The derivative curse
Composers who try to avoid it are to doomed to be it
Garrett Harris 5 p.m., July 25
Linda Vista Stories
7-Eleven pushes for more liquor licenses — City Heights, Ocean Beach, Linda Vista
Already owns more than 20 percent of beer and wines permits in San Diego County
In the past year, the 7-Eleven corporation — which now holds more than 20 percent of the beer and wine sales licenses in the county — has launched a push into at least five San ...
If Linda Vista said no, maybe Mission Valley will also
7-Eleven, facing foes to Friars Road site, misses meeting
Representatives from 7-Eleven were a no-show at a Mission Valley Planning Group meeting Wednesday (May 3) — for a presentation they had asked to make on a proposed store at Via Las Cumbres and Friars ...
Bay Parkers praise Highway 101 signs on Morena Blvd.
But one old-timer says 101 was where I-5 is now.
The last stop for Dave Potter, before ordering historic Highway 101 signage to put up along Morena Boulevard, was to get one last final thumbs-up from the Clairemont community planning group on April 18. Potter, ...
Metal is alive and well at Brick by Brick
San Diego is secretly angsty.
Bar ownership Rule No. 1: You snooze, you lose. “We learned it's not real easy,” says Shannon Sgrosso, part of the rock-star contingent that swooped in to save the struggling Brick by Brick three years ...
Butt out, Clairemont, says Linda Vista
Affordable housing and cyclist groups don’t like neighborhood planning groups
Linda Vista should have a neighborhood voice in planning how the neighborhood is developed and maintained, the neighborhood's planning group voted unanimously Monday night. "I have a lot of respect for the Clairemont planning group ...
Clutch Bar’s Bar Monster requests you stay off your phone
“You can drink alone at home. We’re here to talk.”
Were it not for the name and the salvaged “CUSTOM SERVICE” sign overlooking the pool table, you might not guess that the Clutch was once an auto shop before becoming a neighborhood bar in the ...
Residential puts squeeze on Linda Vista retail/industrial
Rezoning process to delay 90-foot towers and 1700 high-density homes
“The neighborhood isn’t crazy about this,” said Howard Wayne about the city’s suggestion to build up to 90 feet high on West Morena Boulevard. Wayne heads the Morena Corridor Specific Plan subcommittee for the Linda ...
Fake Twitter account prompts lawsuit
USD student sues for Trump-related defamation
A University of San Diego law student says a fellow student defamed her on Twitter for her unwavering support of then-candidate Donald Trump. The woman, Tiffany Dehen, is suing the student (who has not been ...
Can't you smell that smell in Ocean Beach?
And downtown, Loma Portal, Mira Mesa, Linda Vista, Chula Vista...
Residents in Ocean Beach and Loma Portal woke up this morning (December 22) to a mysterious odor hanging in the damp air. Over the course of an hour, dozens of people reported the smell via ...
Last chance for neighbors of Francis Parker School
Residents hope for successful appeal to halt expansion
Community members in Linda Vista hope to overturn a San Diego Planning Commission approval of a massive expansion of one of San Diego's most elite private schools, the Francis Parker School in Linda Vista. As ...
How much more black could it be?
Dark Pugliese wines
Down in the sunblasted “heel” of Italy, grapes with thick, black skins flourish in the baking sunlight. The wines produced from such crops are quintessentially Italian in their boldness and, if I might go out ...
Francis Parker School expansion approved
"I am not sympathetic to residents that live near high schools."
San Diego's planning commission approved a proposed expansion of Francis Parker School in Linda Vista today (July 28). The private high school expansion calls for a net increase of approximately 62,000 square feet of new ...
Linda Vista is San Diego's cucuy room
People here just do and just are
Comedian George Lopez jokes that every Mexican family has a haunted room somewhere on the premises — “the cucuy room.” It’s the one you sprint past on your way to the commode in the middle ...
McDonald's at Rady Children's packs up the fryer
Ronald McDonald House still held in high regard
Parents and kids visiting Rady Children’s Hospital may be surprised at a big change in the hospital’s lobby: the McDonald's restaurant inside, which had opened in 1996 next to the emergency room, has closed. “It's ...
Unreasonable eviction in Linda Vista
Tenants say they're being forced out after complaining to media
About 50 tenants from several apartment complexes marched throughout Linda Vista on Monday evening (June 20), demanding better living conditions and a halt to what they're calling retaliatory evictions against tenants who've spoken up about ...
A moral question about Francis Parker school’s expansion goes unanswered
Francis Parker vs. neighbors...again
Lights, traffic among residents’ objections to the school’s plans
Apartment tenant action in Linda Vista
"...cockroach and rodent infestations, leaky roofs and windows, broken windows..."
Dozens of protesters rallied in front of a Linda Vista apartment complex Wednesday afternoon (April 27), demanding property managers immediately begin dealing with a backlog of habitability complaints ranging from deferred maintenance to rodent infestation ...
The duck soup kicks
J&T Thai Street Food becomes a third option
Before I left on my Euro Odyssey 2015, I would have divided (if pressed to do so candidly) the local Thai food scene into two camps: Sab-E-Lee and Everything Else. I know. Haters gonna hate. ...
Mesa College observatory dedicated to Trailmaster Schad
Jerry was like a comet
Colleagues and friends of Jerry Schad, astronomer, teacher, and author of San Diego's best hiking guide, assembled at Mesa College Thursday (November 18) to dedicate the Jerry Schad Observatory atop the Mathematics and Natural Sciences ...
A deli counter good enough for a wedding party
Waters Fine Foods puts supermarkets to shame
While in a grocery store recently, I came across a couple of guys who were ordering vast quantities of salads and meats from the deli counter. They said they were hosting a casual wedding reception ...
Who's minding Department of Animal Services?
Lawsuit lends insight into X-ray safety protocol and lack of permits
A former veterinarian is accusing San Diego County's Department of Animal Services of retaliating against her and her colleagues after discovering that several X-ray machines were not inspected and two shelters lacked permits to operate. ...
Sidecar doesn't ride shotgun
Linda Vista bar has dialed in the obscure location in a way that none of its predecessors had
Blame the humidity, but my first instinct upon entering Sidecar was to draw a cynical correlation between the place’s name and the thought that they were more or less riding shotgun to the passing fancies ...
The new Original Sab-E-Lee
Popular Thai food spot makes a move in Linda Vista
The Linda Vista Original Sab-E-Lee changed location this year. Thai food fans know the small and authentic northeastern Thai spot as one of the best such restaurants in town and would anticipate a big move ...
Here's what we got for $40.5 million
Mesa College dedicates spiffy new building — "our school’s new center"
San Diego Mesa College faculty members and students cut the ribbon on its $40.5 million Social and Behavioral Sciences Building on February 11 — the latest in a years-long overhaul of the campus located where ...
After the rampage
Suspect sues for untreated injuries from gunshot wounds
Joseph Anthony Hill, accused of murdering a man and running over a police officer, is suing San Diego County sheriff William Gore and the University of California at San Diego Medical Center for not adequately ...
Plate of pork, context, and nostalgia
Kona Kakes becomes part of the journey to become a pro eater of pigs in polystyrene blankets
It's kind of funny how nostalgia works. Take plate lunches, for example. The Hawaiian lunch staple usually involves some sort of cheap protein, a scoop of rice, and macaroni salad. There's nothing particularly alluring or ...
Venue News: Belly Up loses a talentbuyer; the Griffin offers its 48 license
There are a couple of significant changes afoot on the local music-venue front, as Belly Up in Solana Beach is about to announce a new talent buyer and the Griffin in Bay Park is up ...
Deja Voodoo is just pure shredding
Interview with Taz Taylor, whose 2014 album Deja Voodoo won’t include any vocals — just pure shredding, metal heads! Deedle-eedle-eedle-eedle-leedle-dee-dee!
Brick runs dry
Brick by Brick’s liquor license is suspended for a year…and though management seems confident they’ll get it back, they’re cautious about talking about it.
Ballast Point building new brewery
The latest and largest link in BP’s rapidly expanding chain
I told of its coming many moons ago. I’ve known of the location for over a month, but kept it under my hat. Now, Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits is ready to disclose the location ...
Early Look: Ballast Point in Little Italy
Bursting-at-the-seams company’s new brewery-restaurant
For the better part of its existence, Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits epitomized slow craft brewing company growth. Owner Jack White and long-time head brewer Yuseff Cherney seemed content to let Karl Strauss and Stone ...
We must be talking bánh mi
Mom's dream
At Linda Vista’s Bale Restaurant & Deli (serving Vietnamese, Chinese, and Thai Cuisine), Ed attacks an egg loaf and other morsels.
Eight-graders find their voices in photo program
Trained to use 35-millimeter cameras
In multilingual Linda Vista, schoolchildren are learning to write in English. It’s not always easy. Fifteen-year-old Jacqueline Garza admitted that only a few months ago she was failing her eighth-grade English class. But on the ...
Car drives onto trolley tracks in Linda Vista
Tow-truck #2 pulls it off the rails
Eastbound San Diego Trolley traffic came to a standstill at the Linda Vista/Morena station from 7:15 to 7:45 p.m. on June 14, as did all traffic at the Friars Road/Morena Boulevard intersection. A car had ...
Tecolote Canyon Natural Park
Enjoy a pleasant walk along the southern section of the Tecolote Canyon Nature Park
The Griffin: One Degree from Kona
“I came here to help out at the request of the owners,” says Joe Rinaldi, the Griffin’s new talent buyer. He speaks of creating an image for the venue that was once O’Connells, an Irish-themed ...
The Unkindest Cut: Countdown to a C-Section
My introduction to Elizabeth Cooper-Schultz comes by way of a text message in which she refers to Mary Birch as “that hospital that claims to be mother and baby friendly.” When I arrive at the ...
Doggy Doo On a Village Woods Balcony
Well, the kooky neighbors are at it again at Village Woods. The upstairs neighbor finally rented her apartment to, wait for it, a weirdo. But before I go on and on about the new weirdo ...
Hidden Pipeline, Secret Menace?
Some residents refer to it as the Sleeping Giant. An eight-inch-diameter Navy pipeline, carrying diesel and jet fuel from Point Loma to Miramar, lies beneath San Diego streets and canyons. Each year, 323 million gallons ...
The Griffin
O’Connells’ green trim went red in June when the bar was purchased by Mike Reidy, owner of Bar West in Pacific Beach. “We’re not Bar West Two,” manager Joe Gleason emphasizes from one of the ...
Ryan's Good at Gyros
It’s the kid. Kole. Three years old with a giant cheeseburger in his mitts. Tries to take a giant bite. Gets ketchup and mayo all over his nose and cheeks. Then looks up to his ...
Billboard on Morena Boulevard Predicts May 21 Will Be Judgment Day
At the south end of Morena Boulevard, seen by many thousands of drivers and passengers on I-5 north, a full-sized billboard declares that May 21, 2011, is Judgment Day for Christians. Harold Camping is responsible ...
Pho Forager
A San Diego survey: Lucky Pho, Pho Cow Cali Express, Pho Hoa, Pho Hoa-Huong, Pho Ca Dao, Pho Convoy Noodle House, Pho Xpress, Pho Hoa Hiep, Mignon Pho + Grill
It came to me four or five years ago as — surfacing to catch my breath — I looked up from a steaming bowl of pho: there were more non-Vietnamese patrons having lunch in this ...
I Live in Linda Vista
When I went into the Reader's website to blog about my neighborhood, I was marketed ingeniously by the computer. Once I typed in my neighborhood, Linda Vista, the Reader showed me an ad that asked ...
Linda Vista Recreation Center Needs Taller Fence, Law Enforcement
Two members of the Linda Vista community, Sarah Flora Palma and Joel Cruz, appeared before the San Diego City Council on October 5 in order bring to light problems that residents have had with the ...
Linda Vista Landmark Skateworld Faces the Wrecking Ball of Redevelopment
Wayne Bamford knew more secrets about Linda Vista than anyone. It was the spring of 2007, and Bamford was helping me dig into the community’s ongoing squabbles. Two years later, in early May, I wanted ...
The Control Center
Sunday, July 4, 4:15 p.m. Only a handful of compatriots have arrived at a house known as the Control Center between Ulric Street and the 163 in Linda Vista. In addition to “all you can ...
Later, Skaters
Skateworld, a Linda Vista landmark on Linda Vista Road, is on its way to extinction after the San Diego Redevelopment Agency approved a negotiation agreement on June 15 with a development company for the agency-owned ...
Story of a Pole
Back in October, a frequenter of the Starbucks on Linda Vista Road and Napa Street wrote to Donna Frye, city council representative for that area. He inquired about the disused 20-foot pole standing across the ...
Nonprofits Nonplussed
At the Bayside Community Center in Linda Vista, things are humming along as they have since the center was founded in 1932 as a settlement house for families of Italian and Portuguese fishermen. Having moved ...
- Balboa Park
- Bankers Hill
- Bay Park
- Bonita
- Borrego Springs
- Cardiff-by-the-Sea
- Carlsbad
- Carmel Mountain
- Chula Vista
- City Heights
- Clairemont
- College Area
- Coronado
- Cover Stories
- Del Cerro
- Del Mar
- Downtown San Diego
- Encanto
- Encinitas
- Escondido
- Golden Hill
- Grantville
- Hillcrest
- Imperial Beach
- Julian
- Kearny Mesa
- La Jolla
- La Mesa
- Leucadia
- Linda Vista
- Little Italy
- Logan Heights
- Mira Mesa
Another Perfect Day
Snapshots of all sides of our neighborhoods.
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 ...
Sushi Secret
Remember the guy who hijacked a tank and drove it through the streets of San Diego? They say this is where he got the tank, at the National Guard Armory in Linda Vista. And not ...
