CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP:City opens emergency shelter

Laguna Beach’s emergency cold weather shelter for homeless people opened Saturday, Dec. 16, and has been available every night since then because of the cold temperatures and rain, City Manager Ken Frank announced.

Attendance has ranged from 35 to 53 persons per night. “There is some evidence that the shelter is serving more out-of-town individuals than in past years,” Frank said.

Ordinance aims to increase recycling

A comprehensive Construction and Demolition ordinance is being developed at the direction of the Laguna Beach City Council.

The Council ordered the new regulation in September to comply with state requirements that cities divert 50% of discarded materials, i.e., trash, from landfills.

A proposed ordinance that would require building permit holders to develop a waste management plan or use the city’s waste hauler will be considered by the Council on Jan. 20.

A meeting will be held Friday, Jan. 12, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the City Council chambers at City Hall, 505 Forest Ave., for those interested in learning more about the proposed ordinance. A draft of the proposal will be available next week.

For more information, contact Liz Vazquez-Avila, public works department administrative analyst, at (949) 497-0344 or via e-mail at lavil@lagunabeachcity.net

Chamber hosts award dinner, board installation

The Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce will honor the winners of the “2007 Spirit of Laguna Awards” and install its new board of directors on Saturday, Jan. 27, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Tivoli, Too!, 777 Laguna Canyon Rd. Tickets are $65, including dinner and hosted wine. For tickets, call the chamber at (949) 494-1018.

Recycle cellphones, ink cartridges at church

Old cellphones and empty toner and ink cartridges can be donated to the Laguna Presbyterian Church Preschool and Youth Department, where they will be recycled to provide scholarships for children at the school.

The items can be dropped off in the white “recycle” boxes before noon, or in the church or preschool offices.

All are located in downtown Laguna Beach on Second Street, between Forest and Mermaid. For more information, contact the church office at (949) 494-7555 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Blood drive Sunday at Presbyterian Church

The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive at Laguna Presbyterian Church from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7 at Tankersley Hall, on Second Street between Mermaid Street and Forest Avenue.

All donors will receive an American Red Cross “Save-a-Life Sunday” T-shirt and a coupon for a free gyros junior pita from Daphne’s Greek Café.

Donors must be age 17 or older, weigh at least 110 pounds, in good health, not at risk for HIV/AIDS and not have given blood in the past 56 days.

To reserve an appointment time, and review preparatory diet restrictions, sign up online at www.givelife.org sponsor code: lagunap, or contact the church office at (949) 494-7555.

Dawkins to discuss religion on DVD

A two-part series of DVD presentations, “The Root of All Evil,” featuring author and atheist Richard Dawkins discussing his theories, will be presented on the third Thursday of the month in January and February.

The showings will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the community room on the third floor of Wells Fargo Bank, 260 Ocean Ave., Laguna Beach.

Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist credited with coining the term “meme” for cultural information that transfers from one mind to another, is an Oxford University graduate and holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair of Public Understanding of Science, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

He is author of several books, including the recently published “The God Delusion,” which argues that a belief in God can be dangerous and points to historical occurrences from the Crusades to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The first showing, titled “The God Delusion,” will be presented on Jan. 18. Part two, “The Virus of Faith,” will be presented on Feb. 15. Admission is free.

The series is sponsored by Atheists United of Los Angeles and is hosted by Laguna Beach resident Niko Theris.

For more information, call Niko Theris at (949) 494-7443.