Where I live, no major high-volume road cuts apart the 'hood. People can cross the street without becoming dead. The amoeba-shaped Balboa Park Municipal Golf Course and grid-busting canyons have made a rabbit warren of the streets.

Bankers Hill. The name has a regal sound to it. Bankers Hill has been called "Pill Hill" for its many doctors' offices and "Gill Hill" for Irving Gill, who built the historic residences that grace …

That first southbound walk home from Wegeforth Elementary, back in '68, was long and hot, each shadow on Mobley Street a refuge. For a transplanted fourth-grader, it was an arduous half-mile trek. These days, I …

After 14 years of living in North Park, a marriage proposal propelled me into the arms of Encinitas. I've acclimated, but on evenings when I hear norteño music pulsating from the roadway behind my new …

Has Linda Vista lost its heart? The Yum Yum Donut Shop in the Vien-Dong supermarket center has become the place where old-time Linda Vistans turn up to chew the fat. "This shopping mall that used …

One of my primary needs — along with sleep, food, shelter, and the Sunday Los Angeles Times — is quiet. Absolute, undisturbed quiet, preferably outdoors, with a great view. And in a world of boom …

There was a time when the Spanish raised sheep in the "hidden valley" of Escondido. Before the First World War, grapes became the crop of choice, and spectators at the Grape Day Parade were given …

Having grown up in Mira Mesa, I had lots of friends in Scripps Ranch. It was our neighboring community, and in the '80s the kids there all went to Mira Mesa High School because Scripps …

On the surface, Carmel Valley is not the most charming town. It is a village of strivers: young professionals pushing to move up the ladder, students scrambling for accolades, parents and high schoolers pumping away …

We ascended toward Julian through the Cuyamacas. It was spring, but the air was crisp and clouds hinted at possibilities. The scenery was lush and green, but soon the landscape changed. The burnt hillsides, the …

Mission Beach is one distinctive neighborhood. Of course there's the roller coaster, but I'm thinking of a completely different distinction. I mean that Mission Beach cuts quite the geographical figure. It is a true promontory, …

University City encompasses the Golden Triangle (Highway 52 on the south and the I-5 and I-805 merge on the north) as well as much land around UCSD, the biotech firms on North Torrey Pines Road, …

A temple has been erected on the spot where I lived on Central Avenue. A small band of brown-robed Vietnamese monks purchased the lot from my landlord and turned the old bungalow into a Buddhist …

I wrote under "Future Plans" in my 1978 high school yearbook: "Moving to Lemon Grove." I'd never been west of the last Stuckey's in St. Louis, but I'd just clipped a magazine article pitching the …

Hey, Guys: A few pitches for University Heights promotion... The business district runs between signs ("The Boulevard" to "Normal Heights"), about the last third of Park and the beginning of Adams: "Let's Go to Breakfast!" …

At the end of a winding asphalt road, past boulders and gated ranches, past riotous tumbles of magenta bougainvillea, past dirt roads that disappear into orange groves dappled with midday sun, you'll find Peter Schaner. …

Not very long ago this neighborhood was a secret refuge for odd people. The cheap apartments were rented by hardworking families busy raising more kids than they could afford. The run-down houses were rented by …

Okay, okay, I know. San Ysidro. It's not a place, it's the blur just before you get to Mexico. It's humanity sluicing up and down through the World's Busiest Border. The tidal gate between the …

Su-Mei called the city. That's what the fish guy said. "I'm Victor fucking Joseph, and if I wanna sell black pepper chicken, ain't nobody gonna stop me." A squat keg of a man with a …

While in Ramona on an escape from city life a year ago, I unexpectedly ran into an old friend, Karen Webster, on one of the town's back streets. She was on her horse. At first …

Draw an imaginary line down El Cajon Boulevard from Fairmount Avenue to 54th Street. Invisible as the line may be, it keeps the crackheads and prostitutes and the smog-belching oil leakers of Southeast San Diego …

Exit Interstate 5 at Del Mar Heights Road and head west. Cross Mango and go down the hill toward the heart of Del Mar. Take in one of the most beautiful stretches of scenery anywhere. …

When I think of La Costa, I remember the wildlife — the skunk that lived under our house, for instance, a beautiful creature whose size would double when it puffed up its fur after it …

Movies reviewed this week: Beyond the Sea, Flight of the Phoenix, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Meet the Fockers, The Phantom of the Opera, and Spanglish

"What is this?" I asked through a silver microphone bolted into the glass. "That's a check. The jail takes the cash in your pocket and issues you a check," a voice, oddly disembodied and electronic, …

“A client wanted something signed. He had this crate next to him, and he just started doodling.”

This is my own recipe that I created for the restaurant. It can be served as an appetizer or as a dinner. This dish is colorful and very simple to make — great for the …

Just back from Ukraine, I follow TV reports of the election protests in Kiev, the capital. Via e-mail, friends have described the situation in Odessa, where I lived, as much calmer. Odessa is neither in …

In Holland in the 17th Century, "tiles migrated from floors to walls," says Steven Kern. "Why? Because ceramic is soft-baked, not like ironstone or stonewear. When you walk on it, it's going to chip." But …

I eat in at least 50 restaurants a year -- more often, 65 and up. Some you read about; others prove too short-lived or too awful to merit ink.The "Bests" list here reflects only meals …

Tristan Prettyman, the 22-year-old Del Mar native, signed with Virgin in early October and will start recording next month. She won "Best Acoustic" at this year's San Diego Music Awards, and her song "My Love" …

In the wake of Jay-Z's collaboration with Linkin Park on "Collision Course" comes news that P.O.D. may be doing something with the prolific rapper as well. On December 15, P.O.D. drummer Noah "Wuv" Bernardo told …

Will Coors Amphitheater, SDSU's Cox Arena, and SDSU's Open Air Theater be swallowed up by Clear Channel? The publisher of a major concert industry publication says that is very likely. "[Clear Channel] would seem like …

"DJ Monk had a stalker," said an L5 club regular. December 11, around 1 a.m. at the downtown venue, a fan during DJ Monk's set (dubbed "Hallucination Before Christmas") was having a little trouble with …

Ever wish to learn land navigation by map and compass or GPS? Or discover the fine points of selecting and packing gear for a backpacking expedition? Or learn how to prepare for and experience a …

"Artists should definitely report to Soundscan." That's a tip from Eli Spector, an executive with 33rd Street Records, about the national tracking service that releases weekly sales figures of barcoded CDs sold through retail outlets. …

Travis Ryan, singer with Cattle Decapitation, says he smuggles band merchandise (shirts, stickers, and more) into shows when he is on tour so that the band doesn't have to pay the traditional 20 percent cut …

“It’s a hot spot. You can e-mail your broker on Wall Street till your billfold bursts.”

One New York weekly writes of Switchfoot, "The San Diego Christian rock quartet whose major-label breakthrough The Beautiful Letdown might be the most intelligent, least hysterical piece of alt-rock evangelism I've ever heard. And, yep, …

Before Louis XIV played a San Francisco venue December 16, an area paper wrote, "Dirty boys finish first. At least that's what San Diego's Louis XIV are betting on. The latest major-label contenders who would …

"I had to unplug them after two songs. They were great, though!"