Briefly In The News: Work coming for Laguna Canyon Road

A second outbound traffic lane will be added to Laguna Canyon Road at its intersection with El Toro Road, City Manager John Pietig announced in his weekly update last week.

The addition is expected to help improve the flow of traffic through the intersection at peak hours. The project is part of the final phase of the Laguna Canyon Road Realignment project. Still to come is the widening of the street north of El Toro Road and undergrounding utility lines.

Also, All American Asphalt has been hired to resurface Laguna Canyon Road between Forest Avenue and the toll road. Work will begin after Labor Day and is expected to be finished in early November. Most of the work will be done at night on weekdays to help ease traffic congestion.

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Animal Shelter to hold grand opening

Mayor Toni Iseman will preside over the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 9.

Staff will hold tours of the newly renovated shelter that will show off the improvements made to the facility.

The shelter is at 20612 Laguna Canyon Road. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. For more information, call (949) 497-3552.

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ZeroTrash to help with Wedge cleanup

ZeroTrash Inc. of Laguna Beach will assist the Balboa Peninsula Point Assn. of Newport Beach with Wedge Beautification Day on Saturday.

Volunteers are needed to meet from 10 a.m. to noon at the Wedge in Newport Beach to pick up trash from the beach and water. Cleanup materials will be provided while supplies last. Participants will also receive a ZeroTrash T-shirt.

ZeroTrash was founded in 2007, and its First Saturday cleanups have removed more than 45,000 pounds of garbage from streets, parks and beaches, according to a news release.

It has chapters in Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Newport Beach, Corona del Mar and Chico, Calif. The organization hopes to soon have inland chapters in Mission Viejo and Costa Mesa.

For more information about ZeroTrash, contact Chip McDermott at (949) 275-2616 or chip@zerotrash.org.

FOR THE RECORD:
An earlier version gave an incorrect number for Chip McDermott. The correct number is (949) 275-2616.

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Trash, recycling pickup delayed by Labor Day

Waste Management’s trash and recycling pickup in Laguna Beach will be delayed by one day as it observes Labor Day on Monday.

“Customers who usually receive service on Monday will instead receive it Tuesday, and so on throughout the week, with Friday’s customers receiving service on Saturday,” David Ross, director of Public Sector Services for Waste Management, said in a statement.

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Park volunteers needed at orientation

Want to volunteer at Laguna’s wilderness parks?

A volunteer orientation is planned for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Nix Nature Center.

Those who attend will be able to volunteer in a number of positions at the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park. They can lead nature walks, help park visitors, work at the interpretive nature center, help with trail maintenance or join the mountain bike patrol.

The Laguna Canyon Foundation is seeking people who live close to neighborhood park entrances to join the Neighborhood Wilderness Guardian program.

For more information, visit https://www.lagunacanyon.org. To reserve a spot at the orientation, email Gigi Logan, public program and volunteer manager, at gigi@lagunacanyon.org.

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Free series will discuss estate planning

Peter Kote will moderate a free eight-week series about estate planning beginning Sept. 9 in the Community Room of the Susi Q Senior Center, 380 Third St.

Participants will learn about financial and estate planning, and how to find competent planning advisors.

The “It’s Your Estate” workshops run from 1:30 to 3 p.m. every Friday until Oct. 28. The series is sponsored by the Laguna Beach Community Foundation and Laguna Beach Seniors.

To register, call the foundation at (949) 715-8223 or email info@lagunabeachcf.org.

—Kelly Parker