During the 2005-2006 school year, 8250 tenth graders in the San Diego Unified School District were enrolled in World History 1 and 2. The students focused on world history in modern times, roughly from the …
June 22, 2006
News & Stories
Eye-candy but dull history textbooks restrained by California's rules
Litany at Coronado Lutheran stems from Adam to button-down shirts
"Men in Our Lives: A Litany for Father's Day" opened the service. The congregation recited, "Blessed are you, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, wellspring of all generations. As did our fathers in ages past, so …
June 22, 2006
The Right Thing
'I love my 25-year-olds. They're just learning, and they come in all the time.'
June 22, 2006
Your Highness
'People have been cruising for more than thirty years," says Jon Henriquez, tour manager of Lowrider Events. "The lowrider movement took off in the early '80s, but now it's more mainstream...you'll see lowriders in Pepsi …
June 22, 2006
Ambition and the Mighty Dollar
"I was a successful stockbroker with over a million dollars in the bank," says After the Crash singer Jake, "but I lost it all on April 4, 2000, as the market was having its biggest …
June 22, 2006
Bootleggers' Bane: The College Guy
"At nine in the morning, I knew all was not well," recalls Detroit transplant Lonnie Goldberg of the 2003 wildfires. He lived in Tierrasanta at the time. "The air was acrid. It looked like we …
June 22, 2006
He'd Rap a While for a Camel
Ocean Beach resident Brendan B, a 25-year-old rapper from Chicago, has no record label, no management, and no airplay for the 13-song demo he's been handing out. "I work at Sunshine Company in Ocean Beach," …
June 22, 2006
Not So Smooth
On June 7, smooth-jazz KIFM morning host Melissa Sharpe said something on the air that caused her to be fired in the middle of her shift. "My general manager said I don't connect with you …
June 22, 2006
"She thought I was Bono"
"She thought I was Bono," says Pavel Sfera of Ireland's president. Sfera met her at a public appearance he made in Dublin last month. Sfera was in high school in 1982 when he started hearing …
June 22, 2006
“The alleys are ruled by dangerous, roving thugs like you.”
I am writing this on a Sunday morning, actually, Father's Day. That's a small patch of history behind us (you and I) if it's any at all (was yours memorable?) It's an overcast, quiet day …
June 22, 2006
Drummer's Girl Spontaneously Combusts!
Before he joined a Scribe Amidst the Lions, drummer "Nate [Ball] was more or less using his drum kit for dirty laundry bins," says singer Kristofer Towne. After their first practice session with Ball evolved …
June 22, 2006
"Put your hands in your pants and face the judge."
Dear Matthew: I've noticed something weird on our local TV news stories on courtroom appearances by alleged criminals. When the arrestee is standing up in front of the judge at arraignment, they often have their …
June 22, 2006
Got the Shaft? Live with It
Most companies live by the old axiom: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." It's the rationale for diversification -- entering disparate businesses in an effort to spread risk. But diversification carries risk too. …
June 22, 2006
Summer Movie Review
Last summer I reviewed a sports documentary, Murderball, about a team of quadriplegics who play kick-ass rugby on custom-built wheelchairs. The movie is so good (later nominated for an Oscar), that the fact its main …
June 22, 2006
Circumnavigate Del Mar on foot via beach and pine-dotted canyons.
Combining beach, lagoon, crest, and canyon, this looping hike touches upon every natural landscape the community of greater Del Mar (the west-of-Interstate-5 part, anyway) has to offer. On a typical early-summer day, with a tepid …
June 22, 2006
Free Speech and Fair Parking
La Mesa mayoral candidate Craig Maxwell is the kind of guy people used to describe as strapping. He's over six feet tall, trim through the middle, broad and muscular in the chest and shoulders. The …
June 22, 2006
Political Tithing
After that hot trudge across the parking lot to wait in the long lines at the gates of the San Diego County Fair, do you dream of being appointed to the board of the 22nd …
June 22, 2006
Talk Jocks
Radio station 103.7 changed its format from classic rock to talk radio. Listeners disapproved, but was it necessary to have two stations in town playing Boston, Journey, and Heart? And 103.7's new shows are funny. …
June 22, 2006
Ferreting Out Lobbyists
Ex-Democratic state senator Dede Alpert, once mentioned as a possible San Diego mayoral candidate, is making waves in the state's capital by promoting the interests of the cable TV industry without bothering to register as …
June 22, 2006
Woolley-headed
One of the biggest local donors to a single cause so far this political season has been R.B. "Buzz" Woolley, the La Jolla investor, who gave $94,700 to the EdVoice Independent Expenditure Committee on April …
June 22, 2006
The Hard Way: A Jack Reacher Novel
The Hard Way (Jack Reacher Novels) by Lee Child. Delacorte, 2006, $25, 371 pages. FROM THE DUST JACKET: Former MP Jack Reacher was alone, the way he liked it, soaking up the hot, electric New …
June 22, 2006
The Reader's Eye on Television
Hi, kids! I'm Jose El Burro. Welcome to My Neighborhood. Let's take a look around. Here we are at 36th Street and University. Look at that pink building over there with the stars painted on …
June 22, 2006
Monster Megamix
How did The City's Finest meet? "I've known Brian and Robby since we were in middle school, although I didn't join the band until just before college," says rhythm guitar player Chris Lenz. "I used …
June 22, 2006
Option Overload
Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. -- Raymond Lindquist When overwhelmed with options, I revert to what I know. If confronted with an extensive menu at a high-end restaurant, I scan …
June 22, 2006
Jeremy Menning in Providence, Rhode Island
Vow Incited The serrated blade squeezed through the bread and slid into my skin. My heart leapt. I jumped up in pain, dropped the knife, and clasped my finger with the opposite hand. A single …
June 22, 2006
Laser Hair Removal
My best friend Bernice is wearing her bikini. I lost that battle two years ago. But I can still wear shorts -- the old gams still have a little tone. And the maintenance isn't too …
June 22, 2006