South Laguna

Re-energizing its long-stalled expansion plans, the Laguna Playhouse has entered into a "handshake agreement" to purchase a next-door office complex and has sold the South Laguna property originally pegged for the project, officials announced Tuesday. The agreement is being finalized now, and escrow is expected to open by Friday on the three-building, 34,000-square-foot complex known as 580 Broadway (formerly "The Colony").

Aliso Peak lies almost 600 feet above sea level, and you can experience every foot and more along the South Laguna Ridge Line Trail. This is one peak experience you can enjoy from the top down--all the way to the beach if you like. MORNING 1 The start of this hike alone is worth the trip. Park benches lining the top of Talavera Drive offer heady views into Aliso Canyon--steep-cliff warnings are posted with good reason--and stunning vistas of Santiago and Modjeska peaks (Old Saddleback).

The South Laguna Civic Assn. may soon receive $35,000 from the city to help offset legal costs incurred in the ongoing fight against the city of Laguna Niguel and the owner of the Binion property. Las Vegas casino owner Jack Binion is proposing to build 22 homes on a hilltop in Laguna Niguel. That city's council approved the plan in September, but the South Laguna homeowners group filed a lawsuit to block the development, saying it would violate coastal laws.

One day after Las Vegas casino owner Jack Binion won final approval for a controversial hilltop development here, his representatives said Wednesday that they would listen to offers to buy the property. After fighting the project for five years, South Laguna residents living below the proposed development urged the City Council at Tuesday's meeting to delay approval while they negotiated to purchase the 22-acre site for use as a wilderness park.

A Las Vegas casino owner and a group of South Laguna residents did not reach a truce this week in their five-year battle over a ridge-top housing project. The City Council had hoped to resolve the project, but at the request of both sides--a homeowners group and developer Jack Binion--delayed action until September. The housing project is proposed for a 22-acre parcel near Crown Valley Parkway and Pacific Coast Highway.