Orange County

Surfing to Ring Cash Registers: The U.S. Open of Surfing, the Assn. of Surfing Professionals’ first world-class event on the U.S. mainland since 1991, opens Tuesday in Huntington Beach, and local merchants can hardly wait. The city expects a wave of business from surf fans and corporate affairs hosted by the event’s sponsors, including Sebastian International Inc., a Woodland Hills-based hair products company that is bringing 2,000 distributors to town. Attendance at the weekend finals could soar to 100,000 fans daily. The cash-strapped city will get a boost as beach-goers pay to park in city-owned lots and eat at beachfront concession stands. Diane Baker, president of the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau, said televised coverage of the contest by cable network Prime Ticket “is publicity that you can’t buy.”