Huntington Beach

The bid to bring a large-scale desalination plant to Southern California cleared a major hurdle Friday when water regulators approved a permit for a Huntington Beach facility to turn seawater into drinking water. Connecticut-based firm Poseidon Resources is proposing a seawater desalination plant on a 12-acre site next to a coastal power plant, which is adjacent to a popular state beach. According to the company, it would be the largest such facility in the Western Hemisphere.

State coastal regulators Wednesday criticized and fined a property owner for unearthing artifacts at a 9,000-year-old Native American village site near the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach. In a settlement with the California Coastal Commission, the Goodell Family Trust agreed to pay a $430,000 penalty, rebury artifacts and restore areas disturbed when archaeologists dug a series of pits on the family-owned land on the Bolsa Chica Mesa in 2010. The work was conducted without the state's authorization and without a Native American monitor present, a requirement under state law. State officials said the excavation damaged prehistoric shells, animal bones, scorched rocks and other cultural artifacts that might help determine the boundaries of the 9,000-year-old village and burial site on the mesa, above one of the state's most treasured coastal wetlands.

Sean Collins, an avid surfer and entrepreneur whose self-taught ability to forecast ocean swells changed the way surfers worldwide chase the perfect wave, died Monday after suffering a heart attack while playing tennis in Newport Beach. He was 59. The longtime Seal Beach resident was a founder of Surfline.com, the Huntington Beach company that employs a proprietary prediction methodology to forecast global surfing conditions weeks in advance. Collins' spot-on predictions transformed the sport.

When Santa comes to Southern California, more often than not he's on a boat. We don't have white Christmases, but what we do have can be even better: sandy beaches, comfortable temperatures and the backdrop of spirited holiday boat parades. On Saturday, the 49th annual Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade circling the channel will comprise sailboats, yachts and charters decked out in holiday lights and decorations, blasting music and sporting spirited sailors. The event will kick off with a fireworks show, promptly followed by the two-hour parade and concluding with judging in categories such as best sail, music and spirit.

A pastor and youth soccer coach has pleaded not guilty to charges that he molested an 8-year-old Huntington Beach girl and possessed child pornography. Christopher Raymond Olague, 39, of Westminster was arrested by Huntington Beach police in October after the mother of the girl reported the alleged molestation. Olague allegedly picked up the girl Oct. 5 for a play date at a park with one of his daughters. Instead, he took her to the parking lot of a grocery store and molested her, Huntington Beach Police Lt. Russell Reinhart said.

Two men were shot and killed Tuesday by Huntington Beach police after officers stopped a vehicle in Westminster and heard a gunshot, authorities said. The two officers fired multiple rounds after they heard a shot from inside the vehicle, said Lt. Russell Reinhart of the Huntington Beach Police Department. "I'm not sure if it was aimed at the officers, or who it was aimed at," he said. At least one firearm was recovered, he said. A woman was with the two men who were killed.

SWAMI BHAKTIPADA Built huge Hare Krishna community in West Virginia Swami Bhaktipada, 74, who built a massive farm community in West Virginia and a Palace of Gold that became the crown jewel of the U.S. Hare Krishna movement before scandals and criminal charges led to his downfall, died Monday in India. Bhaktipada had been hospitalized in July in Thane, India, with various ailments, said spokesman, former disciple and biographer Henry Doktorski. Under Bhaktipada's leadership, the New Vrindaban community near Moundsville, W.Va., grew into what at one time was the nation's largest Hare Krishna community with more than 600 followers.

The tallest high school basketball player in California and maybe in the nation is 7-foot-5 Mamadou Ndiaye , a native of Senegal who has been cleared by the Southern Section to play this season for Huntington Beach Brethren Christian. "That's a legit 7-5 without shoes," Coach Jon Bahnsen said. Ndiaye, a junior, attended Simi Valley Stoneridge Prep last season and received a medical hardship waiver from the Southern Section to play this season. His guardians reside not far from Brethren Christian, which competed in Division 5A last season.

A registered sex offender faces 100 years to life in prison after an Orange County jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting four women in his apartment and secretly videotaping the rapes. James Ernest Bledsoe, 30, of Huntington Beach was found guilty Thursday of multiple sex crimes. He was accused of luring intoxicated and drugged women to his apartment, where he forced them to have sex while secretly recording them on video. Prosecutors used his own videos to demonstrate the lack of consent on the part of the women, whom he picked up in local bars.

It was impossible to tell if Molly Godiva really had any interest in being champion surf dog. What was clear was that she was having a pretty good time Sunday, trying to drag her owners into the water and barking at any dog playing catch nearby. "She's real quiet at home," her owner Tom Maioli said. "She's excited. " In just a few minutes the 8-year-old chocolate Lab would be competing for the first time at the Surf City Surf Dog competition in Huntington Beach, along with at least 22 other canines, including several seasoned competitors.