Charter school to expand into Escondido’s East Valley Community Center
Michael Mullenniex 1:43 p.m., May 25
Encinitas News
As I Lay Dying in jail
A recounting of the arrest of As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis, suspected of attempting to hire a hit man to kill his wife.
TV swipe scam at Encinitas Rite Aid
No plates on getaway car
Just before 10:00 a.m. on May 8, the Rite Aid store at 439 Santa Fe Drive lost a $300 TV set to a shoplifter. The man, described as a tall Caucasian, inquired about the item, ...
Encinitas seeks concessionaires for Moonlight Beach
New building to welcome new franchises
With Encinitas’ 4.8-million-dollar rehabilitation of Moonlight Beach and its facilities expected to open in just a few months, one of the final tasks is to choose a concessionaire to operate the food stand and beach-equipment ...
Japanese students end a week in Encinitas
Sometimes it’s hard to say “sayonara”
Last week, from March 11–15, 19 students and two teachers from Minami High School in Toyama, Japan, attended San Dieguito Academy High School in Encinitas. The students attended Japanese and English classes every day and ...
Sheriff’s department patrols Encinitas for alcohol violators
Three hours into St. Paddy’s Day, 19 arrested
Sheriff's deputies and state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents arrested 19 people in a weekend crackdown in Encinitas. In a news release issued at 4 a.m. on Sunday, March 17, the sheriff's department said it had ...
Del Taco out, In-N-Out in in Encinitas
An end to the rumors
The privately owned, five-state In-N-Out Burger chain has secured property just east of the I-5 at Encinitas Blvd — currently the site of a Del Taco. Meetings with city planners will take place this week. ...
Not-so-neighborly gunfire on Herder Lane in Encinitas
Feud erupted into shooting last summer
A 44-year-old man and a teenaged boy who lived across the street from one another on Herder Lane in Encinitas vented their mutual dislike by shouting insults and trading obscenities for years. Last summer, the ...
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 ...
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 ...
Re-Planet recycling guy leaves Encinitas post
Plans to spend more time with Ritual Torture
A longtime fixture at the recycling center behind the Vons on El Camino Real has left his Encinitas post. After nine years of lifting large blue barrels, weighing in cans, bottles, and plastics, recycler Steve ...
Hula for moolah in Encinitas
Kelia swings her butt as only Hawaiians can. “That’s called ‘hula for moolah,’” says her mom, Kealani. They burst out laughing. “I used to have all the staff do it,” Kealani says. “Every time a ...
Santa art sought from Del Mar to Oceanside
One painting depicts St. Nick smoking pot
After seeing a window painting of Santa smoking a pipe and a snowman holding a water pipe at an Oceanside smoke shop, I decided to see if there were any other businesses that had pictures ...
Fried Chicken Sandwich Lovers Camp in Encinitas
On the morning of November 7, the Royce family from Oceanside lined up outside the Chick-fil-A on El Camino Real in Encinitas. By 10:30 a.m., a tent city had sprung up in the parking lot, ...
U-T Asks to Renegotiate Street Hawker Program
With the U-T’s purchase of the North County Times, the firing of 80 staff employees and writers, and the merging of the publications on October 15, one aspect of the transition has so far remained ...
San Diego Sheriff’s Dept. Tests Potential Patrol Cars
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is testing out three new patrol vehicles to replace the Ford Crown Victoria police squad car. Last week, one prototype — a Dodge Charger — could be seen driving ...
Media Coverage of Boy Scout Abuse Cases Unfair?
With the October 18 public release of thousands of possible child-abuse case files held by the national Boys Scouts of America, including some cases here in San Diego, local scout leaders are reacting. I talked ...
- 2012 Feast Issue
- Del Mar
- East Village
- Encinitas
- La Jolla
- Little Italy
- Mission Hills
- Mission Valley
- North Park
- Rancho Bernardo
Accessible Gourmet Fare
Mid-range restaurants, gastropubs, and shops taking things to the next level.
Nowadays, I spend much of my time eating in restaurants or locked up in my office documenting those experiences. But before I wrote my first word about food, most of my time was spent in ...
The Spirit of Family Dinnertime
Restaurants that feel like home.
Places where food is created with care, where the service is warm and welcoming, and where you can relax and reconnect with family and friends.
More Than the Dish or the Deal
Restaurants you can take to heart.
There are some places that you kinda take to heart. They’re more than the dish or the deal. Something clicks about the people and the place, and you want to come back and be a part of it. These are just some.
Monumental: Military Dog Memorial in Encinitas
The Rancho Coastal Humane Society’s military working dog (MWD) memorial is the first of its kind on America's West Coast. Dedicated on April 16, 2011, the monument is to honor "all military working dogs and ...
Encinitas Neighbor Loves Their Trash
Encinitas resident Jonathan Hulsh appeared before the city council on September 12 in order to share photos of a neighboring home on the 700 block of Passiflora Avenue, which he cites as a "personal garbage ...
Train Traffic Stopped to Build Pedestrian Undercrossing in Encinitas
After the passing of the last northbound Coaster train from downtown on Friday night, September 7, Amtrak, Coaster, and freight-train service was suspended between Oceanside and San Diego. Shortly after midnight, September 8, about 50 ...
Clear Channel vs. SPY in Encinitas
A billboard that created controversy along Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas was taken down early Thursday morning, September 6, at around 6:20 a.m. The sign, advertising SPY sunglasses, read: “Happy to Sit On Your Face.” ...
Traffic Cop Questioned in Encinitas
Last week, Steve Amster, owner of Garden State Bagels in Encinitas, confronted a Sheriff's Dept. motorcycle traffic officer positioned in his store's parking lot at 191 N. El Camino Real. After seeing the officer point ...
Errant Drivers Worry Residents in Encinitas
On June 30, at around 11:00 a.m., a mom and grandmother rounded up several young children playing in the street on the 200 block of Cornflower Street in Encinitas. A neighbor, two doors down, was ...
San Diego County Library Receives National Award
On June 5, the San Diego County Library system earned the Gale Library Journal “2012 Library of the Year Award.” The group (LIbrary Journal and Gale, which produces reference sources for libraries) affirmed the library’s ...
Who Buys and Who Sells at San Diego Farmers' Markets
Farmers regulate the markets in San Bernardino. In San Diego it's a free-for-all.
Encinitas Art Auction Backstory
Over 100 people turned out for Encinitas' 101 Artist Colony's banner auction on May 20. The annual art sale invited 97 local artists to submit original paintings, on white vinyl banners, that were then hung ...
Rival Gangs Spray-Paint Encinitas
Early in the morning on April 17, gang members reputedly from the Eden Gardens area of Solana Beach, using black spray-paint, tagged several walls in their rival gang's territory of Encinitas. By the time the ...
Former Encinitas Mayor Says Construction Site a Danger
Former Encinitas mayor Sheila Cameron spoke before the Encinitas City Council on March 21 to raise attention to a construction site near a residential neighborhood on Urania Avenue (close to Sparta), which she calls a ...
Dr. Bill and GT Surf Hwy 101
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 ...
Will El Camino Real Corridor Plan Spoil Encinitas?
Duff Pickering, an Encinitas resident for 12 years, appeared at the October 12 Encinitas City Council meeting to express his concerns about the city’s plans to rezone and redevelop the El Camino Real corridor under ...
Encinitas Celebrates 25th Anniversary
On October 1, 1986, the City of Encinitas officially opened its doors for business. About three months earlier, in the June '86 state primary election, citizens of five communities (Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Old Encinitas, New Encinitas, Leucadia, ...
Walmart to Open in Encinitas, Despite Objections
Walmart has snuck in through the back door of Encinitas, almost unnoticed. The giant retailer has already pulled permits to start construction at a vacant 105,000-square-foot store on the corner of Leucadia Boulevard and Calle ...
Encinitas El Torito Closes Down
Recently, the Encinitas El Torito restaurant closed its doors. The restaurant at 1068 North El Camino Real removed the exterior signs and logos on September 15. A sign was posted apologizing for the inconvenience and ...
Encinitas McDonald’s Burns
A two-alarm fire destroyed the McDonald’s restaurant at 1271 Encinitas Boulevard on September 1. At around 8:10 p.m. a gas line reportedly erupted in the kitchen area. The five employees and five customers quickly exited ...
Funding Approved for Underground Pedestrian Tunnel in Encinitas
Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the plan for an underground pedestrian tunnel at the western end of Santa Fe Drive at San Elijo Avenue/Vulcan Avenue. The $4.5 million project would allow foot ...
Arraignment of Motorist Accused of Killing Bicyclist James Swarzman
On April 27 at the Vista Courthouse, Nicole Honda said she witnessed the collision that fatally injured her fiancé, James Swarzman. He and Honda were riding bicycles together in Encinitas at about 1 a.m. on ...
Misconduct in Encinitas Fire Department Draws Fire
Steve Meiche, an Encinitas resident and L.A.-based firefighter-paramedic, is sounding alarms on what he sees as rampant corruption and misconduct within the Encinitas Fire Department. Meiche contends that firefighters in the department have failed to ...
Revenge — Served Cold in Carlsbad
"We had to do something about it ’cause he’s our little cousin,” said Victor Lopez. “We got to go shoot somebody.” Victor’s 18-year-old cousin Alex had been shot in the face on his way to ...
Leucadia’s Eucalyptus Trees Threaten Trains?
Encinitas resident Russell Levan spoke during the public comment of the February 23 city council meeting, voicing his concern for the cutting of eucalyptus trees along the railroad corridor in Leucadia. “Where does it become ...
Nancy Lee Ellis Charged with Encinitas Arson
On February 15, a judge ordered 64-year-old Nancy Lee Ellis held for trial on five different arson charges, four of which are felonies. Ellis is pleading not guilty. Testimony at the preliminary hearing suggested that ...
Encinitas Will Check the Check
"Our investigative reporter from the Union[-Tribune], well...I'm beginning to believe that he couldn't track an elephant in two feet of new-fallen snow with a bloody nose," said Mayor James Bond of Encinitas during the January ...
Encinitas Traffic Commissioner Peter Kohl Criticized for Rudeness
Mark McNaughton, an Encinitas homeowner who lives on San Elijo Avenue, spoke during the Wednesday, January 20, city council meeting to discuss a confrontation he said he had with the City’s traffic commissioner, Peter Kohl. ...
Encinitas Says Give Barth a Chance
On Wednesday, January 19, Encinitas city council will decide whether to give residents of Encinitas the power to elect a mayor. Currently, the city council appoints a member as mayor by a three-fifths majority vote. ...
Encinitas City Council Candidate Tony Kranz Accused of “Attack”
Roger Ogden, a Hillcrest resident who claims to have worked for 30 years at a local research-and-development center as a physicist and project manager, spoke before the Encinitas City Council meeting on Wednesday, October 20, ...
Encinitas Middle School Locked Down After Traffic Accident Suspect Flees
Seventh- and eighth-grade students at Encinitas’s Oak Crest Middle School rushed to the nearest classroom after being told there was a suspect that had gotten away from police on Friday, October 22. During lunch, at ...
Ambulances Carry Away Two Senior Citizens From Richard Dreyfuss Appearance
On October 9 at about 11 a.m., two ambulances arrived at the San Diego County Library in Encinitas after two senior citizens — who were attending a speech given by actor Richard Dreyfuss — became ...
I’m Competent; No, I’m Not
Robert Duane Mason was 60 years old when his body was discovered in his home, a modest house in a quiet Encinitas neighborhood where he had lived for 20 years. The homes on Pegaso Street ...
Encinitas Bicyclist T-Bones Yellow Cab
Around 9:00 p.m, on Wednesday, September 15, a 17-year-old male bicyclist hit a moving Yellow Cab. The boy was riding southbound on Evergreen Drive in Encinitas. He ran the stop sign at the busy intersection ...
Horn Test
On Tuesday, August 24, the City of Encinitas put on a four-hour live demonstration of a new "wayside" horn warning system for oncoming trains at road crossings. The system is designed to replace the loud, ...
This Could Be a Problem
On behalf of the Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association, executive director Dody Crawford appeared before the Encinitas City Council on August 18 to request that the council reconsider the installation of a public bench in front ...
