Sidewalks

An old swimming hole in Sunset Beach has gone from safety hazard to public walkway after decades of effort by area residents. What was once "Kid's Beach" in the small coastal city just north of Huntington Beach is once again a place where children can feel safe, following nearly $200,000 in street and sidewalk improvements. The new walkway was officially opened Sept. 22 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva, representatives from Caltrans and area residents, who said the improvements were long overdue.

o7The following is from the Sept. 6 meeting of the Laguna Beach City Council. f7 SIDEWALK CLEANING Eleanor Henry asked that ficus trees downtown be replaced with trees that do not litter the sidewalks. She suggested that merchants might clean up the sidewalks in front of their businesses. She also asked about the drainage problem at the bottom of the Third Street hill. "They say a spring is causing the flow at the base of Third Street -- right now it's a flood and cattails are growing in the planter box," Henry said.

My wife and I went down to Main Street one Sunday afternoon. When we first got there I met one of the merchants who was complaining about how filthy our Downtown was. I was kidding him that he must be exaggerating. We took off to inspect all of Main Street from the third block to Pacific Coast Highway. What a filthy sight -- trash in the street and all over the sidewalks, cigarette butts by the hundreds in front of Starbucks and the Sugar Shack Cafe, sidewalks that look like they haven't been cleaned for ages and trash in the shrubberies.

WHAT HAPPENED A motion outlawing cellphone usage by City Council members and staff at council meetings was approved. WHAT IT MEANS The motion, which was proposed by Councilwoman Connie Boardman, will apply to closed and open sessions as well as council committee meetings. The City Council amended the proposal to allow the police and fire chief to keep their phones on vibrate in case of an emergency. In the case of any other emergency, family members can call the phone in the caucus room or call the City Council's administrative assistant.

Allen MacDonald There's nothing wrong with aspiring to greatness. Edward Burns does with his fourth film, "Sidewalks of New York," a sometimes clever, often cloying peek into the romantic lives of a group of interconnected New Yorkers as they stumble through the pitfalls of relationships. Burns has created a slick production with talented actors, but doesn't appear to have any original thought or insight into the subject. Burns is obviously emulating the master of this territory, Woody Allen.

Eron Ben-Yehuda HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The time has come to educate residents about the need -- and the hefty cost -- of repairing the city's infrastructure, the City Council decided Monday. The council voted 6-0 (Councilman Ralph Bauer absent) to hire the Laguna Hills-based public relations firm of Frank Wilson & Associates to help convince the public to spend an estimated $1.3 billion over the next 20 years to fix everything from sewers and streets to sidewalks and storm drains.

Eron Ben-Yehuda HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The city's infrastructure committee said it probably won't meet its self-imposed December deadline for getting recommendations to the City Council. "The more we learn, the longer this process is going to take," committee chairman Dick Harlow said. The committee has spent more than a year studying everything from sewers and sidewalks to streets and storm drains. Because the problems are so complex, the group probably won't be able to finish its work before March, said Gary Drysard, a consultant for the city.

At issue: We asked readers what they thought should be done in the planned refurbishing of Beach Boulevard. The city should pass an ordinance [so that] if there were to be any new buildings, painting or stucco, the builders would have a theme of maybe four colors to choose from, or even a surf-related theme instead of having every building up and down the street a different theme, style or color. And if anyone were to repaint a building, they could do it in blue, green or white, and then it would be a cost-efficient way to have our own Irvine Boulevard.

Ron Davis Boy, are my neighbors going to be bent out of shape once I get my tuba. That's right. I'm going to learn to play the tuba and then get a full band uniform, complete with one of those hats that looks like a flock of geese flew into it. In short order, you'll be able to march down to your local park and various civic events and experience a free tuba concert, delivered by yours truly. Do I own a tuba? Not yet. But that's the easiest part.