LBUSD teachers union votes unanimously to endorse Joan Malczewski, Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal and Kimberly Smith for school board
The Laguna Beach Unified Faculty Association (LaBUFA), basically the teachers union for Laguna Beach Unified School District, this week announced their unanimous endorsement of Joan Malczewski, Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal and Kimberly Smith in the upcoming election for the Board of Education.
According to a release from the union, the endorsement’s unanimous vote reflects Laguna Beach “educators’ desire for a renewed board culture centered on trust, transparency, effective governance, respect for professional expertise, and meaningful collaboration with the educators and staff who work with LBUSD students every day.”
According to LaBUFA, its members had the opportunity to hear directly from board candidates about issues of significant importance to district employees, including rebuilding trust between the board and staff, the board’s role in district governance, employee input in decision-making, communication, transparency and the overall culture of the district.
According to the union, the three endorsed candidates expressed a belief that “rebuilding trust must begin with listening to employees and then demonstrating through action that their voices have been heard.”
Two other candidates, Elizabeth Bates and incumbent Dee Perry are also in the race.
• • •
And speaking of the school board candidates, they will join with City Council candidates for a forum next week, Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Neighborhood Congregational Church, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Residents will have the opportunity to hear from candidates in both local elections on what issues are important to them and why.
The event is free to attend and no RSVP is required.
• • •
A joint statement was released this week from both sides (the city and Providence Mission Hospital) following a late August meeting of the 16-member Task Force to discuss the hospital’s evolving role, or lack thereof, in the community.
It was virtually the same old same old, with the city reiterating its desire for the hospital site to include 24/7 emergency medical services that can accept patients by ambulance, while Providence committed to an internal, fact-based evaluation of a smaller-scale hospital model.
In the statement, the city voiced its appreciation of Providence’s willingness to proceed with this additional evaluation.
Another potential option that could be explored is to provide emergency medical services at the site through a standalone Emergency Department (ED), which, according to the joint statement, is not currently allowed under state law. To that end, the city and Providence have jointly agreed to sponsor legislation in 2027 that would permit a stand-alone ED in Laguna Beach.
Seth Tiegen, Providence Mission Hospital chief executive said: “We are continuing to evaluate how we can best serve Laguna Beach in a way that reflects how care is delivered today, responds to the community’s priorities and is sustainable for the future.”
Laguna Beach Councilmember Bob Whalen, added, “We appreciate Providence’s willingness to study a smaller-scale hospital model, and we’re committed to working through this analysis together in the months ahead.”
Councilmember Alex Rounaghi, who also serves with Whalen on the city’s Hospital Ad Hoc Committee, said: “In 2016, the Attorney General’s own reviewers found it critical that Laguna Beach keep its emergency services, and the state required Providence to keep them for a decade. With 14,827 ER visits last year, and six of 10 of our ambulance transports going there, I’m concerned about the loss of the ER. I appreciate Providence agreeing to study a smaller hospital that would keep emergency care here. Whatever that study concludes, the city will keep pursuing every tool it has to protect the health and safety of our residents.”
• • •
The city of Laguna Beach City Clerk’s Office has launched eFile, a new online portal for viewing and searching Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) filings, including Form 700 Statements of Economic Interests and campaign finance disclosures (such as Form 460s).
The public can now access, search and download filings directly at https://efile.lagunabeachcity.net/.
eFile offers:
–A flexible search interface to look up filings by filer name, committee, election, or filing type.
–The ability to view filing PDFs directly in your browser or download them.
–Sign-up for automated notifications when new filings are submitted (better than waiting for one of these notifications).
–Mobile-friendly access from any device.
The portal is currently populated with documents that were uploaded; however, as filers start filing directly into the portal, data will be more searchable.
Looking for older records? Archived FPPC filings remain available on the city’s website here.
Questions about the new portal or about locating a specific filing should be directed to the City Clerk’s Office.
• • •
The Greater Laguna Beach GOP has added to the list of City Council candidate forums with the addition of theirs on Wednesday, Sept. 23 from 6-9 p.m. in the Laguna Beach City Council Chambers.
Organizers describe the forum as nonpartisan and say it will offer Laguna Beach residents an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates seeking election to the City Council, learn more about their positions on important local issues, and enable them to make a more informed decision at the polls.
All nine City Council candidates are scheduled to participate.
The evening will feature several formats designed to give voters a broader understanding of the candidates and their views, including general questions on local issues, candidate-to-candidate questions, a rapid yes-or-no round and a final interactive round followed by closing remarks.
“Our goal is to create an informative and engaging forum where Laguna Beach residents can hear directly from every candidate,” said India Hynes, president of the Greater Laguna Beach GOP. “Local elections have an enormous impact on our everyday lives, and we want voters to have an opportunity to hear the candidates discuss the issues facing our community before they cast their ballots.”
The forum is presented as a nonpartisan community event. Residents are invited to attend.
• • •
Through a unique evening of live music, film and conversation, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Greg MacGillivray will join musician and composer Steve Wood at the Rivian South Coast Theater for an extraordinary evening exploring how music shapes the emotional impact of film.
The evening celebrates Music in Motion, presented by Laguna Beach Live! and will feature music Wood curated for the evening.
The acclaimed Zelter String Quartet will join in to perform live, with specially selected music paired with clips from MacGillivray’s films.
MacGillivray and Wood’s creative collaboration dates back to the iconic surf film 5 Summer Stories. During the program, audiences will experience film with and without music and hear how the two collaborators arrived at the final combination of image and sound.
The evening will also feature scenes from acclaimed IMAX films including Everest, featuring music by George Harrison; Dolphins and The Living Sea, featuring music by Sting, and To the Arctic, featuring music by Paul McCartney.
The event takes place on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Rivian South Coast Theater, 162 S. Coast Highway.
The event is presented as part of Laguna Beach Live!’s 25th Anniversary Celebration, and tickets are just $25.
For tickets and further information, visit lagunabeachlive.org.
• • •
Laguna Beach Garden Club will have their Monthly Meeting and Speaker Series event next Friday, Sept. 11 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in Tankersley Hall at Laguna Presbyterian Church.
The speaker will be Lanny Kaufer on the topic of Medicinal Herbal Walks.
Lanny, of HerbWalks.com, is celebrating 50 years of leading herb walks, nature hikes and foraging workshops. His passion for edible and medicinal flora of California led to his founding the Ojai Herbal Retreat. Lanny has written a book titled Medicinal Herbs of California, and he will be signing copies of his book at the meeting following his talk.
Social time and refreshments begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by the program sharply at 10 a.m.
Non-members are invited to attend for free on their first visit. For information on the garden club, go to www.lagunabeachgardenclub.org.
