Homeland Security grant to send nearly $17 million for weapons, surveillance to San Diego region
Dave Rice 12:35 p.m., May 23
Stories for February 2013
Thursday, February 28
International Space Station to soar across San Diego skies
Resupply vessel to be nearby
On Friday, March 1, at 6:20 pm, the International Space Station and the Dragon unmanned resupply ship will be visible for three minutes, flying "in formation" over the San Diego skies. Both ships will be ...
Escondido Country Club to close down
Zoning in question, residents leery
The bombshell arrived at Escondido Country Club area residents’ mailboxes on Saturday, February 23, in the form of a blue postcard announcing the demise of Escondido Country Club. It was well known locally that the ...
Surviving the Swarm in Anza-Borrego
Just 2 hours from S.D., the great outdoors can still have its surprises...
As a young woman on a budget, I've found many ways to travel on the cheap, and one of my favorite destinations is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in east county San Diego. It's close, it's ...
An overall lack of respect...
...and other challenges faced by substitute teachers
Colleen Burkett-Christopher explains what it takes to become a substitute teacher. First please tell me what you do. I’m a substitute teacher. I ensure continuity of education in a classroom when the permanent teacher is ...
William Heath Davis House reimbursed by city council
$9000 scared up for “ghostly” Gaslamp museum
The Gaslamp Museum/William Heath Davis House downtown has been refurbished. The San Diego City Council on February 26 approved $9000 to reimburse the museum for some overdue improvements. The Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation manages the ...
Become a (legal) drug dealer
Pharmacy is a growing and lucrative field
If prescription drug advertisements are driving you crazy, perhaps you should ask your doctor for a prescription… or become a pharmacist yourself. The side effects of becoming a pharmacist include interesting work, a big paycheck, ...
Hill Tribes of Sapa
A camera gives the author license to steal in Northwest Vietnam.
“Also, being a photographer gives you a license to steal experiences that you ordinarily wouldn’t have. You enter into other people’s worlds who are usually very highly specialized, very rare.” ~ Jay Maisel I love ...
Wednesday, February 27
Carpool? With my wife?
Daily rituals, interrupted
A middle-aged husband and middle-aged wife can’t find a good reason not to share the lengthy commute to work.
Confused man takes a drive in Tijuana River Valley
Police send him home in tow truck
An elderly man who police said has Alzheimer’s disease drove his car through the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, up to the top of Spooner's Mesa, and became stranded in his white Honda just feet ...
Marine aircraft conduct training exercise at Gillespie Field
Two V-22 Ospreys delay our guy in the sky
I was sitting in the engine warm-up area at the end of Gillespie Field's runway 27R at 10 a.m. on February 26, getting ready for takeoff on a flight to Camarillo. Four other planes were ...
Forced entry thwarted in Carlsbad
Neighbors help track perp
An 80-minute search for a man who tried to force his way into a Carlsbad home on the 800 block of Ginger Avenue ended with his arrest on February 25. The search began around 5 ...
The Saltbox's French 75
When the old folks talk about the ritual evening cocktail as “shooting the sunset gun,” they probably had the French 75 in mind. Stroll into the Saltbox any evening at the right time and manager ...
What Men Think
David’s phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up and smiled down at the screen. “What’s that?” I asked. “Oh, it’s Kik,” David said. “What? When did you join Kik? I thought you said ...
Rockefeller style at Spike Africa's
Ed kills by eating
Ed kills an oyster at Spike Africa’s, in the Gaslamp District. He also learns about Spike Africa, the man.
The Muffs
Kim Shattuck started the Muffs with Melanie Vammen in Los Angeles in 1991. They were fresh out of a metal-ish act called Pandora. In the next couple of years they would generate enough buzz as ...
Horn-free high school
B Side Players trombonist/Helix High associate music director Michael Benge tries to land Poncho Sanchez to do show with his students, but parents don’t want to enter into contract.
Still Life with Dad
Linda Nevin was an editor and writer for the Reader for over 30 years. She wrote — as Matthew Alice — the Straight from the Hip column for over 20 years, until mid-2012. The following ...
Go pros play chess to relax
4000 years and counting
Go, simultaneously the most simple and complex game ever.
Who wants to jam?
jammingout.net launches after a delay; Doyle Thomas wants musicians to be able to find each other for impromptu jam sessions.
Why congress no longer approves gas prices
Heymatt: Please set the record straight. Back in the day, when gas prices first hit $2/gallon, Congress would have had to approve the increase. What happened to that law? There seems to be no need ...
In the San Diego clubs, February 28–March 6
Thursday 28The Wildbunch is back. And they “Wanna take you to a gay bar, gay bar, gay bar!” Sexy Trash act Electric Six plug in at Casbah Thursday night. This sextet kicks out the dance ...
Yaqui Well, Anza-Borrego State Park
This historic watering hole is a premier birding site in San Diego County.
San Diego Musical Theatre presents a killer diller Chicago at the Birch in North Park
San Diego Musical Theatre’s knock-out production of Bob Fosse’s Chicago must close Sunday, March 3. If you like your entertainment steamy, decadent — and all that jazz — then sprint, don’t just run, to the ...
Say yes to No
A friend who saw it in Cannes apprised me of the situation: No was Pablo Larrain’s bid for commercialism. If using an old-fangled 1983 U-matic video camera to shoot a 2012 re-creation of the 1988 ...
Moon reflections
Hi Matt: I was gazing at a full moon and a bunch of questions flooded my mind. How reflective is the surface of the moon? Does moonlight have a UV content? Would there be any ...
The Writer
True tale of a journalist on the trail of a former young sci-fi writer who became a grizzled street person.
Record-release roundup
When the band formerly known as Short Eyes drops their Granado’s full-length on March 5 at the Belly Up, it’ll be the first show under their new name, North Beach, and one of their last ...
Couch-surf or get a roommate
The financial squeeze (high costs, low pay) is worse for San Diego's young adults.
Getting more ink from a ballpoint pen
Heymatt: Here is one no one can answer: how to restart ink flowing in a ballpoint pen after non-use. This has everyone stumped, so if you can’t answer, that’s OK. — John, via email At ...
Newsom's San Diegans of interest
Democratic Lt. governor Gavin Newsom made some waves here just over a year ago when then–Jerry Sanders media handler Rachel Laing tweeted a link to a letter from Newsom to Milford Wayne Donaldson, advising the ...
Oysters Obama
No oysterphiles among these limousine liberals
San Diego seafood lovers may soon be paying more for their oysters since the Drakes Bay oyster farm in the Bay Area is being threatened with closure.
Illegal recycler tracked down by SDPD in Ocean Beach
Officers cite woman for pilfering bottles and cans
I was sitting on my couch on a quiet, sunny morning in Ocean Beach on February 25, when the not-too-unusual sounds of police sirens made me get up to see what the ruckus was about. ...
Low-level lobbying
Reports published after word came of ex–San Diego mayor Maureen O’Connor’s admission of stealing from her late husband’s foundation to feed a billion-dollar gambling compulsion had it that her game of choice was video poker, ...
Rose crème brûlée, the hard way
An amateur Indian chef offers her recipe of rose-flavored crème brûlée.
Dear Reader
Other People’s Money Your [Neal Obermeyer] political cartoon on page three of the February 21 issue is unclear. I know they’re talking about Petco Park and a billion dollars of other people’s money, but you ...
Excerpt from the memoirs of John Brooks
I look back on my humble life with humility. I am sensible of many imperfections that cling to me. I know that the present is neither the season nor the place to begin the preparation ...
Tuesday, February 26
Florida Road-tripping
In touch with the Sunshine State's natural side.
California isn't the only state that holds claim to a scenic coastal drive. With more miles of coastline than any other state in the contiguous lower forty-eight, Florida has several. State Road Atlantic 1 Alternate ...
Southwestern faculty questions college’s education plan
Is inaccurate data guiding the way?
Members of Southwestern College's faculty are concerned that the college’s master education plan is based on inaccurate data that may inform the administration’s pink-slip plan or presage the closing of programs integral to student needs. ...
Truck-mounted drug cannon seized in Mexicali
Operators nearly busted at midnight
Police in Mexicali were given an anonymous tip Thursday night, February 21, that narcotraficantes were delivering drugs from Mexicali, the capital of Baja, to Calexico, across the border. The method used: cannon fire. A home-made ...
The Fetish Market in Lomé, Togo
One-stop voodoo shopping.
The fetish market in Togo, Africa, is a one-stop shopping paradise for witch doctors and medicine men – as well as a must-see for tourists. This dusty lot in the center of town covers an ...
The Numbers
Every Tuesday and Wednesday morning I pick up Joe from the autism class, walk him down the school hallway, his little starfish hand wriggling in mine, as he counts the numbered doors — Ten, nine, ...
Brooms and rocks don’t settle squabble in Tijuana
Arrests made following non-payment for tortillas
A neighborhood brawl erupted Saturday, February 23, in Tijuana's Villas del Campo neighborhood after a woman swatted a child with a broom, leading to the arrest of five people. The affray began in the afternoon, ...
Monday, February 25
Oregon's Multnomah Falls
See this granddaddy cascade of the Cascades.
About an hour's drive outside of Portland, in the early morning sunrise, I had the pleasure of experiencing some of Northern Oregon’s most beautiful sights. When in Oregon, it's hard not to want to interact ...
Controversial killings protested in San Ysidro
“Investigation” continues three years later
A group of about 250 demonstrators at the San Ysidro Port of Entry called for justice and transparency on Saturday, February 23. The loud and peaceful protesters, including the families of three people killed by ...
Chula Vista librarian Donna Golden retires
City won’t appoint a new one
Chula Vista Public Library’s photographic archive may languish following Donna Golden’s retirement on February 23. After 39 years of serving as a reference librarian and as the local history librarian since 2005, her position will ...
Saturday, February 23
Archaeological study of finds at Whaley House, Nate Harrison’s home
SDSU student studies 19th-century meds
Based on a study of the bottles found during the archaeological excavation of an Old Town home built in 1857, prescription drugs accounted for much of the medications used by the Whaley family. The Whaley ...
Friday, February 22
Aerial view of Julian’s snowfall, February 22
Winter wonder mesmerizes our guy in the sky
Plenty of snow in downtown Julian this morning. I flew over at 9 a.m. in a light plane at 8000 feet above sea level, about 2000 feet above the ground, and was mesmerized by the ...
What's Wrong with Switzerland?
The problem with travel writing in Switzerland is that there are no problems. Every writer knows there has to be a little sand in his shoe, some gritty irritation to kick off a story either ...
Dredging of Tijuana River Valley court-ordered to stop
Does the city depend on “emergency” caveat to skirt law?
Dredging of the flood-prone Smuggler's Gulch channel and the Tijuana River that had been allowed to proceed was again halted on Thursday, February 22, as attorneys fighting the City of San Diego over its permit ...
Cultured Staunton, Virginia
An air of refinement in the scenic Shenandoah Valley.
Why are people from around the world flocking to Staunton, Virginia, a little railroad town nestled in the Shenandoah Valley? Staunton, pronounced “Stant-on,” isn’t content to merely be a scenic historic stop 10 miles west ...
Light Up Gold, by Parquet Courts
Parquet Courts' Light Up Gold is all sorts of what indie-rock should be heading toward in 2013 — clever lyrics, catchy song craft, infectious hooks, and an irresistible, giddy feel. It's like a stoner trapped ...
Reality TV stars shine at Soda Bar
Former American Idol winner Kris Allen made his first West Coast tour stop at the Soda Bar. The Arkansas native embarked on his “Out Alive Tour” early this year to promote his second record, Thank ...
Thursday, February 21
Would-be pimp slapped down by Tijuana police
Prostitutes threatened with violence
Police officers chased down and arrested a man on a downtown Tijuana street on Monday, February 18, after a young prostitute told them a customer had beaten and robbed her at a nearby hotel. In ...
Interview with a nearly carjacked cabbie in Temecula
FAT guys attempt arrest that ends in death
When Anthony (last name withheld by request), a cab driver for Red Top Cab in Temecula, picked up his passenger on February 11 at the Extended Stay America hotel on Jefferson Avenue, he had no ...
Moab, Utah – and the Man Who Quit Money
This outdoors epicenter makes an ideal base for Arches & Canyonlands explorations.
I didn’t see the gorgeous rocks that surround Moab, Utah, when I drove into town on a chilly November evening. My mind was swirling with images of the enormous chasms I had viewed at Canyonlands ...
Medical tourism slows in Tijuana
This year’s violence a factor
Upticks in violent events in Tijuana and Mexico have brought a sudden halt to an encouraging rise in medical tourism to Baja, says Dr. Karim Chalita Rodriguez II, president of a medical group known as ...
Wednesday, February 20
Direct-pay doctors revive a dying art
Have stethoscope, will travel
A new (old) breed of doctor is surfacing — one who makes house calls, believes pills are overprescribed, and cares to talk to their patients.
Southwestern College may trim faculty to reduce costs
Teachers’ group resolves to fight
The threat of pink slips has reared its head at Southwestern Community College District for the first time since l987. Only a few months ago, when voters passed Proposition 30, a tax to fund K-12 ...
More trails for Tijuana River Valley, but none to the mesas
Federal government noncompliant
San Diego County supervisor Greg Cox and state assemblyman Ben Hueso celebrated a $1.5 million grant for added miles of horse and hiking trails in the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park on Friday, February 15. ...
Hair rock cafe
Oceanside hair salon Rock Your Loxx features a hard-rock theme, includes a stage and Marshall-amp replica cabinetry.
A.K. Skurgis: Thrift-store junkie
“I play songs about things that should never be brought up at the dinner table.”
A.K. Skurgis gives you the one-man acoustic band live, but recorded he’s full-band electric.
Electronic cigarette smoke-out
E-smoke some snickerdoodle
My friend Smokee Wilson ain’t so smoky anymore. She recently started “vaping,” as she calls it — getting her nicotine fix by way of an electronic cigarette. I’ve got some family members who smoke, so ...
National sports news trawl
I have a folder on my internet browser’s bookmarks bar labeled “Sports Pages.” Inside are links to the sports section of every NFL and MLB team’s hometown newspaper. Occasionally, I’ll trawl through the tabloid briar ...
Gimbel's gambit
Geezer frontman Adam Gimbel comes up with a contest that celebrates 91X’s 30th anniversary.
Progamundo
After a five-year hiatus, Baja Prog 2013 will take place from April 3 through 6 in Mexicali.
In the San Diego clubs, February 20–27
Thursday | 21 NYC “tropical grit pop” duo Ghost Beach popped into the electropop atmosphere last year with the release of their well-received EP Modern Tongues. Imagine Daft Punk remixing Depeche Mode, the Police, Tears ...
Herzog's proud, happy people
Werner Herzog just happened upon a friend who was screening four films about professional trappers in the Siberian taiga, tradesmen who for centuries have used the same system of capturing animals because they are “unable ...
Turtle Voice
With one step, the air changed from fresh morning cool to middle-of-the-rainforest hot. The atmosphere inside the Reptile House was so thick, I thought if I opened my mouth I’d have to chew in order ...
Cactus Loop Trail, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
This trail provides a great introduction to desert plants.
Casa Piena
If it looks like gold, it’s gold.
Cary Katz, CEO of College Loan Corp., looks to unload his 39-room house in Poway.
The Residents: A cult band minus a genre
And now for some good old deconstruction of American pop music: the Residents are taking a lap around the country in celebration of their 40th anniversary as a creative unit. Too strange for some, the ...
Teacher Ned Walker arraigned on school-grounds weapons charges
He had a knife and pistol when arrested
At the downtown courthouse on February 19, a Jean Farb Middle School teacher pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of having a gun and a knife on the Tierrasanta school campus where he teaches ...
San Diego hotels: labor in revolt
Paying extremely low wages to hotel workers boosts profits of out-of-town owners and deprives San Diego of spending power.
Soulless P.B.
The building formerly known as Canes and then SoundWave is coming back as a club, but with less emphasis on big-name concerts.
SDG&E “committed to customer privacy” or disrespectful of it?
Poke the pig
Robert Garner files complaints with SDG&E regarding their security cameras that can view into his backyard and house. The electric company responded with a letter that said they are “committed to customer privacy”.”
Neither sleet, nor snow, nor rain...
In Defense of Bears I just wanted to say that I think you completely misrepresented Rich Sweeney in this cover article (“Temporary TV Fame,” February 14). Rich is a really nice guy who has done ...
From the Unwritten Letters of Joseph Freeman
(March, 1841) What a herd of slaves Jackson brought in last month. No sooner had their strength returned after the long march to the farm from Lynchburg but they began to plot another run. We ...
Kite Wars and Puffed Rice Brittle (Chikki) Recipe
Kite fight!
An Indian blogger writes about kite fights and puffed-rice brittle.
February 14 Sudoku Contenders
Evil Joe Arbusto, Rancho Penasquitos, 3. Richard Barker, San Diego, 3. Bliss Beedle, Encinitas, 3. Joseph Ciprian, Little Italy, 3. Patrick Driscoll, Santee, 3. Martin Guillen, Oceanside, 3. Butch Hays, La Mesa, 3. Vincent Lee, ...
February 14 Crossword Contenders
Martha Awdziewicz, Clairemont, 3. L. Barling, El Cajon, 3. Johanna Barry, Pine Valley, 3. Evelyn Bowser, Hillcrest, 3. Marvin A. Brown, Clairemont, 3. Charlotte Brown , Clairemont, 3. Leslie Chase, Campo, 3. Joseph Ciprian, Little ...
Tuesday, February 19
Tijuana police catch thief — the alleged victim did it
Bank-deposit holdup never happened
Tijuana's network of downtown police cameras proved to be the downfall for a 21-year-old woman and her male accomplice after she reported she had been robbed at knifepoint outside a downtown bank while trying to ...
The Magic of Salento
Adventure in Colombian coffee country.
There was more than just a luscious countryside of diversified vegetation and smooth, rolling hills, where a clean river ran steady and uninhibited over gardens of round stones. More than just untouched wax palm trees, ...
Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation reopens Discovery Center
Luiseño tribal leaders take part in ceremony
The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation in Carlsbad celebrated the reopening of its Discovery Center on Saturday, February 16. The center, which opened in 2006, was closed to the general public recently while interior improvements were ...
La Mesa organizers plan early for Oktoberfest
Merchants, teens, and stink bombs discussed
La Mesa's 2013 Oktoberfest will remain a one-weekend event, but organizers want to eliminate carnival rides and stink bombs, according to statements made at last week’s La Mesa City Council meeting. The Oktoberfest, sponsored by ...
Monday, February 18
Sweetwater school board to address campaign spending limits
Activist succeeds after warning of legal action
At the Sweetwater Union High School District board meeting in January, Maty Adato finally resorted to the “A” word — she told the trustees she had retained an attorney. Adato, a Sweetwater parent and one ...
NOLA: Voodoo and the Spirit of the Hurricane
I’ll be honest – from my four-day weekend in NOLA, I wanted three things: voodoo, ghosts and Hurricanes. And I wasn’t disappointed. My first glimpse of Bourbon Street was a little disappointing – trashy bars, ...
Abuse of Shamu and friends continues, say SeaWorld protesters
Group pickets outside theme park
It has been about a year since a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that was filed against SeaWorld for enslaving their marine animals. But a hardy group of animal-abuse protesters did not let that fact ...
Sinkhole opens, damages cars in Point Loma
Broken 70-year-old water pipe blamed
Residents in the vicinity of the 2700 block of Nimitz Boulevard were awoken by a large boom at around 1:15 am on Sunday, February 17, as a water main exploded and caused a large sinkhole ...
Sunday, February 17
La Mesa police chief Ed Aceves delivers crime report
Increase in property crimes; 249 burglaries in 2012
Two homicides were among the 226 violent crimes committed in La Mesa during 2012, according to the quarterly crime report that police chief Ed Aceves gave at the February 12 La Mesa City Council meeting. ...
Friday, February 15
Caution: Whales at Work
Up close and personal with gray whales in San Ignacio.
Our whale-watching excursion in San Ignacio, Mexico, turned into a close whale encounter in the literal blink of an eye. On the Pacific side of the Baja peninsula, there is a large lagoon where gray ...
Chattanooga, Tennessee
The Trail of Tears and the Delta Queen.
Chattanooga was one of the main starting points of the Cherokee Trail of Tears. It and the surrounding region of southeastern Tennessee are full of culture, preserving important elements of America’s heritage. And all this ...
Welcome to the grand illusion — 40 years of Styx at Pechanga
For 90-plus minutes, a room full of 50-somethings was transported back to, as Styx guitarist/singer James “JY” Young said, "The Ford Administration," at Pechanga Resort and Casino. Styx was in town and suddenly it was ...
My Bloody Valentine's mbv
Mark February 2, 2013, on your calendars as “the day My Bloody Valentine broke the internet.” Why? Because on that day the band released mbv, the follow-up to a perfect album: 1991's Loveless. Twenty-two years ...
Thursday, February 14
Pancakes, Sandwiches, Jobs
Tom Fitzpatrick might have a job for you at The Mission. First, please tell me about your restaurant. I have three restaurants with Fay Nakanishi and Deborah Helm: The Mission –Mission Beach; The Mission – ...
Your Job is Served, Sir
Butlers, chauffeurs, housekeepers are still in demand
There are plenty of jobs to keep the servants busy on the popular PBS series, “Downton Abbey,” but does anyone really work as a butler or chauffeur anymore? Of course they do! The job description ...
Road-tripping Canada: The Maritime Provinces and Back
5,000-mile trek by way of the Trans-Labrador Highway.
Generally, I travel alone. I like to explore at my own pace and in my own time. I'm not big on planning, either. I leave myself space to explore a different direction or seize an ...
Let Your Calendar Manage You
You’ll be surprised how much more you get done
For the first in a six-part series about stepping up your job-search or job-upgrade process, business coach Kate Hanley explains the importance of keeping a calendar. First, please tell me what you do. I help ...
Mexican men rescued from San Ysidro sewer pipe
Trapped for more than 12 hours
Four illegal immigrants were rescued from a sewage filled pipe by San Diego Fire and Rescue on the night of Wednesday, February 13. Afterward, the men were hosed off and handed over to Customs and ...
The Importance of Global Awareness
The woman’s plea over a social network was clear and to the point: “I am going to Saudi Arabia on business and I need to find someone who can tell me how women have to ...
Wednesday, February 13
Temporary TV Fame
Who’s crazy enough for reality TV?
Some San Diegans who have made it onto reality TV shows speak of the experience appreciatively but don’t seem to want to further their TV careers.
Ekco Metals procures permit to open recycling center in Grant Hill
To accept, sort, and ship materials
Despite an appeal of the permit for Ekco Metals International by the Southeastern San Diego Planning Group, the city council voted unanimously on Tuesday, February 12, to allow Ekco to run its recycling facility in ...
Katsuya's Pucker Up
When it comes to holidays, few lead to such controversy as Valentine’s Day. He thinks the day is only for her — she thinks it’s for both of them. Discussion ensues, shifts into a debate, ...
Jam session with the Kellys
Apricot jams, spreads, and preserves are trundled into the taste-test kitchen.
We're talkin' cavemen with Not So Fast food truckers
Ed has a meaty snack at the “Not So Fast” food truck, which specializes in paleo diet items.
Lacey hates the 8
Name: Lacey Micheals Car: 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe Do you like your car? I do! It’s small enough for an SUV and gas-economical because it’s a four-cylinder, but I have room to shove stuff in ...
Cry Girls
Jane came rushing in like a gust of wind, disrupting the air in the room with her abrupt appearance. As usual, she managed to not miss any surface as she unloaded her many things — ...
Funeral ganja
Slightly Stoopid trumpeter/keyboardist Christofer “C-Money” Welter talks about his side band, Players Inc.
Wounded Warriors bike from Oceanside
A coastline ride after “being blown up”
Local representatives of the Wounded Warrior Project sponsored a group of 45 veterans in a 30-mile bike ride along Coast Highway 101 on February 9. Starting off at Buccaneer Beach in Oceanside, the riders were ...
Soccer crime syndicate doesn't pay...well
Europol has press conference to disclose extensive investigation that revealed widespread soccer-match fixing in the FIFA league.
Is San Diego bait for a nuclear attack?
Interview with Bobby Bray of Innerds, who has a series of shows booked on the outskirts of San Diego, his “pre-postapocalyptic” tour that suggests San Diego is a military target.
Bullfight at Sweetwater
Greenhorns mess with Square Head
Rodeo people christen bulls with colorful names. Country singer Tom Russell sang about East Texas Red. Chris LeDoux tells about Dust Devil Rage — there was a man killed by that bull in Jasper, Texas. ...
Cupid's got a quiver full of shows, San Diego, February 14–20
Thursday 14Happy Valentine’s Day, Crawler followers, Cupid’s got a quiver full of shows tonight, so read real quik and see what sticks: Brooklyn-based “art-rock installation paratroopers” Japanther’s at the Soda Bar with like-minded locals (read ...
There was port, and plenty of port
It was no doubt a tough job, but somebody at the Port of San Diego apparently had to do it. In this case, somebody was district board member Lee Burdick, who recently quit the port ...
The cliché-bashing Mouse on Mars
Does anybody remember Sparks? The brothers Mael launched that band in Los Angeles during the early 1970s, and while I don’t think they ever had what could be described as a big following, the memory ...
Underground burlesque
Interview with lounge singer David Patrone, who has teamed up with cabaret and burlesque dancers.
Shadow World: John Dies at the End
Title as spoiler alert?
In the interest of objectivity, I suppose I should start out by saying that it’s difficult for me to be objective about John Dies at the End. It hits too many buttons for me to ...
John Moores' house can be yours for $23 million
You could have a moat!
Former Padres owner John Moores’ Del Mar pad up for sale.
A roll up a gravity hill
Mattster: In my ’50s cruising days, after hitting Oscar’s Drive In on El Cajon Boulevard, one stop we would always make was at a “magnetic hill” where steel cans appeared to roll uphill. I believe ...
Sempra, always with the political dough
Lobbyists for Sempra Energy were kept busy during the last quarter of 2012, arranging a mass handout of political largesse to San Diego city council and mayoral candidates. Under the city’s ethics ordinance, the maximum ...
Convention center expansion would build into a glut
It stinks
Downtown overlords and labor want to rewrite federal, state, and local laws to build a Convention Center expansion into the teeth of a perfect storm.
Mission Bay turf wars
Park and Rec Department is not keen on cleats
San Diego’s Park & Rec Department continues with a crackdown on frisbee and soccer players who where rubber cleats at Ski Beach. Players say they don’t tear up the fields, that it’s a small number of people who complain.
Clairemont Mesa's spooky windowless, signless, addressless building
Heymatt: This has been bugging me for YEARS. There is a very mysterious, windowless, signless, addressless building in Clairemont Mesa. It has a high, barbed-wired fence around it and a key-card access gate, but no ...
Secretary of state's friend disbarred
Wade Sanders, the Navy veteran who served with U.S. Senator John Kerry during the Vietnam War and later played a prominent role in Kerry’s failed presidential campaign, has finally been disbarred from the practice of ...
A variety of letters
Red Asphalt in Order How can you in good conscience print such an incoherent and semiliterate piece (“My Life: Love and car crashes,” February 7 cover story), which all but celebrates reckless driving? The author ...
Elegy for Kenneth Koch
d. July 6, 2002 It seems too crazy, like one of your mad, funny poems, that you’re not with us anymore, not here to point out the thisness of things, like mountains, circuses, and fresh ...
"Peace"
Now, God be thanked Who has matched us with His hour, And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping, With hand made sure, clear eye, and sharpened power, To turn, as swimmers into cleanness ...
February 7 Crossword Contenders
Martha Awdziewicz, Clairemont, 2. L. Barling, El Cajon, 2. Johanna Barry, Pine Valley, 2. Evelyn Bowser, Hillcrest, 2. Marvin A. Brown, Clairemont, 2. Charlotte Brown , Clairemont, 2. Leslie Chase, Campo, 2. Joseph Ciprian, Little ...
February 7 Sudoku Contenders
Evil Joe Arbusto, Rancho Penasquitos, 2. Richard Barker, San Diego, 2. Bliss Beedle, Encinitas, 2. Joseph Ciprian, Little Italy, 2. Patrick Driscoll, Santee, 2. Martin Guillen, Oceanside, 2. Butch Hays, La Mesa, 2. Paula Henderson, ...
Tuesday, February 12
North Park’s Bodhi Animal Clinic gets new vets
Practice sold after $3M renovation
The Bodhi Veterinary Clinic and Animal Hospital at 2200 University Avenue in North Park has changed hands. The new owner is Tracy Dowdy, CVPM (certified veterinary practice manager). The purchase price was not disclosed. After ...
Up a Mangrove Channel in Micronesia
A "Heart of Darkness"–like kayaking experience.
“Whenever you come to a fork in the channel, go left,” the owner of my hotel said as he prepared a kayak for me to paddle into the Mutunnenea Channel in northeastern Kosrae, Micronesia. “Eventually ...
Monday, February 11
Phony water utilities worker cases home in Solana Beach
Elderly targeted
There are a couple recent reports of individuals posing as utilities employees to gain access to San Diegans’ homes. According to a Carmel Valley blogger, “The police warn of two incidents outside of Carmel Valley ...
Reduction of car lanes begins on Leucadia’s Coast Hwy. 101
Plans for a bike-, pedestrian-, and diner-friendly vision
The four-lane, tree-lined Coast Hwy. 101 through Leucadia — a roadway that’s facilitated nine decades of cruising — changed on Wednesday, February 6. Since the 1930s until 1964, the highway served as the only arterial ...
Far-flung Corners of Texas
Charmed by the state's remote beauty.
Seventh time was the charm. Took me that many drive-throughs before I fell in love with a corner of Texas. Because aside from Padres Island National Seashore, I just couldn’t see much to like. To ...
Simi Valley's Skateboard Museum
Say the high-brow word “museum,” and I’ll generally shell out any price to visit, but when the Ventura Visitor’s Center handed me a brochure that suggested a museum collection of over 2,000 skateboards, I did ...
Sunday, February 10
Another water pipe break in Midway District
No businesses flooded
On Saturday morning, February 9, a broken water main flooded streets in the Midway District. An aged pipe burst and made for a messy and congested effort to access the Rosecrans Street freeway entrances between ...
Saturday, February 9
U.S. Bank robbed in Ocean Beach
Thief walks past Girl Scouts
The U.S. Bank located on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach was robbed at around 3:45 p.m. on Friday, February 8. According to witnesses, a white man in his 40s with a medium build and goatee, ...
Dredging to begin in Tijuana River Valley
Court battles settled
On Monday, February 11, city crews are expected to begin dredging sediment and garbage from the drainage channel that originates at Smuggler’s Gulch and runs north, into the heart of the Tijuana River Valley. The ...
Friday, February 8
No third three-story home on West Point Loma Blvd.
O.B. Planning Board denies variance request
In a blow against the gentrification of Ocean Beach, architect Elizabeth Young's plans for a 400-foot variance on a planned three-story residence were shot down by the Ocean Beach Planning Board on February 6. The ...
Coronado is haunted
Across the bay, tales of the paranormal at the Hotel Del and Loews resort.
“You see that too, right?” Lacey held her wine glass at half-mast, staring at the steps leading from the Hotel Del Coronado to the Pacific Ocean. We were outdoors at Babcock & Story, the Del’s ...
Foolish Blood by Two Hours Traffic
It’s embarrassing to admit I’ve never heard of a band that’s been around since 2002 — which convinces me its winsome sound transcends “noteworthy,” demanding “essential” status — unless that sound is so good that ...
Townshend, Daltrey, & Co. deliver Quadrophenia to Valley View
Forty years after the album’s release, the Who have hit the road with Quadrophenia, a tale of Jimmy the Mod’s identity crisis, as told by rockers of stadiums. From ambient opener “I Am the Sea” ...
Thursday, February 7
Sweetwater school district’s weird, failed real estate deals
District property to be apartments or soccer stadium?
In 2005, in conjunction with a nonprofit group called California Trust for Public Schools, aka Plan Nine Partners, LLC, the Sweetwater Union High School district borrowed $25,415,000 and $8,235,00 in variable-rate bonds to buy property ...
Chichén Itzá: It's the End of the World as We Know It
(And I feel fine.)
December 21, 2012, marked the milestone of not just another candle on my birthday cake, but also the Apocalypse: when the Maya's "Long Count" calendar indicated the end of a 5,126-year era. Forget America’s “fiscal ...
Sidewalk makeover at College Blvd. and Alvarado Rd., at SDSU
Project to ease access for disabled
A sidewalk makeover at the corner of College Boulevard and Alvarado Road near SDSU is making the congested area more user-friendly for the disabled and those in wheelchairs. Work crews were busy on the morning ...
Delve into Delhi
A visit to India as an independent solo traveler is a unique challenge mentally, physically and logistically. I arrived in Delhi in the middle of the night, worked my way through the bustling crowd, and ...
Wednesday, February 6
My Life: Love and car crashes
Citations are my new thing
My life has been tossed like a salad, mixed like a drink, and pushed off the cliffs into the ocean so many times I don't even remember.
San Diego Public Library boosts local authors
Over 300 authors, over 400 titles recognizeed
For 47 years the downtown San Diego Public Library has invited local authors (both traditional and self-published) to submit their work and be recognized in a monthlong exhibit that kicks off with an authors’ reception. ...
Whiskey Girl's Warm Whiskey Cider
It was an atypical day, bar manager Jake Southworth recalls, that led to an atypical cocktail for San Diego — the hot whiskey drink. “Someone came in looking for something warm on a cold day,” ...
No changes afoot after arrest of Humphreys’ talent buyer
Talent buyer/manager of Humphreys Backstage Lounge, Jeremiah Smith, was arrested for felony drunk driving. Will that change the Shelter Island venue’s ability to book shows?
Side Effects' nasty mechanics
Back in 1989, indie film director Steven Soderbergh broke onto the scene with his first film, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, a seamy, sticky drama about sex, lies, and videotape. Here in 2013, he is giving ...
As “Esse Jeisner,” Eisner retakes his states
“I went crazy writing this and it all came out,” says Jesse Eisner. “‘Esse Jeisner’ says all the stuff that is hard to think about and all the shit we don’t like to acknowledge.” Shit ...
On the Rocks
On the Rocks in Chula Vista -- a good place to find out if your date is a bedwetter or cheapskate.
Painting and wine classes in San Diego County
‘Didn’t you used to want to be an artist?” I asked Patrick as I dragged him out the door. “At least I’ll get a drink,” he grumbled. We were on our way to a Painting ...
Swarmius-Haussmann septet: classic not classical
Interview with Joe Waters of the Swarmius Trio and the Hausmann String Quartet, which merges classical music with rock, hip-hop, jazz, and world-music genres.
Jim Ryan's project full of projects
Jim Ryan has to give up Cardiac Kidz but starts his own Jim Ryan Project.
The Old Globe stages The Brothers Size
They are three African-American males at San Pere, Louisiana, near the Bayou. Ogun Henri Size, a mechanic, prides himself for being a responsible adult. Free-spirited younger brother Oshoosi’s back from two years in prison. Now ...
Jorge’s Xolos
Border born
Interview with journalist Jorge Aranguré, raised binationally, in Tijuana and southern San Diego County.
Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park
Once a mecca for the Hollywood set; includes trails connected to the City of Carlsbad
Only one way in and one way out of the post office
Hey Matt: A colleague and I were at the Tierrasanta post office. It’s located in a typical shopping center with enough room for traffic lanes in each direction, yet they have signs showing only one ...
What's in them sambusas?
Selling East African cuisine isn’t easy
Hasno Ali, 46-year-old owner of East African Cuisine, has to struggle to make money at San Diego’s farmers’ markets.
OFF! songs...and the rest of the week in San Diego music, February 7–13
Thursday 7Like the very best punk rock, OFF! songs are short, sharp, violent shots that don’t connect with your flesh as much as they insert themselves into your head and proceed to bang their way ...
Bedtime Proposals
"Whoa, what is that on your finger?” Shawn reached out to grab Jordan’s hand. “Did you guys get married? What is that, titanium?” Jordan smiled sheepishly and then removed his ring and handed it over ...
The Highwayman, a quartet of one, at Belly Up
“About six years ago, I had an epiphany of sorts.” Tony Suraci, aka the Highwayman, explains how he came to front such a complicated show. “For a long time I performed Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, ...
Selections by the 347 Steps crew
Hot Rod: Despite the luke-warm reviews, I found Hot Rod to be incredibly funny and full of quotable lines. I’ve watched it with my kids numerous times. It’s just a fun movie for kids of ...
Con-man math
Heymatt: My brother-in-law used to tell me this riddle all the time, but he passed away a few years ago and now none of my family can remember the answer, if ever there was one: ...
Airport lobbying: not priceless
Some longtime San Diego lobbyists and Republican political players are picking up major change from the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority in the form of a lucrative “public outreach” contract — which during a ...
Should you pay that ticket issued by Ace Parking?
Parking police privatized
The City of Chula Vista has an arrangement with Ace Parking that enables the company to issue parking tickets…is that legal?
San Diego, haven for pyramids
San Diego is a haven for multilevel marketing scams, which are often pyramid schemes.
Sodium-free milk of politics
Sodium-free milk of politics Poseidon Resources, the desalination outfit that finally got a contract from the San Diego County Water Authority last year, spent heavily on local political campaigns, according to its recent disclosure filing. ...
Stepping into Mission Valley from Hillcrest
Heymatt: About 30 years ago I heard about some concrete stairs leading from the area around UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest down to Mission Valley. I went exploring and found them, but I only went ...
Skyline Church
God is the God of nations as well
Interview with pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church in La Mesa.
10 Ways Your Camera Can Change Your Life in 2013 (Part Two)
Frank the photographer finds out that the better camera doesn’t necessarily lead to the best photos.
Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight
It is portentous, and a thing of state That here at midnight, in our little town A mourning figure walks, and will not rest, Near the old court-house pacing up and down, Or by his ...
Mailbag
In Honor of Glen I found the Desert View Trail Roam-O-Rama hike description by the Canyoneers (January 31) to be somewhat bittersweet. Although the description of the hike to Glen’s View is accurate in all ...
January 31 Sudoku Contenders
Evil Joe Arbusto, Rancho Penasquitos, 1. Richard Barker, San Diego, 1. Bliss Beedle, Encinitas, 1. Joseph Ciprian, Little Italy, 1. Patrick Driscoll, Santee, 1. Martin Guillen, Oceanside, 1. Butch Hays, La Mesa, 1. Paula Henderson, ...
January 31 Crossword Contenders
Mary Arana, Encinitas, 1. Martha Awdziewicz, Clairemont, 1. L. Barling, El Cajon, 1. Johanna Barry, Pine Valley, 1. Evelyn Bowser, Hillcrest, 1. Marvin A. Brown, Clairemont, 1. Charlotte Brown , Clairemont, 1. Bob Carlson, Serra ...
Tuesday, February 5
Lucha Libre, T.J. Style
The Mexican wrestling spectacle goes off Friday nights in Tijuana.
“Did that really just happen?” A lucha libre wrestler had tried to roll into the ring, miscalculated, and slammed down hard on the concrete. Instantly, the arena erupts in laughter, and the wrestler begins yelling ...
Christian Scientists Moving to Main Street in Encinitas
Construction begins on new building
On Monday, February 4, a little cottage at 910 S. Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas was fenced off and partial demolition began. The single-story, former residential building, probably built in the 1940s, had housed numerous ...
Riding with the King in Burkina Faso
I had been photographing for about two weeks in Africa when I heard about a king. Africa has many kings, and I've met more than a few, but had never before sought one out. Africa's ...
Man jumps from halfway-house window in Encinitas Ranch
Some neighbors express crime concerns
A man was put in handcuffs after jumping out of a second-story window in Encinitas Ranch on February 1. Many neighbors came out of their homes to watch as several police and sheriff’s deputies pulled ...
Monday, February 4
Curious car accident in Oceanside
Boss needed some limes
What appeared to be a single-car accident on eastbound Vista Way, near the intersection of El Camino Real, turned out to be a little more involved when police arrived around 10:00 a.m. on February 4. ...
Here Be Dragons: Ascending Switzerland's Mt. Pilatus
Alpine adventure and legends aplenty.
High above the bustling lake town of Lucerne, Switzerland, lies the rugged cliffs and steep mountain terrain of Mount Pilatus. It’s here where the legendary dragons of yore resided – in particular, a winged dragon ...
Sunday, February 3
New Sweetwater Union financial officer has controversial past
Alleged “personnel problems,” unaccredited degree
In a February 1 phone call, Sweetwater Union High School District spokesperson Manny Rubio acknowledged that the district has hired Dr. Albert Alt as their new CFO. Rubio said Alt was selected after “a couple ...
Friday, February 1
Chula Vista’s Dynegy energy plant to be destroyed tomorrow
Expect rolling thunder across the bay
The Dynegy South Bay energy plant in Chula Vista — described by some environmentalists as a fossil-fuel-burning monster — gets blown sideways tomorrow, February 2. People who want to see the two-minute event should go ...
Monumental: Alta M. Hulett at Mt. Hope Cemetery
Practiced law in San Diego, died at 22
Alta M. Hulett, born on June 4, 1854, in Rockford, Illinois, learned how to operate the telegraph at ten years of age and went on to become an operator. Fascinated with the legal profession, she ...
Vamos a Las Gaviotas, Baby
Quality surf, cheap lodging, tequila y más.
Here’s what you will do: head south to the land of Baja California, where tumbleweeds run like wild desperados under the tangerine glow of a nuclear sun. Hard work is commended, yet siestas are encouraged. ...
Midge Ure captivates Brick by Brick
Midge Ure, former singer and guitar player for seminal new wavers Ultravox, stopped by Brick By Brick as part of his current tour. Playing before a loyal, enthusiastic crowd, Ure covered much of his solo ...
Donald Fagen's Sunken Condos
This is Donald Fagen's first album in six years and, no, it's not about condo owners underwater on their mortgages. It is another Steely Dan (minus Walter Becker) easy-listening mix of smooth jazz shot through ...
