"I was crossing the street in my old hometown of Fairport, New York, to get some candy," Stephen Traino admits, "and the next thing I knew, this car almost hit me because I wasn't even …
December 16, 2004
News & Stories
Stephen Traino of Candy Direct doesn't eat many sweets these days
Thirst Resort
“It’s not like he’s a control freak or anything, it’s just that he likes growing grapes.”
December 16, 2004
The Reader's Eye on Television
"You know, I had my doubts that this sign would be assembled, given the short deadline, but I think the team can pull together and make it happen," I say to the cameras. "We had …
December 16, 2004
Jambalaya
I chose to share this recipe because it's a good meal for winter weather, and it's simple. It's a quick meal. You can make it in between Christmas shopping. Jambalaya can be served as soup …
December 16, 2004
"They Decided San Diego Wasn't Important Enough for Them"
"They decided San Diego wasn't important enough for them," says one Z90 employee about Mase and Juvenile not showing up to the $33-a-ticket (plus $10 Ticketmaster fee) Z90 "Jingle Jam" concert December 2 at the …
December 16, 2004
Locals 3Against1
Locals 3Against1 emerged as one of eight finalists in Zippo lighter's "Hottest Unsigned Rock Band in America" competition. Zippo's "Hot Tour," which hosted 62 unsigned bands, had 1200 entries, all vying for a showcase with …
December 16, 2004
"Last Year We Booked Taking Back Sunday and Yellowcard"
"Last year we booked Taking Back Sunday and Yellowcard [at Soma]. They were in the $10,000 range. Now both bands are asking $50,000 [per date]," says Len Paul, owner of Soma, pointing out that the …
December 16, 2004
What People Don't Understand
"What people don't understand is that in the case of concert promotion, more competition means higher ticket prices." A promoter, who did not want to be identified, explained the reverse economics of the concert promotion …
December 16, 2004
Using the F-word Between Records
Using the F-word between records may cost you your DJ job, but apparently it doesn't mean you have to quit radio altogether. Former KGB disc jockey Diane Ray is back on the air playing classic …
December 16, 2004
We Opened for Pantera
"We opened for Pantera and White Zombie at [former MTV personality] Rikki Rachtman's birthday party in 1993. It was at the Palladium in Hollywood." Norm Leggio recalls when his local band Psychotic Waltz played on …
December 16, 2004
"The Show is Not Happening"
"The show is not happening," said Creative Artists Agency's Laura Haber. "We don't understand where that's coming from." Despite what CityBeat wrote December 8, there is no New Year's Eve show at Ground Zero in …
December 16, 2004
MTV's "Meet the Barkers"
MTV's "Meet the Barkers" is hyped as "putting the 'nuclear' in nuclear family." I asked program executive Rod Aissa if the show, starring blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, his wife, their one-year-old son, and her five-year-old …
December 16, 2004
What Happens in The Next Big Storm?
Scott Tulloch, director of San Diego's Metropolitan Wastewater Department, believes that the 2.66 inches of rain on October 27 showed how effective improvements to the city's sewer system have been over the past three years. …
December 16, 2004
World-Class Liars
The moniker "America's Finest City" is tarnished. Don't be surprised if city spinmeisters turn up the hyperbole volume, christening San Diego as a "World-Class City." Keep in mind that the "America's Finest City" honorific was …
December 16, 2004
Media hogs
The county's coffeehouses and convenience stores, already awash with just-started free newspapers that come and go each month, can count on one more newbie: The South Bay Review, operated by Mike Inzunza, brother of the …
December 16, 2004
Caviar with a Conscience
I've always preferred to spend New Year's Eve at home with my partner and perhaps a few close friends, enjoying a celebratory supper with sevruga caviar as the star ingredient. But during the fifteen-odd years …
December 16, 2004
Christmas Letters
Christmas letters. I don't know their history, who first wrote one, or where and why. I suspect they began to be written in the I Love Lucy Eisenhower years when all Americans, even though in …
Independent Living
"The teens must help themselves by agreeing to go back to school or get a job - they don't just hand the kids a toothbrush."
December 16, 2004
On foot or on cross-country skies, follow the Agua Dulce loop route through the Laguna Mountains.
Crouching in the rain shadow of the slightly higher Cuyamaca range, the Laguna Mountains still manage to collect a respectable share of precipitation. Some 30 inches of rain (and melted snow) might arrive here over …
December 16, 2004
Inside of Inside
Look out, Union-Tribune, here comes Neil Morgan, who was fired by the paper this spring, and his old sidekick Bob Witty, who used to help Morgan run the Copley-owned, now-defunct San Diego Tribune. The pair, …
December 16, 2004
Pickled Herring
It's been revealed that he's gotten personal legal advice courtesy of city taxpayers. Now it's also come to light that deputy San Diego city manager Bruce Herring, who has for years served as a loyal …
December 16, 2004
Mission Gathering, La Jolla
Denomination: Disciples of Christ Founded locally: 1999 Senior pastor: Pastor Rich McCullen Congregation size: 130 Staff size: 4 Sunday school enrollment: no Annual budget: $157,000 Weekly giving: $1,250 Singles program: no Dress: casual Diversity: white …
December 16, 2004
Fly Right
The man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready. -- Henry David Thoreau I'm what you might call a "jet-setter." According to dictionary.com, …
December 16, 2004
Salty Noel
At the start of each February, organizers for San Diego's Parade of Lights put the event's theme for the coming year on their website. "That's when we start to make drawings of our 41-foot Hatteras," …
December 16, 2004
400 Arrows Per Day
'As it is, probably about $1700," says Norman Aguon. "It" is a Martin Cougar III Magnum archery bow, which, according to the manufacturer, comes with "14-inch straight glass composite limbs... measures 42 inches between the …
December 16, 2004
Festival Of Light...Beer
My grandmother thought I was the worst Jew. I didn't know a word of Yiddish. I didn't go to synagogue or wear a Star of David, and I didn't care about the religion of the …
Gift Wrapping
I'm a lefty. Among other things, that means I'm not too deft with a standard pair of scissors. In grammar school, I was never the one picked to help the teacher cut stuff out for …
December 16, 2004
50% wool, 50% dryer lint, all hand loomed
Hey Matt: If I were to go to all the laundromats in San Diego County and collect all of the lint from the dryers, would I be able to make it into articles of clothing …
December 16, 2004
A trip to Reefer City, California
Heeeey, man� Like, there's this place in, um, up north-- what's it?-- Kern. Kern County, man. Waaaay up there. No beach. No�. Hey, got some Doritos, man? Goldfish crackers, maybe. Oh, uh-- yeah. This place. …
December 16, 2004