Downtown San Diego Stories
Scripps Ranch homeowners invested in solar technology for their homes recently started an email campaign to urge the San Diego City Council to reconsider newly implemented fee increases for solar permits/plan issuance as well as …
On June 17, program manager for the City of San Diego's Economic Development Division, Luis Ojeda, responded to a claim from downtown resident Kathy Casey that approximately 2500 downtown residents living in condominiums were overcharged …
Last week’s search for great soups brought me to Dobson’s famed mussel bisque and thence to their website, where I discovered a well-kept secret, their 25th-anniversary special of a three-course prix fixe (weekdays, 3:00–7:00 p.m.) …
“I just came from the bank to get $100 to donate to the Salvation Army,” said Melanie Gates at the Salvation Army’s annual luncheon on Christmas day. “As I was walking along the trolley tracks, …
Three San Diego police units responded to a report of an assault at the Santa Fe train depot on Monday, December 21, at about 5:15 p.m. The incident happened at the north end of the …
A woman named Cynthia was having a birthday party downtown. I was told we were supposed to bring something, so I bought cupcakes at the store. When I arrived downtown, I parked far away from …
Bice (pronounced “BEE-chay”) had been open only five weeks when I ate there, because I didn’t have the patience to wait the standard, tactful three more weeks before trying it — not just because the …
In my line of work, I see a lot of stained-glass windows depicting either scenes from the life of Christ or various Christian symbols. But until I ventured into the gothic wooden grandeur of First …
Frustrated by delays, about 50 representatives of businesses and homeowners’ associations met at CityFront Terrace condos on December 8 to campaign for construction of the long-proposed quiet zone along the downtown railroad tracks. Quiet zones …
The guy in the wheelchair sits at the corner of Fifth and G, waving his “Hot Dogs!” sign toward G Street. That’s all you need. You can see the crowd halfway down G, clumping around …
Let’s have one more chorus of “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” The hellish economy is kickin’ out the jams in the restaurant biz, especially in upscale hotel restaurants that locals tend to overlook, thinking they’re …
Three masked members of Anonymous San Diego (xenu.net) demonstrated on December 5 outside the headquarters of the Scientology/Hubbard Dianetics Foundation on Fourth Avenue. The building is listed for sale. While it was a peaceful protest, …
On December 2 at an Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting, Centre City Development Corporation representative Sheila Harden spoke about the downtown site being considered for a San Diego Chargers’ stadium. Being studied is the feasibility …
Last night became a date to remember in the annals of San Diego homelessness. That said, I did not witness the incident. The information came from others, mainly across the street, on the west side …
The San Diego City Council on Tuesday, November 17, unanimously adopted a resolution to authorize the Redevelopment Agency through the Centre City Development Corporation to administer and manage the construction of Interstate 5 streetlight Improvements …
An Orange Line trolley incurred a mechanical problem at about 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 19. The trolley lost power from its overhead electrical source as it was coming into the One America Plaza station. …
At a Friday, November 13, news conference held at the 12th and Imperial Avenue trolley station, Metropolitan Transit System representatives announced plans to make cutbacks to service. According to transit-system spokesman Rob Schupp, “Sales-tax shortfalls …
A small protest was held in front of the Family Court at 1555 Sixth Avenue in downtown San Diego on Friday, November 13. A sign leaning against a planter read, “STOP giving kids to abusers!” …
Residents of Vantage Pointe were alerted to an emergency via the alarm system at about 6:30 p.m. on the night of Tuesday, November 4. "Attention! Attention! An emergency has been reported," blared the tinny-yet-somehow-comforting recorded …
The noise was deafening on the corner of Sixth Avenue and C early this Saturday morning, November 7. A Roel Construction crew worked on a contract for SDG&E. Avoiding this intersection would be beneficial because …
An accident between a truck and motorcycle startled a crowd of onlookers on November 4 in downtown San Diego. The collision occurred at about 2:00 p.m. at the intersection of Ash and West A streets. …
Alexander Dodge’s glitzy set for the Old Globe’s Sammy includes stately, showcase-windowlike structures framed by rows of blinking lights. They feature props for the scene, or people who pose, in Fabio Toblini’s classy period costumes, …
It’s weird that right on the border here, we’re so slow to catch up with the rest of the country on real Mexican cuisine. We’ve got lots of “Mexican” food but hardly any Mexican cuisine, …
BALBOA PARK Another Perfect DayBy downtownphotoguy, June 26Today we were in Presidio Park in the morning and Balboa Park in the afternoon. We were shooting with a variety of lenses and techniques…. It seems everybody …
On Wednesday morning, October 21, at Golden Hall in the San Diego Concourse, 590 people were sworn in as U.S. citizens; among them were 17 military servicemen. The ceremony began at 8 a.m. and lasted …
At 2:00 p.m. on October 16, an impromptu protest and counterprotest took place on the corners of Park Boulevard and B Street, across from San Diego City College. Several congregants of a Kansas church had …
An accident involving a man in a wheelchair and two vehicles occurred on Tuesday afternoon, October 13, near the entrance to the central library. The man attempted to cross Tenth Avenue at E Street against …
More than two years after Congress approved funding for a new federal courthouse in downtown San Diego, the contract for the $295.7 million project was awarded to Hensel Phelps Construction of Irvine. On October 1, …
While San Diego’s homeless people wait for the City to provide winter shelter, they need, among other things, to go to the bathroom. And there are precious few places to do it. Anyone who meanders …
I’ve been called flaky. But hey, this is flaky. Who woulda thought? Eating a pastry-covered curry pie for breakfast in a converted condo in East Village? Here’s how it happened: I was wandering hopelessly around …
The U.S. Grant Hotel, completed in October 1910, is one of the city’s grandest old hotels. Its signature restaurant, the Grant Grill, is equally historic. For its first 90-some years, it was a clubby, old-fashioned …
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) presented San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System with the 2009 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award at its annual meeting on Tuesday, October 6, in Orlando, Florida. “The APTA Award …
Trekking in Nepal involved 25 grueling vegan days of rice, lentils, mustard greens, noodles, barley stew, and boiled potatoes (and one glorious night of smoky yak steak and real mashed potatoes from the best darned …
Hey, Mr. Sumption! Greetings from October 2009. You stamped this piece of sidewalk with your moniker a century ago, almost. “H.W. Sumption, October 1910.” And this huge tree. A Moreton Bay fig, the plaque says, …
On Wednesday, September 16, Stacey Fulhorst, executive director for the ethics commission, testified before San Diego's Open Government and Rules Committee and requested authority to issue subpoenas and to sanction officials that lie, mislead, and …
A man was robbed near a store close to the Greyhound station on West Broadway prior to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15. The victim, a Chinese male who is not from the area, alleged …
My girlfriend told a coworker who was going out of town for two weeks that she’d watch her dog for her. As we were walking the woman’s yellow Lab through downtown streets, we noticed a …
San Diego police searched the Santa Fe train depot for a missing person on Friday night, September 11. They were looking for an Orange County woman who had been reported missing earlier that day. Police …
Looking to patch the cracks in California's state budget, legislators look to take funds from cities redevelopment agencies as temporary filler. Statewide, more than $1.3 billion will be transferred from redevelopment accounts to state government …
At approximately 2:20 p.m. on Tuesday, September 9, a police helicopter and several police cars searched for a suspect in an unknown crime in the area of Broadway and Ninth and Tenth avenues. Over the …
Roll 'em! Straight-to-camera, Guy Harinton yells, “Why can’t I kill one of them little fuckers?!” He’s frothing. Here, at the Embarcadero’s Coronado ferry landing, a foreign-student pedicab driver has just ridden off with a load …
“Know why this area’s called the ‘Stingaree’?” asks Mark. We’re at the bottom of Eighth, right where it meets Market, inside this Asian bistro I just happened on called J. Wok. Mark Richmond’s an artist. …
On September 8, the city council met to discuss forming a medical marijuana task force. The task force would be responsible for hashing out details on ways the City should administer the drug to patients. …
Labor Day weekend saw the San Diego Symphony's Summer Pops concert series' finale under the energetic baton of Matthew Garbutt. The line up contained well-known favorites (Tchaikovsky's Slavic March and 1812 Overture) along with rarely …
Hundreds of kids had their parents in tow for an acoustic concert by Ziggy Marley, who was supporting his new children's album Family Time. Without pausing to address the sold out crowd, Marley took the …
A man was struck and seriously injured by a tour bus on the corner of Pacific Highway and Harbor Drive late Friday afternoon. The victim, whose identity could not be confirmed, was crossing Pacific Highway …
As a heat wave ripped through Southern California on Friday, August 27, it became too much for one customer at the C Street Jack in the Box. At about 2 p.m., the man was waving …
Councilmember Marti Emerald continues to be a driving force behind pedicab regulation reform in the city. Ever since 60-year-old tourist Sharon Miller died as a result of getting thrown from a pedicab on July 4, …
Sunday, August 30th, at approximately 10 a.m., a man in an early model Geo driving eastbound on Market Street turned onto Fifth Avenue at a high rate of speed and lost control of his vehicle. …
“Hotel restaurant” used to be shorthand for “What’s that slop you’re eating?” — back in the era of moldy “colonial” inns and all-one-mold “family” chains (remember Howard Johnson’s Motor Inns?). But not now, and certainly …
I ran into Nick Simmons, the son of Kiss bassist Gene, at Comic-Con. I told him I caught the episode of his reality show on which he sang. I told him he had a good …
Less than ten days before the August 29 date for the enforcement of new pedicab regulations, some pedicab drivers are already catching the eye of law enforcement officers. Late Thursday night, August 20, just after …