The End of the World A mile east of the Tijuana International Airport is an area police call El Fin del Mundo, the End of the World, where drug-cartel assassins dump their victims. Both Mexican …

The Chargers say they have a problem: Qualcomm Stadium is antiquated. Sorry. The Chargers’ problem is much broader and deeper than that. The Chargers have a problem with San Diego. Period. It’s not big enough …

The People’s Park? Re “What’s wrong with Balboa Park?” (Cover Story, July 31). Your author attended the introductory lecture that addressed this subject, read the accompanying report, interviewed a few officials, and prepared a report …

The Gill Action Fund, a political arm of the Colorado-based Gill Foundation, which recently named ex–Jerry Sanders PR aide Fred Sainz its director of communications, gave $250,000 to the No on Prop 8 campaign last …

Sempra Energy, lobbying hard to build that controversial power line across Anza-Borrego state park, has taken its battle to the stomachs of legislators and their staffers. According to the company’s latest lobbyist disclosure statement, filed …

Ex-KFMB Channel 8 TV weathercaster and part-time Mission Beach stand-up comic Larry Mendte has been making the wrong kind of headlines in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia lately. Mendte, who departed San Diego to work …

Not a good sign, I suppose, when tales of drug abuse crop up in the third paragraph of a press release — and when thrown such a bone, most of the rock press will take …

Or, the Whale — that’s how they write it — is a seven-piece band from San Francisco with some country and folk instruments (banjo, acoustic guitar, pedal steel) mixed in with distorted guitars, drums, some …

“I’ve always enjoyed music and singing,” says singer/songwriter Jodi V, “but I grew up in a religious household, so singing anywhere else but at church was not an option.” Her first public performance was at …

“Some people will flat out tell you, ‘I don’t want anything too hard,’” says Kathryn Smith. “With most people, you can just kind of tell what games they’d be good at. I had one crowd …

Victor LarucciaManaging director and board member, San Diego Italian Film Festival The 2008 San Diego Italian Film Festival is dedicated to beloved artist Italo Scanga, who brought to San Diego and to his art the …

She was breaking up with me for something that was not my fault, punishing me for something for which I had no control: a tragedy, an act of God. She had had a miscarriage. The …

Thirty Years AgoThree weeks ago The Unhappy Gays — the 12th book written by Reverend Tim LaHaye, president of Christian Heritage College in El Cajon — was released in religious bookstores across the country. LaHaye, …

Restlessness grows daily in the Kelly home. Midsummer boredom is percolating in my kids and threatening to boil over. Some new hobbies are needed. Pal Bernice suggested square dancing. “We danced a lot of summer …

I made the mistake of trying to go to a party in the Hillcrest area during the Gay Pride Festival. Not that there’s anything wrong with that...other than road closures and parking problems! My girlfriend …

What is bought is cheaper than a gift. — Portuguese proverb I had told Jen to be ready at 8:15 a.m. At 8 a.m. she was folding laundry in her garage and, from the look …

I look like the most reviled creature on Earth, and I’ll tell you what it is: an Ewok. If you don’t hate Ewoks, you’re not paying attention. And don’t give me that “you said ‘the …

For a unique look at La Jolla — from the edge of the village’s commercial center to 811 feet of elevation — try this obscure walking or bicycling route. Cyclists beware: there are some tough …

The website for the California Marriage Protection Act (protectmarriagesd) features a “Protect Marriage” timeline, one which incorporates both spiritual and political efforts. (The act seeks to amend the California State Constitution so that marriage will …

Communism has taken a hit in recent years. At one time or another, 31 countries were self-declared communist states, including such sleepers as Ethiopia, Benin, Congo, and Grenada. (France and California are omitted for technical …

Hot enough for you? I’m counting on the heat still being a predominant if subliminal influence this first week of August. As I often do this time of year, I find myself reaching for science …

‘Every show starts with a stack of papers,” says Duane Daniels, founder of the Fritz Theatre, “words on a page, from the script to production demands, and they’re just the tip of one humongous iceberg” …

Yippee! It’s okay to eat burgers again!” This is our neighbor Lisa. She’s yelling it from the balcony of her apartment. Us burger-loving burghers, Carla and I, gather ’neath her balcony. “Burgers are back!” Lisa …

When the Linkery moved north and Sea Rocket took over its former quarters, I could barely contain myself. Seafood in North Park, less than ten minutes from home via my favorite scenic “Secret Freeway” (Pershing …

“The Jumping Turtle is a mainly metal place,” says rapper Bryan Mason of the San Marcos venue. “They are paying national headliners thousands of dollars. I wish they were that cool with hip-hop.” Mason, who …

Local hip-hop artists Kayo, Play B, and Young Mass are joining forces as the Three Rappers. “We’re doing it mainly because there is a lack of unity [in San Diego],” says Kayo. “We got Bloods …

Twenty-nine years ago this week (8/5/79), Jack Murphy Stadium hosted Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, UFO, Pat Travers, and Shakin’ Street. To launch the all-day show, promoter Marc Berman battled the fire department over attendees …

Acoustic guitarist Shawn Rohlf has played Sunday mornings at the Hillcrest farmers’ market for 11 years. “It’s the most difficult gig of the week for any musician,” says Rohlf, who’s fronted the 7th Day Buskers …

“Dance, like words, is a form of expression, a way of explaining who we are,” says Adelaide of the Shimmy Sisters, a belly-dancing duo she formed in 2006 with her sister Leilainia. “A dance can …

Artist: A Scribe amidst the Lions Song: “Wet Bird” (from the CD Sunken Cities) Heard By: Richie Lauridsen, Golden Hill It’s not my cup of tea; however, the band is technically proficient. That song kind …

Allen Glick, 1979. In the ’70s, Glick had a real estate office in San Diego near Banker’s Hill. Around the same time (according to Wikipedia), Glick “was the front man for the syndicate-controlled Stardust Casino …

Name: Dusty Engel Age: 30 Occupation: High School Math Teacher Lives: La Mesa Surfing: Dog Beach Girls in the Water? “Wish there were more!” “On a big day, I get crushed by waves,” admits Dusty …

Recipe by Matt Gardner, owner of Bronx Pizza, Hillcrest. Every Sunday is pasta day, so that’s probably my favorite thing to make. I make my traditional pasta sauce with sausage. I start it in the …

Spanish slang connoisseur Roxana Fitch grew up in Tijuana, birthplace of some of the most distinctive slang words — or jergas — in the entire Spanish-speaking world. The proximity of Tijuana, and of Mexico's entire …

For over two years now, the City of San Diego and local residents have wanted to stabilize the cliff on Aldine Drive in the Kensington/Talmadge area. They fear the cliff will give way when substantial …