Bella Terra

Costco opened its first store in Huntington Beach at Bella Terra at 8 a.m. Wednesday. It had been more than two years since the warehouse chain officials began planning to open the 7562 Center Ave. location. The store features a gas station, bakery, fresh meat and produce, an optical department, tire center, hearing aid center and food court, among other services. Mayor Don Hansen and Councilman Joe Carchio were among the city officials who attended the grand opening.

An alternative private school set to open in Huntington Beach this year has decided on a location near Bella Terra. Fusion Academy and Learning Center will open its door Dec. 13 at 7755 Center Drive, Suite 400. The school for sixth- to 12th-graders offers students one-on-one classes Monday to Thursday on their own schedules. The school doesn't assign homework, but gives students individual work that has to be done before students leave for the day. The alternative school started in San Diego out of a one-on-one tutoring and mentoring program and has expanded to Mission Viejo and now Huntington Beach.

Huntington Beach police arrested a registered sex offender Saturday after two customers reported he was following them and making suggestive comments at Barnes & Noble at Bella Terra. About 6:30 p.m., a 15-year-old girl reported that Charles Michael Metcalf, 53, of Tustin, was following her around the store, and she went to find her adult sister, who was also inside the store, Lt. Russell Reinhart said. Metcalf then allegedly approached the sisters and began making sexually suggestive comments, and the sisters went to the store manager, who called police.

When Paolo Pestarino purchased his first restaurant five years ago, he was filled with hope. After years of experience as a cruise-line chef and cooking for such popular restaurants as Issay's in Newport Beach, Pestarino, 56, would finally be his own boss. Many business owners in the village, like Pestarino, were thrilled to hear about the construction of the Bella Terra outdoor mall just across Center Avenue, believing that it would draw shoppers to their stores as well, Pestarino said.

Bella Terra is giving Huntington Beach a taste of a traditional white Christmas with a nightly snow shower in its amphitheater. The faux snow falls in 15 shows set to holiday music. Sometimes there is even live music for the show, entertaining children and adults alike. ?They love it, absolutely love it,? said Nicole Peterson of the Bella Terra administration. The snow is a nontoxic foamy substance made up of many of the same properties as toothpaste, Peterson said. The snow is shot from snowblowers on buildings surrounding the amphitheater, where it drifts down for spectators.

The Huntington Beach Planning Commission voted Tuesday night to approve the second complex of apartments and retail near the Bella Terra shopping center in one month. On a 6-1 vote, with only Commissioner Joe Shaw voting no, the commission approved plans for the Village at Bella Terra, a six-story complex with more than 700 apartments above new retailers meant to mesh with the original Bella Terra. On staff recommendation, the commission voted to allow significantly greater density and higher buildings than normal city guidelines.

Narrated by Edward Norton, “Bustin’ Down the Door” chronicles the trials of a group of South African and Australian surfers who revolutionized the sport. The film premieres at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach. Directed by Jeremy Gosch, the documentary looks into the cultural conflicts during the ’70s at the North Shore of Oahu. Surfers Shaun Tomson, Mark Richards, Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew, who is being inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame this year, Peter Townend and Ian Cairns all play roles in the film, which is Gosch’s first documentary.

The Huntington Beach Children’s Needs Task Force will announce the winners of the 2009 Youth Character Awards at 10 a.m. Saturday at Bella Terra. The program honors young people whose lives and achievements demonstrate an enduring commitment to qualities associated with good character. The awards program has honored local students for the past nine years. A select number of nominees will be inducted into the Huntington Beach Youth Character Hall of Fame at Bella Terra.

The Huntington Beach Youth Character Awards will honor youths whose achievements demonstrate a commitment to qualities associated with good character. The ceremony, sponsored by the local Children's Needs Task Force and the city, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Bella Terra. The task force encourages local leaders to work with schools, outside agencies and the police to effectively identify the needs of children and develop an approach through which to meet these needs, according to its website.

A developer with local ties will try to make a long-delayed project - which eventually would bring condominiums, businesses and a hotel to downtown Huntington Beach - a reality. DJM Capital Partners announced in a press release last week that it purchased about 11 acres of the vacant 31-acre site designated for the Pacific City project. It will be the fourth developer to become involved in the project in the last eight years. Pacific City seeks to bring 516 residential units, shops, restaurants and an eight-story hotel to the site downtown on Pacific Coast Highway between First and Huntington streets.

Diane's Beachwear stands to turn a profit for the first time in its three years at Bella Terra, an outdoor shopping center in Huntington Beach. Diane's manager Kati Garcia said the Black Friday and Small Business on Saturday event were a sign of how things have improved for her store and most of the others at the bustling shopping center. "Everyone here was pretty packed," said Garcia, who's worked at the location for two years. "There were lines out the door for almost every store here.

Costco opened its first store in Huntington Beach at Bella Terra at 8 a.m. Wednesday. It had been more than two years since the warehouse chain officials began planning to open the 7562 Center Ave. location. The store features a gas station, bakery, fresh meat and produce, an optical department, tire center, hearing aid center and food court, among other services. Mayor Don Hansen and Councilman Joe Carchio were among the city officials who attended the grand opening.

It's almost time for Surf City residents to shop at their own Costco. After more than two years of talks and planning, the warehouse chain is expected to open its first Huntington Beach store at Bella Terra at 8 a.m. on May 2. "The entire city of Huntington Beach is excited about Costco coming to our community," said Mayor Don Hansen. "We're looking forward to having that option in our city versus traveling to other cities to have the experience they deliver. " For Costco, investing in Huntington Beach has been on the agenda for more than just two years.

THURSDAY Skateboarding Author Jason Ellis, professional skateboarder and author of "I'm Awesome: One Man's Triumphant Quest to Become the Sweetest Dude Ever," signs his book at Barnes & Noble, Bella Terra, 7881 Edinger Ave. Unit 110, Huntington Beach. The free event starts at 7 p.m. For more information, call (714) 897-8781. THURSDAY TILL SUNDAY 'Our Town' The Academy for the Performing Arts presents Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town" at the Huntington Beach High School auditorium, 1905 Main St. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, and tickets are $20 general admission, $15 for students and seniors.

Think of it as "The Bad News Bears" set to Klezmer music. Somewhat like the 1976 comedy film about the national pastime, which starred Walter Matthau as Coach Morris Buttermaker, "The Yankles" is about a washed-up ex-professional ballplayer who makes a comeback of sorts on the baseball diamond. If you watch the trailer to this 2009 independent film made by two brothers from the Huntington Beach area, you might see shades of Buttermaker in Coach Charlie Jones. What's different about this protagonist is that the hopeless players on his team are deeply religious grown-ups with side curls, not bleached-blond Little Leaguers from Southern California who cuss and get into dust-ups.

Someone asked me the other day about the first specific event in my life that I can recall. After pondering for a moment, I realized that it was going to see "Return of the Jedi" at the Brea Mall in the summer of 1983. Of course, I have vague recollections of life before then, but if I had to piece together an actual timeline, it would start somewhere in Jabba's Palace when I was 3 years old. My generation grew up taking "Star Wars" for granted. To people of my parents' generation, who once found "Mary Poppins" state-of-the-art, it was astonishing.

Huntington Beach police arrested a registered sex offender Saturday after two customers reported he was following them and making suggestive comments at Barnes & Noble at Bella Terra. About 6:30 p.m., a 15-year-old girl reported that Charles Michael Metcalf, 53, of Tustin, was following her around the store, and she went to find her adult sister, who was also inside the store, Lt. Russell Reinhart said. Metcalf then allegedly approached the sisters and began making sexually suggestive comments, and the sisters went to the store manager, who called police.