Before the Charger Girls, the team and fans had Chargettes. Here they are in 1961. According to a posting on glorifythepast.com, in 1970, "A lot of Bolts were caught up in an NFL drug scandal, …

By half past nine, all of the pool tables at Bar Leucadian are taken, and fortysomething couples line the bar like birds on a wire. They are exposing an inordinate amount of cleavage and chest …

College students often think they are ready for everything. I know I did, but I was sorely mistaken — I was in no way ready for what was about to befall me. After my second …

Brandon Boyd plays up the new-age, en vogue rock star thing a bit too much for my tastes, but there’s nothing wrong with his band. Incubus is a wonderland of power chords and hip-hop beats …

Jello Biafra has called Legendary Shack Shakers vocalist J.D. Wilkes “the last great rock and roll front man.” I don’t know about the “last” part, but I agree that there are not many singers left …

Singer/guitarist Kyle Phelan was honing his rock chops while still in high school, crafting his first album at the age of 17. After graduation he kept busy appearing in concerts, on the radio, and on …

“Colony collapse disorder is an immune system disorder. The bees’ immune system is compromised, which might be due to the stress [commercial beekeepers] are putting on the bees,” says beekeeper Diane Busch. “It’s big business. …

And now for something completely different. Persepolis, from France and in French, is a cartoon recap of the comic-strip memoir by Marjane Satrapi, covering her childhood in Iran under (and then out from under) the …

I had these old roommates that used the word “dinty” to describe a good, hearty meal. I don’t know if it comes from Dinty Moore stew, which is not a good, hearty meal, but I …

Interviewee: Judy Reeves | Occupation: Author/Teacher Neighborhood: South Park | Where Interviewed: Rebecca’s Coffeehouse What are you writing? “A novel. I’ve been working on it, it was three years in December. And I’m almost done …

“A church for Ken-Tal,” read the glossy cardboard flyer that arrived in my mailbox. The usual photos of lovely, multiethnic churchgoers were accompanied by the less usual word “skeptical.” Ah. Going for the affluent intellectual …

Clue: Many cool, creative ideas evolve here. 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, January …

Former president George H.W. Bush pledged to make the U.S. a “kinder and gentler nation.” He was not thinking of James Kinder of La Jolla, a onetime lawyer who resigned from the state bar in …

With Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposing draconian cuts — including closing 48 state parks and beaches, slashing Medi-Cal and school funding, and releasing 22,159 “low risk” inmates from state prisons — it might not seem like …

There’s been another development in the slow but steady liquidation of the newspaper holding company of late Union-Tribune owner Helen Copley. Last week Copley Press quietly recorded a document giving GP Associates LLC, run by …

The California Tribal Business Alliance, a well-heeled political action committee backed by six Indian tribes, including the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, staged a lavish “back-to-the-session bash,” an …

Thirty Years AgoBallard Smith, executive vice president of the San Diego Padres, had a terrible day at city hall last week. Councilman Larry Stirling called him “Mr. Ballard,” Bill Mitchell forgot Smith’s name altogether, and …

Adorned in traditional attires of a groom, my friend, you look handsome, and your bride so elegant. The mandap, garland in bright yellow marigolds, the sparkle of the jewels of the wannabe brides, dazzling the …

Some friends and I decided to crash the Comedy Palace on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard to check out the comedians. We talked our way into the club and I somehow ended up backstage with a few …

‘Cork is random,” observes Michael Friedman, CEO for Oneo Closures North America. “It’s a plant. When you punch a cork out of a piece of bark, it’s very unusual to get one that’s absolutely perfect, …

When the wine goes in, strange things come out. — Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller David opened a second bottle of wine and circled the room refilling glasses. Our guests were neighbors from the building …

They may not do it this way down here, but in my little town in the hills, kids slept outside when the weather was right. In the summer, it was cooler to sleep outside. I …

Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park is the wordy title of a strip of public land squeezed between Tarzana, at the south edge of the San Fernando Valley, and “dirt Mulholland,” the unpaved section of the …

It’s morning. Feeling lousy. No, wasn’t grog last night. Toothache. Normally, I never take pills. But Carla persuaded me. Took an antibiotic. Gripped my gut like a vice. This mawnin’, still recovering. Weaving gingerly through …

This restaurant is closed. I suspect that all middle-class (and up) native San Diegans have dined at Rainwater’s on Kettner at least once — for a birthday, a graduation, an engagement, an anniversary. According to …

In the 1950s and 1960s, several Bay Area painters — David Park, Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bischoff, and others — were working to revivify traditional figurative painting while juggling formal issues raised by Abstract Expressionism about …

What About Soccer Dads? Please fire the person who approves your cover titles. In “Soccer Moms Are the Absolute Worst” (January 10), the article discusses parents who pressure and berate coaches, referees, and their children …

A cloud of fog hangs over the mountains as morning begins at the Friends of Cats shelter in Flinn Springs, a small community just west of Alpine. At 7:00 a.m., the day is already underway …

…destroy their perfection, thereby establishing athletic dominion over the continent, AFC-wise, and, at the same time, crush the hopes of little boys and girls living in Eastern Europe. The Bolts will win for the simple …

Artist: The Napoleon Complex Song: “Handcuffs” (from the CD How Does Salt Water Mix with Tea?) Heard By: Patrick Ewing, Phoenix, AZ I liked it. The vocals reminded me of the Blood Brothers a little …

Name: Caroline Minkowski Home: Hillcrest Surfing: Tourmaline “It was about three years ago,” says Caroline. “There were Santa Ana winds, and while we were out there, there was this huge swarm of butterflies. I think …

Over the past year in southern Hillcrest, starting at the corner of Fourth and Pennsylvania and ending at the corner of Sixth and Redwood, the sounds of construction on several condominium complexes have dominated the …

Album: A Lighthouse for the Sun (2007) Artist: Solarminds Label: Mind Altering Records Where available/price: Lou’s Records in Encinitas ($10.99), Cow Records in Ocean Beach ($8.98), Mojo Sounds/Thrift Trader ($8.99), Taang! Records ($9.99), M-Theory in …

Local music lover Stacie Somers is so mad about her iPod’s limitations, she’s suing Apple. Her lawsuit seeks class-action status, contending that Apple monopolizes the music-player industry because iPods and the online iTunes music store …

Heymatt: What’s up with the Chia Pet? Why every Christmas are we bombarded with ads for these weird things? Where did they come from? Who buys them? Some things in the world need an explanation. …

Cecil PrattAssistant manager, UltraStar Mission Valley 7 School Daze: Set on a historically black college campus, this film shows the struggles against racism within the black community. Although it presses on a heavy subject, your …

I’ve had the pleasure of having dinner several times with Fourplay’s keyboardist Bob James. One funny time, at Croce’s, Fourplay had a new release out [in 1994]. We were talking about the guest artists featured …

Escondido music instructor Linda Menendez locates songwriters and musicians for Rhino and Sony Records, companies that pay her to track down outstanding royalty recipients and deliver accrued funds. "It's pretty cool to see the reaction …

The 35th annual Adams Avenue Roots Fair will take place this May 3 and 4, but founder Lou Curtiss is on his way out. Curtiss started the event on the SDSU campus in 1967 and …

When Rickie Lee Jones played the Belly Up Tavern on January 5, a person in the audience was overheard saying, "Wow, she's fat! She's a bad looking 52." Another guy said, "Chunky's in love," a …

"I grew up with the Circle Jerks, but I never got to see them. Finally, I got to," says Erik, who was at the band's January 5 House of Blues show. Erik, well over 21, …

Petra O. was at the Beauty Bar December 10 with her friend Charles Crisp. "It was a Monday night," says Petra. "It was pretty packed. There was a black female hip-hop MC. She asked the …