Weekend Update from July 24

We have had another busy weekend out campaigning in Laguna Beach to SAVE the BOOM!!! Just about every night this week under the supervision of volunteer coordinator, Jeff Delancy signature gatherers have been in front of the boom boom room, woodys, coast liquor, the koffee klatch and main street.

We had tables set up on Saturday in north Laguna at pavilions and at ralphs supermarkets. unfortunately we hit some unpleasantness at pavilions. some very hateful remarks were directed at jeff followed by an individual heaving his coffee at him out of his speeding car. we have been hitting pockets of homophobia throughout laguna with some comments and rude behavior, but never anything like this. jeff was shaken up, but said that for this one individual there were hundreds of positive comments and lots enthusiasm for the SAVE the BOOM!!! throughout the day.


Blogs

on a brighter note, many blogs and regional gay newspapers have started to pick up our story and are spreading the word of our effort to save this gay landmark. not to be outdone, we have launched our own blog on the new and improved SAVE the BOOM!!! website. check it out:

http://savetheboom.blogspot.com/


Letters to the Editor

and there were some excellent letters to the editor in last friday's Laguna Beach Independent. here is the link to page A4. they are entitled "raise the boom" by c. bjork and "laguna beach a gay and lesbian friendly place" by roger carter (no relation).

http://www.lagunabeachindependent.com/INDY_ASEC_071406.pdf

if you would like to write a letter to the editor to help the cause, just go to our new and improved website and click on "write a letter to the editor." it will explain how to go about this. keep your letter short and sweet and make sure you include your name and phone number. lots of papers like to call and confirm with the writer after they receive the letter.

Petition Drive

The petition drive is going extremely well and we are proud to announce that we have over 3,000 signatures on hand from laguna residents and visitors alike. the awareness and interest has really soared and it is very gratifying to see the community get behind this effort.

Share Your Boom Memory

I had the pleasure of meeting two incredible women at the boom a few weeks ago who were so happy to sign our petition, here's why:

"On a warm late summer day in September 1999, we had our wedding ceremony outdoors on the back deck of the Coast Inn. It was a beautiful day with lots of people down on the beach enjoying the ocean. Our wedding video is filled with sounds of the waves crashing on the beach.

"We had a wonderful ceremony with lots of music. Some of our friends and family members contributed their voices and their piano, flute, and harp for the occasion.
The music ranged from hymns to show tunes. We even sang a song to each other as we were lighting our candle - From This Moment.

"Since there were beautiful flowers surrounding the deck, we didn't even need to bring in any flowers for the ceremony -- that was a blessing since neither one of us is gifted at floral arranging. The Boom Boom/Coast Inn chef prepared all the hors d'oeuvres for our 50 guests. Besides our guests, there were many other folks who stopped on the beach to listen to our music, or who watched the ceremony form the upper decks above!

"We will always remember that day when we said our vows before our family and friends. We are committed to a long and lasting relationship. Thank you BoomBoom and Coast Inn."

Shauna and Shanna

and if you have any stories, photos, comments, etc., that you would like to see on our blog, please send them to me by return email and we will try to put them on our site.

thank you so much to all who are helping on this campaign to SAVE the BOOM!!!

best regards, fred karger