San Marcos isn’t sure what its fate will be. Retired dairy land, bedroom community, college town, a place to raise a family, all these possibilities tend to war with each other.

“WOMEN DURING WAR: RESPONSES TO SITUATIONS IN SAN DIEGO, 1941-1945” — KIMBERLY A. HALL, MASTER’S THESIS, SDSU, 1993 When historians write about war, says Kimberly Hall, they usually write about battles, politicians, diplomats, “even military …

Window shopping at Fashion Valley clothing stores is like window shopping at La Jolla art galleries. Commerce has been raised to high culture by an infusion of atmosphere, and shopping has become an event, an …

'Has anybody ever given you French doors before?" The afternoon's particle-beam-intense sunlight reflects off the hood of my truck, makes my eyes squint and forehead sweat. James Perez, a 57-year-old Native American, replies, "Oh, yeah." …

My husband and I are in a rock band. It keeps us married. Well, that and the psychiatrist we see monthly. We used to see her weekly, but after ten years, we’re on the maintenance …

Dear Matthew Alice: My friend told me about something called the Slow Food Movement. She says it's a bunch of people who think we all should slow down and enjoy our food more, but she …

Hey, Matt: As I sat in my car, parked on the highway at the 5/805 merge the other afternoon, a curious thought came into my mind. There must be 10 million cars and trucks on …

A great blue heron ambles on stilt-legs across the reed-fringed shallows, stabbing occasionally at subsurface morsels of food. Nearby, a willowy egret glides in for a perfect landing, scattering concentric ripples across the surface of …

Just before I hit puberty, I think it was sixth grade, our gym teacher corralled us boys into the boys' locker room to see a movie describing the dramatic — not to say traumatic — …

Here are two stories about memory: When Carol Hopkins visited New York as a young woman, her best friend said to her, "Whenever you get into a cab, look at the license number. That way, …

Gang members have a new weapon against the cops in City Heights. Pit bulls. According to police, the teenage own owners walk their dogs on long leashes down such main thoroughfares as University Avenue. It's …

Viewers tuned to the June 12 broadcast of CNN's Larry King Live were treated to an exercise in confusion. King's guests were at such opaque odds, spoke at such broad cross-purposes, that the program seemed …

As the hour drew near for Bill Clinton's Monday night mea culpa, a snazzily dressed crowd from Governor Pete Wilson's lavish birthday fundraiser made its way to the bar at the downtown Hyatt Regency to …

“The emigrants! Oh! Still they come. I never was in my life so annoyed. begging for sugar, flour, and god only knows how they have the face to push such entreaties as they do...."

Dear Matthew Alice: Recently my mom took my son to the Plunge for swimming lessons, and he came home telling me there were "Nazi signs" in the pool. Sure enough, I took him the following …

Matthew: How in God's name did the tune "Turkey in the Straw" become the perennial favorite for ice cream trucks? -- Summertime Dreamer, La Mesa Hey, make that Summertime Screamer. "Turkey in the Straw" has …

To: Matmail: A Mustang is a horse, a Javelin is a spear, a Corvette is a warship. What the heck is a Camaro? -- Joe in E-mailville I haven't a clue what Camaro means, but …

With two steep ravines spanned by quaint footbridges, scores of well-kept, historically significant homes, and mature landscaping, Banker's Hill is a monument to the elegance of the past. The work of early-century architects Irving Gill, …

Imagine that the year is 1930, and you feel like jumping. Your options are limited. You can launch yourself upward a foot or two for a microsecond before gravity pulls you back to the unyielding …

San Diego homicide rates continue to fall, but so do victims. Here are three more recent San Diego cases that remain unsolved, as described by reports from the office of the San Diego County Medical …

What really happened to the late Bill Wiggins on that Friday, July 18, 1997? This much is known by Coronado police: "We discovered the body about 1:35 in the afternoon. And by the time we …

A newspaper from that mammon-by-the-bay, a.k.a. San Francisco, couldn't help chastising San Diego's Union-Tribune last week over an ad for a gay-themed movie called Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss. In a story headlined "Gay near-kiss ad …

Straight to the Lip: Two questions concerning your fine publication. 1) Why are there no staples in your paper? Seems like the Reader always wants to fall apart. Staples are cheap. They would make your …

"Elevation 6000 feet," says the roadside sign posted on Sunrise Highway in the community of Mount Laguna, but a close inspection of a topographic map of the area reveals the road's true height of just …

Just Wondering...: What's the deal with Dreyer's and Breyers? Shouldn't somebody be suing somebody else? -- Bob Chambers, Rancho Bernardo A big food fight in court would be a nice change. Flying butter pecan. Cherry-vanilla …

Dear Matt: Why many street sign in broken English? I can understand trying to put as few words as possible so speeding motorists can quickly get the message. But "End Construction" & "End Landscaping"? These …

Dear Matt: How does scratching temporarily stop itching? -- Milt Elliott, Oceanside The same way smashing your finger with a mallet temporarily stops the pain of a splinter. Distraction. Ergo, itching can also be stopped …

On January 8, the San Diego Common Council passed an ordinance forbidding street-corner gatherings within 49 blocks of the city center. A month later, police arrested 41 men for violating the ordinance.

It was somewhere around then that I started to cry. I don’t mean a few tears now and then (I’d been crying all along, of course). I don’t mean that I cried when I was sad or upset. I mean that I began to weep almost every day.

The woman is sexy but very classy. She is tall, about five feet nine, with tousled brown hair. Her skirt and tight white blouse show off her figure in a way to bring about cardiac …

Secretaries and a janitor crowd around John Hunter in the leafy courtyard of a Carmel Ranch office building. They squeal and whine "I wanna try it! I wanna try it!" like crazed kids and paw …

What's the worst thing an opponent can say about an Idaho politician? That he's from San Diego. Such is the plight of Dirk Kempthorne, GOP nominee for governor. During a candidate's debate, one of Kempthorne's …

Surf, sand, and picturesque bluffs. Salty breezes and the ever-present licorice scent of wild fennel. The rhythmic bumping of your bike tires over the pavement of an old four-lane highway, abandoned save for the occasional …

Matmail: What happens to a colony of ants when the queen dies? Do they have a succession list, an election, do they end it all or what? I had a few thousand visitors, and nothing …

Dear Matt: Sometimes on a cross-country trip I can whiz right by five rest stops without "resting," and at other times I barely make it from one stop to the next without taking a leak. …

Dear Matthew Alice: The first thing I do when I buy a new blouse or dress is tear out the label in the back so it won't scratch me. Why can't clothing manufacturers make labels …

The war between Mexico and the United States began in May 1846 without the full support of Congress. The United States Navy occupied port cities in California, and the Army of the West, led by …

Oscar Goodman, 59, known as "The Big O," the Las Vegas attorney who local papers sometimes dub "The mouthpiece of the mob,"drives his dark Mercedes sports car toward the desert beyond the city limits. He …