Ann Jarmusch, architecture critic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, calls the proposed convention center expansion "a disaster that robs the public of access to the waterfront. If Proposition A passes and the $216 million expansion …

Loral Space and Communications is a Manhattan-based aerospace company at the center of a growing Washington scandal about whether its chairman, a loyal Democrat who gave $1.3 million in donations to President Bill Clinton and …

Over the past two years, U.S. senators, lobbyists, the New York Times, and the 700 Club's Pat Robertson have brought national attention to the persecution of Christians in Sudan, Egypt, Pakistan, and China. But there …

The matrons of Coronado will be shocked by a new book just out about the late Don Simpson, the coked-up producer of the 1985 movie Top Gun, starring cinematic heartthrob Tom Cruise and shot in …

“Dr. Bender on line two for you, Dr. Eichel.” My mouth replied, “Thank you.” My mind thought, “Oh, no." An unsolicited, unexpected call from a radiologist never means good news. I went through my mental …

Here's a bicycle ride that's practically a land-based equivalent of a harbor cruise on San Diego Bay. Over an out-and-back stretch of 16 miles, you're seldom far from the water, and the ease of gliding …

I flew to San Diego two weeks before Halloween. A perfect time, I thought, to pursue the ghost of my father. I had neither seen nor heard from the old man since 1965, but I …

The sun descends behind western slopes as I drop down Banner Grade from Julian toward the Anza-Borrego Desert on High 78 — nearly 1500 feet in five miles. A park ranger I met at the …

The photographer pretended to be looking at carpet samples. Then he started snapping pictures of the arklike interior of Julie Melim's carpet warehouse. Melim looked up from her office, walked out, and asked if she …

Jill McEwan's life reads like a Dick Francis novel. McEwan, a graduate of USC's paralegal program, is a racehorse trainer who mixes horses and the law. "I'm just like a home appraiser, except I appraise …

It wouldn't be the first big lie to emerge during an election campaign, and it certainly wouldn't be the first one to appear in a Union-Tribune editorial, but Sunday's was one of the best in …

Serene Lake Wohlford lies near the headwaters of Escondido Creek, its mirroring surface reflecting the shaggy-with-chaparral, boulder-studded hillsides that confine it. As early as 1895, water impounded for the benefit of Escondido's farms and households …

Matt: What's the dealio wit the part of the wedding vows when the priest sez, "Does anyone feel that these two should not be joined in holy matrimony?" What happens when your brother's friend raises …

Dear Mr. Alice: Why do country singers yodel? What could have been the connection that brought yodeling from the Swiss Alps to Nashville, or did yodeling crop up independently as a form of expression among …

Last month, I ended this column by wondering what part (if any) of my East Coastness I would pass on to my California-born son Finian. Now, as he approaches his first birthday, I have had …

CHAPTER 29: Buried in Chicago When I die, I want to be buried in Chicago — so I can stay politically active. — Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) On August 26, 1996, I took off in …

Why did the city use $250,000 of taxpayers' money to get the National Baptist Convention to come to San Diego? Blame MERF. Why was Alcoholics Anonymous promised a similar quarter-million-dollar gift if they held their …

T.T., 36, matronly, with a sweet face and a soft, wondering voice, doesn't match the expected image of a recovering manic-depressive acid-head, pill-popper, and heroin addict. It is hard to picture her fencing clothes to …

The cost of San Diego taxi cab permits, as traded on the black market, have abruptly shot up to as much as $60,000 apiece. As a result, sources say, big-time cab owners are doing everything …

East of Jacumba, pressed against the California-Baja California border, is a series of scenic peaks and valleys in the Jacumba Mountains affording vistas of two counties (San Diego and Imperial) and two nations. Although American …

Hi, Matt: Recently my husband and I were sitting in our parked car and romantically slurping up Wendy's Frostys. I felt the mood was somewhat shattered when he wondered aloud whether Wendy's, like McDonald's, adds …

Matt: No one's ever been able to tell me why basketball players are called "cagers." Can you? -- Wes, San Diego Dear Matthew Alice: Why is a football called a pigskin? Best I can tell, …

CHAPTER 23: Al Gore's Love Handles If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, does it still make a sound? — Zen koan On July 2, Vice President Al Gore came to …

Eric Abrams has been called many things. In December 1991, Parade magazine named him "National High School Football Player of the Year." In November 1994, Stanford coach Bill Walsh said Abrams was his "adorable little …

"To the woman, He said: 'I will greatly multipy your pain in childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children.'" -- Genesis 13:16 "We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together …

Supermodel Liz Hurley is said to be inconsolable over the loss of Cassidy Oak Chytraus, a hunky male model and budding movie star who was stabbed to death last month in front of an Ocean …

The sinuously curving rural roads on the far (north) side of Fallbrook offer a significant challenge to bicycle riders. Twenty-five years ago, the brushy hills and wooded backcountry canyons between Fallbrook and Temecula were sparsely …

Matt: I could tell when my dog was pregnant. You can tell when a cat or a horse is pregnant. Why don't we ever see a pregnant bird? -- Dweezil (not that Dweezil), out there …

Matmail: I just heard about a guy got a life sentence plus 10 years. Recently I heard of someone getting three lifetimes. What does that mean? That guy with life plus 10 years "can't even …

Dear Matthew Alice: I'm wondering who was the first person or people to eat a raisin or a prune. While they do taste very good, you must admit that the appearance is like a rotten …