convenience food and cheap, Sysco-type food. It doesn't seem to matter that our tastes mirror those of the rest of the country--the poi ... More >>

New Seafood Restaurant To Open Next Week in Laguna Beach

www.rocknfishlb.com​A few weeks ago Tommy Bahama Restaurant opened on the bottom floor of the Heisler Building in Laguna Beach. Now it's Rock'n Fish's turn to open on the top floor of the same building. The Laguna Beach sister of Rock'n Fish at LA Live and the original at Manhattan Beach will de ... More >>

20th Annual Winter Fantasy

Sawdust Festival

Laguna Beach Skateboard Ban Wipes Out

​The skateboarding ban being talked about in Laguna Beach appears to have done a face plant.The Laguna Beach Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee unveiled a final version of a proposed ordinance Thursday night that was missing something huge that had been in previous drafts: a boarding probi ... More >>

'Today' Opening Reception

210 AR4T Space

Get Off My Lawn! Old People-Skateboarder Relations Go Downhill in Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach residents don't get riled up over too many things--who can get mad surrounded by all of that surf, sun and beautiful scenery?Thursday night was a different story, however. At the monthly public meeting of the beachside city's Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee, debates raged bet ... More >>

Art-A-Fair

777 Laguna Canyon Rd.

ACLU Honors Law Firm for Helping Quash Laguna Beach's Anti-Homeless Ordinance

​Just shy of a year after Laguna Beach agreed to settle a federal lawsuit over the city's treatment of disabled homeless people, a law firm has been honored for its "outstanding pro bono work" in the case. Irell & Manella, which has offices in Newport Beach and Los Angeles, recently received ... More >>

Flickr Photo of the Week: Las Brisas

Flickr user debairdLaguna Beach.​ ​Got something to share with your community? Join the OC Weekly Flickr pool!

¡Ask a Comida Critic! Best Beachside Restaurant View?

​Apologies for the tardiness in this week's entry, and for paraphrasing the question...What is the best restaurant for a seaside view?The classic choice to take the Iowans near the sea, of course, is Las Brisas in Laguna Beach--that view is killer, plus you empty out to Heisler Park afterward for ... More >>

Memorial Day: What to Do Today?

Flickr user DClemmLaguna Beach: Doesn't this look like fun?​Bored? Why are you at home? Still have no idea what to do today? Check out our handy calendar listings for barbecues, free live music and more. 

Flickr Photo of the Week!: A Sign of Things to Come

Flickr user DClemmLaguna Beach.​ ​Got something to share with your community? Join the OC Weekly Flickr pool!

Orange County Noir

Newport Beach Public Library

Radio Star Nick Schou on KPFK-FM 90.7 TODAY at 3pm, Booksigning THIS SATURDAY in Laguna!

​My Weekly colleague and lunch buddy Nick Schou has been on quite the tear recently for his latest book, Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love and Its Quest to Spread Peace, Love, and Acid to the World, which deals with Laguna Beach's Hippie Mafia of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Grea ... More >>

Gallo's Italian Deli Opening Second Spot in Laguna Beach!

From one greaser culture to another, we salute you!​If Fate ever takes me to Corona del Mar during the day and I don't want to drive down PCH to Husky Boy Burgers in Laguna Beach, I always stop by Gallo's Italian Deli and munch on subs: fat weights bursting with various cuts, lightly decorated, a ... More >>

Cocaine Bust Capped Dramatic Beach Rescue

​Perhaps you saw the dramatic photos or video from the nighttime rescue of three people stranded at high tide in a Laguna Beach cove Wednesday.Now, 20-year-old Giovanni Carlo Frizzle, who was one of those rescued, has been arrested on suspicion of cocaine possession and being under the influence ... More >>

Orange Sunshine

In his new book, the Weekly's Nick Schou tells the tale of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, OC's notorious 'Hippie Mafia'

Death: It's Not Just for Adult Sea Lions

​Dozens of sick and starving sea lion pups are washing up on Southern California shores. Many have not survived. Meanwhile, researchers have cast a wider net for causes of adult sea lion cancer deaths.

Orange County Chef Semi-Finalist for James Beard Award

​20 chefs were nominated in the category of "Best Chef: Pacific" for the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards; but only one is from Orange County: Craig Strong of Studio at The Montage in Laguna Beach. Chef Strong is no stranger to the distinction, though. He was a semi-finalist last year too.

Drop In, Pedal Out, Bike-ON! Laguna Beach-Style

ThereIFixedIt.comHome shopping network​Bike-ON! Laguna Beach holds a drop-in, community-wide bike ride Saturday.

Ann Mah Reading And Signing in Laguna Beach

Ann Mah​Ann Mah, the Orange County-born author of Kitchen Chinese, will be reading from her novel and signing copies of her book at Laguna Beach Books, this Thursday at 6 p.m.If you're at all into food-oriented fiction (think Like Water For Chocolate), consider heading down to her signing.If Thurs ... More >>

Laguna Beach Bike Task Force Wants to Change Gears

​The Laguna Beach Bike Task Force tonight will ask the City Council that formed it in 2009 to consider its first recommendations. No. 1: Change our name.

Muhammad Ali's Daughter Hails Laguna Beach

Knockout for Laguna Beach​In a profile published today, the Chicago Tribune reports that Laila Ali--the second youngest daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali's nine children--loves Orange County's premier oceanfront community, Laguna Beach."I live in Los Angeles, and one of my favorite getaways i ... More >>

LA Times Calls Girls' Team "Stacked"

​​"Laguna Beach is Still Stacked" --Thursday's Coastline Pilot headline on reporter Matt Sabo's article about the well-respected Laguna Beach High School girls' water polo team.

Did Laguna Beach Waterman Legend Ride Biggest Wave Ever Ridden in California?

D. Ball photo courtesy of Craig Lockwood Laguna Beach original George "Peanuts" Larson, on top of a Dana Point wave in 1939.​Did George Saunders Zimmerman "Peanuts" Larson (1916-1986) catch the biggest wave ever ridden in California?

French 75 Laguna (née 75 Laguna) Chef Now Cooking in SJC

​Mitch Gillan, who was, until recently, the chef at French 75 in Laguna Beach, has updated us on where he is now in a comment made on my review of the restaurant. The meal I reviewed, coincidentally, turned out to be one of the last meals he cooked there.

Laguna Beach's French 75 Rises Above Its Confusing Corporate Past

Racist OC Register Fustercluck of the Week: Laguna Edition

Usually this column focuses on folks who hate Mexicans, immigrants, poor people, non-white people and "Third World peasants" who come to this country to build "clown houses"--yes, we're still scratching our heads about what the hell that means, although apparently it has something to do with Mexican ... More >>