Even a bout of rain didn't deter classical music lovers from flocking to Copley Hall for a concert of Richard Strauss's Don Juan, Mozart's Concerto for Harp and Flute, and Debussy's La Mer on Saturday …

Walmart is coming to Encinitas? The rumors have been floating around for over a year, since after the Home Depot Expo store closed at the corner of Leucadia Boulevard and El Camino Real. The rumor …

Odd Blood, the new LP from Brooklyn band Yeasayer, doesn't sound new at all. It's a transporter to the ’80s of big hair and keyboard scarves. The album starts off with a dark, rumbling, experimental …

Despite an effort by residents to protest a pending water-rate increase, the Encinitas City Council on Wednesday February 24 — acting as the board of the San Dieguito Water District — voted 4-1 to approve …

Residents in the coastal areas of Cardiff and Encinitas know that a major remodel and expansion of the older Vons store on Santa Fe Drive (west of I-5) has been planned for over a year. …

These Hopeful Machines is 112 minutes of tasty dance cuts, driving guitars, skyscraping vocals, and the trademark glitches and breakbeats that have made BT a dynamic, creative musical force since the mid-'90s. Beautiful atmospherics, lush …

"Overhead and operating expenses consume almost all the yearly income of your organization," wrote Banker's Hill denizen Leo Wilson in a February 19 email to Carol Schultz, the executive director of Uptown Partnership, the group …

San Blas is an archipelago of 378 smallish islands, home of the indigenous Kuna people, who were driven from the mainland during the Spanish invasion hundreds of years ago. In 1925 the Kuna fought Panama …

I think of Borrego Springs as Baja Palm Springs – all the heat without the glitz – and it’s more fun getting to. I love a Sunday drive down County Road S22 into the valley …

The San Diego Superior Court has launched a new Behavioral Health Court, similar to Drug Court. The purpose of the program is to break the cycle of incarceration for San Diego's mentally ill by providing …

Shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 24, Teri emerged from the shower and thought she smelled burnt toast. Hearing strange sounds coming from Mark's room, she opened his door to investigate and found it …

A local Navy man recommitted to another hitch in the service while standing just behind home plate at Petco Park on the drizzly morning of Monday, February 22. Fire Controlman First Class Jeremy Bondy reenlisted …

The two-year-old state law banning the smoking of tobacco in Baja’s bars, bistros, and restaurants — “Ley Antitabaco” — is being ignored by the patrons who puff. In fact, the absence of enforcement is visible …

The Chula Vista City Council unanimously approved a resolution to adopt a community garden policy on Tuesday, February 23. The program will designate a portion of city-owned land that can be cultivated collectively by a …

The San Diego LGBT Pride board of directors hosted a town hall meeting on Monday, February 22, at their community center in Hillcrest. Representatives spoke of the direction in which the organization is headed and …

San Diego County Animal Control officers arrested a 50-year-old La Jolla resident on Wednesday, February 24, in connection with animal abuse after he brought an injured ten-week-old puppy to an emergency veterinary clinic on Tuesday …

Inside the auditorium at the Metropolitan Wastewater Operations Center in Kearny Mesa, community planners from across the city gathered for the February 23 meeting of the Community Planning Committee to discuss the issue of medical …

Bar Pink is located in the heart of North Park at 30th and University, elbow to elbow with trendy boutiques and eateries and one block west of the Ray Street art studio-galleries. Opened in 2007 …

If there were no world outside their stately home, the Birlings would have it made. Arthur, the patriarch and former Lord Mayor of Brumley, England, might be up for knighthood. His daughter, Sheila, is engaged …

Tiger’s apology lecture probably did more good than bad with sports consumers. Saying that, I did smile when he said “I don’t get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone …

A statue of the Infant Christ wearing a king’s crown stands to the left of the altar at St. Anne’s. Today, the statue also wears a purple robe trimmed with pearls over his usual finery …

Verdant East Canyon tucks into steep, north-facing slopes just below the crest of the Santa Susana Mountains. The canyon receives an average of about 20 inches of rainfall annually — just enough, in an environment …

What are you reading? “Linthead: Growing Up in a Carolina Cotton Mill Village" by Wilt Browning. I picked it up in a thrift store. I was a linthead at one time — when I was …

Because AIDS was slaughtering people left and right, I went to a lot of memorial services that year. There were so many, I’d pencil them in between a movie or a sale at Macy’s. The …

Thursday 25Down with Liberty, Up with Chains. D.C. artiste and internet talk-show host Ian Svenonius’s Chain and the Gang will do time at Casbah tonight. Svenonius (Nation of Ulysses) is an interesting cat, and this …

One thing that’s clear from the start is that Mario Escovedo is not all that comfortable talking about himself. After 13 years of playing guitar and fronting the Dragons, he’s had enough time in the …

“Vinnie Udo did not start Diatribe,” says guitarist Julius, who cofounded the influential all-vegetarian, antiwar punk band with bassist Sean in 1984. “[Vinnie] provided vocals for the band for approximately one year.… He was fired …

“The treatments are completed, and my taste buds are returning, so I’m happy chappy,” wrote North County blues guitarist, harmonica-player, and vocalist Steve White in a February 13 email. It’s been five months since doctors …

Rey Knight’s easygoing persona serves him well Sundays at the Hillcrest farmers’ market as customers linger to sample exotic spiced meats. In the prepared-foods section, Knight hawks sausage and salami. His white apron, stocky frame, …

If a railbird tout gives you a tip on a horse, and you learn that three of the nag’s legs are so fragile they will likely break during the race, you will keep your money …

“It’s not for most people; I wouldn’t recommend it.” I asked Johnny and a selection of other freeway-side dwellers around San Diego County: With all the choices available in “America’s Finest City” (and outskirts), why …

Usually, when a band plays one of their classic albums in its entirety, it’s to mark a tenth anniversary or something like that. And usually the question raised is, have they run out of new …

The Mother Hips can sound a bit like the Eagles or the Byrds or even as psych-rock as Wilco. There are these nice, occasional arena-rock riffs, scaled way down to club size, and now and …

Twenty-year-old coloratura soprano Alize Rozsnyai has been singing since age two, graduating early from Rancho Bernardo High School in 2006 with an album entitled Sweet Sixteen already under her belt. “I still live in San …

After spending much of the winter sick in bed, it’s time for the Kelly family to take some proactive measures to stay well. Eve can’t take any more time off. The housework piles up, the …

Thirty-Five Years AgoKOLCHAK: I have found evidence of a most interesting case of vampirism. Meet me at Colinwood in Collinsport, Maine. Count D. TIM! What do you mean Brennan’s been snooping around the garage? Haven’t …

Major filmmakers, minor films: Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, Shutter Island and The Ghost Writer respectively. “Disturbing” would be one word for the Scorsese, maybe the best word. Leonardo DiCaprio, the director’s torchbearer now in four …

In the late 1640s and 1650s, the Netherlands’ prosperous Golden Age dimmed. Hundreds of businesses failed, and a major recession enfeebled the entire society. Even Rembrandt, renowned and rich, hit a wall, partly of his …

“SDGossipScene is more than understanding when it comes to respecting other’s requests,” says website operator Felicia Canales, “but we find it mind-boggling that photographers, who all supported SDGossipScene, would pull out all at the same …

A pessimist is a man who thinks all women are bad. An optimist is a man who hopes they are. — Chauncey Mitchell Depew With each glass of wine, Jen sunk a little deeper into …

Dear Matt: How good are the elves at figuring out questions that BUG people? Good, I hope, because there are lots of bugs in my brain lately. And around the porch light at my house. …

Rob Hurlbut, a San Diego photographer and creator of theworldisraw.com, captured video footage of trolley officers brutally taking down a man for smoking a cigarette at a trolley station. Hurlbut shot the video at 8:20 …

CC&Rs Are Your Friends Re “Home Owner Association Horror Stories” (Cover Story, February 18). It would be encouraging to print the other side of the story as well. In this current economy, negativity sells, and …

Oh, so embarrassing! I’ve known for a long time that Soleil @ K had changed chefs (the opening chef moved on to another local restaurant), but it took an abominable snow job by Wolfgang Verkaaik …

It’s 11:00 at night, downtown TJ. “Only, only Marcelino, Only, only pan y vino…” Carlos Ubario Macias sings merrily away. He’s sitting on the stool next to me, out on the street at Marcelino’s tiny …

Pics and footage from Golden Triangle shows come across as, in no particular order: the beginning of an orgy; a Wiccan gathering; an out-of-control, audience-participation performance-art installation; and, well, a punk-rock show. So, does Double …

Sophie Milman was born in Russia, is Jewish, was raised in Israel, emigrated to Toronto. Yet she is best described by her mastery of a very American musical genre, as an interpreter of the great …

A few lifetimes ago. I sit listening to the local college radio station. I've heard of Human Skab but never heard him. I phone in a request. The DJ with the confident, sexy voice tells …

Avant-garde jazz trio Medeski Martin and Wood challenged many at the half-full HOB to describe its indescribable music. Is it jazz, electronica, fusion, jam band? Nevertheless, fans welcomed the opening improvisatory quest for a groove, …

"The sound of airplanes flying overhead reminds me of the beginning of the song 'Back in the USSR,'" 24-year-old Floridian Matt Hires remarked during his set at the Casbah. The intimate venue suited Hires's vulnerable …

“The sun was shining on the sea, Shining with all his might... ‘O, Oysters, come and walk with us!’ The Walrus did beseech. ‘A Pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, Along the briny beach...’” – from …

A nosy neighbor was responsible for the capture of two parolees who were committing a burglary on February 22, according to a sheriff's department press release. At about 2:30 p.m., a San Marcos resident saw …

The carcass of what is believed to be a California sea lion was found washed up on the beach between Nantasket and Nahant courts on Sunday morning, February 21. Several calls were placed to local …

“Who the F&%k Is Jack White?” Those were the words printed on the T-shirt thrown at Brendan Benson between songs. "Genius!" he laughed, "that's f&%kin' brilliant. Thank you." Through the night, it was the only …

Flapping fish tails, coiled seaweed, barnacles and octopus fresh from the Chilean coastal town of Puerto Montt will soon become part of our gastronomical lunch. At the southern end of the Pan American Highway – …

Pianist Garrick Ohlsson's performance with the San Diego Symphony featured Chopin’s "Andante spianato et grande polonaise brilliante," Opus 22, and "Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor," Opus 21. Ohlsson’s accurate playing was free of …

"Oh, here's the biggest seal-hater of them all," yells La Jolla seal activist MarJane Aalam. "Don't go down there, John, there are pups down there." A bright spotlight turns on. "I'll put you on YouTube, …

Is New York City the center of the universe? Perhaps at least the multicultural capital of the world? There’s no lack of people who believe this, and you may be one of them after visiting …

To see the sights of the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System, start by driving on a winding, mountainous road through the lush greenery known as El Yunque in Puerto Rico. If …

This opera is seldom performed because a soprano who can and is willing to sing the vocally schizophrenic part of Abigaille, Nabucco's brutal elder but rather illegitimate daughter, is difficult to find. This work is …

Despite his 60 years, Gil Scott-Heron is still hip, inspiring informed rappers with star-smashing paradigms like the oft quoted "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." He even got an extended namedrop on James Murphy's cred-laden …

Canadian five-piece You Say Party! We Say Die! hasn't changed its dance-punk sound on their latest, XXXX, but has darkened its sonic palette and refined its arrangements. The band's sound has matured, filling up spaces …

Commercial fishermen who run their trawlers out of Ensenada have largely ceased their annual pursuit of sardines off the Baja coast in order to capture some creatures that rarely venture this far north — the …

Tijuana’s municipal police force recently began cracking down on the hours that bars can stay open. By law they should close at 2 a.m. and not open again until 10 a.m. 48 San Diego Reader …

Quinn scoffs when I ask him if he worries about getting hit by a car. “They [meaning his fellow panhandlers] get run over ’cause they get drunk,” says Quinn. He says he’s too smart to …

Sojournalism: The Summer Articles, from San Diego's own Sojourn, is proof that performers do not have to resort to using clichés to prove their worth as artists. His spoken word/rap style infuses meaty tracks with …

Like so many retail spaces in the East Village, a storefront that measures just over 1000 square feet (located on Tenth Avenue, near the baseball stadium) is vacant. In fact, in the almost four years …

On the East Village Community Action Network (EVCAN) agenda for their Thursday, February 18, meeting was a new action to discuss the potential addition of public street parking. To East Village condominium dwellers, parking spaces …

A panicked father was reunited with his son after the young man became lost approximately one mile from the eastern end of Palo Verde Lake in Alpine, according to a press release by the San …

Will some Coronado voters be confused by the wording of a June ballot measure and support a tunnel they don’t want? Councilmember Barbara Denny thinks so. She considers the draft ballot language “unintentionally misleading” and …

It is difficult to relate the absolute hysteria of Carnaval in Barranquilla. Most nations couldn't handle an equal event without soon collapsing into a frenzied state of all-out warfare. But Barranquilla does it, and does …

I had two days off, three friends, and the urge to find a Carnaval celebration close by. I could have looked in my city of San Diego, but Mexico continually draws me in. Enter Ensenada. …

The sound of laughter and then screaming erupted from a table at a PB boardwalk café on the afternoon of February 19. By the sizable crowd surrounding the table, one would have thought Angelina and …

Those looking for Pat Metheny's trademark experimentation on Orchestrion should be forewarned, the experimentation isn’t compositional but technical. Metheny is the sole human player on this disc, modernizing the concept of the orchestrion, a mechanism …

"After a while, there's something comforting about Lemmy's single-octave range," a man was overheard saying after the Head Cat show. It was a valid observation. Pairing the frontman of British heavy metal band Motörhead with …

It's taken 14 months and cost the city and federal governments over $12.7 million to restore and retrofit the First Avenue bridge in Banker's Hill. For those 14 months, while construction crews were removing the …

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested an American teenager on Wednesday, February 17, when he attempted to smuggle marijuana into the U.S. At about 3:00 p.m., the 18-year-old male, who is also a resident …

A man was assaulted on the second level of San Diego State parking structure 6 at approximately 4:20 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18. According to a witness, she saw a man lying on the ground …

On Sunday, February 14, the tranquility of my afternoon was interrupted by the sound of drums coming from 47th Street and El Cajon Boulevard. I followed the sounds of the drums to Minh Hoa Supermarket …

During the early years of Google Maps and Google Earth, any street information stopped at the California border, although cities such as Paris, France, and San Francisco were viewable as satellite aerials. Since February 9, …

After last week's panel discussion on Hillcrest pot shops, San Diego's medical marijuana task force took its recommendations to North Park. In his five-minute presentation, task force vice chair Steven Whitburn's song remained the same …

Matt: How come if a human being drinks seawater he’ll probably get sick and die, but whales, dolphins, and walruses, and penguins can drink ocean water and thrive on it? — Curious Bob, University City …

A tattooed man playing a washboard and yelling with glee leaps off the stage into a hoedown of dancers. The joyous press of musicians onstage play at a breakneck pace, with a melange of instruments: …

Walking up the dirt-and-gravel path from the parking area, you’re greeted by a Buddha and two rusted truck corpses. Wooden bins of large rocks stand next to the stairs leading up to the store’s entrance. …

Starting on Monday, February 15, the Tamarack Surf Beach located just west of Carlsbad Boulevard and Tamarack Avenue will charge visitors to park their vehicles on an hourly basis. The beach’s parking lot — state-owned …

A car crash on West Point Loma Boulevard February 15 resulted in a car upside down but no one hurt. Joggers and dog-walkers stopped to gawk at about 9:00 a.m. Police blocked passage on the …

Thirty-Five Years AgoWatching Lyn Lott play the final hole on Sunday was an honest lesson in the pro golf version of catch-22.... On the seventy-second, par five, eighteenth hole, the left side of the green …

Phone messages posted January 31 on YouTube are alleged to be recordings of promoter-performer Willie Carter Tuckerson, aka Willie Psycho, threatening rival promoter Captain Sid of the San Diego Pyrate Punx. A few excerpts: “If …

Three longtime North County music venues are silenced. One promises to return. The Calypso Mediterranean Cafe in Leucadia had live music since it opened in 1995. Artists such as Jack Tempchin, Candye Kane, Danny Way, …

San Diego screamo band a City Serene has had an eventful 2010 so far. In January, the band discovered they were voted the third top unsigned band in Alternative Press Magazine for the year 2009. …

“Suzy Bogguss and I knew each other when we were teens,” says Jessica Baron. “I was a music teacher who gigged a little bit. Suzy was already an early celebrity. She would come through Chicago …

Thursday 18English goth-rockers the Damned will finish up their two-night stint at Casbah. Sold out, it is.... So go check out Motörhead Lemmy’s new joint the Head Cat at Belly Up. They’re a rockabilly super-trio, …

Song When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree: Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet; …

"In Memory of Col. F. C. Marshall and 1st Lt. C. L. Webber who fell at this spot Dec. 7, 1922.” Without this inscription, the presence of an old 12-cylinder engine permanently mounted in stone …

An old "B.C." comic strip holds down one corner of the picture window that looks in on the Dharma Bum temple — a whimsical accent tacked onto an otherwise serene and tasteful tableau: “Whatcha doing …

The first time I visited Vancouver was in the late ’60s. I was living in Fairbanks and decided to spend the winter outside, which is what we called any place not in Alaska. Since it …

A patient of Dr. Oliver Sacks suffered a massive stroke. “Mrs. S” retained her intelligence and humor but could no longer see anything left of her nose. “She has totally lost the idea of left,” …

Got It, LT? Re “Super Bowl Edition” (“Sporting Box,” February 4). I look forward to Patrick’s Super Bowl result column. Drew Brees not only has a Super Bowl ring now but is also the MVP. …

We put out the call, “Tell us your HOA horror stories,” and you came back in your millions. Okay, your dozens. Okay, nearly a dozen. The issue was courage. How could people report on the …

The classic description of a city living off personal services, and bringing in too little outside money through activities such as manufacturing, is “a bunch of people doing each other’s laundry.” Increasingly, that describes San …

Last year, employees of Geo Group, a private prison corporation, contributed more than $2000 to the campaign fund of San Diego’s interim sheriff Bill Gore. Geo operates San Diego’s old downtown jail at 220 C …

A top-secret plan by KPBS, the taxpayer-funded public broadcasting arm of San Diego State University, to buy an additional FM radio station here and devote its current FM frequency to a lucrative classical music format …

San Diego city councilmembers are awash in special-interest cash. During the last quarter, 16 Sempra Energy employees lined up to give a total of $2100 to the reelection bid of Second District councilman Kevin Faulconer. …

It’s a great name for a band, We Were Promised Jetpacks. The Glasgow indie quartet is something like a motorcycle — their songs are made for speed. The faster WWPJ plays them, the better and …

You’d be forgiven for not thinking of Minneapolis as a hotspot for hip-hop; the city is better known for its long, cold winters than its urban atmosphere. But 25 years after Purple Rain, the Twin …

Robin Henkel hoots, hollers, walks out into the audience with his guitar, sits at their tables, and tells stories. He favors the raw end of what his instrument can sound like, and when he sings …

We’ve been driving beaters almost since we got married. Our last “new” car was eight years old when we bought it. Every now and then I catch him noticing the new Dodge Challenger, and he …

Beer and rugby are more or less synonymous. — Chris Laidlaw I like to think of myself as pretty hip. It’s not as if I’m walking around with an iPad or anything, but when it …

Recipe by Craig Cowling, chef/owner, O’Brothers The whole concept for our restaurant started in my backyard. We had a party and I was grilling up these organic burgers and my brother Derek kept noticing people’s …

Heymatt: With all the snow back East, I was wondering if any of the waterfalls freeze when the rivers freeze. Or is moving water not likely to freeze. — No name please, via email Oh, …

On Saturday, February 6, Mike and Linda McWilliams celebrated their one-year anniversary as owners of San Pasqual Winery. The brand itself dates back to the early ’70s, when a lawyer, Mickey Fredman, and a judge, …

A Schizoid City Tijuana has suffered from multiple personality disorder for way too long. It’s been a place for trade and fugitives — for anyone who needed to escape from anything, whether it be extreme …

Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia …

Councilmember Donna Frye isn't a strong supporter of "strong mayor." At the February 16 meeting of the San Diego City Council, she shared her thoughts of what is to come if the voters insist on …

On Sunday — Valentine’s Day — what is believed to have been the largest mass wedding in Tijuana’s history took place at Parque Morelos, in the La Mesa delegation of Tijuana. At just before 11 …

On Saturday afternoon, February 13, lifeguards responded to a call of a man in need of assistance after his kayak capsized in the ocean near Redondo Court. Bicyclists, skateboarders, pedestrians, and runners froze to witness …

On Saturday, February 13, plumes of black smoke arose from where it seemed like the location of Mar Vista Middle School. As I traveled west on Coronado Avenue, I figured something big was on fire, …

For the new EP, Portastatic's Mac McCaughan taps into his Merge catalog, covering songs from Spoon, Destroyer, Magnetic Fields, Lambchop, and lesser-known acts from Merge's past: Matt Suggs, Spent, and the Renderers. If you've followed …

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” This thought was expressed by Henry David Thoreau over 160 years ago while living in the one-room cabin he built overlooking Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau conducted …

More, indeed, than any other American band of their era, Pylon (the amazing-est Athens, GA act you never heard of) sounded like semaphore, like ordinary communications forced into a code and forced upon you without …

The Huddle House diner is inviting and cozy on an early November morning. While it isn't that far off from the Waffle House visited the previous morning (the signs are practically identical), it’s a far …

I’d heard about Buenos Aires in the spring, but I was apprehensive about the winter. I packed my bags like I was getting ready to go snowboarding. Jackets, thermals and beanies. It being July and …

Los Campesinos! has made a career out of demolishing the hierarchy between fans and friends. All of their records are thematically (and musically) relatable to what the average indie kid can muster -- simultaneously garnering …

If you're one of those people who hears old-timey, country-fied sounds and opines, "I've heard that -- Beverly Hillbillies theme music," you'll want to skip to the next review. But if you're interested in windows …

Kevyn Lettau and Peter Sprague have played prominent parts in the San Diego jazz scene for several years. Though Lettau has relocated to Los Angeles, she and Sprague have continued a musical relationship. What Is …

Early Wednesday morning on February 10, a man was seen rummaging through a white Mercedes Benz parked on the corner of Tenth and Island avenues in the East Village. He had allegedly broken into the …

It appears that a Mexican law requiring citizens of the United States to carry passports when crossing into Tijuana will go into effect beginning March of this year. In an article published in Frontera, Mario …

A suspect has been arrested in connection with three bank robberies that occurred during the past several months in San Diego County. According to a report obtained from the local FBI office, 34-year-old Alberto Alatorre …

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” In her 12th and final state of the city address, Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler quoted Charles Dickens's Tale of Two Cities to describe …

When construction of the two-story police station in La Mesa is completed this spring, it will be outfitted with a new radio communications system and feature upgraded radio-related technology and electronics. On Tuesday, February 9, …

A man was apprehended and detained for shoplifting at Eastlake’s Target store on Thursday afternoon, February 11. A single security officer in black pants and white T-shirt confronted the suspect after he had exited the …

No Hope, No Future left me unsatisfied, plain as that. A few steps behind the Arctic Monkeys, the Kooks, and Franz Ferdinand, the Good Shoes seem to have not yet developed a signature sound. The …

The Loft on UCSD campus is the last place you would expect to find traditional country music in San Diego. Regardless, this was the setting for some honky-tonking, courtesy of Joe Pug and Justin Townes …

An immigrant from Mexico who entered the country illegally was rescued from a mountain near Jamul on Wednesday, February 10, at about 4:00 a.m. The 29-year old male used his cell phone to call 911 …

Vantage Pointe, the high-rise condominium project whose owners made the controversial decision to rent out units in its center tower last year, may be a little late in paying its own rent. On a stroll …

In a contretemps that the TJ newspaper La Segunda referred to as a confuso incidente, a patrol team of the city police shot a member of the state investigative police after he failed to pull …

In the cul-de-sac where Mission Boulevard meets Pacific Beach Drive, at about 4:30 p.m. on February 9, a City of San Diego Street Division truck blocked cars from entering the parking lot between the Best …

A pair of occupied vans parked on the corner of North Marshall Avenue and Fesler Street in El Cajon has caused some employees from nearby businesses to become uneasy. According to local workers, the vans …

Because he pointed a green laser at a police helicopter, a San Diego man was sentenced to eight months in state prison on February 8. In a press release, district attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced that …

The steel framework for Point Loma High School’s new 15,358-square-foot, two-story classroom building has been erected on the southwest side of the school’s property. The structure will replace seven portable classrooms and consist of eight …

Mary Louise Wilson was sentenced to nearly 20 years in state prison on February 8. The 54-year-old admitted to setting fires at the two nursing homes she stayed at briefly during 2009. According to state …

The recommendations from San Diego's 11-person medical marijuana task force are in and will be considered at the Land Use and Housing Committee's March 24 meeting. Until then, task force members continue to meet with …

The third album from Baltimore duo Beach House should be renamed Instant Dream, as track one, "Zebra," doesn't waste time in putting you into a hypnotic state. Victoria Legrand's tough but gentle voice is backed …

Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro has reinvented an instrument once considered a novelty, a toy seen at a backyard luau. Playing a wide range of genres, he uses strumming, picking, and fretboard techniques that leave even …

On Saturday, January 30, as I walked to my worn-out Toyota pickup in the parking lot at the Ocean Beach Pier, I heard screaming, yelling, and swearing coming from the direction of the seawall. A …

On Thursday, February 4, I saw at least seven people receive jaywalking tickets before 11 p.m. in front of PB Bar and Grill and Moondoggies on Garnet Avenue. As I waited in line to get …

Alisa McVay and husband Tim Lehr left home in a hurry last week after SDG&E arborist Michael Daleo informed the couple that they were "in imminent danger" and needed to leave immediately. SDG&E, according to …

Controversial La Jolla lawyer Jim Waring, who once represented the daughter of the late mafioso Moe Dalitz and was later forced out as Mayor Jerry Sanders’s land-use honcho during Sunroad Enterprises’ over-height office-tower fiasco back …

“We try to capture the musical variety and spiritual energy of a Dave Matthews concert,” says singer-guitarist Mike Myrdal of his tribute band Stepping Feet. The group has jammed with Matthews associates such as harp …

“Everybody wants to play in a group that has an international career,” says Luiz Mantovani of the Brazilian Guitar Quartet. “Some people think, ‘Wow, you go everywhere in the world. It must be great.’ But …

“Chili with merlot?” grinned my husband Patrick. “There may be something to this wine-and-food-pairing thing after all.” I had to drag him to the winemaker dinner, but once he saw the chili provided by chef …

The Other Bureaucrats The bureaucrats at the San Diego Unified School District make too much money. At least that’s the word on San Diego Rostra, where on January 23, a blogger who calls himself “rego” …

Politeness is the art of choosing among one’s real thoughts. — Abel Stevens “How can we invite her and not invite him?” I asked David. “You can’t,” David answered. “You need to decide how important …

“760” by Escondido’s hard-rocking hip-hop crew (760) was the most downloaded local MP3 from SDReader.com during January 2010. Bassist Mark Swanger provided some background. The song opens with police and ambulance radio calls. That was …

Artist: Misc. AilmentsSong: “Brand New Day” (from sandiegoreader.com/mp3)Heard by: Ryan Aragon, Phoenix, AZIt was definitely something different. To me, it had a Latin beat mixed with alternative music. It almost had an Incubus feel to …

The other day I heard the new song “Wide-Eyed, Legless” by singer-songwriter Laura Veirs, and it made me think of Suzanne Vega’s 1986 single “Left of Center.” In the verses of both songs, a female …

The jazz fan may be confused by my statement that Medeski Martin & Wood is a jam band with traditional jazz roots. After all, isn’t jamming, or improvising, the province of traditional jazz? But in …

Flautist Holly Hofmann debuts her new CD Three’s Company with a performance at the Athenaeum Wednesday, February 10. Gregory Page’s release party for Heartstrings happens February 13 at Oasis House Concerts. Angels and Airwaves will …

Ex-assemblyman Juan Vargas, running in the Democratic primary for state senate, raised a total of $146,700 through the end of last year, recent filings show. Controversial for favoring the insurance industry during his time in …

As a plan by San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders to privatize trash collection at City facilities makes its way through the city council, the contractor green-lighted by the Sanders administration to do the job has …

‘When the people in power are completely senseless with regards to human values and their ideal is a sweatshop, you are screwed.” That’s a man who identifies himself as Brian Meidell, talking about Rockstar San …

People need money and water. Just ask Borrego Springs, the San Diego County desert town of only 2600 year-round residents. Through the years, it has endured failures of its major businesses, as entrepreneurs have run …

The Onyx Room’s website says there is a live jazz jam on Tuesday nights. But as of this writing, the site has not been updated to indicate that the jam’s founder and host for the …

“This album was supposed to come out last December,” says Lualta singer Michael Roger Hernandez, “but, when we were in the studio fixing up the kinks, we all had different opinions and ideas about how …

“The BombPops started in 2008,” says Jen Raz, the singer-guitarist for the female-fronted North County punk-rock band, “but Poli [guitar-vocals] and I met in 2005 at Stripline [studios in Oceanside]. We were in other bands. …

Compound Stalker Have you read about a stalker lately? I have (“Mysterious Danish Group Builds Exotic Compound on Baja Coast,” Cover Story, February 4). Mr. Waterman is by definition a stalker. Come on! Attempting to …

“Oh, Oysters, come and walk with us!” the Walrus did beseech. “A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, along the briny beach.” — Lewis Carroll Aagh, Valentine’s Day coming again — probably the worst night of …

Can I wax poetic? Heed ye the words of Carl Sandburg, the poet, describing the rough, tough city he loved, Chicago. “Here is a tall, bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities/ Fierce …

For the first of many “don’t try this at home” sequences, in Aurélia’s Oratorio the lights come up on a timeworn, three-tiered chest of drawers. A hand and a foot pop out. Then red high …

Bedtime, Super Bowl Sunday, marks the conclusion of the sports year for committed NFL fans. On Monday morning, the still engorged NFL fan arises from bed, walks out to the front porch, feels the pain …

As I entered the church, a girl handed me a golf ball. It was yellow; the one atop the mic stand next to the pulpit was white. You could almost miss it within the pale …

O’Melveny Park spreads over 672 acres, second on the list of largest parks within the City of Los Angeles, right after the much-more-spacious Griffith Park. Noted for its picture-perfect picnic grounds with white fences and …

Not the wooden spoon, primordial source of sweetness and pain, flying across the kitchen — I barely bothered to duck. Not my father undoing his belt — I would be gone before he’d whack the …

Thirty-Five Years AgoThe Introduction Agency was founded in 1973. Their motto is “Dates for every SINGLE one.” The Introduction Agency does not use a computer. They use what they call an “entirely new method.” We …

Alethia Espinal10th grader, Waldorf School of San Diego The Animatrix is a movie with several short animations, each by a different artist. The animations are based on The Matrix universe from a “back story” point …

Communion. That's the one-word take I settled on for Richard Youngs's latest. Not without some mental struggle -- "prayer" covers the feel of the thing, but prayer is usually private. "Meditation" comes closer, but the …

Thursday 11Kick out the jams, brothers and sisters, when Santa Cruz instrumental act Sound Tribe Sector 9 delivers “post-rock dance music” to House of Blues. The electronic quintet shines live with its precision-rhythm-based psychedelic funk …

Veteran bassist Henry Franklin's quartet is loaded with ringers. Saxophonist Azar Lawrence has long been a star with a c.v. that includes employment with the legendary McCoy Tyner. Pianist Theo Saunders's virtuosity is both brawny …

The stucco-and-tile façade of the Chee Chee bar glares blackly out onto Broadway; inside, the stale air is tinged purple. A half-dozen men hunch over the bar; four of them are drinking from 24-oz. tallboys …

San Diego city councilmember Carl DeMaio continues his fiscal conservative crusade to drive away San Diego's structural deficit. DeMaio's latest crusade comes in a February 9 letter to the president of the Salary Setting Commission, …

For some, a visit to Lake Tahoe means time away from the frenetic scenes of everyday life. Libation in hand, it’s a time to listen to the wind waft through swaying pine trees, to enjoy …

There’s a reason why so many poets and authors have called Laguna Beach home for some part of their lives (hint: not because of the great bar scene). It’s undoubtedly charming. Artists in the early …

Phap Vuong Monastery, a Buddhist temple nestled among pine trees in northern Escondido, is hosting the world's largest hand-carved gem-quality jade Buddha for the next two weeks. To mark the beginning of its visit, a …

On February 6, two women were arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and battery at the Jumping Turtle Bar and Grill in San Marcos. According to a sheriff's department press release, deputies responded to …

“Did you say something about boobs?” Comedian Joel McHale, who about 30 seconds earlier had indeed told a boob joke, shifted from shock to ignorance when a large-breasted woman walked up to the stage, interrupted …

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, tenor saxophone player Jessy J held a free concert at Borders in Carmel Mountain. The event was presented by smooth jazz station 98.1 in support of the L.A. artist’s …

My first impression of Vancouver was that the general vibe is less hectic than in most U.S. cities. People are friendly, and when they ask “What do you do?” it seems they’re more interested in …

San Diego punk quartet the Postals has finally signed, sealed, and delivered its debut, jamming 17 songs into 26 minutes. On opening, the incendiary instrumental “7.62 Madness” goes off like a letter bomb and sets …

A Chorus of Storytellers is The Album Leaf's fifth studio release, and it’s a refreshing sound. Not one to crank up at a party. The meticulous arrangements require time and attention, that the listener sit …

Anvil frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow addressed the audience early in the set: "I just want to thank each and every one of you for being here and making our dreams come true." With a kind …

At the February 3 Escondido City Council meeting, the council directed the budget subcommittee to consider the possibility of using $17 million worth of reserves in order to avoid closing the performing arts center, the …

Two recent car break-ins at a downtown condo garage have residents concerned for their vehicles and personal property. Despite having a gated residential parking area that requires a remote fob for entry, thieves have still …

On Monday, January 25, Kia of Oceanside customers were probably surprised to find the dealership closed. The car lot, located off SR-78 at 2205 Vista Way, used to be the Saturn of West 78 dealership …

Recent attempts to smuggle drugs and illegals into San Diego via the Pacific Ocean have prompted the installation of thermal-imaging cameras that have the capability of scanning a distance of ten miles. The cameras are …

Forty people gathered inside Birney Elementary's auditorium in University Heights on February 4 for a meeting of the University Heights Community Association. On the agenda for the night: a vote to support or oppose a …

On Wednesday, February 3, at approximately 11:00 p.m., a white BMW was driven down an embankment and overturned. The driver ran from the scene, leaving a woman trapped in the passenger seat. The accident occurred …

There's a tug-of-war going on in Lemon Grove. Clutching one side of the rope is the city of Lemon Grove and at the other end is businessman Salvatore D'Anna and neighboring businesses that occupy a …

Approximately one year ago, the City of Carlsbad prohibited the use of radio-controlled airplanes in city parks and restricted their use in a beach area west of Carlsbad Boulevard (between Palomar Airport Road and Solamar …

Calle Articulo Unos Dos Tres, more commonly known as First Street — one of the oldest streets in TJ — is being ripped up and revamped as part of a program designed to create a …

Florida four-piece Surfer Blood might have spent too much time lying in the sun, listening to '90s indie-rock. On their debut album, Astro Coast, the similarities to Weezer, the Shins, Sebadoh, and Pavement keep crashing …

I recently drove home to Lakeside on the 67 so I could stop at Sarita’s taco shop for a burrito. While stopped at the 67/Mapleview intersection, a truck caught my eye. A repo truck. You …

Ten days before the Soft Pack take the stage on the David Letterman Show, the San Diego band formerly known as the Muslims returned to the Tower Bar in City Heights to release their s/t …

The Green Season. Border Patrol agents in Laredo, Texas, confiscated 745 pounds of marijuana; the bundles were wrapped in Christmas paper. During a routine immigration inspection, a drug-sniffing dog alerted agents to a passenger van …

It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. — Roy Disney A tight shot on George Clooney’s face opened and drew back, across the bare hotel room in which he …

In the early 1970s, my late grandfather, an artist and retired San Diego State art professor, took me camping to a beautiful and remote setting along Baja’s northwest coast. While exploring the peninsula’s back roads, …

Thirty Years AgoGeorge Marston thought the Nolen plan presented sound concepts for developing the city, but not everyone in San Diego agreed with him, as he found out when he ran for mayor in 1913. …

A few months ago I came across a wonderful new band with a familiar sound. There were jangly and distorted guitars, raggedy drums, aloof female vocals, and singsong melodies and everything cloaked in a haze …

We know the year Mississippi Delta blues legend Booker T. Washington White died, but we can only guess at when he was born. Sometime around 1909? By the age of 16, Bukka, as he was …

Water roared down our street, pooled up around the clogged street drain, and began to overflow into our neighbor’s front yard. By the time Patrick unclogged the drain — two plastic "No Parking" signs were …

In his State of the City speech on January 13, Mayor Jerry Sanders devoted 434 words to the possibility of taxpayers shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars for a subsidized Chargers stadium and 174 …

Every morning at seven o’clock, Rodger Hartnett starts his day. The 62-year-old law school graduate and county employee breakfasts inside his Tierrasanta home as he watches the news. Afterwards, he opens up his book of …

Matt: Why can’t I tickle myself? Anybody else can tickle me, but when I try it, nothing happens. — Anonymous, via email Somehow this was also a burning question in Swedish academic circles. Maybe something …

Recipe by Ricardo Heredia, executive chef, Alchemy What I make depends on how I feel that day. I love Latin food. Anything South American. My grandmother was Mexican, so I grew up with Mexican food …

They are kissing, on a park bench, on the edge of an old bed, in a doorway or on the floor of a church. Kissing as the streets fill with balloons or soldiers, locusts or …

It seems impossible to speak of Mel Gibson’s “comeback” in Edge of Darkness without speaking of what it is he is coming back from. But speaking strictly, the aftermath of his arrest for drunk driving …

Before moving to North County, singer-songwriter Spud Davenport drummed for various L.A. and San Francisco bands, the most successful of which was Toymuzic. After learning how to play both guitar and keyboard, he penned the …

Each year Pollstar magazine lists the 200 top-grossing concert headliners. No San Diego–based artists showed up on the 2008 list, but three local bands with multimillion-dollar tours appear on the 2009 list. The reformed blink-182 …

“We haven’t played locally for over six months,” says Kristofer Towne, singer-guitarist for a Scribe Amidst the Lions. “We’ve been busy working on the first in a concept trilogy of releases.” The Last Sting Trilogy …

On a January evening, Phil Bensimon stood on the porch of his home on Highfield Avenue in La Mesa. The front room of the house had been converted into a recording studio. Bensimon listened through …

Ritual Torture says playing death metal doesn’t mean they want people to die. “We’re not about violence,” says guitarist Jesse Jensen. But Ritual Torture’s lyrics can get gory and morbid. “Humanity has always been obsessed …

Thursday 4The Brooklyn-band hype machine needed something different, a new sound and language to distract from the steady stream of ornate art-pop acts — the TV on the Radios and Dirty Projectors, the Animal Collectives …

Stark and barren, yet glorious in their nakedness, Anza-Borrego’s skeletal mountain ranges conceal more than they reveal to casual passersby. If you want to know them better, you must leave the security of the automotive …

“2010: A New Beginning” reads the label on the binder in the ministry booth set up in the church hall. The table surrounding the decorated cardboard triptych is strewn with candy. Other, similar booths advertise …

An NFL placekicker has his own world. For him, the word “placekicker” is another way of saying “no contact.” Contact, for a placekicker, is referred to as “roughing the kicker.” A normal day at the …

At first it looks as if Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers (1991) will repeat the coming-of-age theme in his Brighton Beach trilogy. It’s 1942. When their father hits the road to pay off a loan …

Maybe it’s the pale, washed-green cupboards or the mustard walls or the blue-and-yellow tablecloths and olive bowls for sale. This place just feels like a little piece of France. Right here in Little Italy. Cheeky. …

Can you judge a chef’s palate by a single dish if that dish represents how he cooks when he’s showing off for his peers? Before moving to San Diego, ten years ago I came down …

Let’s Hear It For Science Would you fly on a plane designed by opinion (“Global Warming Is Crap,” Cover Story, January 28)? Does no one remember what science is for? Science provides a path to …

San Diego is on the map as one of the dog friendliest of cities. Beaches, hiking trails, and even some stores and cafés accommodate four-legged visitors. It’s all here, from dog sports to doggy daycare. …

San Diego city councilman Ben Hueso, running in the Democratic primaries for an assembly seat this year, has been busy handing out free tickets from the City’s big stash. The latest: two passes to the …

The Obama administration’s nominee to run the Transportation Security Administration dropped out of consideration two weeks ago, shortly after Senate Republicans began asking questions about his San Diego divorce. Erroll Southers, a former FBI agent, …

Virtually unknown to the public here, Bill Cavala, a onetime UC Berkeley professor and top aide to Speaker Willie Brown Jr., was for most of two decades the Democratic operative most indispensable to the party’s …

Our one-week journey takes us to an archipelago in the Puget Sound, just off the United States’ northwest corner: the San Juan Islands. It’s a perfect trip if you don’t mind taking on a cooler …

With the immediate intimacy of her sweet, classically trained voice, Foster sounds nearly as depressed as A. Camp on the Cardigans’ “Step On Me” or “Nasty Sunny Beam.” Lacking A. Camp's sense of humor and …

Medellin, enchanted city, home of the silicon buttcheek, where no one remembers the natural light of stars and the sun has barely been named, where the Paisas wear their souls on their skin and old …

First off, how normal is blueberry pie? Serious question. As far as Zen koans go, I'm sticking it right up there with “Why has Bhodi-Dharma left for the East?” or “Why are those car wheels …

Touring behind the critically acclaimed A Friend of a Friend, Dave Rawlings Machine made their second appearance in the past year at the Belly Up. A full house was treated to two covers-heavy sets, with …

New York City was more than I expected this time around; however, it was colder than my feet at night. My numb fingers fumbled for my MetroCard, dollars in my pocket, then a beanie for …

Sign up for a Reader newsletter.We'll enter you to win one of 28 gift certificates! To celebrate the new look of our newsletters, we're giving away a prize a day for the entire month of …

It’s no wonder the movie Sideways chose Santa Ynez Valley as the setting for its whirlwind wine-tasting tour. In the middle of winter, this area greets the road warrior with a promise of spring and …

City government has mandated that the sale of alcohol in Tijuana will now be limited. The local business organization, Cómite Empresarial y Turistico Mexicano (CETURMEX), salutes the limited hours of sale as a way of …

Being a tourist from Germany, one of my first actions in Southern California was fulfilling a long-dreamed dream: purchasing a lovely beach cruiser. Those bikes are rare and hard to get in Germany, so my …

In an effort to make reporting for jury duty more enjoyable, the San Diego Superior Court has implemented a program that allows jurors to access wireless internet in the court's jury lounge at no charge. …

Artists in the South Bay are facing extinction. Schools have eliminated art classes. There are no galleries or art events taking place. Yet, there is a thriving community of artists that call the South Bay …

Although they try to be standoffish and badass, Clipt Beaks are just a bunch of dragged kids dealing with rejected loves and wavering self-esteem. Just like the rest of us. Their second full-length, To Realize, …

Local mods Manual Scan regrouped as part of the Che Underground’s annual reunions show at a packed Casbah. As Cherry Red records are about to reissue their back catalogue in Europe, it's a timely reminder …

I’ve always considered Harry Connick, Jr. to be what you would play when you wanted something to hear but not necessarily listen to. His performance proved him to be the opposite. Although this particular tour …

The enticing vibes of good live music lured me to Disneyland's Tomorrowland Terrace. There I saw Instant Replay rocking out to the ’70s and ’80s with nods to other eras and genres. My first impression …

Item number seven on the February 3 Land Use and Housing Committee agenda is entitled "Potential Incentives for Sustainable Building Practices." What wasn't included in the agenda item, at least not until Monday afternoon, well …

I moved to Clairemont in October, 1959. Technically. My mother was five months pregnant with a creature that was to eventually become myself, third in line below a sister and first-born brother; a relocation from …