Real estate expo on Saturday

Barbara Diamond

Mold, sewer laterals, termites, dry rot, high interest rates,

property taxes, homeowners insurance, fire prevention and safety --

they all affect the value of your home.

And who would know more about home values than the Realtors?

The Laguna Board of Realtors and Affiliates will present a Real

Estate Expo from, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, at the Neighborhood

Congregational Church, 340 St. Ann’s Drive.

“The city is cooperating with us to help educate residents,

especially regarding sewer laterals,” said broker associate Gayle

Waite. “Property owners need to know about potential problems lurking

underground, before they result in a problem inside the property.”

Members of the Design Review Board, the fire and police

departments and city staff will be on hand to talk about everything a

Laguna Beach renter or property owner needs to know.

Four seminars are scheduled.

* 10 a.m., An explanation of the city’s new sewer lateral

ordinance and how it affects property owners, buyers and sellers.

* 11 a.m. Fire Safety inside the home and outside.

* Noon: Understanding Design Review.

* 1 p.m. Sewer laterals again.

More than 35 booths will be stocked with information about

property services and experts will be available to answer questions.

Topics will include credit management, insurance for all hazards,

1031 tax deferred exchanges, home security inspections and escrows.

The Expo is not a Realtor event at which to buy or sell real

estate. It is a public service, without any obligations.

Admission is free.

The Crosscultural Council will provide refreshments will be

available, including those tamales that are always sold out at

Hospitality Night. Proceeds will benefit the council.

For more information, call (949) 497-2474.

A SAD FAREWELL

People who thought Broadway would sink when Sports World moved

last year, were shocked to learn the store will either be sold or

closed.

“Oh no,” Mayor Cheryl Kinsman exclaimed. “They were a really,

really good store. They supplied everything for the kids in sports

and in all sizes. I bought my son’s, Josh’s, first pair of football

cleats there. “Now we will have to go out of town.”

Sports World has served the community since 1946. It is the only

all-round sports shop in Laguna.

Mitch Kruger, who bought the store from the Carey family in 1992,

moved it last summer to 849 Laguna Canyon Frontage Road in the

Festival Center, next to the Sawdust Festival.

The lease runs through July.

“I will try to keep it open through baseball season,” Kruger said.

“If someone wants to buy it and keep it open, that would be great.”

Kruger, a Laguna Beach resident, also owns a store in Costa Mesa,

where he will sell Laguna Beach High School letterman’s jackets and

other equipment specific to town, if there is a demand.

“I have all the logos,” Kruger said.

Randy Buck, who manages the Laguna Beach store, graduated from the

high school 1979, a year after Kruger.

Buck and Kruger go back a long way.

They played Little League at the same time, although for different

teams.

The Laguna Federal Team, on which Kruger played, won the city

championship in 1973 when he was 12. They beat the Lions, the team

for which Buck played.

By that time, Sports World had already been sponsoring a Little

League team for 16 years, as it has continued to do.

Sports World stocked P.E. and team gear for the high school and

Thurston Middle School students, fins for the Junior Lifeguards and

American Youth Soccer Organization-approved balls, shoes and shin

guards.

A closing sale is underway. For more information, call (949)

494-2520.

IN AND OUT

On Board for Women will close Wednesday at the latest -- it all

depends on how fast stock sells at closing prices.

LF Stores, a California-based chain will move in, riding on the

coattails of On Board’s conditional use permit for the retail space

at 278 Forest Ave. The newcomer is associated with LF Sportswear, a

clothing manufacturing business. Stores stock the company

merchandise, accessories and a selection of European clothes.

Although five other LF stores are in California, the Laguna Beach

store on Forest would be the only one in Orange County according to

the applicant.

WOULD THE REAL O.C. STAND UP?

Boutique owner Erin Esancy knows Laguna Beach and she doesn’t

think the MTV show, “The Real O.C.,” reflects the Laguna Beach she

knows.

The Laguna Beach she knows is not just rich kids -- its kids going

out for sports and doing community service and their soccer moms and

baseball-coaching dads.

So, Laguna Beach High School graduate Esancy and her mother and

boutique partner, Susan Palmer, have started a new line of clothing

at the Erin Ashley store at 1854 S. Coast Highway.

The idea for a line of Tank tops and short- and long-sleeved

T-shirts, dubbed the Real O.C., for men and women began as a

fund-raiser for the Laguna Beach High School Baseball Boosters Club.

A children’s line is for the Future O.C.

The idea was so popular, Esancy was prompted to broaden the line

to include all teams and school, which may buy three dozen shirts at

a discount to sell as a fundraiser.

Retail prices range from $24.95 to $48.

Check it out on web site www.lagunabeach

therealorangecounty or call (949) 715-2530.

CITY TO INVEST LOCALLY

The City Council approved on Tuesday a plan by City Treasurer

Laura Parisi to distribute some of the city’s funds in local banks.

Councilman Steven Dicterow was absent.

“Laura and I are both CPAs and we love to sit around and talk

about investments and she came up with this idea,” Mayor Cheryl

Kinsman said. “I think it is a good way to show good faith to the

banks and the businesses in town.”

Parisi said she would look for the highest yields that comply with

the city’s investment policy. Individual investments would be in

$100,000 increments, an amount fully insured by the federal

government.

“Currently we do all our business with Bank of America,” Parisi

said. “This will give us a business relation ship with other banks.

It gives me a chance to me to get to know their staffs and for them

to know me.”

The vote was 4 to 0, Councilman Steve Dicterow absent.

* DOING BUSINESS is a periodic feature of the Laguna Beach

Coastline Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Mail to Barbara Diamond,

P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, 92652; fax to (949) 494-8979;

hand-deliver to 384 Forest Ave., Suite 22; or call (949) 494-4321.