2013 OCR Slider Archive Stories

PASADENA – Sitting in a tractor from the Disney-Pixar film "Cars," 16-year-old Sammy Heyser could hardly believe her luck. She was the sole winner of a Radio Disney contest that gave her the opportunity to sit high atop the Disneyland Resort's floral float Tuesday morning in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. It was the Anahe

Connor Smith, dressed as an elf, walked shivering out of the 53-degree water on the north side of the Huntington Beach Pier after a quick dip. "Very cold," said the 11-year-old from Huntington Beach, barely able to speak words through chattering teeth. "I'm still tingling." Smith and a few hundred took the plunge or watched from

An interactive look at various proposals and what was finally approved.

DANA POINT – In 12 years as captain of a whale-watching boat, Tom Southern has seen nothing like it. For the past four days, a fin whale has been "mugging" sightseers on several Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari boats.

Servite won their first Trinity League game in two years with a 51-43 victory over Santa Margarita. The Friars were led by Neil Pauu’s 15 points. Interviews with Pauu, Louis Juego, and head coach John Morris. Video by Jonathan Khamis, OCVarsity.com.

Also: Obama offers GOP cuts; Finishing the fiscal cliff package

Nobody died on Orange County roads during the long New Year's holiday, but California Highway Patrol officers arrested 71 people on suspicion of driving drunk. That was up from 57 arrests during last year's holiday period, but the comparison is not really apples to apples. New Year's Day fell on a Sunday last year; this year, the holiday

Also: Gov. Brown tries to move forward at a standstill; From the cliff to the mountain

Thanksgiving was a blessing in more than one way for Kristin Vitale and her husband, James. After a grueling adoption process, mountains of paperwork and three expensive trips to Russia, the Newport Beach couple finally brought home Kristina, 9, and her brother, Kirill, 6, from an orphanage tucked away in Vyborg, a town near St. Petersbu

ANAHEIM – A man in his 20s was pronounced dead early Friday after he was struck by the driver of an SUV, authorities said. The incident was reported at 11:57 p.m. Thursday in the eastbound lanes of Lincoln Avenue over the 57, said Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn. "Officers were called there because a vehicle struck a pedestria

Is a surfing beach bordering San Clemente an American treasure that should be listed in the National Register of Historic Places? That's what the Surfrider Foundation hopes to do – get Upper Trestles, Lower Trestles and five other strands at San Onofre State Beach rated as important by the National Park Service. It may not seem a t

At Straightline Tactical in Anaheim, Don Zappone specializes in handguns and rifles for self defense and target shooting. Many of the all-black rifles in particular have a military look – but don't call them assault weapons. "Assault weapons are already illegal in California," he said. It's a term that means different thing

Take a look back at the 2013 cartoons of Steve Kelley, King Features and Rick McKee, Cagle Cartoons

The second game of the battle for L.A. went like the first one did. The Clippers defeating the Lakers 107-102. Kevin Ding and Dan Woike dissect the game. Video by Jonathan Khamis, for OCRegister.com. Click here to view video

The Great Train Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center attracted people of all ages; it's the biggest exhibit it features in the country as it includes 150 exhibits and displays. "We expect anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 people this weekend," said Bill Grove with Great Train Expo. "There's stuff for everyone to enjoy here." The expo

Richard Milhous Nixon had a fascination with foreign lands. During his presidency and vice-presidency, he globe-hopped, making his famous trip

Also: Bush tax cuts gets a trim; Pilot flying high

Marine safety and boating authorities are trying to figure out how best to remove a 28-foot-boat that is lodged in the sand in Laguna Beach after it ran aground Sunday. The owner was arrested on suspicion of operating a vessel while intoxicated. Harbor Patrol's attempts to tow the boat from its spot at Cleo Street Beach were unsu

SANTA ANA – Todd Spitzer returned Monday to the Orange County Board of Supervisors and wasted no time making some of his positions known. Minutes after being sworn in on the steps of the Old County Courthouse, Spitzer bemoaned "a decade of stagnation and the squandering of more than $220 million" on the Orange County Great Park, a

Also: California's New Year's resolution; A spending victory

SAN CLEMENTE – Captain Jack Van Dyke was under pressure. He had been sailing the Clemente, a 65-foot sportfishing boat out of Dana Point, for nearly three hours Saturday night, and his fish scope hadn't beeped once. More than 30 anglers were onboard, lured by recent news of huge Humboldt squid being fished abundantly off th

After a brief interlude of warmer temperatures, Orange County is in for another bout of cold weather, likely accompanied by rain and mountain snow. High-pressure air reaching out from the eastern Pacific should keep skies mostly sunny Tuesday, with inland highs of 68 to 73, and highs of 62 to 67 on the coast, the

Two baby gray whales were spotted this week by a charter boat in Dana Point, an unusually early debut for calves that are more commonly born in warmer waters in Baja. The season's first sighting, about a mile and a half off shore in Dana Point on Sunday, was a 10-foot-long calf making its way south with its mother, according to a natural

A string of robberies were reported late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning at gas stations across Buena Park and Fullerton and into Los Angeles County. Robbers targeted Chevron stations at Valley View Street and La Palma Avenue and at Beach Boulevard and Orangethorpe Avenue in Buena Park as well as Arco stations at Euclid Street

IRVINE – The Irvine Police Department on Tuesday put its new patrol vehicle, the SUV-sized version of Ford's new Police Interceptor, on display at City Hall. Irvine is replacing the iconic Crown Victoria Police Interceptor sedans, which Ford has phased out of production, with the new Interceptors. Ford also makes its new police veh