Strip Mall

A Huntington Beach man was convicted Thursday of driving on a suspended license, hitting another driver and causing the victim severe injuries, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. Oscar Paz, 32, was found guilty of one felony count of hit-and-run, causing permanent injury, prosecutors said. He faces a maximum of four years in state prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled on Sept. 21, according to prosecutors. The victim suffered brain and spinal injuries, can't walk or talk and is in constant pain, prosecutors said.

A Huntington Beach man pleaded not guilty last week to charges that he drove on a suspended license and hit another driver, causing him severe brain injuries, then left the scene, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. Oscar Paz, 31, was allegedly speeding in his Volkswagen Jetta around 5 a.m. Dec. 11 on the 22 Freeway when he rear-ended 66-year-old G. Krishnan's Nissan Pulsar. Paz's license had been suspended when he failed to appear in court for a speeding ticket.

Those who want war should see its effects I'm a veteran of World War II. Your letter writers and readers who want a war with Iraq should be required to visit a veterans' hospital. My leg was broken in 1945, and I put in some time in the naval hospital near Pearl Harbor. People who want war should have to see the results of a war. I did not see combat duty, but I saw men and women who were suffering. A nurse told me that a high percentage of the patients had died.

Eron Ben-Yehuda HUNTINGTON BEACH -- One of the few remaining retailers at the Huntington Beach Mall has threatened to file a lawsuit against the developer, which is helping to delay the much-anticipated renovation of the beleaguered shopping center. As a tenant since 1995, Burlington Coat Factory wants to be a part of the developer's new vision for the aging center at the corner of Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard, said Aviv Tuchman, the company's attorney.

GAINS Boulevard dialogue Beach Boulevard, the commercial spine of Surf City, could use a make-over, and city officials want the public's opinion on the right look. The city will hold public workshops Nov. 4 and 5 to discuss the possibilities. Standing up Downtown A group known as Huntington Beach Cares stepped up after the City Council last week formally adopted the power of eminent domain over Downtown residential property. The group must gather 10,000 signatures by mid-November to qualify for a March ballot referendum.

Is Huntington Beach ready for more density, walking to work and biking to the store? Redevelopment firm Red Oak Investments thinks so. The company’s upcoming Ripcurl project offers just that. Nestled between the Bella Terra shopping center and Golden West College, the proposed first mixed-use apartment project in the city would provide luxury apartments more reminiscent of the Playhouse District in Pasadena than of anything on Edinger Avenue. With an environmental impact report released for public comment, the project has inched closer to a reality.

Mary Furr Next to a good cup of coffee or a thick hearty soup, the most welcome sight in a restaurant is the chef at work in an open kitchen, which is what greets you as you enter Mangia Mangia. Located on the Goldenwest side of a strip mall dominated by Expo on Edinger Avenue, it's a double storefront from which chef Giuseppe Cafalu could be seen at the grill as co-owner brother Pietro led us to a table. It was from the daily specials on the black board that we selected our entrees, each served with an exceptionally varied green salad -- red leaf, feathery frise, oak leaf and baby spinach with a light dressing -- just the variety of texture and color is an indication of the excellent preparations to come.

Doug Tabbert Surf City Island Grill is less than 30 days old and has already carved a scrumptious South Pacific epicurean niche about a mile inland from Pacific Coast Highway. But the rice bowls are only slightly more popular than the pizzas and toasted submarine sandwiches. After ordering a Polynesian platter ($8), basically a large rice bowl, I meandered past carved tiki statues and masks to a corner table and settled into a comfortable wicker chair.

Doug Tabbert Walking into this new restaurant under a banner trumpeting its nascent state -- another Italian restaurant in another modest Huntington Beach strip mall -- one will soon be pleased by the casual elegance that fills this new moderately priced restaurant. After a couple pieces of complimentary bruschetta -- toast slices covered with zesty tomatoes, olive oil and basil -- and plenty of warm focaccia, astute diners will be infused with optimism.

Surf City's plan to become a tourist destination seems to be working. The hospitality industry in Huntington Beach grossed nearly $8 million in June and July. That's 15% more than last year and more than double what it grossed in 2002, according to hotel tax information. The numbers are encouraging. City officials and Doug Traub, president of the Conference and Visitor Bureau, have been marketing the city across California and the nation as a great place to vacation.