The Padres open their 2005 home schedule tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team begins its second season at Petco Park among the favorites to reach the playoffs, a rare occurrence in franchise history. Jerry …

“Not a garden, not a lawn, not a swimming pool — a vineyard.”

Cooling Time: An American Poetry Vigil. Copper Canyon Press, 2005; 108 pages; $15. FROM THE DUST JACKET: An unruly paean to American poetry, Cooling Time blurs the divisions between poem, memoir, and essay, while borrowing …

Deep In The Amazon This is what happened. I wrote a book, submitted it to several publishers, and got rejected. I wrote another book, found a New York agent and a New York publisher. Within …

Thirty Years Ago BABY: Let's live once more in velvet and winding staircases. We'll get our diamonds somehow. Tequilla.... P.S. Not you, Tony. RETIRED CHIEF executive of international banking cartel, bored with women and yachting, …

'I'm not a vegetarian, and I don't want to live in the College Area," says Rodney Johnson, explaining why he is not interested in joining either of two local communes. Johnson would rather form his …

I went to a few interesting parties in March that I'm just getting around to writing about. One was at a place downtown called the Shout House. It was their first anniversary and also a …

Anyone who drives slower than you is a moron. Anyone who drives faster than you is a maniac. -- My dad I have been bitchy all week -- irritable and quick to anger. People are …

With canyons and ravines numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands, the one-thousand-square-mile Anza-Borrego Desert State Park offers a lifetime of scenic exploration. Even the smaller canyons of the park offer a variety of …

THE ICE OF THE DANUBE RIVER HAD THAWED A LITTLE and flat chunks flowed along the bank. I walked from the Chain Bridge into the Pest half of Budapest, shielding my face against biting wind. …

"A full-on gorilla kicked me off the decks."

"He is spending between $200,000 and $250,000 on talent alone," said one insider about first-time promoter Chris Wepsic's Festival Del Mar, April 16 and 17, at the fairgrounds in Del Mar. Twenty-six bands will perform …

"The San Diego Symphony told us Embarcadero North would not be available this summer. That, plus a lack of sponsorship caused us to cancel this year," said Michael Kinsman, a business writer for the Union-Tribune …

"They were rehearsing at the Fox Studios near Rosarito Beach for two weeks," said an insider, with close access to U2, about the Irish band's activity before they kicked off their U.S. tour last Monday …

A Canadian website's review of U2's March 28 show says, "They are, with little dispute, one of rock's greatest live bands. So why did U2 choose the creaky, hot, 40-year-old San Diego Sports Arena to …

"Rain, rain, go away; come again some other day," I said, staring at the puddles in my saturated front yard. This was maybe the third time this year I'd planned a picnic, a proper outdoor …

Unwritten Law's new album Here's to the Mourning debuted at #51 on Billboard's Top 200, the band's highest debut to date. It has sold around 75,000 copies. Their current single "Save Me," co-written with Linda …

"This video is a porn cartoon," e-mails Jack Sparrow, a fan of Unwritten Law but not of the alternate version of the band's song "Save Me." The animated video appears on Unwritten Law's unofficial website …

"It's a format in trouble," said one former 91X employee about the alternative format used by 91X and 94/9. "Six years ago there were 125 modern rock stations in the country. Now there are 70." …

"Briljante," summarized a Dutch music writer. "Let's make some songs...and crafts," wrote Edmonton, Canada's See Magazine, after giving Bunky's debut album, Born to Be a Motorcycle (released last month on Asthmatic Kitty Records), 2.5 out …

"I wanted to tap people on the shoulder and remind them of black women's contribution to American music," says Calvin Mason, writer/director of Raisin' the Rent, a musical that opened last Friday at Caesar Café …

St. John of the Cross Denomination: Roman Catholic Address: 8086 Broadway, Lemon Grove, 619-466-3209 Founded locally: 1959 Senior pastor: Edward Brockhaus Congregation size: 10,000 Staff size: 20 Sunday school enrollment: 800 Annual budget: can't tell …

Local sportswear firm Lite Breeze lost its $10 million lawsuit against Britney Spears for infringement on its "In the Zone" trademark (Spears used the title on her new CD and tour merchandise). "They based their …

It sounds so Baseball, the sneak-sneak, slip-one-past-the-stupid-public-while-they're-looking-the-other-way latest steroid deception. I'm talking about the bust of not-a-household-name and Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Alex Sanchez. Sanchez got to go first; got to be the first …

Movies reviewed this week: Eros, In My Country, and Melinda and Melinda

I love you, Chula Vista

In days gone by, Herbert George Klein was one of the most influential men in America. Starting in 1940 as a humble copyboy at the Copley-owned Alhambra Post-Advocate, Klein signed on early after World War …

'Someday this mess will end up in the media," wrote an irate Terri Webster in an e-mail on August 13, 1999. Oh, how prescient her words were. Webster, then assistant city auditor, was writing to …

Bert Decker remembers calling Midway area tenant Vic Maidhof in early November 2003 to warn him that the San Diego Redevelopment Agency was about to "chop up" his business. Maidhof did not believe it and …