The struggle to ban vacation rentals amid single-family homes.
August 13, 2008
Blog Entries
- The Voluntary Cleanup Agreement and the cleanup that never happened
- Notes on Existence (Part Two)
- Warm Weather, Ocean Temps, Brilliant Venus, and a Full Moon
- Dear Abby
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News & Stories
City council mum on vacation rentals in Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Pt. Loma
Pretty in PB
I'm wearing a denim skirt that shows off my legs, the one part of my body I actually like. I'm doing my best to walk gracefully in the black wedged heels I bought last summer. …
August 13, 2008
Carla Bozulich
Carla Bozulich is probably best known as the leader of 1990s band the Geraldine Fibbers, who played a sprawling, majestic, cathartic kind of music that could hardly be contained by as humble a term as …
August 13, 2008
Schmooze and Partake
Another top executive at utility behemoth Sempra Energy has given big money to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California. On August 1, Darcel Hulse contributed $5000 to the ProtectMarriage.com - Yes on 8 …
August 13, 2008
Unchained Links
Stately, plump Bruce Aidells came from the smoker bearing a bowl in which a sausage and a French roll lay crossed. That was some 30 years ago, and Aidells's original creations were the start of …
August 13, 2008
Unforgettable: American Icarus
AMERICAN ICARUS: LINCOLN BEACHEY LOOPS THE LOOP (Part One) Lincoln Beachey was one of America's first superstars. By 1915, the daredevil stunt pilot had performed before more people than anyone in history. An estimated one …
August 13, 2008
Donde esta el Wampeer?
Nobody's ever asked the question "What if a vampire and a zombie were trapped together in a sealed room?" Until now. You see, here at stately Underpants Manor we're gigglingly wealthy, curious, and a little …
August 13, 2008
Tiki Time
“A tiki party is different than a luau,” says Otto von Stroheim, publisher of Tiki News magazine. “Luaus have hula dancers and Hawaiian-style music and a roasted pig. At a tiki party there’s bongo music, …
August 13, 2008
Woodwork
You can’t claim that Woody Allen’s rapid rate of production doesn’t show. Even the title of his latest handiwork sounds more like brainstorming for a title than like a final decision, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Three …
August 13, 2008
I am, in fact, very much related to Conan the Barbarian and, by extension, the governor of California
It will have been some weeks after the San Diego comic convention by the time this sees print, but it hasn't happened yet as I write this. I'm hoping to avoid the thing if possible, …
Portable Party Potties
'Porta-potties?" asked Patrick, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "You're going to write about porta-potties? Just tell me you aren't going to open with a story about what Uncle Harold did to our downstairs bathroom at last …
August 13, 2008
Bad-Boy Visionary
If you judged only by externals, you'd swear that Jonathan Waxman, protagonist of Sight Unseen, has it all. Waxman's a "bad-boy visionary" artist who had an eight-page feature in the New York Times Sunday magazine. …
August 13, 2008
Rustic Canyon
Rustic Canyon, now almost fully reverted to wilderness condition after nature’s one-two punches of fire and flood, was quite lively in the past. Pop-philosopher Will Rogers and his associates used it as a retreat back …
August 13, 2008
Tele-Visiting
I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts. But I can't stop eating peanuts. -- Orson Welles I wondered whether or not it mattered that I'd missed the first few episodes and decided …
August 13, 2008
The Worm Turns
I saw a story in an entertainment magazine about how Tara Reid lowered the price she gets for attending parties. She used to ask for $25,000 to attend a party or grand opening. Nobody was …
August 13, 2008
Still Smokin’
“Dangerous” Dick Spenneberg does stand-up comedy at local clubs in San Diego five nights a week, most often at the Comedy Store. From July 30 to August 2, he emceed the Cheech and Chong reunion …
August 13, 2008
Game Over
With the Union-Tribune up for sale, executives are rushing to clear the decks of as many unwanted encumbrances as possible. At least one is apparently now history, after a federal judge late last month dismissed …
August 13, 2008
Bummer
One of the more downhearted groups in the world must be the 2012 London Olympics organizers after watching Beijing's opening ceremony. China's big show had astounding scale, precision, balance, intimacy, and surprise. It was an …
August 13, 2008
The Real Chinese Deal
I take the pig's rectum, hold it on the fork. This is it. Chomp. Try not to think, I tell myself. I mean, if this wasn't what it is, I'd quite enjoy it. A little …
August 13, 2008
Criminals Decriminalized
Where did San Diego’s most prominent political givers place their bets during this year’s California primary? Padres owner John Moores gave $15,000 to the ill-fated “Yes on Prop 93” campaign to loosen up legislative term …
August 13, 2008
The Dues
“We’re gonna play a cover [song]. If you are from ASCAP or BMI, you can fuck off.” That’s how Jackson Milgaten, singer/guitarist/bassist with Vision of a Dying World, introduced a Daniel Johnston song recently at …
August 13, 2008
Pete Surfs
Twenty-five years ago today (8/14/83), Peter Gabriel performed at SDSU’s outdoor amphitheatre with the Call as opening act. Though battling marital problems and dealing with financial trouble due to his failed Womad festival, Gabriel pulled …
August 13, 2008
July's Most Downloaded
Amber Ojeda’s “Don’t Rush” was the most-downloaded MP3 during July. What’s your favorite moment in “Don’t Rush”? Amber Ojeda: The hook is my favorite part of the song. It reminds me to stay grounded and …
August 13, 2008
Mess with the Bull…
Moondoggies in PB has been found in contempt of court for substituting generic energy drinks for Red Bull without telling patrons who order the beverage by its brand name. “This is the second time that …
August 13, 2008
Feeding the Monster
Real estate developer Orrin Day, who has owned the Ramona movie theater on Main Street for six years, stopped showing films two years ago because people weren’t coming. So, he put the 6000-square-foot theater (built …
August 13, 2008
The Pinker Tones
Mr. Furia explains that in Barcelona, an invitation to dinner before nine in the evening is considered early. This is in response to my question about Spain’s late-night club scene. “Our daily clock,” he says, …
August 13, 2008
Chile Verde
Recipe by Hanis Cavin, Chef de Cuisine, Kensington Grill. I work a lot, usually about 75 hours a week. During “Restaurant Week” I broke 100, so I cook very little at home. I don’t get …
August 13, 2008
Beach Booze Banter
"January 9, 2008, is a day that will live in infamy," says Terry Brickman, a beachgoer I talk to in early April about the day the beach booze ban went into effect. I am surprised …
August 13, 2008
“Ghetto” is not an adjective
Author: Dominic Carrillo Neighborhood: Barrio Logan Age: 32 Occupation: Counselor It’s a noun. It’s the place where I live. It’s Barrio Logan, to be exact, but that lone fact is insignificant, really. There’s no Sherman …
August 13, 2008
When Josephine Scripps was curator of minerals at the Natural History Museum
Thirty Years Ago Josephine Scripps, probably the most eccentric living member of the Scripps clan, was coming out of the Natural History Museum one night when she spotted a garbage can of seashells discarded by …
August 13, 2008
San Diego officially in recession
Let’s quit the caviling and cut to the chase: the U.S. is in a recession, and so is San Diego. On the last day of July, the U.S. revised its numbers and said the economy …
August 13, 2008
San Diegans pay sunshine tax
San Diego’s cost of living tops the nation’s by 50 percent, but household incomes are only about 20 percent higher. Ergo, squeezed San Diegans live on “psychic income,” or pay a “sunshine tax.” But according …
August 13, 2008
Beach drinking ban pushes Ocean Beach and PB boozers to alleys
In an alleyway in Ocean Beach, near the intersection of Newport and Bacon, Keith Morgan sits in a white plastic chair padded with two pieces of cardboard. He’s slept in that chair since May, when …
August 13, 2008