“When I first suggested that China’s decision to share its pandas with the San Diego Zoo might be a fur-op, everybody said I was crazy,” says local conspiracy theorist Saul Openmind. “That was what, 27 …
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Stories by Walter Mencken
Statement from San Diego Unified’s Department of Doing Better: “Junipero Serra was an easy one: no religious figure has any business having their name on a public school, including the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. …
The UCSD Watermelon Drop, in which the melon is dropped seven stories from Urey Hall in an effort to create the largest possible splat, is the school’s oldest tradition. But not every tradition is worth …
When life gives you tortillas...
It’s okay to hate someone for rooting for the other team. It’s just not okay to hate them for being a POC.
On Saturday, June 19th, Coronado High’s boys basketball team defeated Escondido’s Orange Glen 60-57 in overtime. After the game, at least one spectator began to toss tortillas onto the court. A postgame altercation had already …
Last week, both students and faculty members from UCSD gathered with local social justice organizations to advocate for the removal of the UCPD, the branch of the police department that patrols the the university’s campus. …
“When we first started offering San Diegans the Covid-19 vaccine,” says Connie Spiracy, deputy director of media for the city’s Public Health office, “we found that there were two demographics where vaccine-hesitancy was dispiritingly high: …
As coronavirus cases continued to drop and California lifted its manifold restrictions on the life of its citizens, San Diego Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten took the opportunity to remind her people that “Governor Newsom …
As the border crisis deepens and wave after wave of hopeful migrants crashes against Trump’s evil wall, President Biden has taken bold action to address the problem. “It’s clear these folks love America, or at …
According to a new study from San Diego State’s Center for the Study of Women and Television in Film, the percentage of top-grossing films featuring female protagonists dropped from 40% in 2019 to just 29% …
In 1988, the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes football team played No. 4 Notre Dame in a thrilling game that came down to the last second. Prior to the game, a pair of Notre Dame students …
San Diegans from all walks of life are calling for both explanation and change from Mayor Todd Gloria following the release of his proposed city budget. At issue is his proposal that the city’s police …
Press release from Progressive Pictures: “Old Joe and the Border Boys tells the thrilling story of 19,000 kids living in Central America who hear President Biden announce that he’s going to stop deportations for the …
Yesterday, God Almighty called a press conference to announce that he was responsible for the shoulder injury suffered by Padres superstar Fernando Tatis, Jr., who tore his labrum at the end of a mighty swing …
San Diego’s Measure C, which would have raised the city’s hotel tax in an effort to secure funds for a Convention Center expansion, came tantalizingly close to obtaining the two-thirds majority required for passage. But …
“The current seal of the City of San Diego erases the history of the Indigenous People who occupied this land long before us, and glorifies the people who stole it,” says newly elected councilman Joe …
“Everybody knows that homelessness is the single greatest humanitarian crisis facing the city of San Diego,” says Mayor Todd Gloria. “But some crises are bigger than just one city. Some crises are national in scope. …
“The President of the United States believes that families are the bedrock of a healthy society,” says Sam Turnback, head of the Biden Administration’s Operation Staycation. “That may seem obvious, but when you hear that …
Once, Sylvia Burner was head librarian at UCSD’s Geisel Library — the campus’s signature building, named for La Jolla’s most famous citizen, beloved children’s author Ted Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss. Once, she paused every morning …
“I believe the children are the future,” says onetime San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “They can carry us to a brighter tomorrow, if only we have the courage to let them. So when the students …
[Paid political advertisement] Today, Former San Diego Mayor and would-be replacement governor Kevin Faulconer unveiled his first campaign poster, an attack ad on beleaguered governor Gavin Newsom that doesn’t even mention Faulconer’s name. “I have …
Recently, Padres superstar Fernando Tatis, Jr. signed a 14-year, $340 million contract with the San Diego Padres. It was the longest contract ever signed, as well as the third-richest, and the most certain to keep …
“It’s no secret that San Diego is facing a serious financial shortfall,” says San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “With tourism reduced to almost nothing thanks to covid, we’re just not getting the tax revenue we …
On January 25, worshippers at the University Christian Church in Hillcrest discovered that the night previous, someone had spattered paint on the Black Lives Matter sign adorning their building, as well as two of the …
Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that California could no longer ban indoor worship service, thanks in no small part to the lawsuit filed against the state by Chula Vista’s South Bay United Pentecostal …
Already under fire for his failure alleviate a situation in which, as White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week, “the vast majority” of individuals seeking to enter the United States from Mexico …
Just kidding. These are actually all trans women, eager to take advantage of President Biden’s reversal of Trump’s transgender ban for the military. Just kidding. These are all cis het drag queens, eager to take …
Recent surveys have indicated that while roughly 20% of the White, Hispanic, and Asian communities would not take the covid-19 vaccine even if it were available to them, nearly 40% of the Black community would …
Last Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom surprised many by lifting the stay-at-home order that had shuttered many restaurants and restricted other business and activity throughout much of the state. “Yessir, it’s Newsom’s new deal,” said …
Safari Park gorillas keep their distance from Maga, the only member of the troop who refuses to wear a mask.
In a brave, bold move that will no doubt serve as inspiration to many of his fellow whites, Nathan Fletcher today announced his intention to relinquish his position as a newly elected county supervisor to …
“Ocean Beach has a long, proud history of political protest, peaceful and otherwise,” says Fred Hippy, publisher of the OB Fishwrap. “We threw rocks at cops during the Easter and Labor Day riots of 1968. …
Disclaimer: None of this ever really happened. But then, La Mesa did burn on national television… O’Brien: Ah, Mr. Mencken. San Diego Reader, SD on the QT: Almost Factual News, isn’t it? Come in, sit …
“Look, everybody knows that Big Pharma is a scam,” says Ronald Pillpopper, an Imperial Beach resident who has traveled to Tijuana to get his coronavirus vaccine “without having to go through all the hassle and …
Nineteen-year-old Andru Gynous of BSA Troop 1435 out of Poway’s Oddfellows Hall is having a special 2020: they have achieved the double honor of being among the first Scouts not identifying as male to receive …
There will be no midnight Masses this Christmas Eve in California, thanks to the curfew imposed by the governor’s stay-at-home order, imposed in an effort to stop the rapid proliferation of covid-19. And there will …
“People love visiting the Midway Museum, and why not?” asks Navy spokeswab James Portside. “It rightly celebrates our Navy’s great achievements. But as the recent burning of the Bonhomme Richard makes clear, our recent past …
“Honestly, it started as a joke,” says Mayor Faulconer of his solitary, microwaved repast on Thanksgiving day. “After Governor Newsom went to that big party at the French Laundry, then fudged about it being an …
The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is “gravely contrary to the moral law,” that formal cooperation in an abortion results in excommunication, and that “the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation …
Last week, the California Film Commission announced that Disney+’s The Right Stuff, an adaptation of the Tom Wolfe novel about the American space program, would be filming its second season in San Diego, thus allowing …
“I don’t see why anybody should complain,” said Mayor Faulconer at yesterday’s press conference in which he declared Thanksgiving officially canceled for the city of San Diego. “You’re not allowed to gather, anyway. If you …
Last week, Amazon overlord Jeff Bezos announced the first winners in his $10 billion climate change giveaway; among them was La Jolla’s own Salk Institute, the recipient of $30 million in recognition of its potential …
“Naturally, we were saddened when we had to report an 80-percent drop in attendance over our third quarter and a $370 million decline in revenue,” says Sea World Director of Attractions Gary Gore. I never …
“Some people say that Lego should stay away from such difficult subjects as mostly peaceful protests and their effect on the great American cities represented in miniature at Legoland California,” says park spokesman Chaz Chop. …
The news that San Diego County had reported enough new cases of covid-19 to be relegated from the red “substantial” tier to the purple “widespread” tier was welcomed by all right-thinking San Diegans, eager to …
Following outcry, Horton Plaza’s statue of Mayor/Governor/Senator Pete Wilson joins Portland’s Lincoln and NYC’s Teddy Roosevelt in storage.
“Do you read Medscape?” asks Lacey Garter, a stripper who normally works weekday lunches at Cheetah’s Gentleman’s Club, but who is today standing outside in the brisk October air, completely naked except for her cowboy …
On February 28, the San Ysidro boys basketball team defeated Coronado 71-59 to win the Division III CIF Championship. For San Ysidro, it was an occasion to celebrate. For Rachel Justice, San Diego Unified School …