The Sunrise Powerlink gleamed for the first time in Sempra Energy’s eye on November 1, 2002. At the company’s San Diego headquarters, an energy-management expert from Shell Trading gave a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the potential …
A good writer is not, per se, a good book critic. No more so than a good drunk is automatically a good bartender. — Jim Bishop There are two kinds of women: those who don’t …
Dear Poor People Who Live Next Door to Me, I am dreadfully sorry to bother you, but could you be a little quieter, please. Propping up on your front porch 19 screaming babies, each with …
The interior of St. Margaret’s church has an oddly spare quality — the huge central dome gives the impression of an old-fashioned Catholic church, the sort that might be swarming with statues and stained glass. …
Unlike corporate sportswriters, the Box owns its preseason baseball predictions and is unafraid to review them in the public square. Kindly stay behind the yellow line and step this way. Follows is from the April …
Hey! What’s up? Wass goin’ on? Was it something I said? A moment ago, I was sitting in the middle of a sidewalk café, surrounded by tables, chairs, a canopied counter. Now, the whole thing …
First it was Fresh, a pricey seafood house owned by Sammy Ladecki (of Roppongi and pizza-chain fame). Then Ladecki sold it in August 2006 to Arturo Kassel, and it became Fresher, still a seafood house, …
Vocabulary is a word I rarely use. When I do, it is usually in the context of a word not in someone or other’s vocabulary, in an effort to define him or her. As in, …
She sent me an email from work: “I’m bringing some friends over to help me move my stuff out at 6 o’clock. It’ll take a few hours. You probably shouldn’t be there. You can if …
War Stories is fronted by singer-keyboardist Evan Robinson who, though he wasn’t born in San Diego, has lived here for most of his life and has “San Diego” tattooed on his knuckles. He says the …
A friend of mine was going to a party in Irvine and asked if I wanted to write about it. I told him that Irvine was outside my scope, but I went anyway. When I …
Artist: Marcelo Radulovich Song: “Turn on the Phone” (from the CD Mercurio) Heard By: Tracey McDonough, Point Loma Marcelo Radulovich — you need to choose a sound because you are going all over the place. …
Album: For the Win (2007) Artist: 12 Cent Label: Olde Tyme Productions Where available/price: Interpunk.com for $8. Music Trader in Pacific Beach for $8. Songs: 1) FTW! 2) 1231 3) Meat Rent 4) Vital Organ …
Thirty Years AgoDear Matthew Alice:With the biggest proposition in years coming to the vote June 6, I’m completely bewildered over what could, should, or would happen if Proposition 13 passes.G.A.B.North Park The thunder of debates …
I had only seen it done in sitcoms — a giant hairy gorilla proposing to a girl standing shocked at the front door — until last week. A friend relayed her proposal story. It wasn’t …
I scanned the line of buses that had just arrived at the stop through my too-big designer rip-off sunglasses that let me pass for Italian when I wear them. The 14C pulled up, probably late, …
Clue: Regal entrance to Winnie's place? Describe this location, name the nearest cross-streets, and win a Reader T-shirt. Enter by completing the form below. Last week's place: (clue: Tower of faith — for 100,000 of …
Late last month, San Diego voters began getting so-called robo calls on behalf of city councilman Scott Peters, one of four candidates running against incumbent city attorney Michael Aguirre. The taped caller identified herself as …
Bing Crosby (left, in the white jacket and straw hat) at the Del Mar Racetrack’s setting of a memorial stone, 1936. (The track opened the following year.) To the right of the hoist chain, the …
Palomar Mountain has dodged a couple of bullets in recent years. Wildfires in 2003 and 2007 have threatened to seriously damage San Diego County’s foremost example of oak-coniferous woodland, but the forests of Palomar have …
The question fomented by the new Indiana Jones film was whether or not, nineteen years after the last one, Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg still “have it.” Which of course begs the question of whether …
“On the banjo, as on a guitar, there are pieces of metal — on ours they’re made of nickel silver — called frets,” says Carolina Bridges, director of public relations for Deering banjos. “They have …
A good example of how money is channeled through state campaign committees, obscuring the original, sometimes controversial sources, can be found in the recent campaign filing of George Plescia, termed-out GOP assemblyman from La Jolla. …
I am sitting on my patio in mild shadow under the blades of a broad-leafed banana tree and late-spring sky washed with high clouds like feathers, angels wings, and fish bones. It won’t be long …
Buttery, is something my friend came up with. It means that you did something with no problems. It’s very slick and smooth, something that gave you no problems. Another expression that I say a lot …
“I was trying to keep it on the down low,” says Defamation League vocalist Chaz Lomack of his arrest in SDSU’s recent federal drug sting. “I was sitting in jail watching Fox 6 news, and …
“I had show offers before I even had band members, as far away as Texas,” says drummer Doug Smith of Nite Romantics, a Duran Duran tribute band that debuted this month at the new Channel …
“We kicked 2 Live Crew off the tour today,” said local musician-turned-promoter Willie Carter (aka Willie Psycho) on May 20. Just days before, he’d sent out a press release touting the Crew’s “comeback.” According to …
“Right after I turned pro in ’99, I had a bad break at the YMCA skate park in Escondido,” says Sayvinyl singer/guitarist Jesse Fritsch. “I sort of sat on my ankle and it just popped. …
A bevy of some of California’s biggest plaintiffs’ attorneys are lining up behind San Diego Community College District Board president Marty Block in his Democratic primary bid for the 78th District seat of termed-out GOP …
While Elvis Presley’s popularity in the U.S. was high in May 1959, Mexico was in the midst of a huge anti-Elvis backlash. Tijuana tabloids called him a racist and homosexual after the singer reportedly told …
Name: Jason Sporer Age: 24 Lives: P.B. Surfing: O.B. Pre-Surf Music: Tool Post-Surf Food: Smoothie “Fights are definitely part of the surf culture. I’ve never been directly involved, but new surfers should stay out of …
I first heard Sonny Landreth when he was playing behind John Hiatt. The Goners, of which Landreth is a member, have logged a lot of road time as Hiatt’s backup band. Landreth is a hired …
What book are you currently reading? What page are you on? “Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction by Timothy Gowers. I’m on page 32.” What do you make of it? “It’s not purely mathematical writing, but …
The Black Angels take their name from a Velvet Underground song, use a photo of Nico on their T-shirt designs, and proudly declare their allegiance to the grand tradition of psychedelic music in their home …
It was September 17 of last year, and City Attorney Mike Aguirre was making headlines again. This time the subject was an impending water shortage, and Aguirre had called a news conference to demand a …
On April 27 of this year, craigslist, the online classified advertising behemoth, carried this small notice: “I am requesting information on Jeffry Wetzel from Poway, CA. We invested $135,000 with what he calls a hedge …