CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP:Patriots parade entries due next week

The deadline for entries to the 41st annual Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade is next Friday, Jan. 19.

The parade, themed “Proudly We Hail,” will take place Saturday, March 3, at 11 a.m. in Laguna Beach.

The parade theme was selected because the parade date coincides with the day 76 years ago — March 3, 1931 — when Congress formally adopted the “Star Spangled Banner” as the national anthem.

“Our theme this year is one of the many lasting lyric phrases that Francis Scott Key wrote to accompany its music,” said Charles Quilter II, president of the Parade Assn.

“Our flag of stars and stripes is perhaps the most readily recognized symbol that binds us together as members of our community and our nation,” Quilter said. “Key’s words also remind us of the many from all walks of life who have given of themselves in support of the idea of bringing us together as a nation. This year, it is they whom proudly we hail.”

Parade participants must have an approved application form and pay a $20 fee. Donations are also welcome to defray expenses of the all-volunteer organization.

There are numerous categories that will be judged; equestrians are welcome, but will not be judged.

Trophies will be awarded for the best school bands; non-school bands (youth and adult); non-school units (majorettes, color guards, marching units); floats (only motorized floats will be judged); novelty (walking only, no skateboards); and automobile.

An application form may be obtained by contacting Sandi Werthe, entry chairperson, at (949) 494-6016 or via e-mail at shworthy@juno.com

Community assistance funds available

The City of Laguna Beach is now accepting applications for the Community Assistance Grant Program for fiscal year 2007-2008. The program’s objective is to assist local nonprofit/public organizations in funding new projects and/or expanding services within this community. Grant recipients in the past have included social service, cultural, sports, senior and youth organizations.

Grant applications will be accepted until 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 23, at the Community Services Department, 515 Forest Avenue. Applications are available at the department from Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Environmental review seminar planned

Three local organizations are presenting a community forum, “The EIR [Environmental Impact Report] -- What an Informed Citizen Should Know” from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, at City Hall, Council Chambers, 505 Forest Ave.

The Laguna Beach League of Women Voters, the local chapter of Surfrider Foundation and Ocean Laguna Foundation will jointly present “How to Read An Environmental Impact Report.”

The event will be moderated by the League of Women Voters, with expertise on environmental impact report content and practice provided by Ed Almanza, a local professional in the field of environmental review. Handouts and refreshments will be provided.

An EIR is the public-review document that state law requires local governments to prepare and certify before approving any project that might have environmental impact, such as the proposed Village Entrance project.

State law mandates that each EIR be subject to a public review period (usually 45 days) in which all members of the public are invited to comment on the EIR’s adequacy, or raise questions on its findings. The EIR is considered to be in draft form at the stage when it is reviewed by the public, and finalized only after incorporating responses to public comments.

Public comments are addressed in the final document (and considered by decision-makers) only if they speak to the issues appropriate to the EIR. The forum’s presenters believe that the effectiveness of public comment is often diminished due to the public’s lack of familiarity with the EIR’s mandated form and legal requirements.

If well-attended, the event will be the first in an anticipated series of similar forums to be held as part of a “California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) literacy” program designed specifically for the Laguna Beach community.

The forum will consist of lecture and question-and-answer formats. For more information, call (949) 494-9928.

Community to honor outgoing mayors

Outgoing Laguna Beach City Mayors Steve Dicterow and Elizabeth Pearson Schneider will be honored by the community at a special luncheon event at the Woman’s Club on Friday, Feb. 2. The doors to the Woman’s Club will open at 11:30 a.m. and lunch and the program will begin at noon.

During 2006, the duties of mayor were shared by Dicterow and Pearson-Schneider.

Dicterow — who joins Bob Gentry and Neil Fitzpatrick as one of only three recent council members to serve three terms — chose not to run for a fourth term. Pearson-Schneider was elected to her second term in November.

“We expect a great deal of our mayors,” said Woman’s Club President Peggy Ford.

“I am pleased that our community has an opportunity to honor them and thank them for their service at this annual event.”

For reservations, mail checks made payable to the Woman’s Club for $20 per person to: Laguna Beach Woman’s Club, 286 St. Ann’s Drive, Laguna Beach, CA 92651.

Byzantine icons

topic of talk

Wayne Roosa will give a two-part talk on the artistic/religious icons of the Byzantine world Sunday, Jan. 28 at Laguna Presbyterian Church.

At 10:30 a.m., he will explore icons, and from 7 to 8:30 p.m., he will discuss illuminated manuscripts.

Roosa is an art historian, author, and Bethel University teacher.

The public is invited to the free lectures. For more information, contact Kathy Sizer at the church, (949) 494-7555.