Cover Stories
Over the phone, Maureen Slater sounds like a soccer mom. She uses words like “jammies” instead of pajamas and laughs at her own jokes (“I’m smarter than my husband, ha-ha-ha”), some of which aren’t really …
Wayne Bamford knew more secrets about Linda Vista than anyone. It was the spring of 2007, and Bamford was helping me dig into the community’s ongoing squabbles. Two years later, in early May, I wanted …
I can’t imagine leaving San Diego because Stellan Bengtsson is here. He is a former world champion of table tennis, the youngest ever at 18. Even the Chinese were scared of him. “You can’t wrestle …
“This is HIP-HOP. I don’t know what they told you, but this is called HIP-HOP!” DJ Artistic has me in a gentle headlock as he shouts this into my ear. He’s not being aggressive; he …
Janina Hardoy was 24 years old when last seen around the Oceanside Pier, quoting the Bible to homeless people; a couple of months later, in early 2005, she was reported missing from her rented Oceanside …
The only sign of life in Julian at 5:00 a.m. this April morning are men in white paper toques rolling out pie dough at the bright-lighted Julian Bakery. It’s a deep black morning when I …
Every May, after the tasseled hats have fallen to the ground and the graduation parties have died down, hundreds of thousands of new graduates enter the workforce. Or at least that’s the plan. Late last …
Reporting from the front lines, here. Before me, across Juniper: Them. North Parkians. If you didn't know they were The Other, you'd be fooled into thinking they're just like you.
“People who can’t draw are stunned by those who can.” — Scott Peterson, editor at the La Jolla–based comic imprint WildStorm. When Peterson said that, it struck me as being a pretty good explanation for …
Two years ago, Phil’s daughter Mary spent a month at a major San Diego nonprofit hospital, recovering from a near-fatal disease. Like one in four Californians, Mary was uninsured. The stay was billed at over …
I grew up in a religion that loved everything I would be taught to disdain in graduate school: America, authority, marriage, motherhood, and divine revelation. My father was a history-reading intellectual who treated me like …
81 pounds of wood and steel Valentine’s Day, 2010: Strolling through the outer edges of downtown before heading home for the evening. Passing Salvatore’s Cucina Italiana at the corner of Front and G and glancing …
The emergency room of the Naval Medical Center San Diego was buzzing. Veterans of all ages waited their turn to be seen. In the corner, San Diego native Sergeant Tom O’Brian grimaced in pain. The …
Day 1 Off the plane in San Diego, and it’s warm and sunny. Who knew? After two and a half years in Boston, I’ve quit my jobs and moved down here. I did this for …
When Ginger Bass filed for divorce from her husband Frank in November 2007, she hoped he would not contest the dissolution. She offered to buy out his interest in their Lakeside home so both could …
It's not clear whether Mayor Jerry Sanders has ever paddled a kayak, but apparently, a local kayak tour company knows what it takes to float Jerry’s boat — and keep it afloat — courtesy of …