Featured Articles from the Daily Pilot

NEWPORT BEACH — Sitting on an oversized plush chair in baseball legend Chuck Finley's Newport Beach home, actress Tawny Kitaen seems to be in a much different place than she was eight years ago. A soccer goal is visible in the backyard, and her daughter's art covers the refrigerator in the family home. Her adopted dog, Woody, nuzzles Kitaen as she talks about a new off-camera passion: helping others. A volunteer at Kathy's House, a shelter for at-risk women in San Juan Capistrano, and a member of the board of directors at Testimony Life Resources, an alternative counseling center, Kitaen appears to be a far cry from her role as the eccentric star of "The Surreal Life," or the woman battling a dependency on prescription pills on "Celebrity Rehab.

Touring together for the first time in more than two decades, the reunited members of the Beach Boys will catch a new wave into Orange County. The Beach Boys' 50th Anniversary Tour kicked off last month to enthusiastic crowds. As part of their tour of more than 40 cities in the U.S., Europe and Japan, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks are to play at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on June 3. The band recently announced that it soon will come out with a new studio-recorded album of hit-inspired originals, the Beach Boys' first album in decades featuring all of its surviving original members.

Prosecutors on Friday announced charges against two people suspected of being accessories after the fact in a complicated double-murder case that rattled a Costa Mesa apartment complex in May 2010. The suspects were arrested and charged in connection with the murder of Samuel Herr, 26, of Costa Mesa and Herr's friend, Irvine resident Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23. Police, however, have declined to publicly name the new suspects or describe their alleged roles in the case. "The release of more information at this stage of the ongoing investigation may compromise witnesses and/or may jeopardize the possible arrest of any additionally involved persons," Costa Mesa police Lt. Tim Schennum wrote in an email.

About 150 community members attended a memorial for Piecemakers founder Marie Kolasinski at the group's Country Store in Costa Mesa on Friday afternoon. Wearing suits, overalls and even a clerical collar, a wide range of attendees sat around gingham-topped tables and shared a full Thanksgiving-style meal prepared by the Piecemakers, a Christian group that runs the Adams Avenue store and lives communally in Mesa Verde. Kolasinski, who died Monday at age 90, was remembered as a fiery and energetic government critic who also cared deeply about faith and her children.

At the beach, in a backyard hammock or late at night in bed, dog mysteries are a fun way to spend your summer reading hours. Several authors have made dogs an integral part of their writing, and if you enjoy a lighthearted mystery, these may be a perfect way to while away the summer. “Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery” is the first in a new series by Spencer Quinn . This debut is narrated by Chet, canine detective, and his partner, Bernie Little, of the Little Detective Agency.

An expanded Apple Store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach now offers local businesses a "briefing room," a store spokesman said Tuesday. The private room is intended for those who want to introduce their employees to new Apple products and features. Appointments with a store consultant can be scheduled through the store's website, said Apple spokesman Nick Leahy. The Apple Store had previously occupied a 7,500-square-foot space in Fashion Island near Macy's. It re-opened in a more than 10,000-square-foot space in the Nordstrom wing Saturday.

Ralph Grajeda has resigned after four seasons as Vanguard University baseball coach. Grajeda, who said he would pursue another coaching job, was 98-95, 64-76 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Lions finished 2012 at 23-21. In 2010, Grajeda led the Lions to an at-large berth in the NAIA Opening-Round Tournament. The team was ranked in the top 25 for most of the regular season and finished 34-20. The Lions missed the postseason the last two seasons. "Vanguard University afforded me the opportunity to learn and grow as a head collegiate baseball coach in the toughest conference in the NAIA," Grajeda said in a statement.

Sailors reflected on their sport's ever-present dangers as they returned from Ensenada on Monday, two days after fellow competitors perished in an apparent collision. The tragedy reminded them to sail with experienced crew members and craft a careful night watch plan, local racers and experts say. The three confirmed deaths were the first in the 65-year history of the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race. A fourth crew member of the Aegean, the doomed 37-foot sloop from Long Beach, is still missing and presumed dead.

The accused "Snowboarder Bandit" was charged Tuesday with 12 felonies related to a string of Orange County bank robbers, authorities said. Michael Brandon Franks, 29, of Riverside County is allegedly responsible for robbing 10 area banks, including branches in Newport Beach and Irvine, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. He has been charged with 10 felony counts of second degree robbery and two felony counts of attempted robbery. Prosecutors said in each case Franks wore clothing similar to what a snowboarder would wear, including a beanie, and slipped the bank teller a note saying he had a gun and demanded money.

A Newport Beach man's female relative accidentally stumbled upon child pornography on disks she thought were blank, court records allege. But instead of Alex Bassinne's disks being usable, she found two videos on them - one depicting a girl believed to be between 10 and 12 who was performing oral sex - according to a search warrant affidavit. Bassinne, 50, faces up to nine years and four months in state prison for the three felonies of which he stands accused, including possession of child pornography and lewd acts with a child, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

In its prime, Jan Bringgold's 1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn convertible starred alongside Debbie Reynolds in the 1963 romantic comedy "My Six Loves." It's curvaceous body appeared in various product ads throughout the 1960s, and it once belonged to the DuPont family. Sadly, unlike its Hollywood starlet costar, the car has not aged well. "After my husband died, we didn't really know what to do with it, so we just let it go, let it go, let it go," Bringgold said, referring to herself and her two daughters.

Marisa O'Neil One of the state's priciest cities also has the lowest percentage of residents who identify themselves as multiracial, according to a report released Friday. "California's Multiracial Population," a study by the Public Policy Institute of California, listed Newport Beach as its "least multiracial" city, with 1.7% of its population checking more than one box to describe their ethnicity on the 2000 census. That year was the first in which respondents were allowed to select more than one race, including "some other race," on the census.

NEWPORT BEACH — The Shore House Cafe, a 30-year-old Balboa Peninsula icon, filed for bankruptcy this month, public records show, but is still open for business. Stephen Madoni, a Newport Beach attorney representing Shore House and Chief Financial Officer David Beladonna, called the move a "reorganization," but did not offer further comment. Shore House Cafe Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Court, Central District, on June 23, according to court filings reviewed by the Daily Pilot.