MAILBAG - April 4, 2008

A long history of greeting and caring

We are one of the few towns in the world that has had three people greeters. Our first greeter, Joe Lucas, welcomed people on stage coaches back in the 1880s. Eiler Larsen, our most famous greeter, is remembered by statues and pictures in front of the Sapphire, the Greeter’s Cafe downtown and the waiting area inside the Cottage Restaurant. Our third greeter, Number One (his legal name), has pretty much retired from greeting but was known for his victory sign and the word “perfect.”

Richard Halliburton, whose cement house on top of the hill above our internationally famous gay beach, “West Street,” traveled the world and was a very popular speaker during the ‘20s and ‘30s and his pillow parties including such guests as Ramon Navarro were noted in a Smithsonian magazine article.

Our streets are named for artists who lived here including Cuprien Way, Rosa Bonheur, Wendt Terrace and Eschbach Lane. Sterling Holloway, known for being the voice of Winnie the Poo and other characters and acting, lived in the modern 1950s house on the hill just north of Three Arch Bay by the water tank. Whether you are Doug Miller, the artist, photographer, designer, etc. or a member of the Quilter family, you are respected.

Laguna Beach is an open society, where all people have always been welcome. Our City Council’s concern for the homeless, the day worker hiring area and their opposition to Proposition 22’s anti-marriage equality measure is another chapter in our city’s proud history of caring and greeting all people.

As the gate at Forest Avenue and South Coast Highway says, “This gate hangs well and hinders none.”

ROGER CARTER

Laguna Beach

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Beach-goers need to stop feeding the birds

I appeared last week before the council during “public remarks.” As many readers of The Coastline Pilot know, I have been trying to make the case in Laguna Beach that feeding wild birds and leaving standing water out in public are public health threats which justify stepped-up measures from our elected representatives. For instance, there is an ever-present onslaught of bird fecal matter at Main Beach as a result of people feeding wild birds, notably gulls, pigeons and sparrows.

On weekends, Main Beach often looks like outtakes from Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” Moreover, people leave unattended standing water (such as water bowls for strangers’ dogs), which can and will breed mosquitoes, harbingers of West Nile Virus (documented in our birds, which transmit the disease back to mosquitoes).

Laguna Beach has a responsibility, not only to its citizens, but to our tourists who are the mainstay of our local economy.

Please note the following report, “Testing the Waters 2005, A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches,” which was prepared by Natural Resources Defense Council about the issue of beach closures. This is an issue that should be of paramount importance to Laguna Beach. If any argument should resonate about my appeal to have curbs placed on feeding wild birds, it definitely should be this one. Note from page 24 of the report:

“Clean Up After Yourself at the Beach. Clean up after yourself if you bring a picnic to the beach. And do not feed the birds or other wildlife. Seagulls and other wildlife are attracted to the garbage and food waste that is often left behind on the beach. Feeding them will only encourage their permanent presence at your beach. The fecal matter left on the beach by the avian and wildlife visitors can contribute to elevated bacteria levels at your beach and cause it to close. Waste from wildlife is one of the three largest-known sources of bacterial pollution. Advocate for your local beach management agency to invest in secure garbage cans with close-fitting lids.”

I have called for an increase in public signage informing the public about the health hazards about feeding wild birds, as well as new measures about leaving standing water which breeds mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus.

Despite significant evidence about the various public health concerns, the City Council seems to have taken a “wait and see” attitude, apparently testing “the fates” rather than erecting a few more signs at Main Beach. The public certainly deserves hearings on this issue.

I suggest the council refer this matter to the Environmental Committee, which can fully investigate these issues and make appropriate recommendations to the council.

We should not have to play “catch-up” with our public policy should our beaches be forced to close, nor should our kids, the elderly or AIDS patients have to get sick as a result of our tolerance for flying feces.

ALAN BOINUS

Laguna Beach