North Park has a few empty stores, including the long-vacant old Woolworth building at 3067 University Avenue. But a worse eyesore is at 3020 University Avenue, next to the cigarette store at 3018 University. The …
Tuesday, July 31
On July 26, three uniformed San Diego police officers, their supervisor, and a detective responded to a theft report near Horton Plaza to investigate another in a series of ten to fifteen mobile-phone thefts in …
Riled-up students representing the Mexican national student group #yosoy132 staged a demonstration outside the Tijuana offices of Televisa on July 28, echoing similar demonstrations in Mexico City that have been occurring since last week. The …
A dark, ominous hallway leads to a door. Silence. Not a sound. I open the door to find a series of steep wooden stairs spiraling downward. Is this a trap? My mind starts to wander. …
Monday, July 30
In May 1962, an ill-advised trash fire set light to the veins of coal running beneath the small mining town of Centralia, PA, and sparked a dangerous inferno that has raged ever since. Despite various …
Sunday, July 29
An interesting phenomenon has been noticeable to drivers leaving Ocean Beach northbound on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard over the past week. First, a pile of precariously balanced rocks appeared, followed by another and another, gradually taking …
Sweetwater Union High School District’s dirt story continues to be significant. Potentially contaminated soil dumped at Southwest High School poses questions that many would like to have answered: Why have district leaders sought to mislead …
Saturday, July 28
The road to the beach through Border Field State Park is open this weekend from 9:30 a.m to 7 p.m.. This is only the second time this year Monument Road (accessible via Hollister Street and …
Tijuana police stopped four males in a Chevy Lumina with U.S. plates in the Zona Norte on the eve of July 23. Two of the men were arrested; one of the passengers was a 13-year-old …
I found myself in a unique situation 8,000 miles away in remote Laos. After taking a leap of faith, which involved quitting my cushy consultant job here in San Diego, I bought a one-way ticket …
Friday, July 27
Forty years ago, in 1972, a man spent six months chiseling the face of an Indian into a cliff between Marine Street and Windansea Beach in La Jolla. Peter Wolf Toth had just dropped out …
What county officials describe as a "greatly improved" road construction project has some residents of a Spring Valley mobile home park angry and complaining. "They care more for the birds and skunks than about how …
There isn’t anything spectacular about the town visually. Like many desert towns, the buildings along the main drag are old, unkempt and often vacant. There are few sidewalks, and no trees or landscaping that would …
Thursday, July 26
A few years ago, The Economist pointed out that Pittsburgh’s changing demographics would make for a “rosier future.” Sure enough, it’s a hot place for young people to visit. Aging baby boomers in the steel …
Neil Young is one of the most prolific and eclectic music icons performing and producing music today. His latest collection is his first studio recording with the band Crazy Horse in nine years. Although the …
San Diego's Wavves took the stage in the inaugural event of this season’s 4 O'clock Fridays at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Despite playing in front of one of the smallest crowds in the events …
The developer of large mixed-use development project proposed for Grantville will be appearing at a future city council meeting armed with the approval from the City's planning commission. On Thursday, planning commissioners unanimously approved amending …
Wednesday, July 25
How some San Diegans (including the author) paid their way out of sleep-depriving debt.
An estimated 50 people showed up in front of the downtown Federal Courthouse on Wednesday, July 25, to protest the closing of medical marijuana dispensaries countywide. The rally, held at noon, was directed against federal …
Jammingout.net will help you find a jam session to sit in on anywhere you travel. First, though, the designers need $25,000 to $250,000 to finish the website.
“People started looking back, to find how they had survived pre–Burger King.”
Stick Figure launches their full-length Burial Ground at 710 Beach Club on July 28. “We’ll have some limited-edition T-shirts,” says Scott Woodruff, who recorded the album with reggae singer Half Pint and longtime musical co-conspirator …
Go gobble on the mountain — a revisit to Julian’s Bailey Wood Pit Barbeque.
Interview with Steph Johnson, making strides on the jazz front after dumping the funk and R&B.
I’ve got drugs on the brain, mostly because of my current surroundings. I’m on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, to attend my man’s annual photographic art exhibition at the Granary Gallery and visit my in-laws, …
View the somewhat rare Englemann live oaks from a relatively secluded trail.
If Burning of Rome’s September CD release doesn’t go big, will they have to return to their day jobs?
Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles started out their career playing for spare change on the University of Minnesota campus, and — in a move that is exceedingly rare among college-campus buskers — they soon …
Eric Wayne Thorsgard was in the worst possible situation. He was taken into custody, accused of beating up somebody in the alley outside a biker bar in Oceanside. That wasn’t the worst part. Eric is …
Fourth District San Diego councilman Tony Young caused a disgruntled stir in some quarters when word got around city hall in late June that he was taking the month of July off to attend a …
‘Face painting gets a bad rap,” said Megan Norgan of the Rosy Glow Paint Co. (858-633-ROSY; rosyglowpaintco.com). “People think it has that carny feel or that it’s cookie-cutter. But my aim is to show it …
The Catedral de Nuesta Señora de Guadalupe (Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe) in downtown Tijuana was bestowed historical monument status on Sunday, July 23. Construction of the church, located on the corner of Niños …
California State Assembly Bill x1 29 calls for an annual “fire prevention benefit fee” of up to $150 per “habitable structure.”
If there were any uncertainties about Bill Horn’s intention to run for reelection yet again in 2014, the incumbent GOP county supervisor dispelled them on July 4 by signing a “candidate intention statement” he filed …
What does San Diego get out of the Sacramento-based League of California Cities?
It’d be a stretch, but you could say that Dead Feather Moon started in an Escondido high school. “That’s where I met two of the guys who are in the band,” says Justen Berge, who …
What are you reading? “Keep the Aspidistra Flying, by George Orwell. It’s a novel set in 1930s London, and it follows mostly the interior life and misadventures of Gordon Comstock, a former copywriter turned poet/bookstore …
Grow, glow, and go at Prince Chapel by the Sea African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Before the final night hits us Let’s examine the spots on the wall: Some resemble plants And others mythological creatures. Hippogryphs, dragons, salamanders. But those that resemble atomic explosions Are the strangest of them all. …
Title: I Have A Voice Too Address: ihaveavoicetoo.com Author: Matthew Melao From: Santee Blogging since: March 2012 Post Title: A Slow-Moving Meditation Post Date: June 23, 2012 The best way to explore a city is …
Tuesday, July 24
The Starbucks located at 4994 Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach reopened last week after being closed for nearly two weeks for remodeling. Caffeine junkies chose other java options as the popular coffee purveyor slapped a …
Sweetwater Union High School District and Southwestern College continue to be subjects of district attorney investigations related to school bond expenditures. Calexico Unified School District had concerns about bond-related activity, so superintendent Richard Fragale and …
Monday, July 23
Ours was a normal little enclave affectionately referred to as our South Park “Hood”. It was really like any other small community, an up and coming neighborhood, home to all sorts of folks, of all …
Sunday, July 22
The Atherton Tablelands sit high up in the Great Dividing Range west of the tropical coast of Queensland, Australia. The popular attractions of the coast draw most of Australia's tourism – but inland, there are …
At 10:30 a.m. on July 21, a 79-year-old pilot from Gillespie Field, in his home-built airplane, experienced an engine problem. He realized that he was not going to make it back to Gillespie Field so …
Saturday, July 21
A female undercover cop in Neptune, the notorious subterranean disco in Wanchai’s red light district, pulled out her badge and shouted over the band at my well-served friend. “Excuse me, sir. Did you just say, …
Thursday, July 19
The sixth annual Carlsbad Lagoon Day takes place on Sunday, July 22. The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation (AHLF) celebrates the anniversary of the formal declaration of eradication of Caulerpa taxifolia with a walk/run and community …
A recent trip home to northern lower Michigan afforded me one of the greatest summertime pleasures a Michigander knows: a sunset swim in Lake Michigan. There’s nothing better than finding a secluded stretch of golden …
There are more than 550 active volcanoes in the world, five of which are in California. It's to be expected from a state sitting on the eastern edge of the Ring of Fire. Between Barstow …
After starting my Southeast Asia trip in the lovely city-state of Singapore, it was off to Changi Airport to catch my Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur. The day before, I met some travelers at …
The second of three Guided By Voices albums arriving in 2012 is 21 songs strong in under 40 minutes. That means each track is clocking in at an average of less than two minutes. Good …
The Surfaris celebrated the 50th anniversary of their iconic surf song “Wipe Out” at the Belly Up on July 17. Bob Berryhill, the co-writer of “Wipe Out” — at the age of 15! — is …
"Festivarians are endowed by Planet Bluegrass with certain unalienable Rights, among those are music, mountains, and the uninhibited pursuit of Happiness." And so begins the Festivarian Bill of Rights, the code by which all who …
Wednesday, July 18
Victims talk of crimes visited upon them.
Customers call Barefoot Bar & Grill bartender Serena Mappa the human drink dictionary. “After I make something once, I seem to remember it forever,” she explains. “I wasn’t good at math in school, but for …
It had been a long while — almost a year — since I’d last seen the pig. “Is he still drinking?” I asked Sara. “Not really,” she said. “Not like he used to.” “Good,” I …
Happy hour all day at Candelas, in Coronado, on the bay.
“In each episode of Hospitality Budget, we’ll take a band that’s on tour, cook them great food, make them great drinks, and take them to do something in San Diego they wouldn’t normally get the …
A little over a month ago, on June 14, San Diego Police RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol) traffic officers arrived in the 4800 block of Mt. St. Helens Drive to investigate a citizen complaint about …
Calen Lucas and I had lunch with Chris Hillman once. “The Byrds guy, right?” he says. Exactly. We’d both been invited to a private luncheon with Hillman and his wife that preceded the Rock and …
As a youth, the poet William Wordsworth crossed the Alps. He hiked the Simplon Pass, a “steep and rugged” road over a mile above sea level. When he reached the other side he stopped cold. …
Makeout Weird helps bridge the gap between new media at UC San Diego and down-and-dirty experimental performance in the real world.
Streetside Spanish lessons from tamale vendor José Gonzáles.
The definition of pornography, and phenomenal food odors explained.
The Intelligence’s new Everybody’s Got It Easy But Me begins with “I Like L.A.” and, in a way, the song tells the story of the band. Lars Finberg’s sardonic lyrics and nicotine-stained voice seem to …
Former San Diego band Writer, now based in Brooklyn, returns to do a show.
Matt January, formerly a Navy man, talks about the rap act he honed while aboard on the USS Nimitz.
‘How can the Downtown San Diego Partnership use property-based business improvement district funds like a piggy bank?” asks Kathy Casey, a resident of Cortez Hill. “Where is the oversight, the accountability?” During years of budget …
Water bills are soaring, and angry ratepayers are pounding at the doors. What is a water district to do except lay out some big bucks to hire a new public relations person? Such is the …
A bipartisan delegation of 13 congressional staffers took an all-expenses-paid spring junket to Hollywood and San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, courtesy of a lobbying group called the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “The excitement that the …
Citizens are wringing their hands — wisely, in my opinion — about Mitt Romney’s long-standing practice of stashing money in havens such as Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. But during the Republican nomination race, then-candidate …
Multiple plant communities and more than 250 species of shore and water birds.
One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all…. The better we understand the intricacies of the universe and all …
I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journeywork of the stars,And the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of the wren, And the tree-toad is …
Tuesday, July 17
I flew over Ocotillo on July 17 to check out reports that recent construction roads and footings for the planned 100-plus wind-turbine towers had adversely affected the natural drainage for the village. Last Thursday, July …
My heart’s pumping, adrenaline is flowing and I am smack dab in the middle of a full-fledged war. A huge bonfire rages, growing larger with each passing moment, and the ground has become littered with …
The past few years, I’ve encountered a sweet picture of my wife’s parents’ wedding on the wall in their living room – a distinctly ‘70s vintage scene set in none other than the San Diego …
Late Thursday night, July 12, a group of high school students and/or college-age people entered a vacant rental home at 4781 Mt. Cervin Drive in Clairemont. They reportedly moved the “For Rent” sign, broke a …
The Olympics in London are a celebration of the world’s greatest athletes, and the city will be hopping this summer with the sweat and excitement of the summer games. But if you yearn to indulge …
Monday, July 16
Fiji is best known to travelers as a destination of exclusive white-sand beach resorts, catering more to honeymooners than backpackers or budget travelers. However, the more remote – and unspoiled – Yasawa Islands have a …
Sunday, July 15
Sweetwater Union High School District students return to campus July 25. Some people might wonder what the district has done with the 10,000 tons of dirt on the Southwest High campus, reported on by Channel …
Saturday, July 14
A group of about 30 Christian Fundamentalists holding signs spread out near the Convention Center on Friday morning, July 13. While waiting to cross Harbor Drive, I struck up a conversation with Joshua, who told …
Last week, Steve Amster, owner of Garden State Bagels in Encinitas, confronted a Sheriff's Dept. motorcycle traffic officer positioned in his store's parking lot at 191 N. El Camino Real. After seeing the officer point …
Friday, July 13
Police are reminding residents to keep their doors and windows locked in the North Park area after a burglar evaded arrest late early Tuesday morning, July 10. A burglar was reportedly busy around Idaho Street …
"Just pretend they’re all leprechauns, and I bet it’ll start to get much better." That’s what we temporarily agreed on after our first few cold, terse encounters with Dubliners, as the light rain poured down …
Thursday, July 12
Over 300 North County business people, community leaders, and government officials gathered on July 10 in a large hangar at McClellan-Palomar Airport. The crowd was there for the introduction of California Pacific Airlines, a new …
Popularly known as the “Silicon Valley” of India, Bangalore, also known as Bengaluru, is the country's IT industry hub and one of the world’s preferred locations for startup companies. It's also India's third-most populous city. …
I heard it on NPR: "The ’90s are back...or whatever." The ’90s meaning "the birth of grunge, the commercial rise of hip-hop, a batch of ballsy female songwriters, and a few goofy one-hit wonders we'd …
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys. To commemorate this milestone, the group is touring with all five surviving members (Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, and David Marks). They …
Far off the main road in northeastern California, follow the signs to Hat Creek Radio Observatory and you'll come to outer-space terrain, dotted with what my six-year-old calls "Dish Aliens." It's the Allen Telescope Array …
Wednesday, July 11
San Diego’s ethnic populations are segregated, for better and worse.
Southwestern College has gone through a series of upheavals in the past few years and is still the subject of a San Diego County district attorney investigation. Southwestern’s former vice president of business and finance, …
Jeff Kaiser played trumpet and guitar in the Presbyterian Church before becoming a minister. Now he makes computer-accentuated music that sounds satanic at times.
Chinese breakfast at Chin’s Seafood & Grill, in Miramar’s Holiday Inn.
Rapper/songstress believes wasting time is ancestral treason. She also has a mean Scrabble game.
Napizza arrives from Rome. “Slow is our thing. With yeast, more time equals more flavor.”
In Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to Its Own Past, music critic Simon Reynolds writes, “When I look back at the development of pop and rock during my lifetime...what perplexes me is the slow but steady …
It was an odd time and place for us to be having breakfast. Our norm is Greek honey yogurt with blueberries, sliced banana, and crushed almonds at around 9 a.m. But because of a particularly …
Hike over rolling hills and through oak woodlands, wildflower fields, and seasonal wetlands.
Dogs in San Diego County are at great risk of rattlesnake bites. Have them trained not to be.
Bar Leucadian gets its music permit revoked due to cocaine sales on the premises.
Poring over magazines for sports news during the annual sports slowdown.
San Diego Democratic congressman Bob Filner, in a hurry to close out his old House campaign finance account so he can get on with his run for mayor against GOP city councilman Carl DeMaio, may …
Chef James Clark hit it off with Ingrid Croce. His roasted chicken recipe is in their soon-to-be-published cookbook.
During Comic-Con’s July 11-15 run, music-related events will be held all around town. Here’s a list.
A family-oriented “bike-a-thon” began in sun-drenched downtown Tijuana on the morning of Sunday, July 8. The Tijuana fire department organized the ride to raise about $100,000 for the purchase of new fire-fighting equipment. Tijuanenses of …
The proposal period has closed over at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority for “Seasonal Decorations” at Lindbergh Field. Without specifying which holidays are to be commemorated, the authority asked for “Professional Seasonal Decoration …
While leafing through my latest issue of Vanity Fair, I sometimes think that for fashion models and celebrities the body is something they wear, as most of us wear a cocktail dress or tux. Their …
San Diego State University–run and taxpayer-subsidized public television and radio operation KPBS, troubled of late by severe money woes, is looking to hire yet another fundraiser, this one a hard-charging corporate rainmaker to sell advertising …
Three years after San Diego’s free-speech fight began, vigilantes stood at the ready.
Pastor Carl Baker worries that churches are “giving up their biblical values for political correctness.”
Before she came we walked for peace, we picked up trash in parks and won awards. Our troop was number one in candy sales. We cooked for homeless families and served them soup. And then …
Tuesday, July 10
In 1989 I moved to Puerto Rico. I arrived on a Tuesday – that Sunday hurricane Hugo devastated the Island. I had a permit to sell clothes on Luquillo Beach, but the beach was destroyed …
On Thursday, July 6, at about 8:30 p.m., our normally quiet College Grove cul-de-sac was undone by a tragic occurrence. The desperate cries for help that broke through the darkness on Boren Street, three houses …
After working in the mental health field for three years, it was time for an adventure. I purged my life of almost everything I owned, packed two old-fashioned trunks, and moved to Antalya, Turkey, with …
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has some of the nicest people on this planet. They go above and beyond to help you. If you need to know where the nearest bus stop is and ask someone, they …
Monday, July 9
The California Coastal Commission will meet in Chula Vista on Wednesday, July 11; however, the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan will not be addressed until their August meeting, which will be held in Santa Cruz. …
There are events that happen occasionally while traveling that are destined to remain mysterious and unexplained. It may be a chance encounter, a brush with fate, or something that brings to mind the Shakesperean quote …
In his book As a Man Thinketh, philosopher James Allen says that one is what one thinks, with character being the complete sum of all one’s thoughts. And upon analysis, one wonders how those thoughts …
Saturday, July 7
On my daily walks along the Embarcadero, I love running into my favorite character standing in front of Anthony's Fish Grotto on Harbor Drive and Ash Street. The original San Diego Silverman, an independent artist, …
Death Valley must be seen to be believed. From the turquoise flats rolling out beneath lofty Dante’s View to the salty vertigo of Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, it is a place …
Friday, July 6
Heather Hyatt of Epic Fighting is looking for beautiful girls. Tell me how you got involved with Epic. I started working as a promotional model/ring girl with a company that was sponsoring Epic Fighting called …
The theory going around is that working mothers can’t have it all, meaning if you’re a mom, you supposedly can’t work a full-time job and spend quality time with your children. Magazines and news reports …
Job interviews — as most people have witnessed — can be harrowing experiences. No matter how bright or successful you appear to be on a resume, you are vulnerable when you are confronted with a …
A standing-room-only crowd overflowed the LiveWell senior center in Clairemont on the afternoon of July 1 to commemorate and celebrate the life of Dave “K” Konstantin. The amount of laughter outmatched the number of tears …
Thursday, July 5
Whoa...a new Beachwood Sparks album in 2012? Where in the world did this come from? Perhaps it’s from a universe in which every band owes a substantial debt to the Eagles, the Grateful Dead, Gram …
The June 28 show at Brick by Brick by new supergroup the International Swingers, featuring bassist Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), drummer Clem Burke (Blondie, the Romantics), lead guitarist James Stevenson (Generation X, Gene Loves Jezebel), …
Wednesday, July 4
Interview with Charles Kaufman, baker/founder of Bread & Cie and former film producer.
On the morning of July 3, a fire raced through a room on the top floor of Tijuana's Hotel Catalina hotel, located on the corner of 5th (Zapata) and Madero, a block away from Avenida …
Photo taken over Ocotillo at 9 a.m. on June 29. Construction has begun on over 100 turbine towers, each over 400 feet tall, on Bureau of Land Management land between the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park …
Interview with Robin Roth, the 91X music director/veteran unafraid to put on the boxing gloves.
Shotgun Tom Kelly looks forward to getting his star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
Double your pleasure on this hike with inspiring vistas and a remarkable assortment of flowering plants.
"Oh no she didn’t,” I said to my screen. “What? Who?” David was seated in a chair five feet behind me. I stepped to the right of my standing desk so he could see my …
Origins of “blackmail,” “nothing to sneeze at,” and “spitting image”...and whereabouts of the Del Mar Fair’s “Fairest of the Fair.”
The party was on a Saturday night in Mission Hills. Celebrants were all members of the graduate school that’s part of the High Tech charter-school system that has branches in Point Loma and Chula Vista. …
“Iraqis love big entrées. It’s the Lebanese who like to snack on different small tapas.”
‘NOW IS THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT MADE GLORIOUS SUMMER BY THIS SON OF YORK...” Jay Whittaker screams his first entrance as Richard III with such strained ferocity you’d think his audience sat across Balboa …
Teen pop singer Dylan Hyde is partially deaf, but he’s due for surgery.
Singer-songwriter Carlos Olmeda showed up ahead of time to perform at the San Diego County Fair. He was told he was too late.
Armando Nuñez is touching up a skeleton. “That first day,” he says, “I brought a half-gallon can of green bathroom paint. Everybody brought whatever they had. That’s how it was. We didn’t plan. We just …
Bridgepoint Education, the controversial private schools outfit that’s been up and down on Wall Street, was busy handing out freebies to local politicos last year, annual disclosures show. Chief among the beneficiaries was recently reelected …
Another influence peddler with deep San Diego roots is reporting a good year thus far. Sacramento-based California Strategies and Advocacy was founded by Bob White, the onetime social director of San Diego State fraternities who …
The National Football Leagues’s links to organized crime enumerated.
Victory in the race for San Diego mayor, most inside observers predict, will come down to which candidate can raise the most money and deploy his cash most effectively. So far, GOP candidate Carl DeMaio …
San Diego vigilantes against free speech were an expression of the city’s character.
Sometime in 2001, I was at a party in San Francisco when someone introduced me to Jason Hammel, one-half of the keyboards-drums duo Mates of State, which had recently moved to the Bay Area and …
Let us seek for comfort where alone it may be found, let us learn a dutiful acquiescence in whatsoever proceeds from that Great Being from whom we ourselves proceeded and who being the sole Author …
Only a man harrowing clods In a slow, silent walk With an old horse that stumbles and nods Half asleep as they stalk. Only thin smoke without flame From the heaps of couch-grass; Yet this …
Tuesday, July 3
Jim Engelke, owner of Fallbrook Olive Oil, bought an avocado grove in east Fallbrook eight years ago. With the North American Free Trade Agreement allowing the importation of avocados from south of the border and …
At first glance, Bruges in Belgium doesn’t have a lot going on. It’s small. Tourists often outnumber locals in the summer. And in recent years it’s most famous for a quote from Colin Farrell in …
When you step foot in Dubai, you realize the country’s quite liberal compared to the rest of the Middle East. Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates and has adapted the influx of other …
On June 30, at around 11:00 a.m., a mom and grandmother rounded up several young children playing in the street on the 200 block of Cornflower Street in Encinitas. A neighbor, two doors down, was …
The walls of my hotel room looked clean enough as long as the light stayed dim, which was usually the case. The only illumination came from a 40-watt bulb stuck in the ceiling and a …
Monday, July 2
How did your last job interview go? Did you receive a job offer? No? Could it be something that happened in the job interview process? Sometimes we need to think through the job interview and …