During the two days that the jury deliberated, the rest of the world seemed on freeze-frame, and I spoke with no one besides Dee's mom. We spent the time on uncomfortable wooden benches outside the …

Movies reviewed this week: Bride and Prejudice, Hitch, Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior, and The Wedding Date

“If we vinify like Australia has been doing, we’re going to end up with hedonistic wines.”

A lot of writers at the Reader don't go into the office much. With computers, we can all work from home and send in our work. It's a shame. None of that office camaraderie. Oh, …

Five Quarts: A Personal and Natural History of Blood. Ballantine Books; 2005; 309 pages; $23. FROM THE DUST JACKET: "We're born in blood. Our family histories are contained in it, our bodies nourished by it …

'I t seems that everything's gone wrong since Canada came along. Blame Canada! Blame Canada! With all their hockey hullabaloo, and that b***h Anne Murray too! Blame Canada! Shame on Canada!" On Saturday, February 12, …

Thirty Years Ago Dear Matthew: Would you be able to find out what our city officials get paid? The members of our city council did indeed get a raise, from $5,000 to $12,000 annually. Our …

Granite Mountain massively swells along the western edge of the Anza-Borrego Desert, its flattish summit presiding over hundreds of square miles of brown desert to the east and the timber-dotted Laguna and Cuyamaca Mountains toward …

Ex-San Diego city manager Jack McGrory has been sued for divorce by Cheryl, his wife of nearly 20 years. McGrory's controversial relationship with the Padres, for whom he went to work as a lobbyist and …

"Valentine's Day is our Christmas," says Karen Krasne, chef-owner of Extraordinary Desserts. "It's the busiest day of my year." Her original dessert café on Fifth Avenue has recently expanded into a second, larger location in …

Between 2000 and 2003, the Metropolitan Transit Development Board closed down Dial-A-Ride programs around the county. As budget crunches hit, the transit board had to choose between cutting fixed bus-route service or the Dial-A-Ride programs …

'Enron by the Sea" is outdated. Next up: "Buffoonery by the Bay." In an attempt to attract industry and capital, the San Diego establishment placed a special advertising section in the January 3 issue of …

A man is like a cat; chase him and he will run. Sit still and ignore him and he'll come purring at your feet. -- Helen Roland We stopped at the store for chocolate and …

"We want people to leave their worries outside - check that at the door, rush the stage, and ROCK!"

Over 1350 pastors and church leaders from around the world attended a pastors convention in San Diego last week. The dual National Pastors Convention and the EmergentYS Convention were held at the Town & Country …

"Wanted: A good woman who can clean, sew, cook fish, dig worms, and owns a boat and motor.”

"Well, you're right on time," I said to the back of a hooded red rainjacket. "Oh, my God," the coat squealed, then spun around. "I thought I'd lost you," Cassandra shouted into my shoulder as …

It's been 12 months since I wrote a column about taking up Tai Chi Ch'aun. I promised to report back after a year. The teacher, Sifu Yee Yuen, is somewhere between 75 and 100. He's …

Valentine's Day chez Kelly has always been a quiet, at-home affair. Patrick brings me flowers and dessert. I cook him dinner after the kids are in bed, and we break out the crystal candlesticks we …

"I...build a stage. It takes me all day to set up for a show and all day the next day to put it back the way it was." By day Nicholas Lynch is a carpenter. …

The music for the locally produced Clown Porn DVD was scored entirely by Chris Spoto's five-man band, Little Big Porn. Spoto is the lead singer and plays theremin. Spoto says all of his future Ramco …

Master P, 37, and Silkk the Shocker, 29 (Master P's brother), were arrested on felony gun charges by L.A. police January 27. P, whose real name is Percy Miller, played for the San Diego Stingrays …

Local talking head Bree Walker can be seen on HBO series Carnivale. She plays a circus sideshow character called Sabina the Scorpion Lady, which debuted last season and can be seen in three upcoming shows …

M-Theory Music, on 30th Street, was robbed on January 30 at 4:15 p.m., according to San Diego police report #05-006701. The responding officers spoke to cashier Chealsea Marie Daniel, who was the only employee in …

A local firm, Genius Products, Inc., is licensed to produce music CDs based on PBS's popular TV show for preschoolers, Jay Jay the Jet Plane, which hit retail shelves this month. The CDs will feature …

Area U2 fans who joined the band's fan club (for $40) at www.u2.com in order to get "preferred access" to "some of the best seats available" for the March 28 Vertigo tour opener at the …

"The streets of downtown aren't safe without the blues." A man carrying a case of Budweiser shouted this out to bluesman Pete Kelly. Kelly has been a street musician in the Gaslamp for 13 years, …

Dear Matthew Alice: Every time I watch the show Cops, I wonder why the arrestees would consent to being on TV. There is a disclaimer at the beginning that says, "All suspects are innocent until …

Hey: I've always wondered about the Subaru six-star logo? What's the deal? Is it a constellation? -- Tad, the net It's a star cluster in the constellation Taurus. We call it the Pleiades. It's actually …

Hello: My dad has had a broken hip which he recuperated from with the basis surgery. Recently he sets off the alarms as he goes out of most every store. His hip surgery was about …