One day, he's a lauded real-estate visionary being handed the key to the city by Mayor Frank Curran. Then, he's battling city officials as they appropriate his downtown properties in the name of some barely …
June 21, 2007
News & Stories
Vince Miranda and the Balboa, Aztec, Cabrillo, Plaza, Bijou, and Pussycat theaters
Jaguar XK150, 1958
At British Motors, 1305 Kettner Blvd., c. 1958. This Jaguar XK150 had 200 horsepower and could cruise all day at over 100 mph. In 1958, our local daily reported that California had more registered vehicles …
June 21, 2007
The Congregational Church of La Jolla
"This song, 'Joyful, Joyful,' comes from Beethoven's Ninth," said a man to the woman next to him as he perused the bulletin before the service began. Apparently, she had sung the Ninth before, in another …
June 21, 2007
Irreconcilable Differences
It is difficult not to wonder whether that combination of elements which produces a machine for labor does not create also a soul of sorts, a dull resentful metallic will, which can rebel at times. …
June 21, 2007
Doc in the Box
Title: Doc in the Box Address: http://docinthebox.blogspot.com Author: Sean Dustman From: Mira Mesa/Miramar Blogging since: 2003 Post Date: April 3, 2006 Post Title: The Other Jungle We've bent over backwards trying to get basic services …
June 21, 2007
Lawn Sprinklers
Patrick is a watering fiend. Over years of marriage, I have come to realize that he uses it as a relaxing escape. During early-morning hours and as the sun sets in the evening, I will …
The Reader's Eye on Television
Soughington Armes looms dark and heavy on a discreet block in South Park. The Ashfield family, from Soughington, England, built the estate more than a century ago. Rumors around the area speak of dark and …
June 21, 2007
"Ribbit, Ribbit"
'Toads bury themselves in mud and can survive for months until the rains come down," says Diane Nygaard, president of Preserve Calavera, a nonprofit environmental organization that works to protect native habitats around Mount Calavera …
June 21, 2007
Conquistadors
My friend's wife had knee surgery. There were complications; a blood clot in her knee had caused a stroke. My friend hasn't left his wife's side at Kaiser Hospital nor slept in days. The day …
June 21, 2007
Tourmaline Surfing Park
Name: Jess Hamilton Home: Pacific Beach Vehicle: 2005 Toyota 4Runner Surfing: Tourmaline Surfing Park Jess Hamilton is an electrician. He says his job affords him the time and means to indulge in his hobbies. "I …
June 21, 2007
Wednesdays by Amy Joyce
"The Wednesday Wonder" -- that's what my roommate called this guy whom I was seeing. This is before the term "friends with benefits." But we weren't even friends. I was 23 and had just started …
June 21, 2007
Claire Litton in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
My Body is my paintbrush Everyone asks the question: "How much money do you make as a professional belly dancer?" The "baby" belly dancers want to know because they've got dilated dollar signs in their …
June 21, 2007
Richard Russell's Dow Theory Letters turns bullish
The U.S. economy is growing at a mere 0.6 percent annual rate, yet the stock market is rolling upward, with occasional setbacks when inflation and interest rates spike up. This seeming anomaly actually makes sense, …
June 21, 2007
Rich/poor chasm in San Diego not so deep
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. To a large extent, that's what's fueling the current buyout-driven stock market upthrust. The richest 1 percent account for almost 20 percent of household income and …
June 21, 2007
Lady thinks she owns part of Lake Murray
Merrilee Miller, a resident of Goleta, northwest of Santa Barbara, believes she has the right to vacation in a recreational vehicle on the banks of San Diego's Lake Murray. Or to plant banana trees near …
June 21, 2007
Local Blend
"I knew I wanted mountain fruit - a little bit of a clunky, rustic quality."
"Celebutard."
Kip Reese Age: 34 Occupation: Web designer Lives: Ocean Beach I like the word "celebutard." It's three parts: "celebrity," "debutante," and "retard." It's pretty self-explanatory; it's any of the crop of young, really dumb girls …
June 21, 2007
She Talks Horse
Equine karma? It's too bad Devon Tramore couldn't interview Street Sense, Curlin, and Rags to Riches, this year's Triple Crown winners. Devon, a female jockey in Mary Fengar Gail's Devil Dog Six, can more than …
June 21, 2007
Where Were You...
If you follow the National Hockey League, you'll remember where you were on April 18, 1999, the day Wayne Gretzky scored his 2857th and last point. If you like college basketball, you'll remember that day …
June 21, 2007
People who write books are smarter than everyone else. Everyone knows this.
This is in response to multiple requests for shorter sentences. Re: previous columns, "People are stupid don't you think? I do." Well, that's about it in a nutshell. Join me, won't you, for bitter, curmudgeonly …
June 21, 2007
Expletives Deleted
Matthew Alice: Watching a Family Guy episode tonight, I noticed things that there is no way the FCC would have let radio stations get away with, yet TV seems to get by doing. Why is …
June 21, 2007
Men: All Upper Case
Dear Matthew Alice: I've noticed that once free from the bonds of public education, American males tend to write in ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS, or sometimes a mix with mainly UC and a few lowercase letters …
June 21, 2007
What Am I Drinking?
Matt: What is cream soda? There's no cream in it. What flavor is it supposed to be? -- DO, San Diego Hard to believe that Squirt and Pepsi have their origins in the mineral waters …
June 21, 2007
Scene Makers
As recently as June 8, the White Stripes' website said the band would play Street Scene at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in September. Last weekend, the radio aired ads for a White Stripes concert at …
June 21, 2007
Sorta Sorry
After Hank Williams III's screams of "fuck Solana Beach" over the P.A. system at 2006's Fiesta del Sol, city council members considered calling an end to the 27-year-old event. "The press acted like we started …
June 21, 2007
Park Rock Kibosh
Susan Suffecool, operations manager of Balboa Park's Starlight Bowl, works for the San Diego Civic Light Opera Association. For 61 years, the outdoor amphitheater has been used primarily for musical plays. Suffecool says even though …
June 21, 2007
Owning It
"We made a record last spring that was slated to come out this summer on Capitol Records," reads a post on Reeve Oliver's MySpace page. "This is now no longer the case.... Capitol's parent company …
June 21, 2007
Leave Your Skin at the Door
Ike Turner has filed a $5000 lawsuit against the LAPD. He was arrested last month based on a 1989 narcotics warrant that later proved invalid. The 75-year-old spent around 15 hours in jail. "I think …
June 21, 2007
Chilled Tuna
Before the Goo Goo Dolls play Viejas Casino Concerts in the Park on Saturday, June 23, they want their dressing room stocked with eight bottles of Starbucks Frappuccino or Nestle cappuccino ("four plain coffee, four …
June 21, 2007
Some Enchanted Evening
Summer's here and the time is right -- to try to find restaurants with beautiful views that serve equally appealing food. The cliché is as true for San Diego as for other touristed cities: Most …
June 21, 2007
By foot or by bike, circle Middle Peak in the Cuyamaca Mountains.
Middle Peak's north slopes used to feature the "big trees" of Cuyamaca Rancho State Park -- centuries-old sugar pines over 100 feet tall and plenty of black oaks, white firs, Jeffrey pines, and incense cedars. …
June 21, 2007
People v. Walnut
In 1973, California officials were using the “Red Light Abatement Act” as a toilet brush to clean out porn shops and theaters from the municipal landscape. The Buena Park Pussycat at 6177 Beach Boulevard was …
June 21, 2007