My cell phone makes a faint sound, and I fumble for it. Perplexed, I summon up a text message, momentarily tuning out the buzz of Spanish conversation around me. “Welcome to Mexico,” Verizon tells me. …

On the afternoon of Friday, April 29, the San Diego Blood Bank's Bloodmobile got stuck in the deep dip where Montalvo Street meets West Point Loma Boulevard in Ocean Beach. The Bloodmobile had just completed …

I flew over the Hudson Ranch geothermal project (just southeast of the shore of the Salton Sea) on April 23. Richard Bailey, grandson of the founder of Julian, took this photo at 800 feet above …

Every thirty seconds, a twenty-second countdown excites the crew, patiently waiting for our class’s race to start. We hear on the radio, “10-9-8…” At 1, “Time!” We synchronize our watches and the race has started. …

The thing about bayous is that they are humid, wet places. Very wet places. The trees that grow there know it. The things that live there know it. I knew it, too. Know it still. …

Crossing over the new pedestrian bridge in San Ysidro, the observer can see the beginning of the end, the razing of the current United States Port of Entry, which will be replaced with a new …

“Whatever that man said, I didn’t give him nothing,” the 30-ish African-American man told the six police officers who had descended on him at the Park & Market trolley station on the evening of April …

This year is an especially good time to visit Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the home of the National Civil War Museum, with interactive exhibits that let you intensely and personally experience the 150th anniversary of the war. …

I rolled my Celica up to the Border Patrol guards stopping traffic along Route 111 north of El Centro. When asked where I was headed, I explained that I was here to see “their” sea. …

On April 27 at the Vista Courthouse, Nicole Honda said she witnessed the collision that fatally injured her fiancé, James Swarzman. He and Honda were riding bicycles together in Encinitas at about 1 a.m. on …

I’m not a student anymore, but I still like to take a break in the spring to travel. My favorite place in the world to take a spring break trip is New Orleans. Who needs …

Jaye Brown, academic director of fashion programs at the Art Institute of California – San Diego, offers options for your inner fashion designer Tell me about the Art Institute. What does it offer? The Art …

Face it; there are a lot of desperate job seekers out there. Are you one as well? If you mass-mail your résumé, apply for positions you aren’t qualified for, apply to every position listed and …

At the San Marcos City Council meeting on April 26, the council voted to accept improvements made to San Marcos Boulevard as part of the city’s “Smart Corridor Project.” The project was mostly paid for …

On the morning of April 26, at the corner of Rancho Bernardo and Pomerado Roads, bicyclist Neil Schneider came upon a mother duck and her 11 babies, waddling along in the bike lane next to …

Although the winter homeless shelter in Logan Heights was closed just a few months ago, the debate about where to place it this year is already heating up. On April 27, councilmembers on the Land …

Thirty-Five Years Ago Public nude sunbathing in San Diego has been confined, legally, to the 300 yards of Black’s Beach at the northern end of the San Diego city limit. While it is illegal elsewhere …

It’s always little people who get screwed. Look at the Dodgers. A mighty franchise brought down to the point where a soulless drone like Bud Selig is moved to seize control. This is what happens …

On the morning of April 12, a crowd of approximately 700 Tijuana residents, armed with placards and megaphones, shouted on the doorsteps of city hall, “¡Eco-cidio — no a la tala de arboles! ¡No al …

We cull, we mull, we ponder what the god of cinema, better known as Popcorn Boy, provides us each week. Fresh from the popper: Kill the Irishman After the violent cinematic primes of Francis Coppola …

Recipe by Mark Pelliccia, chef and co-owner, 25Forty Bistro & Bakehouse Many chefs cook the kind of food they like to eat. I am simple when it comes to the food I eat. Eggplant parmigiano …

Jason Maitland was the final chef at Arterra before the Marriott fired him and everybody else to remake the restaurant from scratch. (I haven’t been to the new incarnation and can’t say I’m eager: for …

“The music scene is going downhill. It’s gone downhill,” says former Battalion of Saints band leader Chris Smith in the opening seconds of the trailer for the coming feature film Garageland. Dated by his bottle-blonde …

Chinatown? What Chinatown? I’m standing at Third Avenue at Market. Looking down to…Chinatown? Who could ever tell? A century or so ago, we all would have been able to, my friend Dr. Chuang once told …

New local tuneage now available includes Born with Stripes, from surf-slackers the Donkeys, who will play an in-store at M-Theory for the event on Saturday, April 30; Best Days, by spiritual songsmith Steven Ybarra; Plague …

Meeting of the Minds, moderated by Gary Grine, meets Wednesdays at Filter Coffee House. Grine formed this group when he decided that the Thursday discussion group he had founded became “too political and too liberal.” …

Drury Bailey and the Founding of Julian City, Part One On November 10, 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno sailed into San Miguel Bay. He renamed it “San Diego,” after his flagship and the saint of Alcalá. For …

After first hearing Interrobang’s set at O’Connell’s a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but suspect occult affiliations. The quartet sounded like Tortoise loosely covering Jobim tunes for a traveling freak and medicine show somewhere …

“There is a therapeutic aspect to reporting what few like to admit. What is a reporter except a kind of house detective, scavenging through the bureau drawers of men’s lives, searching for the minor vice, …

“We haven’t been a band for seven years.” Kitten with a Whip founder Audrey Moesch says that, aside from the occasional reunion gig, the Kitten has been silent until now. “We did a birthday gig …

The conversation at the annual Kelly spring barbecue turned to spring-cleaning. “Spring what?” laughed Angela. “My spring-cleaning lasts all year,” said Monica. “It should really be called ‘year-cleaning.’” Nancy freshens the paint on the doors …

The County of San Diego’s brand-new Flume Trail linking El Monte Park to Blossom Valley is hardly flat, as the name “flume” might imply. On the contrary, it darts relentlessly upward on a zigzagging route, …

The concept was simple: Brothers Zac and Ethan Holtzman wanted to find a Cambodian singer and relive ’60s Cambodian pop. Things clicked into place when Chhom Nimol, a singer working a Cambodian lounge in Long …

TV on the Radio is one of the most important bands of the past ten years, and, until recently, their music wouldn’t let you forget it. Too often, in the past, the band sounded ponderous. …

Thursday 28 Up for some “intellegent fun”? That’s how L.A. rap duo Afro Classics (feat. Scarub of Living Legends and Very of Us Pros) describes this year’s Classic Rock, their first release together in a …

We’ve Got No Friends Regarding “Democrats Are Not Your Friends? Protestors Rally Outside City College” (“Stringers,” April 21). The Democratic and Republican Congress are not our friends. They are owned by corporate America that has …

When a San Diego Gas and Electric technician asked Susan Foster how the company could allay her concerns about smart meters, her reply left him speechless. “Can you get me a new heart?” Foster stood …

Back in the Old West, watering of livestock was standard business practice. A cow would be bloated with water so it could be sold at a stiff price. Pretty soon, Wall Street learned how to …

P. Lamont Ewell, San Diego city manager from April 2004 to November 2005, before leaving to become city manager of Santa Monica, retiring there in December 2009, has popped up on the public payroll again, …

L.A.’s Tom Gores, whose Platinum Equity has owned the Union-Tribune since buying it from David Copley two years ago, has been raising his public profile of late. For years, the only photograph of the discount …

Membership: 500 Pastor: Gary Musser Age: 60 Born: Riverside Formation: California Baptist College (University), Riverside; Biola University-Talbot Seminary, La Mirada; Bethel Seminary, San Diego Years Ordained: 35 years San Diego Reader: How long do you …

"Being in a band is like being married to four or five very different people at once,” says singer/songwriter Amanda Waggener. “And, let’s face it, being married to just one person is tough enough. I’ve …

The gates of the town are closed. The princes have gone to sleep. The chatter of voices has quieted down. Doorbolts are fastened. Not until morning will they be opened. The gods of the place, …

Dishwater Slap of the screen door, flat knock of my grandmother’s boxy black shoes on the wooden stoop, the hush and sweep of her knob-kneed, cotton-aproned stride out to the edge and then, toed in …

Residents of North Park want to think out of the box, the utility box. In recent years, artists have been encouraged to use the metal boxes as canvases; with more boxes on the way, however, …

The sporadic, unpredictable staging of bullfight events in Tijuana during the past few years appears to be coming to an end with the arrival of a Mexico City director. Tijuana's daily Frontera reports that Dr. …

As the economy recovers, job search candidates are finding that they have a new and exciting challenge on their personal horizon: a job offer that requires their evaluation, and an answer for the potential new …

You might have heard the old saying that “employees are our greatest asset.” Surely that was true, somewhere at some point in time. For some companies, that saying might even apply today. But if it …

Author: Lisa E. Overton Neighborhood: Spring Valley Age: 51 Occupation: Writer and full-time mom I live in a mobile-home park in Spring Valley, so it’s a neighborhood inside a neighborhood. We are bounded by Jamacha …

A study conducted by the hunger-relief charity Feeding America found that each year 441,730 San Diego County residents go without food because of a shortage of money. That translates to an estimated 73.6 million meals. …

TV On The Radio's yearlong hiatus allowed its members to explore creative avenues. From Dave Sitek's synth-heavy Maximum Balloon to Kyp Malone's eclectic Rain Machine record to Tunde Adebimpe's first mainstream acting role (Rachel Getting …

Near the roller rink, pinball alley, and craft area, Coachella campers may have come across what appeared to be one of the many art exhibits on display at the campsite. A giant mask and decorated …

Visiting Napa Valley in the spring brings some unexpected surprises. The off-season in Napa means fewer cars on the road, giving you more time to enjoy the scenery and the tasting rooms — crowd-free. Wine …

Originally set on 125,000 (now a mere 8,000) acres in the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia, Biltmore Estate was built by George Vanderbilt along the French Broad River in North Carolina. With its original …

When a Navy man woke up early on Thursday, April 21, at the Mariner's Cove Apartments, he noticed his car was not where he had left it the previous evening. When he went out to …

This is an amazing town. It’s an open-air museum best explored on foot; every turn offers an architectural feast for the eyes. I spent a week in Prague and it remains one of the highlights …

Out on Route 8 east of San Diego stands the 70-foot Desert View Tower above Boulder Park in Jacumba. For three dollars I was allowed to climb the three-story stone tower that houses a museum …

At about 2:45 p.m. on April 18, a group of Buddhists came to Lake Murray to release four pet animals at the lake. The three women and one man, who were dressed in robes, explained …

San Diego Unified School District superintendent Bill Kowba stood in the commons of Chesterton Elementary School on April 22 to "set the record straight." Kowba spoke to the allegations that the district was sitting on …

In an interview published this week in Baja’s daily Sol de Tijuana, Guillermo Diaz, the president of Tijuana’s downtown merchant association, stated that TJ cops are still extorting big bucks from tourists, primarily U.S. citizens …

Repairs to the Quince Street Bridge have yet to be completed since a eucalyptus tree fell on the span March 20. According to a posting from councilman Kevin Faulconer’s office at Hillquest.com, San Diego's “Park …

The Vista Planning Commission approved an amendment to the city’s sign ordinance on April 19 that would regulate sign-spinners and commercial signs on city sports fields. In October, the city council approved a version that …

¡Viva La Revolucion! ¡Viva La Paloma! That’s not exactly how U-31 bartender Chris Freeman sees it. Ask him, though, and this budding bartender will fill your glass with a cold decant of the paloma. As …

You could say that the missus and I were stalking the banh mi lady through the streets of Hanoi. Winding through unfamiliar enclaves and avenues, she was easy to spot with the tall wicker basket …

Haley Allen started playing drums at age nine. As alumnus of the Hollywood School of Rock, she says Kevin Fig (drummer for Extreme and Perry Farrell) showed her the ropes. Allen, now 22, says she …

In Chaucer’s The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, Chauntecleer the Rooster dreams an omen. A beast “like a hound” terrorized him with such a fearsome look, the rooster almost died. He wakes up groaning and tells his …

Thursday 21 Orange County kids Janu and the Whalesharks swim their storied songcraft into the Loft at UCSD. What stands out with this quartet is the pristine harmonies of brother and sister front folks Jake …

Almost a decade ago, when I worked in a high-rise office building downtown, some coworkers and I stood at a corner window and counted the mega-sized cranes that dotted the scenery. “One, two, three, four,” …

“We actually got arrested for stealing used vegetable oil,” Mario Rubalcaba tells me. The former Hot Snakes/Rocket from the Crypt drummer now plays drums with OFF!, Keith Morris’s new post–Circle Jerks project. He says they …

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. — Steve Jobs Just as the modern woman doesn’t go on a first date without a new dress and …

“ASCAP does not track songs that are publicly performed in stadiums, which policy ASCAP has intentionally hid from composers,” according to a lawsuit filed by Bobby Kent, the former musical director for the Chargers. Kent …

Galen’s walking a mile in President Obama’s shoes. “My dad’s Ethiopian, my mom’s American,” she says. “He’s a lawyer. My mom was always baking at home, so when this restaurant came up for lease, he …

When it comes to diets, you’re on your own. Step right up, sucker, the nutrition bazaar is open for business. Why not test-ride the hCG Diet? Daily female pregnancy hormone injections coupled with a generous, …

Since October 2010, Joyce Rooks has driven her cello from Oceanside to Marcelo Radulovich’s studio in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Jim Call brings a theremin from Lemon Grove. Wherever the trio sets up, it’s a Nicey Nice World. …

Civilization and Its Malcontents “Julian was never the hell roarin’ town commonly associated with mining camps,” wrote Dan Taylor in 1939. And that’s been pretty much the image ever since. Even so, the lure of …

A sole, fuzzy photo of our miniature schnauzer Nellie is all we have to remember her by. What were we thinking? We weren’t. So when gal-pal Bernice adopted a terrier, I insisted that she get …

On March 25, San Diego rock group P.O.D. filed a lawsuit against their record label, Tennessee-based INO Records, in U.S. District Court in Nashville. In the filing, P.O.D. claims that the company breached its contract …

(Names and locations have been changed to protect the innocent, though innocent of what is unclear.) Weekends are the obvious time for spring-cleaning. Saturday, at least, one supposes. Been living for a bit in a …

“We lived in San Diego all of ’97,” says Whit Smith by phone from Delaware. As guitarist, Smith is one-third of the country-swing/hot-jazz group Hot Club of Cowtown. “We arrived New Year’s Day, 1997, and …

When fans try to explain Spacemen 3 to the uninitiated, they inevitably refer to the title of one of the many compilations of the band’s outtakes, Taking Drugs to Make Music to Take Drugs To. …

So, Matt: I love popcorn, so, of course, I’m lazy enough to prefer microwave popcorn, since all you have to do is close the door and punch the “Popcorn” button. I have friends who flip …

On Valentine’s Day, Anthony Allegretti, president of MainStreet Media Group, a company that publishes eight community newspapers in San Diego County, wrote letters to two fellow publishers. One went to Jim Kydd, owner of the …

WFP Securities is a brokerage house headquartered on Cornerstone Court in Sorrento Valley. It is one of an interlocking network of financial companies with offices mainly in Southern California. The brokerage boasts on its website, …

“What if you had just 15 minutes to evacuate, looking around your apartment or house, trying to quickly decide what you will take, how overwhelmed would you be, knowing you couldn’t return for 10,000 years?” …

Democratic congresswoman Susan Davis, by far the most prolific junketeer of either party in San Diego’s congressional delegation, managed to fit in an eight-day trip to Tokyo before Japan’s earthquake and nuclear disasters hit. The …

The San Diego Police Officers Association has its hands full warding off efforts by city councilman and prospective mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio to make the City’s pension plan for cops into a 401(k) retirement system. …

Pointless Labor With regard to your April 14 edition and Don Bauder’s article on redevelopment funds for all the churches in the poorer neighborhoods (“They Prey, We Pray,” “City Lights”), what difference does it make? …

Membership: 275 Pastor: Scott Landis Age: 55 Born: Souderton, Penn. Formation: Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pa.; Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ Years Ordained: 31 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your …

My windows now are giant drops of dew The common stones are dancing in my eyes; The light is winged, and panting, and the world Is fluttering with a little fall or rise. See, while …

They are 7 in number, just 7 in the terrible depths they are 7 bow down, in the sky they are 7 In the terrible depths, the dark houses They swell, they grow tall They …

Thirty-Five Years Ago The temple sits on the bluffs at the southern edge of Encinitas, perched beside the ocean and the community like a kind of 25-acre transplant from India, uprooted halfway around the world …

In January 2009, the San Diego city council denied Our Lady of Peace, an all-girl parochial school in Normal Heights, a permit to expand their facility. The council sided with the neighbors, who claimed that …

At 4:00 a.m. on April 15, people lined up outside the Vons at 450 W. University Avenue. A sale had been announced that would precede a renovation of the grocery store. (To say it was …

For two hours on Saturday, April 16, members of the San Diego Animal Defense Team protested outside the California Pets store, located in the North County Fair mall. Jan Hatch, speaking for the San Diego …

On Monday, April 18, Mayor Jerry Sanders appeared in council chambers to present the fiscal year 2012 budget to the legislative branch for consideration. "The good news is our revenues are starting to rebound, albeit …

After toiling for roughly a decade in the West Coast underground, Strong Arm Steady finally releases what they're billing as their debut full-length. San Diego fans should be happy: SD-bred Mitchy Slick is back after …

The sold-out crowd at Viejas' Dream Catcher Theater was dancing in the aisles all night long as George Thorogood and his band the Delaware Destroyers rocked the house. Thorogood was his "Bad to the Bone" …

About 60 people gathered shortly after 8 a.m. at City College’s Gorton Quad on Friday, April 15. Students, faculty, and community members spoke out against budget cuts proposed by Jerry Brown. Shortly after 9:00, the …

At around 10 a.m. on April 15, two accidents occurred around the same time near Interstate 8 in the Ocean Beach/Point Loma area. San Diego police closed off the 4600 block of Nimitz Boulevard (which …

Escape the busy streets of Madrid for the quiet walkways of Toledo. Forty-five miles away from Madrid, Toledo makes a great day trip for just about any traveler. Transportation is easy, with high-speed trains that …

Kurt Donsbach, an alternative health practitioner who lives in Bonita, pled guilty to 13 felony counts on Friday, April 15. The charges he pled guilty to included “practicing medicine without a license, selling illegal and …

Paula Deen has shined a spotlight on Smithfield, the tiny Southern river town off the Chesapeake Bay. Yes, this is a real place — like the head of their visitors' bureau says, “It’s not like …

Steve Meiche, an Encinitas resident and L.A.-based firefighter-paramedic, is sounding alarms on what he sees as rampant corruption and misconduct within the Encinitas Fire Department. Meiche contends that firefighters in the department have failed to …

“Is that possible?” asked Ed Gallo at the Escondido City Council meeting on April 13. The councilman was referring to the $371,449 cost of expanding the office at the Escondido Sports Center in Kit Carson …

Three years after the last cars rolled out of the showroom at Pearson Ford in Mid-City, a plan to fill the empty lot, located at El Cajon Boulevard and Fairmont, has finally surfaced. On Wednesday, …

Who: Evan Ray Car: 2001 Porsche Boxster, 71,000 miles; 1960 MGA, mileage unknown Previous cars: 1991 Honda Civic; 1972 Datsun 510 Where? About five miles to work, from Poway to Rancho Peñasquitos Cheapest gas? Arco …

Have you ever worked for a manager whose management style was so positive you wanted to go out of your way to do a good job for him/her? If that manager was able to generate …

There are few more frustrating experiences than to go looking for a job and find that you are “overqualified.” That’s a strange phrase. It’s like being “too smart.” Can you really be “too smart?” But …

In a last ditch effort to ease the restrictions placed on medical marijuana dispensaries, supporters of prescription cannabis appeared before the city council on April 12, urging councilmembers to amend the ordinances that were approved …

Your voice comes to me, George, on the winter night In the faint mazy stars, a murmur of hesitant light In the air frozen solid, it seems, from here to Maine. Lonely and late I …

On the domed ceiling God is thinking: I made them my joy, and everything else I created I made to bless them. But see what they do! I know their hearts and arguments: “We’re descended …

Denomination: nondenominational Bible-teaching Membership: 500 Pastor: Jack Forness Age: 64 Born: Olean, NY Formation: St. Bonaventure College, St. Bonaventure, NY; National University, San Diego Years Ordained: 15 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend …

Matthew Alice: Every day on my way to work I pass a dairy farm. All the cows in the herd are always facing the same direction. Is there a reason for this? — Anonymous, via …

April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four. — Mark Twain I rolled over, reached my arm out from beneath the …

The Conspirator “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said philosopher George Santayana. This saying has spawned many variants, including, now, director Robert Redford’s: “Those who cannot learn from history are …

The family from the frigid East is coming for Easter, and they want San Diego water fun, no matter how cold the Pacific may be. Kellys don’t surf, but maybe kayaking… “We’re the real deal, …

In the ’60s, the pioneers of psychedelic rock were inspired by psychedelic drugs. Not so much anymore, but the musical DNA lives on, so it comes as no surprise when Maserati’s Matt Cherry sends a …

Yuck is an exciting young London band whose songs often set distorted electric-guitar noise against understated vocals, sweet melodies, and loud-quiet-loud song structures. Does this sound familiar? To me, it sounds so much like 1991 …

After gold had been discovered in the Cuyamacas, ranchers accustomed to outback solitude witnessed an eerie parade: would-be miners trudging up an old Indian trail from Santa Ysabel to Julian City. The steep and rocky …

They had me at empanadas. When I learned that Cueva Bistro was serving these sturdy Argentine/Chilean snacks — packets of thin-rolled, oven-crisped dough containing beef, chicken, and all manner of other goodies — it went …

Don’t know why I expect things to be cheaper just because they’re in Chula Vista. Guess I think rents must be lower than, say, downtown. Or uptown. But when I check the prices at Mea …

For the first time he seemed old. I mean, not old-old, like Warren Buffett, but old, noticeably older than his closest competitors. Used to be when Tiger was tied or had the lead going into …

Balboa Park’s trail system is just about complete. After several years of planning and implementation, five trail “gateways” are in place, and a total of 19 trails emanate from those gateways. Throughout the park, sprucing …

It was six years in the making. It’s got nine state-of-the-art speakers and woofers and exotic sound baffles and the best amplifiers and digital source units available, says Jon Whitledge about his otherwise nondescript white …

“We only had a couple of records, but [the songs] were turning up everywhere and everybody was cashing in except us,” says singer-bassist James Ryan of ’70s punkers the Cardiac Kidz, whose recent reunion was …

As a warm-up before you see the splashy Gainsborough exhibition running at the San Diego Museum of Art, make a pass at Fragonard’s late 1770s Blindman’s Buff in the Timken. In a vaguely bucolic setting, …

Thirty-Five Years Ago In San Diego, Los Angeles, and Bakersfield...when there were sock hops and kids went steady, there was also Gorgeous George, Mister Moto, the Destroyer, and Tricky Ricky Star. For thousands they were …

Centre City Development Corporation consultant Alan Edwards reported one of the more interesting positions, owner and president of the San Diego Spirits Festival, described as an “annual festival promoting local businesses” whose worth he valued …

If you drive north on State Route 67 until it becomes a two-lane road at Mapleview Street, you'll see the Lakeside Rodeo marquee to your right. It’s just past the Rodeo Round-Up truck dealership and …

A friend who frequents the Riviera Supper Club in La Mesa once remarked that drinking in the attached Turquoise Room rejuvenates his sense of machismo. While the sentiment had never occurred to me, the retro …

Bad Bimbo I think that it is terrible that Bimbo just decided to close the stores without letting its customers know — due to a business decision (“Stringers,” April 7). My mom and I have …

Charlie Imes first earned local notice while playing guitar with local classic rockers Signs of Life and Against the Grain. For his 2008 solo debut, On an Island, he gathered nearly a dozen locals — …

A genealogy of Dead Rock West and its crew of hard-/punk-/folk-rock collaborators would gobble twice the space allotted for this emission. To the (momentary) point: since 2003, Frank Lee Drennen and Cindy Wasserman have often …

“We’re busy getting the van in order and getting our T-shirts and CDs all packed up,” says singer-guitarist Jonny Q, whose band Privatized Air released their sophomore album Tomorrow or Something in February. “I booked …

San Diego fat cats transformed the concept of redevelopment from help for the poor to welfare for the rich. They have a fear of Governor Jerry Brown, who wants to get rid of redevelopment agencies …

In a surprising turn of events, a psychiatrist revealed to a jury in the Vista courthouse that he had changed his mind about the sanity of the defendant. The reversal came when Dr. David Naimark …

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, said to be interested in running to replace the termed-out Jerry Sanders as San Diego mayor next year, continued to collect thousands of dollars in his state campaign committee, Fletcher for Assembly. …

It’s springtime, when flowers bloom and city officials are required to disclose their personal financial dealings. There’s lots of money to be made in beer. At least that seems the conclusion best drawn from the …

This is an update regarding the recent closure of 13 Bimbo bread and baked-goods outlet stores in Southern California. About 5 of those stores were in San Diego County, located in north, south, east, west, …

On the morning of Saturday, April 9, an estimated 231 volunteers turned out at Sunset Cliffs for a Surfrider-sponsored beach cleanup. The event brings out a brigade of YMCA Navy personnel, guys, and SDSU sorority …

Seriously Gen Y, applying for jobs via texting is not going to get you hired. Laughed at — probably, but landing a paycheck? Not going to happen! In fact, employers are already fed up with …

Four young teens reported being robbed at knifepoint near Santee’s Town Center Community Park East on Sunday, April 10, at approximately 4:45 p.m. Within minutes, four sheriff’s deputies responded, along with a sheriff’s helicopter overhead. …

This story is dedicated to the memory of K.P. Ward, who died unexpectedly and tragically on December 22, 2010. Finally, here it is: the start of my summer vacation of 1987, and I just finished …

Dez, 25-year-old new father, makes the most of his not-a-dream-job. What is your dream job? My dream job would be no job. It would be to just gig my band, do Chi-Gong, martial arts and …

Captured in June of 2009, Canadian Arthur Leland Sayler was sentenced to eight years in a Mexican prison last week for operating a child-pornography business out of a rented Las Playas residence. The prosecutor said …

Were I the man on the deck at the college radio station, I'd first throw on track two, "Mine As You Ever Were." Not so direct as the opener "One of One," this "Mine" nevertheless …

Singer Gary Heffern is on a visit from Finland for a Penetrators reunion show. As stalwarts of the San Diego music scene fill the Casbah, an air of expectancy hangs heavy. Have they still got …

Charging stations for electric vehicles are coming to Balboa Park, said Charlie Daniels from the City's parks and recreation division during the April 7 meeting of the Balboa Park Committee. Daniels said three charging stations …

On April 6, the Escondido City Council approved a general plan amendment to change the land-use designation of the Escondido Swap Meet and the Reidy Creek flood-control channel. According to officials, the purpose of the …

Since Qualcomm cofounder Irwin Jacobs announced plans to remove vehicles from Balboa Park's Plaza de Panama last August, critics and park preservationists have asked to hear alternatives to the proposal. At the center of the …

Bergen is located on Norway’s western coast. The journey there from Oslo takes you through a wonderfully scenic part of the country, including some of the longest and most spectacular fjords in Norway. You can …

My first trip to Peru was amazing. We spent the first night near Lima, at a friend’s house close to the beach in the La Perla area. We walked to the beach and ate barbecued …

There is no hangover in the booze industry as far as jobs go. A recent report that was published on businessweek.com shows that sales of alcohol over the last year are up. The report says …

There is an old adage that says, “Looking for a job is harder than working.” How true. The rigors of job search are magnified by the turmoil we experience: lack of self-confidence, humiliation, financial pressure, …

In September 2010, the California Department of Food and Agriculture quarantined a portion of San Diego County when the light brown apple moth was found one mile east of Balboa Park. The pest, native to …

According to the Father Joe's Villages website, after 30 years of serving San Diego neighbors in need, "Father Joe Carroll has announced his retirement as CEO of Father Joe's Villages and its partner agencies, effective …

Companies that have contracts with the City of Oceanside are now required to register with the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify system to assure that none of their employees are in the country illegally. "In …

One of the most frustrating phases of unemployment these days is waiting for the economy to show signs of recovery from a recession. It’s annoying because no individual or business really can do much about …

You are near the end of a job interview. You have almost completed an hour-long conversation with the “Ultimate Decision-Maker,” the president and chief executive officer, who turns to you and asks, “Now, what questions …

March 11 was a cold, slow-moving Friday afternoon at our home in Sendai. As a freelance writer and translator, I was making a transition, familiar on such idle afternoons. Having finished a bit of urgent …

It is truly easier on the streets of Berlin to buy a bottle of beer than one of water. And no matter what time of day it is, you'll observe someone sipping a cold one, …

According to court documents, on March 25, when 27-year-old Devin Allen was asked where he was from, he reportedly answered, “Oceanside.” The gangster told him, “You’re in the wrong town!” before knifing Allen in the …

With 26 years of bartending experience under his belt — not to mention punching his card as a cocktail waiter and microbrewer — Whistle Stop Bar’s weekend bartender Justin Grey has learned to be versatile. …

“I don’t want to be dark cabaret; I don’t want to be gypsy,” says Carrie Gillespie, the pianist and singer for Street of Little Girls. “I just want to be a rock band. We’re very …

“You’re a douchebag, that’s the only explanation/ for the same mistakes that you keep on making.” “Think of it as a public service announcement,” says Casbah bartender Ben Johnson, aka rapper Grammatical B, of “Rules …

It is possible to contemplate God not only outside us and within us, but also above us. Outside us we contemplate Him through His vestige, within us through His image and above us through the …

Membership: 260 Pastor: Roger Moyers Age: 55 Born: Redlands, California Formation: Calvary Chapel School of Ministry, Sierra Vista Years Ordained: 17 San Diego Reader: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy? …

Recipe by Craig Jimenez, executive chef, Craft & Commerce I never thought cooking would be a career. It wasn’t until I failed miserably at a T-shirt business when I was in my 20s did I …

Heymatt: Is the military working on a laser gun — a weapon that uses a laser to kill people? Maybe a laser tank or laser cannon? I was just wondering how much science fiction has …

No animal ever invented anything so bad as drunkenness — or so good as drink. — Lord Chesterton I pilfered a Diet Dr. Pepper from my friend’s fridge. A couple of people were drinking red …

’Twas Gold that Made ’Em Do It “Enchanting visions of the good to be accomplished,” an unnamed author wrote in Hutchings’ California Magazine (1857), “of pleasures to be enjoyed, turned [a miner’s] footsteps toward the …

Junk Vs. Junk This week’s starving-artist feature (“Artists Have to Eat,” Cover Story, March 31) asks humanity’s oldest question, “Should artists be able to live off their art?” The humane answer is, yes, they should, …

Each Wednesday night, North Park’s True North Tavern — a good-time spot for drinkers, foodies (the menu is the product of chef Matt Gordon from next-door neighbor Urban Solace), and all-purpose revelers — holds its …

Her shoulders arched, her eyes a sniper’s stare, Karson St. John stalks the stage like a linebacker who just made a game-saving tackle. She plays the Emcee in Cygnet Theatre’s Cabaret, a casting choice that …

This Friday I’ve got to get out of the house. I’ve been told my recent stuff is pretty bad...all this “I’m old and in the way” sort of thing. Okay. What do we do? My …

She died five months ago, Rose, my miniature black-and-tan dachshund. Now, there’s a long story. How a big guy with a bad attitude and a 4WD pickup truck (Alaska plates, still) wound up with such …

Potrero Regional Park hides in a spacious, live-oak-covered corner of Potrero Valley, near the forgotten south-county hamlet of Potrero — east of the Tecate turnoff and west of Campo. The word potrero is Spanish for …

I’m driving along Interstate 8, it’s 12:20, a Monday and I pop the new cassette I bought for $1.64 into my hot new state-of-the-art in-dash stereo so I can hear what kind of Billie Holiday …

“We’re trying to make some decent money doing a Black Keys kind of thing,” says Rick Harchol, one half of the relatively new duo C&H, featuring electric guitar, light drums, and a loop pedal. Since …

On April 27, Charlene Lain, a friend of local soundman/roadie Carlo Dimaggio, used Dimaggio’s email address to relay a message to several contacts: “For those of you that have not heard and were close to …

Thirty-Five Years Ago San Diego’s gay community, known as one of the most conservative and low key in the country, may find a rallying point in a March 25 decision by the San Diego State …

It’s just a truck. A big white square food- wagon outside a bar. But look at its chalkboard menu: Local wild halibut, side of ceviche tostada, $4.75 Mandarin salad — local Satsuma mandarin, roasted local …

In a Better World In a better world, In a Better World would not have to win the foreign film Oscar (which it did, for 2010) to get serious American attention. This is the kind …

Last time Patrick’s Grandma Pat was in town, I made some of my yummy shrimp-and-rice bake. It took her one bite to detect the chicken stock — oops! “Just make me a fish stick next …

Mandy Gasparich — aka Miz Mandy — is one of several female singers from the local pop band Liquid Blue to go from BlueGirl to solo recording artist. “Historically, my music has been pop and …

The Dodos are the San Francisco–based duo of singer/guitarist Meric Long and percussionist Logan Kroeber, on the road somewhere between Reno and Las Vegas when we talk. “I’m so glad you didn’t ask me to …

The song “Good Kisser” by Hunx and his Punx has a chorus that goes, “I don’t think he’s gonna miss her/ Cuz I’m a really good kisser.” It’s dumb but irresistibly catchy. It’s a little …

Is it drunk outside? Or is it just me? San Diegans are asking a similar question: political and civic leadership appears perpetually besotted. Is this a local phenomenon, or is it happening elsewhere? You’ll be …

Almost two decades ago, Poway physician Robert Dougherty, Jr., then-president of the Palomar Community College District board of trustees, was hauled into court and charged with writing multiple prescriptions for painkillers and other drugs without …

"They were successful in banning alcohol at the beach, and they are now going into the business district to come after the businesses,” says Eric Lingenfelder, part owner of the Tavern at the Beach sports …

County health officials say they have a life-threatening problem: keeping homeless tuberculosis patients in check. “TB is a highly infectious disease that can cause death,” notes a “request for quotation” recently posted on the county’s …

Officers have been raking in fat salaries at the nonprofit NTC Foundation, which San Diego city taxpayers bailed out last week to the tune of $1.1 million after county tax assessor Ernie Dronenburg forced the …

At the south end of Morena Boulevard, seen by many thousands of drivers and passengers on I-5 north, a full-sized billboard declares that May 21, 2011, is Judgment Day for Christians. Harold Camping is responsible …

On April 4 at about 2:30 a.m., motorists at the San Ysidro port of entry were shocked to see two male U.S. citizens shot to death as they waited in line to cross the border. …

Author: Kevin Six Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa/Mission Valley Age: 46 Occupation: Actor/playwright Okay, people, say what you want about other people’s children. Sometimes they’re noisy, often they’re misbehaved, and sometimes it’s even the parent’s fault. But …

Two homes destroyed by the crash of a Marine Corps fighter jet on December 8, 2008, have been rebuilt and occupied. One family has returned to their home after multiple years away in a rental. …

The Food 4 Kids program at Harborside Elementary School in Chula Vista is set up to assist hungry children. According to school nurse Maia Higgins, some of the signs of chronic hunger are dry lips, …

A new Radiohead album is an event, a holiday for my depression, a time when my melancholy is paid the respect it is owed. Radiohead's eighth full-length, however, starts off emotionless and weak. "Bloom" is …

The Lady Gaga show at Viejas Arena was a spectacle. The set design featured neon signs of roadside motels and gas stations and a fluorescent green car (with a keyboard hidden under the hood), elaborate …