Two Orange County cities are considering separate ordinances to ban single-use plastic bags. If approved, Dana Point and Laguna Beach would be the first two cities in the OC to put in place such a ban, similar to a ban already implemented in Los Angeles County and cities within LA County. more ›

When it comes to changing the color of your eyes, those colored contact lenses are child's play compared to what one Laguna Beach firm says they can do. A process called Lumineyes uses a laser to permanently turn brown eyes blue. Is this the next wave of vanity surgery? more ›

Gentlemen, do not date Alana Cosette Hayes. The 27-year-old female arranged the mugging of her boyfriend in hopes of scoring some cash. And better yet, Hayes and her two accomplices are all white supremacist methheads - a classy trio indeed. more ›

Laguna Beach transforms into an outdoor studio every year during the Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational. Hosted by the Laguna Art Museum and the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA), the event returns in 2011 to showcase 50 of the nation's top plein air landscape painters. more ›

It all began with a naked couple drinking some booze while parked behind a Laguna Beach restaurant in the wee hours. While cops were having a chat with 38-year-old Diandre Lemont Lopez and 21-year-old Diana May Andara, who were parked behind the White House Restaurant at 3 a.m. on September 19, they discovered "43 fraudulent gift cards and credit cards strewn across the front seat and dashboard of the car." more ›

17-year-old Michael Jason Wilson of Laguna Beach was sentenced to a year in jail and three years probation after pleaded guilty yesterday to "stabbing a rival in a feud that started with traded insults on Facebook," according to Laguna Beach Patch. more ›

Residents of two Laguna Beach apartment buildings were evacuated early Friday after a ski-masked suspect threw a bottle of butyric acid through the window of a second-floor unit. The apartment, occupied by a couple in their 20s, was declared "red-tagged" until it could be cleaned by a hazardous materials team and a private cleanup crew, according to Laguna Beach Patch. more ›

While we have reason to celebrate our A-list local bookstores, this week brings sad news for two SoCal independent book retailers who have announced they're closing up shop. more ›

The 34-year-old co-founder and creative director of LRG, a clothing company based in Orange County, was found dead in his home, according to the OC Register. Jonas Bevacqua's death appears to not be suspicious, however the cause of death has yet to be determined. more ›

Laguna Beach City Council voted unanimously to prohibit downhill skateboarding on the seaside community's gnarliest streets. A handful of tweens took over the front row of Tuesday's city council session with signs reading "Support Freedom: skateboarding is not a crime." But after pleading for open roads for three hours, they left totally un-stoked. more ›

Nothing says "Respect" for the rarely intertwined realms of surf culture and African-American civil rights than a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day-themed sale. Unfortunately, the promotion was a total wipeout at Laguna Beach's Thalia Surf Shop, according to CBS2, and yesterday the business issued an apology for their misguided marketing. more ›

Laguna Beach sustained some of the most profound damage from the massive rainstorm that has just cleared the region, in the form of mud flows in the hillsides and in their popular Downtown area. This morning the cleanup resumes, but thankfully without the threat of rain, and some residents have been able to return to their homes, according to LA Now. more ›

Mudslides, flooded roads, washed out beachfronts, evacuations, water-logged hills, and swift waters in flood channels has Los Angeles and Orange County, as well as surrounding counties, on alert. more ›

Most of last night's heavy rains were centered in Orange County, leaving residents in some areas without power and some evacuated, parts of Laguna Beach's sandy shores washed away, and many roads closed. more ›

• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon's just-launched fake-apps iPhone app lets you Relax with Axl Rose and determine if you are in Moldova with a simple Yes/No. Handy, that.
• Wither the Pacific Hastings Theater in Pasadena? Set to become a gym?
• A 14-year-old Long Beach girl is reunited with her family after a week-long absence.
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California's iconic symbol is under attack! Well, at least for now, it's isolated. A pest, which the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) considers to be "the world’s worst pest of palm trees," has been found in the Laguna Beach area, state officials announced today. They said this is the first-ever detection of the red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) in the United States. more ›

Today marks the opening of one of Orange County's flagship events. The Pageant of the Masters -- yes, that scene in "Arrested Development" was based on something real -- is 90 minutes of "living pictures" (see a video showing how it looks here). People pose on intricately designed sets to look exactly like a famous painting. It's all accompanied by live narration and an original score played by an orchestra. The event runs nightly through August 31st. more ›

A Guide to Great LA Events this Week: Music at the LA Zoo, Outfest, Old Pasadena Film Fest, InkSlam, Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, Grand Performances and Music on the Santa Monica Pier more ›

Matti, Pablo, Apolo and Taite got a second chance at life yesterday morning. The four sea lions, once found throughout Orange County's coastline underweight and malnourished, were released back into the wild with a crowd cheering them on at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach. And by the looks of this video, the cute pinnipeds were sure thrilled to see the ocean again! more ›

Mixing ocean sightseeing with history and architecture and, perhaps, some whales, has proved to be a fun day activity in Orange County. Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching has partnered with the Laguna Beach Historical Society for thee-hour Saturday catamaran cruises that launch from Dana Point, and quickly heading north to Crystal Cove State Beach, before slowly moving down the coast with discussions about the famous area's film history and architecture. And since it's still grey whale season, you might be lucky and catch that, too. more ›

Do you remember life before cellphones? Maybe you remember making plans to meet up with a friend and having to just sit and wait for them to show up since they didn't have a way to call you from the car or a tiny device in their pocket or purse. Maybe you remember the pager era, when friends would beep you and you would head off to search for a payphone and either plug in a pocketful of change or tap out a lengthy calling card number in order to retrieve your message. more ›

More little quakes to get you thinking about being prepared. A minor 3.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Trona, some 30 miles from Ridgecrest, in San Bernardino County at 4:59 p.m. Thus far, there have been no reports of damge or injuries and one reported aftershock, a 1.4 shaker, less than 10 minutes later. Earlier at 2:14 p.m., a 2.6 magnitude microquake struck off the coast of Orange County, near Laguna Beach and Dana Point. There was also a 2.2 quake near Anaheim last night and a 1.4 in Los Angeles this morning. more ›

Blame pollution: 2008 was another banner year for troubled waters at our nation's beaches, according to the results of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) annual study. Although last year was a dry one, "aging and poorly designed sewage and stormwater systems hold much of the blame for beachwater pollution [and] stormwater runoff contributed to two-thirds of the closing/advisory days in which a contamination source was reported." more ›

Recently, we've been sharing some sea caves with you over at Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park. Now we head southward to Orange County for a more terrestrial minded experience. 1,000 Steps Beach in Laguna Beach is a small and quiet and sometimes extremely private experience. There's no parking lot--park on PCH--and you do have to climb long stair case that's not quite 1,000 steps, but it can certainly feel like that many. more ›

Orange County's Laguna Beach could be another Californian city to ban the use of plastic bags. Last night the City Council unanimously passed a motion that moves the discussion to the next level, reports the OC Register. Their environmental committee will now look further into the ban, which many believe "will help save both the environment and retailers' bottom lines." Council members want to be certain that local businesses have ample warning time, but also acknowledge the potential for area stores to absorb costs of the ban by selling reusable bags. more ›

Last November, the Laguna Beach City Council voted to stand with other California cities in supporting the movement to sue the state over the passage of the controversial Prop 8, which outlaws same-sex marriage. Although "7,602 Laguna residents voted against Prop. 8, with 68 percent of the vote, and 3,544 residents, or 31 percent, voted in favor of the initiative," residents were upset with the Council's decisions, and supporters of the ban called for a gathering to be held last night at 5 "outside the City Council's regularly scheduled March 3 meeting," explains the OC Register. more ›

A deteriorated metal clamp at a Laguna Beach pump station caused thousands of gallons of sewage to spill out onto city streets and into the beach for eight hours today, beginning around 2:00 a.m. this morning. The mess has caused four miles of coast to be closed meaning beaches are to be closed for an estimated two days. The OC Register lists past beach spills in previous years, but Long Beach holds the title for most sewage spills with 31 of them as of August. more ›