Shocked shoppers see a woman fall to her death from a parking structure at Parkway Plaza in El Cajon. Was she pushed? In Chollas View, a mother loses the second of her two sons to …
News & Stories
San Diego homicides from the first half on 2007
The Reader's Eye on Television
You probably don't know this. I mean, how could you? Unless you hang out in vampire bars, that is. But I'll tell you something -- it's not a secret, but it's not broadcast, either -- …
August 9, 2007
Lighthouse Baptist Church, Lemon Grove
"Wholehearted" was the first thing that came to mind when I sat down to think about Lighthouse Baptist. "Done up right proper" was the second. Everything about the place invited the idiom: the proper orchestra …
August 9, 2007
Great Artists, Great Music
All the wonderful tunes of that era [1920s and 1930s], they're the crème de la crème of classical pop music," says musician Pete DeLuke. "George and Ira Gershwin, [Richard] Rodgers and [Lorenz] Hart, Cole Porter …
August 9, 2007
Pigeon graveyards
Matthew: Where do pigeons go to die? -- Inquiring Mind, North Park Birdy folks and pest-control folks generally agree that when a pigeon's feeling funky, he probably heads back to familiar territory-- his sleeping roost …
August 9, 2007
Blood is thicker in Canada
Heymatt: Mt boyfriend is from Canada, and he claims that when people move from a cold climate to a warm climate, their blood gets thinner and they are more sensitive to cold. Huh? -- Terra, …
August 9, 2007
San Diego learned of FAA objections to Sunroad high-rise in April
October 12, 2006. Remember that date. Excuse me: forget that date. According to the late-June report by Mayor Jerry Sanders's purported Office of Ethics and Integrity, the City's real estate czar, Jim Waring, didn't learn …
August 9, 2007
Attack of Killer Tomatoes follows Steve Peace's career
Steve Peace and John DeBello go way back. While still in high school in 1971, the pair, along with Costa Dillon and Mike Grant, put together a student movie called Do They Accept Traveler's Checks …
August 9, 2007
The pier, Ocean Beach
Name: Jason Corp Vehicle: 2002 Toyota Tundra Lives: Linda Vista Surfing: The pier, Ocean Beach Jason Corp paddled out past the O.B. pier. Earlier, he thought he might pack up for the day to head …
August 9, 2007
Crabba the Hut
Crab Hut advertises, "You'll swear you're in New Orleans." (They clearly don't mean the drowned, empty neighborhoods and the crack-dealer gangs, but the pre-"Brownie" foodies' paradise.) But you can't believe everything you read. Take Crab …
August 9, 2007
Who Wants Chicken?
Gasoline Chicken singer/guitarist Chris Crow says he has dealt with the demons that led him to get into eight fights at Scolari's Office (four during Gasoline Chicken gigs). He says his "almost a year" of …
August 9, 2007
Viejas treats GOP staffers at Petco Park
The Viejas Indian tribe has been spreading plenty of freebies around the state legislature of late. The tribe has disclosed a total of $7423.31 in lobbying "Activity Expenditures" from April through June. The biggest chunk …
August 9, 2007
Controversial Author Erica Jong, 1978
She was in town to promote How to Save Your Own Life, the follow-up to Fear of Flying, "a book that shocked some with its frank look at sex," according to the writer who interviewed …
August 9, 2007
Wave Off the Hip-Hop
The Good Charlotte's sold-out August 1 show at the Wave House indicates the viability of a second music venue at Belmont Park. 'Canes is the other Mission Beach venue capable of hosting national touring artists. …
August 9, 2007
Different Stripes
Why did Viejas Entertainment move the September 18 White Stripes show from the bayside Embarcadero venue to Coors Amphitheatre? Theory #1: The booking flew in the face of a decibel-limit agreement Viejas Entertainment made with …
August 9, 2007
Clowns for Cannes
"We went to a soundstage in L.A. and got clown makeup put on us," says Shoestring Strap singer/guitarist Dave Lowenstein of his band's appearance in the upcoming film Circus of Life. "We waited around for …
August 9, 2007
Tale to Be Told
News of the upcoming Tell-Tale Hearts reunion caught many fans off guard. Since the garage-rockers split up in 1986, there have been several attempts to reunite the group that was originally composed of Ray Brandes …
August 9, 2007
Scott Peters, Faulconer, Atkins, Young scarf freebies
First District San Diego city councilman Scott Peters may be married to multimillionaire Lynn Gorguze, but that hasn't kept him from accepting a bunch of handouts from local builders, an ambulance service provider, and a …
August 9, 2007
Cirrhosis of the River
Over the years I've been writing this column, I can't recall crashing a bachelor party. Whenever I've gone to friends' bachelor parties, there was a strict rule about cameras. This stemmed from a friend who …
August 9, 2007
You on the Bus?
When Manganista chartered a "party bus" for a gig at L.A.'s Viper Room at the end of June, they decided to record on the way. "I wanted to record a crowd of about 30 or …
August 9, 2007
Developers are San Diego City Council's largest donor group
San Diego city council campaign financial disclosures are in, and perhaps not surprisingly, only four donors to the candidates with the biggest bankrolls claim to be "developers": Ure Kretowicz of Cornerstone Communities ($270 to April …
August 9, 2007
Melissa Plaut in New York City
I Hate Second Avenue I went back to driving a cab after a hiatus of six months. When I showed up at the garage for my first shift, my buddy Sam updated me on the …
August 9, 2007
Backyard Bounty
"[To] buy a bottle of wine from me makes me a bootlegger. That's not right."
Fave, Yet, Cougars
Rachel Greenberg Age: 21 Occupation: College Student Lives: UCSD area My friends and I abbreviate a lot. "Fave" for "favorite," that sort of thing. A good one of those is "yet" for "Yeti." A "yet" …
August 9, 2007
Five Kinds of Love by Kristen Thomas
It must have been in Cosmo that I once read "The Top Five Relationships Every Woman Should Have Before She Gets Married." Most of us have had the first kind: the quintessential first love. This …
August 9, 2007
Abandoned Stories
Lately, some national sports stories have fallen off the table. For instance, what happened to Floyd Landis? Where's Ricky Williams? And, what's up with the NBA referee scandal? Donald Rumsfeld It's been three weeks since …
August 9, 2007
Happy Kid
Sacha Boutros attended the University of San Diego on an athletic and academic scholarship. "I played soccer growing up; I learned how from hall-of-famer Jean Willrich." She played soccer semiprofessionally for ten years. Going pro …
August 9, 2007
A Thin Dark Line
Name: Ryan Smack Age: 28 Occupation: Chef Neighborhood: Point Loma Where Interviewed: Borders Books In Mission Valley What book are you currently reading? "A Thin Dark Line by Tami Hoag. I'm on page 191 out …
August 9, 2007
"I was given a Mandrax. Do you know what that is?"
His name is Alex Mohamed or Mohamed Alex; he doesn't seem to mind either or both or in any particular order. My height, short and curly grayish hair, trimmed beard, large, gray-rimmed glasses, Mohamed wears …
August 9, 2007
Boob Job
Hey, Matt: Why do they call 'em boobs? -- An Aficionado, San Diego Matthew: What's the difference between silicone and silicon? Why isn't it Silicone Valley and silicon implants? -- Need Facts, Escondido The elves …
August 9, 2007
Mystery in The Mundane
On January 17, 1995, a 7.2 earthquake struck just north of Kobe, Japan, at dawn. Between 6500 and 7000 people lost their lives. Twenty-six thousand were injured in Japan's worst quake since 1923. Many had …
August 9, 2007
Lawfully Wedded
Marriage is a ghastly public confession of a strictly private intention. -- Ian Hay 'H ey, beh beh!" I called out, as I often do when I'm comfy in my office and don't want to …
August 9, 2007
Octoburgers
"I brought this idea to the colonia. It's upper-middle-class around here."
August 9, 2007
Explore oak-lined canyons in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
The Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyons park site, a unit of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, draws tens of thousands of self-propelled travelers yearly, but there's plenty of room for those visitors to spread out. …
August 9, 2007
Kosher Foods
'Mom, what's Shabbat?" That was Liam, the 13 year old. He's been invited to his friend Alex's house next Friday and wanted to know what to expect. So Mom headed down to The Place (619-286-6499), …
August 9, 2007