San Diego River? “There is no San Diego River,” says Pete Cuthbert. “What you’re dangling your toes in is the Colorado River, the Sacramento River, the Feather River — but not the San Diego River.” …

At the October 20 meeting of Greater Golden Hill’s Maintenance Assessment District (MAD), the board members sitting at the U-shaped set of banquet tables outnumbered the audience eight to three. The poor turnout contrasted with …

So Cows Can Lie Down Thank you for your attention to Prop 2 (“Breaking News,” October 16). Prop 2 is a modest initiative that will allow farm animals to do four things: stand up, lie …

Rana Sampson, an ex-cop, law-enforcement consultant, and wife of San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders, has given $1000 to the campaign against Proposition 8, the measure to outlaw gay marriage in California. Last year, the mayor …

Speculation abounds about whether or not John Moores will have to unload at least a part of his San Diego Padres baseball team in order to come up with enough scratch for a multimillion-dollar divorce …

Forget everything you knew about Chris Cornell — he’s not the same guy anymore. In fact, Soundgarden is the first thing that you have to get out of your head if his new collaboration with …

Kaki King first started getting attention about five years ago as a short, young woman who could play the guitar like a brilliant maniac. Her style, inspired by the late Michael Hedges, was as much …

Local record label Single Screen Records was launched in 2007 by Jackson Milgaten (singer-guitarist for the Vision of a Dying World) and Craig Barclift (bassist for the Powerchords). “Both of our own bands are on …

“John McCain is such an easy target,” says Bill Hurd, press secretary for the political satire comedy troupe The Capitol Steps. “He’s the oldest candidate we’ve ever had — therefore you can make all the …

Thirty Years AgoOn this hot morning in May, as I load up my old battered red backpack at the Inaja Memorial Picnic Ground and prepare to head off into the brush, there’s a cowboy sitting …

“I’ve had crud in my sinus cavity for three days,” griped my husband Patrick. “When I blow my nose, I’m seeing colors that I normally associate with zombies.” “Well, thanks for sharing,” I replied. “Maybe …

There were two parties I missed that I was bummed about. These guys that throw an annual jet-ski party called me afterward and said that they got around the beach booze ban by drinking out …

Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution. — Mae West The rain fell in big droplets on the centuries-old cobblestones in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter. As we searched for shelter, I …

What are you reading? “It’s a book called The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, by Don Miguel Ruiz. At first, I didn’t really get it. The introduction is sort of crazy — …

George W. Bush is an American hero, and let me tell you why: because if he can make it, anyone can. All it takes is money. Look at him. That stiff Porky Pig impression every …

San Diego’s fourth-largest industry, tourism, looks as though it will take a hit in the current (fourth) quarter, and the pain will persist well into next year. This will hurt the ailing economy because the …

These words must be said with enthusiasm. Geektastic is something you say to show pride in being a geek. Really, you can add “-tastic” and “-tacular” to any words to make them better. Dorktacular and …

“Mystery School” (westernmysticism.org) ran a full-page ad in the Reader: “Stars transform into great explosions of light, scattering particles across the universe. We are all made of stars. Imagine what we can become.” The line …

Now is the onset of a delicious annual malady that might be called the Halloween syndrome, particular to Southern California. Why Halloween seems to be so thoroughly milked in this part of the world is …

Enter the Dragon! I am breathing fire after enjoying the spicy cuisine of Szechuan every night for a week. One of my favorite occasional email pen-pals, a UCSD social science prof (another expat New Yorker), …

I ask, “How do you track and what do you track?” “You track by sign. The easiest sign is a print, whether it’s a bird on the ground or a coyote or bobcat. A lot …

When it opened on Broadway in 1933, Jack Kirkland’s subhuman dramatization of the Erskine Caldwell novel Tobacco Road received mixed to negative reviews. Even though it had “spasmodic moments of merciless power,” wrote critic Brooks …

"End Times Christian Soldiers Mission," says the church near Oak Park School. Lord, why does everyone love this "end is nigh" stuff? I'm aboard the 955 bus, heading south toward National City. On the other …

“I emailed Skip [Seip, of Never Say Die Productions] from something I saw on craigslist,” says “Mike,” who plays in one of the four metal bands (the Blood of the Covenant, Aten, Desolator, and Mindstress) …

“Nobody really knows why Isis didn’t use their full time [on stage], but [their early departure] allowed Earthless to literally steal the festival,” says Steve Dolcemaschio of Tee Pee Records. He refers to this summer’s …

The Flimz, featuring singer-songwriters Annie Dru and Amy Mayer, may be the first San Diegans to impersonate a vice-presidential candidate in a video. On October 10, the pair posted their third scripted video, “Palin’s VPilf …

The song “Higher Than Hope,” by Finnish metal band Nightwish, is about local deejay Marc Brueland, who lost his battle with cancer five years ago this week, on October 25, 2003. Sample lyric: “The hopes …

Guitarist/singer/songwriter Rich Kunz never told his architecture-firm coworkers about his self-described “stoner-rock heavy metal band” called Ride the Sun. “I didn’t want anyone to know I played heavy rock-and-roll music. Architecture designers almost always wear …

Six years ago today (10/23/02), during their set at the downtown Hard Rock Café, Rookie Card guitarist Adam Gimbel plugged into a Judas Priest guitar display. “I’ve heard reports of other bands interacting with the …

Album: Plastic, Fake, and Frozen (2007) Artist: The Apes of Wrath Label: self-released Where available/price: At M-Theory in Mission Hills for $6.99. Online at Amazon for $6.23; Emusic and Rhapsody.com for $6.83. Band: Jake Bankhead …

Heymatt: If I replaced the fluorescent bulbs five feet above my head at work with bulbs from a tanning bed, would I give myself a nice year-round tan or a bad case of cancer? — …

With a drop-off-and-pick-up transportation arrangement, you can enjoy a challenging hiking traverse across the north end of the Verdugo Mountains, ascending through La Tuna Canyon Park on a rough foot trail and descending toward the …

A week ago Saturday, as President George W. Bush and other federal officials hastened to bail out the U.S. economy, Democratic San Diego city attorney Mike Aguirre, facing his own uphill battle against his better-financed …

Allied Waste Services, the national waste hauler that operates the City of San Diego’s Sycamore Landfill off State Route 52 at Mast Boulevard near Santee, is ramping up its campaign to expand the facility. Neighbors …