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Stories by Shari McCullough

Commitment

Robert Hernandez presides over a psychological war zone. At Donovan correctional facility, where Hernandez is warden, every move his officers make is watched by inmates; every word they say is overheard. "Nothing," said one officer, ...

Board Up and Go

"It was my first training flight with Mercy Air," says J.P. Wilson, a large, white-haired man. "I had gone through the ground school, and I was scheduled to fly with Jeff Emery. I got here ...

Hive Mentality

I love honey. I love honey! Like the bears. All day long my coffee has honey instead of sugar. My cereal has honey. My toast, honey on it. Always honey." David Rojas of San Marcos ...

Looking at Her Is Like Looking at Me

"A lot of people ask, 'What is it like sharing the same physical attributes?' I always look at my brother and I think that's what people think of me. We'll be going out, and I'll ...

Concrete Comeback

WE REALLY HAVE, from a pedestrian's point of view, two kinds of places in San Diego," said Stephan Vance of the San Diego Association of Governments. "There's the older urban core that was built around ...

You Never Get Your Tattoo Alone

Benson Mauga could be the poster boy for Pacific Island chiefs. A big man with black wavy hair, a regal face, and confident stature, he commands respect. He looks like the great-grandson of a Samoan ...

What Insiders Eat

Food = joy…guilt…anger…pain…nurturing… friendship…hatred…the way you look and feel.… Food = everything you can imagine. —Susan Powter Tim Klepeis, the chef at Adams Avenue Grill, spoke hesitatingly at first. “I think the greatest reward is ...

These Women Can Paint an American Flag on Your Thumbnail

“I believe in Buddha. I have a Buddha who is always smiling. Every morning when I come early, I drink coffee and ask him, ‘Buddha, make me lucky today.’ ” Tuanh (Ann) Nguyen, manager of ...

Dear God, What Do You Want Us to Do?

Valley Center growers are feeling the financial squeeze caused by the Mexican fruit fly infestation discovered in November 2002. Lisa Schostag, a third-generation farmer and a native Californian, farms land within the quarantine area. "The ...

It's Hard to Move When You're 92

'They call it America's finest city, but I don't call it that," barked Ernie Abbit, a 72-year-old lessee at De Anza Harbor Resort. Abbit, president of the homeowners association, is agitated. Without the city's intervention, ...