Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

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

Back to profile

Stories by Mike Madriaga

The long, lively road of an Amazon package

This year, a number of San Diego County residents were hit with delays getting their Amazon and USPS packages after delivery trucks and cars were involved in crashes and collisions. (Although in one case, after …

Tesla fires in Vista and Carmel Valley, and at Potato Chip Rock

Just when it seemed like Tesla and other autopilot EV fires were a thing of the past, a couple of recent incidents in San Diego County proved otherwise.On September 6 in Vista, three electric vehicles …

Toyota carjacking plagues San Diego

Toyotas in San Diego County have become prime targets for thieves in 2025. Some of the stolen vehicles reportedly end up across the border, but others are said to ship overseas to places like Africa, …

San Diego hotel and motel lonely deaths

Earlier this month, a fire broke out along Hotel Circle South. Fire trucks, engines, water tenders, battalion chiefs, and even a helicopter were reportedly called in to battle the flames before they reached the Legacy …

A bad clothes day at Chula Vista's West Marine

Imagine not being served at a local business because of your clothes and accessories."I'm at West Marine in Chula Vista, this gentleman right here is asking me to leave the store for no rhyme or …

August 26, 2025
The trouble with San Diego's e-bikes

Electric bikes are fast, quiet, and showing up all over San Diego County. And as with most technological and vehicular innovations, not everybody is happy about it.On August 7, Diah from South Park filmed several …

August 19, 2025
Snatchers, scammers, and more at San Diego Comic-Con 2025

Another San Diego International Comic-Con has come and gone, bringing with it massive crowds, fantastic cosplayers, celebrated celebrities, and also, sex, theft, and scams. Just ask the three people who reported their phones snatched right …

Tesla woes around San Diego County

Tesla made national headlines this week after a jury ruled against the company in a fatal autopilot crash out of state. But recently, Elon Musk's electric cars have been making an impact across San Diego …

San Diego cyclists fighting sunflowers

San Diego cyclists and their political allies fought hard for the lanes, and they won. But now, some riders are pedaling straight into a prickly new problem—overgrown weeds, low-hanging branches, and yes, even sunflowers obstructing …

Blaze on board

Over past few months, multiple vessels across San Diego County have gone up in flames under varying circumstances. Oddly, a couple of the boats weren’t even in a body of water when they burned. At around …

July 22, 2025
Would NASCAR take over San Diego streets?

Downtown San Diego might soon swap out its bike lanes for burnout marks and drift trails; the hum of rush hour could be drowned out by the thunder of V8-powered stock cars. According to a …

San Diego Uber and Lyft drivers hit rough patch

In recent months, San Diego Uber and Lyft drivers have been attacked. Some gig drivers were allegedly assaulted by a pink-haired woman, a road rager, and a McDonald’s patron. Another rideshare driver was kidnapped. These …

San Diego movie theater disruptors

While Silent Movie Mondays is returning to the historic Balboa Theatre downtown, other movie theaters throughout San Diego County are anything but silent.Something strange is going on inside local cinemas — and it’s sending people …

Watch Labubu doll get stolen in Escondido

On June 1, two men walked into Junot Ignacio's family toy store in Escondido and stole a rare Labubu doll—similar ones currently selling online for more than $1,000. The plush in question, a Labubu x …

San Diego's animals buffetted by flooding, pollution, construction

Over the past year, San Diego County has become an unlikely backdrop for a series of unsettling animal displacements.On May 22, the Murphy Canyon plane crash claimed six lives—all passengers aboard the aircraft. While no …

U-Haul trucks mark San Diego civil decline

Across the country, U-Haul vehicles and trailers are showing up in headlines for all the wrong reasons — from a recent hate group demonstration in Kansas City to a Missouri man sentenced to eight years …

Will vagabond vendors vamoose from Comic-Con 2025?

Comic-Con International is set to take over the San Diego Convention Center from July 24–27. Each year, the pop culture extravaganza draws cosplayers, collectors, celebrities, and families into the 2.6 million-square-foot convention center and surrounding …

Porch pirates get creative

Porch piracy is evolving — and members of this new wave of thieves aren't just grabbing boxes and running. Scammers are now dropping off fake parcels, disguising themselves as delivery drivers, and even swapping out …

May 27, 2025
Parked 20 feet from crosswalk? Expect a ticket if San Diego.

Since March 1, San Diego has issued over 4,200 citations under the new 2025 daylighting law, each carrying up to a $117 fine. Local parking enforcement officers cite cars facing marked and unmarked crosswalks within …

So many cars in San Diego water

Since the beginning of the year, San Diego County has seen a troubling series of incidents involving vehicles plunging into local waterways—including cars, a plane, and a boat—resulting in significant deaths. While most of these …

Skateboards used as weapons in La Mesa, Carlsbad, La Jolla

San Diego’s skate scene has long been part of the city’s coastal culture—but over the past year, a series of violent incidents, one deadly, involving skateboards and skateboarders, has raised concerns. In just the past …

Police and security hammer shoplifters in La Jolla, Sports Arena

Shoplifters are finally getting caught—a significant shift from the past few years. Just last year in countless cases suspects were let go, calmly escorted out of big-box stores by loss prevention specialists, or simply ignored …

Cats, dogs, elephants, horses, birds, turtle felt San Diego earthquake before we did

On April 14, a sudden boom ripped across San Diego County—from downtown to past Ramona, and from Tijuana to Oceanside. Some said it sounded as if someone were  stomping on their rooftops. Phones lit up …

The deadly left-lane exit from 94 to Interstate 15

The deadly crashes at the highway 94 eastbound to I-15 northbound connector on April 3 and March 29 are the latest examples of growing safety concerns along the 94 corridor. Since November, this short stretch …

San Diego restaurants wising up to dine-and-dashers

Dine-and-dashers are striking in droves, according to restaurant and bar workers in San Diego County. Photos and videos of these hungry thieves are frequently posted online by frustrated business owners and managers hoping someone will …

Why disturb San Diego's dead?

In recent months, there have been troubling reports of disrespect, vandalism, and accidents at cemeteries and memorials across San Diego County.On March 20, at around 9:00 pm, Irene T. saw a woman at the historic …

Pet drama in Ocean Beach, Skyline, North Park, Encanto, Chula Vista, and Interstate 5

From a determined Chihuahua sprinting for miles along the I-5 freeway to a French bulldog stolen in broad daylight — and even a pooch yelping from inside a U-Haul truck during San Diego’s Hot Chocolate …

March 25, 2025
Suddenly 80s cars are back

San Diego’s car scene is shifting gears as 80s cars roar back onto the streets. Along with them, two other past trends are making a return: red-colored Club anti-theft devices and a renewed interest in …

They look forward to more Tesla crashes

EV West, a custom car shop in San Marcos, is generating worldwide buzz for its high-profile clientele—an ironic twist when you consider the vehicles in the works are silent.During my recent visit, a 1962 Volkswagen …

March 11, 2025
A year for tacos and fights

San Diego County taco shops are more than just a place to grab a California burrito or carne asada taco — they’re a late-night tradition, a go-to spot for partygoers looking to refuel after a …

Waymo than you wanted to know

Since early February, people in Hillcrest, downtown, and Point Loma have been posting photos and videos of peculiar-looking Waymo taxis gliding through our streets—its exterior adorned with spinning LiDAR sensors, cameras, and high-tech gadgetry.Currently, the …

BB guns everywhere – Escondido, Lemon Grove, South Park, Universit Hts, Imperial Beach, Golden Hill

On February 20, around 10 pm, a man in Escondido was shot in the face by a BB gun, according to 911 Video News. The shots came from a gas station on the 1200 block …

Bad drones trouble firemen, paraglider in La Jolla

In January, San Diego County’s skies turned into a stage for some high-flying hijinks as drone pilots found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whether it was interfering with a fire department’s …

Joe Dreamz was prepared to pivot from TikTok

As most parents of teenagers know, TikTok went dark on Saturday, January 18, following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a ban that received widespread bipartisan support in Congress and was signed into law in …

February 14, 2025
Stolen Louis Vuitton wallet ruins San Diego Christmas

Picture this: You finish a workout at 24 Hour Fitness, head to Target for a quick errand, and leave your shopping cart unattended for just a moment. When you return, your gym bag — complete …

February 5, 2025
Wheelies, burnouts, donuts – San Diego's protests against deportation

Since President Trump's federal immigration policy threatened to deport undocumented immigrants across the nation, protests have broken out in San Diego County. These differed from earlier protests, as they  included show vehicles and lifted trucks …

Chula Vista bird nest rains embers on homeless

This week, besides the massive Border 2 Fire, there have been other odd fires reported throughout the county and Tijuana, including one that was ignited by a crashed Tesla, another by a nesting osprey, and …

New Year's Eve itself was quiet at San Diego hot spots

On New Year’s Eve in San Diego County, the night brought a grim start to 2025 with two boys shot in Escondido, while across the border in Tijuana, a family of four was reportedly shot …

The hotboxing BMW in Chula Vista

Last month, an unidentified man's BMW caught fire in Chula Vista while he was smoking cannabis in the car with the windows up. It's referred to as "hot boxing," explained 911 Video News, which was …

San Diegans fall for smishing

During the busy holiday season, smishing and scammer texts reached cell phones throughout San Diego County. Locals received messages from individuals pretending to be actor Keanu Reeves, FasTrak toll road employees, Amazon representatives, and U.S. …

What is it with Ferraris and San Diego?

On December 21, a red Ferrari lay wrecked on the opposite traffic lane as David Spongberg drove toward the monthly Rancho Santa Fe Cars and Coffee gathering. Traffic slowed to a crawl as Spongberg approached …

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
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
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.