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Steve Esmedina (RIP)

Esmedina wrote his first story for the Reader in July 1973; his last story appeared in September 1994. He was recommended to write for the Reader by his teacher at Mesa College, along with Ted Burke. Esmedina wrote about popular music and film, mostly in the late ’70s and early ’80s. He died on June 24, 2001 and was remembered later that year by his friends in the story, Blubbo's World.

Articles by Steve Esmedina (RIP)

Who's behind Encinitas' Swami's?

Inside the Self-Realization Fellowship The temple sits on the bluffs at the southern edge of Encinitas, perched beside the ocean and the community like a kind of 25-acre transplant from India, uprooted halfway around the …

Overnight at San Diego's Full Gospel Rescue Mission

Scalding shower, green nightgown, beans and rye cocktail bread, and an offer from older man to "keep him company" I know I was supposed to stay overnight at the City Rescue Mission on Saturday. An …

June 5, 2023
1976 guide to surfspots, poetry, dance bars, Navy slang, where to park

1976 San Diego guide to surfing spots Tamarack, Swami's, Black's, Windansea, Ocean Beach, Needle's Eye, Ralph's, Tijuana Sloughs 1976 San Diego guide to sailing Mission Bay, Navy Sailing Club, Southwestern, Silvergate, Seaforth, Coronado and San …

September 19, 2022
1975 Reader guide to fishing, street theater, public bathrooms

1975 San Diego guide to fishing Freshwater, offshore, deep-sea 1975 San Diego guide to public bathrooms Downtown, night spots, La Jolla 1975 San Diego guide to street theater Where to find them and rules they …

September 18, 2022
Early San Diego Punk, Muzak all over town, exhibitionist Disco, Penetrators at the Hong Kong Cafe

Why Those Little Punks By Jeff Spurrier, Aug. 3, 1978 | Read full article The Zeros, in typically unpretentious fashion, have assumed the empty throne as San Diego's best New Wave band, and they show …

January 30, 2021
Golden Hills' Lomas gang vs. Barrio Logan's Red Steps; Lao vs. Cambodian gangs

Huero Walks Dopey and his friends flashed Red Steps hand signs back at the occupants of the white car as it headed toward Crosby Street. Dopey goes on to tell the jury that one of …

January 25, 2021
Best Reader stories from 1976

Who Are the Rosicrucians? The Rosicrucian Fellowship International Headquarters is located on top of Mount Ecdesia. just outside of downtown Oceanside. It’s a garden spot in an otherwise gritty town that makes its living hustling …

November 3, 2019
Best Reader stories from 1975

I tell them my name is Ernie Klein, I'm 42 years old, and I'm unemployed It's the day after Thanksgiving and I'm standing in line at the unemployment office. I'm near the end of my …

November 2, 2019
My admiration for Jerzy Kosinski's Painted Bird and Nelson Algren's Walk on the Wild Side

College professors strain to convince novitiates that the boring "masterpieces" of Western literature (Hemingway, Melville, James, etc.) deserve their reputations solely from the "test-of-time" standard. But I, for one, do not believe any worthwhile art …

December 20, 1990
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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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