2022 was an eventful year in Laguna Woods – Orange County Register

In 2022, two significant events shattered many residents’ sense of security in Laguna Woods Village: a mass shooting at a church just outside the gates and a blatant display of anger on the Village’s sidewalks.

But out of the horror of the shooting emerged heroism, and out of the cowardice of hatred, a sense of community united the residents to fight the bias and bigotry that many feel beneath the surface of the village.

Covid was still there, but the virus-weary residents flocked to clubhouses, dance floors and sports facilities. As in the previous year, several first events marked 2022, when several entertainment and sports events returned after a two-year pandemic hiatus.

Residents also flocked to Golden Rain Foundation, Third and United board meetings to discuss issues near and dear to them, such as new garbage cans, flashing stop signs, the Village bus system and Canary Island pines.

Here’s a look at the year 2022.

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On May 15th, horror came to Laguna Woods when a mass shooting occurred at Geneva Presbyterian Church on El Toro Road, just outside Gate 7. A gunman inside the church attacked parishioners of Irvine’s Taiwan Presbyterian Church who were using the El Toro church for their services and lunch.

But a hero emerged in Dr. John Cheng of Aliso Viejo. Although hit by three bullets, Cheng charged the shooter, allowing others to restrain the shooter until the police arrived.

Cheng died in the church that day and five others were wounded. In June, Cheng was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for what is likely to be dozens of lives saved.

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On the afternoon of March 7, a woman, whose name has not been released, walked past Clubhouse 1 wearing a swastika armband. When residents confronted him, he responded with an anti-Semitic slur, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The case resulted in the condemnation of the mayor of Laguna Woods and the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. City leaders discussed forming an advisory panel in response to community concerns that not enough was being done to protect residents from incidents of hate and racism.

And a group of members from different ethnic, religious, cultural and political groups in the village came together to form Community Bridge Builders to fight bias, bigotry and discrimination in the village through dialogue, education, advocacy and sharing of cultural experiences.

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Continuing the community spirit, the Laguna Woods Village Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary in May and is celebrating a quarter century of its Neighbors Helping Neighbors mission.

Other village groups and individuals opened their hearts to Ukrainian refugees displaced from their homeland by the Russian invasion.

At the beginning of March, village resident Mike Wilson traveled to Krakow, Poland and distributed coloring books to Ukrainian refugee children. In April, religious groups came together to raise awareness and collect donations to support the refugees.

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Covid was still looming over the village. At the beginning of the year, the city of Laguna Woods saw a sharp increase in cases, rising from 601 to 740 in the second week. According to the OC Health Care Agency, the increase correlates with national trends.

As a result, the boards of GRF, Third and United decided to hold all board and committee meetings in practice only.

And as the state’s daily case count spiked, California announced it would extend its statewide indoor mask mandate until at least Feb. 15, and Village Management Services said only virtual meetings would remain in place until the mandate is lifted.

As mid-February progressed, California largely removed the inner mask mandate. The village meetings returned to a hybrid form; Resident Services reopened during normal business hours; and clubs, groups and organizations became responsible for drafting and implementing their own guidelines.

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Entertainment and sports events returned to full force in 2022.

At the end of January, the chamber music series Community Concerts returned to the Performing Arts Center with Covid precautions.

The Aquadettes artistic swimming team jumped back into the Clubhouse 1 pool to train for the Aqua Follies in September, their first Follies since August 2019.

The Senior Clown Alleys Clown College kicked off again, teaching participants clown makeup, costumes and tricks of the trade, and the Hula Festival returned, bringing Hawaiian music, dance and culture to Clubhouse 1.

The MemorialCare-sponsored Health and Wellness Expo was back in April and brought a record number to Clubhouse 5: More than 800 people attended the expo, making it the largest in village history, organizers said.

Hundreds also attended the Villages’ first Renaissance Faire at the Equestrian Center in May to enjoy music, dance and Shakespeare. They also met Sebastian, a rescued 12-year-old registered American Miniature Horse that was adopted by the Equestrian Center earlier this year.

The 4th of July golf cart parade was again in 2022. About 100 golf carts were decorated in red, white and blue and traveled along a new route: through gates 10 and 11, from Club House 5 to Club House 2.

In sports, the Village Games returned in April, attracting 375 athletes to compete in a huge variety of sports and games including archery, tennis, table tennis, pickle ball, billiards, bocce and more.

And the Memorial Golf Tournament fundraiser returned in May for the first time since 2019.

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VMS introduced some new faces in 2022. The board appointed Siobhan Foster as CEO/CEO to succeed Jeff Parker on February 4, after being overwhelmingly approved by the boards of GRF, Third and United.

Foster had been the chief operating officer of VMS for almost four years.

According to him, his goal as CEO was to ensure that the village remains a special place with exceptional amenities and high-quality services while keeping costs under control.

In April, former Los Alamitos Police Chief Eric Nunez became the city’s new safety chief, replacing Carlos Rojas, who was promoted to director of operations in the chief executive’s office. And Alison Giglio replaced Brian Gruner as recreation director in the fall.

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New in the village was also a trash can. But the transition to waste management’s CR&R was not without problems. Many residents said the new bins were too tall and the lids too heavy for them to get their rubbish bags in.

A VMS official acknowledged that the new bins were 6 inches taller, but said CR&R had vowed to replace some of them with lower-profile bins.

CR&R’s organics recycling program brought a variety of problems: There weren’t enough trash cans in the entire village, they smelled bad and attracted flies and rodents, residents said. But the residents were assured that the trash cans are regularly replaced with clean ones.

In March, concerned residents filled a UK boardroom for lengthy discussions about a report by the United Mutual Landscape Committee that suggested cutting down 393 Canary Island pine trees because the groves had become too dense and the pine needles were causing problems.

The committee delayed action, saying it would gather residents’ opinions on tree care proposals, and ultimately canceled the entire project in May.

Residents also battled the pros and cons of proposed flashing red stop signs around the village, debating whether they are even needed here. Still, the GRF board decided to replace 21 stop signs with solar-powered, flashing red LEDs at a cost of $42,913.

But the proposal to transfer ownership and operation of the buses from the Village to Age Well Senior Services was rejected by the GRF after much negative feedback from local bus drivers.

In 2022, residents’ passions were ignited by many other issues: the village’s electric chargers, which the GRF committee recommended against; increase in golf fees; the successful recall of two third mutual directors; a proposal for a marijuana dispensary outside the village gates; and California’s unprecedented drought, which brought irrigation restrictions by the Third and United boards.

No doubt we won’t hear the last of some of these issues in 2022.