“You play basketball, you play football — it doesn’t work when you say you ‘play wrestling.’” So sayeth Wayne. Who’s Wayne? That would be Wayne Branstetter, the winningest coach in the history of California prep …

The San Diego Young Republicans hosted a mayoral debate at Randy Jones All American Grill in Mission Valley on February 27. Republican candidates Carl DeMaio, Bonnie Dumanis, and Nathan Fletcher were in attendance (Democrat Bob …

On February 27, residents of Valle de las Palmas warned Tijuana mayor Carlos Bustamante that, if necessary, they would take vigilante action to put a stop to crime if municipal police didn’t come to their …

“My brother Josh and I started the Silent Comedy as sort of a side project,” says Jeremiah Zimmerman. “Sort of a lark.” They were both members of an aggressive punk band at the time. “But …

I got into cooking by accident. I was fresh out of high school when 9/11 happened. I wanted to do something for my country so I went down to my local recruiting station. I found …

Sunny, breezy day. Walking through the barrio, heading down César Chávez toward the trolley. Pass ye olde brick building that used to be Chuey’s bar-eatery. ’Course, for years it’s been Ryan Bros. coffee-roasting and sipping …

Originally from Belgium, Sorrento Valley–based singer/guitarist Carl Durant relocated to San Diego in 2002 to take a job with a newly founded electronics firm. “Once I discovered the open-mic nights, I started turning up more …

Dixie De La Tour wants to hear San Diego’s dirty stories. The curator of the San Francisco–based Bawdy Storytelling started a monthly showcase of sexual (mis)adventures five years ago after finding inspiration at a Burning …

San Diego county supervisor Greg Cox, who so far has not attracted any opponents in his First District reelection bid this year, is piling up campaign money at a prodigious pace, reportedly in order to …

Manganista will debut their new single “Old Grey” on Friday, March 2, at the Ruby Room. “Manga has been on hiatus for the past three years due to our bass player moving to the Middle …

Nonsmokers' dilemma.

Glenn Heath Programmer, San Diego Latino Film Festival, sdlatinofilm.com Carlos Reygadas’s Silent Light is a hypnotic character study about a man torn between his wife and lover while residing in a northern Mexican Mennonite community. …

The sporting world awaits, on edge, for March 2 and the first public exhibition of Ultimate Tazer Ball (UTB). The contest will be held in Thailand. Our hometown San Diego Spartans will be tasering the …

The exhaustingly prolific Ty Segall has been earning a name for himself in San Francisco’s crowded lo-fi/psych/punk scene over the past few years with a string of noisy, mostly scattershot releases with an occasional glimpse …

“The greatest thing about an electric bike is that it operates just like a regular bike,” said Ike Fazzio, owner of San Diego Fly Rides (619-888-3878; sandiegoflyrides.com), located in the Gaslamp. “If you’re feeling strong, …

Will the March 16 show headlined by local reggae band Stranger be the last show ever at Sound Wave (formerly Canes)? No shows are being booked at the 700-capacity beachfront venue after that date. The …

More and more these days, political committees are taking on a life of their own, outlasting the campaigns they were created for by years and raking in thousands of dollars in contributions on behalf of …

Having been hornswoggled by both the Chargers and the Padres, and knowing the City is wobbling financially, San Diego voters are unlikely to approve a fat subsidy for a new Chargers stadium. But downtown overlords …

Theft Not Very “Civil” You are probably unaware of how closely related three of your stories are in the February 23 issue. The cover story, “Tased and Subdued, Throttled and Killed”; the short story “Angry …

There is a new sleeping pill that hit the market in February; it’s called Kisses on the Bottom. It's hard for me, as a long-time Paul McCartney fan, to be critical...but what was he thinking …

California spends $938 million annually to incarcerate prisoners who entered the country illegally, receiving less than $66 million in federal funds to offset the cost. An “estimated 60% of gangs in Los Angeles County are …

Distance from downtown San Diego: 104 miles. Allow almost 3 hours’ driving time (Anza-Borrego Desert State Park). From Ramona, drive east on Hwy 78, turn left on Hwy 79, right on San Felipe Road (S2), …

This is backward. When you attend a play you go from the parking lot to the box office to the show. At the La Jolla Playhouse, you go from the box office back to a …

San Diego–based Emissary Relations, LLC, was a big winner in last year’s local political-consulting derby, getting a total of $49,000 from GOP assemblyman Nathan Fletcher’s mayoral campaign committee and another $2000 from Fletcher’s assembly political …

Below the towers, under the arcades, I wander through Prague late at night. The sky is an alembic distilling gold in the dark — an alchemist’s still over a deep-blue flame. I walk down the …

Canadian wordsmith Buck 65 returned to San Diego on a warm February evening five years after his last visit. Approximately a third of the Nova Scotia–bred artist’s set featured the lovely Marnie Herald, whose pristine …

More snacks are coming to city office buildings, libraries, police and fire stations, park and recreation facilities, and some beach areas. On February 28, the San Diego City Council by unanimous consent approved a vending-machine …

Located in the Saitama Prefecture of Japan, Ōmiya is just a 30-minute bullet train ride from Tokyo, yet the town feels much farther away from its hustle and bustle. Eye-catching features of Ōmiya include bonsai …

Construction worker Mario Contreras broke his hand on October 8, 2010, the day a gunman arrived at Kelly Elementary School in Carlsbad. “I broke it when I punched him,” testified 42-year-old Contreras at the Vista …

Construction has begun on the Ariel Suite Apartments, a 22-story downtown development in the parking lot of the U.S. Bank (formerly San Diego National Bank) building at the corner of Kettner and Beech. An artist's …

I swiveled my head back and forth, but mostly down, and tried not to panic. I’d backed myself into a corner, and not in the figurative way. There were dozens of them, and they were …

My hotel, the Radisson Blu Portman, was in a good location just a few blocks from the high-end shopping area of Oxford and Regent streets. Weaving through the enchanting boroughs (the British word for neighborhood) …

Eighteen concerned citizens gathered on Saturday, February 25, in the desert three miles east of Ocotillo; they expressed their concerns about a proposed windmill farm on Bureau of Land Management range surrounding their town. The …

Two former clients of disbarred attorney Patricia Gregory had the satisfaction of seeing the admitted thief put into handcuffs in the Vista courthouse on February 24. The victims, Denise Doll and Luwain Ng, complained to …

Do you perk up when you hear that there will be another presidential debate on TV? Do you think you might be able to make a difference in the world? Do you aspire to run …

The mother of murdered 25-year-old Tamara Henderson told the killer, “I forgive you for killing my daughter and I pray for you.... I know that hating you would only eat me up inside.” When convicted …

One of the least discussed workplace stresses during the economic downturn of the last four years has been the financial fallout on workers everywhere. Once jobs started being lopped from payrolls throughout the country, people …

On the recommendation of Sweetwater Union High School District interim superintendent Ed Brand, the board voted February 21 to purchase iPads for all seventh-graders in the next school year. Trustee Bertha Lopez cast the dissenting …

Car: 2006 Scion xA Previous Cars: 1994 Honda Civic sedan and a 1992 Ford Ranger. How’s your commute? From the bedroom to the kitchen — unemployed (but with a physics degree). Cheapest Gas? Whichever gas …

Thuba Nguyen, senior employment specialist at the International Rescue Committee, explains why school doesn’t have to be out of reach. Please explain to me your role at the organization. I help newly arrived refugees find …

Cape Cod’s most popular destination, Provincetown, is on the furthest tip of the peninsula and offers New Englanders and travelers alike a relaxing spot to refresh and recharge. A 90-minute ferry ride out to Provincetown …

What is success? It is what you want to achieve. It is to be the best at whatever you want for yourself; to set a goal for yourself, and constantly strive toward its attainment; to …

It was March 2009 when the British-born siblings Gillian Ison and John Graham Watson met at Zermatt, a resort in the shadow of Switzerland’s Matterhorn. There, with family members, they indulged a passion for skiing: …

“The Atmosphere” low-income apartment complex planned for the long-abandoned Cortez “hole” site may not be built. The nonprofit Wakeland Housing & Development Corporation is the developer. Wakeland previously purchased the dirt-filled site, then resold it …

Post Title: Scenes from a Marriage: January Kill Post Date: January 24, 2012 I remember twenty-four. I remember young. I feel my husband’s mouth over mine, the kissing penetrating the light, the day, the night, …

Dourson’s bold moves to tackle and disarm a man who put a loaded handgun in his face during an attempted robbery made national news in February 2011. But Dourson said he is disappointed with a …

“You’ve caught me at a milestone in my life.” Meaning the ten-year anniversary of Loud and Clear Records? No, says label owner Brad Lee. “This is my second day in San Diego without a day …

The Dunwells are the latest players in the emerging West London folk scene to come to America. When they play the Belly Up, it will be for the first time. The latest UK folk invasion …

American humorist James Thurber once said, “One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough.” While most of us instinctively know this to be true, there’s no better place to …

When I was a student at the University of Hawaii and broke, a friend of mine had a nice job cooking and asked if I was any good in the kitchen, and I was, like, …

In January Chuck Perrin pulled his Dizzy’s jazz series out of the San Diego Wine and Culinary Event Center in the Harbor Club Towers downtown. “I got a couple of days’ notice that the piano …

Hi Matt! I’ve noticed, since at least the first Gulf War, the flag patches on the uniforms of American soldiers are backwards. To me, that’s weird. What’s the story? Nobody I know can fill me …

“After six years, we switched out some members and just lost momentum,” says Adam Gimbel of Rookie Card, who’ll play their first full RC set in four years at La Mesa’s Riviera Supper Club on …

Distance from downtown San Diego: Allow one-hour driving time to Escondido. From I-15, exit east on El Norte Parkway. Turn left (north) on La Honda Drive. The parking area for the Daley Ranch is on …

The Zonies are coming, the Zonies are coming! Friends of ours, actually, fleeing the heat of a Phoenix summer and looking to rent a house near the ocean. The first item on their agenda is …

During Belgian singer-songwriter Milow’s February residency at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood (which ends February 29), he performed at a February 9 pre-Grammy party at the Belgian consul’s residence in L.A., along with local singer/guitarist Carl …

Time to get out the good word a little early about In Darkness. It opens March 2, and serious, challenging movies such as this often have difficulty staying in theaters. It is no blockbuster, but …

As any urban dweller knows, all traffic is local. But what’s inside its dark spew, and how it affects people nearby, is a mystery. Two new air monitors coming to San Diego will help answer …

“I have one friend who straight up told me that if he can’t understand the lyrics he can’t get into our music,” says singer/songwriter/guitarist Pablo Garduno about the fact that some of the lyrics of …

Daniel K. Inouye gave $500 to the congressional reelection bid of Republican Brian Bilbray on October 19. But the donor is not the famous Democratic senator from Hawaii; it’s his son, who works for the …

He’s been so everywhere, it’s hard to remember the lad has been under the big top for, as I write this, only 15 days. His first NBA game as a starter occurred on February 4, …

Veronica Falls is a London band whose debut single is a ghost story called “Found Love in a Graveyard.” On their first full-length release, they also feature songs titled “Misery,” “Bad Feeling,” and “Beachy Head,” …

Benjamin Tobias has ridden mass transit in major cities all over the world. In most of those places — London, Paris, New York — commuting in an urban area means riding underground in a dark, …

A web of interrelated North County enterprises — known for high-pressure TV ads — professes its products will help you peel off body fat. But to conceal what it is doing, this group of purported …

A Vista woman accused of stealing thousands of books from libraries around San Diego County pleaded guilty to one count of “commercial burglary” in the Vista courthouse on February 20. An investigation reportedly started last …

La Jolla billionaire Irwin Jacobs has continued to pull out all the stops in his efforts to get his controversial parking and transportation plan for Balboa Park approved by the city council. As reported earlier, …

San Diego County sheriff Bill Gore is looking for more than a few good women’s support garments to bolster the physiques of his (presumably) female prisoners, 2700 per year, to be exact. According to a …

Salute From Sweden Thank you for bringing the Royal Rife story up to the media surface (“Royal Raymond Rife: Into the Micro-Beyond,” “Unforgettable,” February 16). Mankind needs his discoveries to be developed and available again. …

The children sit quietly on the grass, having untied the bell from the cat’s collar so he can stalk the night moth jagging past us in the dark, and I’m trying not to think about …

As one of the most devoted followings in modern music lost their collective shit upon Cake's emergence from the backstage curtain, the Sacramento band kicked things off with the molasses drip of "Sad Songs and …

Denomination: Reconstructionist Membership: 125 families Pastor: Rabbi Yael Ridberg Age: 43 Born: Bridgeport, Conn. Formation: Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Philadelphia, Penn. Years Ordained: 15 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon? Rabbi …

For most of my adult life I have worked at record stores. One can only listen to the Beatles so many times (though I'm testing that statement everyday). So, with whim on my side I'll …

The Trona Pinnacles (not to be confused with Pinnacles National Monument near Steinbeck’s Soledad) is one of those natural geological wonders that awes. Set back five miles off SR 178, twenty miles east of Ridgecrest, …

A statement posted on the San Diego and Imperial County ACLU website on February 16 indicates a settlement has been reached on a yearlong free-speech case at La Jolla High School. In February 2011, principal …

The stunning architectural beauty of the Taj Mahal, built entirely of white marble, is particularly evident at sunrise and sunset. At sunrise the changing light casts shadows, and at night it seems to glow – …

OB Rag cofounder, medical marijuana proponent, and social justice activist Frank Gormlie sent out an email recently to friends and acquaintances, warning them that someone is "apparently [and] deliberately impersonating me and my email address." …

My name is Axel Baxter and I'm a mean guy. Just ask my Old Lady. I don’t mean to be I just can’t help myself. Been around the block and back and I don't take …

The Calexico Unified School District continues to face hard times due to continuing financial problems. Until recently, the district also faced the possibility of state-imposed penalties in the millions after schools were forced to close …

I blame Annel and Drew, the delightful, the charming, the talented, the delicious foodmaking dream duo for my recent decrease in 401k contributions. These two have wondertwin power-activated their foodie know-hows to create Annel and …

Ocean Beach photographer Michael Realpeople gathered an estimated 50 couples and onlookers at the Embarcadero on the morning of February 18 to reenact the kiss that inspired the 25-foot-tall "Unconditional Surrender" statue. Many art lovers …

On the morning of February 18, a sparse protest group demonstrated at Sea World’s San Diego park entrance. The protest followed last week’s decision by a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against Sea World …

I’m sitting in an African bar scratching a description of Praia, Cape Verde, into a notebook, sipping my third cup of passable Portuguese plonk. I don't know if it was my intense concentration on the …

David and I collected our boarding passes, and took a moment to look them over. “I’m sixty-seven,” David said. “First class. My name’s Isidor Strauss.” “I’m fourteen, third class,” I said. “Name’s Jamila.” We lowered …

Local photographer Michael Realpeople's plans to stage a "kiss-in" at the Unconditional Surrender statue near the U.S.S. Midway Museum is meeting some resistance. A Facebook event page announces the photographer’s plan to honor the tourist …

A young man bicycling on Grand Avenue in Escondido was found to be carrying a “metal knuckles” weapon that had a folding four-inch blade appendage, according to testimony given by Escondido police officer Jason White …

Truth is said to be the one unequalled means of purification of the soul. Truth is the ladder by which man ascends to heaven, as a ferry plies from one bank of a river to …

We went one day about a month ago/ to have a little fun in Mexico. We ended up in a gambling spot/ where the liquor flowed and the dice were hot So here we are …

La Ocho Hace ya más de un mes que desapareció la comandancia de policía de Tijuana, mejor conocida como La Ocho, ubicada en la esquina de la Calle Ocho y Avenida Constitución, en el centro …

For starters, the name is misleading. “Balboa Island” is not an island – well, not a real one, anyway. Back in the early 1900s its harbor, Newport Harbor, needed channels dredged of sand and silt …

Utah might be the last place on earth you would expect to find the longest-running open bar west of the Mississippi. And when traveling towards Huntsville, UT, it’s not hard to imagine that you are …

You know that commercial where a man and a woman sit across the table from each other, engaged in what appears to be an intimate conversation, but the guy keeps sneaking looks at the football …

Bernardo Vasquez is the chair of Sweetwater Union High School District’s Proposition O Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. The all-volunteer committee with rotating membership has been attempting to keep track of the district’s 644 million proposition …

Title: 365 Thoughts, New and Old: An Autobiography Address: 365newthoughtsperyear.blogspot.com Author: Paul Dion, STL From: Linda Vista Blogging since: 2006 Post Title: Introduction to an Old Man’s Musings and Grousings Post Date: November 25, 2010 …

If you’re looking for the perfect redneck response to blue-blooded cocktail culture, look no further than the Swampwater’s edge at Bub’s Dive Bar. The sort of place that serves silos of canned beer in paper …

Keith Milgaten cofounded Vision of a Dying World with his brother Jackson while the two were growing up in Las Vegas. After the duo moved to San Diego in 2006 and hooked up with local …

On August 12, 1971, the San Diego Union printed an obituary: “Dr. Royal R. Rife, 83, an optics engineer who invented a high-power microscope, was buried yesterday at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Rife had worked on …

The broaching of the subject is inevitable: in any extended conversation, I’ll always find a way to sneak in a “Have you eaten anything good recently?” And, quite often, that little question bears fruit. A …

Richard Terfry is a Canadian hip-hop artist who has performed under half a dozen names over the past 20 years, but he’s best known as Buck 65. His earlier work was the kind of thing …

“This town is full of musical cancer survivors,” says singer/songwriter Laura Roppé, wishing blues belter Candye Kane a full recovery from her latest cancer diagnosis. Kane, whose first bout with pancreatic cancer began in early …

In Coronado, alternative transportation mostly means bikes, scooters, skateboards, legs. The options end at the bridge, where a link to San Diego is provided only for cars and motorcycles. Some say the bridge favors traffic …

Petunia won’t give his real name when he calls from British Columbia, where he lives, which may be a self-protective habit grown of living on the streets and having busked his way across Canada and …

It’s the word that stops me. A new word on the awning of this old place. “Cremalose.” Huh? This is the San Diego Hardware building. The 100-year-old curved-glass windows of what was once a Woolworth’s …

“It was pretty scanty,” says Ras Charles about the turnout at last year’s Tribute to the Reggae Legends show at the Sports Arena. “You could have played football in there.” Charles had a vendors’ booth …

Hey Matt: Every day, seven days a week, I get odd, distracting, disruptive phone calls that drive me to drink! No, not the ones from my ex. The phone rings, I answer with my usual …

The first era of 3-D gave us flying lances and tomahawks, but the thrill (like the fad) faded. The process was revived creatively by Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. A …

Take the trail less traveled to the Cowles Mountain summit Directions from downtown San Diego: 15 miles. Allow 30 minutes’ driving time. (San Carlos, Mission Trails Regional Park) From I-8, exit north on College Ave. …

Dreams don’t care about time or space. They freely remix the known and unimaginable. In Culture Clash’s American Night: The Ballad of Juan José, a kaleidoscopic dream guides the title character on an official tour …

Art exhibitions serve an especially useful purpose if they revise our assumptions and rewrite established narratives, correcting for new information, shifting valuations, fresh polemical agendas, and the mysteries of shared taste. Without a foundational intellectual …

Traveling daredevils the Squidling Brothers are currently touring Europe before making their way to the Shakedown on Midway to court death with their entourage of rock-and-roll sideshow freaks. In anticipation of the preternatural pageant, Matterz …

My husband’s happy place is in his yard. Around this time of year, he spends hours deep in thought, cultivating his land, composting, relishing the odors of moist, tilled earth. He’s prepared a bed for …

And so, baseball. Padres pitchers and catchers report to Peoria on Sunday. Once again I have been suckered into a fantasy baseball league by quaffing one drink too many in the company of bad men. …

Your pocket is being picked in an alleged conspiracy between San Diego Gas & Electric and the California Public Utilities Commission, which is supposed to regulate utilities but actually mollycoddles them. This chicanery, spelled out …

The election isn’t until 2014, but Democratic governor Jerry Brown is already out raising money for his reelection campaign. Recent donors include beer-making giant Anheuser-Busch, with a $25,900 donation on January 28, and the California …

New Van Halen? Who Cares? Not so fast, sayers of nay... I think most folks who hit puberty any time in the past 40 years, who had even the briefest of brushes with hard rock, …

Am I the only one who can see them? All over my neighborhood are plastic bags filled with newspaper advertising. The circulars are everywhere. I live in Pacific Beach and first noticed them in December. …

Sempra Energy, beset by a leaking reactor at San Onofre and illegal bird-space penetrations in East County, among other troubles, has been currying favor among state officials in the firm’s traditional way, by providing them …

She leaves messages on my answering machine, asks for my help, tells me things I’d rather not know: her microwave clock is stuck on 12:00, the computer’s screwing up, there’s a book she can’t find, …

Philadelphia-based psychedelic-rock band Dr. Dog took the stage at Belly Up in support of its sixth studio album, Be the Void. The band hit with the sold-out crowd by kicking off the show with "Lonesome," …

A ’Nam Fantasy After reading your cover article “Citizen Pot Bust” (February 9), I don’t know who is more dangerous, the people in the forest growing marijuana or a bunch of military wannabes carrying loaded …

An Orange Line trolley came to an abrupt halt as it was rounding the curve crossing 11th Avenue, entering into the City College station shortly before 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 11. Passengers stood around, …

February 13, 2012, marked the three-year anniversary of the kidnapping and murder of young teen Amber DuBois. Family, friends, Team Amber search-and-rescue volunteers, neighbors, and other supporters gathered together at the Old Spaghetti Factory in …

Trains rumbled over the bridge and thousands of padlocks chattered in unison as I walked across the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne, Germany, looking at messages of love. Row after row of various shaped and sized …

Tijuana residents who live in the Tijuana River canal north of the border crossing’s pedestrian bridge have long been a familiar sight to citizens and tourists. From below the bridge, the indigent frequently beg pesos …

On Tuesday, February 6, Tijuana waste-management crews and emergency officials began removing more than 100 tons of garbage that were discovered in a 9000-square-foot warehouse in the colonia known as Las Huertas. Area residents indicated …

"In Ho Chi Minh City, there are eight million people and five million motorbikes," my guide informed me as we slowly wound our way through this bustling city en route to the Củ Chi tunnels. …

David and I have taken to watching ice hockey — David’s always loved the sport, and I’ve learned to appreciate the skill it takes to chase a tiny black disc around a slippery sheet of …

The Conchs (those born in Key West) are friendly sorts, and so are the chickens: you’ll see them anywhere and everywhere. Large iguanas can also be found basking in the historic city cemetery, where some …

A century after 249 East County residents voted on February 7, 1912, in favor of incorporating as the City of La Mesa, more than 150 people turned out two days ago for a town-hall meeting …

On Tuesday, February 7, members of San Diego’s LGBT community gathered to celebrate the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to strike down the ban on gay marriage. Despite the rain, approximately 150 people bearing …

"This is Steve Reed with the DEA," said the man on the phone. “You called the DEA several months ago about a possible irrigation line you found in Cuyamaca State Park,” he continued. “I have …

I went back to Tijuana last week to participate in a poetry reading at a small university. I say “back” because, from 1999 through 2007, I lived there pretty much full time. I still rent …

Address: jannairons.com Author: Janna Irons From: Encinitas Blogging since: 2011 Post Title: Match.com, No Thanks. Post Date: August 12, 2011 Profile Translator “I’m looking for a woman who is loyal, honest, and genuine.” TRANSLATION: “I …

"What’s that guy eating?” yells Carla. “It looks ginormous!” “Say what?” “I said…” We’re shouting at each other at the new Nicky Rottens place in Coronado. Carla wanted to meet here at the bay end …

Dan Harumi (aka Room E), a 26-year-old Bay Area native, recently released his debut full-length, Penguin Child, which makes use of live and electronic sounds in what he calls a “dilettante-style instrumentation” — a pastiche …

By the end of last year, music journalists were tagging it the Year of the Sax. Why? Because Lady Gaga hired Clarence Clemons to play on “Born This Way.” But that’s not all: Odd Future …

The man who helped 91X regain its mojo, Garrett Capone, is leaving the station to work in artist development with the New York–based Crush Management company, which handles acts such as Train, Wavves, Gym Class …

Burning Man is all about building rad things in the middle of nowhere, Nevada, partying in them for a week, and then dismantling or incinerating them at the end of the festival. It’s in this …

The first time I heard the Los Campesinos song “By Your Hand,” I was shocked. I mean, this is a band with a reputation for being twee (all the members go by first names only, …

American computer professionals who complain that they lose jobs or get lower pay because of imported tech workers may have reason to smile. Government regulators are cracking down on alleged fraud in worker visa programs. …

Democratic state senator Christine Kehoe, barred by term limits from running again for her seat, has continued to collect contributions for her so-called officeholder account, a means that state law sanctions to tap special interests …

My first reaction to The Woman in Black was “all nerves, no heart.” But I have a weakness for the sort of nerve-stretching that the film employs. The sort that comes from a long shot …

In 2009, a few downtown residents discovered that they, along with over 2600 other downtown property owners, had been overcharged by the property and business improvement district in which they lived. The assessment district, also …

San Diego County sheriff Bill Gore is looking for a few good legal researchers to help the denizens of his jails throw off their chains. “The inmates’ right to conduct legal research has been determined …

The Features are indie rockers from Sparta, Tennessee, an eighth-grade startup born of small-town boredom. Coming of age in a cultural backwater of less than 5000 had its limitations, and a lot of the Features’ …

Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Group gave $1000 to the reelection bid of liberal San Diego Democratic assemblywoman Toni Atkins on December 22. Meanwhile Orange County’s Irvine Company, owned by Republican billionaire Donald Bren, stepson of the …

The best place to visit accessible desert palm groves in the southern Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is Mountain Palm Springs, found at the foot of the Tierra Blanca Mountains. Six oases with well-established trees provide …

I have Dewey Not-His-Real-Name Pienkey on the phone. He’s a Nevada friend from olden days. Third generation, born and raised in Searchlight, a town of 550, an hour’s drive south of Vegas, known for the …

There was a time when Wheeling, West Virginia, had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the U.S. Once the capital of “newly restored” Virginia and the new state of West Virginia, it was …

“It’s almost impossible to make a living playing original music in San Diego, but there are other ways a player can make money,” says bassist Grant Clarkson. “Look at all the musical theater and opera …

Welcome Back, Donna Thank you very much for printing the interview with Donna Frye on January 26 (“So San Diego,” Cover Story). I loved listening to what she had to say. I hadn’t heard from …

Hey Matt: There has been a question bugging me since I worked at the O.B. Pier bait shop years ago. Is there a breed of fish called a sardine, or are they called that only …

Hilary Andrews Student, San Diego State University If Heroes and Skins were combined into a single series, you’d get Misfits. Misfits is a British TV show about five delinquent social outcasts who become unlikely friends …

Membership: 310 Pastor: Kevin Womack Born: Melbourne, Florida Age: 40 Formation: Bethel Seminary, San Diego; Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada Ordained: 11 years San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to …

Ten minutes now I have been looking at this. I have gone by here before and wondered about it. This is a bronze memorial of a famous general Riding horseback with a flag and a …

Late Monday afternoon, February 6, a man and his small dog were attacked and seriously injured by a rottweiler in front of their Clairemont home on Boxwood Avenue. The man suffered large gashes to his …

Remember the term “emo?” It used to make me cringe. Thoughts of tattooed boys telling me their woes in verse-chorus-verse of dull sensibilities and loud bursts of emotion fill my head. Well, my darlings, it …

If you were waiting, as I've been since last November when Joe Walsh rescheduled his sold-out show at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, the wait was well worth it. Simply put, life's been …

Jennifer Lyndi Davey, 64, accused of embezzling almost $1.5 million while she worked as an office manager in Solana Beach, was arraigned in the Vista courthouse on February 3. Davey pleaded not guilty to charges …

Punta Banda is a narrow, mostly barren finger of land that pokes out into the Pacific Ocean at the southern end of Bahía Todos Santos near Ensenada. Near the very tip, busloads of bug-eyed tourists …

When I was in New York City, there were two things everyone wanted me to see: Occupy Wall Street and the High Line. In my very limited time, I opted for the High Line. Anyway, …

Do you spend half of your day job hunting and the other half posting on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites? Do you feel guilty every time you post a photo of your dog …

Whether it’s a conscious decision or simple dependence on our own experiences, each of us probably has been guilty of generational discrimination in the workplace at one time or another. The people who sacrificed through …

If you like to help other people score lots of money while you make some cash as well, you might try your hand at grant writing. You have to really like research, and really, really …

We are in the “Information Age,” and Wow!! that has helped the job search candidate, such as you. It is much easier these days to compile research information on industries, companies and decision makers than …

If you are known as a person who gets things done, one who takes on additional responsibility outside of your job descriptions with a positive “can-do” attitude; if you are one who others look to …

People are wondering: What was the board thinking when they hired former Sweetwater Union High School District superintendent Jesus Gandara? Did the executive search committee not provide boardmembers with enough information? And how many superintendents …

One of the great stories over the past few months has been the unpredictable success of Tim Tebow, quarterback for the NFL’s Denver Broncos. Tebow was a great collegiate player who won two national championships …

You have been answering job openings on the internet job boards for several weeks or months. So has everyone else. You have answered dozens of openings, and have had very little, if any, communication from …

Michele Nash-Hoff, author of Can American Manufacturing be Saved? Why we should and how we can, explains why you should seek work with San Diego’s manufacturing companies. Please start by telling me a little bit …

Protesters and aspiring politicians gathered on Friday, February 3, outside congressman Duncan Hunter’s office to protest his support of the National Defense Authorization Act. Many have voiced concern about certain provisions of the bill, arguing …

In a September 2009 article, the U-T described a dilapidated restroom in north Ocean Beach: “A restroom building on a popular stretch of sand in Ocean Beach has been fenced off because the roof is …

In 2011 I lost my kick-ass condo and went on anti-anxiety meds that — when combined with stress, financial troubles, moving house, and excessive drinking and dining out — left me two sizes larger. As …

Even were he to die with him, a kinsman is unable to follow his dead relative: all excepting his wife are forbidden to follow him on the path of Yama [the god of death]…. Of …

Car: 1997 Nissan Sentra Previous Cars: 2001 Pontiac Grand Am with 20” rims. What’s your commute like?: I drive from my crib in Allied Gardens to my work [Target] in Mission Valley. Beyond work, I …

A few words about my bike. I call him GT, but his real name is GT LTS 3. He is a brute. He was born in 1998 and listed for $4295. My wife Debra bought …

“I have a new covers album called 1957 that’s mixed and done,” says busy Blizzard frontman Chris Leyva, who plans to release a new solo CD on Valentine’s Day. His 2008 solo debut, Singled Out, …

“All Leather is no longer a band. No last show, no reunions, no final record,” decrees Nathan Joyner, guitarist of the now disbanded All Leather. With drummer Jung Sing living in Mexicali and synthesizer player …

Cheese-lover, cheese-maker, Jedi cheese-master — most of the world’s population falls into one of these categories. Few foods have such a broad range of appeal. I’m so smitten, I’ve considered lobbying to make cheese its …

Anastasia from Vladivostok brings my waffle. Melissa — her family is from Guam — hands me my coffee. The coffee’s Kona, from Hawaii. The waffle is from…heaven. Sigh. Love a surprise. Here I was, ambling …

Rose Wine Pub in South Park caught my attention when it opened about 16 months ago. It was a holiday walkabout night and the cozy bar, which seats about 30, was standing-room only. Wanting to …

Heymatt: I don’t understand the expression, “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks.” Why? Too lazy? — Man’s Best Friend, via email Dogs have gotten this bad rap since the 1530s. Really. This old-dogs-new-tricks stuff …

“I think Hemingway and maybe Bukowski are the only writers who I’ve read all of their books,” says keyboard crooner Sean Davenport, whose new Hills Like Elephants (the name is a Hemingway reference) project is …

“Jolt ’N’ Joe’s downtown canceled all entertainment, which included every band night and a comedy night,” says Lenny Morris of his now-defunct residency at that venue every other Wednesday. “It was a real surprise. I …

Another buzz-kill week at the movies: wolves, cancer, thoughts of Oscar. Oy vey (yes, let us prepare for the Jewish film festival). Joe Carnahan’s The Grey, about men pursued by Alaskan wolves, will not be …

Approximately 500 parents, students, and teachers attended the Sweetwater Union High School District board meeting on the evening of January 30. A cacophony of angry voices filled the Hilltop High School gymnasium. Lauren McLennan, a …

Christi Nail has spent thousands of dollars on double-pane windows to keep out the noise and wooden shutters to block out the headlights. She is thinking of building a concrete retaining wall to ward off …

"On the islands, we do it island style, from the mountain to the ocean, from the windward to the leeward side." About halfway through his set, Hawaii's Jimmy Buffet, John Cruz, started singing his signature …

Brother-sister act Fiery Furnaces has spent the past ten years earning a reputation as one of the most prolific and confounding acts in indie rock. Their songs, written mostly by Matthew Friedberger, pair classic-rock instrumentation …

Keeping in stride with the ethos conveyed by recent releases from crew members P.O.S. and Sims, Doomtree brazenly scatter their forward momentum theses across the 12 tracks of No Kings. With five hyper-literate and boundary-testing …

Go, Newt! In your donnybrook with Mitt, please keep informing the citizenry about the rapacity of private equity groups (essentially leveraged buyout firms). I’m neutral on the nomination but feel strongly about private equity groups: …

Aaron Feldman’s so connected that when he sits by the pool and the beer runs out, he whines: “No one has texted me in, like, AN HOUR!” He lives in Brentwood, his father’s a big-time …

The aptly named Piedras Pintadas (“painted rocks”) trail in Escondido explores a small part of the rich San Diego County Kumeyaay Indian culture and habitat by following a well-marked trail with interpretive plaques. The trail …

Super Bowl Sunday is upon us. It’s the one time every year when gamblers come out of their closets, fling open their bedroom windows, and shout out, “Yes, neighbor. Yes, Mr. Policeman. Yes, Mr. Employer. …

If you played electric guitar in high school during the 1970s, you probably had your Steppenwolf and Bad Company and Deep Purple and Neil Young licks down, but you also knew some James Gang. Their …

One (horrifying) word: lice. Claudia Alvarez, manager at Hair Fairies in La Jolla (858-459-5423; hairfairies.com) told me that the best treatment was careful removal by hand and comb. “Lice need the scalp to live. They …

Title: Say Everything and Nothing Address: sayeverythingandnothing.com Author: Sean Miron From: Ocean Beach Blogging since: 2012 Post Title: Diaper toss. Post Date: January 22, 2012 Events normally don’t work out like this: I have a …

When I arrived in Laos, I was delighted to find that bicycles are cheap, easy to rent, and can ride anywhere. Finding a bike was as simple as saying to my guesthouse owner, "Bike?" The …

While drilling holes into records, Colin Tappe talks about Standards, a record store he is preparing to open in Vista. “I just wanna do something for North County. That’s where I am, and I like …

Short, Sweet Deanna Fridley is disgusting (“The Long and Dangerous Day,” Feature Story, January 26). That is all I have to say. Laurievia email Pagans Popular I felt that I must write in response to …

How long will you keep on crying, “Where’s my remedy? Where’s my cure?” Whoever it is that’s making you search for a remedy, go look for him. How long will you stay mired in sadness, …