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Stories by Mike Madriaga

Skateboarders annoy, inspire downtown San Diego

At about 2 pm on June 21, Amanda Vazquez Defran heard a peculiar noise below her Banker's Hill home balcony. "I work from home, so I get a front row seat to a lot of …

Souped-up cars eyed warily by Vista cops

On June 18 — a $5.8 million vehicle, an SUV carrying $1 million cash, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, McLarens, Lotuses, Bugattis, Porsches, and a 2012 BWM 135i — were not given special "pedigree privies" in the city …

June 21, 2022
Golf carts – a San Diego trend but so easy to steal

On May 24, a person snuck into Hotel Del Coronado and stole their "Safety & Security" golf cart. The navy blue electric cart had custom wheels and a unique red-colored old-school pinstripe design on its …

San Diego graff artists confess

KAHLEE I rock a dark hoodie when I walk these streets. A scribe with streaks, no heat. My steps discrete. Brass knuckles for these suckas with beef. I need graffiti in cities surrounding me to …

Valencia Park, Golden Hill offer some help to homeless with vacant lots

Many San Diegans living on the street were not accounted for in the May 19 report released by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. During the count, some of the unaccounted San Diegans lived in …

The May 18 Sunset Cliffs sink hole rescue

On May 18, a photographer was stuck inside the notorious Sink Hole below Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach. The unidentified man wearing a long sleeve grey shirt, green shorts, and a camera equipment bag entered …

2022 Summer Fun Issue

The other night at dinner, the Young People asked the Old People, “How do you know when you’re an adult?” Your humble Editor’s answer: “When you realize that life is no longer play that gets …

Kite flyers okay with new Mission Bay playgrounds

On May 23, David Corning and his wife drove to Mission Bay Park to scope out the new playground the city of San Diego spent part of its $8.3 million budget to build. "It looks …

Media and public cut off from Calls for Service page

On the evening of May 16, the San Diego County Sheriff's department was called to San Marcos to assess a few incidents. There was a hit and run on the 500 block of Grand Avenue; …

Some neighbors wary of Adams Avenue Theater

Last month, Normal Heights neighbors posted photos of the Adams Avenue Theater on social media, wondering what would be moving into the near-100-year-old building. Then, on April 15, Devyn Randolph posted a picture of a …

San Diego city workers clean up homeless bikes

Hundreds of Twitter and NextDoor app users are outraged with city employees after an April 14 video tweet captioned, "Perfectly good bikes being crushed by the @CityofSanDiego" went viral. About 10 am that Thursday, Michael …

May 3, 2022
Mars highrise opens Normal Heights to SDSU students

Normal Heights inhabitants are throwing shade on The Mars Project development coming into their neighborhood. According to artists' renderings, the art deco-inspired building will have a sheet-metal facade and tower seven stories high on Adams …

Van lifers find ways to get around San Diego's hostility

On April 16, van lifers from around the U.S. trekked into San Diego County as National Park Week kicked off a weeklong, presidentially proclaimed event. For the following seven days, 400 national parks throughout the …

San Diego's pro wrestling fueled by marijuana

Perhaps you know that the official beer of the National Football League is Bud Light. The NBA has Michelob ULTRA. Major League Baseball’s official beer is Budweiser, but its official cerveza is Corona. And wrestling? …

Orbeez shooters invade El Cajon

On the evening of April 3, Brenda B. "heard gunshots" outside of her El Cajon home. "Then I called my mom, who lives on my street," she said. "I told her to don't go out …

April 11, 2022
When the Tesla jumped the wall in Kearny Mesa last week

A Tesla that recently landed on top of an ambulance in Kearny Mesa stole the thunder from a flying Tesla in Los Angeles days before. Above the Falck Ambulance Service headquarters, before 10 am on …

Bike vigilantes get back Kona taken from front of Tribute Pizza

"I had a wooden baseball bat, a Louisville Slugger, in my car. And the plan was we both walk up, Patrick grabs the bike, and I watch his back just in case this guy is …

San Diego tow truck, Uber, semi drivers watch their gas prices

Courtney and Leon Copeland of San Diego Scoop Squad, a pet waste removal company, felt the highest spike in gas prices over the weekend. "We are spending about $60 more per week on gas between …

Costly fire behind Home Depot off Palm Ave.

As Pamela Sophia exited the Home Depot on Saturn Boulevard in the morning of March 10, she noticed people in the parking lot gazing up at the sky behind the home improvement store. She then …

Coyotes proliferate from Ramona to Imperial Beach

Throughout San Diego County, there was an increase in coyote sightings in the last month. Ramona Facebookers reported coyotes attacked their ducks and chickens. Rabbits near the Tijuana Estuary in Imperial Beach were mauled. My …

San Diego truckers in People's Convoy – photos from New Mexico and Oklahoma

Lisa H. from Valley Center wishes she could've joined her fellow semi-truckers when they left for Altadena, California, on February 23, to caravan with The People's Convoy en route to Washington DC. "What an awesome …

Mission Valley and Valley Center ATMs attacked

On February 7, the San Diego Police Department posted on Facebook about a January 23 break-in at a Chase Bank ATM at 5111 Mission Center Road in Mission Valley. SDPD said one of their police …

Bait bikes work in Coronado

On January 28, before 10 am, the Coronado Police Department noticed their bait bike moving away from where it was initially locked. So they sent an officer down the Silver Strand near Leyte Road, north …

Pot-bellied pigs – the new lost animal of San Diego County

On February 1, animal services were called on a black-colored Vietnamese potbelly pig as he roamed by Hacienda Drive, south of the 76 in Oceanside. The San Diego Humane Society in Escondido refers to the …

Snapped his board in half

I found Chad surfing at the Ocean Beach Pier. “One day last year, Coronado was like Tahiti and Hawaii,” he said. "Anybody who surfs out here knows that Coronado has no surf." But this day …

February 1, 2022
Surfers and others not scared away by Jan. 15 tsunami

On the morning of January 15, Carol Niotta and her Yorkie, Pebbles, walked out on their La Jolla home's balcony to check if the tsunami emergency alert at 7:03 am, affected the surf scene below. …

What to make of the January 1 Old Town Trolley murder

"On New Year's morning, UFCW Local 135 union member Martin Andara was senselessly killed after being pushed into an oncoming train at the trolley station in Old Town San Diego," reads the union's January 7 …

San Diego County sheriff's radio goes silent

As the San Diego County Sheriff's Department real-time radio broadcast signal went radio silent for the public on January 11 — locals have been speaking up. "It did keep people informed of police and fire …

January 18, 2022
San Diegans learn a few lessons from December flooding

In December, San Diego accumulated 2.58 inches of rain at the San Diego International Airport, almost an inch higher than our city’s 1.6″ December average. “Widespread heavy rainfall and mountain snow is forecast this week, …

San Diego's Christmas trash piles up after Republic Services strike

A week or so after Christmas Eve parties and two days after New Year's Eve, piles of trash sitting in and around Republic Services dumpsters and trash bins throughout our county have yet to be …

World's biggest toybox next to Star of India

On December 19, San Diegans and tourists alike were flustered by a 215-foot "space-age" catamaran docked near the Star Of India, across the street from the San Diego County Administration Building. "Is this a kind …

Homeless walking on 78 freeway

Since the Escondido Police Department found guns and ammo in a pitched tent adjacent to SR-78 last month, North County residents say they are witnessing fewer pedestrians crossing the 78 close to where it merges …

December 20, 2021
Will San Diego ban on bike chop shops do it?

On November 27, Rob Z. linked up with a person from the OfferUp app to sell his Trek Fuel Ex bike accessorized with aftermarket components. That Saturday, they met at Hollandia Park in San Marcos, …

December 14, 2021
AMC gives out Spider-Man tokens

As I wrap up this article on December 7, three eBayers within 15 miles of North Park are selling Spiderman: No Way Home movie tickets for $15,000, $4,499.99, and $3,000, respectively. Many other San Diegans …

December 10, 2021
The ways and wiles of San Diego young sports card flippers

In April of this year, a sports trading card featuring basketball star LeBron James sold for $5.2 million. That tied the previous record, set in January, for a 1952 Topps baseball card featuring Mickey Mantle. …

December 8, 2021
Reasons the line has slowed at San Ysidro gate

On November 22, Kathy Harren was stuck in traffic at the San Ysidro Port of Entry for 2.5 hours after returning from the Baja 1000 races. “We arrived at the border at 11 a.m.,” she …

December 1, 2021
Do the medians on University Ave. help?

About two weeks ago, several North Park dwellers reported accidents on University, a couple of blocks east of Texas Avenue. Bob LaRose, who lives closer to Morley Field, emailed Councilman Stephen Whitburn on November 9. …

November 23, 2021
San Diego lifeguards cast wary eye on Pt. Loma surfers

At about 8:30 a.m., on November 5, a walker at the Cabrillo National Monument park dialed 911 when he saw a distressed surfer down below. "A surfer had washed into the rocks near the tide …

Paradise Hills man joins Ruined Tesla team in Las Vegas

On October 30, Ron Villarin drove his dual-motor Tesla Model 3 from his Paradise Hills home to the Las Vegas Convention Center for less than $30 worth of Tesla Supercharger-electric juice. "That's three stops," he …

Unexpected pain caused by Covid-19 Tenant Relief Act

Bonnie Anderson is a 76-year-old business and property owner from Webster. Like many San Diegans, she's rented part of her house near Federal and Euclid to pay for bills and the balance of her home's …

November 2, 2021
Writerz Blok knocked down

When word reached me that the walls of Writerz Blok, the first legal graffiti art park in the United States, were knocked down, I had to hear it and see it to believe it. On …

October 26, 2021
Baja Beach Fest: Ozuna, Karol G, Lunay, El Alfa, Dalex, Anuel AA, Farruko, Myke Towers, Balvin, Agudelo 888, Rauw Alejandro

Baja Beach Fest, known to many Gen-Z San Diegans simply as “BBF,” is an annual music festival held just north of the Muelle De Rosarito fishing pier. The festival, which started in 2018, is a …

October 13, 2021
Second person killed in Pershing Drive bike lane

On September 28, City of San Diego personnel installed reflective bollards along Pershing Drive by the Balboa Park Golf Course across the street from the Morley Field Golf Disc Course by North Park. "The dividers …

October 12, 2021
San Diego bike thefts soar

Bryan Hance, the co-founder of BikeIndex.org, said the jump in stolen bikes reported in San Diego "is all sort of tied together with the story of covid. "In 2020, 243 stolen bikes were reported to …

240SX up in flames on Dillard Street

On September 16, a person who wore a dark-colored hoodie and carried a red-colored gas container walked up to Mervynn Fernandez’s 1990 Nissan 240SX near the Paradise Valley neighborhood on Dillard Street. “He poured gas …

September 28, 2021
At Windansea they will drop in on you

Stephanie Canepa: “Windansea [Beach] is more famous for their locals being territorial,” she said. “You gotta be like “in”, really good — or not scared [because] they will drop in on you, yell at you …

September 21, 2021
Teledyne touts San Diego and Chula Vista cop drones

"I found your third suspect," said Elias Rodriguez from the San Diego Police Department. "There's a patrol unit parked on the [805] freeway with the flashers on. He's between you and Franklin, midway up the …

September 21, 2021
RV fires in Mission Bay, Rancho San Diego, Chula Vista

At about 4 a.m. on September 11, a De Anza Cove visitor called in about a Prowler fifth-wheel trailer RV that caught on fire. Firefighters from San Diego Fire-Rescue Station 21 pulled up with two …

Were the crashes at Sycamore Den and Manhattan Club DUIs?

On August 26, a driver of a yellow Kia Rio crashed into a tree in front of Top Gun Wash & Groom on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. "I had just crossed the street," Jonathan …

Private train car "The America" broken into last week

Over a week ago, a man broke into a private train car, which former President John F. Kennedy allegedly traveled in. It was parked at the Santa Fe Depot train station. "We attempted to speak …

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