Black spot/one star
Matthew Lickona 2:43 p.m., June 19
Downtown San Diego Stories
Gelati Rainbow
“We brought these Oscartielle machines from Italy. We wanted this to be real.”
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 ...
Clean and Safe Hires a Consultant
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 ...
Wild Pile at Lion Coffee
“We’re not into coffeehouses like you. But you’d probably ask for a soup.”
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 ...
Who's Dick?
“Maybe it was a small gator,” I say. Maybe she’ll bang my face on the counter...
"Don’t rush me!” Dion’s voice cuts through the noise. She’s barking at a customer who wants to pay up and go. “Besides, you haven’t drunk enough yet. We have rules!” Dion walks away muttering, under ...
Occupy San Diego Protester Recounts Alleged Police Brutality
Occupy San Diego’s three-month anniversary on January 7 was a cause for celebration for dozens of activists who marched from Children’s Park to the Civic Center to participate in a rally. Activists, however, are calling ...
Analog Bar
Analog Bar’s slogan — “Good Food Strong Drinks” — is spot-on. The nu-retro music-themed bar’s cocktails are mixed (and priced) aggressively. The food is creative and, yeah, good, but not great, especially at prices that ...
The Convention Center Liars
"Even in the face of the current economic downturn, the San Diego Convention Center continues to deliver significant benefits to the greater San Diego region,” boasted the center in its 2010 annual report. Do not ...
Deficit Dollar Art
The U.S. government may be laden with debt, but that hasn’t kept the feds from looking for an artist to help ornament the soon-to-be completed Broadway courthouse downtown. “In addition to a new courthouse, the ...
Contentious Corner
Ali Nilforshan says he will be taking back 4th&B, the downtown venue he owned from 2003 to 2009. The current owners, Vince and Judy Puma, say that is not going happen. Nilforshan says he sold ...
Steve Peace Rakes in $160,000 From Prison Guards
An El Cajon firm headed by former Democratic state senator Steve Peace has been raking in big bucks from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. According to state campaign finance disclosure records, J.S. Peace & ...
After 80 Years, San Diego’s Greyhound Terminal Moves
The Greyhound bus terminal — at 120 W. Broadway for the past 80 years — moved to 1313 National Avenue on November 14. Greyhound’s lease expired on October 1, so the company has leased a ...
Downtown Johnny Brown’s
“We were the first bar to have Arrogant Bastard,” says Downtown Johnny Brown’s owner Todd Alexander. “Stone had their release party here. John Brown really embraced the local beer movement. When I bought the bar ...
Taking Back 4th&B
The former owner of 4th&B, the 1500-capacity downtown concert venue, says he is in the process of taking the club back from its current owner and that he is suing Live Nation, the concert promoter ...
A Creative Interpretation of Airport Operations
It’s not exactly the way Leonardo da Vinci got his start, but the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is looking for an “artist in residence,” to be paid “not to exceed” $8000 for three ...
Downtown Bank of America Closes Due to Protesters
Downtown's Bank of America branch on B Street shut down early on the afternoon of October 20 out of safety concerns: approximately 25 protesters, most part of the Occupy San Diego movement, staged a peaceful ...
San Diego City Council Responds to County Grand Jury Assertion That New City Hall Is Unnecessary
The San Diego City Council voted 6-1 on October 4 to adopt a resolution, responding to the San Diego County Grand Jury report that a new city hall is not needed. The resolution authorized the ...
Affordable Housing Project Delayed by California Supreme Court
After the Cortez “hole” was finally filled and chainlink-fenced in August 2010 (click here for background), the plan was to transform the empty lot owned by the San Diego Redevelopment Agency into a paved and ...
Will Sleep on Floor for Comic-Con 2012 Tickets
About 2400 Comic-Con attendees crowded into a ballroom at the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel every morning of the world’s largest comic convention July 21–24, some arriving as early as 1:00 a.m. They were there to ...
San Diego Judges Allowed to Park in Red Zone?
On July 22 in downtown San Diego, several expensive cars and SUVs pulled up to the red curb in front of the Family Court building at 1555 Sixth Avenue and parked. A man who identified ...
Battle for Lindbergh Field Concessions Is Gold Rush for Lobbyists
The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s master concession agreement with HMSHost is expiring next year, and the battle over a replacement has turned into a gold rush for local lobbyists. With the competition reportedly ...
Protesters at Dumanis Campaign Kickoff
About a half dozen protesters raised a small ruckus outside the Electra high-rise condo building at 700 West E Street on the evening of Tuesday, June 28. Politicians and well-heeled supporters of Bonnie Dumanis were ...
The Stage
Erik Stage, owner of the Stage in the heart of the Gaslamp, calls the venue “three floors of entertainment in our haunted house of corridors and mezzanines.” In its third year, the Stage recently underwent ...
San Diego Veterans for Peace Protests on Flag Day
An assortment of peaceniks, activists, war veterans, and their families gathered on the Sixth Avenue overpass of Interstate 5 at around 4 p.m. on June 14, Flag Day. They were there, in the words of ...
San Diego County Board of Supervisors Accused of Neglecting Social Services
About 40 people attended the June 7 San Diego County Board of Supervisors' public hearing on the 2011-2012 budget. Four women at the 2 p.m. session urged supervisors to fund social services, salaries, and staffing. ...
Space Invader Art Stolen From Downtown Onramp
The French urban artist Space Invader, famous for tile mosaics of characters from the video game he shares his alias with, has had a piece of his artwork vandalized. In 2010 he “invaded” San Diego ...
La Gran Tapa
Established in 1984 by restaurateur and bullfighter Paul Dobson, La Gran Tapa was the first dedicated Spanish tapas bar in San Diego. Seven owners later, the Sicilian proprietor of the Turquoise Café in Pacific Beach, ...
Complaint Lodged Against Clean and Safe Program Employee
Israel Puente, a retired Marine Corps veteran, appeared before the San Diego City Council on May 17 to express his disappointment with a Clean and Safe Program employee during an incident that occurred over the ...
Gaslamp Quarter
Formerly San Diego’s “skid row,” downtown San Diego’s core historic area was reborn in the 1980s under a new name: the Gaslamp Quarter. Actually, gas lamps were never used for outdoor lighting in San Diego ...
Say the Word at Hodad's
"Please send some more tourists. The last ones were delicious.” This motto is on an Aussie license plate, one of their crocodiles smiling out from it. Shane is up on a stepladder, screwing in another ...
Guitar Grab at 4th&B
Downtown nightspot 4th&B has among the most stringent security measures of any local venues, including a pat-down on entry, surveillance cameras, and security roaming inside and outside the club. On February 11, however, none of ...
The Case of the Wandering Charles Fries and Ivan Messenger Oils
Even if it’s at the expense of the public, the City of San Diego wants to ensure that certain employees of America’s finest city have an appreciation for fine arts — or so it seems, ...
Consider the Condo
Almost a decade ago, when I worked in a high-rise office building downtown, some coworkers and I stood at a corner window and counted the mega-sized cranes that dotted the scenery. “One, two, three, four,” ...
Protesters Rally Outside City College
About 60 people gathered shortly after 8 a.m. at City College’s Gorton Quad on Friday, April 15. Students, faculty, and community members spoke out against budget cuts proposed by Jerry Brown. Shortly after 9:00, the ...
San Diego Redevelopment: They Prey, We Pray
San Diego fat cats transformed the concept of redevelopment from help for the poor to welfare for the rich. They have a fear of Governor Jerry Brown, who wants to get rid of redevelopment agencies ...
Pastor Miles McPherson to Take Over for Father Joe Carroll?
According to the Father Joe's Villages website, after 30 years of serving San Diego neighbors in need, "Father Joe Carroll has announced his retirement as CEO of Father Joe's Villages and its partner agencies, effective ...
The Embarcadero
San Diego’s Embarcadero, the place of departure and arrival for vessels as small as fishing skiffs and as large as ocean liners, defines the city’s connection to the watery worlds of San Diego Bay and ...
Medical Marijuana Protesters Go to City Hall for Council Vote
A loose coalition of medical marijuana advocates and supporters put together a protest march in front of the Federal Courthouse on Monday, March 28. Starting at 12 noon, an estimated 100 or so activists began ...
San Diego Library Foundation Finds Funds
Mel Katz, chair of the San Diego Public Library Foundation, says his foundation has identified 13 "actively engaged" prospects willing to donate $10 million or more for downtown's new central library. According to Katz, who ...
Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge Opens to Little Fanfare
After nearly three years of construction, the $26.8 million Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge, connecting Petco Park to the convention center, opened to foot traffic on Friday, March 18. The 550-foot-long suspension bridge lies at the ...
Should City's Debt Relief Come from Redevelopment Coffers?
During a March 16 meeting, Centre City Development Corporation's board of directors rejected a proposal from the mayor and city council to pay off $228 million in debt owed on a previous expansion of the ...
Taco vs. Sandwich
It’s amazing what you find when you’re cruisin’, jes’ cruisin’. Actually, I’m threading my way up through the Gaslamp toward the bus stop at Third and Broadway. But I may be open to a snick ...
San Diego City Council Approves Leash-Free Parking Lot?
On February 28, San Diego city council approved spending over $600,000 in redevelopment funds on a new leash-free dog park in downtown San Diego. The 16,500-square-foot dog park — proposed for the block bordered by ...
Passenger Falls off Train Downtown
On Saturday, February 5, at about 3:15 p.m., emergency personnel responded to a call from the Santa Fe Train Depot after a passenger fell off a train from San Luis Obispo. According to information obtained ...
New Blue: Blue Point Coastal Cuisine
So, I find myself re-reviewing a Cohn restaurant because the chef has changed. And soon there will be others (such as Bo-Beau, the remake of Thee Bungalow). Yes, I’ve laid my grudge to rest. That ...
Driver Threatens Driver with Putter
At 5:19 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, after coming down the southbound 163 freeway into downtown San Diego, several cars were stopped at a red light on Tenth Avenue at A Street. Suddenly, a driver ...
We Love Jerry at Tin Fish Gaslamp
Late Sunday afternoon. Hungry for fish. Just got off the trolley at the Gaslamp, bottom of Fifth. I see I have a choice, har-de-har. Lou & Mickey’s, Nobu, Tin Fish. As they say, no contest. ...
Hodad’s Too to Open Next Month...Really?
Hodad's, the Ocean Beach burger joint that is famous for its long lines of people waiting to dine among the surf memorabilia and license plates, is having trouble translating that O.B. vibe downtown. The slow ...
Centre City Development Corporation Plans Public Outreach
The Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) is laying the foundations for a campaign to reach out to San Diego's residents and educate them on the importance of downtown redevelopment. The campaign comes three months after ...
Currant, Now As Then
Currant has become a different restaurant since I reviewed it three years ago, with all-new management and chef. I liked it then, and once we hit the main courses, I like it now. Chef Walter ...
Proper Gastro Pub: Better Than the Brits
Of all the gastropubs opening this year, Proper Gastro Pub seems to have the most extensive and ambitious menu, along with an especially rich selection of English pub-food classics, jiggered by chef Sean Magee into, ...
The Privilege of Parking Perks at Lindbergh Field
Airport parking at San Diego International is expensive — unless you’ve snagged a free pass, that is. For most of us, it’s $4 an hour, $21 maximum for 24 hours; long-term parking (three days to ...
San Diego's Broadway Pier — a Wart?
The new Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier is causing controversy even before its public unveiling, scheduled for the weekend of December 18-19. The Port of San Diego will be hosting a celebratory open house on ...
