Rearview Mirror: OC Week in Review

Sunday (08.09.15)

Restaurant gets reality TV boost

Brix, a Sunset Beach restaurant, became the subject of an episode of “Bar Rescue,” a Spike TV series in which consultants offer makeovers for struggling bars and eateries. Owner Rick Reich, who said sales had dropped significantly at his Sunset Beach location after he opened a second bar in Long Beach in August 2013, ended up changing his decor and adding a cocktail menu to appeal to millennials. (Huntington Beach Independent)

Fire destroys Fountain Valley home

Two people were displaced Sunday night after a fire, started by explosions from small propane tanks, destroyed their Fountain Valley home. Fire personnel responded to a report of the blaze at about 10:15 p.m. in the 10000 block of Oriole Avenue and found the garage and a travel trailer engulfed in flames, said Battalion Chief Ron Cookston. The flames took 30 firefighters about 45 minutes to knock down. Units from the Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa and Garden Grove fire departments participated. (Huntington Beach Independent)

Monday (08.10.15)

Man pleads guilty to plan to join ISIS

A 21-year-old man from Orange County pleaded guilty to attempting to join the militant group Islamic State, also known as ISIS, authorities said. Adam Dandach, also known as Fadi Fadi Dandach, will face up to 25 years in federal prison for trying to travel to Syria in order to join the designated terrorist organization, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. The Orange resident was arrested on July 2, 2014, at John Wayne Airport as he tried to board a plane to Istanbul. Following his arrest, Dandach pleaded not guilty and has remained in federal custody without bond. (Los Angeles Times)

Tuesday (08.11.15)

No reprimand for Newport councilman

The Newport Beach City Council decided after two hours of discussion that Councilman Scott Peotter should not face formal reprimand for his recent email criticizing same-sex marriage. Keith Curry had asked his fellow council members to consider a resolution censuring Peotter for his use of a photo of the city seal on an email sent following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriages nationwide. However, Mayor Pro Tem Diane Dixon presented a softened version of the original resolution that did not censure Peotter but disassociated City Hall and the council from his comments. (Daily Pilot)

Beach on guard after shark sighting

Junior lifeguards were removed from the waters off Huntington Beach when a 6-foot great white shark was reported about 40 yards from shore shortly before noon. A surfer followed the shark for more than a minute near the surfline by lifeguard Tower 1 on the south side of the pier, said Huntington Beach Marine Safety Lt. Claude Panis. The surfer paddled by the shark, which was estimated to be 1 to 2 years old, and managed to scare it away, Panis said. Since the shark was not aggressive, the beach and water remained open, but the junior lifeguards were kept out of the water for the rest of the day. (Huntington Beach Independent)

Wednesday (08.12.15)

Four questioned in theater incident

Four young people who revved a leaf blower at a fast-food restaurant in Irvine shortly vefore a similar incident caused a panic in a Newport Beach movie theater turned themselves in and are cooperating with investigators, police said. Detectives have been interviewing the four and determined that at least one of them went to a Saturday night screening of “The Gift” at Edwards Big Newport 6 cinema, where an intruder raised a leaf blower above his head and yelled, prompting frightening moviegoers to flee, Newport Beach police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said. “It appears they were trying to lead people to believe there was a weapon,” Manzella said. (Daily Pilot)

Suspect booked after hit-and-run

A 36-year-old man turned himself in to police in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Newport Beach the previous night that left a 14-year-old girl in critical condition. Anthony Michael George was booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, police Lt. Jeff Brouwer said. The girl was struck on her bicycle shortly before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at East Bay and Anade avenues. Authorities described her as a resident of San Carlos. (KTLA)

New surface at school tennis court

A long-awaited resurfacing project at the Laguna Beach High School tennis courts has begun. Crews will repair cracks, smooth surfaces and improve drainage on five of the six tennis courts that are used by residents and high school teams. Six on-street parking spaces and part of a sidewalk along Park Avenue will be closed for the project’s duration to give crews enough room to replace stucco bordering the courts, Jeff Dixon, Laguna Beach Unified School District’s facilities director, wrote in an email. The district and city are each contributing money for the $611,000 project as part of their joint-use agreement. (Coastline Pilot)

Thursday (08.13.15)

Police cleared in arrestee’s death

Costa Mesa police officers were cleared of criminal wrongdoing in a deadly encounter last year with a man who prosecutors say had caught authorities’ attention because he tried to blackmail his girlfriend’s ex-husband during a custody dispute. Julius “Jay” Pinson, 48, was wrestling with two officers trying to arrest him moments before he raised a revolver to his head and shot himself while one of the officers fired a round into Pinson’s chest almost simultaneously, according to a letter released by the Orange County district attorney’s office. Either gunshot would have been fatal, but coroner’s officials ultimately ruled Pinson’s death a suicide, investigators wrote. (Daily Pilot)

Friday (08.14.15)

Three lab workers hospitalized at UCI

Three workers at UC Irvine were sent to the hospital as a precaution after becoming ill from a foul odor in a campus laboratory. The odor surfaced on the third floor of a biochemistry building at 517 Biological Court, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said. Some time shortly after midnight, two UCI students were conducting separate research in the building. The students called facility maintenance after they left the building, and a five-member crew arrived to examine the laboratory. (Daily Pilot)