Since l976, the City of Chula Vista has been slashing the hours of the Norman Park Senior Center. According to Kay Bodge, a Norman Park volunteer, the center was open 78 hours per week in …

After several months of lodging in hostels throughout Brazil, we (my wife and I) decided to let our cash cascade into the Hotel das Cataratas Iguassu — a beautiful, if somewhat corporate, upscale resort with …

"Until we get more details, we are a little bit unsure of how to proceed," said Jaymie Bradford, director of San Diego's Intergovernmental Relations Department, during a January 31 presentation to the Redevelopment Agency Ad-Hoc …

If Freddy Mercury were alive, I'm sure he would be in awe of Jake Shimabukuro's virtuoso ukulele version of "Bohemian Rhapsody." As he did on his first album with the George Harrison classic "While My …

Alt-rock five-piece Cage the Elephant from Bowling Green, Kentucky, played a "secret" acoustic show for FM94/9 at Hodad's in Ocean Beach. Toning down their garage-rock volume to acoustic versions worked well for the cramped confines …

It is just before noon on a Saturday morning and many of the collegic inhabitants of Pacific Beach are just now wiping the sleep from their eyes, emitting tequila-scented yawns, and regretting that last shot …

Last week, a little bit more of a small North County coastal enclave known as Ponto disappeared. Once defined as the South Carlsbad area west of I-5 between Palomar Airport Road and the Batiquitos Lagoon, …

At 5:19 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, after coming down the southbound 163 freeway into downtown San Diego, several cars were stopped at a red light on Tenth Avenue at A Street. Suddenly, a driver …

"Our investigative reporter from the Union[-Tribune], well...I'm beginning to believe that he couldn't track an elephant in two feet of new-fallen snow with a bloody nose," said Mayor James Bond of Encinitas during the January …

An animal-welfare advocate spoke at the Escondido City Council meeting on January 26 to lobby for the ban of Mexican rodeos, or charreadas. Melinda Santa Cruz, a longtime Escondido resident, told councilmembers she was encouraged …

I had the pleasure of spending almost a week in this sleepy town and would recommend Luang Prabang to the tourist keen on adventuring through waterfalls, hiking, exploring temples, or simply catching up on some …

“When I got to the hospital, I coded, I died,” Chris Anguiano testified at the Vista Courthouse on Wednesday, January 26. Before he lost his vision and motor skills, he had worked at Palomar Hospital …

Why was State Assembly Majority WHIP Toni Atkins working for LeSar Development Consulting firm as the Senior Principal of Housing Policy and Planning even after she was elected to State Assembly? Toni was consulting with …

Nearly one year after voters approved making the “strong mayor” form of government permanent, councilmembers that favored the measure are seeing just how strong a strong mayor can be. During the January 26 meeting of …

The monthly meeting of the Adams Recreation Council was held at the Normal Heights Community Center on January 25. The focus of the meeting was a presentation by the Schmidt Design Group of three concept …

According to a February 24 report in Tijuana's daily Frontera, the city is on the verge of losing a thousand farmacias. According to the article, about 5000 pharmacies currently exist in Tijuana (other publications use …

Zillion Happy Volts takes its name from the surreal 1989 art-house film Dr. Caligari. “It’s one of my all-time favorite cult movies,” says singer Davit Buck, who formerly fronted the Homeless Sexuals. “The phrase is …

I’m Skyping with a woman I’ll call Jessie Shaw who lives in Martha’s Vineyard. We were partners a long time ago. Our liaison ended with a clean breakup followed by a five-year cool-off. Since then …

He comes bounding across G Street against the light, stops, looks at me for a moment, then lopes on up Ninth Avenue. He’s a beautiful, big German shepherd, young, free, strutty, and out to cause …

Thirty-Five Years AgoThat Mr. Shepherd gives four stars to the apocalyptic disaster film Earthquake and only two stars to Swept Away indicates that he might do well to rid himself of paranoia and study Marxism …

The anthemic, Clash-esque Coronado band the Front was finishing their set, opening for Johnny Thunders at the Spirit (now Brick by Brick) on March 20, 1986. After vigorous punk ’n’ roll originals, some reggae, a …

“We want to bring people and music together for a higher cause than just making money or exposing people to our music,” says Kris Towne, co-owner of Controls for the Sun Studios in Linda Vista. …

“Did you get some practice time in?” Scottie Blinn asks the half circle of students, electric guitars at the ready, seated in the teacher’s lounge at the Sacred Heart Parish School in Coronado. “Yeah,” they …

“I don’t know if this counts as acting,” blues diva Candye Kane says by phone from her Oceanside home. “I’m the narrator and I play myself.” The Toughest Girl Alive, a play based on Kane’s …

At Night We are apart; the city grows quiet between us, She hushes herself, for midnight makes heavy her eyes, The tangle of traffic is ended, the cars are empty, Five streets divide us, and …

The 1915–16 Panama-California Exposition site in Balboa Park is renowned among San Diegans for its incomparably beautiful Spanish-Moorish buildings, its gardens, and the graceful Cabrillo Bridge. That area is the primary destination of the walk …

Oscar nominations were announced Tuesday. I raise a tiny toast, a demitasse of delight about The King’s Speech. I could also proliferate some prose about excellent talents doomed not to enter the magic circle of …

Lisa FranekExhibition and programming directorMACSD/San Diego Latino Film Festival I was recently inspired to revisit Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers. It’s such a visually stunning film, with a nice romantic/wuxia storyline. I never get …

There’s a new baby in the family. Little Jude was born to my niece in December, and his great-aunt Eve is assembling a gift basket for him and his mom. Instead of buying whatever is …

Membership: 80–100 Pastor: Melito Barrera Age: 47 Born: Olongapo, Phillipines Formation: San Diego State University, San Diego; San Diego Baptist Theological Seminary, San Diego Years Ordained: 11 years SDR: Can you think of a time …

Hello, Matt: Every time I go to text somebody, I look at the keyboard and wonder why the letters are so mixed up. If they were in alphabetical order, it would be easier to find …

Answered Prayer Rug I saw the cover on the rug that was found in the Dumpster (Cover Story, January 20). Well, that actually happened to me. I was working on a jobsite by University and …

Ball and Chain. On a Wednesday in early December, convicted murderer Justin Lopez wore an orange jumpsuit to his wedding. Lopez married his girlfriend, Mariah Mierya Cavazos, in a jail lobby in Alice. Though he …

Opticks To what end are comets, and whence is it that planets move all one and the same way in orbs concentric while comets move all manner of ways in orbs very eccentric, and what …

I don’t know what it is, but it’s weird and pissed off. — from the movie The Thing (Kevin’s favorite quotation, according to his Facebook page) One of my Facebook friends has logged off. For …

Looking at the last weekend in this first month of a new year, dawning decade and still infantile millennium, I am confronted with some unavoidable recollections of my first experiences in this city in January …

In the United States, Motörhead is better known for T-shirts than for music, but in their native Britain the band has been a beloved cultural treasure for decades. Yes, “beloved cultural treasure” is a strange …

For 23 years, my life story began at four months, when I landed in my mother’s arms wrapped in a thin blanket and bearing a handwritten letter that read, “Congratulations to you both, the new …

The idea was to throw a 100th birthday party for the most influential blues musician that ever lived: Robert Johnson. For Big Head Todd & the Monsters, the plan grew to include a tribute album …

Change doesn’t come often to the desert community of Nomirage, located 13 miles east of San Diego County and 2 miles southeast of Ocotillo’s quiet town center. But change is what will happen when Brandon …

Undercover DEA agents slipped into the Mariner's Cove apartments on West Point Loma Boulevard on Tuesday, January 25, and arrested an alleged drug dealer. An unmarked silver van with seven DEA agents wearing bulletproof vests …

A rumor began to circulate this week on the Southwestern College campus that Henry Amigable was no longer managing the $389 million construction and reconstruction projects generated from Proposition R. In November 2009, Seville Construction …

Should taxpayer money go to schools and fire protection, or should it be used to subsidize shopping malls, big-box retailers, auto plazas, movie multiplexes, hotels, and pro sports stadiums? This may be California’s biggest battle …

Robert Wyatt, an art-rock category-confounder who sometimes lists toward the traditional, weaves seemingly disparate strands into this set of haunting sob-songs, jazz standards, and originals. Cello, alto sax, and strings throw washes of color behind …

San Diego's city clerk announced on Tuesday, January 25, that the petition drive sponsored by Walmart was successful in collecting the 32,741 signatures needed to hold a special election to repeal the Ordinance to Protect …

There was a tense moment in the Vista Courthouse on January 21 when a superior court judge ordered two Marines to release their 20-year-old prisoner into the custody of San Diego sheriff’s deputies. Michael Wells …

I frequently walk the streets of North Park. Recently, when repairs were being done to the sidewalk, the imprinted street names in the concrete were preserved by cutting the cement around them, removing them, and …

UCSD's music department has been presenting concerts all week featuring returning alumni and staff, including singer and bassist Kristen Korb, who opened Saturday's show, and the creative free-jazz co-op Cosmologic, which closed it. The event …

I went through Tift Merritt's new one while reading John Glatt's Lost and Found — that's the true story of Jayce Lee Dugard, who, should you not recall, was/is the girl kidnapped off the streets …

The Old 97's stormed into the Abbey like an alt-country Ramones, with a blitzkrieg 50-minute assault on the ears of a packed house. Scheduled as a KPRI promotion, their abbreviated set served to whet the …

I arrived in Florence early morning on the train after leisurely working my way up via Rome, Capri, Pompeii, Siena, Assisi, Umbria and Tuscany. On my first visit to Europe, I’d now traveled through several …

Helen Chang explains how she makes a living as a ghostwriter. Let’s start with a little information about your background. Schooling, work history, and all that. I have always loved writing. I started writing poems …

So, you’re hanging around Southern California, the sun is shining, good-looking people are walking down the boardwalk, palm trees are swaying, and you can wear shorts in winter. But you don’t have a job. You …

On Tuesday, January 25, San Diego County's board of supervisors will discuss an ordinance that would require marijuana dispensaries to pay the county $11,017 a year, the sheriff's alleged cost to regulate the facilities. The …

A confidential source says San Diego County district attorney Bonnie Dumanis has determined that the Escondido police officer involved in the shooting death of an alleged informant will not face criminal charges. The City of …

On Thursday, January 20, San Diego Planning Commission members voted 3-to-2 in favor of passing on the Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Ordinance to the full city council for a final decision. The planning-commission vote marks one …

Unfunded pension liability was the first issue raised at the January 20 La Mesa Town Hall Meeting held at Maryland Avenue Elementary School. Other concerns voiced by residents ranged from crime and traffic to the …

Mark McNaughton, an Encinitas homeowner who lives on San Elijo Avenue, spoke during the Wednesday, January 20, city council meeting to discuss a confrontation he said he had with the City’s traffic commissioner, Peter Kohl. …

Oakland-based filmmakers Carl D. Brown and Sean Donnelly arrived in San Diego on Wednesday, January 19, to film footage for a documentary on the Young Marines, a training program for children aged 8 to 18. …

For all the credit we give our society for being sensitive to gender issues in our businesses, we can always count on some bad news when we get to the top of the corporate ladder. …

Your first impression takes an average of just seven seconds, according to author and lecturer Lydia Ramsey. A study recently completed by the University of Toledo psychology professor Frank Bernieri maintains you have 30 seconds …

WHO: Carlos Bey, 64, Coronado Car: 1996 Chevy Cavalier, 125,000 miles Previous cars: Dodge Ram, VW Vanagon, VW bus Drive where? From Coronado to Julian and back, once a week. Cheapest gas? Valero or Daniel’s …

The San Diego Port District website announced that the Carnival Splendor cruise ship was "scheduled to leave the Port’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal on Wednesday afternoon, January 19. However, additional time was needed to complete …

Residents of a canyon that separates the 1600 and 1590 block of Guy and Linwood streets got a surprise on the evening of January 19. A little before 8 p.m., a large eucalyptus tree came …

Being a San Diego native can give one a shortsighted perspective of history. Besides the Portuguese tuna fisherman, Children’s Pool and Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego is limited for the most part to the sights …

This week, Tijuana’s daily Frontera reported that a four-million-dollar fraud was claimed by a group of U.S. citizens who bought into a Baja real estate scheme. Plaintiffs’ attorney Monica Gutierrez is quoted as saying that …

Rick Lyon taught himself the piano playing to jazz records and drawing from his experience on the accordion. He’s played aboard ships in the Navy, overseas, and at many a bar, lodge, and party. Now …

The biggest seller is cookbooks and the second is diet books — how not to eat what you’ve just learned how to cook. — Andy Rooney I delight in playing hostess to out-of-towners. I use …

Recipe by José Sanchez, executive chef, Point Loma Café. I grew up in Mexico City and came to the U.S. in 1975. I came here looking for a better life and started working in a …

Contact: 3310 Bancroft Drive, Spring Valley, 91977; 619-587-8106 Membership: 150 Denomination: Evangelical Christian (Church of Nazarene) Pastor: Mariota Sola Age: 45 Born: Apia, Samoa Formation: Lighthouse Bible College, American Samoa Years Ordained: 21 San Diego …

The third week of January, and it seems about the right time to check in on how any New Year’s resolutions might be going. Me? Since you ask, I no longer make them. That is, …

The awards season swaggers on, but I shall refrain from commenting on the 68th Golden Globes, held last Sunday. Let us flee the limelight: Inspector Bellamy In the great harvest of film exploration and innovation …

“The morning of the festival I didn’t have a sound system or generators,” says Joe Mousey, a member of the psychedelic rock band Pilots and organizer with the Liquid Geometry arts and music collective. The …

When Henry Luce launched LIFE magazine in 1936, he was on a storytelling mission. He said he wanted to edit photographs “into a coherent story and harness the main stream of optical consciousness.” He wanted …

Clarification In a website blog story called “San Diegans Dominate Delinquent Tax List,” which appeared on April 11, 2010, our writer Don Bauder included Dr. Ronald Petrillo in a list of delinquent taxpayers that was …

At 10:25 a.m. on the last Wednesday in October, the auditorium at Adams Elementary School in Normal Heights buzzes with the voices of parents and children waiting for the student-recognition assembly to begin. The parents …

—for Poff We settled to great small talk on the back porch Despite green skies and scratchy radio warnings; The beer was cold and the rain came down in sheets To simmer a stew in …

“I don’t know what it is about drum and bass,” Tyler “Ridda” Rosier says from a barstool at the Ruby Room in Hillcrest, “but it is the most addictive, infectious music I’ve ever heard.” Ridda …

Every year, Patrick resolves to lose that spare tire. Every year, he fails. And then he complains about it. He caught me at a low point last week, and I barked back, “Well, why not …

Late Sunday afternoon. Hungry for fish. Just got off the trolley at the Gaslamp, bottom of Fifth. I see I have a choice, har-de-har. Lou & Mickey’s, Nobu, Tin Fish. As they say, no contest. …

Thirty-Five Years AgoI find an annoying monotony in [Tennessee] Williams from play to play: always the lecherous, oppressive Southern summer, always the longing for emotional closeness that can only be expressed through a sexual desire …

“I play alternative folk rock, with a twist of the blues,” says San Diego singer-songwriter Reverend Stickman. “The music is a guitar-driven and an unconventional fusion of Americana and alternative. Most of my songs are …

After a 15-year absence, Bill Silva, who started promoting concerts in the ’70s while a student at UCSD and went on to produce shows by Pearl Jam, Madonna, Cher, and Depeche Mode, is back doing …

Steel Train came out of New Jersey six years ago when they signed to Drive-Thru — the same label that brought us emo acts Dashboard Confessional and New Found Glory — but it quickly became …

David J, former bassist for Brit goth-rock bands Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, isn’t straying far from his goth roots. On Saturday, January 22, the North County denizen will appear at North Park venue Bar …

La Playa is a sweet little neighborhood spot that its neighborhood obviously embraces — it was packed on a Thursday night. The Lynnester (slim, chic, and currently very blond) arrived early and seemed to be …

I realize many of you were mindlessly following the sports fashion of the moment, watching the Packers and Falcons grind through another ho-hum NFL playoff game. Well, that’s too bad, especially since you could have …

The recent purchase of a parcel of land on the east border of the Daley Ranch preserve in Escondido ensures that hikers can now visit boulder-dotted Stanley Peak, a summit that formerly lay just out …

“I was just trying to get on television,” says über-collector and longtime eBay hawker Duane Dimock. It was while haunting Kobey’s swap meet and the garage-sailing circuit that Dimock first heard that the TV program …

Thursday 20When actress Ellen Page was asked by writer Diablo Cody what she thought the smartypants teen would be listening to in their hit flick Juno, Page said it had to be Moldy Peaches. That …

Frank Zappa said this: “The disgusting stink of a too-loud electric guitar…now that’s my idea of a good time.” I submit that no other musical instrument has caused as many arguments as the electric guitar. …

From Keli Hemda, (in N. Glatzer, ed., In Time and Eternity) “…you shall. Love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord…” [Leviticus 19:18]. …This explains two things. First, since the souls that are as …

On September 29, Blease Johnson moved the old sofa in his living room to the curb outside his apartment building, near the intersection of 36th Street and Monroe Avenue in Normal Heights. The sofa was …

"Risk” is not a naughty four-letter word. At least, that’s what our central bank, the Federal Reserve, keeps telling us. The Fed is openly stating that it is flooding the nation with liquidity so people …

With all the hubbub surrounding the destruction of that bombmaker’s house in Escondido, it comes as no surprise that the San Diego sheriff’s department is in the market for a new “Law Enforcement Bomb Truck,” …

Whether famed UCSD alumnus and genetic-engineering legend Craig Venter will get to lease a parcel of choice UCSD campus land was set to be quietly taken up by University of California regents at their San …

Thirty years ago, the Jam was on top of their game and regularly saw the top of the U.K. charts. But Paul Weller had become tired with the “Jam sound” and wanted to break away. …

De La Fuente Cadillac car dealership, located on Main Street in El Cajon, proposes to erect two 35-foot-tall, 12- by 24-foot billboards between Blackthorne Avenue and Hillside Way along Interstate 8. El Cajon, however, has …

Author: David Alton Dodd Neighborhood: Baja Age: 49 Occupation: Engineer Over a decade ago, I found myself stumbling around downtown Tijuana with a cup of coffee. It was in the early morning, before nine o’clock, …

The man accused of shooting two children at a Carlsbad elementary school three months ago was at the Vista Courthouse today, January 18. Lysette Cox testified that she “was working on the blacktop at Kelly …

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. on January 17, a blaze broke out at a residence located in the 16000 block of Avenida Suavidad. The fire appeared to have started in a bedroom used as an office. …

Walking into Kava Lounge for Critical Beatdown, a new monthly series devoted to the burgeoning beat scene, you immediately notice two things out of place. First, it's packed, which doesn't happen in San Diego for …

Los Angeles beat scene mainstay Baths brought his one-man show to the sold-out Loft and kept the twentysomethings swaying to his unique electronic melodies. His play list consisted of down-tempo collages such as "Lovely Bloodflow" …

Local pianist Geoffrey Keezer and guitarist Peter Sprague teamed up to form a new jazz band that sold out the Saville Theater. The concert served as a CD-release party for their debut, Mill Creek Road. …

A newly released, redesigned 500-peso bill has become one of the most successfully counterfeited bills in recent memory, despite its complex anti-counterfeiting features. The phony bills began circulating throughout Tijuana in November. According to Marco …

Oceanside resident Dontaye Henderson, 28, is expected to arrive back in San Diego County next week to face charges of murder, kidnapping, and felony child abuse. Police in St. Louis, Missouri, arrested him at a …

On Wednesday, January 19, Encinitas city council will decide whether to give residents of Encinitas the power to elect a mayor. Currently, the city council appoints a member as mayor by a three-fifths majority vote. …

An ordinance to suspend development-impact fees in redevelopment-project areas for a period of five years was before the Chula Vista City Council on Tuesday, January 11. Impact fees, often paid by the new developer, assist …

On Wednesday, January 12, over a dozen San Diego residents spoke in protest of the recent news that the mainly Hispanic equestrian group Asociación de Charros de Escondido is being evicted from a one-and-a-half-acre location …

At the Escondido City Council meeting of January 12, Thomas Armstrong complained that conditions at the Salvation Army's new homeless shelter on Metcalf Street were "deplorable." "The Salvation Army is not totally to blame," he …

Late in the afternoon on January 11, an awning at a strip mall in the 2600 block of Market Street collapsed and came crashing down on the sidewalk in front of five businesses. The wood-and-stucco …

As confirmed at the Point Loma Association's November Beautification Committee meeting and reiterated in the 2011 winter bulletin, La Scala Restaurant, located on the corner of Scott and Cañon streets, has been purchased by the …

Leaving Sorrento, Italy was bittersweet. Sorrento was the perfect place for us to get our minds wrapped around the idea of the sea. We’d been landlocked in Prague for months, so we wanted more oceans. …

To one side of Mexico City’s enormous central plaza, the Zócalo, stands one of the most astonishing archaeological digs of the last 35 years. It was originally believed that the huge cathedral in the Zócalo …

It came to me four or five years ago as — surfacing to catch my breath — I looked up from a steaming bowl of pho: there were more non-Vietnamese patrons having lunch in this …

At approximately 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 12, San Diego sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call to the alley between the 1200 block of 11th and Florida streets in Imperial Beach. The driver of …

The articles of religion are some of them practical and some of them speculative. Now, though both sorts consist in the knowledge of truth, yet these terminate simply in the understanding, those influence the will …

Contact: 1055 Hunte Parkway, Chula Vista, 619-851-6465; harborchulavista.com Membership: 80 Pastor: Russ Kapusinski Born: Akron, Ohio Formation: North Park University, Chicago, Illinois; Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida Ordained: 12 years San Diego Reader: How long …

Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it’s addressed to someone else. — Ivern Ball I told myself not to freak out as I peered at the paper that …

Oh, Please. Thank You. I feel I should respond to Name Withheld from El Cajon who wrote in with the suggestion to “Save Our Brizzolara” (Letters, January 6): “let’s show thanks for this guy who’s …

Another rainy day: Del Mar is not its usual sunny self. I’ve been sheltering in their grand old library. Big ol’ house. What a gem. Now waiting just across Highway 101 — they call this …

Andrew, a gay character in Nicky Silver’s Maiden’s Prayer, says he looks for three things in a man: the size of his Manhattan apartment, if he has cable, and external beauty. Then he pauses, sensing …

Going to the jasmine in my mind... It is 5:00 a.m. this Sunday winter morning in the new year and I can’t sleep. I’m staring at the tube: a marathon infomercial for “The Singers and …

Monday morning...pick up bottle caps and scoop up bean dip from living-room rug. Looking back, I had a hunch the weekend was going to go badly. There was something about Saturday ante meridiem that had …

The desolate ridge of Coyote Mountain rises like the dark, furrowed flank of an elephant over the sand-drowned Borrego and Clark valleys in the north part of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Scattered amid slabs of …

To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour. A robin redbreast in a cage …

"The tequila is almost gone, and we were already told to be quiet,” Alex said as she mixed margaritas for me and my unofficial photographer/full-time enabler Brett. It was only 10:20 p.m. when we arrived …

“My first day back was actually the day after my birthday, October 25,” says Robin Roth. “It was the most wonderful birthday present I could have asked for.” Roth, a local since the age of …

The Groove Kitties are an all-girl group featuring San Diego performers Cathryn Beeks (Gandhi Method), Marcia Claire (Coyote Problem), Becky Fleming (the Ordeal), Garrison Bailey, and Nancy Bee. “I used to play in a female …

In some ways, Sweet Apple is just a good ’70s-style hard-rock band — the kind that puts naked girls on the CD cover but is clever enough to pose them in an homage to Roxy …

Call it a stoner remix, but those of us who grew up during the psychedelic ’60s listening to bands like the Strawberry Alarm Clock get what Teengirl Fantasy is doing today. I think it’s what …

It was 8:20 p.m. on a Wednesday in mid-October. Over 100 San Diegans were wedged into the Whistle Stop bar in South Park, listening to marketing guru David Lecours, the emcee for San Diego’s ninth …

Riding into town a day late and a dollar short, ready to review the big releases from last week. Howdy, folks. I’m staff writer Matthew Lickona. You may remember me from such Reader columns as …

Thirty-Five Years AgoYou’d be surprised at what people consider waste products. According to operators of the Point Loma plant, anything that fits through a manhole will do. Water heaters, bed springs, 2x4s, bus tires, and …

The arrival of 2011 found many in San Diego’s music scene saddened. Michael H. Steinman, 37, the talented rock singer-songwriter-guitarist and former Live Wire bartender, passed away on December 30 (causes unclear at press time). …

“When they said my name, there was a chorus of boos. It really hurt my feelings, but I understand it.” Mikey Esparza, the anchor of The Mikey Show on FM 94/9, was reflecting on the …

Several people jumped when Joe Mariglio coaxed claps of thunder and ominous roars from a laptop at North Park’s Thumbprint Gallery in December. For Mariglio, a Ph.D. candidate at UCSD, the merging of digital audio …

In last week’s cover story, we described how two of America’s richest and most powerful oil barons took a small La Jolla hotel called Del Charro and turned it into an unlikely base for their …

OMD's first album since 1996. The first classic-lineup album since 1986. "New Babies: New Toys" comes in clean like a virtual world sunrise then fuzz-rubbers the bass, toughs up the drums, throws words like "shit" …

San Diego band Midnight Rivals showed the crowd at Casbah why they're one of the best rock ’n’ roll bands around. The Rivals opened with a rousing "Kings Are Queens," highlighted by Mark Maigaard’s pummeling …

The Reader has received from Dr. Zanetti a copy of the court order dismissing the case Cosmo Bioscience Inc. vs Adamis Pharmaceuticals dated February 21, 2013, with prejudice. The order states: "The Court hereby lifts …

As the ultimate status of San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders continues to intrigue political onlookers, yet another rumored candidate to replace him has come to the forefront. GOP assemblyman Nathan Fletcher (whose official campaign biography, …

"He seemed very intoxicated,” said Adrienne Goldston, the receptionist at Access Medical Center on Camino Real in Carlsbad. A man had stumbled in the front door of the center shortly after 3:00 p.m. on November …

Point Loma High School will soon have 15,000 square feet of new classroom space in the form of a two-story building on the southwest corner of campus. The facility sits on a hill above where …

Patients at Palomar Hospital were stunned on January 7 at 1:00 a.m.: a dark-haired girl about 16 years old — pale and on the verge of collapse — staggered into the emergency room with a …

I was lying on Tofo Beach in Mozambique with my shirt shielding my face from the sun when I heard the distinct plop of a human sitting down next to me. I peeked from underneath …

Next time you visit Seattle, it’s a quick hop over to the lovely garden city of Victoria in British Columbia. Make sure to bring your passport, and climb aboard the Victoria Clipper on the Seattle …

Santorini is one of the undisputed jewels of the Greek Islands. Two of its most enchanting attractions are the village of Oia and the archeological dig Akrotiri, once a prominent ancient town. Oia and Akrotiri …

Bloodflowers cut into the first song like it's a Porterhouse, they've all been starving, and all they have is a jagged plastic knife. Like heavy metal, but it's less predictable ’cause it's mostly three times …

Tapes ’N Tapes lead vocalist Josh Grier possesses a buoyant, elastic delivery that coils itself around whatever emotion a given song calls for. Cradled under mellow, precise chords reminiscent of Vampire Weekend, this formula breeds …

If you watched the movie, Along Came Polly, you might have discovered a career that you had never heard of- unless you were staring at Jennifer Aniston the whole time and then maybe you missed …

Joaquin Martinez was arraigned in the Vista courthouse on Friday, January 6, charged with attempted murder using a home-made weapon to attack another prisoner in the Vista jail. Prosecutor Geoff Allard alleged that Martinez inflicted …

On Tuesday, January 11, the five county supervisors will decide whether to appeal a planning commission's decision to allow Eurus Energy to build a 341-acre photovoltaic solar energy system off of Palm Canyon Drive in …

According to Marko Radovanovic of the City’s Traffic Engineering Division, a project is under way to install 47 bicycle racks on sidewalks along El Cajon Boulevard, 30th Street, University Avenue, and Adams Avenue. Thirty-three racks …

Hodad's, the Ocean Beach burger joint that is famous for its long lines of people waiting to dine among the surf memorabilia and license plates, is having trouble translating that O.B. vibe downtown. The slow …

A forum to explain water-rate hikes in the City of Escondido was held on January 6. Raftelis Financial Consultants conducted a rate study of the five-year plan: a typical family bill should decrease slightly in …

The Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) is laying the foundations for a campaign to reach out to San Diego's residents and educate them on the importance of downtown redevelopment. The campaign comes three months after …

Stashed high above the brilliant turquoise waters of the Caribbean lies the small village of Nine Mile. Protected from the majority of rum-swilling tourists by a seemly impossible narrow curving road, the hamlet is home …

In 1937 Frank Capra used a long shot of Ojai Valley to represent the mythical paradise of Shangri-La in the classic film Lost Horizon. Ojai (pronounced O-hi) is a small, artsy community nestled serenely near …

Everybody knows this is not a fun time to go looking for a job. But the truth is, it may be a lot better than most people think. After more than a year and half …

A controversial program to fluoridate the City of San Diego’s water was postponed last month, but South Bay residents who receive water from Sweetwater Authority, a separate water district, will begin drinking fluoridated water in …

A January 5 Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting left a gathering of about 15 community members relieved and one couple disappointed, as the City agreed to changed its plan to cut down a Torrey Pine …

John Galasan turned his hobby into a second job that pays. First, tell me about your day job. I work for Union Bank in Mutual Funds. I like it because it’s stable, and because I …

Conducting a job search should involve doing it correctly. Listed below are some easily avoidable job search mistakes you must avoid making as you look for a new position. Making a Bad First Impression Start …

A murdered woman was discovered in Colonia Magisterial shortly after midnight on Monday, January 3. Her body bore the marks of torture and abuse, and she was reportedly shot multiple times at another locale; no …

Shortly after 11:30 a.m. today, January 5, a late-model Honda Accord was traveling south on Kearny Villa Road and slammed into another vehicle heading north on Kearny Villa at the Balboa Avenue intersection. The other …

Established in 1979, the bar on the corner of 30th and Juniper went defunct for a decade in the ’90s and reopened as the Whistle Stop during the summer of 2001 in the heart of …

Most movie critics feel compelled to draw up an annual list. A few years ago, I was amused when Roger Ebert complained that list-making has become trivialized — Roger has shoveled critical coals into the …

Thirty-Five Years AgoThe five most uncomfortable places for a gay person in San Diego, 1975: To be stationed at MCRD. Anywhere in town holding hands with a person of the same sex. In the library, …

Steven Van Zandt, guitarist for the E Street Band, has described the Nashville Ramblers’ song “The Trains” as “one of the most gorgeous instances of romantic yearning disguised as a pop song.” The local group’s …

The whole world depends on the holiness of the union between man and woman, for the world was created for the sake of God’s glory and the essential revelation of His glory comes through the …

Heymatt: I’ve been a proud knuckle-cracker for most of my life. My family hates it, but I love to torment them with it. They’ve tried all kinds of things to get me to stop, but …

Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it. — Oprah Winfrey I stood at my window, phone against my ear, and looked down at the …

Pro Mass Why another pro-Critical Mass article (“Pedaling Diego,” Cover Story, December 30)? Completely overlooks the fact that these people break all traffic laws, unlike cars. @RealPrincessKim via Twitter Load Your Bike On Your Car …

Currant has become a different restaurant since I reviewed it three years ago, with all-new management and chef. I liked it then, and once we hit the main courses, I like it now. Chef Walter …

" Remember, green curry. Don’t come home without it!” Carla’s words ring in my ear. She’s been on a curry binge ever since I hit the Indian food truck six weeks ago. Says it helps …

Composing this page fully two weeks before it will appear either in print or online, I wonder just what might have been a common experience for imagined readers (I am always vaguely surprised to learn …

The wait is over. We can stand down, holler at the barkeep to bring a draft of grog and be quick about it. The results are in, the results have been tabulated, they have been …

On the Upper Las Virgenes View Trail, you look down upon the emerald-green (currently, at least) upper drainage of Las Virgenes Creek, a tributary of Malibu Creek whose tentacles reach north into the Simi Hills. …

While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead I played about the front gate, pulling flowers. You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse, You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums. …

Thursday 6The Casbah kicks off its 22 years of whirled infamy this week with local indie-rock acts A Scribe Amidst the Lions, Black Hondo, and the Mashtis. Solid sounds coming down for seven bucks.... Eleven …

Drummer Mario Rubalcaba started listening to punk rock in the sixth grade, when a friend played him songs by Bad Brains, Black Flag, Discharge... His interest expanded to local acts such as Pitchfork, Heroin, and …

There is no shortage of tribute bands in San Diego. However, only one, Murmur, a new tribute to R.E.M., was built by an agent around the looks of its front man, in this case North …

“Korn got signed out of that club,” recalls Tim Hall about the days he booked bands at Dream Street. “We had them play there, like, 13 times. A bidding war over who got to sign …

Thick, curly locks that tend toward frizz + no time for styling = a bad hair day. “Time to get some professional advice,” offered husband Pat. “You’re starting to look like Phyllis Diller.” I resisted …

“I suppose the point of the name is to make people ask questions,” says 30 Seconds to Mars guitarist Tomo Miličević. He says it was brothers Jared and Shannon Leto who came up with the …

When I was a teenager in the 1980s, I read a rave review of a just-released TSOL album in which the critic said something like, “This is where all the exciting music will be coming …

Back 2 Black is a tribute band that specializes in Brian Johnson–era AC/DC. They often perform the landmark album Back in Black from beginning to end. The band is meticulous about duplicating the smallest details, …

Hotel del Charro: PART ONE It was the vortex of a dark universe, hiding in plain sight. “At La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya), San Diego’s northern suburb,” the New York Times reported on January 17, …

Contact: 5512 Pennsylvania Lane, La Mesa, 91942; 619-460-2210; dcbc.org Membership: 400 Pastor: Mark Milwee Born: Crossville, Alabama Formation: Golden Gate Baptist Seminary, Mill Valley Ordained: 18 years San Diego Reader: Can you think of a …

Minutes after County Supervisor Bill Horn was sworn in as chairperson during the January 4 board of supervisors meeting, he opened the podium to the public. Two residents of Valley Center, located in Horn's district, …

If you're dreaming of a return to the good old days — San Diego's bubble years of the late 1990s and the early part of this decade — dismiss the idea. Ain’t gonna happen. The …

At the sound of a dinging bicycle bell, the children at Lulu’s Montessori in City Heights run to the screen door overlooking Van Dyke Avenue and shout, “Bolis! Bolis!” For some of the tiny tots …

Despite a degree of skepticism by city hall insiders, rumors persist that San Diego mayor and ex–police chief Jerry Sanders may cut short his term at city hall in exchange for a medium-level security-related appointment …

Football season is over for the Chargers, but the team’s political season never ends. During 2009 and 2010, Chargers president Dean Spanos, wife Susan, and relatives gave a total of $23,000 to the Gridiron PAC, …

The pictured waterfall is runoff from recent rains feeding the El Capitan Reservoir. It is located two miles north of the reservoir, between Santa Ysabel and Lakeside. The photo was taken from a private aircraft …

The Vista Planning Commission granted a special-use permit on January 4, allowing a tattoo shop to open near Thibodo Road and Watson Way. The establishment will be one of two tattoo parlors allowed in Vista...until …

The North Park Main Street design committee met on January 4 to discuss revitalization plans for 2011. Amy Colony, assistant director of North Park Main Street, said, “Our main goal is to draw in businesses, …

In 2011, California fishermen will find that the procedure for purchasing annual fishing licenses has changed. And if one waits to buy their license once they arrive at a local lake, they may be out …

Tourists heading to downtown TJ can say goodbye to two open-air taco stands on the pedestrian route that leads past the Yellow Cab staging area right next to the border. The restaurants cleared out in …

I frequently hear the claim that gangsta rap all sounds the same. And on the surface, that's true. Most gangsta rap deals with the same themes of violence and crime. But good gangsta rap goes …

I'm hoping there's no statute of limitations on how many pieces including Hector Penalosa and the Escovedo family I can write. Because if these guys continue pumping out seminal So. Cal. rock 'n' roll fluids, …

During a January 3 meeting, city councilmembers agreed to retain former city councilmember Crystal Crawford to provide legal counsel, on a pro-bono basis, in their efforts to purchase the Del Mar Fairgrounds from the State …

If punk rock had been invented on the piano and German cabaret had made it across the Atlantic, then we would be living in a world where the Dresden Dolls are mainstream. Instead, Amanda Palmer …

Along the northern bank of the San Diego River bike path near Mission Beach, a large area has been fenced off near the City of San Diego Park & Rec refuse dump area. On this …

A customer waiting in line at the Rite Aid store on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard fell backward onto the ground and lost consciousness on the afternoon of December 30. According to a witness, after someone called …

North County Transit District security officers in Oceanside removed a passenger from a southbound Amtrak train shortly before 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 30, after being contacted by the crew. The passenger, who boarded the …

San Diego claims the Big Bay Balloon Parade is “America’s largest balloon parade,” with about 100,000 people attending to watch dozens of inflatable cartoon characters, marching bands, color guards, and, this year, local basketball hero …