A boy 3-1/2 months old was the youngest homicide victim in San Diego County during the first half of 2007. The oldest was a 75-year-old woman. Both were killed by family members, allegedly, the infant …
News & Stories
More San Diego homicides in the first half of 2007
Horse Sense
A horse which stops dead just before a jump and thus propels its rider into a graceful arc provides a splendid excuse for general merriment. -- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh I t was 8 …
August 2, 2007
San Diego Covenant Reform Chapel, Chula Vista
Many pamphlets sat on the table just inside the door of the Chula Vista Police Officers Association Building: On the Faith of the Gospel, The Sovereignty of God, Objections to God's Sovereignty Answered, The Foreknowledge …
August 2, 2007
The Reader's Eye on Television
About the same time I was studying to take the SATs, my mother was renewing her sense of purpose with the lost art of sewing clothes for her family. I was sitting on my bed …
August 2, 2007
Xavier,the X man
DJ: Xavier,the X man Station: Magic 92.5 FM Shift: 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. weekdays; 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Sunday (oldies show). I was a freshman in college, in the Bay Area [in the early '90s]. …
August 2, 2007
Good Food, Good Health
'Since most Filipinos are immigrants, when they come here they change their diets," says Ofelia Dirige, a nutritionist with a doctorate in public health. "They used to eat fish, vegetables, and fruit when they were …
August 2, 2007
Ethically challenged: Mayor Jerry Sanders, Sunroad owner Aaron Feldman, Sunroad executive Tom Story and city real estate czar James Waring
Ethics I. Have you ever wondered why so many crooks set up shop in San Diego? It's for the climate -- the ethical climate. A sleazebag visiting the city this year and following the Sunroad …
August 2, 2007
San Diego city council attorneys don't need economic interest docs
Ethics II. An ethicist should understand that it's wrong to cite a legal opinion as your reason for taking a particular action when in fact you have rejected that legal opinion. But the City's self-professed …
August 2, 2007
Days of Avalon
The SDPD was trying to contact Marc Shannon last week. The vice department wanted him to know that he could not use a North Park building at 3926 Ohio Street -- once a 99-cent store …
August 2, 2007
Waterman David Ross appears in court after stabbing
On June 19 at 220 Broadway, just outside room 30, the courtroom of Judge Timothy Walsh, an unlikely group gathered in the narrow hallway to "represent," as it were, at the sentencing of Alissa Valencia. …
August 2, 2007
Whiny Foal
Rosey Bystrak's blog (sddialedin.com) has fueled the debate over fans shooting concert videos to post online. After a July 6 Band of Horses show at 'Canes, Bystrak posted, "So there I am with my tiny …
August 2, 2007
San Diego city councilman Bill Mitchell's bad glaucoma operation
Former Republican San Diego city councilman Bill Mitchell, who was once quoted as saying that the fire department could save money by not answering false alarms (he said the attribution was false), has become a …
August 2, 2007
Mayoral aide Julie Dubick cleared of conflicts in Sunroad case
That recent report on the City's Sunroad office building debacle by Mayor Jerry Sander's in-house ethics officer Jo Anne SawyerKnoll has cleared fellow mayoral aide Julie Dubick of any involvement in her husband's dealings with …
August 2, 2007
Hymns Plummet
Which came first, lyric or melody? No need to pose that classic songwriter query to Glen Galloway about any tunes on his band Soul-Junk's new album. In the beginning were the words, to paraphrase John …
August 2, 2007
Lori Saldaña's Honda Accord got crunched in a San Jose crash
The San Jose Mercury News reported last week that Democratic assemblywoman Lori Saldaña's 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid, owned by the state, got crunched in a "chain-reaction crash" here on December 2, 2005. That earned her …
August 2, 2007
Dubious Logos
The future of Long Live Logos looks bright. The Escondido band, including three brothers and their best friend, has recorded songs with producer Brad Wood (Smashing Pumpkins, Liz Phair, Say Anything, mewithoutYou). MTV2 will air …
August 2, 2007
Union-Tribune soft-pedals Andrew Cunanan story 10 years later
It's been ten years since the Miami murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace by Andrew Cunanan, the onetime San Diego gay party boy turned serial killer whose murderous saga transfixed the nation and terrorized Hillcrest …
August 2, 2007
Lindbergh Field's New Control Tower, 1941
John Croft in Lindbergh Field's new control tower, 1941. The article that accompanied this photo noted that Croft and another air-traffic controller were on loan from L.A. area airports. Here in San Diego, the men …
August 2, 2007
Don't Drink the Sponsor
Everyone points out the irony to Marco Collins: the former VH1 programmer, record label honcho, and radio exec lost his last full-time job due to drug abuse. He had to leave 91X last year when …
August 2, 2007
Tourmaline
Name: Steve Mast Vehicle: 1968 Volkswagen Bus Lives: Ocean Beach Surfing: Tourmaline Steve Mast came out from Cincinnati ten years ago and has since immersed himself in the surfing community. "When I got here I …
August 2, 2007
Cups and Cakes
I got two phone calls from two different people about Dana's 21st birthday party. The two callers assured me that it would be a swanky affair at a mansion in Poway. There was a tram …
We Like Attitude by Danielle Hughes
I was in ninth grade. So was Tony, my first boyfriend. Tony was sweet, handsome, popular, and absolutely smitten with me. A girl's dream. I'll never forget our first date. He took me to a …
August 2, 2007
Melissa Plaut in New York City
Something in the Air After sitting in the taxi lot at LaGuardia Airport for an hour, I got a fare back to the very slow city. Business was thin all night, but I did manage …
August 2, 2007
Cardio Queen, Juice, Blowser
Charlie Conefrey Age: 28 Occupation: Personal Trainer Lives: San Diego In Boston everything's"wicked" or "pisser." "Pisser" is pronounced "pissah." They both mean great or awesome, like "the chowdah was pissah," or "the Red Sox are …
August 2, 2007
Passion vs. Permits
"Almost every winemaker [in Ramona] is either keeping his day job or is retired."
Young Barry Bonds
Not much I can do about this. The stars in baseball heaven have aligned with Mars, and with Saturn, while a blue moon hovers off the starboard side of Mercury. In other words, Barry Bonds …
August 2, 2007
Tilted
Singer/songwriter J.D. Boucharde's four-album project Contra Mundum (Latin for "against the world") is a biographical odyssey about his experiences with addiction, abuse, and depression. He specializes in telling stories, though not all are based on …
August 2, 2007
I began counting white picket fences. Eleven all told, in a few blocks.
Having pretty much exhausted the possibilities in writing about the examining of and disappearance into my own navel (put less delicately by one reader and with an alternate but equally unaccommodating orifice suggested), I have …
August 2, 2007
Stormbreaker
Name: Shaun Gilbert Age: 16 Neighborhood: La Mesa Occupation: Student Where Interviewed: Harry Potter book release party at the La Mesa Public Library What books are you currently reading? The book I most recently finished …
August 2, 2007
Dog Jugs
Hey, Matt: Walking around my neighborhood you can't help but notice numerous homeowners who have placed plastic jugs or glass jars of water in their front yards in order to keep dogs from pissing on …
August 2, 2007
Beauty Queen Vanishes!
Dear Matt: Whatever happened to the "Fairest of the Fair" at the San Diego County Fair or Del Mar Fair? -- Bob, via e-mail Hey, you're right. Haven't seen her around lately, but never missed …
August 2, 2007
A Guy vs. CO2
Matt: Settle an argument I'm having with my wife. I say if you open one of those big plastic bottles of soda, pour out the drinks, then crush the empty part when you close it …
August 2, 2007
Love Spy
On the Old Globe stage this summer, Shakespeare's Two Gents has a disguised woman, Measure for Measure a Duke disguised as a priest, and you could even say that Prince Hamlet uses the "antic disposition" …
August 2, 2007
Truffle Curds and Chickpea Fries
Adobe is the finale of this summer's series search for "view" restaurants with serious food. It doesn't have an ocean view but is situated in a plush resort, an oasis of Southwestern serenity amidst the …
August 2, 2007
Loop the loop around Lake Miramar, by foot, bike or skates.
Miramar Lake, perched halfway up the dry hills overlooking Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa, and the distant coast, was completed in 1960 as part of the second San Diego Aqueduct project. Water flowing south to the …
August 2, 2007
Bread for Diabetics
A few weeks ago, I found sugar-free water for my friend Jennifer who has gestational diabetes. Jen's been a bit down in the dumps about her condition. "I never thought it would be an annoyance …
August 2, 2007