CR&R has been receiving considerable feedback from residents regarding the relocation of organic waste carts by other residents. 

Please do not move organic waste recycling carts from their intended locations. Successful routing and collection of organic waste is based on the web map developed by the City of Laguna Woods and CR&R, and residents refer to that map in order to locate the organic cart closest to them.

Click here to access an interactive map of organic cart locations. If you have trash, recycling and organics recycling questions, concerns or requests, please call CR&R at 949-625-6735 or email the company at LagunaWoods-Recycles@CRRmail.com or visit cityoflagunawoods.org/LWVorganics. 

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On Friday, January 14, at 11 a.m. in Clubhouse 2, Transportation will hold an informational meeting to share the details of a proposal for Age Well to operate the Village bus system. Items on the agenda for discussion include:

• Age Well overview
• Proposal overview
• Financial impact
• Sale and maintenance of buses
• Benefits to community
• Questions and answers

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

Amid a sharp rise in COVID infections and hospitalizations, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced on Wednesday that it will extend the mask mandate for indoor spaces through at least February 15. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, the state has reported an average of 54,695 new cases per day over the past week. 

According to CDPH, the number of COVID test results returning positive also have reached record levels—a seven-day rate of 21.3% as of Wednesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the Omicron variant represents about 95% of cases nationwide, with Delta responsible for the rest.

The rate of hospitalizations has not increased to the same degree as cases, but the total patients hospitalized increased 69% during the week of December 27 and may overtake the highest patient count during last summer, which was 8,353 on August 31, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Some counties, including Orange, have reported patient counts higher than those during the Delta wave, the Times stated.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

Walk-in traffic at Resident Services is temporarily suspended as of Thursday, January 6.

Staffing in this department is compromised, as a high number of team members have tested positive for COVID-19 and are unable to report for work.

Staff who tested positive but are not experiencing symptoms are working remotely. Executive management will re-evaluate walk-in traffic once staff return to health and to in-person work. Negative COVID testing is required before staff may return to the Community Center.

Please submit service requests via residentservices@vmsinc.org or 949-597-4600.

VMS takes this situation very seriously and wishes to protect the safety of our residents, staff and community. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate and thank you for your support as we work through this difficult period.

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Commercial Route 1 will operate from 9 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 5 p.m., and will cover Aldi and Moulton Plaza as automatic stops and Clubhouses 2 and 7, as well as Restaurant 19, as request (R) stops. 

Commercial Route 2 will operate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will cover the Community Center, Stater Bros and Aldi as automatic stops.

For more transportation information, visit lagunawoodsvillage.com/amenities/transportation.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

Many community associations have been hit by massive and unbudgeted insurance increases. The California Legislative Action Committee is urging HOA members to email Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to let him know you want action on this issue that affects 13 million Californians living in 3,727,000 homes in 50,000 community associations. 

Click here to send a draft email to voice your concern and request his help. 

To stay informed on the 2022 legislative session, visit caiclac.com. 

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

If you want to be in the know about what’s going on in Orange County, there are two easy ways to keep up to date on breaking news and alerts. 

Sign up for social media alerts from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD). Click here to view OCSD’s Facebook page; click here to view OCSD’s official Twitter page, where you can also follow specific patrols under “You might like.”

Receive local alerts by visiting AlertOC.com to register your cell phone number(s), text number(s) and email addresses. AlertOC is a critical link for residents and businesses to immediately learn of any required actions.

If any kind of incident occurs that is related to the Village, OCSD contacts VMS Security Dispatch, VMS Security Chief Carlos Rojas receives the call and executive management takes necessary action at that time if appropriate, including issuing a Village-wide CodeRED alert.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

The Recreation and Special Events Department invites swimmers to test their mettle by joining the 2022 Lap Challenge to discover whether they can swim the distance from Italy to Greece. 

The total distance, 240 miles, is cumulative over the course of the year. Chart your distance in lengths or laps, using the same measurement each swim session (8,400 laps/16,800 lengths; 35 laps/70 lengths are equal to 1 mile), and check in with the pool attendant each session to log your progress. 

The challenge is open to all residents, runs now through December 23, 2022, and can be done at lap pools 2 and 5 only. 

Call Recreation at 949-597-4273 for more information.

2021 Lap Challenge Results

Congratulations to the 32 swimmers who participated in the 2021 Lap Challenge, attempting to swim from Florida to Cuba (103 miles).

Three swimmers reached or exceeded the goal:

• Richard Fairweather, 120 miles
• George Yeh, 117 miles 
• Heidi Fisher, 106 miles

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

The El Toro Water District (ETWD) thanks Laguna Woods Village residents for being good water stewards and for conserving water. The recent rain and snow will help ease drought conditions but we still must work together to use water wisely, which is why the water district is asking all customers to voluntarily reduce water usage by 15%. For more information and ways to use water wisely, please see ETWD’s winter newsletter.

To learn more about ETWD and its commitment to the community, visit etwd.com or call 949-837-0660. 

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What’s more fun than listening to music from your favorite decades? Tap dancing to your favorite tunes! Standing, sitting or using your assistive walker or cane—as long as you feel the beat, you’re tap dancing! 

The Recreation and Special Events Department and instructor Laura Fremont present “Tap Dance & Rhythms” Thursdays starting January 13 in the Clubhouse 5 fitness room from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m.

Enjoy basic warmup and easy exercise, practice rhythms to stretch your mind and inner dancer, and then learn a routine to engage your creative/performance skills. Stay an additional 20 minutes to challenge your dance with speed and augmented moves. Connect to your inner Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. 

Purchase a punch card at the Clubhouse 5 office or Community Center Recreation office. First class is free; $25 for five classes.

Call 949-597-4273 or email recreation@vmsinc.org for more information.

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