Photo by Craig Carlson

Joe Ayala: “I wouldn't want to live here.”

The town that San Diego would like to forget

“San Ysidro’s dead,’’ says an Hispanic banker whose branch is on San Ysidro Boulevard, within sniffing distance of a McDonald’s, a donut shop, the Main Attraction, and a new Radio Shack. The banker gestures outside with a sweep of his arm, answering a visitor's puzzlement at the seeming vitality of the boulevard, “None of this is for the people who live here."

By Neal Matthews, Sept. 3, 1981 Read full article

Patricia Patterson: "Almost every art school and college in the country has better facilities than we do."

Photo by Craig Carlson

UCSD's visual arts department does not fit in

To say that the members of UCSD’s art faculty aren’t interested in teaching traditional academic painting is like saying the planet Jupiter is pretty big. (One professor, David Antin, has gone so far as to say that paintings of any type are simply “wall obstructions.”)

By Gordon Smith, Jan. 21, 1982 Read full article

Fletcher Hills Presbyterian

Photo by Jim Coit

A house of worship is a (bizarre) thing to behold

The St. Mark Lutheran Church on Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas practically attacks passing automobiles. One might well fear to walk near it alone at night.... the curves of the shell descend between the windows like huge cows’ udders, and the masses of bright stained glass that surround it are divided and crisscrossed by heavy black lines that slice and dive in sharp, marauding angles.

By Stephen Heffner, Feb. 18, 1982 Read full article

Noni and Kai at Santee mobile home. "She was not a working woman, and now she has three jobs."

Photo by Craig Carlson

The long arm of ABSCAM reaches San Diego

At 5:15 the morning after his return to San Diego, the phone rang in Gulve’s home. At the other end of the line the emir’s familiar voice attempted to mollify Gulve. The emir added that the money would soon be on its way. An incredulous Gulve erupted: “Mister, I don’t know who you are, but I think you’re a fraud!"

By Jeff Smith and Jim Mullin, Aug. 19, 1982 Read full article

Breast augmentation opening incision

Photo by Craig Carlson

Why San Diegans have so much plastic surgery

An El Centro bar manager named Karen is giving herself a thirtieth birthday present of two breasts. Breast augmentations normally take two hours on women who have small breasts or who have breast-fed, but this case is more difficult because the patient is virtually flat-chested; there is no tissue with which to work — just two nipples.

By Sue Garson, Aug. 16, 1984 Read full article

Sam Woodhouse: “Casting flips me out more than opening night. It’s at least eighty percent of a production.:

Photo by Jim Coit

From real life to stage light

“Sam Woodhouse? Remember me? I almost did tech work for the Rep but it didn’t pay enough. Listen, are you going to direct The Elephant Man with an English accent?” ‘‘I won’t use one,” director Woodhouse replies “but the cast will — a San Diego version.” “Do you want the contortions?” “That what?” ‘‘Contortions for Merrick, the Elephant Man.”

By Jeff Smith, Oct. 22, 1981 Read full article