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Ken Leighton

Ken Leighton contributes regularly to the Reader's Blurt music column.

Articles by Ken Leighton

Locals sound off on the Oceanside Pier fire

The cause of the historic fire at the end of the longest wooden pier on the West Coast has become a stew of outrageous hearsay.A random man-on-the-street poll of Oceansiders about what caused the fire …

April 30, 2024
Oceanside short-term rental guy David Fischbach attracts enemies

Living in a $7.5-million beach-front home can be downright "scary."That is, if you live next door to a short-term rental."There's so many scary people hanging out in the streets," says Ashley McDermott who lives on …

March 12, 2024
Unintended results of five roundabouts in Oceanside

These are uneasy times for two mom-and-pop hardware stores in North County.And it's not because business is bad.Two Ace Hardware stores, favorites of locals who want to avoid the trek to a big box and …

Oceanside suddenly ends Harbor Days

The Avocado Festival in Fallbrook and Vista’s Strawberry Festival each draw an estimated 100,000 guests.On a weekend in May up to 75,000 come to the Fiesta Del Sol in Solana Beach to see two days of …

September 26, 2023
30 tugs do the pulling in San Diego Bay

Tugboats of San Diego Bay“We got a call from a friend with the Navy on a Saturday morning before Easter, and he said, ‘How fast can you get to Camp Pendleton?’ We said we could …

September 11, 2023
Oceanside's coffee explosion brings mixed reactions

Oceanside civic leaders used to fret over unwanted businesses. They would complain over too many barber shops and dry cleaners that served Camp Pendleton Marines.Oceanside once was home to three topless bars. Now there are …

September 5, 2023
No more honky-tonks in Poway

Poway – why the rodeo still does well It’s rodeo time: seven seconds of hell on an angry bull. That’s what many San Diegans picture when they think of Poway. But times have changed in …

August 13, 2023
Oceanside Chamber of Commerce gives 30 days to its tenants

Irma Cabrera has seen major changes in downtown Oceanside since her hair salon opened 29 years ago. Vanessa’s Hair Salon, named for her then four-year-old daughter, was right across the street from the newly-built Oceanside …

Switchfoot, Dinettes, Queen Bees, ASCAP, Billie Joe Armstrong, Brandon "Tiny Doo" Duncan, Agent 51

One of the first stories I did when I started three-blurts-a-week was about Switchfoot in January, 1999. I was happy to be the first local writer to cover Switchfoot, Jason Mraz, Sam Outlaw, and Daring …

March 12, 2023
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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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