Yeah, it really has been 20 years — 20 years of you Alicelanders bugging us with pointless questions; 20 years of Grandma Alice bugging us to separate the lights from the darks and not eat …
July 12, 2007
News & Stories
20 years of San Diego Reader's Matthew Alice
R & R
The whole celebrity culture thing -- I'm fascinated by, and repelled by, and yet I end up knowing about it. -- Anderson Cooper I surveyed my surroundings, noting the worn carpet, the paint peeling from …
July 12, 2007
The Rain
"Is church hell for you?" asked the glossy ad in CityBeat. "You're not alone. http://www.therainca.com The text was split between an image of hymnals in a church pew and a photo of raging flames. I …
July 12, 2007
Scalped
"Our days are numbered," says Vince Campise, owner of Atlas Tickets, a ticket resale company of nine employees. "If it wasn't for the fact that we have a successful football team, we'd be out of …
July 12, 2007
Haypunk
Guitarist Rene Romero spent his teen years in El Centro, where there was one Top 40 radio station and no live-music venues for kids. "I learned about the Velvet Underground and MC5 from a book …
July 12, 2007
Radio on the TV?
Plans are afoot to resurrect Fox Rox, a weekly rock TV show on the local Fox channel. "Yes, we are trying to figure out a way to make it work," says Richard Doutre-Jones, station manager …
July 12, 2007
San Diego Shakira impersonator causes stir
America's Got Talent contestant Boy Shakira -- a local male Shakira impersonator -- has polarized the show's three judges; Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan have approved him as a contestant, while David Hasselhoff argued on …
July 12, 2007
Self-Serve
"We showed up at the Bean Bar, where five bands had a combined draw of ten people standing around," says Four Kings singer/guitarist Drew Bent of a recent gig scheduled near the Sports Arena. "We …
July 12, 2007
Pleasant, Odd Fashion
The Wrong Trousers can often be found on weekends in Balboa Park, performing the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" on mandolin, standup bass, and full-sized concert harp. "On our best days at Balboa Park, …
July 12, 2007
Gooseberry Gumdrops
Title: Gooseberry Gumdrops Address: http://gooseberrygumdrops.blogspot.com Author: Michael Rheinbold From: Tierrasanta Blogging since: March 2007 Post Date: April 13, 2007 Post Title: Pistol Skittles Things continue to go south for our fearless hero. My roommate, Vladimir, …
July 12, 2007
Doggy Daycare
When her third child bolted off to college, my friend Janice thought she was free of her domestic duties. She returned to the workplace -- college is expensive, and a bunch of her friends had …
July 12, 2007
The Reader's Eye on Television
Foxy has mad gameness. "Gameness" is a word my friends and I picked up from a book, A Fighter's Heart , by Sam Sheridan. It means a willingness to fight even if a dog is …
July 12, 2007
The People's Music
'Verdi was really good at not just writing the music, but making the music match what it was about," says Timothy Todd Simmons, chorus master for the San Diego Opera. "You can listen to the …
July 12, 2007
Dog Beach, Ocean Beach
Name: Tom Downer Home: Normal Heights Vehicle: 1971 Volkswagen Bus Surfing: Dog Beach, Ocean Beach Tom Downer's wife calls his '71 Volkswagen Bus his "beach garage." Tom says, "It's still the only vehicle I can …
July 12, 2007
Underdressed
It was getting late on a Friday night, and a woman I was with wanted to get something to eat. As we passed by Domino's, she insisted we stop. They were closed, except for deliveries. …
Local Only
Like others before her, Gotfredson found selling San Diego wine to San Diegans a difficult business.
Connie Chung
Amber Hinajosa Age: 28 Occupation: Law Office Queen Bee Lives: University Heights Whenever someone upsets me I say, "I am going to Connie Chung you." As in, "I'm going to kick your ass." Or if …
July 12, 2007
Heart in the South
Singer Kitty Baudoin moved to San Diego in the summer of 1994 after spending five years in Hawaii and has lived here since then -- with "many trips home to New Orleans thrown into the …
July 12, 2007
Latham & Watkins attempted whitewash of Peregrine Systems
After pleading guilty to conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction of justice in the Peregrine Systems swindle -- the biggest and most blatant in San Diego history -- former chief executive Stephen Gardner last month got on …
July 12, 2007
Their Own Little World: Mission Beach
In Mission Beach, every foot of space counts. Five surf shops, four bars, a handful of restaurants, a resort hotel, a Turkish-style coffee lounge, and an amusement park all fit within its bounds, packed in …
July 12, 2007
Pacific Coast Office Building raises hackles in Mission Valley
Community height limits for buildings in San Diego will face another test this summer when the San Diego City Council revisits plans for the Pacific Coast Office Building in Mission Valley. At issue is the …
July 12, 2007
Forget San Diego's wi-fi network
The City's ambitious behind-the-scenes quest to build a municipal Wi-Fi network is virtually moribund, according to a slew of e-mails obtained from city hall last week under the state's public records act. The saga began …
July 12, 2007
News From The Camps
Coming close to football. The NFL preseason kicks off in three weeks and change, so it's not too early to start collecting the best sports reporting from team training camps. To begin, the Denver Broncos …
July 12, 2007
Surfer Emery Kauanui beaten outside La Jolla home
The case of 24-year-old professional surfer Emery Kauanui, savagely beaten after a May 24 bar dispute with old childhood chums outside the La Jolla home he shared with his mother Cynthia, is fodder for plenty …
July 12, 2007
Al Gore global warming speech gets Moores, Aguirre, Schenk, Sanders, Copley
The University of California has finally released cost and attendance details of that 150-person "V.I.P. Cocktail Reception" held for visiting ex-vice president Al Gore before his May global warming speech at UCSD. According to a …
July 12, 2007
Raging Romance
By the end of Shakespeare's romance The Two Gentlemen of Verona, you wonder when the title characters will show up. Valentine and Proteus begin as best friends: inseparable -- until separated. In one of the …
July 12, 2007
Everybody makes mistakes, John. Everybody.
Cozy up to writers at your own peril. -- Truman Capote In human relationships, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths. -- Graham Greene In spring of this year I wrote about a friend …
July 12, 2007
The Emperer's Hand
Johnny's 72 and is most famous locally for being kissed on the cheek by Sophia Loren.
July 12, 2007
Clean Cuisine
JRDN (short for Jordan) doesn't have a long-shot panorama of the ocean like other "view" restaurants. Instead, it's up close and personal with the beach. Surfers tromp by, heading seaward with their boards, while tired, …
July 12, 2007
Visit Charlton Flat, gateway to the high country of the San Gabriel Mountains, for a picnic and a short hike.
As travelers make their way up from Los Angeles into the San Gabriel Mountains via Angeles Crest Highway, Charlton Flat is the first place they encounter true coniferous forest -- stately pines, firs, and cedars …
July 12, 2007