The Avionics V1 features an abundance of wood and steel components to lend it an authentic vintage look.

The 13 cities that pay the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to police their streets plan to study ways to reduce the costs of those law enforcement services after a handful complained that the price has risen steeply in recent years, straining budgets and leaving less money for other priorities.

At least three South Orange County cities – Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita – have seen sheriff’s costs increase by nearly 25 percent over the past few years. And in Laguna Woods, city officials fear that the whopping 78 percent jump in public safety costs over the last three years poses a threat to the city’s future solvency.

City managers from the 13 municipalities have met with each other and with Sheriff Sandra Hutchens over the past six months to discuss their concerns. Those officials say they hope the study will reveal whether they’re paying a fair price for law enforcement and whether alternative arrangements – such as having a single police chief for multiple cities or pooling resources to break away from the sheriff’s department – could save them money.

Each city’s governing council will vote by the end of September on whether to approve the collective study.

The sheriff’s contract cities also include Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, Villa Park and Yorba Linda. Mission Viejo, which announced the study on Friday, Aug., 18, will take the lead in hiring a consultant to conduct the research.

Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Lane Lagaret said the deputies’ union’s most recent contract caused the bump in costs.

In Sept. 2016, deputies received an 8.8 percent raise spread out over three years, costing taxpayers an extra $62 million over that time. It was the first increase in deputies’ take-home pay since 2008, and during that gap, contract cities saw smaller increases in costs.

Yet cities say the steeper growth in the sheriff’s department price tag began four years ago, before the deputies’ raise, and that they have averaged a 5.7 percent to 7.4 percent annual increase in law enforcement costs during that time.

Those growing costs have also been seen within county government, where the sheriff’s cut of general purpose revenue has doubled over the past four years.

In a few cities, public-safety services now comprise nearly half the annual budget.

“Our revenues aren’t keeping pace with those increases,” said Rancho Santa Margarita city manager Jennifer Cervantez, who said her city now pays 54 percent of its annual operating budget to the sheriff’s department. “The hope is that the study will help us find some ways of reallocating some costs.”

Aliso Viejo City Manager Dan Doyle said that if city revenues and police costs continue to rise at the same rates, the city’s entire budget would go to the sheriff’s department 25 years from now. Doyle said he has engaged in talks with officials from Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods about “exploring other policing opportunities.”

Laguna Woods City Manager Chris Macon called the rising policing costs “the single greatest threat to the solvency of our city.” He noted the small community has already cut services and staff from other departments in response to the increased public safety costs.

Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, whose district includes 10 contract cities, said the cities are being proactive so they don’t face ballooning costs like the ones that plagued the Northern California city of Vallejo, which declared bankruptcy in 2008 after public-safety expenses consumed nearly 80 percent of its budget.

But Bartlett also said the sheriff’s department provides an excellent value for cities and has advised some city officials against opening their own police departments, saying the model likely would cost much more. Many Orange County cities with police departments pay $300 to $600 per resident annually for law enforcement, she said. Meanwhile, the annual cost for contract cities is under $200 per person, Bartlett said.

Lagaret noted that those costs also include access to department helicopters, canine units, SWAT teams and bomb squads that can deploy in emergencies. He cautioned that if cities cut the number of law enforcement agents serving within their borders, it could cause safety concerns for deputies. Lagaret said the sheriff’s department determines service levels in cities based on population size and crime trends.

Sheriff Hutchens has said she welcomes the study.

Officials in other cities feel more comfortable and less threatened by the sheriff’s contract but think the study is still worthwhile.

“We’re actually at a very good position, so I wouldn’t call (the contract) a hardship,” Mission Viejo city manager Dennis Wilberg said. “We all agree, it’s good management and good practice to every so often take a look at the contract to see if we can create efficiencies.”

An eco-friendly home on the ocean in Laguna Beach designed by architect Mark Singer is on the market at $14 million.

The contemporary, 4,000-square foot house has an additional 2,200 square feet of outdoor entertainment areas, including a private courtyard with a saltwater pool and spa.

Inside are three bedroom suites and a kitchen outfitted with professional-grade, Gaggenau appliances. Interiors include limestone floors, Italian windows, Poggenpohl cabinets and doors with Olivari hardware.

The house at 990 Ocean Front was the first along the California coastline to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, according to the agents.

Eco-friendly features include solar panels, low-VOC paint, adhesives and caulking, countertops crafted by Eco by Cosentino using recycled glass and lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

The Poggenpohl kitchen cabinets were made from sustainable wood, and the windows and doors have ClimaGuard glass to conserve energy

A 1,250-gallon cistern captures rainwater for use in landscape irrigation.

The house was listed for sale during the housing downturn in 2010 at $14.995 million. It sold for $11.5 million in January 2011.

The home soon may be seen on “Real Estate Wars,” a new Bravo TV show about Orange County agents and luxury properties. Some scenes reportedly were shot at the residence. The show debuts October 5.

Listing agents are TJ Romano and Joele Watson of Surterre Properties. Watson also is one of the agents on the TV show, where she goes by JoJo Romeo.

Singer died in 2016 at age 67. He designed and built hundreds of custom homes, commercial properties, restaurants and art galleries in over more than three decades, and helped to modernize the look of Laguna Beach.

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A unity rally was held near Main Beach in Laguna Beach on Saturday morning, Aug. 19, a day before a planned “America First! Electric Vigil for the Victims of Illegals and Refugees” event is scheduled to be held in the same area.

The “From Charlottesville to Laguna Beach: We Stand Together” rally drew a crowd of about 350, according to a police estimate.

There were no major confrontations, and no arrests.

The gathering was hosted by Indivisible OC 48, Indivisible OC-CA 46, the Laguna Beach Democratic Club, Together We Will Orange County, Women for American Values and Ethics and Orange County Justice Collaborative.

“It’s a rally to support peace, love and equality,” Gary LeFevre, president of the Laguna Beach Democratic Club said.

The decision to host it Saturday, the day before the America First! rally, was intentional.

“It’s a nice, safe way to have people show up and show their support for equality and not have to interact with the people on Sunday,” LeFevre said.

“Laguna Beach doesn’t tolerate diversity, we embrace diversity,” Laguna Beach Mayor Toni Iselman announced to those assembled Saturday morning. “We’re here today because we aren’t going to be here tomorrow … dancing with bad guys.”

Sunday’s protesters, she said, “want a fight.”

Laguna Beach police have announced they’re ramping up for Sunday’s rally.

The mayor’s speech was met with a sea of cheers, as people held signs saying, “The future is inclusive” and “We are one” higher. Just behind her was a giant “Unity over division, love over hate” banner.

After the first few speakers finished, protesters sang, “This land is your land.”

Joanna Weiss, the founder of Women for American Values and Ethics, said last weekend’s violence in Charlottesville motivated her to come out on Saturday.

The 44-year-old San Juan Capistrano resident and stay-at-home mom brought her 11-year-old daughter with her.

“I wanted to take a stand against white supremacy and for inclusion,” she said. “It’s about showing our children the world we want them to live in. The kids hear about Trump and Charlottesville and they have a lot of questions about the hate coming out of the White House. We have to talk to them about it.”

Trump condemned the white supremacists who incited bloody demonstrations in Charlottesville but he blamed “both sides” for the violence, drawing widespread criticism that he created a false moral equivalency between hate groups and the protesters who pushed back.

Also on Saturday, thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans converged on downtown Boston in a boisterous repudiation of white nationalism, dwarfing a small group of conservatives who cut short their planned “free speech rally.”

An estimated 15,000 counterprotesters marched through the city to historic Boston Common, where many gathered near a bandstand abandoned early by conservatives who had planned to deliver a series of speeches. Police vans later escorted the conservatives out of the area, and angry counterprotesters scuffled with armed officers trying to maintain order.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trader Joe’s will mark its 50th anniversary with celebrations in its stores today and Sunday.

The celebrations will include special product tastings and giveaways. A limited-edition 50th anniversary reusable bag will be available for 50 cents.

Trader Joe’s introduced its first reusable bag to customers 40 years ago.

The first Trader Joe’s store opened on Aug. 25, 1967 in Pasadena on Arroyo Parkway, which remains in operation. The chain of grocery stores that combines basics like milk and eggs with hard-to-find items like avocado citrus yogurt and vegan mocha nut lattes has 467 stores in 41 states and the District of Columbia.

On August 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty, in the den of the family’s home in Beverly Hills, CA. Both brothers were convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. On July 2, 1996, Judge Stanley Weisberg sentenced Lyle and Erik Menendez to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Before the presidential campaign and election, Ivanka Trump self-identified and was perceived as a businesswoman passionate about women’s empowerment. You’d have been hard-pressed to hear someone speak negatively about her, with words such as lovely, hard-working, self-directed and genuine typical descriptives.

 
And then, Dad ran for president and won.
 
Throughout and after the election, and especially since her role in the Trump administration shifted from merely “daughter,” as she said she initially intended, to G-20 Summit-attending formal adviser, Ivanka has taken her hits, critics questioning not only her qualifications but also her motives and her silence in light of various presidential outbursts. Following President Trump’s shocking equal assignation last weekend of “blame on both sides” when white supremacists, many brandishing swastikas, stormed Charlottesville, Va., to protest the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, the criticism escalated exponentially, with many wondering, how could Ivanka not speak out? 
 
Whether or not she knew just what she was getting into in accepting her White House role, surely Ivanka knows her father, and she is accustomed to life in shared spotlights, his and her own. Though thrust into the former as a child when her parents’ public marital woes made for tabloid grist, she chose the latter early on. An adolescent flirtation with modeling crossed over to television; at 15,

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