MAILBAG: Immigrants are vital to our local economy

I for one am sick and tired of reading letters from hypocrites who want to shut down the day labor hiring site in Laguna Canyon.

Face it “” the Montage and literally hundreds of Laguna businesses and services would close down if the Latinos left town.

Who would cut the lawns, cook for you when you are eating out and in many cases manage the business you take for granted and in most cases work for slave wages, not a living wage.

Yes, the Montage charges $500+ a night for a room, but it pays many Latino employees $10 a hour “” not a living wage.

Across the U.S., cities who harass Latinos have seen their economies fail.

Wake up, hypocrites: This is Laguna Beach, and we like people who care about our town. After amnesty in the 1980s, the central government never established a sensible and fair immigration policy.

It is wrong to call Latinos “illegal” when in fact, there is no legal immigration process for these people who add a great deal to our economy and society.

ROGER CARTER

Laguna Beach

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Grocery store employee is a ‘gem’ in her find

With all the negative we hear and read about our town, I would like to share a positive, heartwarming story.

Last Friday morning I made a quick stop at Pavilions in North Laguna. As I drove away, I glanced at my left hand on the steering wheel and immediately pulled my car to the curb.

The “sizeable” center diamond was missing from my wedding ring!

After my breathing became normal, I returned to the store to retrace my exact steps. I solicited the help of Joann Kroepil, a 20-year employee of Vons, working seven years at the Laguna store.

After I left, Joann continued to search the store, as well as the entire parking lot area. She even removed all of the roasted chickens from the warming unit, which I visited earlier in the day, hoping to find the missing gem.

Late that afternoon, the phone rang. I noticed the caller ID listed Pavilions. My heart skipped a beat. It was Joann.

She had found the stone in the parking lot! When I arrived, she was waiting outside for me, beaming from ear to ear.

What a miracle!

I am so very grateful to Joann and applaud her genuine honestly and integrity. Angels really do walk among us!

CHERYL POST

Laguna Beach

? Aliso project a climate issue for city

Even the administration of George W. Bush has finally and publicly concluded that the burning of fossil fuels during over the past 50 years has raised the peril of global warming to a level of urgency. (See Los Angeles Times, May 30, 2008, p. 8).

The worldwide scientific community (represented by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and numerous national academies of science) came to that conclusion years ago.

Still, this acknowledgment is important. It means that it will become harder for Bush and the oil lobby in Washington, D.C., to stall congressional action on mitigating the worst consequences of climate warming.

In response to the scientific consensus regarding the growing peril of global warming, especially the threat of flooding in coastal areas, the Laguna Beach City Council wisely and unanimously adopted the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement on Feb. 6, 2007. That agreement calls upon the more than 800 current signatory American cities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 7% below 1990 levels by 2012.

By signing the agreement the city of Laguna Beach promised to work toward this modest, achievable, and necessary goal. Because Laguna Beach’s estimated greenhouse gas emissions have steadily risen from 1990 to today, to attain the 7% reduction our city needs to decrease our current level of greenhouse gas emissions by about 10%. (The calculations supporting this statement are to be found in Appendix C of the City of Laguna Beach: Climate Protection Action Plan (April 2008).)

In its current form, the Athens Group’s project in Aliso Canyon is an obstacle to honoring the agreement.

First, the development will significantly increase the greenhouse gas emissions both in Aliso Canyon and in the city because traffic in and out of the canyon will be increased by 62%, parking will be provided for more than 500 cars, and the built environment “” with the added air conditioners, heaters and electrical appliances “” will add to the city’s warming emissions.

Second, the project squanders the “embedded energy” that went into constructing the present buildings on the site.

The energy expenditures that would be incurred in the demolition of those buildings and their replacement with new structures could not be considered a sustainable practice in this age of climate crisis.

In order for the city of Laguna Beach to honor its pledge to work toward the implementation of the agreement, it must have the benefit of an EIR that measures the likely greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the construction and operation of the Athens Group’s proposed development in Aliso Canyon.

This line of thinking raises a key question: How will Laguna Beach be able to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time increasing them as a result of building homes, “cottages,” a parking structure and a resort in Aliso Canyon?

Given the seriousness of global climate change, the time has come for Laguna Beach to gauge the warming impact of proposed developments within its jurisdiction and make permitting decisions accordingly.

Doing so with respect to the proposed development of Aliso Canyon would mark a necessary departure from past policy and set an example of environmental stewardship, leadership, and sustainability for all of Orange County’s cities.

TOM OSBORNE

Laguna Beach

Kudos to a man named Dan

A Happy Father’s Day ( or at least a recognition ) of a stranger named Dan, who, I see every weekend walking up and down Park Avenue picking up trash “” bags and bags of it and the most, he says, is by the high school.

I notice more and more people doing likewise “” and that’s a good thing. (I use the very handy doggie poop bags to do the same on our beaches.)

Just an acknowledgment of a fine father in our community whom I know nothing about except he spends his weekend mornings picking up after all of us.

JUDY BARRY

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Measure would thwart anti-mansionizing

The community development department, based on the input from a local architects group, have drafted a proposed amendment to a city ordinance that would allow added height limits and underground parking structures in all commercial areas of the city.

This amendment would essentially overturn the anti-mansionization ordinance that was legally enacted in 2002 pursuant to the mandates of the general plan for those zones. This change, if approved, would result in serious and negative impacts throughout the city, by allowing property developers to grade for subterranean structures without applying for a variance.

Neither would such structures have to count as a separate story as they do under current regulations.

The negative but consequential impacts of this change would be allowable increases in size, mass, height and scale, diminishing view corridors and increased density of use further impairing sub-standard traffic and circulation patterns and ultimately resulting in impacts that cannot be mitigated.

This proposed amendment as written is random, capricious, vague and does not serve the public interest although it does serve the special interests.

This issue is currently being reviewed by the Planning Commission under direction from our city council. Unfortunately, it is still a long time to November.

CINDALEE PENNEY ““ HALL

Laguna Beach

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Won’t visit Laguna due to day labor site

I am extremely upset that elected officials would agree to a Day Labor area. I spoke to the mayor.

She said that they will not be checking legal status because that would be profiling. I strongly disagree with that. If all people who are standing around must check in and prove they are legally able to work in our country, then where is the profiling?

We as Americans must protect our own legal citizens and American companies. We should not be enabling illegal aliens to work in our country. These illegal aliens will continue to pour over our borders if we keep enabling them. This must stop.

I told the mayor my family will no longer frequent her city as long as it continues enabling illegal aliens to find employment. I strongly encourage others to respectfully discuss this with the mayor.

TONI BAKER

Mail to the Coastline Pilot, P.O. Box 248 Laguna Beach, CA 92652. Send a fax to (949) 494-8979 or e-mail us at [email protected]. All correspondence must include full name, hometown and phone number (for verification purposes). The Pilot reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity and length.