Escondido Stories
Tiffany is tall; her chunky red heels — dark red, bordering on purple — make her taller. Red seams run up the back of her black stockings to the hem of her black dress, patterned …
Secretly tucked away behind a pond at Kit Carson Park lies Niki De Saint Phalle’s colorful sacred creatures. The entrance to the sculpture garden leads you past a snake wall, through a black-and-white maze of …
According to San Diego County assessor/clerk/recorder David L. Butler, the assessed value of all taxable property in the county has dropped to a 25-year low -- an overall decrease of 2.3 percent from the previous …
Junior Wells and John Belushi must have been grinning up from wherever they are now — mumbling and slurring with cocaine-and-Tanqueray-addled approval at “Doc” Holliday’s riffing over the keyboard — a faux Hammond B-3 setting …
The “ponds tour,” suitable for hikers, runners, and mountain bikers, serves as a fine introduction to the City of Escondido’s Daley Ranch — a sprawling, 3000-acre open-space preserve in the hills north of town. The …
In the grips of a $6.7 million deficit, the City of Escondido is grabbing for every penny in savings. So far, revenues have dropped by $4.1 million. This year’s expenditures are $6.6 million less than …
I am staying in Escondido. I am unfamiliar with this town (which is called a city) and so I set out to explore on a Friday night and a Saturday afternoon. For purists who demand …
Many Escondido citizens have reservations about contributing $18.9 million toward a $67 million luxury hotel downtown. Most thought the proposal was dead in the water when developer C.W. Clark was unable to acquire funding by …
How to explain what I was doing in Escondido as parking-lot cop on a Friday night in May for “Cruisin’ Grand: Pre-’74 American Hot Rods, Customs, Classics, Vintage & Muscle Cars.” Since I was 15, …
In 2004, Escondido residents approved Proposition P, a bond measure that gave the city $84.3 million of property-tax revenue to upgrade police and fire facilities. The projects included the construction of a new police and …
Escondido city hall was packed with onlookers on Wednesday, February 11, as Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler gave her annual state of the city address. She said Escondido's revenue continues to decline and there's uncertainty about …
This month and in early February, city managers and finance directors in cities across San Diego County are appearing before their respective city councils to report significant budget deficits. Of the county’s 18 municipalities, 14 …
The 40 X 60 foot American flag that flew over the Escondido Auto Park has now been replaced after being stolen sometime between New Year's Eve and New Year’s Day 2009. Tim and Tom Brecht …
Escondido Councilmember Sam Abed changed his mind. He wants to give back 5 percent of the 10-percent pay increase he supported for the city council back in 2007. At a January 7 city-council meeting, Abed …
Every Saturday for the past year and a half, a group of Escondido teenagers have been meeting at 8:00 in the morning to pick up cigarette butts strewn about 11 of Escondido’s city parks. So …
Like many other municipalities in San Diego County, revenues in the City of Escondido’s financial coffers are drying up. The city is projecting, for the current fiscal year, a $6 million budget deficit. The deficit …
Back in 2006, Escondido City Council members Ed Gallo and Sam Abed teamed up in support of a controversial housing ordinance aimed at preventing landlords from renting to undocumented immigrants. During that debate, Abed and …
Armando was looking forward to meeting with Lucy that Friday evening, October 26, 2007. A laborer for a tree-trimming company, he borrowed his sister’s ’96 Mustang and drove to where Lucy asked him to meet …
“John McCain is such an easy target,” says Bill Hurd, press secretary for the political satire comedy troupe The Capitol Steps. “He’s the oldest candidate we’ve ever had — therefore you can make all the …
Escondido councilmember Ed Gallo and Sam Abed have been talking about implementing an overnight-parking ordinance for 18 months. They’ve heard complaints from constituents about crowded residential streets and a growing trend of multiple families dwelling …
“Before brewers became cognizant of microbiology and sanitation, I imagine there were a lot more sour beers,” says Mitch Steele, head brewer for Stone Brewing Co. “It’s not only bacteria but wild yeast as well …
What’s the difference between National City and Rancho Santa Fe? Well — er, uh — money comes to mind. Last year, median household income in National City was $44,130, according to figures provided by the …
Serene Lake Wohlford lies near the headwaters of Escondido Creek, its mirroring surface reflecting the shaggy-with-chaparral, boulder-studded hillsides that confine it. As early as 1895, water impounded for the benefit of Escondido’s farms and households …
Perched several hundred feet up on a rocky slope north of Escondido, Dixon Lake stores drinking water and serves as a recreational resource as well. The lake’s camping facilities, picnic grounds, playgrounds, boat rentals, hiking …
With all of the arguments over immigration I am sometimes afraid to tell people that I work in the Mission Park area in Escondido, home to one of the largest concentrations of immigrants in San …
Having lived in San Diego since 1980, one would think that I would have long ago gravitated to residence in the northern portion of the county. It seems, by consensus, to be more generally livable …
In August 2003, the North County Transit District, preparing to build a train line linking Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido, applied to state authorities for a storm water discharge permit. The train, called the …
This trail highlights the Engelmann oak (or mesa oak) -- a somewhat rare evergreen oak tree found only in parts of inland Southern California. Along the way you'll also see the ubiquitous coast live oak, …
Thirty Years Ago COUSINS MICHAEL and Andrea, met you 22 September Mission Playhouse, please contact Mickey, PO Box 1093, San Diego 92112. KEARNY HIGH is number 1 and we know it. We're the best! Eat …
When I think of my neighborhood, I think of transformation. My five-year-old daughter and I were mesmerized when we first saw Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park in '94. There were plum and orange trees growing …
Shocked shoppers see a woman fall to her death from a parking structure at Parkway Plaza in El Cajon. Was she pushed? In Chollas View, a mother loses the second of her two sons to …
A boy 3-1/2 months old was the youngest homicide victim in San Diego County during the first half of 2007. The oldest was a 75-year-old woman. Both were killed by family members, allegedly, the infant …
The nearly flat ramble along Daley Ranch's Jack Creek Meadow is best in the springtime -- and also comfortably suitable during the summer, provided you travel in the cooler early morning or late afternoon. If …
Tim Mayfield stood at the pulpit, ringed about with congregants before and musicians behind -- perhaps a hundred choristers fronted by a small orchestra. The organ sounded out, and he led everybody in song: "O …
'T he first year we used a Webster's dictionary," says Josephine Jones, director of literacy for the Escondido Public Library. "Everybody and their mother came up to me and said, 'Are you the director of …
When the movie Wedding Crashers came out, I started receiving a lot of wedding invitations. Except for CD-release parties, weddings are the most common parties I'm invited to. I pick a few each year to …
I lean into the phone, say, "Tell me about Curl San Diego. How did the curling club get started?" "Started last January, as a small group of people in a Yahoo discussion group." Elliot Hicks, …
A cool late afternoon or early evening in June is perfectly fine for exploring the aptly named Boulder Loop Trail in Daley Ranch -- Escondido's 3000-acre open space preserve. During the next six weeks, the …
Just south of today's city of Escondido a lazy river once ran, fed by tentacle-like tributaries that drew water from as far away as the desert-bordering mountains, several days journey to the east. On the …
I've got this friend back in New York City, Suzi Winson, who flies regularly on the trapeze, and she's counseled me for years that I should take it up. "There's nothing like the trapeze," Winson …
I rarely rate restaurants at "excellent to extraordinary." As far as I can remember, I've reviewed only seven of that quality in the five years since I arrived in "America's finest city." It's no coincidence …
Bright sunshiny mornings and cool air make this autumnal time of year pleasant for a lazy Sunday morning or afternoon of road biking. Forget the coastal bike routes if you've had it with noisy traffic …
Unlike Encinitas, the Gaslamp Quarter, and La Mesa, Escondido suffers from a shocking shortage of Italian dinner houses. Judging from the Yellow Pages, there's only tiny Joe's downtown, an Olive Garden way out in the …
"There is a renewal of interest in the Reformed faith from people who have grown weary of the subjectivity of the broad evangelical faith," said Pastor Stephen Donovan. "In the first 45 years of our …
There was a time when the Spanish raised sheep in the "hidden valley" of Escondido. Before the First World War, grapes became the crop of choice, and spectators at the Grape Day Parade were given …
Food = joy…guilt…anger…pain…nurturing… friendship…hatred…the way you look and feel.… Food = everything you can imagine. — Susan Powter Tim Klepeis, the chef at Adams Avenue Grill, spoke hesitatingly at first. “I think the greatest reward …
Lawrence Welk Resort 8845 Lawrence Welk Drive, Escondido www.welkresort.com 760-749-3000 The old baton twirler isn't around anymore (he died in 1992), but his legacy lives on in this enclave just north of Escondido proper. Of …
Golden Egg Omelet House 316 W. Mission Avenue, Escondido 760-489-6420 These omelets are thin, weightless, crêpe-like sheets of eggs wrapped around heaps of elaborate fillings. One option is strawberries and cream -- Golden Egg is …
Oh Baby! 1356 West Valley Parkway, Escondido 727 Center Drive, San Marcos www.ohbabykidstoo.com 760-739-0226 The store carries a variety of brand names, but stocks only the best products from those brands. Top-of-the-line Peg Perego strollers …
The Highland Valley Trail, in northernmost Rancho Bernardo, runs along a hillside just above Highland Valley Road, with good views of the currently dry upper arm of Lake Hodges and the broad, agriculture-dotted San Pasqual …
Lake Hodges has become the most popular destination for recreation within the 55-mile-long San Dieguito River Park, now taking form along the San Dieguito River watershed from the coast at Del Mar to the Volcan …