Balboa Park news & stories
In San Diego and Tijuana, dozens of crimes happened on #GoSkateDay, June 21. The perps and victims were skateboarders. Between 4-5 pm, an unidentified "dog walker" lay on the cement …
San Diego’s original city charter dates back to 1850, the same year California was granted statehood. Two years later, however, the city was bankrupt and the state revoked that charter, …
A rooftop battle over radio-frequency (RF) emissions has been won by telecom giant Verizon - for now. It's not over, say attorneys for Carole Sachs, who owns and lives in …
December Nights Balboa Park Join your fellow citizens on December 2 and 3 for the City of San Diego’s largest free holiday festival in beautiful Balboa Park. The family friendly …
Balboa Park news & stories
The opening Zillow remarks for this week’s home inform us that “the 3500 block of Seventh Avenue is one of San Diego’s best-kept secrets.” If you look at a map, it’s hard to argue with …
Plant jam : Sixteen-year-old musician and aspiring botanist Isaac Guerrero attends San Diego Met High School on the campus of Mesa College, which he describes as “a college prep high school that allows students to …
The other night at dinner, the Young People asked the Old People, “How do you know when you’re an adult?” Your humble Editor’s answer: “When you realize that life is no longer play that gets …
A pair of prefab toilets, bestowed with an Onion award last year for their undistinguished design, are now being recognized as an American Public Works Association project of the year. The nomination has nothing to …
Gay pride, marathon experience better for Balboa Park? After getting by as a car-confined, drive-by-only event for the past two years, Balboa Park’s traditional December Nights celebration is anticipating a full-scale reopening in 2022. But …
We didn’t meet often, and when we did, it was always in the dark. From the outset, I could have described the warm baritone voice, the music, and the well-worn jokes, but it was probably …
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a music writer isn’t going to get rich plying his trade, but at least he’ll get free stuff: albums, concert tickets, swag, perhaps even the occasional backstage pass. …
"I had a wooden baseball bat, a Louisville Slugger, in my car. And the plan was we both walk up, Patrick grabs the bike, and I watch his back just in case this guy is …
When my husband dropped off his old Marine Corps combat boots, flak jacket, and helmet at House of Ukraine in Balboa Park on Tuesday March 8, a volunteer thanked him profusely. “We really need protective …
It is nine in the morning on a Wednesday, and within the confines of Balboa Park’s Japanese Friendship Garden, a few bonsai enthusiasts are moving quietly among the birds and the dew, tending to their …
For those who haven’t yet found the time to check out the new-look Mingei International Museum, here’s a sure-fire way to make room in your busy schedule: by leveraging your appetite. Following a couple failed …
"On New Year's morning, UFCW Local 135 union member Martin Andara was senselessly killed after being pushed into an oncoming train at the trolley station in Old Town San Diego," reads the union's January 7 …
The Marina District is one of San Diego’s more prestigious addresses. Once consisting mostly of warehouses and vacant lots, the 343-acre area on the west side of Downtown is now a cluster of apartments, high-rise …
Dia de los politicos Facing a big-money 2022 reelection challenge from termed-out state senator Ben Hueso, Board of Equalization member Mike Schaefer, a fellow Democrat, has taken to the Union-Tribune’s paid obituary section to tout …
The city's three municipal golf courses closed on March 21, 2020 due to Covid-19. When they re-opened two months later, they were busier than ever. Despite initial losses due to the closures, in 2021 the …
Outside holiday lights season, there’s no better time of day to visit Balboa Park than a quiet morning. And while that’s likely been true for more than a century, such mornings at the park have …
On June 30, a local reached out to the 1,700-plus members of the Stolen Bike San Diego Facebook forum. "My Jamis City bike was stolen from my garage in Hillcrest last night along with my …
The City Council has upheld the historic designation of a Bankers Hill home that advocates say is a rare architectural gem, while others call it Frankenstein. The mixed-style house sits in a mixed-use neighborhood rich …
Right about now, I’m supposed to be indoor dining somewhere and reporting how great it feels that we’re trending back toward normalcy. But not so fast! Yes, restaurant owners and their bottom lines may be …
Late last April, City of San Diego parks that had been closed since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic began to re-open. As gyms stayed shutdown and tennis and basketball courts remained off-limits, people began …
“See you at the Nudist Colony,” says John. This rainy Saturday afternoon happened in the last days of the lockdown. Still no gatherings allowed. John Drehner and I were so bored, we came up with …
A petition opposing a temporary ferris wheel in Balboa Park's Plaza de Panama has more than 2,600 signatures and counting. The city still has to approve the installation, which the Balboa Park committee voted 7-1 …
Fashion blogger Erin Miller may not be native to San Diego, but since her move from Iowa two years ago, she has managed to grow her online following here in Southern California significantly. Now, many …
The delicate, and little practiced art of hooking up musicians with paintings, doesn’t occur to a lot of people. But to Kathryn Hatmaker, San Diego violinist as well as artistic director for the Art of …
Bob Marley is everywhere. His music, his reggae colors, and his face in a picture with Makeda. “He was my friend,” says Makeda. “I produced his concert here in 1978. I was young, but I …
After losing her mother Deb to suicide last year, Amanda turned her grief into something positive, “I will forever cry for my mom but there’s nothing that I can do to bring her back.” Amanda …
Little things mean a lot: the first little thing that makes me like this place is the, well, amuse-bouche. Wedges of crisp flatbread stacked vertically like surfboards. They have sesame and other seeds baked on …
The three-year saga at Balboa Park’s San Diego Junior Theatre, a city-funded operation, continued May 7 when former theatre parent Matt Valenti and his family went to City Hall to confront city attorney Mara Elliott. …
Some North and South Park dwellers have recently come forward regarding their vehicles being struck by golf balls from the Balboa Park Municipal Golf Course; and not hearing the “fore” warnings. “The golf ball bounced …
A 126-inch diameter corrugated metal storm drainpipe near the entrance to Balboa Naval Medical Center failed in late January, causing sinkholes along Florida Drive. Recent rains have caused more water than usual to flow in …
Two events drew out civic exhibitionists in San Diego on Saturday, January 19, each expressing a different view about what it means to be pro-woman. An estimated 20,000 participants in the Women’s March gathered at …
Nearly 100 people opened black umbrellas in western Balboa Park on Sunday to demonstrate how far the shadow from a project will fall and darken the park. “This is the early afternoon shadow,” said organizer …
This story was originally posted on July 4 of this year. Adam Parfrey, publisher of books from Feral House and writer for the Reader, died on May 10, 2018. The following came by email to …
For thirteen years, the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park has been sponsoring a youth photography competition. The contest is open to students in kindergarten through high school in San Diego and Tijuana. Winners …
Ed. Adam Parfrey, publisher of books from Feral House and writer for the Reader, died on May 10, 2018. The following came by email to the Reader on July 3. It is not generally appreciated …
It’s tough to believe, but only ten years ago, if you wanted dinner from your favorite restaurant, you had to go to said restaurant in person. Those were primitive times, when home delivery was the …
“God love him, you can’t have a holiday without Mike,” says Beth Lipski of her uncle, Mike Welch. He’s the one standing in full Tipperary kilt on the greensward of Balboa Park along Sixth Avenue, …
San Diego State University has appointed a task force to make a recommendation about whether or not to keep Monty Montezuma, the school’s Aztec warrior mascot. As of this writing, there has been no corresponding …
Why does Balboa Park carry his name? Re: “Balboa statue – no way,” News Ticker. What is really sad is that this reporter Dorian Hargrove would not contact me and get my side of the …
Jesus Benayas, the president of Balboa Park's House of Spain, has lobbied the Balboa Park Committee for three years to sign off on a statue of the park's namesake, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. But judging …
One pleasure of anthology exhibitions is discovering pictures by unfamiliar artists. The English-born artist Leonora Carrington was new to me when I saw a small picture by her in Modern Masters from Latin America, currently …
Modern Masters from Latin America reminds us, if we need to be reminded, that Modernism knew no borders. Point/Counterpoint, a compelling selection of 19 contemporary Mexican photographers currently at the Museum of Photographic Arts, has …
Canary Island pines, Australian tea, Moreton Bay fig, Kauri pine, Calif. juniper, Ilelo palm, dragon tree, elderberry, bunya nunya.
Think high tide, not slack water when the German Currents Film Festival returns to the Museum of Photographic Arts on October 14-15, bringing with it five films to celebrate its seventh year. Saturday evening’s opening …
Simon & Simon was a buddy detective series set in San Diego that ran for eight seasons on CBS during the ’80s. Veronica Mars put a teenage girl in a noirish milieu and managed three …
Back in 2007, it was reported that a group of transients was evicted from inside the columns of Cabrillo Bridge. A photograph featured in an article showed a makeshift apartment inside the bridge complete with …
"We've had some transients living in the bridge," Balboa Park operations district manager Mario Llanos said last month. "They're going in and out of the manholes on the bridge, so I'm not sure what we …
A topic of discussion at Balboa Park Committee's July meeting was that of noise along the western edge of Balboa Park, also known as the West Mesa. Specifically, noise from special events that are causing …