Seal Beach

Just over a year after a man stormed into a Seal Beach salon and began firing, killing eight people in the small coastal community's deadliest shooting, guests mingled inside a building Sunday  that looked vastly different  from the place where the tragedy unfolded. Salon Meritage has been gutted, its layout drastically altered. At its grand opening Sunday, those involved talked of renewal and of not letting the man accused of perpetrating the crime "win. " "It's a rebirth, not just for the wonderful people who work here but the community," said Fernando Dutra, the contractor on the reconstruction project.

SANTA ANA — The Orange County Grand Jury on Tuesday indicted Scott Evans Dekraai for allegedly murdering eight people and attempting to murder a ninth in what is now known as the county's worst mass murder. The Huntington Beach resident faces eight felony counts of special-circumstances murder and one felony count of attempted murder. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas is seeking the death penalty. Dekraai, 42, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday at Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. He is accused of walking into Salon Meritage in Seal Beach on Oct. 12 with body armor and three guns, allegedly to seek revenge on his ex-wife, Michelle Marie Fournier, whom he fought with over custody of their son. A grand jury indictment means there will be no preliminary hearing, which is a court process where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to go to trial.

The man accused of the 2011 Seal Beach salon massacre is currently under mental evaluation in a jail medical ward after having to be subdued with pepper balls when he attempted to break the windows and furniture in a jail day room. Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County sheriff's department, said Scott Dekraai, of Huntington Beach, was alone in a jail day room used by inmates as an exercise room on Saturday about 2:30 p.m. when he began trying to break the windows, throwing objects and screaming.

An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that a jailhouse informant's recordings that captured the Seal Beach salon shooting suspect talking about the October 2011 mass slaying must be turned over to the defense. Prosecutors had said that the defense was not entitled to the recordings, made shortly after Scott Dekraai, 42, of Huntington Beach, was taken into custody on suspicion of killing eight people in a mid-day 2011 shooting rampage at a hair salon. About 132 hours of secretly recorded tapes were captured between Dekraai and the informant, according to court documents.

Sunset Beach residents said they would rather be annexed by Seal Beach than Huntington Beach — if they have to choose — through a straw vote at a town meeting Wednesday. About 200 people came out to the meeting to learn and talk about the possible annexation of Sunset Beach, Greg Griffin, president of the Sunset Beach Community Assn., said. The small community of 1,200 is facing the prospect of becoming part of Huntington Beach after the Orange County branch of the Local Agency Formation Commission voted to put Sunset Beach under the city’s sphere of influence.

Sunset Beach, the community slated for possible annexation by the city of Huntington Beach, will remain an independent entity unless the community or either of its neighboring cities files an application to the county, an official with the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission said. Earlier this month, the commission voted to place Sunset Beach under Huntington’s sphere of influence, which is a prerequisite for a city annexing a community. However, according to Carolyn Emery, the commission’s senior project manager, the process of annexation can’t begin unless Huntington, Sunset Beach or Seal Beach makes the first move.

An Orange County judge on Friday ordered the release of portions of grand jury testimony in the case against a former tugboat crewman accused of fatally shooting eight people in a two-minute burst of violence last October at a Seal Beach hair salon. Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Goethals told attorneys for accused killer Scott Dekraai, a Huntington Beach resident, that releasing some of the grand jury testimony wouldn't "deny your client a fair trial. " Portions of the transcript, however, will remain sealed when the testimony is released next month, Goethals ordered.

When it came to her sports team, Laura Elody was one of the guys. She bragged when the Raiders, Dodgers or Detroit Red Wings won, but she was lighthearted about it and would never put others' teams down, said her neighbor, Jason Pescevic. "She was just always smiling and a welcoming person," Pescevic said. Elody, 46, was shot to death while styling her mother's hair Oct. 12 at Salon Meritage in Seal Beach. Her mother, Harriet Stretz, 73, was also shot, but was recently released from the hospital.

Our wonderful Chief of Police Ken Small has announced his retirement (" Police chief to retire, May 16 "). It is a sad day for Huntington, as Ken truly cared about the safety of our residents and would often go beyond the call of duty, always answering phone calls and emails. He was approachable, which is a rare quality. Our chief supported the work of Save Our Strays of Huntington Beach and OCSPCA, also a Huntington Beach organization, even though for the most part this city views the group's goals as irrelevant — animals never generate revenue, and we are the only coastal city from Seal Beach through San Clemente that does not have our own shelter.

The following people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. They have only been arrested on suspicion of a crime and, as with all crimes, are considered innocent until proven guilty. Keith J. Johnson, 29, Garden Grove Jason L. Brummett, 24, El Monte Megan E. Kyle, 22, Seal Beach Kellie S. Vigil, 42, Huntington Beach Michael D. Brown, 31, Garden Grove Jose A. Gonzalez, 53, Lake Forest Peter J. Tyrovolas Jr., 35, Huntington Beach Allan W. Mukai, 42, Huntington Beach Frank Lombardi, 57, Costa Mesa Karen H. Hennessey, 39, Huntington Beach Brennan J. Cecka, 23, Scottsdale, Arizona Kathryn B. Logan, 21, Huntington Beach Heath G. Carter, 36, Huntington Beach Kate M. Cooper, 25, Santa Ana Ronald A. Mortvedt, 35, Huntington Beach Jacqueline W. Phillips, 47, Orange Trevor A. Burdge, 19, Huntington Beach Gregory T. Ritchie, 39, Fountain Valley Daniel R. Alvarado, 24, La Verne Gregory E. Richmond, 24, Laguna Beach David O. Humphries, 50, Huntington Beach

Our wonderful Chief of Police Ken Small has announced his retirement (" Police chief to retire, May 16 "). It is a sad day for Huntington, as Ken truly cared about the safety of our residents and would often go beyond the call of duty, always answering phone calls and emails. He was approachable, which is a rare quality. Our chief supported the work of Save Our Strays of Huntington Beach and OCSPCA, also a Huntington Beach organization, even though for the most part this city views the group's goals as irrelevant — animals never generate revenue, and we are the only coastal city from Seal Beach through San Clemente that does not have our own shelter.

On a breezy Saturday morning in the parking lot of Huntington State Beach, Jesus Trujillo was involved in some last-minute preparations before participating in the Huntington Beach triathlon and 5K. The 23-year-old from Rowland Heights had half of his wetsuit on as he used a pump to inflate his bicycle tires before the "Surf City Sprint" started. "I've always wanted to do a triathlon. I've been wanting to do it for years," Trujillo said. "Then one day I was in a bike ride down in Long Beach and saw their poster.

The man accused of the 2011 Seal Beach salon massacre is currently under mental evaluation in a jail medical ward after having to be subdued with pepper balls when he attempted to break the windows and furniture in a jail day room. Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County sheriff's department, said Scott Dekraai, of Huntington Beach, was alone in a jail day room used by inmates as an exercise room on Saturday about 2:30 p.m. when he began trying to break the windows, throwing objects and screaming.

An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that a jailhouse informant's recordings that captured the Seal Beach salon shooting suspect talking about the October 2011 mass slaying must be turned over to the defense. Prosecutors had said that the defense was not entitled to the recordings, made shortly after Scott Dekraai, 42, of Huntington Beach, was taken into custody on suspicion of killing eight people in a mid-day 2011 shooting rampage at a hair salon. About 132 hours of secretly recorded tapes were captured between Dekraai and the informant, according to court documents.

Just over a year after a man stormed into a Seal Beach salon and began firing, killing eight people in the small coastal community's deadliest shooting, guests mingled inside a building Sunday  that looked vastly different  from the place where the tragedy unfolded. Salon Meritage has been gutted, its layout drastically altered. At its grand opening Sunday, those involved talked of renewal and of not letting the man accused of perpetrating the crime "win. " "It's a rebirth, not just for the wonderful people who work here but the community," said Fernando Dutra, the contractor on the reconstruction project.

Jim Harris, Bruce Belcher and Jim Staunton are three of 19 people to be honored during a luncheon Thursday as 2011-12 Distinguished Service and Hall of Fame Awardees from the CIF Southern Section. Harris, who died last October, was named to the Hall of Fame for his 33-year tenure as coach of the boys' basketball program at Ocean View. Belcher and Staunton both received the Distinguished Service award. Belcher spent 36 years at Edison and retired as athletic director in 2010. Staunton, a former principal at Huntington Beach High, retired as CIF Southern Section commissioner in July, 2011.

It's hard to believe that this Friday marks one year. Do you remember where you were when you heard? I was driving back from Los Angeles, on my way to a vigil outside the home of beloved Ocean View High School coach Jim Harris, who would soon die from cancer. My column that next week began with, "The mercury pushed up near 100 degrees throughout the region, the sort of strange, unseasonably arid kind of day that will prompt at least a few to start wondering about 'earthquake weather.' It was a summer day that didn't happen all summer, and the odd, almost-eerie stillness that comes with such an afternoon was obliterated about 1:30 when a gunman in Seal Beach opened fire, killing eight innocent people (and injuring a ninth)

Fountain Valley High is hosting a poker tournament fundraiser at 6 p.m. Saturday at The Center at Founders Village Senior and Community Center, 17967 Bushard St., Fountain Valley. Proceeds benefit all Fountain Valley High programs. For registration and other information, contact Glenn Grandis at (714) 457-3557. * Club volleyball tryout is Saturday Club H Volleyball of Huntington Beach will hold tryout sessions for its 2012-13 season starting Saturday at Golden West College.

Nothing against the U.S. Open of Surfing, which reflects how big surfing has become on a financial level for both sponsors and the pro surfers, but if you want to go to a surfing contest and actually see some world-class surfing without sharing your view with a couple hundred thousand of your best friends, you're in luck. The American Pro Surfing Series is a three-event series, with all three contests being held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier. The first event was held back in April, and event No. 2 will take place Friday and Saturday.

An Orange County judge on Friday ordered the release of portions of grand jury testimony in the case against a former tugboat crewman accused of fatally shooting eight people in a two-minute burst of violence last October at a Seal Beach hair salon. Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Goethals told attorneys for accused killer Scott Dekraai, a Huntington Beach resident, that releasing some of the grand jury testimony wouldn't "deny your client a fair trial. " Portions of the transcript, however, will remain sealed when the testimony is released next month, Goethals ordered.