Briefly In the News

Community services director is retiring

The city announced this week that Susan Cannan, assistant to the city manager/director of community services, is retiring after 32 years in local government.

She’s held her current position since 2006, and was the city representative for the construction and opening of the Susi Q Senior and Community Center, according to a news release from the city. Her last day will be March 30.

City Manager John Pietig also announced that Ben Siegel has been hired to replace Cannan. He will start March 26.

Siegel was chosen from more than 275 candidates for the position. He previously worked as assistant to the city manager in Lake Forest. He holds a master’s in public administration from Cal State Fullerton.

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Voicemail fails for Cox customers

Cox Cable customers in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California, including Laguna Beach, have been without voicemail since Feb. 2.

Service was restored Wednesday for thousands of customers, but it was only temporary and no firm date for the repair of the service was forthcoming. The specific number of affected customers was not released, according to Cox policy.

Cox spokeswoman Ceanne Guerra said the interrupted service is due to a hardware glitch.

“What really ticks me off is that they didn’t notify us,” said Planning Commissioner Anne Johnson. “I understand technical problems — everyone does — but I don’t understand the lack of notification.

“There were several things that could have been done. They could have put it on the crawl across the bottom of television screens. And how about putting in newspapers? Last, but not least, the city could have contacted us like it does with road information.”

Johnson said she was also annoyed by the canned message callers got when no one answered the phone.

“They were told to call later, as if the voicemail was expected to be back in service in a short while,” Johnson said.

Nor was she appeased by Cox’s offer of free call forwarding.

“Getting calls forwarded to a non-Cox cell phone could get to be very expensive,” she said.

City Manager John Pietig announced at Tuesday’s council meeting that customers who want to add call forwarding should call (877) 897-2470, and those with Cox voicemail will get an automatic credit when the repairs are completed.

Customers who already have Cox call forwarding can press star 72 on the handset and punch in the number to which calls are to be forwarded and press star 73 to disable.

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Assisting Hands agency opens in Laguna

Assisting Hands Home Care, an in-home caregiving agency, has announced its latest franchise opening in Laguna Beach.

Registered nurse Gale Friedman will run Assisting Hands Laguna Beach, which will also serve surrounding areas, according to a news release.

“Taking care of people truly is my passion, not just a job I was trained to do,” Friedman said in a statement. “Assisting Hands will provide the highest quality services to our clients in a highly individualized and compassionate manner.”

Assisting Hands will provide nonmedical services like personal care, grooming, meal preparation, grocery shopping, monitoring prescriptions and more, according to the release. Staff members will be thoroughly screened, certified and trained in CPR and other basic life-saving techniques.

For more information, visit https://www.assistinghands.com/laguna-beach or call (949) 715-4590.

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Resident adds $1 million to Donor Advised Fund

A Laguna Beach philanthropist has added $1 million to his pre-existing Donor Advised Fund with the Laguna Beach Community Foundation.

The donor, who has remained anonymous, established his fund to support a variety of nonprofits in Laguna, including those that benefit children, the environment, music, art and more, according to a news release from the foundation.

“This Laguna Beach resident understands the role of our Community Foundation and our goal to encourage philanthropy by Laguna donors,” Community Foundation Chairwoman Laura Tarbox said in a statement. “His stellar commitment is an example for others to follow.”

A Donor Advised Fund allows the donor to make charitable contributions over time and recommend where money from the fund should go.

For more information about Donor Advised Funds or the Community Foundation, visit https://www.lagunabeachcf.org.

—Barbara Diamond and Kelly Parker