The closing of the Ocean Beach Pier was announced at the March 1 Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Council meeting. “We lost a good 200 yards of railing on the south side [of the pier],” said …

Panama City was exactly as I’d pictured it – all white, dense, oozing history. I took it as a good omen, like forgotten faces from a dream, as we wandered the crumbling edifices of Casco …

At a March 3 meeting, representatives from the city's Financial Management Department presented the fiscal year 2010 Mid-Year Budget Monitoring Report to four members of San Diego's Budget Committee. "General fund projections are currently projected …

Visiting the Hsi Lai Temple, nestled in the hills of Hacienda Heights, I felt as though I was transported back in time and to another world. Spread out over 15 acres, the temple grounds are …

The best funk band working today is not from the U.S., where funk was invented, but from Leeds, England, where funk and soul have been undergoing a revival for some time. On the soul/R&B side, …

“Last year we were just four childhood friends, reuniting in our home town of Poway for a jam session,” says Johnny Airplane, singer-guitarist for Monkeys in Space. “We realized we’re all still young — in …

Friday, February 26, 8:45 p.m. A University Heights house at Georgia and El Cajon is illuminated by the retro neon “Boulevard” sign, lending the epithet “The Big Pink.” The theme is “Walmart Rollback.” Leif opens …

Thirty-Five Years AgoThere seems to be an increasing popularity of Renaissance-type music in this area. [I]s what I’ve been hearing historically authentic or just another quaint Southern California put-on? Unfortunately, the general public has gained …

Artist: Lead Burns RedSong: “Nomad” (from sandiegoreader.com/mp3)Heard by: Julian Yanez, Ocean BeachIt starts off strong, starts out hard. I liked the intensity. It kind of slows down with the breakdown, but overall, it’s a good …

The just-released Bullet is the first new CD for the Screamin YeeHaws in four years. It was recorded at Doubletime and mixed by Jeff Forrest (blink-182, Cattle Decapitation, Deadbolt). The Southern-fried punk band hooked up …

“The bass player and I hooked up on Facebook, and I made a joking comment about how I guess we’ll be getting back together,” says singer Mark Copeland of the long-defunct band Sanctuary. “Well, long …

The short and stocky black performer perked up in conversation at a Brooklyn bar last month. “San Diego? Heidi and I were just talking about San Diego the other day, remembering how important it was …

“I’m kinda a quiet guy, but it was really coming out of me the other night,” says Paper Forest bassist Trevor Mast (Joy) about a recent show at Tin Can Ale House. The evening saw …

Thursday 4Breathy British band the Clientele is touring the world behind late-last-year’s crit hit Bonfire on the Heath, their most pop-defined collection yet. Bonfire steps out of the fuzz, into cleaner, chiming tones. Though front …

i was leaving my fifty-eighth year when a thumb of ice stamped itself hard near my heart you have your own story you know about the fears the tears the scar of disbelief you know …

Big Spring, tucked in a tributary of Tubb Canyon on the west side of Borrego Valley, is one of the more reliable water producers in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. As such, it’s an important …

Continuing with Tiger Woods, sex therapy, and David Peters, a marriage and family therapist working out of Mission Valley. Peters was born in Peoria, Illinois, raised in California. His dad worked in broadcasting, mom was …

You never know what you’re eating. Not really. That’s my thought as I dunk my congee/cruller/dja kwai/you tiao/Chinese fried breadstick into my Cambodian/ French coffee (the kind with sweetened condensed milk at the bottom). The …

I look at my boyfriend with such anger, but I feel a little sympathy too, as I notice a part of his chin dripping with blood. Tears stream down my face. I am scared out …

Fake Facts I am writing regarding the February 25 story published in “S.D. on the Q.T.” titled “Policeman Poet Vows to Kick Some Ass.” As the chief of the Coronado Police Department, I am disappointed …

When Grace McGuire started taking flying lessons at 16, she had never heard of Amelia Earhart. So instructors teased the girl, especially because they thought she looked like Earhart. That was in the late 1960s, …

The world does not always understand that those within a subculture are merely people, and that when people are targeted for being different, humanity suffers a loss of itself. — Gothic Volunteer Alliance In nightclubs …

Hey, Matt: I’m disappointed in current HDTV and 4:3-aspect television. I cannot see any difference between the old and the new, quality wise, except people now appear even fatter. Can I blame AT&T U-Verse, or …

Unclaimed Cattle. The Duval County sheriff’s office received a complaint from a rancher about cattle tearing up his fields. Deputies located the five cows on Duval County Road 104 (approximately five miles north of San …

Recipe by Jim Phillips, executive chef, Barona Casino I never went to culinary school, which is ironic because I run one now. At Barona’s Culinary Institute, we have a three-million-dollar demonstration kitchen with theater seating …

In contention for the foreign-film Oscar, in contention to be exact for two more days after its debut on Friday at the Landmark Hillcrest, A Prophet is a sort of Prisoner’s Progress, a brutal and …

Twitter has taken the local political world by storm, even San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders, who has been tweeting about topics important to him such as the city’s “high number of unwanted kittens” and remembering …

Contributions to the coming campaign to make San Diego’s so-called strong mayor form of government permanent have been streaming in from big business. Foes of the measure, now set for the June ballot, raised nothing …

Chargers lobbyist Mark Fabiani, still trying to get a public subsidy out of San Diego taxpayers for the football team, has found enough extra time to write a few campaign checks. He gave $700 on …

On April 23, 2007, two San Diego investigators, Gerald Cook of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Dan Vile of the San Diego Police Department, turned in a criminal investigation of wrongdoing in a local …

When chef Amiko Gubbins left her pioneering eclectic-fusion restaurant Parallel 33 to go cook for a rock star, local foodies gasped. She finally shut Parallel 33 down permanently after taking a gig with Specialty Produce …

Lisa FranekProgram Associate, Media Arts Center San Diego Since we’re showing Carlos Saura’s latest film Io, Don Giovanni, at the SDLFF, I was inspired to revisit one of his earlier films, Goya in Bordeaux. With …

Patrick has ceased sipping port after dinner. Times are tight. So wifey is on a mission to find some tasty bottles that can be purchased for around a Hamilton. Last week, Pat sat down with …

In a way, it’s hard to imagine a more English band than the Clientele. Maybe that’s because singer-guitarist Alasdair MacLean sings in a hushed, breathy voice that sounds as if he’s trying to win the …

German-American violinist David Garrett developed his talent from the age of four. Now 28 and a Julliard graduate, Garrett's repertoire spans Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" to AC/DC's "Thunderstruck." Garrett combines classical music with modern genres to …

Sunday night I saw the latest incarnation of ’80s rock icons W.A.S.P. Lead singer and sole original member Blackie Lawless has led W.A.S.P. through three decades of touring and several lineup changes but has held …