Christmas Eve

Huntington Beach resident Ralph Abinader was killed Dec. 24 after the driver of the Ferrari he rode in crashed into a tow truck on East Coast Highway in Newport Beach. The driver, whose name has not been released, was going westbound on East Coast Highway, near Jamboree Road, in a Ferrari at an excessive rate of speed when he jumped the center divider and crashed head-on into the tow truck that was driving eastbound, said Newport Beach Sgt. Steve Burdette. The Ferrari split into two and caught fire.

Venetian holiday cruise While the Huntington Beach Philharmonic?s Cruise of Lights is fun and beautiful, it doesn?t lend itself to the personal romantic experience. For more of a date-like trip to see the twinkling lights of Huntington Harbour homes, try a Sunset Gondola Cruise. The gondolas can take up to six people on a cruise through the sparkling waterways and channels of the harbor.Sunset Gondola is at 16370 Pacific Coast Hwy. Tickets range from $77 for a trip for two to $133 for a six-person excursion.

HAPPENINGS A traditional treat "The Nutcracker" runs through Christmas Eve day at Golden West College. B1 ALSO: World-renowned jazz guitarist Peter White plays Huntington Beach Sunday. B1 John Volo samples the warming foods of Java City Cafe. B5. Tom Titus lauds his top pick at the Huntington Beach Playhouse in 2004. B3 CITYSCAPE Fat fine The Orange County Sanitation District faces a possible $160,000 fine for a sewage spill that dumped nearly 1.6-million gallons of treated wastewater in the Santa Ana River.

Calvary Chapel of the Harbour, until recently the only church in Sunset Beach, has officially opened at its new home in Huntington Beach. The church held its first Sunday service last weekend at Peter's Landing Marina, 16400 Pacific Coast Hwy., and has a Christmas Eve service with Victorian-style carolers planned for 6 p.m. Friday, said Kathleen Pedick, the wife of Pastor Joe Pedick. "It was a very exciting and emotional time, just to see the people flood in," she said. The church, which operated since 2003 out of the Sunset Beach Women's Club, began the process last year of seeking city and state approval to move to the spot at Peter's Landing Marina formerly occupied by the Red Onion restaurant.

GAINS LOOKING TO THE FUTURE We ushered in a new year -- and said goodbye to the 1900s. The last century saw the shaping of the Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley communities. We look forward to what the years ahead bring. GOING TO THE PEOPLE Mayor Dave Garofalo wasted no time in keeping his promise to "take City Hall to the people." He spent an hour serving up sandwiches at Lucci's deli last week, taking orders and comments from his constituents.

Torus Tammer HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The calendar event of the year for the Sts. Simon & Jude Catholic Church happens Sunday. Father Christian Mondor, the church's vicar, said this banner occasion is a large undertaking, adding that Christmas Eve holds in store a lot of work for many people behind the scenes -- who will be busy organizing the logistics for services beginning at 4 p.m., running every two hours and ...

Police have identified 18-year-old Luicci Nader of Huntington Beach as the driver of the Ferrari that crashed on East Coast Highway near Jamboree Road on Christmas Eve. Nader, who remains in critical condition at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and is unable to speak, was driving the sports car west on East Coast Highway with his relative, Ralph Abinader, 24, in the passenger seat about 5:12 p.m. Dec. 24. Police said the Ferrari, a gray 2008...

Rainbow Disposal plans to hold its annual recycling of Christmas trees from Monday through Jan. 14 to coincide with regular trash service at no extra cost. The trees will be recycled into mulch. Rainbow officials ask that customers remove ornaments, hooks, light strings, tinsel and stands and place the tree with household trash on the regular collection day. The maximum height is 6 feet. Trees that are taller than 6 feet must be cut into sections.

St. Bonaventure Catholic Parish officials were greeted by an unpleasant display when they arrived for mass Sunday morning to find the church's nativity scene vandalized. St. Bonaventure Business Manager Nancy Cesar said the damages, which were discovered at approximately 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning, included drawings of 666, a swastika, phallic symbols, writings of "Hail Hitler" and curse words on the nativity figures in Sharpie marker. A recent Los Angeles Times article reported another nativity display at a Huntington Beach home was also defaced.