Oceanside Stories

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Imposter Geezer Bandit Strikes Carlsbad

"He seemed very intoxicated,” said Adrienne Goldston, the receptionist at Access Medical Center on Camino Real in Carlsbad. A man had stumbled in the front door of the center shortly after 3:00 p.m. on November ...

Amtrak Passenger Detrained in Oceanside

North County Transit District security officers in Oceanside removed a passenger from a southbound Amtrak train shortly before 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 30, after being contacted by the crew. The passenger, who boarded the ...

Three Oceanside Assailants Sentenced in Beating of Elderly Woman

Three young men pleaded guilty to beating an elderly woman at the front gate of her Oceanside condo more than a year ago, and the last two were sentenced in the Vista courthouse yesterday afternoon. ...

Oceanside’s Capozzoli's Restaurant to Reopen?

Oceanside residents were disappointed last month when a popular Italian restaurant closed its doors. Capozzoli's, at 3915 Mission Avenue, had posted a sign that read: “Closed one week for remodeling.” Last week the closed sign ...

Oceanside Resident Pleas for Assistance From City Council

“I can’t get any help…where do I go? I’ve paid taxes and I’m waiting for disability,” said longtime Oceanside resident Samantha Ewen as she spoke before the city council on Wednesday, November 3. According to ...

Raphael Ramey's Road Rage, Without the Car, in Oceanside

Raphael Ramey cursed, yelled, and swore some more. This mechanic Eddie had demanded money to fix his car, a job that was supposed to be done two months ago. Ramey had bought the 1970 Chevy, ...

Oceanside DUI Suspect Hops Curb, Strikes Grandfather and Baby Grandson

At approximately 9:30 a.m. on October 18, the driver of a GMC Jimmy SUV lost control of their vehicle on Lake Street. The truck hopped the curb, demolishing a street sign, and then traveled down ...

Caltrans Presents Plans for I-5 Widening

On September 9, Caltrans held the last of five community meetings for the public to review the Interstate 5 environmental impact report for the proposed 27-mile freeway-widening project. The meeting, held at Oceanside High School, ...

Five Oceanside Police Have DUIs?

“What are we doing with our police department?” Oceanside resident J.C. Clayford asked the city council on Wednesday, September 8. Clayford expressed concern regarding several recent controversies that have involved Oceanside police officers. He alleged ...

Oceanside loses Parks and Rec budget in the lights

City officials in Oceanside are on the offensive and are searching for ways to save money in its Parks and Recreation budget. One way the city looked to score cash is by raising the fees ...

King Biscuit Founder Found Dead in an Oceanside Hotel

“I’m blown away. I just can’t fathom this.” Gary Beck is the midday radio host at Jazz 88.3. “Kenny and I were real close. I’d known him almost 30 years. I talked to him just ...

Bud Bans

Along with Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, and Santee, Oceanside has a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, which could stand until May 2011. On Wednesday evening, Oceanside’s city council will address the issue of ...

I Have a Habit of Having Things in My Hand

Janina Hardoy was 24 years old when last seen around the Oceanside Pier, quoting the Bible to homeless people; a couple of months later, in early 2005, she was reported missing from her rented Oceanside ...

Not All Good for Cats and Dogs?

Appearing before the Oceanside City Council on June 30, Elaine Godzak presented her opinion on the effect of the North County Humane Society's merger with the San Diego Humane Society, which occurred earlier this year. ...

Defendants’ Lost Voices

On March 23, after deliberating for 40 minutes, a jury emerged from the jury room inside the courthouse in Vista. The 12 members had reached a verdict. As they filed into the jury box, the ...

How Lowe

Carlsbad resident Mark Lowe, a Marine Corps reserve officer stationed at Camp Pendleton, was sentenced on May 14 for his role in an alleged spy ring. Lowe, who also works as a pilot for Delta ...

You Hear It, You Know It

Two teenage boys walk into Steel Guitars of North County in Oceanside, scan the assortment of vintage oddities arranged on the walls, do a quick appraisal of the pack of 50-somethings trying them out, turn ...

Big Iron

Chris and Becky Brown, owners of Oceanside’s Fire Water Saloon and Pier View Pub, are set to host downtown Oceanside’s Big Iron Music Festival, a ten-hour event boasting “babes, bands, beer, bikes, and booze.” “The ...

Lost Playground

A temporary fence was installed last month around the playground at Pier View South (south of the pier) to keep the kids off of the equipment. Winter storms resulted in lost sand and revealed the ...

Runaway Toyota?

On March 14 at around 3 p.m., a Toyota Avalon hit a fire hydrant in the parking lot of the Albertsons grocery store at the intersection of Marron Road and Cannon. The fire hydrant was ...

Not as Pink Floyd Says

On Thursday afternoon, March 4, members of the Oceanside Teachers Association joined a statewide protest over school funding cuts. The over 400 protesters gathered in front of the Oceanside City Hall on Coast Highway. Most ...

Kia Later...Saturn

On Monday, January 25, Kia of Oceanside customers were probably surprised to find the dealership closed. The car lot, located off SR-78 at 2205 Vista Way, used to be the Saturn of West 78 dealership ...

Marketing Oceanside

Most Oceanside hoteliers and vacation property owners, 82 percent of them, agree that the city should start a tourism-marketing district. They submitted petitions to the city and appeared at the Wednesday, January 20, city council ...

The O-side Divide

December was a divisive month for an already fractured Oceanside city council. Early in the month, councilmember Jerry Kern was victorious in defeating a recall effort. In that recall election, two of Kern's colleagues, Mayor ...

Almost All Aboard

While purchasing a train ticket in Oceanside shortly after 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 27, I witnessed some of the chaos of this holiday travel season. An Amtrak passenger had been left behind after she ...

Parties and politics

American Medical Response, which has lucrative paramedic and ambulance contracts with the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City, and a host of other local government agencies, gave $2000 to the county ...

Halloween Police

Halloween was a complete nightmare for me. I had three parties lined up and the easiest costume in Halloween history. My girlfriend had ordered a Kate Gosselin wig and goofy big sunglasses for herself. I ...

Mission San Luis Rey Roman Catholic Parish

This year, the City of Oceanside couldn’t afford to host its downtown celebration of Día de los Muertos, but the festival found a new (if slightly smaller) home on the grounds of Mission San Luis ...

An Execution in the Hills

MISSION HILLS An Execution in the HillsBy Scafidi, March 24 “Hello, Zack. What’s up?” “Uh, hi, uh, Fred? It’s me, Zack.” “Yup.” “My cat’s got a gopher cornered over here. Can you come quick? And ...

Oceansider on the Case

Oceanside resident Woodrow Higdon continues his search for additional evidence of police corruption and city council collusion. During the Wednesday, October 21, council meeting, Higdon testified before Oceanside councilmembers and says he was snubbed by ...

Estranged Tale

On Sunday afternoon, October 11, hours after a stabbing was reported to the Oceanside police, a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. On Saturday evening, the victim and the ...

As Snail Mail Fails

The U.S. Postal Service has revised the list of post offices it hopes to close, sparing three San Diego locations. However, the USPS branches in North Park and Golden Hill remain on the chopping block. ...

Safe Travel at Risk?

North County Transit District in Oceanside, the operator of the Breeze bus service and the Coaster and Sprinter commuter-train service, recently cut back on security personnel at most of the transit centers they serve. Since ...

When I Say "Ocean," You Say "Side"

Members of North County bands Wanted Dead and Irieside have come together to form Sound System. Wanted Dead is a hardcore street-punk band known for their wild stage presence, anti-authority anthems, and raucous fans. Irieside ...

Bad Cop, Bad Cop

Oceanside resident Woodrow Hidgon's three minutes of public testimony at the September 2 city council meeting ended with jeers from the audience: "Sit down!" were the shouts from inside city council chambers. "Okay, people, you ...

Behind Imaginary Enemy Lines

Whether or not it was Oceanside city councilmember Jerome Kern's intention to turn the December 8 recall election into a war against labor unions is speculation, but one thing is for sure -- that's what ...

Total Recall

December 8 will be a day that lives in infamy, at least for Oceanside city councilmember Jerry Kern. That's when residents decide whether to recall the first-term councilmember from office. Three weeks ago, activist group ...

Juvenile Decoy

With the intent of reducing graffiti, an Oceanside Police Department task force conducted a sting on 15 paint retailers on June 22. Six citations were issued to business owners for having open paint displays and ...

The Lakers vs. Luna Llena

I drove up to Oceanside for a surprise party that Wayne was throwing for his wife’s birthday. I squeezed into a spot on the street, slightly blocking the driveway of a nearby neighbor. I could ...

Hula Hoop Revolution II

Speaking with a few young dudes and a few chicks up here in North County, I asked, “What’s up with your weekend?” this past last Friday/Saturday of gloom and damp in May. Justin Daum is ...

Sorry, Charley

I was given detailed directions on how to get to Charley’s party. He was graduating from Cal State San Marcos. But the beachfront condos in Oceanside, where he lives, all had gates I couldn’t get ...

In Transition

I am a regular rider on North County Transit District (NCTD) buses and the Sprinter. Over the years, I've developed friendships with several of the bus drivers. Their union, which includes maintenance workers (about 80) ...

Rabbit Flu-Flu

A New Zealand white rabbit discovered last month by campers at Oceanside’s Guajome County Park has tested positive for Tularemia, or “rabbit fever,” a rare infectious disease that can cause severe illness and death in ...

Middle of the Class

At the foot of the wooden Imperial Beach pier on a gray Wednesday morning, environmental group Heal the Bay issued San Diego County’s annual report card for water quality at its beaches. There was some ...

Crossing the Line

Three weeks ago, in an effort to increase downtown parking space, the City of Oceanside added diagonal parking on Civic Center Drive, a five-block street behind City Hall. Unfortunately, someone forgot to first measure the ...

Oceanside vs. Applicant

Fabio Marchi stood in front of Oceanside’s city hall building during an April 7 demonstration. He held a neon-green sign that read: “No Clear Master Plan.” Surrounding him were 12 other protesters, some dressed in ...

Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye Again

On New Year’s Eve, Howard Jackson was in court with Ellen Falcone, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child. For more than nine years, the last three in Oceanside, the two had shared custody of ...

Doggedly Determined

On Sunday, March 29, over 200 people and at least 250 dogs showed up at Oceanside Harbor. The group, known as Friends of Oceanside Dog Beach, walked around the area to show support for a ...

Berry Good for Business

Each year, around January 1, a miracle of Mother Nature occurs at a little strawberry farm in Oceanside. The “miracle” is not that the little hillside farm is still in business, surrounded by large shopping ...

Camp Gitmo, California

Several weeks ago, during the public comment portion of an Oceanside City Council meeting, a concerned citizen asked the mayor and four councilmembers to take a stand on the potential closure of the detention facility ...

The Uncertain Fate of the Falls

Mel Vernon leans against a black steel fence behind Quarry Creek Shopping Center, on the border of Carlsbad and Oceanside. Above him towers a massive signpost facing the traffic on State Route 78. Below him ...

On the Road

At a December 17 Oceanside City Council meeting, councilmembers Jerry Kern, Rocky Chavez, and Jack Feller voted in favor of awarding La Mesa's Helix Environmental Planning, Inc. an extra $247,000 for an environmental impact report ...