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Stories for May 2014

Saturday, May 31

Macchu Picchu, in style

It’s a well-worn theme, that of the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. But bear with me: this time – my fifth – we did it in luxury, an experience so alien to me as a …

Thundercat brings Apocalypse to the Irenic

It should be within every budding musician's interests to play like Thundercat. The bass wizard Stephen Bruner could very well start a school, if he had any desire to. The six-string bassist got his start …

May 31, 2014
Boots in the kitchen

On May 28, the Oceanside City Council unanimously approved a $600,000 matching grant to the Veterans Association of North County for the completion of a culinary arts training space at the former police headquarters on …

San Diego County Fair Food Advance Peek

The San Diego County Fair officially opens June 7, but members of the media were able to get an early taste. Here is a rundown of some of the goodies that “carnie-vores” can gobble during …

Come for the sushi, stay for the eggplant

“Wait! Sushi is raw fish?” My nephew had this revelation while we were getting read to chow down on an assortment of mackerel, octopus, raw shrimp, bluefin and other delicacies at Blue Ocean Robata and …

World Beer Cup winners’ catch-up collab

Last year, I packed up my laptop and tasting glass, and boarded a plane for Japan, where I spent a week shadowing brewers from Coronado Brewing Company. The highlight of the trip was being a …

Did Toni Atkins side with "dirty energy companies"?

A group of picketers took to the streets outside newly installed California Assembly speaker Toni Atkins’s office Friday afternoon, May 30, in protest of her vote in favor of Assembly Bill 2145, which environmental activists …

Friday, May 30

Golfer Mickelson under insider trading investigation

According to the New York Times, San Diego golf hero Phil Mickelson is under investigation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission for a series of well-timed trades in the …

May 30, 2014
Bridgepoint restating revenue, earnings

San Diego's controversial Bridgepoint Education reported today (May 30) that its accounting for the year 2013 should no longer be trusted, as the company discovered "material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting." It made …

May 30, 2014
Mac DeMarco's Salad Days

The third release from Mac DeMarco, a Brooklyn-via-Montreal singer/songwriter, depicts a man at a crossroads, surrounded with watershed moments and letters from home. The road previous was a laidback guitar-driven daydream, silly yet stunning, how …

May 30, 2014
Sixty years of Godzilla

Celebrate Godzilla’s 60th birthday with the wonderful Godzilla Collection from Classic Media. Featuring gorgeous packaging, this set includes seven remastered and individually packaged Godzilla films in both their American and original Japanese-language versions. Invasion of …

May 30, 2014
Equal opportunity offender and uplifter

First things first. A word to every theater lover in San Diego who can’t afford a full-priced ticket to this truly remarkable event: two-and-a-half hours before every performance of The Book of Mormon, Broadway/San Diego …

Can’t you smell that smell?

San Diego fire and police personnel and SDG&E quickly responded on Friday May 30 at around 10:10 a.m. to a gas-line rupture. The gas could be smelled and heard all up and down the alley …

Passport to terror?

How secure is the personal information given to post offices by those seeking U.S. passports? Not very, according to an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service conducted after a snafu caused a San Diego woman …

May 30, 2014
Tenacity with a side of couscous

After running around Ocean Beach's dog beach for awhile, I brought Loki over to Shades Oceanfront Bistro to grab some lunch. I mean, why give up on the idea some bikini-clad girl is going to …

GMO labeling bill fails

Skeptics of genetically modified food gathered in Carlsbad on Wednesday morning, May 28, to meet with staff for state senator Mark Wyland. They sought his support for SB-1381, a bill that would have required food …

May 30, 2014
The Summer Solstice Ale Trail

Without camaraderie, the San Diego craft beer scene would be much different—and much smaller. It’s the cooperation of local breweries through the San Diego Brewers Guild and on individual, inter-brewery levels that has allowed so …

Don't call him the skinny lady

San Diego Opera today (May 30) named William Mason as artistic advisor. He was general director of Lyric Opera, Chicago's prestigious company, from 1997 to 2011, when he retired. At the newly restructured San Diego …

May 30, 2014

Thursday, May 29

SDPD officer says fellow cop abused power

On May 23, officer John Ampol and the San Diego Police Officers Association filed a formal complaint against the SDPD, alleging that a department hearing officer abused his power and failed to provide Ampol with …

May 29, 2014
Chekhoviana hodgepodge

The first three names come from Anton Chekhov: Vanya and niece Sonia from Uncle Vanya; Masha from Three Sisters. And Spike? From the imagination of Christopher Durang which, he says, tossed the Chekhovian trio “into …

Politichix and radio dudes do Tahmooressi protest

A rally to support a Florida Marine reservist who remains in Mexican custody after he drove into Tijuana carrying three guns and 400 rounds of ammo drew about 75 people Wednesday night, May 28, including …

Barrio hit piece silent on maquiladora job loss

It's the dirty little secret of the military contractors’ campaign against the Barrio Logan community plan update, several San Diego industrial insiders say. General Dynamics — the defense-contracting behemoth that owns National Steel and Shipbuilding …

The Carmel Valley battle for square footage

The bell has sounded in a heavyweight battle between two Carmel Valley developers and the City is caught in the middle of it all. Kilroy Realty, the Los Angeles–based developer of the massive One Paseo …

May 29, 2014
When in doubt, get the Pig Out

Lil’ Piggy’s Bar-B-Q location at Coronado Ferry Landing means it’s teeming with tourists at times. Because the place is in a prime real estate spot, it suffers from a reverse snobbery among barbecue buffs. There …

Who doesn't not want hazardous chemicals?

A group of local professionals convened in Barrio Logan on morning to express support for local ballot Propositions B and C, which would collectively allow for the implementation of the Barrio Logan Community plan update, …

May 29, 2014
San Diego joins effort to clean up nation's airports

In 2012, the San Diego Airport Commission removed the huge mural of Charles Lindbergh that had adorned the San Diego Airport Commuter Terminal for 15 years. In 2014, they replaced the mural with Jari "Werc" …

Did Leaky and Rascal attempt murder?

Two men stabbed a third man, either in a fit of jealous rage or to show some gang muscle or both, a prosecutor alleged in court on May 28. At the end of the hearing, …

May 29, 2014
Masterful Finale in a golden era

If there's one thing Jahja Ling and the San Diego Symphony can do, it's play Brahms. Over the past few seasons we've heard all four of the Brahms symphonies and each time the performance has …

Are we fluoridated? Or not?

On May 20, David Kennedy, a local dentist who was turned away after requesting documents pertaining to the addition of fluoride compounds in the city's water supply, filed what is the latest legal complaint against …

May 29, 2014
Beer and food ménage à trois

Haven Harris says his beers are so colorful and eclectic that the name of his nanobrewery, Beer Brewing Company (1813½ South Coast Highway, Oceanside) doesn’t need to be. Brought into an exciting three-way food-and-beverage operation …

May 29, 2014
Distance and disappearing with Wages

The last time Nick Campbell came to San Diego, he set up an innovative sound-art installment at Space 4 Art as part of the fourth annual San Diego Experimental Guitar Show. The installation, called PERSONO, …

May 29, 2014
Land-grabbers pay up

The Department of Homeland Security and the California State Parks have finally settled a lawsuit over about 58 acres of land along the U.S.-Mexico border, taken by the feds to beef up border presence in …

Wednesday, May 28

San Diego's do-gooders

The correlation between good works and big smiles.

May 28, 2014
Manchester wins a Navy Broadway battle

U-T San Diego publisher Douglas Manchester's long battle to build a giant commercial and office complex on Navy property at the foot of Broadway downtown appears to be a legal step closer to reality with …

May 28, 2014
Take the back roads: Vermont’s historic Route 100

In an era where places rarely or barely live up to their reputations, Vermont’s Route 100 looks and really feels like old-fashioned Christmas cards depicting the New England state. I visited in winter, when buildings …

May 28, 2014
Waiting for Rain

Finally morning. This loneliness feels more ordinary in the light, more like my face in the mirror. My daughter in the ER again. Something she ate? Some freshener someone spritzed in the air? They’re trying …

May 28, 2014
Firebug caught?

A man who Oceanside police said was seen feeding a fire during the conflagrations two weeks ago had a hearing this morning in San Diego Superior Court. According to police, Alberto Beltran Serrato, 57, was …

May 28, 2014
To Berlin, with politics

Termed-out GOP state senator Mark Wyland long ago threw in the towel on a planned bid for the Board of Equalization, passing San Diego’s torch to ex–Chula Vista mayor and former Republican assemblywoman Shirley Horton. …

May 28, 2014
Rocking Rachmaninoff

Dave Mustaine’s appearance with the San Diego Symphony was an ambitious collaboration of rock and classical. San Diego’s Mosaic Quartet is all about mixing rock and Rachmaninoff. Three members have studied at a conservatory. They …

May 28, 2014
Almost Famous redux

“Today, we’re going to talk to Ronny Jones.” Jones, of Rancho Bernardo, was recently interviewed by a Canadian rock journalist named Brian Sword for the Double Stop podcast. “You may not have heard of him, …

May 28, 2014
Run toward danger

The cynic inside me has grudgingly accepted the fool notion of young men and women enlisting to kill in the name of peace, but why would a civilian war correspondent risk life and limb to …

May 28, 2014
It’s worth dipping into

"’ll meet you at the Galley,” says Joe into his cell phone. This was during one of the heat waves. He lives way east of El Cajon, so I knew he was pitching for the …

Donkified in Bizarro San Diego

The Donkeys started in 2004 with Timothy DeNardo, Jessie Gulati, Anthony Lukens, and Sam Sprague. DeNardo explains that the band shared a small Mission Gorge rehearsal space with three other bands that eventually went away. …

May 28, 2014
Abounding mercies

There’s “sadness after intimate sexual intercourse,” Winnie tells Willie in Happy Days. “You would concur with Aristotle there, I fancy.” Samuel Beckett’s been accused of being so bleak he’s the Dracula of world theater. What …

May 28, 2014
Amazing and super stupendous

A friend emails a link, says I must needs watch the video. Ever the obedient householder, I click and behold Tara the Hero Cat. You’ve seen it, a four-year-old boy is playing on his bicycle …

May 28, 2014
Record-release roundup

Kids’ rock duo Hullabaloo will debut their Shy Kid Blues CD in Solana Beach on May 31 at the North Coast Repertory Theatre. “Shawn Rohlf of the 7th Day Buskers produced the album,” says Steve …

May 28, 2014
Gruff, ironic façade

Dear Hipster: So…hipster girls: slender, cute, creative, feminine, pretty. Hipster guys: kind of the same. If it weren’t for the beards I’d have a hard time telling the men from women in the hip community. …

May 28, 2014
Toxic tarpaper

Special interests lined up for sponsorship rights to this month’s unveiling of the packed new water park around the county administration building downtown. So-called behest disclosure filings required by state law show that the Viejas …

May 28, 2014
El Camino breakdown

Last year, Camper Van Beethoven released the first of a pair of California concept albums. La Costa Perdida set its sights on Northern California and is, overall, the brighter collection of songs. In a twist …

May 28, 2014
Tour de Borrego

Take a bicycle ride to view Borrego Valley’s spectacular northern Sky Art metal sculptures.

What is the one thing in life I was created for?

Membership: 700 Affiliation: Association of Related Churches (ARC) Pastor: Aaron Jayne Age: 38 Born: Wichita, KS Formation: Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ; planted Dream Center, Los Angeles Years Ordained: 10 San Diego Reader: What’s your …

May 28, 2014
Trails of Tierrasanta are paved with good intentions

On weekends, in the canyons surrounding San Diego’s community of Tierrasanta, urban guerrillas hack through chapparal with picks and other tools, transforming once-narrow coyote paths into smooth, broad hiking trails. The urban vigilantes have carved …

May 28, 2014
In other words, leave me alone

Why am I never content? Why do little things bother me? Why do I complain so much? Why can’t I be normal? Okay, first of all, stop being so hard on yourself. I’m a Highly …

May 28, 2014
Boarding cash

Mayor Kevin Faulconer continues to hand out city appointments to some of his biggest campaign givers. One of the more conspicuous is Guy Asaro, president of McMillin Homes, who has become a member of the …

May 28, 2014
Aftermath

Firenado Spotting I happened to be reading an account of the Poinsettia fire and came upon a video on the San Diego Reader website (Neighborhood News: “Carlsbad fire official designates potential crime scene,” May 20). …

May 28, 2014

Tuesday, May 27

Mike Ness + Metallica = Thousand Watt Stare

Imagine Mike Ness fronting ’80s-era Metallica. That describes the most recent turn in the progression of Thousand Watt Stare from punk roots to something approaching metal-ish hard rock. They look like punks on metal, for …

May 27, 2014
For whom the vet extols...

Each year Korean War vet, Vic Caruana, 85, decorates his home for Memorial Day weekend. It’s not hard to miss his house on Harding Street with the 66 American flags, five branches-of-service flags, and his …

Good news for San Diego hotels

Occupancy at San Diego hotels was up 5.9% to 72.5% year-to-date for April of this year versus the same period a year ago, according to Smith Travel Research figures. Average daily room rate rose 4.8% …

May 27, 2014
I.B. Pier sports new wood

A $420,000 project to replace almost all of the planks on the Imperial Beach pier wrapped up last week in time for the Memorial Day weekend, which drew 55,000 people to the pier and sands, …

Sisig and sarsparilla at the other Tita's

Actually, I was trying to go to Tita's Kitchenette, a cramped, cafeteria-style Filipino food counter on Plaza Boulevard in National City. But I passed right by without noticing. I might have driven another five minutes …

Full, vivid authenticity

It’s a snappy chapeau: reddish with a narrow brim and wide band. The question for Jackie, on parole after 26 months in stir for dealing drugs, is “who’s the motherf--k who owns this motherf--ker?” Jackie …

May 27, 2014
Florida pot-stock promoter backs Brewer for D.A.

Over the years, San Diego has known its share of newly rich political sugar daddies, spending their up-and-coming wealth on their chosen candidates of the hour. Disgraced banker C. Arnholt Smith, drug-money-laundering Jack-in-the-Box mega millionaire …

May 27, 2014
Deported veterans are veterans, too

A Memorial Day celebration at Border Field State Park dedicated to deported veterans suffered from blocked public access by the Border Patrol because of maximum-occupancy restrictions. The event was organized by the Border Angels group …

Jesse James of the beehive industry

A Riverside man who has described himself as "the Jesse James of the beehive industry" is accused of stealing and damaging bees and equipment from two Murrieta beekeepers, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in …

May 27, 2014

Monday, May 26

Peeved Commissioner Peevey hints at CPUC's disarray

On May 14, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) held an evidentiary hearing on a deal that would permit Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to sock ratepayers for $3.3 billion …

May 26, 2014
Faulconer moneyman nabs planning chair

$3000 in contributions to a 2014 mayoral campaign fund favoring him have apparently gone down well with Kevin Faulconer, who's just made their principal source, La Jolla architect Timothy Golba, chairman of the city's planning …

May 26, 2014
Outside the comfort zone

There should be a law in theater: don’t cubbyhole. Don’t typecast actors; don’t hogtie a company with a reductive label. Call it the Tennessee Williams Statute. Once he became a success, critics and audiences demanded …

Change is rough at Imperial Beach rec center

Employees of Imperial Beach’s Sports Park Recreation Center worked their last day on May 23; they lost their jobs due to the city’s privatization of the facility and grounds. With tears in his eyes, program …

Garbage truckers’ gripes

While some members on the city council push to increase the minimum wage, attorneys for the city will be preparing their defense in a class-action lawsuit from an employee who says the city violated California's …

May 26, 2014

Sunday, May 25

Want bargain bariatric surgery?

Medical tourism to Tijuana fell 20 percent during the first four months of 2014, leading to staff layoffs and price reductions for certain procedures, the Baja California daily newspaper El Mexicano reports. A 30 percent …

May 25, 2014
Catch Besos de Coco in City Heights

Wednesday 28 Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos presents the Young Lions Series at Croce’s Park West (2760 Fifth Avenue), each week highlighting a rising jazz musician under the age of 25. This week, it’s the Elijah DesToucher …

Saturday, May 24

Journal from China: Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing

My first trip to China was unforgettable. It was a tumultuous time in my life, with the ending of a long-term relationship and studies that had kept me occupied for four years. I had no …

May 24, 2014

Friday, May 23

Who torched All the Rooms of the House?

Last Call: Tom Dugdale and the Trip’s world premiere must close this weekend. This inventive, intriguing, multi-leveled show is a definite must-see. The stage, part of a barracks at Liberty Station, looks strange. Rectangular cinder …

May 23, 2014
Bruski's delivers the burn

My husband’s new favorite restaurant is Bruski Burgers & Brew in the Scripps Ranch area of San Diego. Opened in January 2011 by owner Bruce Nguyen, it is located right off I-15 near Scripps Ranch …

Repeat offenders and the Kevin Bacon effect

According to La Mesa police chief Ed Aceves, a joint project between the La Mesa Police Department and San Diego County Sheriff's Department that targeted "prolific offenders" resulted in a 45 percent reduction in residential …

May 23, 2014
Grunge in the Park

There are a couple of different San Diego spots I head to anytime I am suffering from a particularly awful day — the La Mesa Library, Mission Trails, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, the AmVets off …

May 23, 2014
Beware: one minimum-wage proposal called a “sham”

Because of a gaping loophole in San Diego's campaign disclosure law, it won't be until the end of July that the public learns the complete identities of the big-money donors behind a minimum-wage proposal currently …

May 23, 2014
Lykke Li's I Never Learn

Heartbreak once again plagues indie darling Lykke Li. Previously, the singer expanded her break-ups into a larger-than-life drama. For her new album, I Never Learn, she wastes no time on fancy tricks, instead keeping her …

May 23, 2014
Tigers now closer than ever

I got a sneak peek of the new Tiger Trail at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and it is indeed epic. Its official name is Tull Family Tiger Trail, after Thomas and Alba Tull, …

May 23, 2014
Band of Skulls takes House of Blues, Himalayan style

Band of Skulls erupted at House of Blues with their edgy, high-octane blues rock that at times sounded like the love child of Cream and Black Sabbath. The UK trio rolled in, strapped up, and …

May 23, 2014
“Sustainability program manager” would cost $200,000

A host of environmentalist groups led by the Environmental Health Coalition are pushing mayor Kevin Faulconer to back the city's draft Climate Action Plan, released in February, in a revised budget submitted to the city …

May 23, 2014
Change of pace: a double IPA?

Like any industry, craft brewing has its trends. Right now, the hottest of them all is the West Coast-style session India pale ale. We discussed this hot hoppy beer style three weeks ago. So far, …

May 23, 2014
Q&A with Fed Up director Stephanie Soechtig at Landmark La Jolla Village

Hey, did you see Fed Up? Alas, neither did we — not yet, anyway. But Saturday brings a chance to change all that, plus chat with the film’s director! Stephanie Soechtig will be on hand …

May 23, 2014

Thursday, May 22

Scott Marks, Annotated: Invasion of the Star Creatures

[Annotations appear in brackets.] Some nights, quality just won’t do, and last night was one of them. There are a couple of file boxes buried in my closet — bursting with DVD titles unfit to …

May 22, 2014
La Jollan who enslaved maids dies in prison

It's a chapter of history that wealthy La Jollans — who obtain their legions of domestic servants through a variety of sources, legal and not — would most likely rather forget. In early August of …

May 22, 2014
An end to the Dead End party in San Carlos

Navajo Community Planners, Inc., on May 19 voted unanimously to support the installation of a barrier north of the intersection of Cowles Mountain Boulevard and Rainswept Way. The Cottages condominium complex is accessed from Rainswept, …

How Your Capsule-Review Sausage Gets Made: Godzilla

I usually leave the sparring to my partner Scott Marks — he’s got more spleen, and better references, besides. But it’s a slow news week, and I’m feeling spunky. Godzilla came out last Friday, and …

May 22, 2014
Baby osprey takes flight before falling

At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, May 18, one of the two baby ospreys in a nest at Lake Murray took a fall. Last year, two baby ospreys fell out of the same manmade nest …

May 22, 2014
U-T hypes long-delayed Manchester hotel plan

It will be a long, hot day at the end of Austin's typically hellish Texas summer when Douglas Manchester's “Fairmont Austin” convention hotel finally breaks ground. At least that's the latest prediction from the voluble …

May 22, 2014
Korean taco + Russian ale = heaven

Sometimes two good things create a third thing that's bigger than the two of them. Case in point: Outside Mission Brewery's big ol' brick place at 14th and L. Used to be the Wonder Bread …

Vista teenager gets 24 years in prison

A Vista teenager who admitted killing a man and seriously injuring another in a gang clash in a public park was sentenced to more than 24 years in California state prison yesterday, May 21. Cristian …

May 22, 2014
End this trend: Ye Olde Wall Collage

Remember 2011’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows? Probably not; it wasn’t that good, and it mostly served as a reminder that Robert Downey Jr.’s wisecracking, arrogant, masterful Sherlock Holmes was not all that different …

May 22, 2014
Kirill Gerstein brings Russian rain

The San Diego Symphony concert the weekend of May 16-18 was a mixed bag for me. I'm not speaking of the performance, but the repertoire. The opening piece was Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky …

City hit up for storm-water violations

Cash continues to flow from San Diego's coffers to pay for storm-water drain violations and to remediate pollution sites throughout the city and bay. More funds will be needed. On May 13, the San Diego …

May 22, 2014
Big Bang bucks

The popularity of the show, The Big Bang Theory has given nerds and their careers a boost with the five main characters earning a living as physicists, an aerospace engineer, an astrophysicist …and a waitress. …

May 22, 2014
PETA makes Lindbergh Field eat it

In the face of a pending lawsuit, officials at the San Diego International Airport have backed down on a refusal to run an anti-SeaWorld advertisement directed at incoming tourists. The ad, sponsored by People for …

Beer Touring: Council Brewing Company

Objectivity is everything, but I’ll admit, it’s hard not to pull for a nice husband-and-wife team that used their own four hands to build out their brewery and tasting room, and do everything from brewing …

People don’t buy what you do

Kim Mohiuddin, chief career storyteller at Movin’ On Up Résumés, compares the résumé to the curriculum vitae and offers tips for both. Let’s start with the brief answer to the difference between a résumé and …

Big donations help fund Mission Hills/Hillcrest library

The San Diego City Council on May 20 unanimously accepted $10 million from two donors ($5 million each) to complete funding for the long-overdue Mission Hills/Hillcrest Branch Library. The San Diego Public Library Foundation had …

Battle burnout

Finding success as a real estate agent seems simple enough. It’s not brain surgery. People are always buying and selling homes. However, nearly half the agents who receive their real estate agent license fail within …

Wednesday, May 21

San Diego's hustlers, jugglers, bottom-feeders

From bubble-making to the skid-row standbys, the buck must be turned.

May 21, 2014
Come, My Celia

Come, my Celia, let us prove While we may, the sports of love; Time will not be ours forever; He at length our good will sever. Spend not then his gifts in vain. Suns that …

May 21, 2014
Suicide at Gopher Canyon

At around 3:30 p.m. on May 21, a gray-haired man in a white T-shirt stopped his pickup truck on the northbound on ramp of I-15 at Gopher Canyon Road. The man said to witnesses he …

Sea star health watch

If you've spotted a severed arm or leg along the shoreline, take note. Something is mutilating sea stars, and extra eyes are urgently needed to solve the mystery. “Sea star wasting syndrome,” a disease that …

Trunk of bourbon, branches of syrup, roots of Chartreuse

The Seven Grand’s bar manager Brett Winfield wants to give it to you straight. But before he does, you better have a cocktail — or, as he calls it, “a Whiskey Delivery Method.” “We don’t …

May 21, 2014
Heavy Glow Hauling Co.

It’s been over a year since Heavy Glow has played a local show. But it’s not because the psychedelic/metal trio doesn’t like to play. “We did five tours last year,” says singer/guitarist Jared Mullins. Their …

May 21, 2014
Beer ambassador

“It’s been a real odd position for me, as it blurs the lines from artist to marketing and advertisement guy,” says Falling Doves frontman Chris Leyva of his side-job as SoCal music-brand ambassador for Sapporo …

May 21, 2014
Are you ready to rumble?

A few months back, my roommate Matt came to me with an idea. His buddy David — a mixed-martial-arts student at Chakal Mx gym in Tijuana — wanted to throw a festival. The gym would …

May 21, 2014
Your Inner Needs

Post Title: Inner Simplicity Post Date: January 13, 2014 As we seek to refresh and revitalize ourselves, getting to a place where our minds can experience calm and quietness is vital, as it allows us …

May 21, 2014
Defining faith

Oxymoronic I had written a letter to you in answer to David Child’s letter (April 24) suggesting a nonreligious column in addition to your religious section — I, as an atheist, without belief, to promote …

May 21, 2014
Vitriolic toward hipsterkind

Dear Hipster: Why are all you such pretentious douches? Is it wrong of me to want to hit all of you in the face? What is especially troubling is how you guys are now starting …

May 21, 2014
Canyon adventure two-for-one

Stalk bighorn sheep in the Anza-Borrego...but don’t drink their water.

Sprouts and mussels and — wait, did I miss it?

“Everyone has waited ten years for this,” he says. “People said, ‘It’s I.B. It’ll never happen!’”

The business of lust

Instead of surrealist spinnings along the lines of Luis Buñuel’s Belle du Jour, spend the four seasons in a suite at the Four Seasons with a high-school harlot in Francois Ozon’s Young & Beautiful. The …

May 21, 2014
Spooky tourism

Toorcon San Diego is a convention of computer hackers that convenes every fall here to discuss the fine art of electronic breaking-and-entering. “Schools don’t teach hacking, and the Internet hides it for both profit, and …

May 21, 2014
No place in the sun

Dear Hipster: What’s the best beach in San Diego? — Sara O.B. has too many hippies. P.B. has too many bros. Shores has too many tourists. I.B. is in I.B. Mission has too many tourists. …

May 21, 2014
My Sudden Torment

“I could sit and read all day, but then I won’t be able to pay my bills. And it’s not like I dread the work. It’s not like I have to scrub toilets. I enjoy doing all the things on my to-do list.”

May 21, 2014
Villa V

Current Owner: Veronica Engel Listing Price: $4,595,000 Beds (main house): 4 Baths (main house): 4 This vintage villa was designed and built in 1930 by renowned local architect Richard Requa. He is known for works …

Amanda Vs. The Arbolcots

I’ve had the honor of being involved in the production of a few beers. Usually, brewers are kind enough to invite me into their space to lend conceptual and/or physical assistance in the brewing process. …

American export — tribute bands!

“People think finding an Anthony Kiedis impersonator is easy.” It’s harder than it seems, says Red Not Chili Peppers founder/bassist Jonathan Savage. “Over-doing the impersonation is common among fake Kiedeses. The real Anthony Kiedis has …

May 21, 2014
L.A. chillwave by the Baths

Not a bad way to begin a career in the music business: three years ago, the debut album Cerulean earned Album of the Year Honorable Mention recognition from Pitchfork. The A.V. Club liked the CD, …

May 21, 2014
Non-locals only at San Diego County fair

If you want to sniff an Encinitas-grown rose or pet a Ramona-bred goat, come on down to the San Diego County Fair. But if you yearn to grab an earful from the county’s best musicians, …

May 21, 2014
Pay for appointments

Two more big-money lobbyists and campaign contributors have gotten the nod from mayor Kevin Faulconer for high-profile city development positions. Donna Jones, a land-use partner at the downtown powerhouse influence-peddling law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, …

May 21, 2014
From all my foolish fancies now let me be free

Now all my days with joy I’ll fill Full to the brim, With all my heart to [Visnu] cling And only him. He will sweep utterly away All dole and care; And all in sunder …

Tuesday, May 20

Papeete, Tahiti

Papeete is the capital city of Tahiti, in French Polynesia. Relatively easy to reach from the West Coast, it's an eight-hour nonstop flight from LAX. Upon arrival at Tahiti's Faaa Airport, we were greeted by …

Pillow shock

Donna Lee Darling, 61, pleaded guilty to the charge of assault on an elder, causing suffering, in San Diego Superior Court today, May 20. In exchange for the plea, a charge of attempted murder was …

May 20, 2014
Government gushes tax dollars at bayside bash

Did taxpayers get a raw deal at a high-dollar pipeline conference run by the ever-controversial U.S. Transportation and Security Administration — infamous for airport frisking gropes and other mishaps — at a bayside San Diego …

May 20, 2014
After the fire: return to Poinsettia Lane

A May 19 visit to the 1700 block of Poinsettia Lane, site of Carlsbad’s “Poinsettia Fire,” revealed a much different scene than just one week ago: apparently, illegal dumpers have been throwing their trash in …

Quiche on the beach

My husband took me to lunch at a restaurant I’ve been eyeing for a few months called Chandler’s, located inside the Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort and Spa. I love a good lobby, and this one …

Tax and spend on salaries and council campaigns

City-council candidates Lorie Zapf and Chris Cate have a solid partner in the Downtown San Diego Partnership. The agency that manages the city's largest property-based improvement district and its CEO Kris Michell has gone to …

End of an acoustic era

"After 11 years and almost 550 concerts, AMSD Concerts will be coming to an end soon," was posted this morning in an email blast from producer Carey Driscoll. "The July 12 Led Kaapana concert will …

May 20, 2014
The goal is a half century of tragedy and drama

Circumstances surrounding the imminent closure, and then possible closure of the San Diego Opera have now done a complete about-face: the opera company announced that the vote to shut down had been rescinded and released …

May 20, 2014
Return to what’s inside

Beginning this Thursday, May 22, and running only through Sunday — that’s all the rent they can afford — The Trip presents the world premiere of Tom Dugdale’s All the Rooms of the House. It’s …

May 20, 2014

Monday, May 19

Trying to live up to the fish tacos of lore

I'm not sure what's more disturbing, that I hold every fish taco I eat up to the standards set by a greasy street cart selling them for 85 centavos apiece on some desolate stretch of …

Political sharpies behind big money hospital deal

It's a very good deal, at least according to an editorial in U-T San Diego, the media operation owned by Republican stalwart and real estate mega-developer Douglas Manchester. "East County voters have an easy decision …

May 19, 2014
Almost perfect in La Jolla

I went to the most recent Opera Wednesdays concert at the La Jolla Community Center. I must say I enjoyed the concert. The setting was just about ideal in my opinion. The room opened onto …

May 19, 2014
AleSmith brewing Friar water

Sports conversations are often opinionated and most topics are up for debate, yet few question Tony Gwynn‘s status as the best player in the history of the San Diego Padres franchise. The Hall of Fame …

Snapchat info grab leads to hand-slap

Federal Trade Commission officials in San Diego last week announced a proposed settlement with the popular mobile messaging service Snapchat, which will admit to making a series of false statements to users. The service has …

May 19, 2014

Sunday, May 18

Fast-food workers’ hours cut —no idea why

Demonstrations from fast-food workers involved in the "Fight for 15" campaign (which seeks to unionize food-service jobs and set a wage floor of $15 per hour) continue to ramp up, as a crowd of over …

May 18, 2014
Keb' Mo' salutes cancer survivors at Humphreys

Monday 19 The week kicks off with a good man doing a good thing for a good cause: Triple-Grammy winning blues artist Keb’ Mo’ will headline Scripps Concert for Cancer on Monday, May 19 at …

RACIST group proposes new name for San Diego Padres

"We know that it's more helpful to propose solutions than it is to simply complain about problems," says Samantha Serious, community organizer for Rename All Culturally Insensitive Sports Teams (RACIST). That's why we here at …

Heavy metal hitman

Tim Lambesis, the lead singer for world famous local metalcore band As I Lay Dying, was taken away in handcuffs May 16 to start a six-year prison sentence for paying to have his wife murdered. …

May 18, 2014

Saturday, May 17

City can’t drag its heels any longer

It was a long time coming for attorneys and volunteers in Golden Hill and South Park to get reimbursed, at least partially, for their time and money spent to fight the city over their illegally …

Lazy afternoon in a lazy coffeeshop

I honestly don't know what I was doing in Old Poway Village. It's a cute enough place, with old-timey storefronts that might be charming except for the fact they house businesses along the lines of …

Unimpressed by “road stop bathroom”

The San Ysidro Smart Border Coalition (SYSBC) held a forum on May 14 in the Willow Elementary School auditorium to discuss the anticipated spring 2016 opening of a new pedestrian border-crossing at Virginia Avenue. The …

Prepkitchen adds New English to its vernacular

I remember it like it was yesterday, sitting on the tiny patio of the first Prepkitchen (7556 Fay Avenue, La Jolla), my calves burning, the soles of my feet a mess. Back then, I would …

Friday, May 16

With neighbors like that, who needs pyros?

Thursday afternoon, May 15, as the Cocos fire in San Marcos rushed into west Escondido, residents who'd been watching the eerie-colored sky and sneezing against the airborne ash finally got the evacuation order they'd been …

Guadalajara: Tonalá, Tlaquepaque, tequila!

Guadalajara is Mexico's second-largest city and capital of the state of Jalisco. It is a cultural center of Mexico, considered by most to be the home of mariachi music. A center of learning, the city …

Art scavengers to sift Hillcrest

Artist Louiegee “Strider” Faustino hides his work for you to find. In a scavenger hunt he calls “The Lost Cause,” he has a populist vision of an art that is for everyone, can be seen …

Twitter suspends #YOLO hashtag following tweet from San Diego arsonist

Twitter spokeswoman Tammy Twiterrier today announced the social network's first-ever hashtag suspension, after a user posted a tweet that seemed to take credit for starting the Cocos fire near San Marcos. The as-yet-unidentified user, posting …

Carnivore's vegan spot

It was the day before Mother’s Day and the kids and I wanted to give my wife a nice meal. She’s been a vegetarian for more than a year so I figured a steakhouse was …

Media cabal building political machine?

Are San Diego’s big media owners working together to build a virtually impregnable political machine? It’s a question being asked more and more frequently among longtime city hall observers in the wake of political plays …

May 16, 2014
Tom Jones sings the blues

Tom Jones’s House of Blues concert was a more stripped-down affair than his typical shows. It was billed as a blues show, but people expecting Jones to wail away on Chicago blues classics like “Sweet …

May 16, 2014
La Mesans to lose right to vote?

The La Mesa City Council on May 13 voted 4-1 to place a measure on the November 4 ballot that asks voters to change the city clerk from an elected position to an appointed one. …

May 16, 2014
Here and Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings

On Cloud Nothings’ 2012 album Attack on Memory, producer Steve Albini scoured reverb and fuzz to expose singer Dylan Baldi's facility with bittersweet melody. With John Congleton producing, Here and Nowhere Else presents Cloud Nothings …

May 16, 2014
Not canned — Campbells "part ways" with opera

After facing months of public criticism, the San Diego Opera's general director Ian Campbell and his ex-wife, deputy general director Ann Spira Campbell, have finally parted ways with the company, opera officials announced via a …

May 16, 2014
The Wizard of SpanOz

SOMETHING SOMETHING GASLAMP GASBAG — Fans attending last Thursday night's game between the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Dodgers might have been forgiven for believing they'd come down with an unseasonal case of …

.44 caliber Christmas

A Marine who admitted firing a gun inside his Vista apartment, sending one shot through the front door and into the neighbors’ apartment, was sentenced to probation and "veterans' court” yesterday, May 16. The night …

May 16, 2014
ChuckAlek's stout undertaking

It’s hard to believe in sunny, IPA-geared Southern California, that stouts were once the leading style of beer produced. Porter beer was particularly popular, eclipsing all styles in popularity across The Pond. Looking to trace …

Eucalypti, your time has come

The California gold rush didn't only bring myriad fortune-seeking people to the Golden State. It also brought trees. Specifically, an Australian species very familiar to anyone who lives in San Diego: the eucalyptus. However, nearly …

Thursday, May 15

Carlsbad fire official designates potential crime scene

On the evening of May 13, most North County coastal residents breathed a sigh of relief that the “Bernardo“ fire in the Rancho Santa Fe area appeared to have not developed into a repeat of …

Robbery or payday?

A San Diego jury will decide if a young man just wanted to get paid after his employer made an unwanted sexual advance on him or if the defendant threatened and then robbed the older …

May 15, 2014
Edison exec forecast San Onofre failure

Information gleaned from a letter between San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station operator Southern California Edison and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, manufacturer of the failed steam generators that shuttered to plant, could prove that Edison intentionally skirted …

May 15, 2014
Lamb’s did it!

The old: a group in India read Bible stories non-stop for 72 hours. The new, Guinness Book record: 76 hours, 18 minutes: from Thursday, May 8 at 6:00 p.m. through Sunday, May 11 at 10:17 …

May 15, 2014
Padres = Bad Dads?

"The Donald Sterling scandal has had one good effect," says Samantha Serious, community organizer for Rename All Culturally Insensitive Sports Teams (RACIST), "the first serious, ownership-level discussion about racism in professional sports since the Atlanta …

Tijuana fire chief: Stop thieving fire hydrants

Tijuana firefighters made a troubling discovery on Wednesday, May 14, as they battled Santa Ana-whipped flames in the eastern neighborhoods of the city: most of the fire hydrants in the area were useless. In an …

May 15, 2014
Third annual Julian Wild & Scenic Film Festival to be held this weekend

“It is in the wild places — in the damp, clean air of an ancient forest; on a heavy ocean in unpredictable winds; on a snowy summit at the top of the world — that …

May 15, 2014
John McCann for Chula Vista City Council? No, thanks

Whether it was during his time on the Chula Vista City Council or during his current residency as school-board trustee for the Sweetwater Union High School District, John McCann's list of political opponents has grown. …

May 15, 2014
Kearny Mesa restaurant aspires to be crappy fast food chain

I had to go to the courthouse to deal with a traffic ticket — nobody's idea of fun — and had just enough time to squeeze in lunch beforehand. I wanted, needed, a good reason …

Too much Grand Theft Auto?

Encinitas sheriff’s deputies were on the lookout for a silver Nissan Titan truck with Mossy Nissan new-car plates on the evening of May 12. Shortly after 8:30 p.m. they found it, missing a large part …

The "Rach 3" and the flow of prestige

This coming weekend is the penultimate concert in the Jacobs Masterworks Series at the San Diego Symphony. The concert features the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 — the "Rach 3" as it was referred to …

Pizza breeding beer in OB

It’s like they waited until, after years of hopeful stalking, I finally gave up and proclaimed their venture dead in the water. A week after I published an article stating it was unlikely Newport Pizza …

Chargers' Owner Spanos: "Loose Lips Sink [Clipper] Ships"

An audiotape has recently surfaced in which a man tentatively identified as San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos chides former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for talking "about anything that matters to a woman." …

California fracking

Environmental activists representing SanDiego350.org assembled downtown on Tuesday, May 14, to confront governor Jerry Brown — here on a visit —and to urge support of SB 1132, which would ban a controversial method of extracting …

Where’s Casey?

A judge on Monday ordered an investigation into the whereabouts of the ailing Casey Kasem — backwards-counting deejay, eximious cartoon voice-artist, and the geometric centroid of Jerry Lewis’s MDA “Love Triangle” — presumably whisked from …

May 15, 2014

Wednesday, May 14

Tales from our rich neighbor, Tijuana

Tales from our rich neighbor: Everything is for the locals — Chad Deal“Tijuana is a junkyard,” and nobody knows Tijuana’s junkyards better than the Sullivans. They go all night at this park — Matthew SuárezTijuana …

Done watching San Marcos burn

5/14/14, 8 p.m. We decamped to our parents' house in Escondido partly because we were done watching San Marcos burn and partly to be with our parents in case things get scary here. So now …

Sick slabs of sound

It seems the days when surf and skate companies could be counted on to help local bands are coming to an end. Last year, Volcom folded its record label it ran for 18 years, leaving …

May 14, 2014
This Is How Lonesome Feels

The sun goes down and the sky turns dusky And everything tastes like homesick You drape the sky around your shoulders And know how lonesome feels. Every chord is minor Every light dim And if …

May 14, 2014
Red Not Marc Aliana

I’d only seen Marc Aliana playing guitar in a couple of local bands, both loud. There was a stint with Jon Goodhue, and a tribute band called the Red Not Chili Peppers, in which Aliana …

May 14, 2014
Under a blood red flag warning

5/14/14, 3 p.m. The view from San Marcos is not encouraging. It doesn't feel good either. I'm in the unincorporated area, just off Deer Springs Road, right around the bend where it becomes Twin Oaks …

Irwin and George

Qualcomm billionaire Irwin Jacobs, who recently hosted a Democratic fundraiser with president Barack Obama at his La Jolla mansion, has deserted the party machine in at least one race this year. According to campaign disclosure …

May 14, 2014
Theater 101 with Howlin’ Rain

Asked the origin of his signature stage move, combining an upstrum with a backwards stagger, Howlin Rain’s Ethan Miller specifies: “You gotta try and let yourself be natural and find some natural swing...with your playing. …

May 14, 2014
Moral popcorn

“Based on a true story” is an overused and much-abused claim, now used to gussy up everything from supernatural thrillers to backstage comedies. Belle at least has the added distinction of being based on a …

May 14, 2014
For God’s sake, man, save the puppies

When fire evacuations were ordered in the Fairbanks Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe areas the afternoon of May 13, the staff at the Helen Woodward Animal Center sprung into action. The center’s evacuation plan called …

Everybody loves Darrell

A top aide to Republican Congressman Darrell Issa enjoyed a TV star–filled jaunt from Washington to Las Vegas and back last month, thanks to the generosity of the National Association of Broadcasters. Veronica Wong, Issa’s …

May 14, 2014
Hillary is coming to town — awkward!

The 2014 BIO International Convention, to be held at San Diego's downtown convention center June 23–26, has announced that the keynote speaker will be ex–First Lady, former Secretary of State, and presumed presidential candidate Hillary …

May 14, 2014
Fevered, emotionally reportorial realism

“The stroke is just like the artist at the time he makes it.” Spanish Sojourns: Robert Henri and the Spirit of Spain, on view at the San Diego Museum of Art until September 9.

May 14, 2014
Fling that Frisbee — there's hundreds in it for you!

I have former world-champion disc-golfer, Frisbee pioneer, Carlsbad resident John Kirkland on the phone. Kirkland, 67, says, “I was there at the very beginning and I’m still doing it seven days a week. “When I …

May 14, 2014
In the footsteps of the Cahuilla

Here is your chance to walk on trails the Cahuilla used to travel between their old Santa Rosa village in Rockhouse Canyon and villages in Coyote Canyon. Although the trail is a little hard to …

Like it was dug out of Tenochtitlan itself

It pierces the night. A sharp whistle and then a woolly hoot. First thought: train. But how come a train is running through downtown Tijuana late at night? It’s not far. I can see the …

Nothing else makes any sense for me

Membership: 45 (regular attendance) Pastor: James West Age: 57 Born: Bismarck, ND Formation: Northwestern University, Evansville, IL; Lutheran Seminary, St. Paul, MN Years Ordained: 32 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your …

Josué’s kitchen

“It was a spark,” says Andrew Sheiner, business partner at Tijuana gallery La Tentación with photographer Josué Castro. “I gave them the necessity, I didn’t give them the idea,” elaborates Castro. “I gave them my …

Zappa fest in Little Italy

“As teenagers, Frank Zappa and Lou Curtiss, owner of Folk Arts Rare Records, would scour local bargain bins for eclectic albums that would define their unique musical perspectives,” says Tom Cesarini, executive director at the …

Beer Town, MX

Ask any Santa Ana breeze and she’ll tell you, Mexicali’s known for sweltering hot summers, a relaxed, rural demeanor, Chinese food and an abandoned underground Chinatown, carne asada, outlandish music, and beautiful women (some attribute …

Gifts for grads

“My parents wanted me to travel to Europe after my college graduation, expand my horizons.”

May 14, 2014
Everything is for the locals

Seth and Alexis Sullivan don’t look like they belong in Mexico. A gringo by blood — his parents relocated to Tijuana from North Carolina and Kansas nearly four decades ago — Seth is known among …

The many trials of Madame Tingley, part two

Human lemmings trundling up the steep cliffs of Point Loma? A mass exodus? Never had so many San Diegans been on the move at the same time. Until February 23, 1897, occasional visitors went either …

My name isn’t Julian

“Yeah, I’ve played a few times,” recalls Sean Lennon, of gigging in San Diego. Lennon, now touring behind his new album Midnight Sun, his newest collaboration with his girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl under the name …

May 14, 2014
They go all night at this park

“Oh, man! You moved to a place next to Parque Teniente? That’s where the male and transsexual prostitutes hang out, robberies happen, and deported homeless people sleep,” a TJ friend informs me. For a whole …

Addiction and 16 personality types

Personality assessment may help prevent relapse.

May 14, 2014
Carjacker nabbed at edge of Fallbrook

Deputy Cruz responded immediately to scanner reports of a carjacking in progress in Bonsall. It was about 3 o’clock when he left the Valley Center sheriff’s station, 20 miles away, on Wednesday afternoon, January 29. …

May 14, 2014
Believers and unbelievers

Self-Wrongeous Answering Saul Harmon Gritz’s letter (May 1) responding to David Child’s letter (April 24) asking for a Reader section devoted to atheistic concerns. Mr. Gritz, you seem to intend to speak for atheists, but …

May 14, 2014
UCSD undocumented

UC San Diego is looking to hire a new “undocumented student support services coordinator,” to be “responsible for the planning, development, implementation, and assessment of programs and services to engage and support undocumented undergraduate and …

May 14, 2014
I have loved Tijuana

Everybody knows that Pasaje Rodriguez is shaping up to be the coolest passage in TJ. But who knew of the jewel right in its heart? Pasajes (passages) are the arcades that run from Revolución through …

Don Pedro’s bit of real Mexico

Is there any real Mexico left in the borderfied, industrialized, Spanglish north end of Baja? Oh, yes, there is. Like, right now, we’re just pulling up beside an isolated house beside the old highway, south …

Tuesday, May 13

Normal Heights planners vote on Barrio plan

The Normal Heights Community Planning Group last week took a confusing vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 11 abstentions on whether or not to support the Barrio Logan community plan — which would finally …

Have it both ways at 100 Wines

My wife is vegan. Actually, she’s a vegetarian who doesn’t eat dairy. Since she has long ago made peace with the fact that I don’t care what I put in my body, we get along …

Shot dead in bedroom

Attorneys were in court on May 9, preparing for the trial of Julie Elizabeth Harper, 41, who is accused of shooting her husband Jason, 39, nearly two years ago. The prosecutor said he hoped the …

May 13, 2014
South Bay political mafia buys Horton ads

Ads for a San Diego County candidate for the state Board of Equalization favored by Republican publisher and real estate mogul Douglas Manchester and retired Democratic San Diego South Bay state senator Steve Peace have …

May 13, 2014
Survival in service

Marisa Wegrzyn’s serio-comedy takes a behind-the-scenes look at off-duty “people persons.” The scene, done in vivid, stereotypical detail by Maria Bane, is room 208 of a, let’s be kind, modestly priced hotel next door to …

May 13, 2014
Sunroad slurry to ooze through court

Sunroad Enterprises and the city will be heading back to court to fight yet another lawsuit over the developer's Sunroad Centrum development in Kearny Mesa. The city will be right alongside, defending their decision to …

May 13, 2014
Outta here: Homes become houses on wheels

The City of San Diego has removed two single-family homes from Academy of Our Lady of Peace–owned property, per a previous consent decree. The removal had been ordered to occur by May 1, 2014. The …

Bullets instead of drugs

A jury began hearing evidence in the trial of two men accused of killing a woman to end her loud “drama,” in San Diego’s North County courthouse today, May 12. The 20-year-old woman who was …

May 13, 2014

Monday, May 12

Don’t let the Ché Café get punked by budget cuts

In a press release dated today, May 12, the Ché Café collective is calling for community support in the University Centers Advisory Board (UCAB) vote for a budget plan that may close the venue for …

May 12, 2014
Pot shop popped after robbery

Sheriff's deputies responding to the burglary of a Lakeside medical marijuana dispensary on Friday, May 9, caught the thief, but also left the dispensary's operator facing criminal charges of her own. Shortly before 4 a.m., …

May 12, 2014
Dynamically duplicitous dirty old Navy

Call it the ex-admirals' political ball. In any case, it may be one of San Diego's biggest masquerades since Mardi Gras. A longtime General Dynamics executive has signed the ballot argument against a community plan …

May 12, 2014
Marx Bros. invade Ken Cinema to benefit the San Diego Opera

Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Sig Ruman in 35mm!? Whatever you do, don’t slow those nags down next Monday night when all horse-drawn carriages lead to Landmark’s Ken Cinema for the San Diego Opera’s deluxe benefit …

May 12, 2014
Oceanside top cop salary to jump 13%

Following an unsuccessful national search for a qualified replacement, the Oceanside City Council voted 4-1 on Wednesday, May 7, to keep Frank McCoy on as police chief for another two years. McCoy officially retired last …

All I could eat, plus mango custard

For the most part, anyone who tells you they had a satisfying All You Can Eat meal cares more about feeling full than eating good food. This holds especially true when you cross below the …

Eastern Sierra's big trout in hiding

At 5:08 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, the Eastern Sierra trout season was on. Hundreds of San Diegans headed up Highway 395 to hit the ice-free lakes from Big Pine to Bridgeport, in what was …

May 12, 2014
Oh, gee, Oggi’s is growing!

As reported back in January, Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing Co. is set to debut the first of its new Oggi’s Pizza Express venues at San Diego State University. The fast-casual spot is being installed in …

Sunday, May 11

You want electricity or not?

At around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, SDG&E started a construction project to get power across Olivenhain Road to a new, small development of condos off of Amargosa Drive. The construction required the reduction …

Tropical wave strikes 30th at Chris' Ono Grinds

Over the past few years, the food and drink corridor of 30th Street has grown beyond its University Avenue origins to extend past El Cajon Boulevard and clear through BeHe up to Adams. Locales such …

Saturday, May 10

Marco Eneidi & Cosmic Brujo cast free-jazz spell at Dizzy's

Monday 12 Vocalist Jonathan Karrant celebrates America’s crooners at Martinis Above Fourth (3940 Fourth Avenue) with Ed Kornhauser on piano, Ben Wanicur on bass, and Duncan Moore on drums. Concert starts at 8:00 p.m. and …

10-foot rose blooms on 30th Street

Southern California’s sun can bleach hair, furrow faces, and beat the colors off public art. San Diego artist Maxx Moses commissioned a series of panels a year and a half ago for the Alliance San …

Encinitas: Roundabout Capital of California

Caltrans has announced future improvements to the Birmingham Drive/Interstate 5 interchange in Cardiff by the Sea — roundabouts, rather than traffic signals. The Birmingham Drive exits are the last remaining I-5 interchanges that don’t have …

Cincinnati: hip Rust Belt city

Cincinnati has roots in so many different worlds: North and South, rust belt and agrarian, skyscrapers and green space, historic and hip. Neighborhoods that were marginalized for decades are now favorites of young professionals. Artistic …

May Ten: Happy Birthday, Big Screen!

It was three years ago today, Jim Holman gave us license to play! Thanks, boss! Ditto to you, Ernie Grimm. The smartest thing you gents ever did was not giving me an office. I work …

May 10, 2014
The Spoken One speaks on his graffiti-busting ways

A recent confrontation between a surfer and a graffiti vigilante at Sunset Cliffs park ended peacefully but raised questions on how to approach the encroachment of vandalism, particularly within our beach communities. An eyewitness reports …

No author better served

On May 15, Scott Feldsher and Sledgehammer Theatre mount their first production in several years — and IT’S ABOUT TIME! Their choice, Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, has a legendary San Diego connection. In 1962, Alan …

Harrah’s flush with craft beer

Anybody entering a casino is taking their chances to some extent. This luck-pressing should not extend to patrons looking for a quality beverage. Such is the thinking behind Corked, a new bar at the recently …

Friday, May 9

Found: another proposal from the now-disbanded Balboa Park Centennial Group

From the minutes of the December 2013 meeting of the Balboa Park Centennial Group, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and a fifth of Glenlivet: Mr. [REDACTED] noted that, during the 1935 Expo, …

Sailing America

“Anyone who does happen to lose their lunch while sailing will get it back with a gift certificate to a restaurant just down the street.”

Sweetwater chaos reaches Judge España’s court

Sweetwater Union High School District board meetings have often been chaotic and indecisive. But did anyone ever imagine this chaos would be replicated in a South Bay courthouse? On April 24, when Sweetwater trustees Jim …

Sufjan, Serengeti, and Son Lux are Sisyphus

The debut full-length from Sisyphus, an amalgamation of three disparate indie forces (Sufjan Stevens, Serengeti, Son Lux) commissioned by the Walker Art Center, is grounded in a thesis Sufjan relayed in a prerelease interview on …

May 9, 2014
New kid in town: Boffo Cinemas to open seven-screen luxury cinema in La Jolla

My old pal Pat Sherman at The La Jolla Light broke the story. Two La Jolla businessmen, Adolfo Fastlicht and Carlos Wellman, announced their company, Boffo Cinemas, is set to open a new seven-screen luxury …

May 9, 2014
Thanks for the full-scale train, Dad

While driving eastbound on Miramar Road, I spotted a classic train car sitting on an abandoned railroad spur. The 1948 Pullman car sits with 30 other industrial freight cars on an end-of-the-line track, fenced off …

A taste of Chicago, on Hawaiian sweet buns

Every time I walk into Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria, I hear Sean Connery's voice in my head, growling "That's the Chicago way!" Granted, his Untouchables character wasn't talking about deep dish pizza. But then, neither am …

Diiv's waves of sound crash on Casbah

Casbah concertgoers gathered to see Brooklyn-based indie-rock poster children DIIV perform a sensory-soaked performance. Frontman Zachary Cole Smith walked onstage to tune his guitar and cheekily greeted the audience before plunging immediately into their debut …

May 9, 2014
Pot lobby and cop unions fund pro-Brewer committee

Some seemingly strange political bedfellows are behind an independent expenditure committee backing attorney Robert Brewer for district attorney against incumbent Bonnie Dumanis. Calling itself “Public Safety Advocates," the group received $10,000 from the Alliance for …

May 9, 2014
Chief Zimmerman talks pot

San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman answered residents' questions about the medical marijuana law and the homeless, among other topics, at the May 7 San Carlos Area Council meeting. John Pilch, council vice president, said …

Fat Cat expanding through contraction

Last November, I was watching a morning news segment featuring a handful of brewing companies from around San Diego. The first five were operations I knew well. Then came the last in the line-up, Fat …

May 9, 2014
Real estate scammer pleads guilty

in federal court on Thursday, May 9, a San Diego–based real estate developer admitted to swindling 50 victims out of approximately $50 million according to a Department of Justice announcement. Bradley Holcom, 55, pleaded guilty …

May 9, 2014

Thursday, May 8

The Obama–La Jolla beat

Three hours before President Obama’s motorcade was scheduled to roll through La Jolla, protesters were shouting their slogans at passing motorists at the corner of Torrey Pines Road and Dunaway Drive. The $10,000-a-seat Democratic Party …

Dig a hole: Lee Marshall, voice of Tony the Tiger

The news is not so Grrrrrrrrreat! Lee Marshall, the voice of Kellogg’s cereal advertising mascot Tony the Tiger, is dead. Lee Marshall died of esophageal cancer on April 26 at a Santa Monica hospital. He …

May 8, 2014
Jsix rates a 10

Jsix at the Hotel Solamar downtown closed down at the beginning of the year to revamp the menu. The restaurant now promises food that is organic, sustainable, hormone-free, and that supports local farmers. All of …

San Diego Film Critics Society holds quasi-annual awards luncheon

The San Diego Film Critics Society held its quasi-annual awards luncheon yesterday at the Blind Lady Ale House on Adams Avenue. Why do they call it the Blind Lady? Because only Helen Keller would put …

May 8, 2014
Crackdown on college kids

College Area residents are calling on the city to hire a full-time code-enforcement officer to patrol neighborhoods for violations. Examples of some types of code violations rampant around San Diego State University include houses with …

Camping is no excuse for bad fashion

For Spring break, my family, a few friends, and I drove nine hours to camp amongst the cliffs and Fremont cottonwoods of Zion National Park in Utah. It was breathtaking. The second day we were …

May 8, 2014
General’s disregard for the warrior

A former U.S. Marine jailed in Tijuana for bringing weapons into Mexico is getting little sympathy from a top-ranking Baja California military official despite an outpouring of support north of the border. Twenty-five-year-old Andrew Tahmooressi, …

May 8, 2014
POW! Have some brain damage

William Henry McElroy, 23, pleaded not guilty to felony battery causing serious injury in court yesterday, May 7. According to the testimony of officer T. Eikermann, McElroy admitted that he hit a man identified as …

May 8, 2014
Crooked ex-admiral fighting Barrio Logan plan

It isn't a secret that a lot of San Diego money comes from military contractors and every so often some of all that federally funded cash is diverted to illegal purposes, stolen, and otherwise wasted. …

Drugged toddler rushed to Tijuana hospital

For the third time in six weeks, a child has been rushed to a Tijuana hospital suffering from a drug overdose, El Sol de Tijuana reported on May 6. The one-year-old boy was taken by …

Motivate for money

Jake Ducey is the modern, 22-year-old, version of Tony Robbins — minus the hot coals. While he has yet to make any movie appearances and does not have quite the same name recognition as Robbins, …

Rip Current alert for North Park

There’s something about North Park. Over the past several years, a number of craft breweries situated in more distant parts of San Diego County have established more centrally located tasting rooms in San Diego proper, …

An app called Get the Job

When Tiffany Gibson of Ohio completed her master’s degree in business management from Indiana Wesleyan, she figured a well-paying job would pretty much fall into her lap. It didn’t. “I figured I was that person …

Why so glum, gangsta?

Local law enforcement investment in Graffiti Tracker software appears to be paying off, after sheriff's deputies apprehended a 15-year-old tagger linked to at least 90 graffiti incidents. According to Sgt. Matt Blumenthal, the crimes committed …

May 8, 2014
The nature of the swap meet

Need extra money? Anthony Pretto invites you to sell your wares at Kobey’s Swap Meet. Tell me about the swap meet. Kobey’s Swap Meet was founded in 1976 by my grandfather Monte. It started with …

May 8, 2014

Wednesday, May 7

Ed Bedford's 1000 Cheap Eats of San Diego

He’s never seen a chafing dish that rubbed him the wrong way.

May 7, 2014
Ed scarfs his 1000th Tin Fork meal after a game of craps

‘Oh, no. Midnight!” The guy looks at the dice. Two sixes facing up on the pavement. (Two sixes? Like, twelve. That’s why they call this roll “Midnight.”) He picks up the dice and shakes them …

David O. Russell in town this weekend to accept IBPF Hope Award

Academy Award–nominated filmmaker David O. Russell will be at the International Bipolar Foundation's (IBPF) fifth-annual gala fundraiser this Saturday night to accept their Hope Award. IBPF will host “Behind the Mask: Phantom of the Opera …

May 7, 2014
What would Quentin think?

“The only guidelines I got when I wrote the song were that it was based in 15th-century Scotland and that they [producers] wanted slightly modern-sounding music with nods to that period in time,” says Tim …

May 7, 2014
One must treat all opposites analogously

The Great and Exalted has a manifestation in His own form for all eternity in this world.... He has made a man noble with that form, and all the prophets and friends of God have …

“John McCann and Ed Brand should resign”

Sweetwater Union High School District trustee John McCann, who is running for Chula Vista City Council seat 1 in the June election, got an entire press release printed in the San Diego Rostra on May …

Pop and weirdness

“My live show is a one-woman act of sorts,” says electro-opera singer-songwriter Trish Hosein, aka Trishes. “It includes beat-boxing, vocal looping and effects, and keyboard synth hooks that showcase indie-pop tunes. I think these layers …

May 7, 2014
Rock and roll your walls

“In March I released a new series that I’ve been working on for the last year,” Bill Pierce tells the Reader. “It’s pretty focused on musicians right now. I started with the most iconic images: …

May 7, 2014
Claustrophobes beware!

The last time mainstream audiences were locked in a one-character/fixed-setting experiment along this line, it was called Buried. Better to ride shotgun with Tom Hardy in high-octane mode in Locke than be trapped in a …

May 7, 2014
Pour-over coffee, unfiltered pretense

Dear Hipster: Two questions. First, how did the hipster burn his mouth? Second, if I used a Melitta before it was called “pour over” does that make me hip even though I am an old …

May 7, 2014
Love without reason

Fosca blazes with such fervor that her fierce, unconditional devotion appears grotesque.

Stevie Perry

When Tee Henley decided to start Open Arms, America’s first female-fronted Journey tribute band, some wondered if she should change the lyrics to reflect her gender. She decided to accept the masculine-focused lyrics with open …

May 7, 2014
Hedgehog, teddy bear, staghorn

Hike part of the California Riding and Hiking Trail to an overview of Shelter Valley.

So '90s — so 2012

Mr. Hipster: Why is it okay to use the terms “moron” and “idiot,” yet “retarded” is not okay? The terms moron and idiot are former categories of retardation. Moron and idiot are used frequently in …

May 7, 2014
The highest-priced estate in San Diego

Current Owner: Frank Vessels Family Trust Listing Price: $55,600,000 Beds (main house): 3 Baths (main house): 5 Vessels Ranch, tucked away in the rural North County community of Bonsall, could set a new record for …

May 7, 2014
Sights not unseen

“Weird stuff is entertaining in its own way. I just saw a video of an ox chasing people through a hospital. You have to admit, that’s an extraordinary happening, and that’s what makes it interesting.”

May 7, 2014
New horn in town

“It was a ballsy move,” admits 28-year-old Grammy-winning trumpeter Curtis Taylor on his relocation last January from Jersey City to San Diego. Taylor was playing hundreds of sideman gigs back East: “I didn’t realize how …

May 7, 2014
Electricity refund? Not in California

“California historically has offered one of the most constructive regulatory environments in the nation,” says Hugh Wynne, a Wall Street research analyst. Because the California Public Utilities Commission strives mightily to boost utility profits, the …

May 7, 2014
In response

End of the Day I would like to respond to the lady who wrote the letter called “The Real Fat Lady” (May 1) and tell her to get her facts right. It was not a …

May 7, 2014
Predawn meditation yields pocketfuls of dirt

Post Title: Added Instruments in the Canyon’s Symphony Post Date: January 22, 2014 On my first lap up the canyon this morning I had to stop momentarily to soak in the view. It was barely …

May 7, 2014
Love of Slapstick

Come, spritz of seltzer in the face, implacable banana peel. Come, brickbats, pratfalls, amazing grace- lessness, the yowl of the schlemiel. Away with wit, you clever flights of phrase it takes a Ph.D. to explicate. …

May 7, 2014

Tuesday, May 6

Porch music played with a high degree of accuracy

After seven years in business, it’s hard to think of Portland’s Black Prairie as just being a Decemberist’s side project, but that’s why they started, and technically speaking, that is what they remain. It all …

May 6, 2014
Free showing of Batman documentary: Saturday morning at The Ken

It’s long been my hope that Landmark’s Ken Cinema would throw in an occasional family film to introduce a new generation of moviegoers to single-screen living. While it’s a private rental and not on the …

May 6, 2014
Anti-asthma councilmembers reaffirm Barrio plan

The majority of San Diego's city council gathered in front of city hall Monday morning (May 5) to affirm their support of the Barrio Logan community plan update, previously approved by the council but under …

May 6, 2014
Hillcrest hat trick

Some of the best shopping found in Hillcrest begins on the 3800 block of Fifth Avenue and runs through the 3900 block of Fifth. On that stretch you will find Buffalo Exchange, Lost and Found, …

May 6, 2014
Case against Filner/city gets prickly

The sexual harassment lawsuit brought against former mayor Bob Filner by a wounded Marine and her nurse has turned ugly — not by Filner's accusers but between their respective attorneys. New court documents filed with …

May 6, 2014
Rotten with Sempra/SDG&E money

Arguably the most powerful corporation in San Diego, akin to the public utility octopuses of old, giant Sempra Energy has the political clout to match. But a big part of the electric company's influence isn't …

May 6, 2014
Visit to El Faro orphanage, Tijuana

When I returned to San Diego from India, I felt a bit out of sorts. I had been profoundly moved by my experiences there – particularly seeing the numerous street kids and visiting the Salaam …

From innocence to evil

Leopold and Loeb: the dark-eyed, slick-haired, “thrill killers” of 1924 could have posed for Arrow shirt ads. Nathan Leopold, 19, and Richard Loeb, 18, were intelligent lawyers-to-be. Leopold had a 210 IQ and claimed to …

Nazi Low Riders on trial

Two men who are accused of killing a young woman to end her loud “drama” two years ago, will go on trial this week in San Diego’s North County Superior courthouse. Jury selection is scheduled …

May 6, 2014
Debussy, Bartok, and Tchaikovsky at The San Diego Symphony

There is something about Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn that aches with nostalgia. When the piece started at the Jacobs Music Center on Saturday night, I settled in to experience a happy …

Nearly drowned in the Imperial Valley

Border Patrol agents based in El Centro saved an unconscious woman from drowning Sunday afternoon (May 4) after she was pulled from a car that had driven into an irrigation canal near farmland in the …

Empty panga blues in Mission Beach

A Mexican fishing boat reportedly loaded with 26 people came ashore near Belmont Park in South Mission Beach Monday morning, May 5, and everyone onboard got away — in part because of a witness's problems …

Monday, May 5

This is not my zereshk polo

Some of the most enjoyable salads I've eaten have come from the kitchen of Soltan Banoo, a Persian restaurant maintaining a low key presence on Park Blvd in University Heights. The place never seems to …

Eau de chicken manure scents council campaigns

Michael Schlesinger of Beverly Hills has a big-money thing for San Diego politics, but that's about the only thing known about the mysterious money man and the source of his cash, most famous here for …

May 5, 2014
Group battles aims of utility giants

A local group pushing to establish "community choice aggregation (CCA)," an energy supply method that proponents say would compete with San Diego Gas & Electric by attempting to distribute both cheaper and greener power to …

May 5, 2014
The Homebrewer going pro

Home Brewing Co. might grow to be San Diego beer fans’ favorite oxymoron. It would make sense, since the business that’s delving into this side interest, The Homebrewer (2911 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park), is …

Sunday, May 4

Electrical fire in the Zona Norte

Breaking the otherwise wild and noisy routine in the sketchy Zona Norte section of Tijuana on Saturday afternoon, a fleet of vehicles from the Tijuana Bomberos (fire department) arrived with sirens blazing, accompanied by police …

Saturday, May 3

Public utilities commission's rape of the ratepayers

San Diego attorneys Mike Aguirre and Mia Severson are vehemently protesting another move by the California Public Utiliities Commission (CPUC) to fleece ratepayers over the closing of the San Onofre nuclear plant. They note in …

May 3, 2014
Gumbo on the run

What's the difference between gumbo, jambalaya and étouffée? Tonight I've got a chance to find out. This is at 57 Degree's monthly food truck gathering (1735 Hancock Street, near Washington), and the last truck in …

Holly Hofmann delivers Low Life to the Scripps Research Institute

Monday 5 Vocalist Coral McFarland Thuet with trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, pianist Irving Flores, drummer Mike Holguin, and bassist Rob Thorsen play SDSU’s International Student Center (5500 Campanile Drive) at 4 p.m. Free!... the HM3 featuring …

100 Hours of Stories IN A ROW!

The Guinness Book of Records for staying awake is 264 hours. Whoever did that must be cutting out paper dolls in an institution. The oldest person in the world is 116, sayeth the G-Book, and …

Playing basketball on Mars

No visit to Paris is considered complete without a glimpse of the iconic Eiffel Tower. And if you want to truly capture the full romantic grandeur of the occasion, it's best to approach from the …

An old dog’s hoppy new trick

Session IPAs are all the rage. So, what is a “session IPA?” Let’s start off with the acronym. IPA stands for India pale ale, a hoppier style of ale originating from Britain. That Old World …

May 3, 2014

Friday, May 2

Three county lawyers disciplined

According to the California Bar Journal, three county lawyers have been disciplined. Verne Craig Scholl of Carlsbad was suspended for one year and placed on two years of probation for five acts of misconduct with …

May 2, 2014
A certain tendency at Edwards Mira Mesa

The past three films I’ve seen at Edwards Mira Mesa have all been presented in the miracle of Letterbox! Instead of snugly cinched borders, the picture played center-screen with enough black at the head and …

May 2, 2014
Boardwalks to be built for fairy shrimp

A popular and vital connector trail in the Sweetwater Regional Park that was closed in December by the unexpected arrival of endangered fairy shrimp may be open again soon. "Everything is going the way we …

No teachers’ union, no political agendas…

A new high-school charter is opening under the umbrella of Chula Vista Elementary School District. The high school will be housed on the small, for-profit United States University campus on Bayfront Boulevard. Bayfront High School, …

Morning Phase by Beck

Ever since he lo-fi'd his way onto the radio in the early ’90s, Beck has been a musical marvel, a savant, a weirdo. But times change. People change. Some people, musicians especially, don't age well. …

May 2, 2014
Sandwich, soup, and a smile in Sorrento

While running errands recently, I followed a craving for a good salad to Croutons. It’s a small restaurant in the Sorrento South Corporate Center serving up made-to-order salads, daily soups, and panini. I ordered the …

As Lambesis awaits sentencing…

The sentencing of Tim Lambesis for soliciting a hit man to kill his wife was delayed two weeks, from this morning, May 2, until May 16. The As I Lay Dying frontman and admitted would-be-assassin …

May 2, 2014
Blistering band, bleeding ears

Over their last three albums, Brooklyn band the Men have evolved from their punk roots to more traditional rock. In fact, their most recent effort, Tomorrow's Hits, feels like a classic-rock album covered by a …

May 2, 2014
SDPD detective aims at “good old boy” contingent

It's been a rough couple of years for the San Diego Police Department. Numerous allegations of sexual assault and domestic violence claims have been filed. Residents have registered profiling complaints. In February, the chief of …

May 2, 2014
House at 1619 J Street historical? Guffaw.

The San Diego City Council on Wednesday, April 30, removed the historic designation for a house at 1619 J Street — but is banking on the owner, Jerry Navarra, to move it rather than tear …

Sake (and beer) is alive at Kuracali

Chuck Perkins has a condition. Whenever he is taken by something really good, he feels an internal yearning to create it himself. That said, he realizes he has his limitations. As such, he won’t be …

U.S. Marine reported shackled in Tijuana prison

A U.S. Marine who has done two tours of Afghanistan has been shackled to his cot in Tijuana's La Mesa penitentiary infirmary while being held on illegal gun charges, according to the McClatchy News Service …

May 2, 2014
Brick by Brick is in play

On May 1, the day before As I lay Dying lead singer Tim Lambesis was to be sentenced for his role in paying for his wife's murder, the fate of three of his former bandmates …

May 2, 2014
Tales from Scam Diego

The Department of Justice announced yesterday (May 2) that it has permanently barred Michael Turner from preparing federal tax returns. The government says that Turner entered bogus deductions on his customers' returns. When the Internal …

May 2, 2014

Thursday, May 1

Interview with Water & Power writer-director Richard Montoya

Richard Montoya was born in San Diego, the son of Korean War veteran Jose Montoya, a poet, and one of the founders of the Royal Chicano Art Front (later named the Royal Chicano Air Force). …

May 1, 2014
Liver lovers, heads up! They take you seriously here

"What am I, chopped liver?" This is Jennifer, standing with her hands flung out sideways. Then she relaxes. "Everybody says that, when they see it on the menu." Chopped liver sandwich is part of a …

Ferruccio Furlanetto talks Von Karajan

San Diego Reader: So one question I’ve never been able to ask any singer and will probably never be able to ask again is what was it like to work with von Karajan, you were …

May 1, 2014
Water sprinklers get their man

Oceanside police say they saw the burglary suspect come out of his hiding place in the bushes when the sprinklers came on, after they responded to a call at around 3 a.m. on April 17. …

May 1, 2014
Boundary-free with a nostalgia rinse

“I must’ve looked pretty awful,” says a character in one of Peter Devries’ novels. “When I asked the bartender if he served Zombies, he said, ‘sure, what’ll you have?’” Ya gotta love the old ones! …

Jackass bites Student

A letter from the enemy: “I would like to complain about your movie reviewer, Scott Marks. He reviewed the movie Walking with the Enemy in this issue (April 24). That was some piece of jackass …

May 1, 2014
Beware of “sham” wage-increase proposal!

A group of about 50 activists rallied Wednesday morning (April 30), holding a prayer circle on the city seal 12 floors below the city-council chambers downtown in support of council president Todd Gloria's proposal to …

Clinton records shed light on Filner, Bersin

It's history now, but the 1990s were a busy time for two San Diego Democrats who jockeyed for privilege and power during the administration of president Bill Clinton. Now, a release of previously restricted documents …

May 1, 2014
Interview with Fading Gigolo writer-director-star John Turturro

Fading Gigolo tells the story of Fioravante (John Turturro), a self-assured florist who gets recruited by his older friend Murray (Woody Allen) to work as, of all things, a gigolo. Fioravante isn’t overly thrilled with …

May 1, 2014
Pursuit of green meds impacts environment

The city's approach to establish a medical marijuana ordinance is not only overly restrictive, it's illegal, says Los Angeles–based patient rights advocacy group, Union for Medical Marijuana Patients. On April 29, the organization filed a …

May 1, 2014
Not all food adventures end well

I'm not sure I've ever really had good Chinese food in San Diego. I've had good dishes at Chinese restaurants with distinctly English names, and I've had bad experiences pointing at what I think want …

Undeleted City emails reveal Balboa Park Centennial Group proposal for 2015 XXXPosition

SLOWLY COUNTING TO 2.6 MILLION IN AN EFFORT TO MAINTAIN CONTROL, BALBOA PARK — The combined decisions to halt the deletion of City emails and to audit the now-defunct Balboa Park Centennial Group have produced …

Union-Tribune circulation takes a hit

This morning's (May 1) data from the Alliance for Audited Media (formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations) show the Union-Tribune taking a circulation beating from last year. For the six month period ended March 31, …

May 1, 2014
Helm’s makes it a double

Though not as talked about as Kearny Mesa neighbor and brewing industry cult favorite, Societe Brewing Company, there’s a lot to talk about lately when it comes to Helm’s Brewing Company (5640 Kearny Mesa Road, …

Where low-income LGBT seniors can live

When LGBT, low-income seniors in San Diego seek affordable apartments where they can live comfortably around their peers, they have this number of choices: zero. But that will change when the first affordable San Diego …

Local filmmaker Mark Freeman screens new dance documentary

Mark Freeman has been making movies for over three decades. This weekend, the award-winning documentarian, college professor, and all-around hometown film treasure unveils his latest work, Rasa Dari Tari/Soul of Dance at the San Diego …

May 1, 2014
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