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Stories for February 1997

Thursday, February 27

The Terrace Rats: A Feral Childhood in Del Mar

While the tin can house had a red tile roof like any other adobe home, it was never normal. “It was a natural celestial spot. Except for Red Rock, it had the highest peak on the mesa.”

February 27, 1997
Elephants and self-abuse

Matmail: Is it known whether animals masturbate? Two possible species that I considered were elephants and primates. —jwavrider, the Net Elephants? I don’t even want to know how you came up with that one in …

February 27, 1997
Highway 52's paint splotches and how pantyhose are made

Dear Matt: What is the origin of all the colored paint splotches in both directions on Highway 52? There seem to be new ones all the time and of many different colors. Is it a …

February 27, 1997
Why Bill Clinton uses so many pens to sign a bill

Dear Matt: Saw Bill Clinton on TV signing his name to a stack of documents. There were at least a dozen pens lined up on his desk, and he used a different pen for each …

February 27, 1997
Mike Aguirre: Mayor, City Council, City Attorney – Recall Them All

A day after last week's ruling on the stadium case, plaintiff's attorney Michael Aguirre sat down for an interview, portions of which follow. I take it your view was that by ruling the way he …

February 27, 1997
Hollandia Dairy started at Center City Parkway and Felicita in Escondido

When Pete DeJung applied for a bank loan to start a dairy in 1951, he was turned down. "We didn't speak the language very well," recalls DeJung, who is Dutch. "We were very green in …

February 27, 1997
Look out, Susan, et al – Darrel Issa reportedly running for Senate

Republican moneyman Darrel Issa, a financial mainstay of last year's GOP convention, is reportedly running for U.S. Senate. Issa, president of Vista-based Directed Electronics, told the California Political Review he expects to spend $8 million …

February 27, 1997
Shell-shocked letters from Vietnam to San Diego

Prompted by a second glass of wine, Clifford’s dad said, “The way I treated my son, pushed Cliff into that war, I wouldn’t blame him if he accused me of intentionally wrecking his life.”

February 27, 1997

Thursday, February 20

Five San Diego micro-publishers: Chubasco, Gene Kira, OldCastle, Blue Dove, In One Ear

Chris Ahrens lives in the kind of house any surfer would love. It’s on the hill above Cardiff, with a view of one of the best reef breaks in San Diego county. Wet suits are …

February 20, 1997
Wear a lampshade when playing chess

Matmail: Just received this urgent e-mail. “Doctors are blaming a rare electrical imbalance in the brain for the bizarre death of a chess player whose head literally exploded in the middle of a championship game. …

February 20, 1997
The cinnamon of Red Hots and the cinnamon of Sara Lee

Dear Matthew Alice: Why are cinnamon candies “red hot”? I have never thought the taste of a cinnamon roll or other baked good particularly eye-watering. — R.R., S.D. Tastes that bludgeon our senses have always …

February 20, 1997
East-West Coast differences in packaging butter

Dear Matthew Alice: Why are margarine and butter sold in different shapes on the East and West Coasts? In the West, the cubes are short and fat, while on the East Coast they are long …

February 20, 1997
Prop 208 would be good-bye to the old days

It's a politician's worst nightmare - even worse if you're a judge or sheriff, district attorney or city attorney. It's Proposition 208, the campaign finance reform initiative passed by voters last November, and it caps …

February 20, 1997
What Do You Grow to Replace Avocados?

The sign on Steve Olson's office door says Olson Avocado Management. The logo on his jacket reads Olson Firewood. When you work in agriculture, you have to stay flexible. "Groves we planted 10, 20 years …

February 20, 1997
$30,000 for a six-month San Diego "road hump study"

Latest way to spend tax money at San Diego city hall: $30,000 for a six-month "road hump study." The city's contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates says the work will begin with "a survey of cities …

February 20, 1997
Ken Kuhlken: Santa didn't give them dope

A half dozen Indians stood pointing hoses from which I could see no water escaping — they looked like a mime troupe parodying a fire brigade. One man threw down his hose and began stomping a circle around himself.

February 20, 1997
Jane and Michael Stern's Dog Eat Dog

Somebody once told us that if you like cats, you like all breeds of cats, but if you like a certain breed of dog, you don’t necessarily like other breeds of dogs.”

February 20, 1997

Thursday, February 13

Alexander Theroux describes Anza-Borrego desert

It was all of it sad, godforsaken country. Last summer in a remote area south of here, around Split Mountain, a man whose car had broken down was found dead. He was shoeless and his brain had boiled.

San Diego viatical company buys AIDS victims insurance policies

"Let's say you figure the guy is going to live two years," says Ted Martin. "Here's the way a breakdown would work: You take his $100,000 [life insurance] policy. You're going to pay the guy, …

February 13, 1997
San Diego City Council scrambles to raise money before new rules

The speeches are over, the yard signs are long gone, and the TV reporters are back covering drive-by shootings or bemoaning the possible demise of the Holiday Bowl parade. Campaigns for four seats on the …

February 13, 1997
Lynn Schenk gets cash from Lerach law firm

Ex-congresswoman Lynn Schenk is still kicking around the idea of running for state attorney general. Campaign reports show that over the past six months the lawyer from La Jolla has raised $52,000 for her "exploratory" …

February 13, 1997
Matt Lickona purchases a grey cardigan sweater

"Talk to him," my wife commands, and I obey. I bend down, place my mouth against her belly, and say hello to my son, whose ears are fully developed by now. I tell him that …

February 13, 1997
See Donald plot murder, see Jane pray

Now, anybody don’t trust me, he ought to say so. He ought to come clean.”“What happens do he say so?” Pill queried. Donald leaned closer to me, “Boy come clean, he go back to the hall. That’s what.”

February 13, 1997

Thursday, February 6

What San Diego wine experts say among themselves

Eddie Osterland, one of 29 master sommeliers in the U.S., left New York because he wanted to raise his daughter in less aggressive surroundings, and he chose San Diego because “this is a beautiful city, …

February 6, 1997
Thinking of freeze-drying my dead dog

M Alice: How do freeze-dryers work? Why can’t you buy them for home use? I find practically no information on the subject, as if there was a coverup conspired by giant food-processing corporations. Am I …

February 6, 1997
The side of the neck bitten by vampires

Dear Matthew Alice: Does it make a difference to a vampire which side of the neck he/she bites? If the vampire wants iron-rich blood, then the left side is the place to suckle. Or the …

February 6, 1997
Monica Pollard has every right to return to Oceanside

San Diego may soon be home to a notorious New England killer. On a hot summer day in July 1985, in the northwest Vermont farming town of St. Albans, a man named Monica Pollard plunged …

February 6, 1997
Americans, Homeless in the Dry Wash of Ensenada

"You're a hard man to find." Glassy red eyes regard me with fear. The stubble-haired male, somewhere between 60 and 80, is buried deep in his sleeping bag. The brown cotton bag stinks of urine …

February 6, 1997
San Diego like Oakland, says Bond Buyer,

The scrap over the stadium has drawn the attention of the Bond Buyer, the national magazine for those in the business of buying and selling municipal securities. "Bond dealers wonder if San Diego is repeating …

February 6, 1997
Dear Jane, Please Send LSD

I took a job substitute teaching for the Grossmont high school district and tried writing a novel. My desk was in the dining room, but most of my roommates had day jobs, so the afternoons were quiet enough.

February 6, 1997
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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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