When it was announced in March that Kristin Shott, a 36-year-old welder at the Naval Air Depot on North Island, had won an award for blowing the whistle on a long history of faulty welds …

'Anything Goes." Cole Porter wrote the music and lyrics. But it became San Diego's theme song. We don't yet know if any city councilmembers solicited bribes or improperly took money from strip-club operators wanting looser …

Last winter's rains have greened the empty fields and rutted the dirt roads of La Gloria. The area, on the southern outskirts of Tijuana along the free road to Ensenada, is an odd mixture of …

The spirit of Special Forces remains the same and, for the most part, so does the organization. However, minor changes have had far-reaching effects and serve as brilliant examples of the Law of Unintended Consequences. …

San Diego First District city councilman Scott Petersis set to throw a lavish campaign fundraiser for himself at his La Jolla mansion tonight, but some members of the honorary host committee listed on the invitation …

Chuck Berry turned out to be an asshole to a lot of people, but I got along with him really well. I’ve got a cool picture of him signing a contract and using my back to do it.

Eyes shut tight to ward off the stinging spray, wet hair plastered to your head, you hurtle blindly on a straight trajectory toward a sinus-filling finale. Flat on your back, you slip through roller-coasterlike curves …

Matthew: My question is about TANG, the space-program-induced instant drink mix from the '60s. Is TANG an acronym for something? Like I had always heard that SPAM stood for "shoulder pork and meats." -- Mitch …

M.A.: Department stores like WalMart, Target, Kmart, et al. are laid out in a fashion that seems to vaguely discriminate against male shoppers by putting the "guy stuff" (automotive, hardware, sporting goods) at the rear …

"Everything in the Amazon Sweet Shop was sweetened with honey or maple syrup. We used to make green tea ice cream for the Prophet. Kung Food used to have us in their little deli. People’s in Ocean Beach...”

They’re young, most of them, and love teaching. They’re also hurt, many of them, and mad. They are the hundreds of teachers in San Diego County who have been laid off. This spring over 1400 …

One week ago, shareholders of Poway's deeply troubled computer marketer Gateway blew an opportunity to rein in one of capitalism's ugliest abuses: cheap insiders' stock. In initial public offerings (IPOs), company founders -- executives, venture …

Valley Center growers are feeling the financial squeeze caused by the Mexican fruit fly infestation discovered in November 2002. Lisa Schostag, a third-generation farmer and a native Californian, farms land within the quarantine area. "The …

Awhile back, a friend asked me what the differences are between the Special Forces of my day and this generation of Green Berets. After careful thought I have decided that the spirit is identical, the …

Last Friday, San Diego city councilman Jim Madaffer was testifying before a federal grand jury in the matter of the city's Cheetahs strip-club scandal; at the same hour a few blocks away in state appellate …

Development continues in the remaining open spaces of southern Orange County -- so fast that a few years ago Orange County bumped San Diego County from its former rank as the second most populous county …

Oh Explainer of All Things Mysterious: You know that famous scene in The Seven Year Itch where Marilyn Monroe stands on the subway vent and enjoys the warm air blowing up her dress? Well, she's …

Matt: I have hundreds of channels on my TV. The only one missing is Channel 1. Has there ever been a Channel 1? If so, what happened to it? -- Leslie, Rancho Bernardo Poor old …

Natasha Monahan Papousek is not Iranian. She is not Lebanese, Moroccan, Indian, or Pakistani. She lives in La Mesa, she has the red hair and pale skin of her Irish-Czech-Norwegian-American parents, but she’s a henna …

San Diego Symphony president and CEO Douglas Gerhart, whose take-no-prisoners style is credited by many with pulling the once-bankrupt organization from the jaws of financial oblivion, is in hot water with his wife of 17 …

KISS was one of the bands that would come to watch the Dolls play. They would take notes and sit right up in front. Sylvain used to say that the Dolls taught KISS how to light their cigarettes.

La Jolla also impressed Baum, and two of his non-Oz books are set there, The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. A third, The Scarecrow of Oz, is a hybrid. “It begins in La Jolla.

On average, total lunar eclipses visible from any given locale occur about once every two years. Luckily for us, the year 2003 features two of them. Both eclipses take place (coincidentally and auspiciously) during the …

Almost a decade ago, David Thatcher, chief financial officer of Peregrine Systems, was effervescing superlatives about his boss, John Moores, then considering purchase of the Padres. "He's interested in doing things top-notch," enthused Thatcher, pointing …

When cities and countries fall, looting is common. Students of history can cite the Rape of Nanking, the Sack of Rome, the burning of Atlanta. The difference between these conquests and the fall of Baghdad …

'Things may change in Iraq between now and June 18," says Judge Ignacio Fernandez in reference to the next date Ayad Fawsi Suliman is due in court. "Should we have an asylum hearing?" The judge's …

Dear Matt: Well, it appears Girl Scout cookie season has finally come to an end. How many calories did the Girl Scouts unleash on America this year? -- Craving Cookies in Ocean Beach You realize, …

Heymatt: As my husband and I drove down several San Diego freeways recently, we noticed that there were tufts of orange cotton-candy-like fluffy stuff growing on the bushes along the freeway. What is it? -- …

Dear Matthew: Why is a dime smaller than a penny? A penny, nickel, quarter, half dollar, and silver dollar are each progressively larger. The dime is out of sequence! This is definitely driving me nuts! …

On Mother’s Day this year, I will be nine weeks closer to being a mother again. My husband Jack is thrilled. My five kids are ecstatic. I am filled with joy and nausea. Two and …

In 1940, the recently widowed and wealthy Clara Clemens Gabrilowitsch bought a small estate in the Hollywood hills and sought counsel from a medium named Sardoney about her love life. Known also by his epithet …

When I went to the bathroom for a second, in the time that I was gone, my girlfriend gave Iggy Pop her phone number. She told him to come and visit her.

At a point on the toll road 34 miles east of Tecate and just shy of the village of La Rumorosa, exit the toll road at "Vallecitos," turn right, then make a 180-degree turn.

When former port commissioner David Malcolm -- long known for mixing business with politics -- pleaded guilty to violating state conflict-of-interest laws last week, establishment members sighed with relief, "It's behind us." Sotto voce, they …

On January 26, 2000, Oceanside police entered DeAnn Sutton-Griffith's home with neither search warrant nor permission and confiscated her dog. Preceding the home invasion was a dispute Sutton-Griffith had with the woman who sold her …

It's been a rough year for old heroes. So far, within the past 365 days, I've lost Ed Thomas, my old team sergeant, and Command Sergeant Major Bill Edge, who was probably the smartest man …

Ex-port commissioner David Malcolm, who pleaded guilty last week to felony conflict-of-interest charges stemming from his dealings with port tenant Duke Energy and agreed to pay $249,000 in restitution, has been unloading some real estate. …

Shouldn’t this money be earmarked for our own people? How is my life improved by forcing the Iraqi people to accept our form of government? It’s hard to make sense out of this when you’re 17.

Mat A: How do they get those little Ms on M&M candies? Disenfranchised elves working for Mars, Inc. at minimum wage? Or some esoteric new-fangled tenth generation computer gizmo? Or perhaps just some mundane mechanical …

Dear Matthew Alice: While contemplating the universe in the tub the other day, I suddenly wondered why my fingers and toes get all wrinkly when I contemplate the universe in the tub. -- Pruno, in …

Dear Uncle Matthew and Aunt Alice: We all know that our garden variety of snails leave a slimy trail on leaves when they move around. Buy why, when they traverse a cement sidewalk, is the …

Richard Russell makes no bones about it. He feels like an old man these days, though he won't say quite how old. The same goes for a lot of what Russell says about himself and …

We had a place in Pacific Beach at Olney and Garnet that was an old Victorian house. And we were a real happening band in San Diego. The King Biscuit Blues Band. We were playing the love-ins.

An "All You Can Eat" business strategy might work if you don't try to swallow too much debt in expanding rapidly. And when the losses soar, it's wise to slice top-management pay quickly, particularly when …

Wirsing says Ferguson's pro-bridge campaign "put us all to sleep because we had heard all that crap before. We thought Jesse didn't have anything to worry about. Well, we were wrong."

'If you think the M16 is bad in the jungle, you should see it with sand in it," said my friend Samir. The topic under discussion was why he carried an AK47. He was showing …

After a visit to Mount Palomar's famous observatory, I enjoy introducing friends to the delights of the natural landscape right below the telescope's looming dome. In a kind of reverse pilgrimage, we follow the Observatory …

San Diego State University president Stephen Weber was out traveling a bit last year, according to his recently filed Statement of Economic Interests. On March 9, Weber reports, he accepted a free private plane ride …

Matt: When pigeons eat birdseed off the sidewalk, do they bang their beaks on the concrete? — Mission Valley Ken Peck. Ouch! Peck. Ouch! That's kinda how a pigeon's day goes. Well, not that bad, …

Hey, Matt: There are crime-solving reality shows that use actors in the recreations who look a lot like the real criminals. Have you heard any stories in which those actors were spotted on the street …

G'day Matt: I was hoping you could confirm a suspicion I've got that the culinary elite are trying to dupe us or that there is a serious case of the Emperor's New Apron going on. …