When Vulgar Favors, Maureen Orth's book about the murderous saga of Andrew Cunanan, hit the best-seller lists last month, a national audience was offered a sinister portrait of San Diego, far different from the image …
June 2, 2026
La Jolla Stories
La Jolla Stories
Vanity Fair on the San Diego trail of Andrew Cunanan
What are San Diego's 10 best high schools?
A liberal arts education seems out of place in a culture that defines people largely by what they do A liberal arts education doesn't prepare you to do anything in particular, at least, not anything …
May 22, 2026
A hired woman visits D.G. Wills bookstore
The woman is sexy but very classy. She is tall, about five feet nine, with tousled brown hair. Her skirt and tight white blouse show off her figure in a way to bring about cardiac …
May 19, 2026
Max Miller – San Diego's literary giant of the 1930s
Early in the past century, Riverside, Washington, was a disreputable dockside community on a bluff above the Snohomish River. Max Carlton Miller, born in Traverse City, Michigan, spent his youth in Riverside, as some residents …
April 16, 2026
The Windansea surfer/gangsters you wanted to avoid
Even if you live and surf in La Jolla doesn’t mean you’re welcome at Windansea. “This is one of the last places in San Diego with a visible and well-known reputation for localism,” says 17-year-old …
March 17, 2026
Cosplayers & cartoon fans spend Valentine's Day at AnimeFest
I took the trolley to AnimeFest 2026, taking place on Saturday, February 14 - Valentine's Day - at UCSD's Price Center in La Jolla. At the Old Town trolley station, there were two people in costume, so I asked …
February 17, 2026
The dirt beneath San Diego
The Reader has started this series of its best stories from the past 52 years — 2600 cover stories and some remarkable interior features — to help make up for the loss of its physical …
November 17, 2025
What makes the light in San Diego different?
The Reader has started this series of its best stories from the past 52 years — 2600 cover stories and some remarkable interior features — to help make up for the loss of its physical …
Mount Soledad homeowners open their houses to snoopy writer
The Reader has started this series of its best stories from the past 52 years — 2600 cover stories and some remarkable interior features — to help make up for the loss of its physical …
October 31, 2025
Santee, Carlsbad, Encinitas, La Jolla go after underage e-bike riders
Kids like bikes and kids like tech, so it stands to reason that kids would love e-bikes. But as the accidents pile up, it's becoming clear that grownups don't love kids on e-bikes. They fume …
September 16, 2025
Max Miller – he wrote from La Jolla
Max Miller - “San Diego’s first big-league literary figure”The Reader has started this series of its best stories from the past 52 years — 2600 cover stories and some remarkable interior features — to help …
August 27, 2025
San Diego cyclists fighting sunflowers
San Diego cyclists and their political allies fought hard for the lanes, and they won. But now, some riders are pedaling straight into a prickly new problem—overgrown weeds, low-hanging branches, and yes, even sunflowers obstructing …
July 30, 2025
Paradise Valley Road orphans fighting AT&T
Everyone wants what the service cell towers provide – as long as the tower isn’t next door.In coastal towns like La Jolla and Encinitas, home dwellers have been scoring victories over projects proposed near homes, …
July 1, 2025
The end of San Diego's sandy beaches?
San Diego’s coastal resiliency master plan, a major pilot project that favors nature over armor to protect beaches from flooding and erosion, is entering phase two, with many details still to work out. But one …
San Diego squid boom lasts three weeks
It was not the average “big bang” squid run off La Jolla last fall, as scientists sometimes call it when the normally large spawning groups turn up in extra large numbers. And while breeding typically …
May 20, 2025
So many cars in San Diego water
Since the beginning of the year, San Diego County has seen a troubling series of incidents involving vehicles plunging into local waterways—including cars, a plane, and a boat—resulting in significant deaths. While most of these …
May 12, 2025
Skateboards used as weapons in La Mesa, Carlsbad, La Jolla
San Diego’s skate scene has long been part of the city’s coastal culture—but over the past year, a series of violent incidents, one deadly, involving skateboards and skateboarders, has raised concerns. In just the past …
Gonzo Report: Jumping up for jazz at the Conrad
“I had the chance to see Miles [Davis] when I was in High School and didn’t — I still kick myself,” Brad tells me while we’re waiting for refreshments at The Conrad Prebys Music Center, …
May 1, 2025
Police and security hammer shoplifters in La Jolla, Sports Arena
Shoplifters are finally getting caught—a significant shift from the past few years. Just last year in countless cases suspects were let go, calmly escorted out of big-box stores by loss prevention specialists, or simply ignored …
April 28, 2025
Gonzo Report: Keni Yarbro provides a musical cocoon at Duke's La Jolla
“Occasionally, we need to chase the younger ones out, they have no fear of people,” Katie tells me when asked the oddest thing she’s seen as a server at Duke’s La Jolla. She’s referring to …
April 10, 2025