Chris Ahrens lives in the kind of house any surfer would love. It’s on the hill above Cardiff, with a view of one of the best reef breaks in San Diego county. Wet suits are …

Matmail: Just received this urgent e-mail. “Doctors are blaming a rare electrical imbalance in the brain for the bizarre death of a chess player whose head literally exploded in the middle of a championship game. …

Dear Matthew Alice: Why are cinnamon candies “red hot”? I have never thought the taste of a cinnamon roll or other baked good particularly eye-watering. — R.R., S.D. Tastes that bludgeon our senses have always …

Dear Matthew Alice: Why are margarine and butter sold in different shapes on the East and West Coasts? In the West, the cubes are short and fat, while on the East Coast they are long …

It's a politician's worst nightmare - even worse if you're a judge or sheriff, district attorney or city attorney. It's Proposition 208, the campaign finance reform initiative passed by voters last November, and it caps …

The sign on Steve Olson's office door says Olson Avocado Management. The logo on his jacket reads Olson Firewood. When you work in agriculture, you have to stay flexible. "Groves we planted 10, 20 years …

Latest way to spend tax money at San Diego city hall: $30,000 for a six-month "road hump study." The city's contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates says the work will begin with "a survey of cities …

A half dozen Indians stood pointing hoses from which I could see no water escaping — they looked like a mime troupe parodying a fire brigade. One man threw down his hose and began stomping a circle around himself.

Somebody once told us that if you like cats, you like all breeds of cats, but if you like a certain breed of dog, you don’t necessarily like other breeds of dogs.”