At the close of another year packed with unpredictable and varied local news, the Independent takes a look back at what residents considered the most important stories of 2023. The Indy delivered updates on local issues, including a murder that stunned the community, conflicts between Laguna Beach Company CEO Mohammed Honarkar and investor group MOM entities, the plight of Emerald Bay Sanctuary and much more.
The historic Heisler building in downtown Laguna Beach sold last month for $16.5 million, in a rare trade for the beach city whose commercial real estate is dominated by legacy, family ownership.
Wait, did Hauser and Wirth or Larry Gagosian just set up shop here? Because it sure felt that way at last Friday’s marvelous Hospitality Night when, upon walking through a side door off a nondescript building on a nondescript section of Broadway, you were swept into an alternate universe - a cavernous, 4,200 square foot, state-of-the-art gallery space with the ultimate in sophisticated exhibition technology.
A sleek new museum-style exhibition space in the middle of town will debut next week when the public is invited to get a first look at the Honarkar Foundation for Arts & Culture space at 298 Broadway.
In his Oct. 6 guest column, Billy Fried expresses outrage that George Weiss has had the temerity to defend himself against the factually bereft charge that he somehow forced Shohreh Dupuis to retire. Because there are so many inaccuracies in Billy's column, I'll just mention a few of his greatest hits.