The jacaranda blossoms have made their spring return to the trees out front, in striking purple contrast to the pale green A-frame that has been home to Influx Café for 18 years. And for the …
May 12, 2020
Latest News & Stories
Re-opening the neighborhood coffeeshop
Off-roaders head to desert but watching for thieves
On the morning of April 23, Jasmine King and her family's flatbed trailer was stolen from the front of their Escondido home. "People are getting desperate," she said to me on May 9, "there's been …
May 12, 2020
Rednecks of East County, welcome back to Coronado
Coronavirus has taken a huge bite out of Coronado's tourism income. Hotel stays have plummeted. Restaurants and spas sit empty. Employees are out of work. Now, the town that hasn't always welcomed leisure visitors needs …
May 12, 2020
Flying Toad dishes comfort from a fine dining kitchen
We’ve seen a number of restaurants successfully pivot in the covid era, whether they’ve transformed into on-site groceries or added family combo meals to the menu. Escondido’s premier fine dining restaurant has found another way …
May 11, 2020
Mission Valley – garden-land gave way to shopping centers
The never-ending fix to Hazard Center Drive Hazard Center Drive in Mission Valley East is probably the shortest road incurring the longest completion of any in San Diego. It is approximately three blocks long and …
May 11, 2020
Stories hiding in the corners of San Diego
The Ugly Trailer Park Across the Water Cityzella terrorizes humble trailer folk at De Anza Cove. By Ollie, Sept. 14, 2011 What am I doing in Eastlake? I'm telling you it's a trap. And we're …
May 10, 2020
The mystique of certain San Diego plants and animals
Hive Mentality “The book said to call the fire department and tell them you’ll take swarms. That’s what I did. I got the swarms.” By Shari McCullough, Sept. 16, 2004 Grrrrrrrrrrrr Pit bulls can attack …
May 9, 2020
Metl Bar delivers boozy ice cream to San Diego
Rock music should have been what drew me to Metl Bar & Restaurant. That’s the new mantle of the Gaslamp space previously called The Hopping Pig. New ownership gave it a rock bar revamp late …
May 8, 2020
Two Joseph Brodsky poems for a socially distant May
May 24, 1980 I have braved, for want of wild beasts, steel cages, carved my term and nickname on bunks and rafters, lived by the sea, flashed aces in an oasis, dined with the-devil-knows-whom, in …
May 8, 2020
Three Lloyd Bacon comedies starring James Cagney
This week’s triad features a tangy-as-always James Cagney starring in three comedies under the direction of Warner Brothers’ swift-footed Lloyd Bacon. Picture Snatcher (1933) In his column in the January 21, 1933 edition of Editor …
May 8, 2020
Five Suits and Three Frogs
Counted among the world’s top amateur brewers, national and state homebrew champion Nick Corona has steadily worked toward opening his own brewery, somewhere in North County. He came close on locations in San Marcos and …
May 8, 2020
The parallels of Beethoven and Goya
During the shelter-in-place era, I’ve been covering a lot of ground, relative to my normal consumption, in the realm of high culture. I’ve read books which I’ve been putting off for years such as Death …
May 8, 2020
Kurt Christenson: Facebook live streaming First Lutheran's worship services
First Lutheran Church of San Diego Contact: 1420 Third Ave, San Diego 619-234-6149 www.firstlutheransd.org Membership: 280 Pastor: Kurt Christenson Age: 59 Born: Groton, CT Formation: St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN; Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley …
May 8, 2020
How safe are UCSD's coronavirus experiments?
As the battle between Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro and the Chinese government mounts regarding whether laboratories of the Wuhan Institute of Virology were ground zero for the COVID-19 pandemic, one of his former academic …
May 8, 2020
Courtney Cordero: organized by color at Mimi & Red
The streets are mostly empty these days, so I decided to reach out to style influencer Courtney Cordero for an interview. She’s more commonly known as @Cocosandiego on Instagram, where she has been sharing her …
May 7, 2020