Sad story of Andrew Cunanan and even sadder, his mom

• The murderous saga of Andrew Cunanan

• When Vulgar Favors, Maureen Orth's book about the murderous saga of Andrew Cunanan, hit the best-seller lists last month, a national audience was offered a sinister portrait of San Diego, far different from the image of dumb and innocent All-American beach town concocted by the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau. "The wealthiest and most celebrated men in San Diego would not even go into a gay bar," Orth writes.
• By Matt Potter, April 22, 1999

Andrew Cunanan’s crypt

Photo by Joe Klein

Andrew Cunanan's mom – from one who knows

May 10 must be the year’s hardest day for Mary Ann. In 1997, her son, Andrew Cunanan, went on a killing spree that ended with the death of fashion designer Gianni Versace, on a sparkling day outside his mansion in Florida. In a final act of hatred, Andrew snuck aboard a houseboat and turned the gun on himself. A police photo of Mary Ann’s dead son is posted online. I hope she never sees it. No matter what our kids do, the umbilical cord is never severed.
By Anonymous, July 29, 2009

Coverage of kidnapping in Tijuana paper, Zeta, and entrance to Coronado Cays

• No answer at Coronado Cays

• “I’m sorry, sir, I can’t give any information.” Speaking from his Coronado Cays home, Miguel Crespo sounds tired and shaken. His wife, Georgina, was kidnapped over a month ago. “All the family are concerned about this,” says Crespo, “but we are being completely silent. Nobody talks about anything. I think we’re going to begin to know things next week. Maybe next week, if you call us.”
• By Bill Manson, March 25, 1999

Reinhard Flick: "Places like Oceanside are a lot wider. South Mission Beach is hundreds of feet wider than it was in the ’30s. And Coronado, those beaches were very narrow at the turn of the century. Today Coronado has one of the widest beaches in California."

• Beach people who aren't bums

• “I grew up in a beachside home. September was always the best month because all the tourists would be gone, and you’d have the beach to yourself. In the ’60s, there were only about 10,000 to 12,000 people in La Jolla. Everybody knew each other. You didn’t have to lock your doors. People were a lot friendlier. Scuba divers would leave their gear at the side of our house.
• By Susan Vaughn, Oct. 7, 1999
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  Merv Adelson, Allard Roen, Allen Dorfman, Jimmy Fratianno, Sheriff John Duffy, Jackie Presser

• Mobsters like to golf there

• How much blood was spilled to build La Costa? So many bodies piled up over the years it's hard to keep track. The godfather of the place was Moe Dalitz, a mobster from Cleveland who got his start back in Prohibition days with Detroit's "Little Jewish Navy," running booze across the Detroit River from Canada. He traveled with Detroit's brutal "Purple Gang," until the Zerilli brothers arrived in town and things got too hot.
• By Matt Potter, Nov. 18, 1999

Eugene Larr: “Even when it’s cold, I can have a cup of coffee and let the telescope do the work.”

Photo by Sandy Huffaker, Jr.

• Am I the first human ever to pay attention to that one star?

• A lot of the socializing at these affairs takes place on two 220-foot-long concrete strips laid out in a brush-free quadrant of the property. Members back their vehicles up to the concrete and set up their equipment. On summer nights, when the stars are so bright they cast shadows, it’s not uncommon to find as many as 50 telescopes, says Laborde. Their owners usually stay awake until dawn.
• By Jeannette DeWyze, Sept. 16, 1999