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Content for Wednesday, August 20, 2014

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News & Stories

San Diego reservoirs at record lows

How dry is it? Dry, dry, dry, dry, dry.

August 20, 2014
New blood for Sweetwater district?

Sweetwater Union High School District called an unscheduled meeting August 13 to review its “asset utilization plan” for selling district-owned property and purchasing a new administrative building. The district has three properties that it is …

August 20, 2014
Oceanside advances on affordable housing project

As ground is broken on the largest affordable-housing project in San Diego County, all that remains for the complex is to finalize the patchwork of funding. At a cost of $92 million, the Mission Cove …

August 20, 2014
Fast-track Frights

Singer/guitarist Mikey Carnevale has no idea why the Frights was nominated as Best Live Band for this year’s San Diego Music Awards. The punk trio from Poway has no dancing go-go girls, matching suits, or …

August 20, 2014
Fine international fusion at beach bum cost

You wouldn’t guess it from their island-style coffee-shop façade, but beyond the organic drip java and veggie wraps lies a top-notch wine and beer bar with selections meant to be paired with their eclectic, globally …

August 20, 2014
Grammy man

When San Diego musician Kamau Kenyatta learned that his protégé Gregory Porter had won Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards for Liquid Spirits (an album Kenyatta produced), he was momentarily indisposed: “I …

August 20, 2014
Arabs and Jews alike

Whew. Hot day out here on the La Playa Trail. La Playa Trail? Just the oldest commercial trail in the Western United States. ’Course we know it as Rosecrans Street. I notice this li’l historical …

Crime and circumstance

The Fourth of July fireworks display that caps off the poor-kids-in-the-heartland documentary Rich Hill can be viewed in a couple of ways. You can see the young’uns staring open-mouthed at the pretty explosions while chants …

August 20, 2014
Far Out Fangtooth to Creepoid

“We’re in the middle of one of our longest drives on this tour.” Nick Culp checks in by phone from somewhere up in Canada to talk about his recent move from Far Out Fangtooth to …

August 20, 2014
Boom. Just like that

With locals and tourists trying to grab in a few more days of summer, the beaches in North County were suddenly closed to all activity on August 20. Starting around 4:00 a.m., an incoming weather …

Charitable Stones

“I was blessed to meet Mick Jagger’s assistant through one of our Photocharity board members.” Jeffrey Sitcov calls the Reader to talk about his latest good fortune: a pair of electric guitars, each one autographed …

August 20, 2014
Worst. Headache. Ever.

Ben Bartel is the 29-year-old singer/guitarist for local acoustic-rockers Mayfield, a group whose sound Bartel equates to “a guy and a girl arguing with each other musically.” The argument almost came to a crashing halt …

August 20, 2014
Brian’s revenge

Mindy Fletcher, ex–White House press aide to president George Bush and wife of failed Republican-turned-Democratic San Diego mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher, has gone into business with Corinne Clark, an ex-staffer for Brian Bilbray, a Republican …

August 20, 2014
Cut the cheesy jokes

Dear Hipster: I use a lot of bathroom humor because I think it’s f@$*ing hilarious! My girlfriend (along with some of my friends) tells me I’m being too lowbrow and that I shouldn’t resort to …

August 20, 2014
Varied habitats, outstanding views

Lake Poway is a full-facility recreation area that has something for everyone.

August 20, 2014
Hard drive intact

“We thought we might get our music seized,” says Rick Elliot, whose Secondhand Smoke Band’s upcoming full-length, First Hand, was recorded in Escondido. “Lambesis Studios was the studio co-owned by Daniel [Castleman] and the now-infamous …

August 20, 2014
Robin Williams, RIP

Most everyone has had their say already about the death of Robin Williams. I don’t have anything to add about the man, except to say that he helped to shape, as much as Jack Benny …

August 20, 2014
Thanks for the dough, $hamu!

SeaWorld's stock may be down on Wall Street, but it definitely appears to be up with Democratic Governor Jerry Brown. After repeated battering by animal-rights advocates over the issue of orca captivity, the marine-animal emporium …

August 20, 2014
Reunite Like Jehu

It almost seemed like a prank, the Facebook announcement that Drive Like Jehu planned to reunite, at least long enough to play one free show on the big concrete stage at the Balboa Park Organ …

August 20, 2014
The Pickles Are on the Wall

Look up Azerbaijan on the map and one can see immediately how this Caucasus country is a confluence of cultures: Persian, Russian, Islamic, seafaring, to name a few. All of these influences contribute to modern-day …

August 20, 2014
So inescapable

Hey Hipster: Why do all hipsters start every sentence with the word “So?” The adult version of “Like.” — Matt G Maybe I’m reading too closely between the lines here, but are you suggesting that …

August 20, 2014
A Rancho Santa Fe house so extravagant, it does the boasting

Current Owners: The Waite family Listing Price: $10,900,000 Beds: 8 Baths: 10 Casa Bonito Del Rio is a Spanish-style estate encompassing nearly 13,000 square feet of living space on a 9.9-acre equestrian parcel within the …

August 20, 2014
MEK Muck-up

It may seem a bit late, but ex-San Diego mayor Bob Filner, who quit office following revelations of sexual harassment last summer, has just received a warning from California’s Fair Political Practices Commission. In a …

August 20, 2014
“Competition is a sin”

The words above are attributed to John D. Rockefeller, human template for American monopolies. We know he was rich, but few people know how rich he actually was. According to the the New York Times, …

August 20, 2014
Ways to save water and money

Landscaping and gardening in a drought is tough and expensive, so I started looking for ways to save water and money. “The first thing to do is evaluate the irrigation system,” said New Way Landscape …

August 20, 2014
Letters from our readers

Don’s Flashlight Thanks for Don Bauder’s article on the lack of corporate do-goodism (City Lights: “Do Well, Do Good”). As a 20-year Wall Streeter, it turned me into a socialist. Like Einstein said, “Capitalism is …

August 20, 2014
Rummed-up son abused his Oceanside parents

“They just said you’re not allowed to drink around us, so I just said, ‘Fine,’” Greg Foley recalled. “I just didn’t let them know that I was drinking because it would upset them.” He just …

August 20, 2014
Why They Love Us

Vanna, 1987?–1995 Dogs love us uncomplainingly because They see us in a way we never do. They don’t have sense enough to see our flaws The way we fear our lovers’ fangs and claws. Blondi …

August 20, 2014
Steakhouse wages

The San Diego Democratic Party is facing off in the fall against the GOP Lincoln Club in what is expected to be a particularly nasty electoral clash. The main battle is between Republican downtown lobbyist …

August 20, 2014
How to get the church back into the world?

Membership: 120 Pastor: Brent Ross Age: 40 Born: Albuquerque, NM Formation: Vanderbilt Divinity School, Nashville, TN; Garrett Evangelical Seminary, Evanston, IL Years Ordained: 5 San Diego Reader: What’s your favorite subject on which to preach? …

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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