Under Laguna

10/25/2024

underlaguna.com

10/08/2024

Lagunatics expertly reveals our faults:
Lagunatics is often called “community therapy,” and some might say we enjoy the self-flagellation. The long-running parody of all things Laguna is like our alter ego, and somehow we never tire of it. It is a reflection of us, good and bad, which is why year after year it is so poignant. The show itself is always brilliant, outdoing itself with the production and creativity. For all the humor, barbs and show tunes, there is a not-so-subtle slap on our collective wrists.
https://underlaguna.com/culture/lagunatics-expertly-reveals-our-faults/

10/07/2024

When charm gets political:
Everyone loves the annual Charm House Tour in Laguna Beach, which is perhaps why everyone has turned a blind eye to the dubious political money trail. Run by Village Laguna since 1974, the paid tours provide visitors with a behind-the-scenes peek into old cottages and landmarks throughout the city. The tours are well-done, informative, and well, charming. Unfortunately, Village Laguna has been a little loose in how it moves money around from the tours to its other activity: politics.
https://underlaguna.com/business/when-charm-gets-political/

10/05/2024

Who is going to lose Laguna City Council race?
It will be musical chairs this year with the Laguna Beach City Council race. Too many players, not enough seats. Like every election, there are difficult decisions. Some might be obvious, others not so much. So what do you do? Some ask themselves whether the candidate would make an enjoyable dinner guest. That sometimes works. Others dig into their records or guess at party affiliation. We do have one recommendation.
https://underlaguna.com/culture/2-have-to-lose-in-council-race/

10/03/2024

Under Laguna is back from our decadent summer. We spent more time than we care to admit at the 19th hole of many, many, many golf courses. So fore this.

07/13/2024

ONLY IN LAGUNA: We’ve seen plenty of traffic cones in the street protecting walkways, but never ladders.

06/17/2024

06/10/2024

It's finally starting to feel like summer in Laguna Beach.

05/26/2024

Laguna, where restaurants go to die:
Red Dragon and Cabana join the long list of closed restaurants in Laguna Beach. Both closures are probably not surprising to locals. Red Dragon was DOA, having spent way too much to remodel the old Mosun mansion that had zero parking and no foot traffic. Add the exorbitantly high food prices – for Chinese food – and it really had no chance. Meanwhile, Cabana was actually a decent restaurant with a nice happy hour, but the location seems cursed. The last day is May 31.
https://underlaguna.com/business/laguna-where-restaurants-go-to-die/

05/25/2024

No erasing Laguna tattoos:
The Laguna Beach City Council approved another tattoo parlor, Vatican Gallery, at 618 S. Coast Hwy. It’s the city’s sixth. With the exception of George Weiss, the council members admitted that they do not want to get their hands dirty with business competition. It doesn’t matter that the new parlor sits nearly next door to Laguna’s oldest shop, Laguna Tattoo. It doesn’t matter that every Laguna resident we’ve polled on this issue says, “Wait, what? Another tattoo parlor?”
https://underlaguna.com/business/no-erasing-laguna-tattoos/

05/24/2024

Murder trial of Tatum Goodwin inches forward:
There is little update in the ongoing murder trial of Tatum Goodwin, but the process is moving forward – slowly. After a not guilty plea in November, Dino Rojas-Moreno is still sitting in jail without bail after allegedly killing Goodwin, a 27-year-old San Clemente resident and Laguna Beach restaurant worker. Since the arrest, there have been a handful of pretrial hearings. The next one is scheduled for June 7, in Orange County Superior Court, Room C55 at 8:30 a.m.
https://underlaguna.com/business/murder-trial-of-tatum-goodwin-inches-forward/

05/13/2024

What AI thinks of Laguna Beach
Take every stereotype, opinion and outright lie, then multiply them by the power of the Internet and you have the fancy new AI machine. Which is not good news for Laguna Beach or any other city trying to manage its brand. The problem is AI-powered search engines scour the existing, unfiltered Internet for their source data (aka large language models). As a result, a Los Angeles Times article on Laguna Beach is just one source, along with wacko Reddit posts and armchair out-of-town bloggers.
https://underlaguna.com/business/what-ai-thinks-of-laguna-beach/

05/13/2024

https://underlaguna.com/business/what-ai-thinks-of-laguna-beach/

05/10/2024

Can’t take Laguna away from Wisconsin politician
A Wisconsin Senate candidate is making national news because he owns a house in Emerald Bay – and allegedly makes Laguna Beach his primary residence. Wisconsin politicos are going crazy over the story. Republican Eric Hovde is a banker and real estate mogul who leads financial institutions in Wisconsin and California. He and his wife bought the Laguna house in 2018 for about $7 million. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin, of course, is relishing this carpetbagger fodder, calling him “California bank owner Eric Hovde (R-Laguna Beach).”
https://underlaguna.com/culture/cant-take-laguna-away-from-wisconsin-politician/

05/09/2024

What do the "Real Housewives of Orange County," a Wisconsin Senate hopeful, and artificial intelligence have in common?
Under Laguna, of course.

04/23/2024

Traffic at the end of the earth
The planets are aligning for a brutal summer of traffic in Laguna Beach, and here’s why. Caltrans is redoing the sidewalks along the entire stretch of Coast Highway. Some of the sections are done, but we’re talking from Ledroit Street in the north to Ruby Street in the south, which is basically most of Laguna. You’ve probably already been caught in its wake, and it’s not fun. Caltrans workers end at 4 p.m. every day, but as you know, commuter traffic starts about 1 p.m. So it’s a minimum three hours of gridlock. Add to that the approaching summer crowd, and we will not leave our houses (again).
https://underlaguna.com/culture/traffic-at-the-end-of-the-earth/

04/22/2024

Stay classy, Laguna Beach
It’s easy to ignore politicians when they give a state of the universe because it rarely hits home. Not so with the local mayor’s message. It’s as local as they come. Mayor Sue Kempf recently recited it for Laguna Beach, and call us romantic, but we actually enjoyed it – maybe because it was less than 10 minutes long. On paper, if you’ve been paying attention at all, there’s nothing new here but it’s worth highlighting a few things.
https://underlaguna.com/culture/stay-classy-laguna-beach/