Newport Beach

What has happened to the "Huntington Beach" in the Huntington Beach Independent? You eliminate a popular column (Natural Perspectives) written by Huntington Beach residents, on matters that concern many Huntington Beach residents, and what do we get instead? On Dec. 6, what we got instead was two columns from people who live in Newport Beach, another column from someone who lives in Costa Mesa, and a column on the Newport Beach boat parade from the Daily Pilot. Huntington Beach is also bordered by Westminster and Seal Beach — will they be represented in the Independent next week?

When it comes to shopping for coveted denim, you'll want to check out Solutions the Premier Denim Store at Westcliff Court in Newport Beach. All denim is reduced 20% with a student I.D. through Labor Day. Solutions just received great denim styles, including Hudson's Krista Gold Super Skinny Jeans, a gold metallic stretch denim, black tuxedo denim by Rich & Skinny, AG Stilt jeans, L.A.-based Sinclair, Genetic, Paige and Frankie B. For men,...

Spoiling Newport Beach City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle's bid for the state Assembly, Democratic candidate Bob Rush looks poised to advance to the November general election. Rush and Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) won the most votes in the 74th Assembly District primary race Tuesday. Both were ahead of Daigle, who ran as Republican. The 74th district covers part of Huntington Beach. Mansoor took 43% of ballots and Rush 33%, with all precincts counted for as of Wednesday, according to the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-Costa Mesa) told a conservative group Monday that he believes his Republican opponent in the June 5 primary will bow down to unions and special-interest groups in Sacramento. During a Surf City Tea-sponsored forum in the Huntington Beach Central Library, Mansoor said Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle, who is running against him in the 74th Assembly District race, supports unions and raising taxes. "That's a clear difference between me and my opponent, who calls herself Republican," he said.

Vic and I attended the Newport Beach Film Festival this past weekend. Naturally, Vic and I focused on environmental documentaries. We saw three films, "A Fierce Green Fire,""Last Call at the Oasis,"and"Bitter Seeds. " "A Fierce Green Fire" is based on the book of the same name. The film explored the history of environmentalism from John Muir's failed attempt to save the Hetch Hetchy valley north of Yosemite from being dammed, up to today's battle to slow global warming.

Chase Wilson, welcome to the big time. While Wilson's rise in the ranks in the Assn. of Surfing Professionals' Juniors events is no secret, he took a major step last weekend just a few miles north of his Newport Beach home in the ASP Vans Pier Classic on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier. Wilson, 21, found himself in the final heat of the Vans Pier Classic with a couple of San Clemente surfers: Nathan Yeomans, 30, and Chris Ward, 33, as well as Santa Cruz's Nat Young, 20. "It means a lot," Wilson said.

NEWPORT BEACH - Emotions ran high on Senior Night for the Newport Harbor High girls' water polo team. Senior captain Presley Pender said Coach Bill Barnett even got a bit emotional before Wednesday night's big Sunset League finale against Edison. "He told us he's never coached a team that's worked so well together and played as a team," Pender said. "That's a huge compliment. I mean, he's a legend and he's telling us that ... He started to tear up. It was a sentimental moment.

Sean Collins, a Hall of Fame surfer whose online company revolutionized the way surfers tracked waves, has died at the age of 59. Collins, the founder, president and chief forecaster of surfline.com, suffered a heart attack while playing tennis Monday and died at Hoag Hospital shortly afterward. Surfer magazine named Collins one of the 25 most influential surfers of the century in 1999. He was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach in 2008. In 1995, Collins founded surfline.com, which features free surf reports from around the world.

Editor's note: Michael Miller wrote this article on author and columnist Christopher Hitchens when he visited Newport Beach in 2005. Hitchens died Thursday at age 62. This time last year, Christopher Hitchens was in Kabul, Afghanistan, checking up on the country's progress since the overthrow of the Taliban. Despite the ongoing violence in that impoverished nation, the British author and columnist found at least one thing to cheer him. "The first thing I did was go to a bar," Hitchens told a crowd of high school students Saturday at Newport Beach Public Library.

In a key battle that determined the a co-leader in the Sunset League boys' water polo race, host Newport Harbor edged Huntington Beach, 11-9, on Oct. 19. Noah Harrison scored four goals, Jovan Jeremic and Scott Schultz scored twice, John Lovat scored once and Brandon Lucia had seven saves for the Oilers, who are ranked fourth in CIF Southern Section Division 1. The Sailors, ranked second in Division 1, got a game-high six goals from junior Curtis...