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News & Politics Neighborhood News News Ticker Under the Radar

Food & Drink Beverage News Booze News Drinks All Around Feast! San Diego Beer Tin Fork

Movies Big Screen Movie Archives Movie Reviews Movies@Home

Happenings Fishing Report Outdoors Reader Travel Roam-O-Rama Surf Diego Theater Your Week

Music Blurt Classical Music The Gonzo Report Live Five Musician Interviews Of Note Upcoming Shows

Comics Famous Former Neighbors Obermeyer Overheard in San Diego

Archives Reader by issue date Today’s stories All of the latest stories

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news

News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

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David Dodd

David Dodd is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

Reading, then writing

Mr. Kitchen, I won't criticize your attempts at some sort of a rationale for achievement of human kindness. It's just that your history is a tad off. The Berlin Wall was completed in 1961, mainly because the GDR was losing money on the exchange rate from folks legally crossing into West Germany. And the Great Wall was built because Mongolians enjoyed pillaging China proper for economic gain. Neither barrier consistently worked, regardless. But, all barriers built are built on account of the difference in economics from one place to another. It wasn't necessarily the PEOPLE in MOST cases, but the difference in economics. If you don't believe me, just ask Guatemalans why Mexico built their barrier down South.
— June 8, 2016 10:35 p.m.

Avocados, Ron Roberts, and religion spur letters

Best bunch of letters to the Reader in quite some time. So far as avocado prices falling, how about large avocados in Bakersfield for $1.29? Each? At times, I can find the small ones on sale, got 'em 5 for $1.00 the other day. Truth be told, from my perspective, Mexican avocados have always been superior to those grown in the Northern climates of the U.S. And one story that will likely never be told is that when Mexico began to export avocados to the U.S., it wrecked the ability of Mexicans to purchase that awesome fruit in their own country because the purchase price became highly prohibitive. When I arrived in Mexico back in the early '90's, I would go to the local Sobre Ruedas (sort of an open-air market) and buy a large bag of that luscious fruit for an American dollar. Like, maybe two dozen. Now? In Mexico, while still a little less expensive than in the U.S., avocados are now barely affordable for the working class. My, how times change. While there is no official language in Mexico, obviously they had their Spanish imported and that is the prevalent language there. The word "avocado" is "aquacate" in Mexico. It is actually derived from the Aztecs, their word, "ahuakatl" is the root. I'm going to guess that California began ahuakatl orchards way back when California was Mexico, and I'm going to guess further that the fruit simply doesn't grow large so far away from where it began in Southern Mexico. It isn't worth my time investing in the research, but it seems logical. Even corn tortillas don't taste the same up here, doesn't make any difference that the corn flour is imported.
— April 23, 2016 11:30 a.m.

Stuart Caldwell opened soul-food restaurant in Tijuana

"In that time I wrote plenty, but I also received enough rejection letters to paper a small apartment..." You haven't written enough if that's all you have. But this is a good piece. Keep this in mind: All gravies I make are from scratch, and I make them with ease. And I've never met a Tijuananense that didn't want to squeeze lime juice into it without trying it first. That's writing in a nutshell. Fill a WAREHOUSE full of rejections I've filled, and I imagine you're there, I think that's what makes us. I bet a dude like Saroyan would agree. I had a fantastic couple of decades there and after a couple of years back on the U.S. side, I'll likely return. Sans lime, of course.
— April 7, 2016 11:55 p.m.

A slosh through Tijuana’s afterparty epicenter

They have a thing in Tijuana, and it sometimes goes away and quickly returns, where you pay a fine if you're open after 3 am. If you pay your fine to remain open after hours, they won't shut your place down. Tropics takes advantage of being one of the only games in town, so it's worth the fine in order to stay open. A pal and I always had to set an over/under on days where we needed to wake up early to kill the hangover with some hair of the dog. "Five? Six?" That was often our guess as to how many people were passed out at the bar or a table when we walked in. Picking the over was more successful than taking a chance at the under. No one woke them up, they awoke on their own and more often than not, ordered another drink. By noon, the place was mostly empty.
— December 31, 2015 11:28 a.m.

McDonald's commercial fooled me

You can paint lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. Jack-in-the-Box used to be one of the only fast-food joints I would patronize in a pinch, but their quality has recently diminished sharply. The other is Carl's Jr., but the locations in Tijuana are so much better than the locations in the U.S., I can't eat at one North of the border, guess I'm spoiled.
— December 24, 2015 11:32 p.m.

Tijuana businesses under siege

There isn't any tourism in Baja, hasn't been for over a decade now. Hence, no money coming in, hence, crime rate goes up. And I lived there for over two decades, so again, DON'T GO THERE IF YOU'RE AFRAID. I had less problems there than in San Diego or Los Angeles. Your mileage may vary.
— December 24, 2015 5:06 p.m.

Attempt to print something of quality

Love the "neighborhood nitwit" letter. Stringers and other contributors is what gives the San Diego Reader the charm and eclecticism that provides free entertainment, and the ads, well, that's why pages are made to be turned (and hey, where else can a plastic surgeon advertise?). But to Quent Koenig, that's a wonderful idea but there are billions of reasons in the form of U.S. dollars that it won't happen. The Packers (Green Bay Packers, Inc.) are in direct violation of franchise ownership policy. Sometime in the 1980's, policy was created to where the head of an ownership group (A) had to own at least 30% of the franchise, and (B) could have only up to 31 other part-owners in the group. The Green Bay Packers were exempted from this policy, their publicly-held type organization was "grandfathered" into the new policy (much in the same way that the Dallas Cowboys are exempt from having to share merchandising revenue with the other 31 teams). Around six years ago, the policy was relaxed to where the head of an ownership group had to own at least 10% of the franchise, but the limit of 32 people in an ownership group remains. What this ensures for the other franchises is the ability to control their collective destinies, especially monetarily. While this SEEMS patently unfair, there is no arguing that it seems to work, especially when you consider the unarguable popularity of the sport in spite of its shortcomings. In other words, if it ain't broke, they ain't gonna fix it.
— December 23, 2015 2:37 p.m.

The fridge between worlds

Hope it survives, but anything in that corridor is up against it. After the new border entry, foot traffic in that corridor is extremely light now, the yellow cabs inhibit pedestrian tourists from crossing in over the river to Centro. They might have to move in order to make enough money to profit.
— December 2, 2015 8:53 p.m.

Chula Vista fetes Seven Mile Casino as FBI investigates it

Nice work here. If you're banking statistical information, I'm in favor of strippers and gambling. I don't get Chula Vista. I lived in a hotel across the freeway from that strip joint and read a lot of stuff about how CHILDREN WERE SEEING STUFF THEY SHOULD NOT SEE! Give me a break. I saw more crap go on at the local laundromat than I ever saw in a strip joint or a casino. Keep up the good work, Susan.
— November 21, 2015 7:48 p.m.

California imposes no-chew law for big leagues

Most ball players no longer chew, that was a part of the older sub-culture. I didn't know Peavy well, but I got to know Kotsay, we have a little history in common from his days playing at Cal State Fullerton. One afternoon I was sitting in the dugout before a game, waiting to shoot pics of the guys taking BP. Kotsay is interviewing with a gal reporter for FOX Sports SD, and he's talking about his first manager, Jim Leyland, when Mark came up with the Marlins. Kots looks at me and says, "Hey, this isn't for reporting." Leyland used to sneak cigarettes in the dugout near the bat rack between innings. I told Mark I already knew about it, it wasn't a secret, television even caught him in the act back in the day. I know that Kotsay doesn't smoke, but I believe at one time he did chew. I believe he quit several years prior to joining the Padres. I also told Mark about growing up in Los Angeles watching the Dodgers play. We all caught former catcher Steve Yeager sneaking a cigarette now and then in the tunnel leading to the club house. The modern ball player doesn't smoke and I doubt that many chew, I didn't notice it in the 2+ years I covered the Padres. I doubt that the Player's Union will gripe about this California law, it simply isn't the issue it once was. These days the players are very conscious of what goes into their bodies, the minimum salary in MLB is close to 1/2 million per season. That, and clubs like to protect their investments.
— October 12, 2015 10:05 p.m.

News & Politics Neighborhood News News Ticker Under the Radar

Food & Drink Beverage News Booze News Drinks All Around Feast! San Diego Beer Tin Fork

Movies Big Screen Movie Archives Movie Reviews Movies@Home

Happenings Fishing Report Outdoors Reader Travel Roam-O-Rama Surf Diego Theater Your Week

Music Blurt Classical Music The Gonzo Report Live Five Musician Interviews Of Note Upcoming Shows

Comics Famous Former Neighbors Obermeyer Overheard in San Diego

Archives Reader by issue date Today’s stories All of the latest stories

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

See all neighborhoods

February 28, 2024

February 21, 2024

February 14, 2024

February 7, 2024

January 31, 2024

See previous issues