DEAR LAGUNA / REFLECTIONS ON A CITY BURNING BRIGHT

Heading south from the cityscape of Fashion Island, the ocean sparkles to your right, the golden hills rise from your left, and Laguna Beach in all its splendor emerges as a contrast of sandy beach and hilly terrain. Earthy and sophisticated, fancy and scruffy. And now, both burned and saved. The Indians called the seaside hamlet Lagunas for its two fresh-water lagoons in the canyons. Hippies made it their home in the 1960s, and artists have been here since the beginning. But this morning the art colony is a blackened canvas. This is an ode to our first and last creative village. What is left of it.

The Staff for “Dear Laguna” Section Editor: Janice Page Design Editor: Chuck Nigash Designers: Dave Campbell, Lily Dow, Chuck Nigash, Juan Thomassie Graphics Editor: Lily Dow Photo Editors: Colin Crawford, Don Tormey Contributing Editors: Veronika Andrasovsky, Greg Beckmann, Glenn Koenig, David Lesher, Tony Lioce, Tom Reinken, Juan Thomassie, Mike Young, Kent Whitehead Writers: Shelby Grad, Dana Parsons, Nancy Wride Photographers: Gary Ambrose, Lacy Atkins, Mark Boster, Christine Cotter, Henry DiRocco, Gail Fisher, Ana Fuentes, Alex Gallardo, Bob Greiser, Richarrd Koehler, Axel Koester, Karen Tapia. Graphics: Scott Brown, Jim Carr, Tom Penix, Doris Shields Graphics Researchers: April Jackson, Janice Jones, Caroline Lemke Copy Editors: Mary Lou Elders, Joan Fantazia