Pattie let it be known that he had a supply of [smallpox] vaccine, and the Governor soon contracted with him to vaccinate the Californians, officials, soldiers, settlers, padres, and Mission Indians.

Tegner was ascending from an 85-foot dive when her air apparently ran out, forcing her to surface before she could complete her final decompression stop. A companion suggested to her that she stay in the boat.

Mt two latex-gloved fingers extended as far into Greta's vagina as they could through the tight rubbery of of her cervix, grazing the firm, smooth, slippery surface of her baby’s lowest part, but I could …

“Whenever anyone who is doing a dig for a new project, like the ballpark, comes across pottery shards and arrowheads or any interesting piece of trash, it has to be examined."

Jose Quezada, 47, calls himself a talón. “A talón is like a hustler. And a talón is important here. Some of the workers–” he rolls his eyes back to the shop where men are banging …

"The girls just had one dress and we’d fight. I’d throw them and the dress would tear and they’d cry and cry.... I tore my dress too, but I sure liked to wrestle.”

In southernmost Orange County, a long, gently curving stretch of sand and surf beckons surfers, swimmers, sunbathers, and strollers. Closer to Dana Point, both the old coast highway (former Highway 101) and the tracks of …

Hey, Matt: When a man is dressed as a woman, why do they say he is "in drag"? -- Christie, Lemon Grove The term popped up in the 1860s, 1870s, thereabouts, in England. It actually …

Hey, Matt: What exactly are Slurpees made of? I know heavily sugared things aren't particularly thirst quenching, but somehow you'd think even lots of sugar couldn't make ground-up ice not thirst quenching. But it does. …

Dearest Matt: I finally decided to do it and tie the knot. In planning the wedding ceremony, the subject of the unity candle came up. It seems really asinine to me, and I'm trying to …

The isolation of sports gives tennis players—who even fail to be socialized by playing on teams and learning to cheer on others—a Peter Pan aura, a continuous youth and a potential escape from responsibility.

“There are a lot of transplanted Midwesterners in East County that like a drier climate, not as moist and damp as the beach is. And they like to see the sunshine a little bit more.”

Every Father's Day, over 100 San Diego youths, aged 8 to 13, get on a bus to spend a week at Camp Marston in Julian. While going to summer camp is not unusual, for many …

“The men started the fire, and the women watched to see that it did not approach the houses. When it did, it was beaten out. It burned the hills, all over, clean through to the next one.”

In summer and fall, perhaps two or three centuries ago, Native Americans on the coastal side of the mountains were busy gathering luscious fruit from stands of prickly pear, tuna, and other varieties of cactus. …

The FAQ page at A Volga Girl: International Bureau of Introductions (www.volgagirl.com): Umm, what? Beautiful Russian women eager to be your bride! Oh, cool. But what about that Volga thing? Isn't that a show tune …

Stockbroker Matt: When the stock market is rising, they call it a "bull" market, right? And when it falls, it's a "bear" market, is it not? WHY? I can see maybe that a bull is …

Mr. Alice: It is my dream to one day become a famous newspaper columnist, only, get this, I don't plan on using my real name. My reading public will know me only by my nom …

O Great Imbiber: Does a shower help rehydrate you when you're hung over, or does it just wash the stink off? -- Greg in OB It's like this, Greg. Ya gotta get that agua inside …

Jim Benson, founder of the world's first private space-exploration company, has a knack for coming up with slogans. "We put the 'Pow' in Poway" is one of the things he likes to say. Poway is …

“I used to love me a pork chop, like I used to smoke cigarettes. Then I heard that my father lost one of his lungs, so I decided, ‘That’s enough Marlboros for me.' "

According to Berry, the San Diego Zoo introduced the bison to Camp Pendleton in 1973. The zoo’s contingent of North American Plains Bison (bison bison) had reproduced so successfully that they were running out of room.

'I didn't seek to be a school nurse. I was new to the city and I thought, 'I'll give this a try.' " Since giving it a try, Sandy Wright has been working with San …

"Opossums are good food, the meat is real good. I still eat them when I have a chance, but now I’m getting old, and I care more for cottontail rabbits; they’re easier to find."

If you enjoy the High Sierra you may get some sense of déjà vu atop Mount Hillyer, a rounded promontory off Angeles Crest Highway in the San Gabriel Mountains. The warm (but not hot) summer …

Hey, Matt: I've noticed that a large number of companies use actors in their TV commercials with English, French, or other foreign accents. I suppose that companies feel that an articulate accented spokesperson lends more …

Dear Matthew Alice: On page 138 of the San Diego Reader dated August 2, nearly everywhere there's supposed to be an h in the text, there's a blank space instead. At first I thought it …

“It was at the corner at the Episcopal Church, Ninth and C. She was crossing the street to go to the store, to get food for my cat. The neighbors heard her scream. She was thrown 15 feet.”

Erin Bushie had no idea that her one-year-old daughter, Aubrey, had a severe food allergy until the call came from day care. "At the day care, they all had a spoonful of peanut butter at …

As it happened, only one of the 17 women I spoke with declared herself a feminist with any kind of conviction. Most said they were not, usually citing a lack of political drive.

With the future of the downtown baseball stadium seemingly hanging in the balance, employees of the construction company that has a big contract to build it are shoveling thousands of dollars of campaign funds to …

Escondido ("hidden" in Spanish) Canyon conceals one of the natural treasures of the Santa Monica Mountains: a shimmering waterfall leaping more than 200 feet over a broken cliff. Only during times of rare flood do …

San Diego County — indeed all of California — is an orthopedic basket case. For millions of years, the ground beneath us has been shattered by slow but sure, incremental changes that can be read, …

Hey, Matt: A friend of mine got a ticket on Third Avenue, between Juniper and Ivy [downtown], for not having her tires turned in toward the curb. She was legally parked at a meter, had …

Hey, Matt: Was the apparently universal word "binky" just some anonymous, orally fixated infant's cute term for a pacifier or a trade name cooked up by some anonymous, orally fixated ad executive? -- Mark in …

Hi, Matt: Where does the necktie come from? -- Tieless Tim Cotes, Shelter Island They came from hell, I tell you! HELL! Well, actually, France. The same country that gave us high heels. In the …

Despite all of his outrage and bombast. Hunter S. Thompson has always had the best gig in town. Make no mistake: gonzo journalism has been his ticket to a lush life. True, you can’t fake …

‘There was never a suspicion in our home,’ said Col. Kastle to a reporter, ‘that Mrs. Monroe was anything else than a white woman. She had none of the characteristics of a colored person.’

What struck visitors to the region was how freely families shared their plenty. “Housewives felt that food should not be sold to neighbors or those in need and gave of their abundances anyone who was hungry."

“There is no more Aztec Bowl. It’s over,” said lead singer Adam Hay of Watch It Burn. “I heard people just today say they should do this once a month...but you know what? It’s done.” …

Few San Diegans know as much about allergies as Dr. Diane Marquardt. An associate professor of medicine at medical school, Marquardt lectures medical students, assists resident physicians, maintains a practice as an allergist, and spends …

If nothing else, those cryptic TV ads and billboards for the Union-Tribune are sparking interest in the 140-year-old newspaper. Reader Jim Johnston paid heed and reached out to the paper's editor. "'How will you be …

For more than a century, Irvine Park has drawn Orange Countyans up into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. Once a meeting place for the early settlers -- then known as the Picnic Grounds …

Hey, Golf-Pro Matthew! Why do those golfer guys carry around so many clubs? Seems to me just one good club in the hands of a skilled golfer oughta do the trick! -- Grant Frederickson, the …

Hey, Golf-Pro Matthew! Why do those golfer guys carry around so many clubs? Seems to me just one good club in the hands of a skilled golfer oughta do the trick! -- Grant Frederickson, the …

Hey, Matt: I am interested in the rip-off scams our local and federal governments use to line their secret account pockets with millions by skimming nickels and dimes from American citizens. WE DO NOTICE! California's …

Hey, Matt: I am interested in the rip-off scams our local and federal governments use to line their secret account pockets with millions by skimming nickels and dimes from American citizens. WE DO NOTICE! California's …