Rape of the Earth Medal of Dishonor The year's most infamous award goes to the voters of San Diego, a majority of whom agreed to exchange 39 acres of prime canyonland in Balboa Park for …
December 20, 1979
News & Stories
1979: San Diego's year in review
San Diego's best graphic design in 1979
There may be a multitude of graphic designers living in San Diego, but the most interesting work is done by a relatively small group of exceptionally talented artists, and much of what they create is …
December 20, 1979
San Diego's most memorable theater and classical music in 1979
A friend of mine (whom I will refer to — so as not to embarrass him — as Jeff Smith) is a nicotine addict and cannot go for long without a cigarette. At a recent …
December 20, 1979
How San Diego radio boosted ratings in 1979
"This is the operator. Can I help you?" "Yes, Operator, I'm having trouble getting 570-1800. Before I finish dialing, I hear busy signals," "Oh. that's the Magic 91 contest line. It's always busy." "How do …
December 20, 1979
The business of San Diego in 1979
Most Quotable Executive of the Year Award To Robert Dicker, president of Walker-Scott Corporation. Some of his pearls: When asked if he was going to change the name of the store chain he now controls: …
December 20, 1979
Jess Haro and Larry Remer evaluate 1979
1) The Pete Wilson reelection campaign strategy to discredit and demean the credibility of his opponent, Simon Casady, by raising age as an issue. 2) The shooting of two handcuffed Mexican nationals by Border Patrolman …
December 20, 1979
Gary Kreep and Al Tarvyd review 1979
Despite the constant yapping by the morning paper about the "conservative trend" or "mood" of the San Diego City Council, that august body of politicos keeps coming up with more ingenious and more costly things …
December 20, 1979
San Diego media overkill in 1979
In the best Southern California tradition, 1979 was another year for exalting trivia — or trivializing the exalted — in San Diego. The city's news barons and their minions were no exceptions, once again demonstrating …
December 20, 1979
Best and worst of 1979 TV in San Diego
I have to wonder how long it would have taken contemporary antitelevisian zealots to accept Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, or the replacement of the horse with the automobile, or the Beatles, or Saran Wrap. …
December 20, 1979
Matthew Alice looks back on 1979
To end this year, I would like to answer every question that I have found too interesting to purge from my folder of unfinished work, even if the questions seemed unanswerably broad or difficult or …
December 20, 1979
True newspaper scoops in San Diego, 1979
The best newspaper reporting doesn't always get the biggest headlines; sometimes a series of stories begins on page seventeen of the financial section and in several months works its way to the front page, while …
December 20, 1979
San Diego's most overused words in 1979 and other parting shots
Second prize is two lunches Supervisor Jim Bates offered to have lunch with the door-prize winner of County Government Day at the College Grove shopping center last November. Check the oil and cut the umbilical …
December 20, 1979
Padres' Jerry Coleman collection
Now that Jerry Coleman has left the broadcasting booth to manage the San Diego Padres, we're going to miss his wonderful malapropisms, which by themselves have rejuvenated radio in San Diego. Let's take a leak …
December 20, 1979
Heavy Fifty: San Diego's Movers and Shakers
Al O'Brien Everybody ought to own a town. So thought he and nine other investors when they plunked' down $1.7 million in August for the 250 acres that comprise the desert hamlet of Jacumba. Now …
December 20, 1979
San Diego characters I met in 1979
People who live back East like to say smugly that their part of the country is saner than ours because all the unbalanced people tend to follow the pull of gravity into Southern California. This, …
December 20, 1979
Language: A Laid-Back Christmas
The set is plain and stark. It is Scrooge's cold, gloomy, and dimly lit counting house. At stage right is Scrooge's high desk, strewn with documents. ledger books, and a padlocked cash box. At stage …
December 20, 1979
Best and worst movie titles for 1979
1) What's in a name? a. The Fourth Annual Willa Cather Citation for the classiest title of the movie year is conferred on Yanks, with much the same reluctance as when Carl Yastrzemski was crowned …
December 20, 1979