Escondido Stories
On November 17, the Escondido City Council unanimously agreed to lease its old police department building on Grand Avenue to the San Diego North Economic Development Council. The rent? One dollar per year for up …
At the Escondido City Council meeting on November 17, the council voted unanimously to purchase property located at 2120 Harmony Grove Road for use as a public-works yard. The cost will be $6,050,000 plus escrow …
In the second week of November, two units at Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park were burglarized while residents were gone during the day. According to the manager for the park, only one street was targeted. …
On October 27, the Escondido City Council held a workshop regarding the minor-league ballpark proposal put before the City by a Padres ownership group led by Jeff Moorad. The business-model presentation was made by Padres …
At an Escondido City Council meeting on October 27, an attorney for the Escondido City Employees Association declared an impasse and urged councilmembers to send their negotiators "back to the table." Regarding recent budget cuts, …
On East El Norte Parkway east of North Ash Street, the Escondido Police Department staged a sobriety checkpoint On October 23 between 6 p.m. and midnight. According to a news release, 1450 cars were checked …
At the Escondido Downtown Street Faire on October 17, the Coalition of Escondido Mobile/Manufactured Home Voters was giving away free T-shirts to anyone who was willing to wear them for an hour or two. "Had …
During the Escondido City Council’s “oral communications” portion of their October 13 meeting, resident Bruce Sims expressed his views concerning the upcoming council vote regarding the construction of a ballpark in the city. Padres majority …
On October 13, the Escondido City Council authorized a payment from the City’s public art fund to allow an art project to be constructed in the California Center for the Arts Escondido Museum courtyard. According …
The Escondido Democratic Club held a meeting at their headquarters in downtown Escondido on October 9. Open to the public, the meeting’s purpose was to hear presentations by San Diego Padres representatives along with pro …
Concerned about an increase in business fees and lack of improvements in the downtown neighborhood surrounding his business, Barry Baker appeared before the Escondido City Council on Wednesday, September 22, to voice his displeasure. Baker …
‘The economic impact of a minor-league team is not sufficient to justify the relatively large public expenditure required for a minor-league stadium.” That was the conclusion of Arthur T. Johnson, author of the 1995 book …
"Bring your own bucket," the notice said, and residents of Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park got angry. For five days in mid-September, no water came from faucets and no toilets could be flushed due to …
For several nights in August, a perplexed resident of Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park in Escondido heard voices coming from her next-door neighbor’s coach. Whether she was out on her back porch or lying in …
At the September 2 Escondido City Council meeting, Larry Steneck, president of the Coalition of Escondido Mobile/Manufactured Home Voters, discussed the plight of residents at the Green Tree Mobile Estates, who had to deal with …
Police drunk-driving checkpoints are big business. Just ask the City of Escondido, which has been racking up profits courtesy of federal grants and an aggressive vehicle-impound regime instituted by the Escondido Police Department with the …
On July 30 at about 2 a.m., the clerk working at the 1290 West Valley Parkway 7-Eleven saw a man walk out of the store with a six-pack of beer he hadn't paid for. After …
Escondido resident Bruce Simms addressed the city council on July 21 on the topic of the Portland Beavers, a Padres affiliate AAA baseball team that may be relocating to Escondido from Oregon. According to a …
Despite concerns from a majority of speakers during public comment, on June 30 the Escondido City Council approved the allocation of a large subsidy to a developer who plans to build a luxury Marriott hotel …
Rural roads suitable for bicycling still exist around Escondido, particularly north of town, where the landscape slopes upward toward boulder-studded hillsides. The route featured here covers ten miles, with a significant elevation gain of 1100 …
“It’s unconstitutional,” said longtime Escondido resident Scott Davis on June 23, speaking in front of the Escondido City Council to address the red-light cameras within city limits. The city, according to the police department, has …
After numerous cancellations, the date for a public hearing on the downtown Escondido Marriott has been posted. On June 30, at 4 p.m., the public will have a chance to give their support or express …
On June 3, John Van Doorn, a candidate hoping to unseat District 5 county supervisor Bill Horn, held an American flag and waved at cars from an Interstate 15 overpass in Escondido. While red-faced and …
"I hear the noise and the music coming through the walls of my house.... The police department [is] not enforcing the city's noise ordinance. Sometimes officers will knock on my door at two in the …
The Escondido City Council held a public hearing on May 19 to discuss a proposed fee increase for landscape-maintenance costs in the area located west of the El Norte Parkway and Rees Road intersection. Ballots …
The Business Improvement District fees charged by the Downtown Business Association of Escondido were contested by a pair of business owners at the May 5 city council meeting. Greta Kurtz, a business owner for 25 …
Escondido resident and president of the Chamber of Citizens, Lisa Prazeau, is calling on Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler and city councilmembers Dick Daniels, Sam Abed, and Marie Waldron to stick up for fellow councilmember Olga …
On March 19 at about 6 p.m., an auto-theft suspect led Escondido police officers on a chase in which gunfire struck four police cars and the car of a passerby. According to a press release, …
Quinn scoffs when I ask him if he worries about getting hit by a car. “They [meaning his fellow panhandlers] get run over ’cause they get drunk,” says Quinn. He says he’s too smart to …
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” In her 12th and final state of the city address, Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler quoted Charles Dickens's Tale of Two Cities to describe …
Phap Vuong Monastery, a Buddhist temple nestled among pine trees in northern Escondido, is hosting the world's largest hand-carved gem-quality jade Buddha for the next two weeks. To mark the beginning of its visit, a …
At the February 3 Escondido City Council meeting, the council directed the budget subcommittee to consider the possibility of using $17 million worth of reserves in order to avoid closing the performing arts center, the …
In a meeting at Escondido City Hall on January 26, planning commissioners voted 3-2 to deny a request allowing an auto-services development to be built on a corner near the intersection of Brotherton Road and …
"It's really a life raft to keep the city afloat," said Escondido councilmember Marie Waldron during Wednesday evening's city council meeting. The life raft that Waldron was referring to was a list of proposed cuts …
On January 21 at about 9 p.m., sheriff's deputies arrested a resident of the San Pasqual Reservation after a traffic stop led to the discovery of numerous types of illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia that …
Where will you be when your automotive Karma wears out? I know exactly where I was - on the 15 south going to work, January 8th, 2010. It happened in an instant. For only a …
When a full plate of entertainment at the Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo or Sea World isn’t feasible, but you want to get out and do something, the “World’s Largest Auto Museum of Convertibles …
At a December 16 meeting, the Escondido City Council voted to write off a $530,731 loan given to the California Center for the Arts Foundation in 2001. "[I]f we haven't been paid back by now," …
"Join the revolution!" says “Big Kahuna” from his post in front of Target on Auto Park Way. "Legalize marijuana!" Kahuna (who says he was born in Hawaii) has gathered signatures at Target, Walmart, and grocery …
On December 2, the Escondido City Council declined to initiate a downtown zoning amendment that would allow hookah lounges to operate in the city. Within the past two months, the City has received four to …
In Greek mythology, Bacchus (aka Dionysus), the god of wine, is said to inspire artists, musicians and poets and bring an end to care and worry. Dionysus discovered the culture of the vine and how …
An Orange County developer who led the effort to delay San Diego’s general plan update until his own project could be approved is one step away from his goal. On October 23, the San Diego …
"When you want to watch a Charger football game, you should just go over to the new police and fire headquarters because they are going to have the latest in audio technology," Escondido mayor Lori …
The lights dimmed in the purple quarter-circle church, and Pastor Hitchcock appeared behind the baptismal pool situated high in the back of the Sanctuary. New congregant Catherine, clad in a white robe, stepped down into …
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 …
Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote, of a garden, in his 1854 collection of stories Mosses from an Old Manse: “I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation …
The U.S. Postal Service has revised the list of post offices it hopes to close, sparing three San Diego locations. However, the USPS branches in North Park and Golden Hill remain on the chopping block. …
Tough acts to follow. Welk Resorts Theatre begins The Andrews Brothers with video clips from the old USO Command Performance radio shows. Bob Hope jokes with Lana Turner. Young-ish Judy Garland sings an “Over the …
As I write this, Transformers 2 has just finished taking in over $200 million in five days. One of the main characters in that film is a robot who disguises himself as a 2009 Chevy …
Escondido city councilmembers want to be fair when adjusting water rates, but water is scarce, and over the past year regional water suppliers have raised rates by 17.5 percent while reducing water allocations by 8 …
Grandma glared at my bloody forearm and shouted, "Sam, come in here!" It was close to midnight, a late hour for my 80-year-old grandpa, but he came running down the hall. He gaped when he …
“I wrote a song that became a children’s book,” says New Archaic singer-violinist Alicia Previn, who will perform “The Earthworm Song” at an August 9 release party for The Earthworm Book at Escondido’s Stone Brewery. …