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Thirty Years Ago The calls for unity that abounded at last month's Democratic convention in New York seem to be spreading, as local party stalwarts lined up dutifully behind Jimmy Carter. Former county Democratic chairwoman Rita Luftig, a delegate alternate for Gov. Jerry Brown, had no qualms about shifting her sympathies. "I found Carter to be a very open and likeable man, not your typical politician," recalled Luftig, who met the Georgian when he visited here earlier this year. -- CITY LIGHTS: "RALLY 'ROUND," Paul Krueger, August 26, 1976

Twenty-Five Years AgoRepresentatives of the Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation recently talked with Ocean Beach activist Jackie Sanders about how that beach community would greet a KFC drive-thru. "I hope people like their chicken well done," Sanders joked. His reference dates to the fire-bombing of two local Winchell's donut stores in 1978 -- the climax of a drive against Winchell's plans for an outlet at the corner of Voltaire and Sunset Cliffs. -- CITY LIGHTS: "BUT WHO IN OB WOULD EAT THE STUFF?" Paul Krueger, August 27, 1981

Twenty Years Ago Madison was like most high schools, said Karen. "You've got rockers, punkers, stoners, and squids." Squids, she explained, are nerds. Probably, she demurred, speaking in tones as round and even as matched pearls, squids are nice. But she doubted that squids come to the beach. "They probably sit home and watch Leave It to Beaver on TV." -- "THE GIRLS OF SUMMER," Judith Moore, August 28, 1986

Fifteen Years Ago Traveler, consider our Phoenix. An hour away by air, this flat, posh suburb of Greater L.A. is your finest summer vacation bargain. For the price of a bad weekend in a tacky Pacific Beach motel, you can live it up in style at one of Arizona's finest resorts and rent a Cadillac in the bargain. The heat is horrible -- that's why we went there, to find out, first hand, why half of Phoenix seems to descend upon San Diego in the summertime. But Phoenicians can cope, and so can you. For the latest refinements in climate control, for the leading edge of artificial environments, come to Phoenix, where they're all ready to colonize the hot side of Venus. -- "PHOENIX WITHOUT APOLOGIES," Mary Lang, August 29, 1991

Ten Years Ago Next to the bed, in a box painted like a clock face, is a short history of our attempts to have a child. The folded pamphlets assist me in Understanding and Recording My Ovulation Cycle, the graphs chart my waking temperature in the spring of 1994, and the sonogram on facsimile paper shows the baby conceived and carried for two months. The sonogram could be a hurricane in a satellite picture. The baby is the dark eye of the storm that whirled itself out 26 days later. At the time, I thought I would conceive again in a matter of months, like my sister-in-law Jacki, my friend Ruth Ann, and everyone I knew who'd had miscarriages. The name itself is optimistic -- miscarriage -- as if my baby had simply missed the chaise-and-four and would be sure to catch it tomorrow. -- "I KNOW THAT ONE DAY NOT VERY FAR OFF, IN A CORNER OF THIS WORLD SOMEONE IS GOING TO SAY, 'WE NEED YOU,'" Laura McNeal, August 22, 1996

Five Years Ago You don't read much about San Diego State men's basketball in this space. But then, you don't read much about SDSU men's basketball anywhere else. This is what 43 consecutive losing seasons will do. However, I'm willing to speak up when human life is on the line...and human life is on the line, because, come November 17, our scrappy Aztecs will go up against the Texas Tech Red Raiders led by zero-tolerance fugitive, Bobby Knight. That's right, pilgrim, the Evil One lives. -- SPORTING BOX: "SAFETY CHECK," Patrick Daugherty, August 23, 2001