Poway city councilmembers appointed a new — er, old councilmember on May 26 to fill the vacant seat left after the passing of former mayor Mickey Cafagna last month. After two special city council meetings, …

Last year, math-rock trio Swim Party sent a few of their songs and a brief bio to producers at Fuel TV’s action sports show, The Daily Habit. About six months later, a producer from the …

Soon, the city council will decide on whether to enter into an agreement with Gerding Edlen Development for exclusive negotiations on a new downtown civic center. Jeff Graham, vice president of redevelopment for CCDC, likens …

At the foot of the wooden Imperial Beach pier on a gray Wednesday morning, environmental group Heal the Bay issued San Diego County’s annual report card for water quality at its beaches. There was some …

Poway mayor Don Higginson promised May 19 would be an interesting night: the city’s four sitting councilmembers were scheduled to appoint a candidate to fill the vacant council seat left after mayor Mickey Cafagna lost …

When acoustic songster and mustache enthusiast Dagart decided to play 30 shows in 30 days at various locations around Southern California, he chose real-time social messaging network Twitter to announce the spontaneous gigs. “I wanted …

District 1 Councilmember Sherri Lightner isn’t San Diego’s most outspoken city politician. Typically, her comments at council meetings are succinct, slightly awkward, and usually start off with a clumsy grab at the microphone. She’s not …

In a May 12 memo to the mayor’s office, District 5 councilmember Carl DeMaio requested that plans to construct a new city hall building be demolished. Armed with information from commercial lease consultant Irving Hughes, …

Remember last June when the City approved a balanced budget for this current fiscal year? Well, councilmember Donna Frye discovered during Monday’s city council meeting that the balanced budget doesn’t appear to be balanced. While …

Like the sidewalks and streets that surround the city’s parking meters, the relationship between Uptown Partnership — the group responsible for addressing parking issues in Hillcrest, Banker’s Hill, and Mission Hills — and the residents …

Michael Vogl, revenue collections manager for the city, blames the media for spreading false information about the mayor’s parking meter utilization plan. He says news outlets are unable to explain the detailed proposal in 30-second …

Industrial-arts programs were important to Bob Taylor and Greg Deering when they were growing up in San Diego. It was during woodshop classes they made their first instruments: Taylor made his first guitar in his …

Budget and Finance Committee chair and councilmember Tony Young and his budget-frenzied colleague Carl DeMaio are beginning to see eye to eye on ways to reform the city’s budget process. As the estimated $60-million-plus shortfall …

Councilmember Carl DeMaio isn’t the only budget watchdog in town. On Thursday, April 30, District 7 representative Marti Emerald issued a memo to Budget Review Committee chair Tony Young that listed a few of her …

Mayor Jerry Sanders wants to make some progress on managed competition. There hasn’t been much since 2006, when voters passed the initiative to move towards privatizing city services. Yet, in the recently submitted 2010 budget, …

During District 2 councilmember Kevin Faulconer’s state of the district speech on April 27, he listed his accomplishments during the past three years. One of his proudest accomplishments so far has been banning alcohol from …

Matt Curreri of the Exfriends has been looking for a venue where he can play weekly shows, like the dive bar on Manhattan’s Lower East Side where he used to play every Sunday with his …

On April 23, the San Diego County Water Authority released results of a survey conducted last month in which 700 county residents were asked about water-supply awareness, conservation measures, restrictions, and the development of additional …

Just like most other communities in the county, Carlsbad’s finances are tanking. The City’s finance experts are projecting a deficit during the next three years. For the first quarter of the current fiscal year, general-fund …

During the April 21 meeting of the County Board of Supervisors, 17 speakers opposed a plan to bolster the use of food stamps throughout the county. Those who opposed want to factor in the recommendations …

When independent filmmaker Tray White contacted Matt Resovich last year through MySpace to do the score for Impaler (a documentary on self-proclaimed satanic vampire Jonathon “the Impaler” Sharkey, who ran for Minnesota’s governorship in 2006), …

In recent years, there’s been a lot of talk about San Diego’s housing market — from non-stop development and ballooning housing prices to free-falling property values, toxic assets, and real estate scams. What hasn’t been …

"Last week, after city council members rejected a proposal to raise rates and extend operational hours of parking meters, it was believed that time had run out on the initiative. Not so. Members of the …

The city’s backlog of deferred infrastructure projects is piling up. According to the city’s five-year financial outlook and 2010 budget, the backlog of repairs to city streets, sidewalks, and storm drains, and upkeep for libraries, …

Mike Hogan walks toward a small pile of treated sewage sludge, a moist, black, lumpy, faintly malodorous substance inside a newly expanded processing plant at Encina wastewater treatment facility in Carlsbad. “That’s what biosolids look …

A few days after playing Austin’s SXSW festival, members of the Soft Pack (formerly the Muslims) were driving to a gig in Philadelphia when a reporter from Rolling Stone magazine called and told them that …

So far, 2009 has been a bumpy road for city council members in Encinitas. Several issues have damaged relations between city officials and the public. During the past several months, public outcry over cutting down …

Fabio Marchi stood in front of Oceanside’s city hall building during an April 7 demonstration. He held a neon-green sign that read: “No Clear Master Plan.” Surrounding him were 12 other protesters, some dressed in …

Councilmember Carl DeMaio believes the city needs to focus on reducing waste at city hall before it begins charging residents for waste removal at their homes. The statement comes in response to an April 7 …

Scott Mercado didn’t know what to expect for Manuok’s first European Tour. Not long into it, the band — consisting of Mercado, Andrew Trecha, Geoff Hill, Jeff Grasmick, and Erik Berg — was pleasantly surprised. …

Chula Vista’s financial department is trying to get the city’s finances in shape. A $3.5 million budget deficit for this year and a $20 million budget shortfall for the following three to four years have …

On April 1, hours after Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano outlined new plans to bolster border security by spending $400 million for new surveillance technologies, 60 Chula Vista residents gathered at the city’s main library …

Who hasn’t rummaged through bags and searched underneath car seats, scavenging for loose change to feed the meter? Well, residents of San Diego better start loading their pockets with loose change, because the city is …

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 …

The members of the Black Heart Procession were in the middle of recording their sixth full-length when representatives from their label, respected indie innovator Touch and Go Records, told them that after 27 years of …

Not many cities have their own internal financial audit committee. San Diego has one. Comprised of three outside finance experts and headed by councilmember Kevin Faulconer (with councilmember Carl DeMaio serving as vice chair), the …

Relatively speaking, despite a 3.3 million-dollar structural deficit, National City’s finances are in pretty good shape -- that’s what mayor Ron Morrison told nearly 40 residents during a special city-council-sponsored “strategic planning and budgetary workshop” …

On March 19 at 6:00 p.m., Hoover High School’s auditorium was filled with people. Students dressed in cardinal-red jumpsuits sat next to neatly dressed faculty and staff. Members of the girls’ softball team, in dusty …

Residents of Encinitas love their trees so much, they will fight to keep all the foliage they can. During the past few years, community residents have protested cutting down any of their trees. There was …

While dance-punk duo Crocodiles were planning a cross-country tour to promote their upcoming debut full-length Summer of Hate, which is set to be released April 28 on Fat Possum Records, they received an unexpected offer …

In most communities, finding enough qualified people to volunteer for a community planning board isn’t easy. And, typically, attending a community planning board meeting during the week isn’t exactly the hot-ticket event. Not so in …

Richard Eckfield knows the perfect way to draw bigger crowds to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. He’s pitched the idea for over three years. The problem is, nobody at the fairgrounds is listening. Eckfield wants the …

The surf breaks from Imperial Beach Pier down to the Tijuana Slough are some of Southern California’s best. In that area, surfers can find good waves and light crowds. The water quality, however, is bad. …

After a nationwide tour last September and a two-week, ten-show tour through the chilly Midwest in January, ’70s-style jam band the Donkeys apparently haven’t had enough of the road. On March 12, the band will …

On Monday, March 9, Ed Herrera and 10 other Chula Vista residents were on the front steps of Chula Vista City Hall, chanting “No Way on Prop A!” Fifty of their fellow community members sat …

At a March 2 meeting of the Greater Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District, members of the MAD Advisory Committee objected to a proposal by the Greater Golden Hill Community Development Corporation (GGHCDC) to use nearly …

When roots blues acoustic guitarist Joshua Blatchley plays shows around town, he usually leaves his acoustic at home, stuffs some picks in his pockets, and borrows an electric guitar and amp from a friend. Once …

A lot has changed in recent months for the Greater Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District’s Advisory Committee. The meeting date was bumped up from the third Monday of the month to the first. The meeting …

Located at the corner of Adams Avenue and Kensington Drive, the Kensington/Normal Heights Community Library is San Diego’s smallest public library. During the past few years, the Kensington Friends of the Library have looked at …

On the wall above the mayor’s chair, inside the La Mesa City Council chambers, is a mural of the city’s seal. At the top of the mural reads “City of La Mesa,” at the bottom: …