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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Golf Course headed for the rough? Retired Fallbrook elementary school teacher Joan McConnell had just returned on Sunday (January 24) from the site of the former San Luis Rey Downs Golf Club. Two years ago, …

Victor Roy, whose signature is used to certify the validity of checks issued by the City of Oceanside, says the reason he was viewing “inappropriate material” at a city library was because he was on …

Christopher Rodriguez appeared four years ago as one of North County’s most promising Republican up-and-comers. An Iraq war veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart, he still sports a high-and-tight Marine haircut. During Oceanside City …

Oceanside’s most recognized yet most neglected building is about to get its first major upgrade since it was built in 1950. The beachfront “bandshell” immediately south of the Oceanside pier has hosted high school graduation …

Cannabis is booming in Vista. Its 11 retail dispensaries have a corner on North County’s legal weed market, serving consumers from Oceanside, Carlsbad, San Marcos, Escondido, and Fallbrook. Since August of 2021, they haven't needed …

Oceanside Treasurer Victor Roy faces serious charges from a city official he is supposed to work with, according to correspondence leaked to the public last week. Those charges include allegations that Roy tried to get …

The October 2019 FBI arrest of Democratic fundraiser/consultant Melahat Rafiei for “theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds” was not widely known until two weeks ago. FBI special agent Brian Adkins said Rafiei “lied” …

As Amazon’s business skyrocketed during Covid, the company became America’s largest private occupier of industrial real estate. There are some 23 Amazon distribution/warehouse hubs in Southern California including Otay Mesa (six-million square feet) and Vista …

Ethnicity, guns, and accusations of being a business failure are all being used as weapons in the race for Mike Levin’s congressional seat. And that’s just between the Republicans. “He still claims to be a …

Some say Oceanside’s explosive beachfront build-out of the last five years is a long-needed improvement. Others say it's created a sterile, high-rise urban monster. But no one is celebrating the recent uptick in downtown crime. …

Jeremiah Depesa lives at the west end of the San Luis Rey Valley. The backyard of his hillside home has hosted beehives for the last four years. He was headed out for a morning surf …

Good Life in Sabre Springs “I think Brenda is amazing. She’s so strong. I asked her, ‘How do you get out of bed?’ She told me, ‘I do it for my boys because they don’t …

Not So Stoopid "What do indie musicians and Tupperware have in common?" That's what an article in the June 20 issue of Newsweek ponders as it suggests local O.B. reggae-rockers Slightly Stoopid have tapped into …

The march to close and then sell off elementary schools in Oceanside has been compared to the game of musical chairs. Parents with “Save Our Schools” signs are hoping their on-site protests will keep their …

Vickie Taylor England just learned that one of her former classmates will miss the Oceanside High 50-year class reunion on October 1 and 2. “Everybody knew Louie. He was very popular and very handsome. All …

When Covid hit, two local gentlemen’s clubs turned off their strobe lights. The Main Attraction in Oceanside and Pure Platinum in Kearny Mesa shuttered in May, 2020. There is no word when or if Pure …

In Oceanside, standing up for democracy can cost you big time. Consider law student Kathy Carbone and retired teacher Arlene Hammerschmidt. They were two of some 125 volunteers loosely organized as Let Oceanside Vote. They …

The City of Vista is rolling in weed money, and it's only going to increase. Vista became the only city in North County to allow cannabis dispensaries when the citizen-sponsored Measure Z passed in 2018. …

The surf industry is dropping in on Oceanside. The city that once billed itself as "California's best kept secret" may now be better suited for the "Surf City" handle long used by Huntington Beach. Because …

Retired educator Doug Knox is a fan of KPBS radio/TV. As a $100-a-month supporter of the non-commercial stations, he's in the KPBS Producer's Club. KPBS thanks those members by giving them access to special events …

When San Marcos city councilman Jim Desmond was elected to represent North County on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors three years ago, there was a five percent GOP majority in his District 5. …

JULY 7 UPDATE: Oceanside's most embarrassing vacancy will soon be cranking. The space at the corner of Pier View Way and Coast Highway, vacant since late last year, will soon be abuzz with another successful …

Well intentioned efforts to help the homeless can get ugly. The city of Oceanside’s high profile moves to help the needy led to public confrontations and a grant revocation. One grandstanding councilmember induced giggles when …

Last Friday the District Attorney’s office announced it was not pursuing criminal charges against Oceanside councilwoman Kori Jensen regarding her residency. There were enough questions over Jensen’s primary residence that the city attorney referred the …

“This house is in escrow and it never even had a sign or an open house.” Mary Ellen Reese has lived in the same South Oceanside home for 37 years. She was taken aback when …

“The Republican party asked me to run against [Congressman] Mike Levin in 2020.” That’s what Oceanside city councilman Christopher Rodriguez said two years ago when the Latino ex-Marine who served in Iraq was viewed as …

Animal Kingdom is TV’s intense weekly drama about the crime-loving Cody family. Brothers Pope, Craig and Deran took on murder, armed robbery, explosives, and drugs all while living in Oceanside. A Warner Bros. Television crew …

A sprawling tent camp near Oceanside Boulevard and I-5 that was home to about 50 homeless people was upended Tuesday morning when a phalanx of some 40 police officers descended on the campsite built on …

Apparently nothing will stop beachfront property owners in Oceanside from dropping in huge riprap boulders in front of their house. Not even a stop-work order from the state coastal commission. At about 2 pm Friday, …

Some city hall watchers are claiming a recent filing with the state Fair Political Practices Commission is proof that Oceanside has become a “pay-to-play” city where wealthy developers can build what they want as long …

What does it take to become a member of the Oceanside City Council? One might be surprised to know how easy it was for the newest member of the the five-person body that controls a …

Tara Johansen says improv comedy classes are the best way she knows for the introverted to meet other people. “I had just moved to San Diego a year earlier and I found it very hard …

Politics can get rough in the county’s smallest city where just 3450 voters decide who runs the five-person Del Mar city council. In last month’s election, two different slates were running to occupy three seats. …

While Covid-triggered cancelations pushed the Del Mar Fairgrounds into a $10 million deficit as of September, two former fairground employees claim that that the fairgrounds governing board and its staff was headed for a fall …

The Aussies are invading North County with foreign-made surfboards. “It’s like freaking locusts descending on us,” says one local surf shop owner who declined to be named. “It’s like they have a scorched earth plan …

About 100 skaters a day show up to Oceanside’s Prince Park. On weekends it’s twice as many. Because it's free to use and because skating is cool. Josh Carson says the cement bowls are doing …

According to some named in a defamation lawsuit filed by Oceanside City Council candidate Michelle Gomez, the suit is a way to silence those who claim she ripped them off. The lawsuit arose when Gomez, …

Bree Shook says a kind of class warfare has erupted between her 1,000 neighbors in the Cavalier Mobile Home Estates and the traditional homeowners who live in the South Oceanside neighborhood that overlooks them. “They …

One person close to the Helgren’s sportsfishing saga describes the struggle over city property at the Oceanside Harbor as an ongoing “soap opera,” filled with “hate and discontent.” And while the major players won’t speak …

Anyone with a TV may get the impression Oceanside is more Green Acres than Baywatch. Developer Integral Communities has so far dumped $1.4 million on TV ads and other promotions to convince locals that a …

Roman Abramovich Yacht on San Diego’s Embarcadero Two helicopter pads, pool, spa, hot tub... It was borrowed by Madonna back in 2010 (according to Luxist.com), when she was filming her movie about the Duke of …

Beach fire rings are a beloved beach tradition for families and youth groups to roast marshmallows and tell stories. Or are they an attractive nuisance drawing in transient drunks who fight and make late night …