Santa Monica

Main Street may finally become more pedestrian-friendly if all goes well on a city visit to Santa Monica to study its transformation of the Third Street Promenade. City officials and downtown business people are attending a workshop by Santa Monica city planners to share their experiences of closing Third Street and learn about the challenges involved. The city aborted an attempt to close Main Street in 2004 when members of the Business Improvement District in downtown questioned the move.

Two club teams out of a 10-team field emerged with division championships Saturday at the 25th annual Huntington Beach Veteran?s Day Rugby Tournament at Fulton Middle School in Fountain Valley. The day long event served as the unofficial start to the rugby season in Southern California. In addition, the Southern California Rugby Referees Society used the tournament as a major training and recruitment tool for new and up-and-coming referees. The 25th anniversary of the event made the tournament the longest-running annual tournament in Southern California rugby history.

These people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. They have only been arrested on suspicion of a crime and are considered innocent until proved guilty. Howard L. Parmely, 27, Huntington Beach Allan R. Crouch Jr., 25, Huntington Beach Keith S. Trainer, 41, Huntington Beach Deborah L. Lengele, 52, Huntington Beach Justin R. Sisco, 21, Costa Mesa Andrew L. Stacey, 23, Santa Monica Robert U. Powell, 41, Huntington Beach Aaron R. Mittrick,33, Huntington Beach Daniel J. Basurto, 20, La Puente Delfino E. Hernandez-Lopez, 30, Tustin Dia M. Lusk, 33, Fountain Valley Scott M. Johnson, 22, Bellflower Amber S. Stephens, 21, Huntington Beach Kelly D. Murphy, 35, Huntington Beach Laurence L. Obst, 44, Huntington Beach Geovanny A. Lopez, 25, Long Beach

Eron Ben-Yehuda Labor peace returned to the Boeing Co. last week after one of its unions agreed to a three-year contract, a company spokeswoman said. On Oct. 29, the rank and file of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers approved the new deal negotiated during a "cooling off" period that followed a union vote authorizing a strike, she said. About 1,500 union members who work at Boeing's headquarters near Bolsa Chica Street and Bolsa Avenue will enjoy more job security, better pension and medical benefits, and higher bonuses, said Nick Bacon president of the union's local chapter, district 725. Boeing has not suffered a strike in almost 25 years.

Playing in their first tournament as a team, the girls' Under-10 Division All-Star team out of AYSO Region 143 (Westminster/Huntington Beach) rose to the occasion and finished second overall at the Fountain Valley Hi-5 Tournament held last weekend. The Gold all-stars won their first three matches, beating teams from Pasadena, Corona and Santa Monica. Behind a stingy defense and a high-powered offense, they outscored the three teams by an 11-0 count. In the division final, they dropped a 2-1 decision to North Irvine.

A law regulating street performers in downtown Huntington Beach is in the works and could be brought before the City Council in the coming months. The new ordinance could require downtown street performers to obtain city permits to play music or perform on Main Street and would be based on a similar law in Santa Monica. Many business owners said the ordinance is needed to combat a wave of antisocial behavior downtown, although 1st Amendment concerns linger.

Nearly five years ago, in the summer of 2001 when the city was considering closing Main Street to traffic, we wrote: "The idea of closing down Main Street to automobiles and instead making it a pedestrian thoroughfare has resurfaced, and we believe it's time to make it happen. Sure there will be cries from merchants and others who are afraid of change. Afraid that closing down Main Street to cars will hurt business. But the way to ensure extinction, to ensure that competitive spirit is killed, is to avoid change at all costs.

Dave Brooks A California auto body chain with a shop in Huntington Beach has mysteriously folded , leaving 700 employees without paychecks and more than 2,000 motorists temporarily stranded without their vehicles. Santa Monica-based M2 Automotive Inc. saw its assets seized by creditors on April 18, forcing it to close its 27 locations, including shops in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa. The Huntington Beach branch is now under the ownership of Aaron and Maureen Holmes, who also bought branches in Riverside, Rancho Santa Margarita, Burbank and Redlands.

Bryce Alderton Much has changed in Downtown Huntington Beach since Akira Fukada first became manager at Jack's Surfboards six years ago. Much of it has been for the better, he said. "In the early '80s no one wanted to come down here because it was so run down," Fukada said. "Now there's Pier Plaza and the Ocean Promenade buildings. It has become a renowned spot, people come from all over the world." In an effort to keep the changes Downtown on a positive path the city is now considering creating a Business Improvement District in the Downtown area.

The off-season rumblings and rumors about the strength of the Orange Coast College football team's defense became more of a reality Friday. While the offense continues to experiment with new players in key positions, the Pirate defensive squad appears ready for game day. Relegated all summer to intrasquad practices and scrimmages, the defensive players unleashed themselves during a full-contact scrimmage against visiting Santa Monica in LeBard Stadium at Orange Coast.

Two club teams out of a 10-team field emerged with division championships Saturday at the 25th annual Huntington Beach Veteran?s Day Rugby Tournament at Fulton Middle School in Fountain Valley. The day long event served as the unofficial start to the rugby season in Southern California. In addition, the Southern California Rugby Referees Society used the tournament as a major training and recruitment tool for new and up-and-coming referees. The 25th anniversary of the event made the tournament the longest-running annual tournament in Southern California rugby history.

I had a nice surprise recently in the mail from Frederik Bos of Victorville, a former resident of Huntington Beach. Enclosed with a letter on how much he enjoyed reading about our city's history was a postcard of Huntington Beach dated Sept. 26, 1905. Thank you so much for this piece of early Huntington Beach history. I will treasure it always. This week we are going to look at a former member of our City Council who served from 1940 to 1948. In his campaign of 1944 he said of himself "It is for the best interests of our city, to keep on the job a man who has proven his ability."

Nearly five years ago, in the summer of 2001 when the city was considering closing Main Street to traffic, we wrote: "The idea of closing down Main Street to automobiles and instead making it a pedestrian thoroughfare has resurfaced, and we believe it's time to make it happen. Sure there will be cries from merchants and others who are afraid of change. Afraid that closing down Main Street to cars will hurt business. But the way to ensure extinction, to ensure that competitive spirit is killed, is to avoid change at all costs.

Main Street may finally become more pedestrian-friendly if all goes well on a city visit to Santa Monica to study its transformation of the Third Street Promenade. City officials and downtown business people are attending a workshop by Santa Monica city planners to share their experiences of closing Third Street and learn about the challenges involved. The city aborted an attempt to close Main Street in 2004 when members of the Business Improvement District in downtown questioned the move.

A law regulating street performers in downtown Huntington Beach is in the works and could be brought before the City Council in the coming months. The new ordinance could require downtown street performers to obtain city permits to play music or perform on Main Street and would be based on a similar law in Santa Monica. Many business owners said the ordinance is needed to combat a wave of antisocial behavior downtown, although 1st Amendment concerns linger.

Two touchdowns and a field goal are often not enough to win a quarter in community college football. So it's not surprising that averaging 16.7 points per game last season netted Orange Coast College just two wins in 10 games. The Pirates' offense produced a pedestrian 22 touchdowns last fall, which was up from just 16 in a 4-6 campaign in 2003. But it still wasn't enough to keep Coach Mike Taylor's squad from failing to record its second winning season in the last 11. Taylor, understandably, cites scoring points as a premium this season, though a defense stocked with returners, including three named All-Mission Conference American Division in 2004, should help limit opponents' scoring.

The off-season rumblings and rumors about the strength of the Orange Coast College football team's defense became more of a reality Friday. While the offense continues to experiment with new players in key positions, the Pirate defensive squad appears ready for game day. Relegated all summer to intrasquad practices and scrimmages, the defensive players unleashed themselves during a full-contact scrimmage against visiting Santa Monica in LeBard Stadium at Orange Coast.

Dave Brooks A California auto body chain with a shop in Huntington Beach has mysteriously folded , leaving 700 employees without paychecks and more than 2,000 motorists temporarily stranded without their vehicles. Santa Monica-based M2 Automotive Inc. saw its assets seized by creditors on April 18, forcing it to close its 27 locations, including shops in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa. The Huntington Beach branch is now under the ownership of Aaron and Maureen Holmes, who also bought branches in Riverside, Rancho Santa Margarita, Burbank and Redlands.

These people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. They have only been arrested on suspicion of a crime and are considered innocent until proved guilty. Howard L. Parmely, 27, Huntington Beach Allan R. Crouch Jr., 25, Huntington Beach Keith S. Trainer, 41, Huntington Beach Deborah L. Lengele, 52, Huntington Beach Justin R. Sisco, 21, Costa Mesa Andrew L. Stacey, 23, Santa Monica Robert U. Powell, 41, Huntington Beach Aaron R. Mittrick,33, Huntington Beach Daniel J. Basurto, 20, La Puente Delfino E. Hernandez-Lopez, 30, Tustin Dia M. Lusk, 33, Fountain Valley Scott M. Johnson, 22, Bellflower Amber S. Stephens, 21, Huntington Beach Kelly D. Murphy, 35, Huntington Beach Laurence L. Obst, 44, Huntington Beach Geovanny A. Lopez, 25, Long Beach

DANETTE GOULET A couple weeks ago I was Downtown eating lunch at the new Irish place, Killarney's. We were in the outside eating area because it was a gorgeous day -- the sun was shining, but a light breeze kept it cool. But nothing spoils a great meal in the sunshine like car exhaust, thumping, competing bass from stereos and the braggart revving of motorcycle engines. Those things all have their place, but it shouldn't be Main Street Downtown.