Laguna Talks

Alex is the youngest person ever elected to the Laguna Beach City Council. But don't judge this ambitious public servant by his age. Alex talks about his first few months on Council, and the projects he is passionate about.

Laguna Talks with Connor Johnston and Nima Alipour, co-sponsors of the new Laguna Beach Ballot Initiative to bring a legal cannabis dispensary to Laguna.

Steve formed his iconic Southern California band Honk in 1970 and 51 years later is still playing (on occasion), along with his wife, Beth. They recently played the Coach House to a rousing ovation. Steve also scored 30 MacGillivray Freeman IMAX films, opened a martial arts studio in Irvine, plays with the Laguna super band 133, and is a great storyteller. We went well over the allotted 1 hour for this interview.

Ex Laguna Mayor Paul Freeman doesn't hold back in his assessment of what has gone wrong with the remodel and restoration of Hotel Laguna.

Meet Jonathan Tufano, my predecessor here at KX radio with the weekly 6pm show "Deep Cuts." Jonathan is also an e-commerce specialist and cannabis entrepreneur who divulges the state of the industry.

Doug is the author of The Sprout Book, a comprehensive guide to sprouting at home and improving your health and wellbeing through these wildly nutritious foods.

Wendy & Ronny Barry lost their teenage sons tragically 24 years ago, but as Tibetan Buddhists they believed their boys would be reborn. Through an arduous search for clues, and adherence to Buddhist doctrine, they found them reincarnated as a girl in Florida, and a boy in India. And spent the next couple of decades being a positive force in their new children's lives. They just published a book based on their journey, "From One Life to the Next." This is their remarkable story.

Ariel is a producer and actress starring in MacGillivray-Freeman's latest IMAX film, "Into America's Wild." An indigenous Native American from Alaska, Ariel's family became the focus of Discovery Channel series, "Flying Wild in Alaska." She now wants to turn her focus on Laguna and develop content here.

Shohreh Dupuis is the Assistant City Manager of Laguna Beach. Her long career in city government has brought her to the city she loves. Shohreh shares the things she's most proud of, and the big challenges ahead.

Homegrown talent Lindsay Rosales is the chef / owner of Nirvana Grille. During the early days of the pandemic she noticed many grocery shelves were bare. So she leapt into action, launching a food co-op where she brought food to the community through her suppliers. Now she is helping a longtime customer with a apple / pear farm who cannot harvest his fruit because of the shutdown. So Lindsay sprang into action again and is now bringing his fruit to the community - a win/win for all.

Brotherhood of Eternal Love member Ronnie Bevan was one of the most prodigious smugglers of Afghanistan hashish in the 60's and 70's. His breathtaking exploits are detailed in his memoir Brotherhood Hashish. Ronnie and his loving wife (and sometimes accomplice) Wendy joined us for a lively conversation on smuggling, LSD, the real Brotherhood (correcting many of the myths), and their storied time in Laguna Beach.

Laguna's most prominent multi-media artist Jorg Dubin is known for his broad array of sculpture, metal works, ceramics, pottery and painting. Never one to shy away from political statements, Jorg was recently invited to submit works for a pandemic related art commission. He we discuss the unusual results, and the state of art in Laguna.

Billy Fried interviews Congressman Harley Rouda live on the Promenade for a special episode of Laguna Talks.

Hans "No Way" Rey is a renowned international mountain biking legend who calls Laguna home. He discusses the recent influx of riders on our local trails and what the city can do to make it safer and better for all stakeholders.

Councilwoman Sue Kempf is the architect of the Forest Avenue Promenade, the temporary closure of our "Main St" to cars. She discuses how it all got done, and what we hope to achieve for the town.

He built nearly 50 homes during the sixties in Laguna. Meet master mid-century architect and builder Lamont, still practicing into his 90's.

Billy starts off the year with a solo rant – and some funk yinterludes.

Ilona Martin was a Lost Child during World War 2, grew up in orphanages, and came to America alone to study journalism. From there she took a succession of jobs, finally landing in Orange County with a thriving clothing manufacturing business. This is her story.

First term Assembly woman Cottie is making incredible things happen for her 74th district, including fire mitigation, student loan forgiveness, coastal defense over rising tides, addressing homelessness, and helping us get a desalinization plant in Dana Point. Fina out everything she's up to.

Activist Rita Conn joins us to promote the "Light the Way for Change" (to create a kinder, gentler world) event on May 19 (needed now more than ever). Followed by artist Bella Longi, daughter of Louis, on her 10 year odyssey to see her dad's dream of an artist live/work complex come to fruition.

Three female cannabis advocates join us to discuss how it has helped their patients with life threatening illnesses. Our guests include Caroline Rustigan-Bruderer of K-Line & Company, plus Earth Alchemy founders and partners Justine Amodeo and Suzanne deCarion

Toll Road activists Michelle Schumacher, Pete Van Nuys and Kathy Ward (San Clemente council woman) discuss the festering problems with the Transportation Corridors Agency and the pressing need to abolish it.

Chris Prelitz is a green builder, founder/President of Transition Laguna, and a leader in the green movement. Here are his ideas to make Laguna greener.

He's the talk of the town with his ambitious plans to re-open Hotel Laguna, re-imagine the Holiday Inn and Royal Hawaiian, and quite miraculously re-open the movie theater. Meet Mo Honarkar.

Mayor Bob Whalen joins us for a "State of the City Talk"

Meet the guys behind the subversive write in campaign City Council and what they have planned for the future. It may surprise you.

Hasty is the VP of Laguna Creative Ventures, the team behind The Hive, Seven Degrees, Art Affair, Tivoli Terrace, Terra Restaurant, The Heisler Project and the Cleo Project. Learn about her family's acquisition of these historic properties, and their plans for the future.

Fresh off his surprise win in the election, political neophyte and firebrand Peter Blake tells us how he will convert words into action.

Elizabeth Turk is this year's conceptual artist behind Art in Nature's Shoreline Project, where 1,000 volunteers will dance with LED umbrellas at Main Beach. Listen to her vision.

He's in the last 5 days of a bruising battle for Congressional District 48. Learn what Harley's been doing, and where he's hopefully headed on Nov. 6

The controversial PAC sets the record straight on who they are and what they support. Featuring Michael Ray and Doug Cortez.

Tyler Russell chats with Judie Mancuso about her decision to run for City Council again and everything important to her this time around.

Planning Commissioner Sue Kempf discusses her run for City Council 2018.

City Council Candidate Paul Merritt's two-long discussion with Ernest Hackmon live on KX FM 104.7.

Bhaktifest founder Sridar Silberfein calls in to talk about the upcoming 10 year anniversary of this transformational yoga festival in Joshua Tree, CA

Meet City Council Candidate Ann Christoph, a landscape architect and past council member.

Longtime gallery owner Peter Blake has thrown his hat into the City Council race. He's "mad as hell, and not gonna take it anymore." Listen to his impassioned platform on this edition of "Laguna Talks."

Meet Alon Blatt and Inbal Sikorin, from Laguna Wood's new medical clinic focused exclusively on cannabis for seniors, NiaMedic. Learn about how cannabis is being used to treat all kinds of illnesses.

Five term City Councilwoman Toni Iseman announces her unprecedented run for a 6th term and lays out her agenda in this episode of "Laguna Talks."

Meet Jason Farris, who for the past 10 years has worked at the temporary homeless shelter as the community outreach officer for the Laguna Beach Police Department. Perhaps no one has a more intimate understanding of the homeless problem, and gotten to know them better.

Laguna resident and first time candidate for State Assembly Cottie joins us for a lively discussion of what the State Assembly does, and why she's willing to give up the chill life in Laguna for the rigors of Sacramento.

Jennifer is a local attorney and former President of The Laguna Beach Taxpayers Association. She is a staunch fiscal conservative and considering a run at City Council.