OUR LAGUNA:Names in the news in 2006

On the brink of the New Year, it’s time to reprise 2006. The Top 10 stories and a look back at arts, education and sports are featured elsewhere, but there was lots more going on in Laguna.

According to an old newspaper adage, it is names that make the news. Here’s a sampling, gleaned from the pages of the Coastline Pilot.

JANUARY

Jan. 6: David Spangenberg sold 12 Arch Beach Heights lots to the city for $600,000, ending the threat of litigation over access to city’s rights of way.

Rose Hancock was hired as executive director of the Chamber of Commerce.

Jan. 13: The District Attorney’s office opened an investigation of the death of Matthew Francis Dunleavy, who died in a city jail. Police were exonerated in the case.

Jan. 20: City Manager Ken Frank announced that better-than-expected property tax revenue was used to restore money borrowed from city funds for Bluebird Canyon repairs.

Jan. 27: Design Review Task Force Chair Matt Lawson reported that the gaps were closing between staff and task force recommendations on how to “civilize” the design review process.

FEBRUARY

Feb. 3: Bette Anderson won the contest to rename The Pottery Shack with her entry, “The Old Pottery Place.”

Jim Suchy replaced the fence around the Veterans Memorial Building for his Eagle Scout project.

Feb. 10: Barbara MacMurray and Diane Dempcy co-chaired the annual Dinners Across Laguna benefit program.

Feb. 17: David Young retired from the Festival of Arts Board after a half-century of volunteer service.

Feb. 24: City parking consultant Pat Gibson said a free meter experiment in mid-Laguna freed up spaces for residents, but some businesses suffered.

MARCH

March 3: Pat Kollenda served as mistress of ceremonies for the Queen of Hearts fundraiser, chaired by Mary Ferguson for Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

March 17: Volunteers, led by local landscaper Bob Borthwick and city Water Quality Director David Shissler, cleaned out Laguna Creek, funded by a $25,000 grant.

March 24: Works by Laguna Beach High School students Lauren Elliott, Shelby Serra and Alex Mars were juried into the annual Color It Orange art show, exhibited at the Laguna College of Art & Design.

APRIL

April 7: The City Council was stunned by Laguna Art Museum director Bolton Colburn’s proposal to move the museum to the Village Entrance and build townhomes on the site to finance the project.

April 14: Assemblyman Tom Harman defeated GOP opponent Diane Harkey in a special election for a spot on the June ballot against Democrat Larry Caballero for the 35th Disrict State Senate seat.

Orange County Fourth District Supervisor Chris Norby didn’t endear himself to city officials when he tried to block federal grants for Laguna recommended by county transportation planners.

April 21: Cheryl and Carl Post served on the committee for the Canines and Cocktail fundraiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind, held at the Hotel Laguna.

April 28: School board member K Turner died from Lou Gehrig’s Disease at the home of Thurston Middle School Principal Joanne Culverhouse, with life partner, Bivens Hunt, at her side.

Howard Chapleau announced his self-named lunch spot in Laguna Canyon would close after 30 years.

MAY

May 5: The business of saving lives needed more trained personnel, Laguna Beach Lifeguard Assn. President Ormand Tegland said.

Emergency surgery was performed on the 125-year old City Hall pepper tree to halt decay. Prognosis was not good, but three cuttings from the tree are thriving.

May 12: Neighbors Jon Gallagher and Malia Hunt pulled Amanda Naderzad from her burning apartment.

May 26: Michigan parolee James Paul Snider was convicted of murdering Ronald Jay Murphy in 1983 in Laguna Beach. Police Capt. Danell Adams said Snider crushed Murphy’s skull with a toilet tank lid.

JUNE

June 2: Congressman John Campbell was the keynote speaker at Memorial Day ceremonies in Heisler Park.

Larry Worhman was honored as the Police Department Civilian Employee of the Year, Tom Wall as Officer of the Year. Wall died of cancer on June 21.

June 9: Brendy and Powell Michael came out swinging when they received a notice that the children’s play equipment in their backyard was subject to design review.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider added the Laguna Beach Woman’s Club Woman of the Year Award to the Chamber of Commerce’s Person of the Year Award presented in February at the annual dinner.

June 16: Laguna Beach Parents Club co-presidents Christa Henry and Kris Thornton said membership was increasing since the club was opened to working moms, same-sex couples and dads.

June 23: Steven Dicterow was elected mayor when Pearson-Schneider stepped down after 17 months on the job.

The city announced a $7.2 million net from the sale of six lots above the Festival of Arts. Buyer’s representative Mark Christy and city Realtor Audrey Prosser waived commissions, but Prosser later was compensated by the city.

June 30: Well-known businessman Harry Lawrence retired.

JULY

July 7: Searchers found the body of Andre Mayenzet, who had been missing for almost two weeks after walking away from his Three Arch Bay home.

July 14: Jamie Verst, 19, was killed when her vehicle apparently swerved into an on-coming traffic lane and was hit by a 27-foot truck.

July 21: The California Coastal Commission decided not to appeal county Superior Court Judge Kirk Nakamura’s tentatively ruling barring commission intervention in development of a 17,000-square-foot home on 12 acres on Mar Vista in South Laguna.

Neighbors had appealed the project to the city and to the commission property owner Gerald Massineo went to court on both appeals and won.

July 28: After half a century in her famous garden, Hortense Miller, 97, was moved to a care facility.

AUGUST

Aug. 4: Sam Goldstein paid a reported $11.1 million for the building that was home to the Jolly Roger for more than 50 years. The restaurant closed down in October after losing its liquor license.

Aug. 25: Max Caputo, 17, was killed in a hit-and-run accident on South Coast Highway. Police asked for public assistance in finding the driver involved in the early morning collision.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 8: The council voted to hear a request for the revocation of a building permit and design review approval for Charles and Valerie Griswold’s proposed residence in Three Arch Bay.

Sept. 15: The council shied away from North Laguna resident Otis Healey’s request to expand the privilege of drinking with meals at city parks to Shaw’s Cove, citing concerns about “drinking and diving” on city beaches.

Sept. 22: Out-of-town volunteers out-numbered Lagunans three-to-one at the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, according to coordinator Roger Butow.

Retailers reported that summer tourist spending was down this year, despite high traffic counts. “People were filling trash cans at Main Beach, not cash registers,” Fawn Memories owner George Nelson said.

Sept. 29: The Meister family moved back to Bluebird Canyon, the first residents to return since 16 homes were destroyed or too badly damaged to safely inhabit.

OCTOBER

Oct 6: The Exchange Club honored Skipper Carillo with the Book of Golden Deeds Award.

Oct. 13: Realtor Bobbi Cox handed over a personal $50,000 check to Laguna Beach Seniors Inc. toward the construction of their center.

David Young, Jonathan Burke, Nancy Lawrence and Roger Armstrong were honored at the Laguna College of Art & Design’s 45th anniversary bash.

Oct. 20: The Assistance League celebrated 30 years of service to the city.

Three Arch Bay resident Garvin Shallenberger, 85, was found murdered in his Palm Springs vacation home. A suspect pleaded not guilty to the crime.

Oct. 27: Lagunans Janice Johnson, Eleanor Finney, Barbara Hamkalo and the Rev. Virginia Wheeler were honored for their achievements by the local branch of the American Association of University Women.

A person claiming the pen-name of “George L. Dodgson” told the Coastline Pilot he/she was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” to have written a phoney letter to the editor.

NOVEMBER

Nov. 3: Joseph Caputo offered a $5,000 reward for any information leading to arrest and conviction of the driver of vehicle that struck and killed his 17-year-old son, Max, and left the scene. The reward was later increased to more than $20,000.

Nov. 10: The dedication of the James and Rosemary Nix Nature in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park included recognition of individual and group efforts that brought the project to fruition.

Nov. 17: War veterans and veterans of The Walk to save Laguna Canyon from development celebrated their mutual admiration and anniversaries with war stories and a Memorial Day stroll up Laguna Canyon Road. The event was organized by local gallerist Charles Michael Murray.

DECEMBER

Dec. 1: Landmine survivor Ken Rutherford made an appearance at Mozambique restaurant, whose owner, Tony Shill, is concerned about thousands of landmines still buried in the country for which the establishment is named.

Visitors and Conference Bureau director Judy Biljani introduced the first-ever free Holiday Shopper Shuttle in Laguna.

Dec. 8: Toni Iseman was elected Mayor for 2007 after she and the other winning council candidates, Pearson-Schneider and Kelly Boyd, were sworn into office by City Clerk Martha Anderson. Councilwoman Jane Egly was voted mayor pro tem. Outgoing Mayor Dicterow retired after 12 years on the council.

Dawson Cole Gallery owner Richard MacDonald, Jr. pressed his case for a permit to hold events at a parking lot-sculpture garden.

Dec. 15: Improvements to the facilities for ailing or injured seals or sea lions were underway at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

A proposal for preferential parking in midtown Laguna is part of recommendations to be voted on by the Parking/Traffic/Circulation committee, member Dennis Myers reported.

Dec. 22: State Sen. Tom Harman expressed support for the Day Labor Center, as long as illegal immigrants are not given job services there.

Laguna Beach attorney Howard Hills was indicted in Guam on charges of conspiracy for unlawful influence for accepting $9,000 checks that Hills allegedly passed on to lobbyist Jack Abramoff after being informed the series of payments were to avoid established procedures.