STORIES TO WATCH IN 2009:

The financial markets in crisis have affected three of our top five stories to keep an eye on this year, touching all sectors of the economy. Our list is rounded out by two court cases that will be sure to draw public scrutiny.

1. Retail in peril?

The state of the economy tops the list of both national and local stories to watch in 2009. But the retail sector in Huntington Beach continues to vacillate between gloom and optimism.

Last year, major big-box retailers from Linens N’ Things to Mervyn’s shut their doors, as did as a slew of small businesses. Fire sales became the de rigueur place to purchase everything from housewares to cashmere sweaters.

But stores like Home Depot and Trader Joe’s continued to open new locations, surprising naysayers and inspiring hope that the bottom has been reached.

2. Unarrested development

With the opening of the first store at the Strand mixed-use development in December, a new era of development has begun to move forward — for better or worse.

The other major project downtown is the Pacific City complex. Like the Strand, it will include retail, dining and entertainment venues, a hotel and office space, which it plans to begin opening in phases in the coming years. But Pacific City also plans to include hundreds of million-dollar residences.

The Ripcurl development near Bella Terra was approved in November. It will pair luxury apartments and retail spaces.

Whether the spaces will be sold or leased remains to be seen; the majority of the Strand offices still appear to be unleased, and the housing market has tanked (see No. 4).

3. Texting on trial

The case of 21-year-old Jeffrey Woods has drawn scrutiny nationwide.

The heartbreaking story of 14-year-old bicyclist Danny Oates, who was felled by Woods’ pickup truck, will pick up again next month with a new judge.

Prosecutors allege Woods was texting, speeding and under the influence of Xanax and Vicodin while driving on the residential street.

Although texting while driving was technically legal at the time of the crash, Oates has become an emblem among supporters of a new law that prohibits texting, which goes into effect today.

Woods’ attorney, Scott Well, said his client was experiencing a seizure at the time of the collision.

4. Housing given a new lease

Some experts and pundits say the local housing market has finally bottomed, with hundreds of foreclosures on the market and prices at multi-year lows.

To ease the pain, the City Council has opted in a 4/3 split to purchase foreclosed homes to renovate and resell to locals using an affordable housing program.

They see the program as a win-win situation, by increasing revenues and upping the number of affordable units on the market while repairing potentially decrepit properties.

Critics say the foreclosure market should be left to private industry, and that they city may be left holding the bag for their unsold purchases.

5. A tragedy unfolding

The four children left behind in the October death of Felix Mendez, 32, may see justice this year.

Police arrested Fidelio Marin, 38, and charged him with murder following his teenage daughter’s discovery of his estranged wife, Mendez, stabbed to death in a Starlight Motel room.

Members of the Oak View community have rallied to assist the four children, holding special soccer tournaments and other fundraisers to help normalize their lives.

Marin pleaded not guilty; a pretrial is scheduled for Jan. 30.