Downtown San Diego Stories
It’s not exactly the way Leonardo da Vinci got his start, but the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is looking for an “artist in residence,” to be paid “not to exceed” $8000 for three …
Downtown's Bank of America branch on B Street shut down early on the afternoon of October 20 out of safety concerns: approximately 25 protesters, most part of the Occupy San Diego movement, staged a peaceful …
The San Diego City Council voted 6-1 on October 4 to adopt a resolution, responding to the San Diego County Grand Jury report that a new city hall is not needed. The resolution authorized the …
After the Cortez “hole” was finally filled and chainlink-fenced in August 2010 (click here for background), the plan was to transform the empty lot owned by the San Diego Redevelopment Agency into a paved and …
About 2400 Comic-Con attendees crowded into a ballroom at the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel every morning of the world’s largest comic convention July 21–24, some arriving as early as 1:00 a.m. They were there to …
On July 22 in downtown San Diego, several expensive cars and SUVs pulled up to the red curb in front of the Family Court building at 1555 Sixth Avenue and parked. A man who identified …
The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s master concession agreement with HMSHost is expiring next year, and the battle over a replacement has turned into a gold rush for local lobbyists. With the competition reportedly …
About a half dozen protesters raised a small ruckus outside the Electra high-rise condo building at 700 West E Street on the evening of Tuesday, June 28. Politicians and well-heeled supporters of Bonnie Dumanis were …
Erik Stage, owner of the Stage in the heart of the Gaslamp, calls the venue “three floors of entertainment in our haunted house of corridors and mezzanines.” In its third year, the Stage recently underwent …
An assortment of peaceniks, activists, war veterans, and their families gathered on the Sixth Avenue overpass of Interstate 5 at around 4 p.m. on June 14, Flag Day. They were there, in the words of …
About 40 people attended the June 7 San Diego County Board of Supervisors' public hearing on the 2011-2012 budget. Four women at the 2 p.m. session urged supervisors to fund social services, salaries, and staffing. …
The French urban artist Space Invader, famous for tile mosaics of characters from the video game he shares his alias with, has had a piece of his artwork vandalized. In 2010 he “invaded” San Diego …
Established in 1984 by restaurateur and bullfighter Paul Dobson, La Gran Tapa was the first dedicated Spanish tapas bar in San Diego. Seven owners later, the Sicilian proprietor of the Turquoise Café in Pacific Beach, …
Israel Puente, a retired Marine Corps veteran, appeared before the San Diego City Council on May 17 to express his disappointment with a Clean and Safe Program employee during an incident that occurred over the …
Formerly San Diego’s “skid row,” downtown San Diego’s core historic area was reborn in the 1980s under a new name: the Gaslamp Quarter. Actually, gas lamps were never used for outdoor lighting in San Diego …
"Please send some more tourists. The last ones were delicious.” This motto is on an Aussie license plate, one of their crocodiles smiling out from it. Shane is up on a stepladder, screwing in another …
Downtown nightspot 4th&B has among the most stringent security measures of any local venues, including a pat-down on entry, surveillance cameras, and security roaming inside and outside the club. On February 11, however, none of …
Even if it’s at the expense of the public, the City of San Diego wants to ensure that certain employees of America’s finest city have an appreciation for fine arts — or so it seems, …
Almost a decade ago, when I worked in a high-rise office building downtown, some coworkers and I stood at a corner window and counted the mega-sized cranes that dotted the scenery. “One, two, three, four,” …
About 60 people gathered shortly after 8 a.m. at City College’s Gorton Quad on Friday, April 15. Students, faculty, and community members spoke out against budget cuts proposed by Jerry Brown. Shortly after 9:00, the …
San Diego fat cats transformed the concept of redevelopment from help for the poor to welfare for the rich. They have a fear of Governor Jerry Brown, who wants to get rid of redevelopment agencies …
According to the Father Joe's Villages website, after 30 years of serving San Diego neighbors in need, "Father Joe Carroll has announced his retirement as CEO of Father Joe's Villages and its partner agencies, effective …
San Diego’s Embarcadero, the place of departure and arrival for vessels as small as fishing skiffs and as large as ocean liners, defines the city’s connection to the watery worlds of San Diego Bay and …
A loose coalition of medical marijuana advocates and supporters put together a protest march in front of the Federal Courthouse on Monday, March 28. Starting at 12 noon, an estimated 100 or so activists began …
Mel Katz, chair of the San Diego Public Library Foundation, says his foundation has identified 13 "actively engaged" prospects willing to donate $10 million or more for downtown's new central library. According to Katz, who …
After nearly three years of construction, the $26.8 million Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge, connecting Petco Park to the convention center, opened to foot traffic on Friday, March 18. The 550-foot-long suspension bridge lies at the …
During a March 16 meeting, Centre City Development Corporation's board of directors rejected a proposal from the mayor and city council to pay off $228 million in debt owed on a previous expansion of the …
It’s amazing what you find when you’re cruisin’, jes’ cruisin’. Actually, I’m threading my way up through the Gaslamp toward the bus stop at Third and Broadway. But I may be open to a snick …
On February 28, San Diego city council approved spending over $600,000 in redevelopment funds on a new leash-free dog park in downtown San Diego. The 16,500-square-foot dog park — proposed for the block bordered by …
On Saturday, February 5, at about 3:15 p.m., emergency personnel responded to a call from the Santa Fe Train Depot after a passenger fell off a train from San Luis Obispo. According to information obtained …
So, I find myself re-reviewing a Cohn restaurant because the chef has changed. And soon there will be others (such as Bo-Beau, the remake of Thee Bungalow). Yes, I’ve laid my grudge to rest. That …
At 5:19 p.m. on Thursday, January 27, after coming down the southbound 163 freeway into downtown San Diego, several cars were stopped at a red light on Tenth Avenue at A Street. Suddenly, a driver …
Late Sunday afternoon. Hungry for fish. Just got off the trolley at the Gaslamp, bottom of Fifth. I see I have a choice, har-de-har. Lou & Mickey’s, Nobu, Tin Fish. As they say, no contest. …
Hodad's, the Ocean Beach burger joint that is famous for its long lines of people waiting to dine among the surf memorabilia and license plates, is having trouble translating that O.B. vibe downtown. The slow …
The Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) is laying the foundations for a campaign to reach out to San Diego's residents and educate them on the importance of downtown redevelopment. The campaign comes three months after …
Currant has become a different restaurant since I reviewed it three years ago, with all-new management and chef. I liked it then, and once we hit the main courses, I like it now. Chef Walter …
Of all the gastropubs opening this year, Proper Gastro Pub seems to have the most extensive and ambitious menu, along with an especially rich selection of English pub-food classics, jiggered by chef Sean Magee into, …
Airport parking at San Diego International is expensive — unless you’ve snagged a free pass, that is. For most of us, it’s $4 an hour, $21 maximum for 24 hours; long-term parking (three days to …
The new Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier is causing controversy even before its public unveiling, scheduled for the weekend of December 18-19. The Port of San Diego will be hosting a celebratory open house on …
A loose dog terrorized air traffic at Lindbergh Field on Saturday, December 11th. Airport authorities alerted Air Traffic Control personnel that a stray canine was running amuck along the single runway around 5pm. The dog …
Mama's Kitchen, which has provided meals for people with AIDS and cancer for years, has lost its longtime lease at 1875 Second Avenue and the church property is up for sale. The nonprofit has a …
People upset with the handling of the Diana Gonzalez case plan to march silently from City College to the San Diego district attorney’s office on Thursday, December 9. Gonzalez was murdered at City College on …
Suite and Tender is heartily sorry for what it did when it first opened and is doing sincere penance — and doing it well. I would never have gone back, but then I phoned the …
The timeworn Hotel Sandford, a single-room occupancy facility for low-income seniors at 1301 Fifth Avenue, will soon receive long-overdue renovations. The San Diego Housing Commission purchased the building earlier this year for $6.8 million and …
The San Diego Rescue Mission opens its doors to just a few homeless women each evening. Although the facility is large and houses many men, only 50 women are allowed inside a very small area. …
On October 19, the San Diego City Council moved to further analyze the adoption of an ordinance and resolution that would authorize issuance of $13 million in “Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds” to pay for more …
You can try to love this part of town, but it’s hard. I’m at First and Ash. Land of monthly-stay hotels and parking lots. Just a stone’s throw from City Hall and its concourse, the …
On October 3 at about 8:15 p.m., San Diego police responded to a disturbing-the-peace call at the Santa Fe Depot on Kettner Boulevard. The incident occurred shortly after 8:00 p.m., when a taxi driver dropped …
Conversion of the former World Trade Center at 1250 Sixth Avenue into a “one stop” homeless center moved closer to reality October 5: the San Diego City Council, convened as the San Diego Redevelopment Agency, …
In the drizzly early afternoon of October 4, a crowd of about 50 people gathered outside the San Diego County Administration building, where the “Mad as Hell Doctors” held a rally. The Oregon-based group formed …
"Who wants kombucha?” Eli shouts as I walk into his new downtown loft around 10:30 p.m. The second-story space on the corner of Fourth Avenue and K Street feels utilitarian and bohemian — all concrete, …
More than 50 individuals from activist organizations and their supporters gathered at Horton Plaza on September 19 to demand the release of Army PFC Bradley Manning. The Army intelligence analyst was arrested and jailed for …