Laguna Beach Local News
Mary Rogers was named general manager of Montage Laguna Beach on May 21. Photo courtesy of Montage International
Montage Laguna Beach has tapped a 20-year luxury hospitality veteran to be its next general manager, according to a press release Friday.
Mary Rogers joins Montage Laguna Beach from Fontainebleau Miami Beach, where she was the first female general manager since the hotel opened in 1954. Rogers was hired by Fontainebleau as vice president of operations for rooms in 2009 and promoted to general manager in 2018.
“I am delighted to welcome Mary Rogers to Montage Laguna Beach,” said Jason Herthel, president and chief operating officer of Montage International, said in a prepared statement. “Mary’s extensive, ground-breaking background is nothing short of impressive, and we are honored to have her dynamic leadership at the helm of the resort’s executive team.”
Laguna Beach Local News
Why is our City Council rushing to spend almost $400,000 to do a preliminary engineering study for a permanent Promenade on Forest Avenue? Instead of spending money at this point, why not wait and see how things work in a more normal year with the festivals and Playhouse open, the trollies running and the return of thousands of visitors.
More importantly, the Council should first do a comprehensive, unbiased survey of what residents and local businesses want for our downtown. Requests for participation and transparency continue to be ignored.
Anne Caenn, President of Village Laguna
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Laguna Beach Local News
Wednesday, May 12
Patrol check. El Toro Road and Laguna Canyon Road. 10:32 p.m. A 2010 Mazda on El Toro Road appeared to have either a traffic collision or was disabled facing into bushes with headlights on. Kevin Michael Connors, 53, was arrested on suspicion of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia possession. He was held on a $1,000 bail.
Thursday, May 13
DUI. 11:35 p.m. A 19-year-old woman driving a Blue Toyota was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Minors were passengers in the vehicle and picked up by their parents. The driver was held on a $2,500 bail.
Friday, May 14
Traffic collision. 1000 block of Laguna Canyon Road. 3:13 p.m. A white Toyota and orange utility vehicles collided and smoke was reported from one of the vehicles. Occupants were reported as trapped inside the vehicles but conscious and breathing. First responders arrived on the scene and all lanes were temporarily blocked. The patients were transported to Providence Mission H
Laguna Beach Local News
We think most people want to know who is suing them. So the founders of Laguna Neighbors thank Cathy Jurca for identifying herself as the founder of the Laguna Beach Historic Preservation Coalition. This was news to us. We had only been able to identify other Coalition members because Ann Christoph, Johanna Felder, Norm Grossman, Becky Jones, Barbara Metzger, Greg O’Loughlin, and Verna Rollinger signed a letter that we found on the Village Laguna website. ( A screenshot is available on request.) Those names are familiar to anyone in Laguna who cares about historic preservation as much as we do.
Laguna Beach Local News
Laguna Beach student Taia Saurer. Courtesy of NASA
Laguna Beach student Taia Saurer was named by NASA on Wednesday among three winners of the Artemis Moon Pod Essay Contest for their creative visions of a pioneering journey to the Moon.
Saurer won the fifth through eighth-grade category.
Nearly 14,000 students entered the contest, each competing for the grand prize: a trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center where they will witness the first launch of the Artemis rocket. All of the essay entries will fly on a USB flash drive aboard the Artemis I mission, the first step in NASA’s campaign to return astronauts to the Moon and then to Mars.