He compares California light to New England’s or the Pacific Northwest’s, where “there’s a haziness to the light that you don’t have here. Here it’s sharp, almost desert-like, but it still has the moisture.”

Three years ago this summer, when the Republican National Convention came to town to nominate Bob Dole and try to breathe life into the GOP's blue-lipped effort to reclaim the White House, San Diegans witnessed …

"You must understand," she says, "the attitude toward Iranians when we first came here. The revolution. The hostage crisis. People thought we, who'd fled the revolution, were all terrorists. We were all suspect.”

A San Diego company specializing in scattering cremation ashes at sea says business is up since the Kennedy family deposited the cremated remains of John F. Kennedy, Jr. last month off Martha's Vineyard. Anya and …

Late-summer hiking in East County's Cuyamaca Mountains is rewarding, as long as you avoid the heat of midday and early afternoon. Lately, intense afternoon thunderstorms have dropped considerable moisture here as well as farther east, …

Some get it from big Los Angeles, Orange County, and New York developers. Some get it from professional sports moguls, trash haulers, and union bosses. Still others get it from lawyers, judges, and lobbyists. A …

Between 1854 and 1865, rented rooms and parlors of homes became temporary sites of education. Then, in 1865, the city erected its first building: the Little Green School on Mason Street.

While late-afternoon traffic snarls and tempers flare on North County's Interstate 5 and at the "merge," just inland lies an oasis of tranquillity: San Dieguito Park. Not to be confused with the huge San Dieguito …

'Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees." That opening line of a recent newspaper advertisement was a plea to look beyond controversies surrounding the Padres' proposed baseball stadium and maintain "the vision" …

When the time came for Victor Zamudio Taylor to be born, his mother, Guadalupe, deliberately crossed the border -- into Tijuana. She and her husband, Regino, were determined that their son should be born a …

Ex-congressman Bob Wilson, who died last week of Alzheimer's, was a controversial figure who made national headlines during the Watergate scandal and played a major role in the International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) Co. affair …

Hi, Matthew: What can you tell me about monkfish? I have eaten and enjoyed monkfish in a restaurant or two. I call it the poor man's lobster, since the flesh is akin to that of …

Greetings: What makes driving on the freeway so loud? Every time I get on the I-15 for the struggle home, I must roll up my windows because the noise of passing cars is nearly deafening. …

The first two or three times I met Carl Glowienke he wore a tuxedo. We weren't at a society function. He wasn't on his way, each time, to the prom. For his day job — …

Rural roads for pleasant summer morning or evening cycling still exist around Escondido. For a sample, try the following ten-mile, looping ride over the hills north of town. The route features an elevation gain of …

Davistown: "Settlement named after William Heath Davis, who was the first to feel that the site of the city should be near the harbor. The settlement failed and Old Town remained 'San Diego' until 1868.”

Was This My Fault? “I THINK SHE HAS PNEUMONIA.” Anne, a nurse-practitioner student to whom I’m teaching outpatient medicine, was right. Flo, a proud, stubborn, wiry, 72-year-old African-American had called me earlier that day hoping …

On Saturday, July 7, dozens of people were waiting outside the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Del Mar Fair-grounds for the 9:00 a.m. opening. Inside, Crossroads owner Bob Templeton had gathered key …

'Hi gang! Having a wonderful time in Tijuana. Wish you were here. Write back soon." I address the postcard, a view of the Jai Alai Fronton Palace on Revolución to myself in San Diego. I …

Padres owner John Moores has shown up high on the list of big-money donors to Democratic governor Gray Davis, who earlier this year named Moores to a highly coveted spot on the University of California's …

Dear Matthew: The recent acquisition by my next-door neighbor of a pool table has set me to pondering. According to M.S. Encarta, early billiard and pool balls were made of ivory. I'm surprised. Is ivory …

Matt and Elves: While we were driving on Del Dios Highway, my eight-year-old son could barely maintain himself as he noticed some "bridges" barely visible (to me, anyway, as I tried to concentrate on that …

Matman: While leaving Las Vegas the last few times, I've noticed a sign for Zzyzx Road. How do you pronounce this word and what does it mean? I have a feeling it's Las Vegan for …

The evening began a little after eight in the bar at Sanborn’s on Revolución where eight poets gathered for drinks and chisme (gossip). Around midnight one of them suggested we move on to El Lugar …

The desolate backcountry community of Campo, barely a stone's throw from the international border, has exactly two things of interest to San Diego daytrippers: the Old Stone Store and the Campo railroad depot. The former, …

During the 1930s, the black community began to have clearly defined borders. Blacks mostly resided in the area from 30th Street to 32nd Street, between Woolman (now Oceanview) Avenue and Logan Avenue.

“If, like, three or four guys are sitting there, I have to be polite, but I have to take the cart. If you come straight in there like some bad guy, they will give you a hard time.”

Foot-stomping gospel music and earnest testimonials about religious conversion enliven the video, but most people in the audience are slumped in their chairs asleep, nodding off, or staring vacantly. Suddenly, at 6:15 a.m., the screen …

'It's the worst kind of bullshit!" says Eric E. Sterling. "Preposterous! Totally absurd." He's talking of claims the United Nations makes -- about the Tijuana drug cartel, among others -- in its 1999 Human Development …

An engineer at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command on Pacific Highway has discovered that Russian hackers have penetrated a sensitive computer network at the top-secret Navy intelligence center, according to a report in …

Hey, Matt: Settle a bet. My friend swears that Citizen Kane was filmed in San Diego. I say he's nuts. Maybe he'll listen to you. Tell him I'm right. -- The Speedster, San Diego You …

Dear Matthew: 1. Where does Mikhail Gorbachev live now? Russia or the U.S.? 2. What happened to Jeffrey Dahmer's killer? -- Curious of North Park If you want to drop him a note, Mikhail can …

Hey Matt-man: 1. What is the proper usage of "flesh (or flush) out"? Co-workers seem to prefer "flush out," but I maintain that "flesh out" is correct, as in "We need to flesh out the …

Dear Mat: What is the life expectancy of a sumo wrestler? What's the attraction of sumo wrestling, anyway, and why would anyone want to be a sumo wrestler? What kind of long-term health problems are …