It's pretty fun to dispense your own froyo at countless Southland yogurt shops, so imagine how kickass it is to pour out your own beer from self-serve taps. It's not so theoretical: Recently two OC sports-themed bars (run by the same company) revealed they'll have self-serve taps, and there's an already-up-and-running L.A. spot where you can pour your own at your table. more ›

Three bodies were recovered from the water among the ruins of a yacht early this morning near the Coronado Islands off the coast of Mexico. The skipper of the Redondo Beach-based yacht Theo Mavromatis and his crew were racing 212 other boats in a 125-mile race from Newport Beach to Ensenada. more ›

Calling all whale watchers, surfers, and sunbathers who also like to smoke: Starting today, if you're going to light up a ciggie in Newport Beach, it's going to have to be beyond 100 feet of the city's parks and beaches. more ›

That's right. The famous (or infamous) Newport Beach spot for the most gnarly of waves - The Wedge - is rubbing winter hibernation from its eyes this week and is ready for surfers, boogie boarders, bodyboarders - basically anyone brave enough to ride its swells and be slammed onto the shore. more ›

A driver who fatally struck a cyclist last year in Newport Beach has been sentenced to serve four years in prison, reports City News Service. Danae Marie Miller, now 23, pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. more ›

Well, it was fun while it lasted, but apparently the notorious "1% tipper" was all made up. The Orange County Register reports that a photo of a receipt showing a $1.33 tip on a $133.54 bill, and a note to the server to "get a real job," was manipulated. more ›

One diner at a Newport Beach restaurant used a recent $133.54 tab to express his disdain for his server's line of work by leaving a 1% tip and a note: "GET A REAL JOB." more ›

Mark McHenry thought that he was developing a rapport with the staff at Landmark Steakhouse where he was a regular customer. That is until he looked through his receipts that identified him as "McStinkyNigger," "McNigShit" and "McCottonwood" He sued them this spring for discriminating on the basis of his race and has settled for an undisclosed amount. more ›

Orca whales have been delighting whale watchers in recent weeks, and a video uploaded to YouTube yesterday shows a pod of the black-and-white beasts breaching off the Newport Beach coast. more ›

Eucalyptus trees have been falling at an alarming rate in recent months, and one of the toppled trees resulted in fatality. On September 15, a eucalyptus tree fell onto the car of 29-year-old Haeyoon Miller, crushing her to death. The incident occurred along the Newport Beach-Costa Mesa border on Irvine Avenue. Public records released on Monday are showing that the city's tree-trimming contractor was well aware that some of the trees were infested by beetles and termites. more ›

SoCal lifeguards might soon be found basking in the limelight in a new reality television show on the Weather Channel. "Southern California Lifeguards" would showcase 13 episodes, featuring lifeguards from Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and San Diego. Though perhaps the last thing television needs is another reality flub, this show would not offer the typical shallow drama of most candidates in its pool. more ›

A controversial life-size statue of a former president placed in a Newport Beach park suffered damage after a botched attempt by a thief to remove it from the site, according to Newport Beach Patch. The statue of Ronald Reagan, approved in January, was unveiled last month. more ›

A Newport Beach jogger did not enjoy a chase during his morning run on Tuesday near the Back Bay. Who or what was chasing him? A coyote. Lucky for Brian Clarkson, the 37-year-old jogger, a man on a horse spotted a coyote running towards Clarkson and his two Yorkie mixes. more ›

The three senior citizens who unknowingly gobbled down brownies containing medical marijuana at a mutual friend's memorial service on Saturday were victims of one of their late friend's favorite treats. After the unsuspecting trio - an 82-year-old man and two 71-year-old women - indulged, all three were hospitalized within an hour of each other after experiencing "nausea, dizziness and inability to stand unassisted." more ›

Brownies are an appropriate treat for memorial services, right? But what about pot brownies? Three unsuspecting senior citizens unknowingly ingested brownies containing medical marijuana during a memorial service for a mutual friend on Saturday, October 8. The trio was admitted to Hoag Hospital post-snack. more ›

A eucalyptus tree took a tumble in Corona Del Mar yesterday, hitting four cars and two homes, according to the Daily Pilot. Fortunately, no one was injured. Normally news of a falling tree is as hyperlocal as it gets. It's the sort of thing you might hear about at a neighborhood council meeting. But this latest development seems unsettling, since it's at least the fourth time falling eucalyptus trees have made news within a few weeks. more ›

Youth, they say, is wasted on the young, and in Newport Beach, it seems an alarming number of the young are wasted on heroin. Authorities there are cautioning locals that there has been in increase in arrests in conjunction with heroin use and sales, according to the OC Register. more ›

Experts are still trying to figure out what would cause a tree to fall on a woman's car while she waited at a stoplight in Costa Mesa. One theory being floated to explain the tragic and freaky accident is that Thursday morning's 3.5 rattler might have loosened the tree. more ›

Firefighters are disputing the accounts of witnesses who were standing by as rescue teams from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa tried to save a woman who was fatally crushed by a towering eucalyptus tree yesterday. Witnesses initially reported that firefighters conducting the rescue operation dropped the trunk back onto the car, which crushed it even further. more ›

Some poor soul went to Fashion Island in Newport Beach recently and lost a couple bra cup sizes along the way. A good Samaritan (or a hilarious prankster who happens to have a spare) posted a picture of the implant in the lost and found section of Orange County's Craigslist on Thursday. more ›

Three Mexican nationals suspected of drug smuggling were arrested aboard a boat off Newport Beach on Sunday after being spotted by lifeguards, according to authorities. The 25-foot panga, reported stolen in Mexico, was reportedly headed to Huntington State State park when it was seized by police, according to ABC Local. more ›

Marc Cross, an experienced 53-year-old kayaker, set out from Newport Beach on Wednesday and did not return. On Saturday night, the Coast Guard suspended its search along the SoCal coast, according to LA Now. more ›

Video footage shows the scope of the effort by emergency personnel, beach-goers and lifeguards to dig out a teenager who found himself buried alive in the sand yesterday afternoon on Newport Beach. Matt Mina and some friends were digging tunnels, but the sand walls collapsed, trapping Mina underneath for an estimated 20-40 minutes. more ›

"To Catch A Predator" host Chris Hansen is having troubles of his own right now, but if he weren't there would be plenty for him to do in Southern California. A Laguna Hills man was arrested yesterday after allegedly tried to meet with a girl he thought was 13 for sex, reports the Daily Breeze. more ›

Beachgoers, beware! After digging himself into a hole in the sand, an OC teen was buried when the pit collapsed, reports the OC Register. The boy, whose name hasn't been released, was trapped for 20 minutes at the beach near the Santa Ana River before rescue crews reached him, shortly after 3:30 p.m. today. more ›

Victims of a recent string of bicycle thefts and car break-ins in one Newport Beach condo complex are hoping investigators can nab the perps who have been upsetting the peace in their parking garage over the past four months. To help describe the two men who are causing havoc at the Villa Balboa, their appearance has been likened to a couple of well-know faces. more ›

Bowing to pressure from city leaders, Newport Beach lifeguards have agreed to a "scaled-down" pension benefits agreement, according to the Daily Pilot. Newport paid approximately $500,000 toward 14 full-time lifeguards' pension plans In 2010. more ›

Newport Beach may be revising their stance on what is allowed and what requires permission at the area's parks and beaches. more ›

Much to the displeasure of his neighbors, 65-year-old Newport Beach-resident Dennis Holland has been restoring a 72-foot yacht in his backyard since he rescued the Shawnee, a 1916-built ketch, from a scrap yard in 2006. more ›

For someone whose latest claim to fame is collecting smutty photos of a disgraced male congressman and threatening to post them online, Andrew Breitbart sure gets a lot of love from Orange County conservatives. Breitbart returned from Weinerville Thursday night to promote his book at the Tea Room at the Newport Beach Golf Course. Breitbart played right into the arms of the crowd which gave him a standing ovation before he even mentioned the title of his book. more ›