Around Town: Work complete on Baker Block apartment complex in Costa Mesa

Work recently concluded on Baker Block, a 240-unit apartment complex at 125 E. Baker St. in Costa Mesa, according to the city.

The $75-milllion development includes a parking structure and amenities such as a pool, rooftop lounge and a fitness center.

A massive mural designed by street artist Shepard Fairey is painted on the side of the building and visible from the nearby 55 Freeway.

Baker Block is a cooperative effort from CityView, an investment management and development firm, and Red Oak Investments, an urban redevelopment company.

Monthly rents start at $2,025 for a studio, according to the complex’s website.

Laguna’s Susi Q Center will temporarily close for maintenance

The Laguna Beach Community & Susi Q Center will close for annual maintenance from Saturday through Jan. 7.

No classes or programs will be held during this time, though city of Laguna Beach community services staff members will be available to help customers with class registrations, wedding permits and professional photography permits.

Business hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Jan. 2 through 4, and 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 29 and Jan. 5.

The center will reopen at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 8.

Laguna trolley times altered for the holidays

Laguna Beach trolleys will follow modified schedules the next two weeks.

Trolleys will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve. There will be no service on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

The city will extend trolley hours on New Year’s Eve, with service available from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

For more information, visit lagunabeachcity.net/trolley.

Costa Mesa assistant city manager pens book on writing staff reports

Pulling on her 29 years of experience in city government, Costa Mesa Assistant City Manager Tamara Letourneau recently wrote a book detailing how to craft quality staff reports — documents that are meant to provide information on various topics to both the public and a legislative body.

Letourneau said she was inspired to pen the book, “Mastering the Art: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Quality Staff Report for Local Government,” because she realized there wasn’t one out there already.

“So I wrote one myself,” she said, in a news release this week. “There is no other resource like it.”

The book is meant to simplify the process of writing staff reports and serve as a reference guide for those working in local government, according to the release.

It’s available on Amazon in paperback for $34.99.

Vanguard University announces new head coach for golf team

Vanguard University announced Jeff Anderson as the head coach for its men and women’s golf team for the 2018-19 school year.

Anderson served in the professional golf world for over a decade, according to a news release. He served as the men and women’s golf head coach at Pacifica Christian High School in Santa Monica since 2014.

Art work on display at Laguna Beach City Hall

Selections from the Festival of Arts’ Permanent Art Collection are on display at Laguna Beach City Hall through Jan. 19.

Pat Sparkuhl, the collection’s curator, selected works illustrating the diversity of artists and their work from the early 1900s to the present.

City Hall is at 505 Forest Ave.