Last of the Blue Notes

Thirty Years Ago
In Duncan Shepherd’s review of Woody Allen’s latest movie, Manhattan (“Rhapsody in Black,” May 31), he makes a revealing statement. In analyzing Diane Keaton’s role as a highbrow writer, he says, “It would have been a better joke, however, if Keaton had had some idea how to portray intellectual pretentiousness.” No doubt Duncan could flawlessly portray intellectual pretentiousness. In the paraphrased words of Ringo Starr, “All he’d have to do is act naturally.” Duncan is intellectual pretentiousness incarnate.
— LETTERS: “TAKE YOUR INTELLECTUAL PRETENTIOUSNESS AND SHOVE IT,” Travis Jack, June 7, 1979

Twenty-Five Years Ago
It was the oldest, earthiest of San Diego’s jazz clubs. Pianist Butch Lacy, saxophonist Daniel Jackson, singer Ella Ruth Piggee, bassist Nathan East graced its cramped stage, and had they joined together for a final performance, it would have been a tribute to nearly 30 years of local jazz history. But Archie Payne closed his downtown Crossroads bar May 19 without warning or explanation.
— CITY LIGHTS: “LAST OF THE BLUE NOTES,” Paul Krueger, June 7, 1984

Twenty Years Ago
Eight in the morning on the West Coast, 11 in Bellport, Long Island, the Village Voice senior editor and restaurant critic Jeff Weinstein pads through his living room, cordless telephone in hand.

He envies me, he says, my living in California. He thinks about San Diego “all the time. Whenever I eat an avocado, every time I buy a Hawaiian shirt, when I feel physically comfortable — because I often felt comfortable in San Diego.” He misses the stretch of beach at Torrey Pines, San Diego’s Vietnamese restaurants. “But what I miss most about California,” he says, “every waking moment, is Mexican food. The smell of lard coming out of a restaurant’s exhaust fan.”
— “YOU EAT IN THE WORLD,” Judith Moore, June 8, 1989

Fifteen Years Ago
Roger Hedgecock, fallen politician turned radio talk-show host turned anti-NAFTA crusader, has turned developer. In a move that has drawn protests from residents, Hedgecock and two San Diego friends are seeking to build a $4.8 million apartment complex next to the Mexican border in Imperial County.

Hedgecock and his partners have joined with Four Seasons Land Company of Calexico to build a complex called Villas de la Frontera.
— CITY LIGHTS: “HEDGECOCK TO CALEXICO: LIGHT UP THE BORDER — BUILD APARTMENTS,” Melinda Powelson, June 2, 1994

Ten Years Ago
San Diego city attorney Casey Gwinn has blown a loophole in the city’s lobbyist reporting law, allowing influence peddlers, who ply their trade by buying food, booze, and gifts for San Diego’s officials to escape public disclosure. In a letter last week to city clerk Charles Abdelnour, Gwinn’s office wrote that Padres owners John Moores and Larry Lucchino don’t have to register with the city as lobbyists. That means that Moores and Lucchino, who meet frequently with San Diego mayor Susan Golding, city councilmembers, and city staffers, won’t have to disclose the nature of those contacts, nor will they have to report freebies — such as dinner, drinks, and travel — given to politicos.
— CITY LIGHTS: “BAZOOKA GWINN,” Matt Potter, June 3, 1999

Five Years Ago
Officer’s investigation: An Asian male bodybuilder was causing a disturbance in the 24 Hour Fitness Club. [He] identified himself as “David.” David’s muscular physique and temper caused the reporting party, James P., to fear for his life. P. is the manager of the gym area. P. said David was dropping the weights all over the floor and was not “re-racking” the weight plates. P. walked up to [David] and told him he needed to re-rack the weights and to not leave them all over the floor. P. said the male became very hostile and told him: “Get the fuck out of my face or I’ll kill you.”
— IT’S A CRIME: “TERRORIST THREATS,” Michael Hemmingson, June 3, 2004