A note is taped to our front door. It says something about a community-standards violation and cites section 2B from the HOA policies handbook: All residents are responsible for the upkeep and general maintenance of …

Didn't want to be here. Liked the old place better, in the city. A housekeeper's flat in the back of a Craftsman-riche palazzo in Kensington. We grew baby raccoons in winter, big shimmery spiderwebs in …

"Random, mindless hilarity is always good."

There's a trick to those stinky nicotine patches. You've got to attach them to the tender flesh at the zenith of the ribcage curve to get the good zang! flush of chemicals. The informational packet …

'We have a 10,000-acre ranch an hour and 20 minutes away from Ensenada," says Ernie Preciado of the San Antonio Ranch in Ojos Negros, Baja California. "It's a valley, and it's hot. If you've seen …

Mary AndersonTheatre executive director, Coronado Playhouse, www.cornadoplayhouse.com The same week that the Coronado Playhouse's free production of As You Like It opened, HBO released Kenneth Branagh's long-awaited film version of Shakespeare's pastoral comedy. Originally scheduled …

Name: Rene Escalante Vehicle: 2004 Nissan Xterra Lives: Imperial Beach Surfing: Hospitals, La Jolla Rene Escalante is an Imperial Beach native who's been surfing and bodyboarding nearly all his life. This morning, Rene strapped his …

On September 16, the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas opened its doors to the public for an Open House and free concert. Just inside the entrance to the Fellowship grounds, a china setting was laid out …

"Want skin as smooth as a baby's bottom?" say a couple of handmade signs at Yakitori Yakyudori. "Try our Kawasu!" They're not touting some new Japanese moisturizer, but actual chicken skin, boiled and shredded and …

"In the early evening, at least, most sales were half-bottles of Beaujolais to solitary ladies."

You wonder if Alfred Huntington Isham knew his last name harbored a confession of guilt. Maybe he did. But given his dim view of human nature, and supreme confidence in his persuasive powers, maybe “I …

"We're clean, we're eco-friendly, and we're a San Diego sport, man."

In June of 1965, the Evening Tribune sent a photographer to 3535 Tomahawk Lane in Clairemont. The angle of the story isn't clear today, but the assignment sheet reads: "Take photo of Lorna [Montgomery, standing, …

Why I don't leave When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose …

Edward Pickens Age: 34 Occupation: Bookkeeper Lives: North Park "Shralpin' on the gnar gnar," isn't really surfer slang, it's more like making fun of bad '80s surfer slang. I use that one as a joke …

Happily, I got the "Norv Is a Hack" column out of the way before the NFL season started, so I can say "Norv Is a Hack" now without being accused of jumping on the bandwagon. …

Heymatt-- Do flies go to the bathroom, deposit feces? -- Devon Davis, 782 CBSSS/PK Hi, Matt: The flies in my home seem slower than usual, and I am serious. They hop around on the floor …

Hi, Matt: When my boyfriend drinks beer out of a glass, he puts a paper coaster or the like on top of the glass to cover the opening. He says it keeps his beer colder …

Hey, Matt: My husband swears the Tostitos of his childhood (late '70s, early '80s) were round and nacho cheese flavored. He even remembers a commercial starring a guy named Fernando that thought the chips should …

I met a guy at a party six months ago who told me that he had crashed his high school reunion. My 20-year reunion was coming up, and I decided to do the same. I …

Name: Patty Ayer Age: 58 Occupation: Homemaker/Volunteer Neighborhood: Lemon Grove Where Interviewed: Outside the Library What book are you currently reading? "My library discussion group is supposed to be reading The Kite Runner by Khaled …

People of that once-perfect peninsula, Point Loma, fear that a perfect storm is gathering. Governments at the federal, state, county, and local levels are taking actions that threaten to increase the noise, traffic, pollution, population, …

"It's over, I'm done with all of this and I can't handle another second of it..." The sobs echoed through the narrow hallway of the tiny Sixth Avenue complex. "There's no more us...there's just Russ." …

Sherrie Ross, a real estate agent, was looking for ways to persuade kids to stay away from San Diego gangs. So she was happy two years ago to meet Travis Stocking at a community-organizing event. …

Thirty Years Ago Your surrealistic story on me was taken far too seriously by some of your readers (if the vehemence of some of the letters you received is any indication). As journalism, the piece …

Union-Tribune editorial pages have opened fire on City Attorney Mike Aguirre for asking for previously unrevealed details about the finances of KPBS, the public broadcasting operation owned and operated by San Diego State University. The …

A common complaint about Ticketmaster is that the company charges too much for "convenience" -- the fees that hover around 40 percent of the base price of a ticket. A growing number of local venues …

When you're born, you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front row seat. -- George Carlin I stood at the kitchen counter, enjoying a hardboiled egg. …

Pollstar magazine reports that $55 to $95 Bruce Springsteen tickets are selling for $1200 on StubHub. Don't look to buy one of those for a local show, because Springsteen and the E Street won't be …

When Martin Sauerman opened his Over the Border bar in Chula Vista about ten years ago, he figured he could make a lot of money if he brought in accordion-playing norteño bands. "They drink a …

WikiScanner is a hot new website that allows users to follow the history of editorial changes on Wikipedia, the user-edited online encyclopedia of almost everything. Created by a computer science grad student, WikiScanner allows the …

Artist Mike Clift has drawn gory, zombie-heavy record covers for bands such as GutRot, Nocturnus, DiamondHead, and Skinlab. He's probably best known for his sleeve artwork for long-gone locals Psychotic Waltz, whose drummer, Norm Leggio, …

If E.L. Doctorow had written Ragtime as a musical in 1975, instead of a novel, I wonder if Broadway would have staged it. Set in the Progressive Era (roughly 1900 to 1914), the book extols …

After Macy Gray's 4th & B show on August 19, some friends and I went to a bar downtown. When we were leaving at around 1 a.m., Gray's tour bus was stopped at a hotel …

What's available and what isn't is a constant source of puzzlement.

Back in March of last year, the Idaho Statesman ran a big story about the connections between fallen GOP Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham and Senator Larry Craig, then one of the most powerful politicians in …

'That's it," said my friend Bernice, exhausted and grumpy after what was supposed to be a relaxing afternoon of shopping. "Customer service is officially a thing of the past. I'm shopping online from here on …

“You have got to be kidding me!” My outburst was not at all surprising, after I saw the over-half- million-dollar price neatly printed on a colorful placard in front of the model house. My family …

Coyotes howl, water splashes down a willow-lined creek, and hummingbirds flit about in search of nectar. All of this takes place barely a mile from the grid of suburban streets on the fringe of Los …

When I think of my neighborhood, I think of transformation. My five-year-old daughter and I were mesmerized when we first saw Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park in '94. There were plum and orange trees growing …

I meet DB at the Coffee Grounds, where we catch up on gossip. He asks why I moved from downtown to Rancho San Diego, his gaze fixated on the very competent, very cute, barista. I …

Shade of Orange I scurried through dancing shadows to reach my carpool pick-up spot at the swimming pool-mailboxes annex within the condo complex. I glanced at my watch. It was 6:07 a.m. All was quiet …

When I moved into Peutz Valley, this deadend, oak-lined community in Alpine, my family consisted of two boys still living at home, craving a country atmosphere. Here we could raise animals and grow a garden, …

I have lived on the same block, in the same city in the same state, and in the same house for my whole life. Fifteen years to be exact. It's hard growing up in Fletcher …

I am old. My neighborhood is shrinking. Once, my Coronado was mainly blocks and blocks of houses with just a few shops and cafes. Now it has grown, but my world has been reduced to …

My earliest memories of Shelltown are those of a chaotic and scary place. I was an impressionable and tender ten years of age when my family moved into the impoverished Southeast San Diego neighborhood, which …