San Diego breweries vying for "Best Coast" IPA supremacy at LOUNGEsix.

As a general rule, I am not interested in pampering weekends, over-indulgent spas or fancy hotels for the sake of fancy hotels. Accommodation choices are usually fixed around cost and convenience, and so far my …

Police officers and firefighters arrived on the west side of Nimitz Boulevard near West Point Loma Boulevard at around 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30. A man was sitting on the side of the road …

While recently pulling into the Sports Arena Boulevard parking lot shared by Red Lobster, Phil's BBQ, and other businesses, I saw a San Diego Police Department van parking in front of me. (The SDPD also …

The road was treacherous. It was mid-Feburary. The blustery weather showed no signs of mercy. Driving along the northeastern coast of Spain from France, I felt like I was living some kind of nocturnal Spanish …

There must be something special about that soaring seagull and that great big red letter O, which, like much of the community of Ocean Beach, leans to the left. The results of a long-awaited vote …

Adam’s Avenue unplugged is one of San Diego's best festivals. Each year they offer an ample line-up of talented and unique musical acts. On April 27th at 2:30pm, Actor John C. Reilly was accompanied by …

If anything could metaphysically counterbalance the Snooty Asian (hip and in Hillcrest) it would be the Asia Cafe (4710 Market Street, 619-527-1917), which has iron bars on the windows and shares a parking lot with …

Mayor Bob Filner, his fiancé Bronwyn Ingram, and Border Angels founder Enrique Morones made history Sunday, April 28, by going into Mexico via a newly built gate in the fence, opened for the first time …

Speeding drivers and the undergrounding of overhead utility lines were among the top concerns of the 38 Del Cerro residents who responded to the Del Cerro Action Council’s recent eight-question survey. Residents desire more dining …

I’ve always loved riding trains: Pacific Surfliner, Starlight Express, Eurail, etc. The sound of the train whistle never fails to spark my wanderlust, and I find the combination of comfort and adventure when riding the …

Police and members of the Ocean Beach Town Council say they're going to turn up the heat on the property owner who once leased to the former Apple Tree market: they say little is being …

In the quiet neighborhood of Azure Vista (now more widely known as Sunset Cliffs) a happening went down on April 27. It was quite a scene, attended by cats with names such as Lizard, Tar, …

Four years ago, when the Academy of Our Lady of Peace began planning to add classrooms and parking to its Normal Heights canyon-top campus, the high school found itself fighting the city and its neighbors …

For the 11th year in a row, Montgomery Adult School, part of the Sweetwater Union High School District, held their annual Viva Vida conference on April 25. The conference is designed to give students exposure …

The April 18 Transportation Corridor Agencies meeting that revived the Trestles toll road plan was scheduled on short notice, held without notifying interested parties, and rubber-stamped at a meeting in Orange County. To the Natural …

Sitting halfway between Tahiti and Fiji, the Cook Islands are yet to be discovered by most Americans. The vast majority of visitors who do come here are Australians and New Zealanders (for whom it’s a …

When The Strokes released Is This It in 2001, it wasn't uncommon to hear them proclaimed as the saviors of modern rock ’n’ roll. Their sound was gritty and focused but also loose and impossibly …

The Evens, a D.C.-based duo of Ian MacKaye (formerly of Minor Threat and Fugazi) and Amy Farina (formerly of the Warmers) performed a lively, powerful set at the Irenic, playing several songs from their debut, …

A young boy did some exploring to pass the time while his parents sold jewelry and craft items on the sidewalk next to Seaport Village on April 23. The parents, who preferred not to give …

Homebrewers turned pros revive a near-dead German rye ale in San Marcos.

On Tuesday, April 22, the San Diego City Council voted to keep open the homeless veterans’ tent shelter at 2801 Sports Arena Boulevard. The shelter, a 150-bed facility for homeless vets that usually operates from …

Thirty miles up I-15 from San Diego, in Escondido, you’ll find Queen Califia’s Magical Circle. This is the unnatural habitat of wild animals that escaped from the imagination of Niki de Saint Phalle. She’s the …

A fire at a Tijuana warehouse for industrial wastes set off several small explosions and led to the evacuation of several nearby maquiladoras and a day-care center for factory workers on the afternoon of April …

For the third in a six-part series about stepping up your job search or job upgrade process, business coach Kate Kerr (nee Hanley) explains the importance of goal setting. We’ve talked about the role of …

“Hardest job I’ve ever had,” Kaplan said. “Best job I ever had too.” It’s strawberry season in California and almost time for the sweet Rainier cherries to be picked in Washington, but who will pick …

I’ve never considered visiting graveyards a “must-see” travel experience, but I’ll have to admit that lately I am finding a wealth of history and a deep sense of place that develops necessarily when jaunting graveyard …

Rob Smith, of the Job Readiness training program at Second Chance, explains the importance of interview readiness. In your program what is the very first thing you stress to your clients about interviewing? We stress …

Some employers today are not happy with the quality of college graduates who show up on their doorsteps. They say the college graduates usually possess the technical skills they need to land a job but …

Interviews with alpaca owners, spinners, and weavers who live in San Diego’s East County mountain region.

In an April 17, 2013, deposition, former San Ysidro School District superintendent Manuel Paul pleaded the Fifth 43 times in less than an hour in a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed against the district by EcoBusiness Alliance/Manzana …

Sometimes one mattress is not enough for one pickup truck. How about 21 of them? My neighbor rescues mattresses (and many other things) bound for landfills and donates them to folks in Mexico who can …

This week a redesigned BMX track opened at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. Tyler Brown, manager of the track since October 2012, developed the new look. A pro racer for the past ten …

Cruising down Garnet, heading for the #30 bus at Mission and Felspar, when I find myself crossing Bayard. It’s closed off to traffic. Huh. Oh, yeah, it’s Tuesday. Must be the farmers’ market. Lots of …

"You’re such a bee,” David said. “Why? What did I do?” “No, no, not that kind of bee! The bug kind,” David clarified, as if that made things any clearer. There were lots of ways …

Drinks in the John Wayne room at the Longhorn Café in Grantville.

Those bands worth a listen because they are so different, but not so far out there that you can’t get a grip on the music — I hate it when that happens. VietNam is from …

On April 29 at the Casbah, Mad Traffic will debut their City EP, produced by Grammy-nominated Bell Biv Devoe collaborator Jay Henry. “We may play our version of Bell Biv Devoe’s ‘Poison,’” says singer Blaise …

Belgian singer-songwriter Carl Durant, a mainstay of the local circuit for the past several years, is heading home. Durant arrived with his wife in San Diego during 2002 to work at an early-stages startup company …

Drive to Escondido, take a step back in time.

The good news about the Rep’s Federal Jazz Project: music lovers unfamiliar with the name Gilbert Castellanos are in for a surprise, maybe even an epiphany. The San Diegan’s a world-class trumpet player who can …

Lawrence Herkimer, the “father of cheerleading.”

In order to help underwrite their addiction to steroids and dumbbells (and also to impress the bitches), a trio of meathead bodybuilders resorts to a life of crime by kidnapping an unscrupulous Florida businessman (Tony …

Pianist Dan Frost talks about his “American Dream” project, to record to video a 50-state solo concert tour and cut it into a documentary feature film.

Interview with former Ike Turner drummer Bill Ray, about the many projects he’s working on.

Were it not for the photographic evidence, Figment could have been a hallucination. The annual Chicano Park festival is how American families everywhere would be spending their Sunday afternoons if Jello Biafra had been elected …

Bill Traylor: Drawings from the Collections of the High Museum of Art and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, on view at the Mingei International Museum until May 12. 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. 619-239-0003; …

A translation of a front-page headline on Baja’s daily El Mexicano on Tuesday, April 23, reads, "They Might Charge to Cross to the U.S.” beginning in 2014. The story was about the U.S. Department of …

According to the Jacksonville Electric Authority, San Diegans pay the highest electricity rates in the U.S. There are examples that point to the fact that UCAN doesn’t do the best job at lobbying the California Public Utilities Commission to give residents a break; in fact, their relationship could be called “cozy.”

Kevin Waddell didn’t know that transit authorities were watching him break into that spiffy Dodge Challenger at a North County Park & Ride.

Shallow and Mindless I grew up in the ’70s, before AIDS changed everything. Maggie’s exposé (April 18 cover story: “In P.B. the Hotter You Are the Easier It Is Not to Care”) of hot booze-addled …

The worst enemies of permanent cosmetics exposed.

Knowledge and memory are imperfect, so we rely on a balance.

First of all consider you (good people) that penance is a gift of God, as the Scripture saith. God hath given and granted penance to the Gentiles for life and salvation (Acts 21). And it …

A wealthy squire he lived in our town And he was a man of high renown He had one daughter, a beauty bright And the name he called her was his Heart’s Delight. Many a …

Local brewing company going big by going small in niche metro community.

Sarah York wore one of this springs biggest trends, an animal inspired t-shirts. The 20-year old marketing major lists her military jacket among her favorite wardrobe items. She wore Steve Madden Troopa boots in cognac …

A meeting held Monday night, April 22, was a disappointment for Ramona’s teachers and many parents and students. In a 4-0-1 vote, the board passed a three-year agreement, retroactively effective July 1, 2012, and ending …

One of the strangest tourist traps in the world has to be the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, located 50 kilometers from Reykjavik en route to the airport. At a latitude equivalent to Siberia and Alaska …

Magic lives in a remote corner of China. In the northwestern corner of the country, where a bony finger of land divides the land from Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia, the traveler will find myth, legend …

East County residents should once again prepare for a long, dry fire season. Over the past week, firefighters responded to at least three fires in Lakeside. Saturday afternoon, April 20, a brush fire near the …

At a recent SDSU Alumni Association panel discussion on the business of craft brewing, AleSmith owner and brewmaster Peter Zien professed how important San Diego’s homebrewing community is to the success of craft beer in …

Coronado Brewing Company unexpectedly shuts down WIP artisanal line.

Upon parking my car in Lakeside to attend their annual Western Days Parade, the first sight I saw were three individuals going through the Burger King Drive through on horseback. The parade began at 9am …

The Food Network recently brought the popular show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives back into Ocean Beach to shoot segments at Hodad’s (again) and the OB Noodle House for the first time. The program segment done …

It’s one of those surprises you’ve got to work for. Here I am walking down 28th Street from Broadway, past a sign that says “Grant Hill, a community of San Diego, America’s Finest City." Jes’ …

Three Tijuana men have landed in jail on suspicion of kidnapping after they allegedly bound the hands and feet of a would-be patient and held him down in the back of a pickup en route …

Central London has so much to offer, most travelers never make it beyond the innermost neighborhoods. Seeing the main sights – like Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London – can easily fill …

A head-on crash in Ocean Beach caused the death of a woman and sent another woman who is nine months’ pregnant to the hospital on the evening of April 21. The deceased had been traveling …

Chula Vista residents continue to seek alternatives to SANDAG’s plan to run a 21-mile rapid-transit bus line from the Otay border crossing down east Palomar Street and into downtown San Diego. At councilmember Pat Aguilar’s …

It’s no secret. San Diego beer is a cut above; something to both enjoy and celebrate. Everybody in the imbibing community says it, hundreds of bar and restaurant owners profess it in words and with …

Michael James Inglett admitted gross vehicular manslaughter while under the influence, in San Diego’s North County Superior Court last week. It was a year ago when Inglett’s vehicle crossed the center line of Highway 76 …

Over 60 community members gathered at the San Ysidro Civic Center on Thursday, April 18, to let their voices be heard about the potential building of a world-class “intermodal transportation center” at the San Ysidro …

Shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16, according to neighbors, a man on Hawley Boulevard in Normal Heights called his girlfriend on the phone and told her, “I set myself on fire; call the …

Our first excursion in Marrakesh was to find the medina where all the souks (shops) were located. Moroccan taxi drivers are on the fast pass to meet Allah. No wonder they have a call to …

What does a Flaming Lips album written and recorded in a matter of days sound like circa 2013? Pretty much as one would expect: loose, psychedelic, jam-heavy, and LOUD! For all the complaints leveled at …

Nick Cave's shadow bounced across the wall, resembling a black skeleton dancing a jig, while he wailed about a mofo named "Stagger Lee." Alongside his band the Bad Seeds, Cave tore through a two-hour set …

Remember when hefeweizens were as ubiquitous as IPAs are today and amber/red ales were back in the nineties? Whether it was craft beer or even the macro big boys, nearly everybody had a Germanic wheat …

Allison Andrews, founder and Director of San Diego fashion week, doesn't want to mimic New York's fashion week in San Diego. "That's not what we are about," Andrews says, "New York is for the legacy …

Police and emergency personnel were called to the scene of an accident on Thursday, April 18, at approximately 4:50 p.m., after an elderly woman drove her car over the curb on the north side of …

At the Serra Mesa Library on April 16, SDPD detective Bryan Hewitt of the Gangs Unit spoke about some of the graffiti problems in the department’s Eastern Division. The meeting attracted about 50 people. Residents …

On the afternoon of April 17, a single-family home caught fire in Cardiff. No one was home at the time. It was only when neighbors smelled smoke that they went outside to investigate. By that …

Visiting Channel Islands National Park is like entering a time machine and being transported back a few hundred years to a wild and natural, pre-automobile, pre-industrial California. Located off the coast of Ventura, the Channel …

I pride myself on being on the bleeding edge of San Diego’s incoming brewery class. Often, I’ll report on new operations months or even over a year before they open their doors. I was the …

There is no denying it; I am an apocalyte. A lover of all things bleak and transient, the beauty of decay is in my blood. Find me a ghost town, a derelict asylum, an abandoned …

Author Maggie Young’s tell-all of her promiscuous days of booze and oblivion in the frenzied, lonely beach town of Pacific Beach.

Enthusiastic Talmadge residents gathered to brainstorm how they envision their community’s future neighborhood-serving business district. Residents have yearned for decades to create a village core similar to that of Kensington, South Park, and University Heights. …

Sweetwater Union High School District board meetings often last five hours and are characterized by conflict. The April 9 meeting ended in a meltdown over the selection process used by the district to choose members …

The pet debate raged on in the Kelly home. On one side are the kids who ask for a dog every time they see one in a commercial. On the other side is my husband …

Ed raids a farmhouse (from Point Loma) in the valley (Sorrento).

If you didn’t have the good fortune of having a dad who grew up in the 1970s, then you probably know little about the glories of wood paneling, Gordon Lightfoot, and plaid-on-plaid polyester suits. But, …

The sixth Revival Tour kicked off in Texas on March 15. The group rolls into San Diego April 21 propelled, as its promoters say, by “an innate need to tell a story in its naked …

I Wish I, a band from the late ’90s, reunites to release Convolutions.

Secret Seven’s Zachary Goode now lives in L.A. and plays with another band.

Got a bike and a mallet? Saddle up for bike polo.

Heymatt: I noticed that the cherry on my cigarette, the coals in my BBQ, and the element in my fish-tank heater all glow the same shade of orange. I believe this isn’t a coincidence. Could …

Hike cobbled streambeds with small groupings of palm trees and chaparral plants lining the canyon.

The Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI), on April 15 voted 13-3 to support H.M. Coleman Inc.'s request to "initiate" a community-plan amendment to change the designation of a 4.5-acre triangular site at 7811 Mission Gorge …

"Why do we come back down?” asks Marina (Olga Kurylenko) in Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder. Why, after mounting to transcendence, do we sink back willy-nilly into everything we sought to transcend? To take an …

Terri shimmied toward the car — shimmied, because there was no way she could get one whole leg in front of another. The only wiggle-room she had was from the shin down, where her long, …

Carlsbad’s Flying Elephant closes; to reopen as a British-style pub but with no bands.

Previous residents: Brian and Helga Fritz, Chino Greenhouses Listing price: $29,950,000 Beds: 5 Baths: 9 House size: 7019 square feet Sometimes the desire for privacy goes beyond the seclusion offered by a guard-controlled, gated community. …

Heymatt: Why do some local roadways have different speed limits depending on which way you’re going? Seaworld Drive between Friars and Ingraham is 55 in one direction and 50 in the other. West Point Loma …

It’s almost time for the San Diego County Taxpayers Association’s annual “Golden Fleece” banquet, famous of late on YouTube for its promotional video featuring GOP San Diego city attorney Jan Goldsmith, dressed up as a …

The 4th&B concert hall was forced to close in December following the eviction of business owners Vince and Judy Puma. The Pumas were hit by lawsuits from building owner Crown Investments and former owner Ali …

More than a third of government workers in Baja California are using their office computers to access pornography while at work, the Tijuana daily El Mexicano reports. Citing a study conducted in the Mexican state …

People don’t hear enough that they are loved.

AMR San Diego, an ambulance outfit in the race for the city’s paramedic contract, has just amended its fourth quarter 2012 lobbyist disclosure statement to reveal $1000 contributions to failed GOP mayoral candidate and ex–city …

The sound of waves crashing on the sand and birds squawking outside the window are not the only noises that residents of See the Sea Condominiums and guests at the Crystal Pier Hotel and Cottages …

SD Music TV’s studios were burglarized on the last weekend of March. Unreplaceable recordings were stolen.

Heymatt: Do taxpayers pay for congresspeople and senators’ flights to and from their home districts or is this built into their pay? Similarly, when the president flies on Air Force One to give a speech …

La Jolla Democratic congressman Scott Peters, who beat the GOP’s Brian Bilbray in a hard-fought race last year, spent plenty of his own cash in the process. With wealthy wife Lynne Gorguze on his side, …

Vroom Vroom Concerning the girl, Cassie Briscoe, on the cover story, “Shame” (April 11). Can you just this pass along and tell her that she’s gorgeous! I would ask her to do a photo shoot …

Love rode 1500 miles on a greyhound bus & climbed in my windowone night to surpriseboth of us.the pleasure of that sleepyshock has lasted a decadenow or more because she isalways still doing it and …

From horses and plows to landing upon the moon.

The Boston Beer Company claim rights to Carlsbad brewery's name.

Following an accident at the intersection of West Point Loma Boulevard and Ebers Street on April 15 (in which there were no injuries), I talked to nearby residents Chris and Susie. We were out watching …

The San Diego City Council on April 16 unanimously approved funding “not to exceed $20,000” to help pay for a bronze lifeguard statue with a concrete foundation and an adjacent three-foot-square bronze plaque. The two …

On Thursday, April 11, families and dignitaries gathered at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside to dedicate a memorial to honor coalition troops killed in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. USMC Major General Charles Mark Gurganus with British Brigadier …

PB has its own YouTube based reality show. I had no idea until I ran into the cast on Prospect Street in La Jolla last night. Pictured from left to right are Candace Monahan, Sarah …

A young male driver uprooted two stop signs, a street sign, and a large collection mailbox before he crashed into a block wall of a neighborhood sign at the Mariners Point housing development in Carlsbad …

Vista brewing company going with a dual name approach.

A scenic train ride landed us in Gdańsk, at the edge of the Baltic Sea. Our apartment is 60M2. It's basically a two-bedroom apartment with a large living room that includes a third-floor balcony. I …

While Colorado figures out how to cash in on legal weed with 420-friendly tours and potentially hefty taxation, lawmakers are writing legislation aimed at protecting pro-marijuana states from federal prosecution. In the meantime, Oregon has …

What happened to San Diego’s future hometown airline? When California Pacific Airlines rolled out a freshly painted, completely refurbished plane at a big media party last July, the company expected to be “wheels up” by …

I’m not going to lie. The water is cold. It’s 12:51 p.m. on a Saturday and it’s low tide. I’m in ankle- to hip-deep water, digging for clams. The native Pismo clam, specifically. The first …

Community members, environmental activists, government officials, and business owners met in Kearny Mesa on April 10 to vocalize their support for clean water at the Regional Water Quality Control Board hearing. The purpose of the …

The Clavin sisters, members of L.A.-based indie act Mika Miko, have released their first album as Bleached. Jennifer (vocals/guitar) and Jessica (guitar) can affect deep, raw feeling as well as a cheery summer vibe through …

I was the only one in the vehicle awake, excluding the driver. There were four of us. Two were snoring loudly, and I was trying to read my book and failing. Perhaps because of the …

Musicians and fans from around the globe descended upon Mexicali for Baja Prog 2013 lured by the possibility of aural utopia. This international festival brought out many musical giants in the progressive-music world, including the …

Beery beast belongs outside shadow cast by Sculpin and Victory At Sea.

The owner of the Carlsbad Village Theatre signed an agreement with Carlsbad police on April 2 to help resolve the problem of loitering teenagers and transients who trample on his roof and gather outside the …

The San Diego History Center (1649 El Prado, #3, Balboa Park) is trading in tuna cans for beer bottles. They’ve transformed the space that recently housed an exhibit paying homage to San Diego’s tuna fishing …

In February, I gave readers the low-down on the people and ideas behind Culture Brewing Co., a new addition to the Cedros Design District. It was chock full of information, but when it comes down …

Looking at it now, you may have to squint a little to envision the Spring Valley home that Bulgarian-farm-boy-cum-doctor Luben Walchef bought in 1972 and converted into a family restaurant about ten years later. The …

This is a place of extremes. The name alone brings to mind images of explorers and traders in tall sailing ships working their way against horrendous seas and hurricane-strength winds. Set on its own small …

On April 9, the majority of the Sweetwater Union High School District board (John McCann, Arlie Ricasa, and Jim Cartmill) voted to cut the district’s Regional Occupation Program/Career Technical Education and adult-school programs. Funding for …

With summer fast approaching and college classes coming to an end, you might be gearing up for a vacation in Hawaii or a backpacking trip to Peru, but what you really should do is start …

Bernice recently lost her job. Her email said, “I have been working for a long period of time, and I am enjoying my time off, getting my house in order, and taking care of my …

At approximately 3 a.m. on Saturday, April 6, a Lexus coupe was discovered on South Mission Beach at Ocean Front Walk near Anacapa Court. The car had apparently been abandoned after the driver realized they …

Today’s pop quiz: How many planets in the solar system? Is it eight or nine? Is Pluto in or out? Or how many elements are there on a periodic table? Those used to be simple …

You meet some of the best people in prison.

Due to the Carlsbad Desalination Project, Las Flores Drive, between Grand Avenue and Mirada Drive in San Marcos, will be closed for a week. KSD Construction manager Brendan Slagle said the closure is related to …

"Darn it, Patrick, this is suburbia!” I complained. “I am not about to put barn doors on the shed in our front yard!” Patrick has been trying to cut costs — he’s already embarrassed to …

The State: The Complete Series has been out for a while, but it’s still one of my favorites. The mid-’90s MTV sketch comedy series is complete in one DVD set. Some of the sketches may …

Grazing’s good next to Kearny Mesa’s airfield.

I’ve derived much inspiration from both John Waters and the desert region outside of San Diego, so I was thrilled to discover Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea. Narrated by Waters, it offers an …

A great little indie-rock band with a strange name that had a cello-playing drummer last year. I had a chance to talk to Jeffrey O’Brien about both. The cello thing, he explained, was for their …

“What did they used to call that, the kind of music that used to be playing in supermarkets?” Well, whatever the proper term is, Ex-Dragon frontman Mario Escovedo says that’s a new direction Requiemme, his …

On May 28, Finding the Sacred Heart — Live in Philly, 1986 will be released for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. The concert was filmed at the Spectrum in Philadelphia during the second …

O.B. resident rapper James Deans, aka Destructo Bunny, spends much of his time these days booking hip-hop shows in San Diego and his hometown of Merced. In San Diego, he has arranged shows at Anthology, …

In the crosshairs of history, part threeYP-289 goes to war Hurry up and wait. San Diego’s tuna clippers conscripted for World War II saw far more downtime than action. Like the much larger Liberty ships …

Hike to a viewpoint overlooking an area where Indians once lived and enjoy the silence and isolation.

What makes Idiocracy so funny is how clearly you can see the future of our society in it. It is sad, depressing, and scary how close we are to reaching the level of stupidity depicted …

“We started a new project called Freak the Mighty with a new rhythm section when we got off the road last October,” says guitarist Adam Baez of the now-defunct Fuzz-Huzzi, which was already splintering before …

There’s a run coming up next week. Post time is Friday, April 19, 5:30 a.m., Huntington Beach State Park, read 25 miles down the coast from Long Beach. The race ends Saturday at 8:00 p.m. …

My sisters and I stared at the illustrations on the side of the box, and passed the deceptively light metal tank around as we each took our turn trying to make it work. “Careful, it …

Heymatt: As a kid, I ate plenty of cans of chicken noodle soup and liked it. However, I could not help but notice the very few pieces, well, tiny pieces, okay, microscopic particles of what …

San Diego’s Republican Party outraised its Democratic rivals during the month of February by a hefty margin, recent disclosures show. The GOP took in $28,512, its monthly federal campaign report says. Democrats got just $8485. …

Television veteran Chadwick Boseman gives a fine, canny performance in 42 as Jackie Robinson, the man who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Well, except for when he talks …

Hi Matt, Like most people, I have been going to see movies since I was a kid. I even remember the newsreels that were at the theaters on military bases where we were stationed. But …

At least ten unidentified employees at the port of San Diego were each given a ticket last month worth $150 to the “Sustainable Seafood Gala 2013” thrown by the San Diego Oceans Foundation. The free …

Heymatt: I’ve noticed a yellow powder accumulating on the blue recycling bins in various parts of the city. What is it? I haven’t seen it on the black trash cans. — Observer, via email I …

In December, a small local biotech named Apricus Biosciences decided to put substantially all its eggs in one basket: male and female sexual disorders. But in tackling male erectile dysfunction, Apricus faces stiff competition from …

Bridgepoint Education, Inc., the controversial San Diego–based private school operator, continues to spread around political cash. According to a recent disclosure posted online by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, the firm gave $5000 on …

That you fear your own frailty, Marget [sic], nothing misliketh me. God give us both twain the grace of our own self, and whole to depend and hang upon the hope and strength of God. …

Gamblers Don’t Always Win Re “Apartments Unwelcome.” Thirteen years ago, Mr. London tried to get the zoning of parcels of land he purchased at Lemon Avenue and Bancroft Drive changed from Suburban-Residential to Commercial. He …

It began with light lute music in the high parlor of an old Victorian house in Santa Cruz, Alice dressed in luminescent white, carrying a bouquet of carnations and roses, a garland of baby’s breath …

About a year ago, a good friend in Tijuana took his two young sons to a taco stand for a mid-morning meal. When he returned to his mini-van about 15 minutes later, he discovered that …

Louisiana’s Great River Road is actually two historic corridors reaching seventy miles from New Orleans to beyond Baton Rouge on either side of the Mississippi. First Spanish, then French, and finally Creole landowners built their …

During public comment at the March Sweetwater Union High School board meeting, Jacqueline King, a resident of Chula Vista who has worked in real estate development for 36 years, addressed the trustees regarding the district’s …

I found Bianca Poletti enjoying the San Diego weather while sipping tea outside Rebecca's Coffee shop in South Park. The 26-year-old recently moved to Seattle where she works as a visual merchandiser for the popular …

C funk (that is the name he goes by), used to own an identical military issued jacket purchased from a thrift shop, but a couple of Marines made him hand it over. "They said it …

The majority of non-business travel is for one special thing, “Vacation.” The word within the word vacation is "vacate" ("4. an act or an instance of vacating," Merriam-Webster), so by extension looking at it as …

A six-man crew of youthful thieves stole 29 fishing rods valued at $20,000 from a private residence in Ensenada Thursday morning. The stolen rods were considered “pro-level” and were discovered at the group’s encampment in …

The Big Lots store at the Shadowridge Plaza Shopping Center located on Sycamore Road in Vista, is scheduled to close its doors forever on April 15. According to store manager Oliver Cregier, even though the …

Closed down for a couple of months now, the empty Coco's Bakery Restaurant at 2644 El Cajon Boulevard in North Park is still hoping for a new leaseholder. The Coco's in Corona del Mar, California …

The silent protest of the closing of Friendship Park scheduled for Saturday April 6 has been canceled because Friendship Park, at the monument in Border Field State Park, will be able to remain open on …

My friend Richard Bailey, grandson of Julian's founder Drury Bailey, brought my attention to a construction project west of Calexico which sounded amazing. With my photographer Pam Wilmers, we struck out on Wednesday, April 3, …

For hikers it’s exercise rewarded with 360º panoramic views. For Cowles Mountain it’s trail damage and habitat destruction. Hikers anticipating a challenging spring break hike up Cowles Mountain at the Golfcrest trailhead in San Carlos …

Department 3 at the downtown San Diego Courthouse (220 Broadway) reopened April 3 after closing the previous day for a second-round of disinfecting. This followed a working sheriff’s deputy’s report she had a contagious “staph” …

The first quarter of 2013 has brought with it strong releases from the likes of Jim James, Foxygen, Serengeti, and Atoms for Peace, yet perhaps none catchier than the latest record from San Diego pop-punk …

The last time I saw Living Colour was a clip of them performing on the Arsenio Hall Show. They played “Cult of Personality” and tore down the house. Arsenio was elated. This was the late …

Red-and-white tablecloths with Dean Martin music in the background. It sounds like every other pizza joint in the United States – and it's got every possible cliché you can think of when it comes to …

Jimbo's, the natural food chain that got its start in North Park in 1984 and sold the North Park store in 1997, has signed the lease on a 28,000 sq. ft. property downtown at the …

Despite the best efforts of many in the city of El Cajon and others to help the struggling business stay afloat, the brewing company folded. The Craft Brewing Business website noted "to get off the …

Tyrone Crawford spends most days with a clipboard attempting to educate people about the environment as a Greenpeace canvasser. I found him on the PB Boardwalk enjoying his day off. Crawford is a thrift shop …

In the Reader's special 2013 Happy Hour issue, Chad Deal, Ian Pike, and Ed Bedford share their picks for San Diego's best happy hours, that time of day when the glass is always half full. …

The March 30 memorial for surfing champion Douglas "Buzz" Sutphin at Cardiff State Beach featured his favorite surf song and a paddle out where people on the ocean and those on the shore threw flowers …

A crew was unloading a new group of dinosaurs Monday, April 1 in Balboa Park. The new exhibit, scheduled to open on April 12 at the San Diego Natural History Museum, or "The Nat" as …

“Every single day I get emails from people who still tune in.” Ed Duke shuttered his long-running web radio station Thrash Unlimited recently. “Technically, it’s still on the air,” he says by phone, “on [Internet …

"People in apartments aren’t stable; they don’t become part of the community,” grouses G.W., who lives in La Mesa near Mt. Helix. She fears that her tony neighborhood will take a turn for the worse …

Not the voice of an angel, which is not to say that Angel Olsen’s singing voice is not good, it’s just that it’s not particularly angelic. Intricate is a word I’d use in its place. …

‘We decided to have this third record be self-titled, ’cause we feel like we really found our own sound,” says Alfred Howard of the Heavy Guilt, who will celebrate the release of their new full-length …

The statue’s trip occurred several days after Christmas, but for the previous two weeks, the Mexicans had been coming to the monument to prepare for loading. Workman had his doubts that the statue was stable …

Ed Bed discovers the French side of Santee.

Turn your tomatoes and squash into butterflies and hummingbirds.

Jensen Rufe was a 1991 graduate of rock and roll high. “The guys in blink-182 were a little younger than us,” says Rufe about Poway High. “But we were pretty much the same age as …

“Give it a try. It can change your life,” exults Kimberly Knox, who’s convinced that Mood Watch, her new app for Apple devices, will make a palpable difference in the lives of those who fork …

“I need to pee again,” I said to Arturo, the man behind the steering wheel. “Didn’t you just go?” “It’s not my fault you’re a camel,” I said, defensively. “And anyway, that was over two …

Happy Hour: that transcendental space between drinking too early and drinking too much. We all know what it’s like rushing out of work early to catch discount suds at the local dive. Some of us …

I’m always in search of a snack or a meal. I almost never go out with only drinking on the mind. If you ask me to happy hour, I’m going to ask, “Is there food?” …

Just think: If Wall Street hadn’t collapsed, happy hour may never have exploded the way it has. All these bars and eateries wouldn’t have needed our business so bad. As it is, suddenly I can …

Visit an old Indian village site and hike down a high-walled serpentine gorge.

Chula Vista’s Canyon Community Church reaches into the muck.

Heymatt:In every place I have lived, throw rugs on top of carpeting have migrated in one direction. They move quite quickly. Even a six-by-nine-foot with furniture on it will migrate. I always assumed that foot …

I don’t mean to reduce Ibsen’s drama, but in some ways you could subtitle A Doll’s House “Behind the Scenes with Ken and Barbie.” Torvald and Nora Telmer live in such a profoundly rigid society …

Heymatt: I am in the market to buy a new car. I have visited several dealerships looking for a good deal. Seeing all these new cars, I started to wonder if they all get sold, …

The studio rep described it as “Dreamgirls, only happier.” A stop at the concession stand to pick up an air-sickness bag seemed in order. Well, blow me down! The Sapphires is a feel good movie …

Every year USA Today, CBS Sports, pretty much everybody, publishes team payrolls for each major league baseball club. Those figures are all over the map, espn.go says the bottom three 2013 payrolls are: Oakland A’s, …

Hey Matt: I used to live in San Diego and ate at Aliberto’s, Rigoberto’s, and all the other iterations of ’Berto’s I could find. I just saw your article from March 16, 2000, and I …

The empty shelves inside the Chula Vista Gun Store (in mid-February) make it hard to tell the place sells guns at all. Last December, the amplification of the gun-control debate sent buyers rushing to this …

Who is giving the big bucks to San Diego State’s nonprofit Campanile Foundation? Not all the names have been made available, but according to a document recently released by the foundation under the requirements of …

Escondido's white minority rules, but Latinos want fair representation.

Check out this $20 million, 9000-square-foot fur storage closet.

San Diego’s Qualcomm, Inc., the cell phone giant, made a big splash a few weeks ago when company executive Nathan Fletcher — the former GOP Assemblyman turned independent who lost his bid for mayor last …

On Friday, January 4 Jennifer parked her Dodge Challenger at a transit station in Oceanside, on El Camino Real. She was careful to park her two-door coupe directly under a surveillance camera, and then she …

Aldine Drive Stoppage In the article, “Stop Signs Snarl Streets” we would be interested in learning where the author obtained her information and facts. Did she consider the impact this has on the residential community …

Welcome to April, the cruelest of months.

Friendless and faint, with martyred steps and slow, Faint for the flesh, but for the spirit free, Stung by the mob that came to see the show, The Master toiled along to Calvary; We gibed …

I’ve talked a lot about anniversary beers produced by local breweries for their partner bars and restaurants. Those beers are always special, but two neighboring businesses—URBN Coal Fired Pizza (3085 University Avenue, North Park) and …

About 1.5 hours outside Athens, Mycenae is one of the essential stops for any visitor to Greece with an interest in ancient history. Arriving here, you're awed not just by the site and the ruins, …

Everyone hikes Diamond Head, but for those in the know, Koko Crater is the place to hike. The little-known Koko Crater Trail hike surpasses Diamond Head not only for the level of hiking but also …

Though the stated aim of the U-T San Diego has been to "merge'" with the North County Times, and loyal Times readers can still get their hands on ersatz NCT editions with a masthead that …

Prince Edward Island, Canada, is called the birthplace of Canada – it was the site where they became a confederation in 1864. In 2014, they will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference leading …

An American in search of some pay-for-play sex in Tijuana on Good Friday inadvertently led police to a man pimping out teenaged girls after the American's wallet was stolen by a 13-year-old prostitute. In a …

An unremarkable dirt lot at the extreme northwest edge of Robb Field could make a dandy place for people who want to grow their own vegetables if an Ocean Beach man has his way. Just …

About 50 people attended the March 26 Allied Gardens Community Council Town Hall meeting where a panel discussed issues related to updating the 1982 Navajo Community Plan, a document focused on the neighborhoods of Allied …

Back before I swirled, sniffed and savored every sip of my beer, some of my close friends and I frequented Karl Strauss Brewing Company’s Sorrento Mesa brewery restaurant (9675 Scranton Road, Sorrento Mesa). Back then, …