Mailbag: Thank you, Art Walk, from LCAD

I’d like to acknowledge and thank Laguna Beach First Thursdays Art Walk for its continued collaboration with the Laguna College of Art + Design in making the professional mentor/student program a huge success.

The program, which culminates during every December’s First Thursdays Art Walk, just celebrated its 12th year.

The relationships and opportunities that our young artists establish with participating gallery professionals hold the potential to change their lives and their careers. Our mission at LCAD is to produce the next generation of great artists and designers. The participating galleries, with their continued good efforts, are our partners in fulfilling that mission.

I also wish to offer a heartfelt “thank you” to these specific galleries for their generous participation in hosting and mentoring an LCAD student in the 2013 professional mentor program: La Bottega Dell Acquaforte,The Redfern Gallery, DeRu’s Fine Arts, Studio 7 Gallery, saltfineart, Art Cube Gallery, Cove Gallery, AR4T SPACE, The George Gallery, Laguna Ink Spot & Gallery, Forest & Ocean Gallery, Artist Eye Laguna Gallery, Dawson Cole Fine Art, Exclusive Collections Gallery and Pacific Edge Gallery.

All at LCAD appreciate your participation and the time you dedicated to helping our students.

Jonathan Burke

president, Laguna College of Art + Design

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We are indeed a skateboarding town

I am writing in response to the Billy Fried’s “Out of the Blue” column published Jan. 10.

I loved his idea to put a skateboard park next to the basketball court on Main Beach, like the skateboard park in Santa Cruz. I shared his ideas with my skateboarding son, who was born and raised here. He graduated from Laguna Beach High and is now attending Laguna Beach College of Art and Design. So we are truly locals.

His reaction was, “Great idea, never going to happen. We have been waiting over 20years. All the City Council cares about is making money. They don’t really care about the community.”

I tried to dissuade him of his cynicism, but he said that all his friends think that. Cynical, yes, but I was pretty saddened by his comments.

Why does he have to go outside his hometown to skateboard? And why, after all the laws the city put in place, do we drive down La Mirada and Alta Vista and still have young skateboarders skating down the hills at full speed, often without helmets?

I’ve almost collided with one.

These local laws are being ignored, and so the safety of our young people — and that of drivers too — is also being ignored.

Shouldn’t the city put the safety of Laguna Beach residents on the top of the list? The only solution is to build a skateboard park here.

As Fried said, “Skateboarding is in our DNA.”

Diane Adamson

Laguna Beach

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