Where I live, no major high-volume road cuts apart the 'hood. People can cross the street without becoming dead. The amoeba-shaped Balboa Park Municipal Golf Course and grid-busting canyons have made a rabbit warren of the streets.
December 30, 2004
News & Stories
La Costa, Del Mar, Valley Center, Talmadge, Ramona, San Ysidro, Lemon Grove, City Heights, University City, Mission Beach, Julian, Carmel Valley, Scripps Ranch, East Lake, Linda Vista, Serra Mesa
Largely white Bankers Hill
Bankers Hill. The name has a regal sound to it. Bankers Hill has been called "Pill Hill" for its many doctors' offices and "Gill Hill" for Irving Gill, who built the historic residences that grace …
December 30, 2004
New generations in Serra Mesa
That first southbound walk home from Wegeforth Elementary, back in '68, was long and hot, each shadow on Mobley Street a refuge. For a transplanted fourth-grader, it was an arduous half-mile trek. These days, I …
December 30, 2004
North Park’s experiment in humanity
After 14 years of living in North Park, a marriage proposal propelled me into the arms of Encinitas. I've acclimated, but on evenings when I hear norteño music pulsating from the roadway behind my new …
December 30, 2004
Don’t let Linda Vista fool you
Has Linda Vista lost its heart? The Yum Yum Donut Shop in the Vien-Dong supermarket center has become the place where old-time Linda Vistans turn up to chew the fat. "This shopping mall that used …
December 30, 2004
Peace east of Eastlake
One of my primary needs — along with sleep, food, shelter, and the Sunday Los Angeles Times — is quiet. Absolute, undisturbed quiet, preferably outdoors, with a great view. And in a world of boom …
December 30, 2004
Escondido’s country feeling is almost gone
There was a time when the Spanish raised sheep in the "hidden valley" of Escondido. Before the First World War, grapes became the crop of choice, and spectators at the Grape Day Parade were given …
December 30, 2004
Scripps Ranch boasts most Girl Scouts in the county
Having grown up in Mira Mesa, I had lots of friends in Scripps Ranch. It was our neighboring community, and in the '80s the kids there all went to Mira Mesa High School because Scripps …
December 30, 2004
Carmel Valley brims with clichés
On the surface, Carmel Valley is not the most charming town. It is a village of strivers: young professionals pushing to move up the ladder, students scrambling for accolades, parents and high schoolers pumping away …
December 30, 2004
Devout heathens call Julian home
We ascended toward Julian through the Cuyamacas. It was spring, but the air was crisp and clouds hinted at possibilities. The scenery was lush and green, but soon the landscape changed. The burnt hillsides, the …
December 30, 2004
Why does no one refer to Mission Beach as “M.B.”?
Mission Beach is one distinctive neighborhood. Of course there's the roller coaster, but I'm thinking of a completely different distinction. I mean that Mission Beach cuts quite the geographical figure. It is a true promontory, …
December 30, 2004
University City’s politics of traffic
University City encompasses the Golden Triangle (Highway 52 on the south and the I-5 and I-805 merge on the north) as well as much land around UCSD, the biotech firms on North Torrey Pines Road, …
December 30, 2004
Accosted by natty bicyclists in City Heights
A temple has been erected on the spot where I lived on Central Avenue. A small band of brown-robed Vietnamese monks purchased the lot from my landlord and turned the old bungalow into a Buddhist …
December 30, 2004
Lemon Grove pipe dream
I wrote under "Future Plans" in my 1978 high school yearbook: "Moving to Lemon Grove." I'd never been west of the last Stuckey's in St. Louis, but I'd just clipped a magazine article pitching the …
December 30, 2004
Hyping University Heights
Hey, Guys: A few pitches for University Heights promotion... The business district runs between signs ("The Boulevard" to "Normal Heights"), about the last third of Park and the beginning of Adams: "Let's Go to Breakfast!" …
December 30, 2004
The Valley Center far away from Harrah’s casino
At the end of a winding asphalt road, past boulders and gated ranches, past riotous tumbles of magenta bougainvillea, past dirt roads that disappear into orange groves dappled with midday sun, you'll find Peter Schaner. …
December 30, 2004
Displacement of South Park’s odd people
Not very long ago this neighborhood was a secret refuge for odd people. The cheap apartments were rented by hardworking families busy raising more kids than they could afford. The run-down houses were rented by …
December 30, 2004
San Ysidro, America’s last gasp
Okay, okay, I know. San Ysidro. It's not a place, it's the blur just before you get to Mexico. It's humanity sluicing up and down through the World's Busiest Border. The tidal gate between the …
December 30, 2004
Middletown’s lunchtime crowd is all about chicken
Su-Mei called the city. That's what the fish guy said. "I'm Victor fucking Joseph, and if I wanna sell black pepper chicken, ain't nobody gonna stop me." A squat keg of a man with a …
December 30, 2004
Riding high on the hoof in Ramona
While in Ramona on an escape from city life a year ago, I unexpectedly ran into an old friend, Karen Webster, on one of the town's back streets. She was on her horse. At first …
December 30, 2004
No crackheads in Talmadge
Draw an imaginary line down El Cajon Boulevard from Fairmount Avenue to 54th Street. Invisible as the line may be, it keeps the crackheads and prostitutes and the smog-belching oil leakers of Southeast San Diego …
December 30, 2004
Del Mar’s traffic-stopper in Speedos
Exit Interstate 5 at Del Mar Heights Road and head west. Cross Mango and go down the hill toward the heart of Del Mar. Take in one of the most beautiful stretches of scenery anywhere. …
December 30, 2004
A La Costa gibbon saves a marriage
When I think of La Costa, I remember the wildlife — the skunk that lived under our house, for instance, a beautiful creature whose size would double when it puffed up its fur after it …
December 30, 2004
Last Call
Movies reviewed this week: Beyond the Sea, Flight of the Phoenix, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Meet the Fockers, The Phantom of the Opera, and Spanglish
December 30, 2004
The Reader's Eye on Television
"What is this?" I asked through a silver microphone bolted into the glass. "That's a check. The jail takes the cash in your pocket and issues you a check," a voice, oddly disembodied and electronic, …
December 30, 2004
Career Explosion
“A client wanted something signed. He had this crate next to him, and he just started doodling.”
December 30, 2004
Cilantro Tuna
This is my own recipe that I created for the restaurant. It can be served as an appetizer or as a dinner. This dish is colorful and very simple to make — great for the …
December 30, 2004
Odessa Impressions
Just back from Ukraine, I follow TV reports of the election protests in Kiev, the capital. Via e-mail, friends have described the situation in Odessa, where I lived, as much calmer. Odessa is neither in …
Final Fire
In Holland in the 17th Century, "tiles migrated from floors to walls," says Steven Kern. "Why? Because ceramic is soft-baked, not like ironstone or stonewear. When you walk on it, it's going to chip." But …
December 30, 2004
The Year's Best Bites
I eat in at least 50 restaurants a year -- more often, 65 and up. Some you read about; others prove too short-lived or too awful to merit ink.The "Bests" list here reflects only meals …
December 30, 2004
Tristan Prettyman
Tristan Prettyman, the 22-year-old Del Mar native, signed with Virgin in early October and will start recording next month. She won "Best Acoustic" at this year's San Diego Music Awards, and her song "My Love" …
December 30, 2004
In the Wake of Jay-Z
In the wake of Jay-Z's collaboration with Linkin Park on "Collision Course" comes news that P.O.D. may be doing something with the prolific rapper as well. On December 15, P.O.D. drummer Noah "Wuv" Bernardo told …
December 30, 2004
Will Coors Amphitheater
Will Coors Amphitheater, SDSU's Cox Arena, and SDSU's Open Air Theater be swallowed up by Clear Channel? The publisher of a major concert industry publication says that is very likely. "[Clear Channel] would seem like …
December 30, 2004
"DJ Monk Had a Stalker"
"DJ Monk had a stalker," said an L5 club regular. December 11, around 1 a.m. at the downtown venue, a fan during DJ Monk's set (dubbed "Hallucination Before Christmas") was having a little trouble with …
December 30, 2004
The Sierra Club's annual Wilderness Basics Course whips prospective outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen into shape.
Ever wish to learn land navigation by map and compass or GPS? Or discover the fine points of selecting and packing gear for a backpacking expedition? Or learn how to prepare for and experience a …
December 30, 2004
"Artists Should Definitely Report to Soundscan"
"Artists should definitely report to Soundscan." That's a tip from Eli Spector, an executive with 33rd Street Records, about the national tracking service that releases weekly sales figures of barcoded CDs sold through retail outlets. …
December 30, 2004
Travis Ryan
Travis Ryan, singer with Cattle Decapitation, says he smuggles band merchandise (shirts, stickers, and more) into shows when he is on tour so that the band doesn't have to pay the traditional 20 percent cut …
December 30, 2004
One New York Weekly Writes
One New York weekly writes of Switchfoot, "The San Diego Christian rock quartet whose major-label breakthrough The Beautiful Letdown might be the most intelligent, least hysterical piece of alt-rock evangelism I've ever heard. And, yep, …
December 30, 2004
Before Louis XIV
Before Louis XIV played a San Francisco venue December 16, an area paper wrote, "Dirty boys finish first. At least that's what San Diego's Louis XIV are betting on. The latest major-label contenders who would …
December 30, 2004