A few months ago, Carlsbad residents were inundated by an L.A. developer’s two-million-dollar TV and PR campaign, asking voters to “Sign the Petition” to support his 27-acre shopping center on the strawberry fields east of …

How does one blow through millions of dollars quickly? Start an airline. Such is the case of Chicago’s Dan Cretsinger and his family, who started Biz Air Shuttle in June. Based in Carlsbad, Biz Air …

Perhaps in preparation for this year’s predicted El Niño weather pattern and its accompanying big waves and high tides, the Oceanside Pier is getting some extra support. Construction crews will be under the pier for …

For decades, kids and families have made recreational use of the front channel of San Elijo Lagoon’s mouth, between Coast Highway 101 and the railroad tracks, south to behind Restaurant Row. It’s less crowded than …

Saturday, August 29, was like Black Friday to the San Diego skateboarding world, as hundreds of teenagers lined up for hours for the annual Kayo sale. Kayo is the distributor of some of the industry’s …

It was announced August 25 that Del Mar’s own winning jockey, Victor Espinoza, will appear on ABC’s 21st season of Dancing with the Stars. It was Espinoza who rode American Pharaoh in the three races …

A historic building, once the hub of drag racing in the U.S., is getting a facelift in the downtown village of Carlsbad. The old auto-mechanic shop and quonset hut in the 2700 block of State …

Over 350 people turned out for the Carlsbad City Council meeting on August 25. The hot-button issue was the proposed shopping center on 203 acres of the Ukagawa family's strawberry fields, above the Agua Hedionda …

Mike Downs and his family have owned the Grand Deli, on the corner of Grand Avenue and Roosevelt Street in Carlsbad Village, for 28 years. On August 27, he will close the doors to the …

Even though there’s a one-in-ten chance of winning $1,000,000 on August 22, the ten owners of horses entered into the Pacific Classic at Del Mar had to wait on August 19 for the drawing for …

Opened earlier this year in a small, old garage just off Carlsbad Village Drive, Lhooq Books, a rare-books bookstore, was shuttered by the city for the past three weeks. But now, after much research, owner …

Elvis impersonator George Thomas was belting out "Viva Las Vegas" and other Elvis tunes as a crowd gathered in the terminal at Carlsbad’s Palomar-McClellan airport. On July 30, city and county leaders, media, and paying …

Finally, after almost six years and over 500 volunteers, the full-scale replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s ship, the San Salvador, touched water for the first time on July 29. It’s the same water that touched …

A story was published here on July 24, where a vacationing Uber driver from Augusta, Georgia, Rob Noel, outted a fake Uber driver in Carlsbad. Over the weekend of July 25, I attempted to find …

Beginning July 30, there are new Pacific bluefin tuna regulations for San Diego anglers, and rules on how fish can be filleted onboard boats. The regulations call for a reduction in bag limits, from ten …

At the Del Mar track, there is a way to lose your money scientifically, rather than the way most of us do. So says Frank Scatoni, every day. Scatoni is a handicapper for the Thoroughbred …

A fake Uber driver has been outted in Carlsbad, thanks to the same social media that makes the driving service so popular. Rob Noel was recently visiting his Oceanside family for nine days. The 27-year-old …

Highlighted by a new dirt track and Caitlyn Jenner’s appearance, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club started its 76th meet on July 16 with a reported 45,000+ fans in attendance, many wearing big hats, tight dresses, …

On Wednesday, July 15, the outdoor showers at San Diego’s four state-park beaches were scheduled to be shut off, in compliance with the governor’s mandated 25 percent reduction in water usage. The cold-water shower towers …

Even though he arrived at 4:00 a.m. today (July 14), so calm was the move down from the Santa Anita track that Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh got out on the track at Del Mar …

Here’s a tip to Oceanside criminals: Don’t try to rob numerous houses, in the same neighborhood, on the same day, in broad daylight. On the afternoon of July 7, Oceanside police started receiving 911 calls …

After weeks of lowering gas prices, on July 9 at 2:00 p.m., the gas-price website gasbuddy.com sent its San Diego subscribers a text alert: “Gas prices expected to rise 15–30 cents. Fill up now.” By …

Many San Diego area anglers seem to get ticked off this time of year. Often we wait until summertime to buy our annual fishing licenses, knowing that our $47.01 will only last until December 31. …

The 2015 San Diego County Fair ended its almost four-week run at 11:00 p.m. of July 5. Just after the entry gates closed at 10:00 p.m., attendance for the 26 days was pegged at 1,503,538 …

Boniface Anoje was a proud dad when his son, Navy serviceman Nick Anoje, received his American citizenship on July 1. In the special citizenship ceremony, planned to coincide with Independence Day celebrations, the former Nigerian …

For the past several weeks, Coast Highway 101’s Coastal Animal Hospital, has created a brouhaha over its comedic signage. Currently, Dr. Brian Evans’s 4´ x 8´ highway frontage sign reads, “In Leucadia, stinky hippies are …

Going against its own staff recommendation, on June 24 the Oceanside City Council said no to the installation of a giant digital billboard on Highway 78. With all five councilmembers expressing some concern, the three-two …

With 20 people onboard, Carlsbad’s only airline took off on its maiden flight on June 18 for the 25-minute ride to LAX. Biz Air’s owner, Dan Cretsinger, along with head flight attendant Robin Rossi, welcomed …

The highest priced regular gas in San Diego County on June17 was found at the 76 station in Coronado, at $4.59 a gallon — wait, one station in Rancho Santa Fe posts a much higher …

San Diego County traffic violators who choose to fight their tickets were given a legal financial break this week. On June 8, the state’s Judicial Council ordered traffic courts statewide to stop collecting bail from …

Beginning Thursday, June 18, North County air travelers will again be able to fly directly to Los Angeles from Carlsbad’s McClellan-Palomar Airport. The airport was left without a public airline when United Express pulled out …

When the Willis brothers, Michael and Milton, show up on San Diego’s beaches, other surfers know who they are. The 59-year old twins have embodied the surfing lifestyle. By age 12, they were shaping boards …

The hour before the opening of the San Diego County Fair, on the I-5 exiting southbound at Via de la Valle, traffic was light. But by the time the gates opened at 4:00 p.m. on …

When Lowe’s Home Improvement Center pulled out of San Marcos’ Creekside Marketplace shopping center last year, it left a huge building vacant. Now, major renovations are underway for two long-established chains with no stores in …

The future developer of the 203-acre California Strawberry Farm, east of I-5 on Cannon Road, may be trying an end-run around city hall and Carlsbad citizens. Last month, the owners of the land at the …

Another old downtown Encinitas building is soon to bite the dust. The 1950s-era building, at 860 South Coast Highway 101, was built as an auto-repair garage in the heyday of the pre–Interstate 5 route to …

What were the little, deep-blue slimy things that washed up on Cardiff by the Sea’s beaches last week? There were several hundred of them deposited on the sand above the low-tide line in front of …

Sara Norris of San Marcos was camping at Thousand Trails in Pine Cove (near Idyllwild) on May 21 when her female golden retriever, Aslan, disappeared. After searching for hours, Norris called the emergency line at …

For the first time since they began its restoration nine years ago, on May 23 the San Dieguito Heritage Museum opened the doors to its almost-finished Teten House, perhaps Encinitas’ oldest original house remaining. Fred …

The North County Transit District has started writing tickets for people who illegally cross their railroad tracks. The enforcement carried out by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Dept. covers all train tracks from the Orange …

Early in the morning on May 19, the 7-Eleven at 1446 Encinitas Boulevard closed permanently. It’s been a fixture near the El Camino Real corridor for decades — since the 1970s. According to 7-Eleven’s director …

Last year, on the morning of May 14, humidity levels were down to 5 percent, morning beach temperatures already up into the high 80s, and strong Santa Ana winds were blowing from the east. Over …

The western snowy plover must not be able to read. For the first time in years, the federally endangered bird has jumped across its well-signed and protected nesting areas in the San Elijo Lagoon, on …

A 2015 fishing license will set you back $47.01, plus a $5.21 ocean fishing stamp. Out-of-state residents will shell out $126.36. Sportsmen active in the politics say the increasing cost of fishing licenses is due …

On May 6, San Diegans may have seen the past 20-day gas price run-up come to an end. Gas prices began to rise sharply, for the second time this year, on April 16. In the …

When is a public fountain not a fountain? That’s the dilemma facing the City of Oceanside, as it was prepared to turn on its civic center fountain after a seven-month, $378,000 refurbishing. The city’s water …

Three victims of graffiti and vandalism that struck an Oceanside neighborhood have finally seen justice served, and their property — American flags — returned. Last July 17, neighbors in the Oceana community, Virgil Hardin, Michael …

The Eastern Sierra trout opener on April 25 turned out like last year — a predicted record opener, then a spring snowstorm dumped six inches, and seemingly ruined all the big fish hopes and expected …

Little did Encinitas resident Norm Keith know that his 1953 act of high school hi-jinx would be discovered in 2015. Keith was a senior at San Dieguito High School in the early '50s when he …

The planned floating of the full-scale replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s 1542 ship, the San Salvador, was grounded prior to its highly anticipated April 19 launch date. Engineers discovered the 151-ton ship weighed too much. …