Last June, San Diego assemblyman Juan Vargas received a brief, if dubious, burst of fame for his role in the failure of Senate Bill 1, a financial privacy measure sponsored by Democratic senate member Jackie …
February 26, 2004
News & Stories
San Diego Assemblyman Juan Vargas shills for insurance interests who donate heavily to him
It's the bribes, stupid
The Las Vegas city council last week finalized its million-dollar deal with Cheetahs Las Vegas strip-club owner Jack Galardi, who took over after his son Michael, the previous co-owner, copped a plea to federal bribery …
February 26, 2004
Food outlaws
One of the guests told me he was surprised that a few of the Jazzercise students were overweight. Maybe it's not as physically demanding as other aerobic workouts. They all seemed to be great dancers.
February 26, 2004
My worst interviews
I hear it all the time. “Wow, I wish I had your job — you get paid to have fun and hang out with famous people!” What folks don’t seem to understand is that first, …
February 26, 2004
Exactly how bad does bad cheese smell?
Dear Matthew Alice: To determine if food items have outlived their edibility, expiration dates and pungent odors are probably the two most obvious ways to make a conclusion. Recently I was given a sizable chunk …
February 26, 2004
What's I/IV of C-LI?
Matt: Given the ancient Romans' achievements in the sciences, they must have understood the concept of quantities between zero and one. So how did they notate fractions? I/VII would get cumbersome and wouldn't aid in …
February 26, 2004
Web site
Hey Matt: What happens when one species of spider accidentally falls into the web of another species? -- Black Widower Paul, San Diego Weeeel, depends, according to the staff bug guy at our sister institution, …
February 26, 2004
Stalk the wild beargrass at Jamul's McGinty Mountain Preserve.
Rising like a scruffy whaleback above a sea of luxury homes and ranchettes in Jamul, McGinty Mountain hosts a rich but circumspect treasure of botanical oddities. Several rare and endangered plant species make their home …
February 26, 2004
Bribe Paradise
The West African nation of Benin is best known as the birthplace of voodoo. More than two-thirds of the residents still practice voodoo, with its ecstatic trances and magical dances. Benin (pronounced behneen) is also …
February 26, 2004
Inventor Tackles Salton Sea Disaster
How it works is an industrial secret, say the founders of Aqua Genesis LLC, a San Diego company that intends to clean up the Salton Sea and in the process make thousands of acre-feet (one …
February 26, 2004