The World Wildlife Fund argued that only captive-born animals should be loaned in order to minimize the incentive to capture more wild pandas. It criticized the zoo for charging ahead in its pursuit of a loan.
July 23, 1998
News & Stories
San Diego Zoo's strange struggle for pandas
Planning and politics in San Diego's North City, 1970-1995
Norma S. Damashek’s thesis examines the “micropolitics” of San Diego: how the “growth machine” dominates local land use and how institutionally embedded practices, “routinely employed by city government,” facilitate the planning process. She uses the …
July 23, 1998
The 6-mile "waterfall" trail through Los Penasquitos Canyon serves hikers and bikers
Crickets sing, cicadas buzz, and bullfrogs groan. A sparrow hawk alights upon a sycamore limb, then launches with outstretched wings to catch a puff of sea breeze moving up the canyon. A cottontail rabbit bounds …
July 23, 1998
In gospel music, how are the "Five Blind Boys" related?
Matthew: I've been listening to a lot of gospel music lately, and I'm confused about how many Blind Boys groups there are. There's the Five Blind Boys from Alabama. Are they related to the Five …
July 23, 1998
Why are runners running in the car lanes, and why are they running against traffic?
Dear Matt: With no disrespect to runners -- why the hell do I see so many of them now not only running in my car lane, but also against traffic? Is it legal or just …
July 23, 1998
Why do masses of men lead lives of quiet desperation?
Dear Matthew: Why do the so-called masses of men lead lives of quiet desperation? What led Thoreau to make such an observation? -- D, Kensington Pick one: (A) Because from his porch at Walden Pond, …
July 23, 1998
Why is the center of the Earth still hot?
Hi, Matt: I was wondering why the interior of the earth is still red hot. It would seem that after four billion years, it would have cooled off by now. -- CH, San Diego Pick …
July 23, 1998
Why don't newer office buildings have windows that open?
For Matthew Alice: Why don't newer office buildings have windows that open? Is it for security reasons? To keep computer and office equipment at a certain temperature? -- Tim Carlson, Just Want to Smell the …
July 23, 1998
Why do critics of fakery always single out pro wrestling?
Question: Ever wonder why critics of fakery always single out pro wrestling? Charles Bronson movies are fake. Stallone's not really Rambo. Broadway plays, cartoons, operas -- where are the critics there? If they're gonna bemoan …
July 23, 1998
The first human to touch my daughter's head
“Don't push!” The command leaped from my lips as it had countless times in the past nine years, but this was different. The perineal skin blanching white just two feet from my face belonged to …
July 23, 1998
I Had to Inspect His Mouth for Roach Eggs
Let me explain. I managed to make it through about 19 years of life without ever seeing a roach in the horrible, hard-shelled flesh. On a visit to my brother Mark, who was living in …
July 23, 1998
Tijuana man gets $5k/week as burro for drug kings
The chiefs of Mexican narcotics cartels get the headlines, but they couldn't make a nickel without burros or mulas -- donkeys or mules -- who smuggle the contraband across the border. A Customs department spokeswoman …
July 23, 1998
Wild dogs of Hillcrest, Clairemont, La Jolla
The reason coyotes survive in San Diego, he says, is our canyons. "L.A. is just one big flat ancient ocean basin. It doesn't have coyotes as we do. San Diego is an archipelago of canyon wildlife islands."
July 23, 1998
Larry Lawrence's widow Shelia suing Adrianna Huffington
The U.S. State Department stands accused of stonewalling a request filed by a Washington lawyer for files involving the late Coronado hotelier and ambassador M. Larry Lawrence and his young blonde widow Shelia. The inquiry …
July 23, 1998