Thirty Years Ago
He was not a typical casualty in the world of television reporting. He was Jack Walsh, the former politician who turned television celebrity after his 1976 reelection defeat as county supervisor. So when he was fired on March first from Channel 39 as an on-the-air investigator, the news received more than the normal trade announcement.

[S]o recognized was he that, according to a Channel 39 poll taken in 1977 (which led to his hiring in June that year), he was the second most familiar person in San Diego, behind Mayor Pete Wilson.
— CITY LIGHTS: “TROUBLESHOOTER GETS FIRED,” Bill Ritter, April 5, 1979

Twenty-Five Years Ago
For nearly ten years, since Ampex released “Tobacco Road” by Jamul in 1971, not a single San Diego rock band was able to land a recording contract with a major record company, and this fact prompted many local bands to feel there was some sort of jinx associated with our city.
— CITY LIGHTS: “LOCAL GROUPS GROPE,” Thomas K. Arnold, April 5, 1984

Twenty Years Ago
Remembering Ocean Beach, for radio talk-show host/former mayor Roger Hedgecock, is remembering the place where he learned to surf. Soon a small blue square of ceramic will share this significant item from Hedgecock’s personal history with the world. Or at least those inhabitants thereof stepping on the square as they walk along Newport Avenue.

Hedgecock’s tile, along with perhaps 2000 others, will be placed late this summer in the sidewalk of Ocean Beach’s main drag.
— CITY LIGHTS: “TIME AND TERRA COTTA,” Mary Lang, April 6, 1989

Fifteen Years Ago
As I drove up and down Mission Boulevard in Pacific Beach — site of this year’s MTV Spring Break shooting — watching youthful crowds walk up and down the sidewalk, I thought their lives could have used a little organization. That Saturday-night scene presented a sad mien to anyone expecting spring break teen mayhem.

Instead, police lined the median strip near Santa Clara Point, having broken up the one party they’d discovered. Elsewhere, college kids stood in obedient lines outside restaurant/bars on Garnet Avenue, while at music spots like Club Emerald City, bouncers took an inordinate amount of time to scrutinize IDs.
— REVIEW: “U-N-I-T-Y,” Gina Arnold, March 31, 1994

Ten Years Ago
When you first told me a French village existed in Oceanside, I laughed. Impossible! But when I investigated further, I discovered you were correct.

They called it “Oceanside’s best-kept secret” — an enclave of 75 French Norman-style homes along the Pacific. They said the little 28-acre community of white-and-blue-trimmed houses resembled a French fishing village on Brittany’s coast. They said both places were called Saint Malo.
— “HALFWAY BETWEEN DISNEYLAND AND THE SAN DIEGO ZOO,” Susan Vaughan, April 1, 1999

Five Years Ago
Next week is the grand opening of the city-financed Petco Park baseball stadium, and the council is set to keep on partying. Tucked away in an agreement between the city and the Padres adopted back in February 2000 is a clause establishing the “City Suite, a Private Suite on the Club Level between first-base and third-base with a seating capacity inside and outside of the Suite of not fewer than 22 persons.” In addition, “the City as an owner shall be entitled to one admission ticket for each seat in the City Suite for each Event, including Padres Games, free of charge.” And while common citizens are being urged to carpool or take the trolley to the new stadium, or otherwise fork over big money for parking, the city council will be able to “use and occupy 15 VIP parking spaces for all Events at the Ballpark Property, at a location to be designated by the Padres in the immediate vicinity of the Ballpark Structure.”
— CITY LIGHTS: “AMERICA’S FINEST SEATS,” Matt Potter, April 1, 2004