Briefly In the News

Cards offer up food drink, savings

Laguna Beach bars and restaurants just got even better — and cheaper.

With the new Laguna Beach Bar and Restaurant Cards, diners can save money at many of their favorite local hangouts. For the one-time price of $20, customers get a yearlong membership full of deals like 25% off any entree, or buy one drink and get the second for $1.

FOR THE RECORD:
[An earlier version said the deals included $25 off any entree. It is actually 25% off any entree.]

Participating restaurants include: Mozambique, Royal Hawaiian, The Cliff, Cafe Zoolu, Dolce Gelato, Rosa’s Cantina, Blue Laguna, Ocean Avenue Brewery, Nirvana Grille, Dizz’s As Is, Cafe Heidelberg, Natraj Cuisine of India, Olamendi’s, Royal Thai, Cubana Cigars, The Cottage and Zpizza, according to a news release.

The cards can be purchased at World Newsstand, 190 Ocean Ave., at https://www.timesbarandrestaurantcards.com or by calling (949) 678-9009.

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Weekly update from the city manager

•The emergency 911 system will get a state-funded $246,000 upgrade starting Jan. 18. The upgrade work is estimated to take one month to finish. The project includes replacing call recording equipment, computers and headsets worn by dispatchers.

•The Arts Commission is accepting applications for cultural arts funding. Apply online at https://www.lagunabeachcity.net or email spoeschl@lagunabeachcity.net. The deadline is Feb. 3.

•The Arts Commission is also seeking professional musicians or bands who are interested in participating in the 2012 Sunset Serenade and Music in the Park concert series. Applicants should send a CD and press package to the Cultural Arts Department, 505 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach, CA 92651.

•The Police Department reminded residents that using leaf blowers is still illegal in the city limits. This includes both electric and gas-powered blowers. Warnings and citations may be issued to anyone using them.

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Grant will help with cardiac screening

The Laguna Beach Community Foundation has given a $8,000 grant to PHFE Heartfelt Cardiac Projects, which provides cardiac screening and education to Laguna residents, according to a news release.

The project aims to encourage early detection and prevention of sudden cardiac death (SDC). In its screenings, Heartfelt targets the more at-risk groups such as women, high-school athletes and senior citizens.

Heartfelt is holding its first cardiac screening of the year from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Sport Performance Institute, 2295 Laguna Canyon Road.

For more information about the project, visit https://www.heartfeltcardiacprojects.org.

—Kelly Parker

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Abuse survivor to speak at Mission Hospital

Esther Adler, author of “Breaking the Chains to Freedom,” will speak at Mission Hospital Laguna Beach from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday.

Adler’s book details the abuse she says she suffered as a young child to the domestic abuse she encountered as a wife, and how she overcame the self-defeating patterns in her life to become psychologically strong.

Adler said she became a caregiver for her mother, a stroke victim, at the age of eight. While she says she resented losing her childhood to care for her mother, she now believes the experience enriched her.

In adulthood, Adler says she ended up in an abusive marriage after leaving a fanatical religious society. She had four children by the time she was 27, and then divorced her husband, alienating her children in the process. As if that weren’t enough, she was also diagnosed with a life-threatening disease — which she also survived.

Now she teaches women how to break the self-defeating cycle of abuse using tools that helped her, such as positive thinking, forgiveness and yoga.

She is making a number of stops in Southern California, visiting homeless shelters and hospitals in Orange County and Los Angeles.

For more information, visit https://www.EstherAdler.com.

—Cindy Frazier