When Ira Clifton Copley of Aurora, Illinois, first saw San Diego on a trip with his ailing brother to the Hotel del Coronado in 1891, it was a dingy town on the southern fringe of …

Old politicos never die, they just become consultants and fade onto the advisory boards of taxpayer-funded organizations, where they make wealthy new friends, line up clients, and peddle their influence in ever-widening circles. Take the …

Back in July 2001, then–San Diego mayor Dick Murphy and the rest of the city council voted to give a cool $1 million of taxpayer money to a small nonprofit outfit called the San Diego …

My Disgust I have to let you know of my disgust with the Reader after seeing the cover story “To Live and Die in Oceanside” (February 21). I am a professional person and live in …

On a Sunday morning in Hillcrest, at the intersection of Vermont and Cleveland, realtors Dan Cassidy and Mary Young fight the wind and rain to tape banners to the sides of a bus. The banners …

Normally, consumers pull the U.S. out of a recession. This year, they may push us into one. Consumers have loaded themselves with far too much debt. With housing prices plummeting, the game of using the …

Name: Zane Johnston Surfing: Crystal Pier, Pacific Beach Lives: 32nd St. Naval Base Pre-Surf Music: Country Post-Surf Food: Taco Bell “Back in Texas there aren’t a whole lot of places to surf where you’ll catch …

I wrote this in October 2005: “The thing about the future is, nobody knows what will happen. So, we don’t know what will happen to Michelle Wie. Still, not knowing never stopped anyone from making …

Tourism is, of course, huge in this town. Myself, I never thought of San Diego as a destination. I’d given the place pretty much no thought at all — it was filed away under an …

The Spanish colonists who christened Arroyo Seco (“dry creek”) evidently observed only its lower end — a hot, boulder-strewn wash emptying into the Los Angeles River. Upstream, inside the confines of the San Gabriel Mountains, …

What’s the name of your book? “Counterclockwise.” Tell me about it. “It’s a combination of alternate history and science fiction because there’s some time travel in it. The alternate history comes in because it’s a …

Album: Liberation of Dissonance (2007) Artist: Canobliss Label: self-released Where available/price: canobliss.com, CDBaby.com for $8; iTunes and Napster.com for $9.90 Songs: 1) Riot 2) Insurrection 3) Sinister Minister 4) Liberation of Dissonance 5) Hello 6) …

I live above a liquor store in City Heights. The store’s sign stands out in the neighborhood, as it’s the only one in English. Across the street is a Vietnamese donut shop and a tortilleria. …

My word is “squadouche,” which basically means “nothing.” Don’t really know where I heard it from... But basically used in the context, “Hey dude, what’d you get at the store today?” “Squadouche! I didn’t get …

The car has become a secular sanctuary for the individual, his shrine to the self, his mobile Walden Pond. — Edward McDonagh One damp December morning, while frantically twisting the key this way and that …

Don’t misunderstand — Robert Baizer is glad he went to Sundance. He had a lovely time — made even lovelier by the happy reception accorded Bottle Shock, a film he helped to finance. By festival’s …

And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. — Revelation 22:1 That was the line that came to mind upon …

It was the night I became a man. It was Ocean Beach, California. It was a Halloween party in 1999 and I was dressed as a P.E. teacher. You should have seen my outfit: tiny …

Home of the first Methodist church in San Diego, c. 1890. Located on the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Broadway, the church was first a wooden structure built in 1870 on land donated by …

When I heard about a party at “Grandma’s,” I didn’t think it would be something that I’d tell my buddies about the next day. Grandma BB’s Hilltop Hideaway is in Oceanside, and the Southern California …

Artist: Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra Song: “I Stole Your Daddy’s Time Machine” (from their self-titled four CD box set) Heard By: Adriana Rhoads, Del Mar It was cool. It’s very different. At first it reminded me …

Levi, “social chairman” of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Cal State San Marcos, says, “Most of the students don’t live within a five-mile radius of the campus. There isn’t much to do on campus. …

Full plate, half-heartedly picked at: Be Kind Rewind. Twisted, tangled, snarled zaniness around a behind-the-times video store, facing foreclosure, in Passaic, N.J. An habitué of the place (Jack Black, at his most demonically possessed) unwittingly …

[Editor’s note: Regi Rae admits that she submitted her blog mainly to draw attention to her videos. It was a good trick. Her investigative report on IHOP’s refusal to sell Smiley-Face pancakes to people over …

Clue: Capri-cious diving belle? Describe this location, name the nearest cross-streets, and win a Reader T-shirt. Enter by completing the form below. Last week's place: (clue: Holding up well) The lace bustier that Madonna wore …

When the painter Asher Durand first journeyed to New York as a teenager in 1817, from his rural home in Essex County, New Jersey, the city was a knockabout place of 10,000 souls — without …

The Better Half is a restaurant after my own heart, and the hearts of all adventurous foodies. Almost everybody I know (including the pickiest, crankiest, “allergic to everything” gourmet princess in all my acquaintance) has …

Aha. There he is. Right down the pasaje. Willy Clauson. He’s sitting under a way-big vaquero hat, smoking a cigar and playing his guitar in front of his museum. Song’s “Adelita,” about the Mexican Revolutionary …

‘That cat Oedipus is a bad mother-…” “Shut-cho mouth!” “But I’m talkin’ ’bout Oedipus.” In Will Power’s often blazing, at times reductive hip-hop take on Aeschylus’s Seven Against Thebes, Oedipus is an “OG”: an “original …

“I see people all the time spraying Windex on their countertop and then slapping down a sandwich — they don’t realize all the chemicals that are left on the counter from the Windex, like petroleum …

“The initial thing was just to have a fun time one night,” says Luther Hughes via telephone from his L.A.-area home. Hughes is speaking of his current group, the Cannonball-Coltrane Project. What began a few …

The Raveonettes are a duo, and their sound is all about dualism and contrast — noisy guitars and careful vocal harmonies, Danish accents and American musical references, modern bluntness and retro song structures. But the …

The Swedish Models formed in early 2007 after guitarist Andrew Bernhardt, original bass player Mark Wiskowski, and drummer Dustin Paul called it quits with their band Cape May. The trio then picked up guitarist/vocalist Ryan …

Keturah StickannAssistant director, San Diego Opera, 2008 seasonsdopera.org John Carney’s Once is one of the best depictions of the creative process I’ve ever seen. I love its sincerity, and I really love its soundtrack. Little …

He was gorgeous. Kristen and I sat on the lawn at Orange Glen High School, watching Chris walk by on his way to the cafeteria. It was winter in sunny Southern California, and he wore …

Thirty Years AgoWhile I have permitted myself, the last week or two, to become hopelessly tangled up in writing about, or trying to, Wim Wenders’s The American Friend, a near traffic jam of other important …

The breath of heaven bush encroaches on my garden statuary. In the back yard, the trumpet vine escapes into the neighbor’s yard. And the branches of our rose bushes ramble into the sky and bend …

Album: The Bankhead Press (2007) Artist: The Bankhead Press Label: Timeless Takeover Where available/price: CDBaby.com for $8, M-Theory in Mission Hills for $6, or at live shows for $5. Songs: 1) Searchin 2) Shame 3) …

Artist: Jeff Bloom Song: “Peace on Earth” (from the CD New Style) Heard By: Robert Jaquez, Skyland Hills I thought the overall message of the song was pretty positive: “peace on Earth.” As far as …

Name: Matt West Age: 20 Surfing: Mission Beach Pre-surf music: Dave Matthews, reggae After-surf food: California burrito with pollo asada “Girls in the water is probably the sexiest thing ever; it’s hot,” says Matt. His …

Fantastic Artwork Dear Reader, The cover artwork for “Ollie’s Big Bike Ride” (February 7) was fantastic! Very, very well done! Kudos to the artist. I hope to see more of this person’s work. Perry Wright …

A big new raft of San Diego city lobbyist registrations are in, and not surprisingly many of the most prosperous influence peddlers also happen to be big financial backers of GOP Mayor Jerry Sanders’s re-election …

Back in November, we reported here that San Diego County district attorney Bonnie Dumanis spent a total of $35,680 in the second quarter of last year lobbying the state legislature on various bills, including those …

Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has lately been picking up big pieces of change from San Diego County fat cats. The governor’s “Dream Team” committee collected a bunch of large checks here on the first week …

You want to construct an addition to your house that requires a building permit. Wouldn’t it be wise to get the permit before buying a detailed architectural plan? The San Diego City Council is proceeding …

“People who camp out there are not wilderness people, they’re more like transients and drug addicts,” says city ranger John Garwood. “We’ve found needles and pipes. The most common [items found] are plastic bottles, vegetable …

Karen Huff-WillisDirector, San Diego Black Film Festival, sandiegoblackfilmfestival.com For Black History Month I would like people to see something by Oscar Micheaux, like Within Our Gates. He’s from the 1920s, and he made wonderful films. …

Last week I interviewed Stan Ridgway of Wall of Voodoo, and something he said has been nagging at me: “The music that I always found to be most valuable to me when I was younger …

“I don’t mean to be nosey,” says David Letterman during an interview with Marilyn Manson, nonplussed by the vampirish figure seated before him, “but do you have chrome teeth?” Marilyn Manson, a stage name combining …

I had just seen the movie Across the Universe about an English guy who falls in love with an American girl. It brought back all my memories of visiting England when I was 18. That …

Thirty Years AgoIt’s 1:30 a.m. Standing beside a pair of pay phones and a silver train of piggybacked carts, you figure you’re ready for Mayfair Market’s morning crowd. The store lights up a quiet section …

I’m not too many years shy of 40, and the anchor tattoo on my ankle has been with me since I was 21. The guy and that ship sailed many years ago, and I’ve reached …

Post Date: September 17, 2007Post Title: Kokeshi 101Kokeshi is the name for a traditional Japanese doll usually representing a woman or girl. Made from wood, they are originally believed to have been created for tourists …

I went to North Park for a Super Bowl party. Getting there an hour before the game started scored me seats in front of the big screen. They had another TV set up in the …

J. Todd Harris is a movie producer. That means that he gets films made. “I’m just like any other guy that goes and tries to find projects and tries to find financing and a director …

Our siblings. They resemble us just enough to make all their differences confusing, and no matter what we choose to make of this, we are cast in relation to them our whole lives long. — …

There’s that old sentiment that the world would be monumentally better off if a list of people received a hefty ass beating. You know what I mean. Everyone has their own list. Your list might …

The 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which was intended to hit as many high points as possible along its mountainous route between the Mexican and Canadian borders, takes an anomalous detour into the Anza-Borrego Desert …

Annoying clock buzz. It’s 3:30 a.m. and hunting-trip dark outside. Get up, shower, make lunch, make coffee for the thermos, pack gear. This is my second birding trip. Regulars will recall last November’s jaunt to …

San Diego Theatresports: The Funhouse (6822 El Cajon Boulevard) When: Fridays at 7:45 p.m. Saturdays at 7:45 p.m. Saturdays at 9:45 p.m. “A cross between improvisational comedy and Family Feud, the Funhouse combines improv with …

Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s Hello, Dolly! had the requisite chops for a long Broadway run. Add in the Hall of Famers who eventually played the lead, including Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey, and Ethel Merman …

“In case I haven’t mentioned it lately,” says Debbie the bus driver through her microphone, “I love my passengers. Yee-haw!” Hey, it’s okay. This is the 35, the O.B. bus. People are allowed to be …

Among the many new restaurants opening along the formerly starved 30th Street corridor, the one that’s generated the most buzz is Urban Solace, a giant hit with all the local food blogs. When it had …

Why is it that the most intimate, mysterious performance photographs are of jazz musicians? Maybe because two things get exposed at once: the expressiveness of the body (Mingus knitting his brow, Charlie Parker sweating, Roy …

Scouring the upcoming schedule for Landmark Theatres, from now through May, I find no mention of the current reissue of Alain Resnais’s 1961 Last Year at Marienbad, one of the smallest handful of films that …

Abandoned bicycles in police possession, 1960. That year, the police began a drive to get owners to license their bikes — to “thwart thefts,” according to our local daily. “Owners of unlicensed bicycles may be …

“There is no single person who has the juice to book major acts [at 4th&B],” says an insider who suggests that the 1500-capacity venue has created the best business plan it could, considering the competition; …

What are you currently reading? “I’m reading Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto, by Chuck Klosterman.” Tell me about it. “It’s not really based on anything — it’s, like, pop culture compared …

San Diego’s ruling class has no class — and worse, no shame. The well-heeled developers, hoteliers, and casinos that manipulate the mayor and his fellow puppets do so in broad daylight. The overlords collect slush …

The Back Gate The area around the Oceanside pier and boardwalk glistens, picture perfect: palm trees, silver sand, blue water, and crowds of people. It’s easy to see how this town got its name. But …

Besides the usual loincloth, the crucified Christ hanging in the front of the church was draped with a purple stole, which draped over His chest as it ran from one arm to the other, and …

Manky is when something is exceptionally unpleasant or gross. It can be applied to just about anything, like telling someone their feet smell manky or saying you had a really manky day. You can yell …

Clue: Holding up well Describe this location, name the nearest cross-streets, and win a Reader T-shirt. Click here to e-mail us your answer — include your name and address. (Deadline, Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 9 …

I saw Queensrÿche at the Sports Arena in the early ’90s, when Operation: Mindcrime came out. I wasn’t even in radio back then. There were two things I noticed about the crowd: a lot of …

Artist: StolenSong: “Pills from God” (from the CD Drop that Apple)Heard By: Danny M., UTC It was good. To me, it sounded very dated; it sounded like San Diego ’90s rock. I don’t know if …

I just recently heard “ass antlers” and I think it’s wonderful. It refers to tattoos on the lower back, sometimes also called a “tramp stamp.” They are usually tribal tattoos in a v-shape and sit …

What are you writing? “I’m writing a fantasy/horror/conspiracy novel that takes place during the Fourth and Fifth Crusades: Ottonius, which is a very, very old German name. It’s the name of a semi-immortal being who …

A pedestal stood in the vestibule of the Wyle Chapel at Torrey Pines Christian Church, its sandy surface studded with candles. Another pedestal stood at the entrance to the church proper, this one bearing two …

Clue: Stamped out, thank goodness. Describe this location, name the nearest cross-streets, and win a Reader T-shirt. Click here to e-mail us your answer — include your name and address. (Deadline, Tuesday, February 19, 2008, …

Jay Curia and his surfboard trailer, 1963. A 1963 editorial in our local daily stated, “Our tired shanks are a little too flabby to allow us the privilege of taking up surfing.... Now is the …

There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the man sitting across from me. I had yet to detect a single flaw in his appearance, speech, or demeanor. His hair was black and wavy, his …

“The wet 20th century, the wettest of the past millennium, the century when Americans built an incredible civilization in the desert, is over,” says a superb article in February’s National Geographic. The piece, entitled “Drying …

LETTERS Number One Saw your article on Chris Cantore (Blurt, February 7) and had to laugh. When Clear Channel and I parted ways after nearly 15 years (where I was almost always in the top …

In August 2003, the North County Transit District, preparing to build a train line linking Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido, applied to state authorities for a storm water discharge permit. The train, called the …

It’s no secret that San Diego State’s KPBS public broadcasting department has been cutting back on producers and local coverage, the most prominent examples being the controversial cancellation of its Full Focus TV talk show …

Now that Super Tuesday is out of the way, the real business of politics can begin. On February 20, GOP congressman Brian Bilbray, who replaced the ill-fated Randy “Duke” Cunningham, is set to stage a …

Now that it’s been announced that Padres owner John Moores is splitting up with wife Becky and she is presumed to be in line under California law for half her husband’s substantial net worth, a …

“The reason it’s a bloodier sport than boxing is that you’re allowed to use elbows and knees,” says Eric Del Fierro, chief operating officer for Total Combat Entertainment, a San Diego–based mixed martial arts event-production …

Edoardo MuellerPrincipal guest conductor, San Diego Opera, sdopera.org Renata Tebaldi: Profonda ed infinita is a collection of the best videos Renata did in her life — her interviews and performances, and footage of all her …

Richard Elliott first caught my ear during the mid-’80s as a member of one of the West Coast’s hottest funk/jazz bands, Tower of Power. Later, he put out a solo album called Trolltown that featured …

“We were not really part of that whole MTV, new wavey thing,” says Stan Ridgway, speaking about his old band, Wall of Voodoo. This comment may come as a surprise to the many poor souls …

“Ultimately, this music is our attempt to add a tile or two to the fluid mosaic that is California and its mythology,” says Eric Nielsen, one half of experimental space-rock duo High Mountain Tempel. “It’s …

Thirty Years AgoDear Matthew Alice:How did the word “pot” come to stand for marijuana? Does it have anything to do with the old joke about people “going to pot”?Julie Simms, North Park No. “Pot” is …

My husband Patrick comes down with the home-improvement bug a few times a year. And he’s had it bad lately. He’s tired of the tiny bits of gravel being tracked into the house from the …

I am not a “people person.” Much as I would like to say that getting pregnant with Violet has morphed me into a kinder, gentler version of myself, it hasn’t. I can’t stand hypocrisy, platitudes, …

I got a call about a party in Stockton but thought it was too far to drive. I was tempted, however, when I heard the warehouse was going to be decorated as a brothel. Ken …

By now, most people with even a passing interest in wine have heard of the Sideways effect: a movie takes Pinot Noir as a central metaphor for its thin-skinned and temperamental protagonist, and hey presto, …

When I look at my hands and in my heart, I see stress as Lady Macbeth saw blood. — Berri Clove I was going to tell him after we’d ordered our entrées, but I had …

In Esztergom, Hungary, I saw for the first time in my life a dioramic representation of how human beings have managed to overthrow nature and evolution and how we’ve started to suck. Inside Esztergom Castle …

Nicholas Flat harbors a small oasis of live oaks and an old cattle pond backed by picturesque sandstone outcrops. During the winter and late spring, the grassy meadows above the pond may host an eye-popping …

Heymatt: Why is the human heart considered the center of love and affection? Who decided that? And where did the valentine heart come from? Is it supposed to be a version of the human heart? …

I met Paul online, and it wasn’t long before we were talking on the phone, engaging in the most introspective, enlightening, and enjoyable conversations I’ve ever had, replete with deep discussions about the world, about …

Name: Dakota Lives: Ocean Beach Surfing: Dog Beach Despite the ripping winds and freezing water, 30-year-old Dakota is out at Dog Beach looking for surf. The cold isn’t new to him; he recently moved back …

The year was 1983, and as always on a Saturday morning, my best friend and I get into my mom’s van and head downtown to the local roller-skating rink. I couldn’t tell you the exact …

Album: The Neighbors Are Listening (2007) Artist: Alex Esther Label: self-released Where available/price: iTunes for $9.99 and CDBaby for $10. Songs: 1) Grey 2) State I’m In 3) Love Me Like You Do 4) Far …

NASCAR revs up on Sunday ($89 for a DirecTV season sub) with their biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500. And you know what that means… Surf’s up! At least, according to surfline.com. Here …

I am looking forward, many weeks down the road, to getting out on a Friday in this town, a payday for me like millions — maybe billions — of other people in the world, and …

History in Chula Vista? You betcha. Like, the other day I came across a couple of geezers outside an eatery, yakkin’ away like there was no tomorrow. Seems they’d just met up again after half …

“Carlsbad’s gotten ugly,” says a musician who supports himself by playing music in Carlsbad clubs. Following noise complaints by nearby residents, the City of Carlsbad is enforcing a new entertainment ordinance that went into effect …

Name: Antonio Azambuja Lives: Bahia, Brazil Surfing: Thomas Street, Pacific Beach For ten years, Antonio Azambuja has traveled from Brazil to San Diego each winter to surf. “I like the people of San Diego very …

The slang I use is mostly terms for metrosexual guys. I’m a hairstylist, so a large amount of my clients are men. I like “manscaping” for guys who are picky about grooming their body hair, …

Coors Amphitheatre, owned by Live Nation, will soon lose its name. Effective March 1, the Coors Brewing Company will end its connection with the area’s largest outdoor venue (10,000 reserved seats and a capacity for …

Album: 40 oz. Dreams on a Champagne Budget (2007) Artist: Hesh One Label: self-released Where available/price: Available as a download from heshone.com Songs: 1) Put ’em Up 2) L.A. Narcocorrido 3) Bleed, Spit & Shit …

Artist: The Frantic Romantic Song: “Why Do We Punish the Ones We Love” (from the CD Say What You Wanted to Say) Heard By: Harrod Suarez, North Park I thought it was good. I thought …

Matthew Alice: Who invented the yellow smiley face logo? Is he a millionaire now? — Smilingly Curious, via email Some lucky people choose to make a living thinking up goofy, useless stuff to amuse the …

During off hours while working as a clerk at the Budapest stock exchange before the outbreak of the Great War, the young André Kertész took photographs and began to nurse ambitions about making it his …

Sally’s has a long-standing reputation as one of San Diego’s most romantic destinations for lovers. It’s an outbuilding behind the Manchester Grand Hyatt at the edge of Seaport Village (so, fans of antique rock, you’ll …

Guys asleep on the sidewalk. Guys shuffling past with walking sticks. Guys pushing shopping carts filled with their belongings. Guys rolling by in electric scooters with whiplash aerials and a faded Old Glory flicking at …

The great boxer Joe Louis and baseball immortal Josh Gibson were contemporaries who thrived in the 1930s. The Old Globe Theatre’s In This Corner tells of Louis’s exploited life in the spotlight, during the Age …

Checking online listings for things I am missing out on (as I recuperate with a broken foot I’ve gone on about), especially Fridays, I happened upon “Bodies” for Friday, February 8. This exhibition (which closes …

This morning I mailed a Valentine’s Day card to a woman I haven’t seen or talked to in 40 years. I added a personalized inscription, “Do you remember where I put the car keys?” The …

The boulder-frosted summit of Woodson Mountain (aka Mount Woodson) has many routes of approach, though none this particular winter/spring season is as interesting as the west-side approach from Lake Poway. The October 2007 Witch Creek …

My Personal Ad on an Internet Dating Site: This isn’t for dating. I’m not making this profile to get dates. This profile is to audition for a nemesis or nemesises (nemesi?). As it stands, I …

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t. — Henry Ward Beecher I held the camera as steady as I could without …

"First to Fight for Right and Freedom," reads the title of the big military print on the tasting room wall at Carlsbad Wine Merchants. The painting depicts a group of Marines moving along a ruined …

When football season was in full swing, there was a surprise birthday party for Tony. He had just gotten back from Iraq. It was in Del Cerro, and I arrived after Tony showed up. Tony’s …

Every year, my husband and I look forward to Halloween. We plan for months in advance to make sure that we have cool (though sometimes obscure) costumes. One year we went as characters from children’s …

‘I give it ten years before water costs as much as gas costs now,” said Patrick as he looked up from his morning Internet browse. “Maybe we should think about ripping out the grass in …

Thirty Years AgoI would not complain that Jeannette De Wyze’s story on nudists (“What You See,” February 2) was completely one-sided. But still, De Wyze never once treated any of the serious objections to nudism. …

I was in my sophomore year of college, and I’d never had a boyfriend. Not because I wasn’t interested but because I’d been too busy with my own life to consider being a part of …

“The first thing I learned was that the man who has water on the mountain is king,” says hiking enthusiast Dana Law. “Water is absolutely the most important thing you’ll have in Southern California, because …

Thanks to an attractive cast, the creamy cinematography of John Bailey, and the light touch of writer and first-time director Jeff Lowell, Over Her Dead Body is an uncommonly pleasant romantic-comic fantasy, in the Blithe …

Ilise Gersten BushCurator, San Diego Jewish Film Festival, sdcjc.lfjcc.org Tonight’s opening film, Sixty-Six, is a quirky coming-of-age comedy that reminds me in spirit of Hope and Glory. It’s the story of Billy, who holds on …

Vegitation is San Diego’s solution to keeping reggae fresh and green. They produce original reggae songs instead of rehashing those Marley tunes that most reggae acts perform at local bars and clubs. Vegitation played for …

A couple of weeks ago I went to a party for an indie rock listserv I’ve belonged to for a long time and found myself listening to DJs spinning ’70s hard rock bands like Starz …

If the acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriella sounds more like a trio, it is because Gabriella Quintero’s right hand does the work of two guitarists. It flutters and snaps and swivels in the air above …

When one Democratic presidential candidate swung through town last Friday, the business of the San Diego State University Research Foundation’s investment committee was put on hold. “Tomorrow’s meeting has been postponed to allow committee members …

Jostling in the race for San Diego city attorney is becoming more pronounced as the major candidates lining up against incumbent Mike Aguirre seek to gain advantage. Likely to play a role in the campaign …

With recession looming and tax revenues falling at an unprecedented rate, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the legislature are threatening draconian reductions in state spending, including closing state parks and releasing “low risk” prisoners. So far, …

There’s no outfit so fantastically ridiculous as the too-tight, brazenly colored, and obnoxiously patterned ensemble for riding a long distance on a bicycle. It’s too much. Ostensibly the outfits are colored and patterned wildly to …

Ron Paul’s Gang I found your article on the Ron Paul lemmings to be very informative (“The Ron Paul Posse,” “City Lights,” January 31). Until now, my only impression of these people has been the …

By now you have memorized those three ugly words, “subprime mortgage mess.” Get ready for three more: “credit default swap,” called CDS on Wall Street but barely known on Main Street, where it may well …

The Spanish word dulzura means sweetness. And public artist Robin Brailsford found the sweet life when she moved to the hamlet of Dulzura, 30 miles east of San Diego along State Route 94. She lives …

Clue: Play cup with Dennis? Describe this location, name the nearest cross-streets, and win a Reader T-shirt. Click here to e-mail us your answer — include your name and address. (Deadline, Tuesday, February 12, 2008, …

“The term ‘emergent worship’ doesn’t really provide a good definition,” said Pastor Michael Spitters when we spoke before Sunday’s service. “We don’t know what we’re emerging to become. We just know that we’re getting out …

What are you reading? “Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert.” Tell me about it. “It’s about Gilbert’s journey. At the beginning of the book, she is in a really hard marriage. Her husband really wants …