Downtown San Diego Stories
When it comes to holidays, few lead to such controversy as Valentine’s Day. He thinks the day is only for her — she thinks it’s for both of them. Discussion ensues, shifts into a debate, …
Can common sense and the legal system keep a bubble from inflating further? And maybe prevent a traumatic bursting? San Diego could be the canary in the coal mine on these critical questions. The subject …
As the cocktail world turns, Ed Bedford chews at downtown’s Sora Restaurant.
Ed kicks himself for not visiting Chef Arturo sooner.
4th&B nightclub may reopen, this time as a dance club featuring electronic music.
San Diego started 2013 in style and grace with a fantastic "Salute to Vienna" concert at Copley Symphony Hall. The Strauss Symphony of America performed elegant pieces that included waltzes, polkas, and Die Fladermaus while …
With the court’s recent 4th&B verdict, will Public Enemy still take the stage at the downtown venue on December 12?
What could we do with our waterfront, if we really put our thinking caps on?
The San Diego City Council on November 13 unanimously approved authorization to “advertise, bid, award, and construct” the multimillion-dollar Horton Plaza Improvement Project. The council acted in its role as the successor agency to the …
The Cheese Shop doesn’t specialize in cheese, they were too embarrassed to tell Mr. Cleese.
The San Diego City Council on October 23 unanimously approved the mayor's appointment of Jeff Graham as Civic San Diego's new president. Graham had been vice president of redevelopment at the disbanded Centre City Development …
Shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Monday, October 22, the San Diego Police Department received a report of a robbery from the Sixth Avenue Pharmacy, located at 2121 Fifth Avenue, downtown. By 3:15, half a dozen …
There are some places that you kinda take to heart. They’re more than the dish or the deal. Something clicks about the people and the place, and you want to come back and be a part of it. These are just some.
A roundup of eateries that are open when you, the hardworking foodie freelancer, need them to be.
Interview with Wilbert “Wilk” Miller of First Lutheran Church of San Diego, in its 125th year.
The Hives, a Swedish rock band, performed at the House of Blues downtown on the evening of Monday, October 8. Toward the end of their raucous set, a fight broke out in front of the …
Bolillo aims to be as big with their tortas as Chipotle is with burritos.
The renovation of the Hotel Sandford at 1301 Fifth Avenue is complete. (click here to see article from 2010). I dropped by unannounced on September 22 to take a look. While the hotel interior looks …
A group of Arab Americans held a candlelight vigil downtown at Fourth and Broadway on the evening of September 15. The event was billed as an "Emergency Vigil in Honor of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens,” …
It wasn’t the first time this year that someone left a rap concert downtown on a stretcher. What made the Labor Day brawl unusual was the identity of one of the players. Not Rayan Jastaniyah, …
Shortly after 2 p.m. on September 3, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department paramedics and a Rural/Metro ambulance responded to a 911 call regarding an unconscious female at Fourth Avenue and Broadway. Upon arrival, emergency personnel found …
Ticket scalpers! Besides Ticketmaster, they are enemy number one to any concert goer. The other night I attended the Alabama Shakes concert at the House of Blues. Luckily, I was able to get in, but …
“First time I came here, the streets were for sailors and streetwalkers.”
Two female pedestrians were struck by a car and injured in a crosswalk at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and E Street at approximately 5:30 p.m. on August 13. The victims, believed to have been …
On July 26, three uniformed San Diego police officers, their supervisor, and a detective responded to a theft report near Horton Plaza to investigate another in a series of ten to fifteen mobile-phone thefts in …
An estimated 50 people showed up in front of the downtown Federal Courthouse on Wednesday, July 25, to protest the closing of medical marijuana dispensaries countywide. The rally, held at noon, was directed against federal …
There’s a fine line that Onyx Room bartenders walk between time and taste. According to Onyx Room bartender Nathan Colonero, this nightclub’s bartenders pride themselves on being able to deliver smart concoctions and efficient service. …
San Diego is home to a couple of speakeasy bars, including Prohibition and Noble Experiment. These places are exclusive, and hidden. My husband reserved 4 spots a couple months back at Noble Experiment, and it …
What’s with this “Urban” thing? There’s “Urbn,” the bar-eatery in North Park, “Urban Eats” on Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest, and now “Urban India,” near the Gaslamp. I noticed it walking down Fourth toward Broadway the …
The newspaper business, not to mention the art world, has come to this: a former reporter and editor with the San Francisco Chronicle and copy editor with the New York Times turned performance artist has …
San Diego police arrived at the Santa Fe Depot on Kettner Boulevard at about 12:40 a.m. on April 11, after an Amtrak employee called 911 to report a man sitting on the rails underneath a …
Since October of last year, the Hard Rock Hotel has hosted a once-a-month concert featuring headliners that would normally play Casbah or Belly Up. And the shows are free. The Soundcheck concert series is held …
The Downtown San Diego Partnership, a pro-redevelopment lobbying group run by Kris Michell, ex–chief of staff to GOP mayors Susan Golding and Jerry Sanders, quietly settled up with the City’s Ethics Commission last month. Seems …
I wasn’t sure what to think when I first heard about Gaijin Noodle + Sake House. Taken literally, the word “gaijin” means “foreigner.” In actual usage, it means “non-Japanese.” But growing up in Hawaii, “gaijin,” …
"Kurios arene,” says Dave Rawley. He’s a Bible scholar carrying three heavy, worn Bibles. At least one’s in classical Greek. He’s been sitting and studying them over his Greek chicken, in the corner of the …
Being a hockey fan in San Diego is like being a cow tipper in Delhi, which is to say, lonely. Sure, despite their Cool Runnings disadvantage (watch the movie), the Gulls were an impressive flock …
Construction has begun on the Ariel Suite Apartments, a 22-story downtown development in the parking lot of the U.S. Bank (formerly San Diego National Bank) building at the corner of Kettner and Beech. An artist's …
“The Atmosphere” low-income apartment complex planned for the long-abandoned Cortez “hole” site may not be built. The nonprofit Wakeland Housing & Development Corporation is the developer. Wakeland previously purchased the dirt-filled site, then resold it …
It’s the word that stops me. A new word on the awning of this old place. “Cremalose.” Huh? This is the San Diego Hardware building. The 100-year-old curved-glass windows of what was once a Woolworth’s …
In 2009, a few downtown residents discovered that they, along with over 2600 other downtown property owners, had been overcharged by the property and business improvement district in which they lived. The assessment district, also …
Anastasia from Vladivostok brings my waffle. Melissa — her family is from Guam — hands me my coffee. The coffee’s Kona, from Hawaii. The waffle is from…heaven. Sigh. Love a surprise. Here I was, ambling …
"Don’t rush me!” Dion’s voice cuts through the noise. She’s barking at a customer who wants to pay up and go. “Besides, you haven’t drunk enough yet. We have rules!” Dion walks away muttering, under …
Occupy San Diego’s three-month anniversary on January 7 was a cause for celebration for dozens of activists who marched from Children’s Park to the Civic Center to participate in a rally. Activists, however, are calling …
Analog Bar’s slogan — “Good Food Strong Drinks” — is spot-on. The nu-retro music-themed bar’s cocktails are mixed (and priced) aggressively. The food is creative and, yeah, good, but not great, especially at prices that …
"Even in the face of the current economic downturn, the San Diego Convention Center continues to deliver significant benefits to the greater San Diego region,” boasted the center in its 2010 annual report. Do not …
The U.S. government may be laden with debt, but that hasn’t kept the feds from looking for an artist to help ornament the soon-to-be completed Broadway courthouse downtown. “In addition to a new courthouse, the …
Ali Nilforshan says he will be taking back 4th&B, the downtown venue he owned from 2003 to 2009. The current owners, Vince and Judy Puma, say that is not going happen. Nilforshan says he sold …
An El Cajon firm headed by former Democratic state senator Steve Peace has been raking in big bucks from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. According to state campaign finance disclosure records, J.S. Peace & …
The Greyhound bus terminal — at 120 W. Broadway for the past 80 years — moved to 1313 National Avenue on November 14. Greyhound’s lease expired on October 1, so the company has leased a …
“We were the first bar to have Arrogant Bastard,” says Downtown Johnny Brown’s owner Todd Alexander. “Stone had their release party here. John Brown really embraced the local beer movement. When I bought the bar …
The former owner of 4th&B, the 1500-capacity downtown concert venue, says he is in the process of taking the club back from its current owner and that he is suing Live Nation, the concert promoter …