Muslims from Iran, Iraq, Turkey, the Philippines, Pakistan, Somalia, Guyana, and Eritrea
May 14, 2008
Blog Entries
News & Stories
How tough is it being Muslim in San Diego?
Five Questions for Steve Francis
On May 13, Steve Francis leaned up against the wall at the Joyce Beers Community Center in Hillcrest and took a few deep breaths before speaking to the Hillcrest Town Council Meeting in the Joyce …
May 14, 2008
Burgers and Carousels
Hank had been on about this for the longest time. He’s a carpenter and wannabe carver, and he reckons the carving of the horses in the carousel at Seaport Village is the best. In the …
May 14, 2008
Mixed Bag
To say the least, Speed Racer is colorful. Color-overflowing, to say a little more. Color-engulfed. The live-action version of the late-Sixties made-in-Japan TV cartoon (which I never saw) is of course, in our day and …
May 14, 2008
Aliso and Wood Canyons
Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park consists of over 4200 acres of shallow canyons, sandstone rock formations, narrow strips of oak and riparian woodland, and hillsides draped with aromatic sage-scrub vegetation. Subdivisions press against the …
May 14, 2008
The Drunken Clowns of Vegas
If you’re a complete debauchery amateur, Vegas is racy. Other than that it’s about as provocative as birthday cake. Considering my 20s, gambling, booze, drugs, and women are a Monday-morning stretch and yawn. The one …
May 14, 2008
References to fraudulent behavior
Thirty Years Ago “Got a bell at Palm and Kettner. Anybody for Palm and Kettner?” The call means someone at that corner has telephoned for a cab. But Taheri, cruising nearby, considers the location of …
May 14, 2008
Metalminded
Cory Oliver lives in Pacific Beach and attends High Tech High Media Arts in Point Loma. He is 16 and plays guitar in Oden’s Fist, a band he formed with school friends a few months …
May 14, 2008
One Down, One Up
The La Jolla Playhouse’s 33 Variations, about Ludwig van Beethoven’s obsession with a paltry theme by Diabelli, concluded its run in early May. San Diego theater’s homage to the maestro continues at the Old Globe, …
May 14, 2008
One Last Look
Three o’clock in the morning. Looking out a second-story bedroom window. This is the Charlie Simmons/Sheree Dohner once-abandoned barn, now, after more work than I care to think about, transformed into an honest-to-God estate, 15 …
May 14, 2008
That Breathless Charm
A few days before the grand opening of the splashy new Dish restaurant-nightclub in Hillcrest, I decided to check out one of its forerunners. Dish had been bombarding my email with publicity releases that glittered …
May 14, 2008
On a Kick
Gringos Cantina in Pacific Beach advertised a Cinco de Mayo party for weeks; the restaurant intended to hold it in their parking lot – very close to the beach – on Saturday, May 3. Because …
May 14, 2008
Who Would Argue Against Love?
Album: Love Love Love (2007) Artist: Steven Ybarra Label: self-released Where available/price: iTunes for $9. Songs: 1) Love Love Love 2) All I Am 3) The Beauty of Your Love 4) Please Please 5) The …
May 14, 2008
Oh, Brother by Chuck Duffy
“I can see them now! They’re coming over the walls!” Chilling words, made even more frightening by the fact that they were coming from my roommate’s bedroom. Steve had shown up out of the blue …
May 14, 2008
Clutter Busters
‘Cleanliness and order are not matters of instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you must cultivate a taste for them.” I slumped into my La-Z-Boy as I finished reading this …
May 14, 2008
Copping tickets
In his latest annual financial disclosure statement, filed last month, San Diego police captain Bob Kanaski reported receiving four tickets to the Chargers-Colts game in November of last year worth a total of $900. Kanaski …
May 14, 2008
Money talking
Average San Diego citizens who have a hard time getting through to Mayor Jerry Sanders and the city council might be amazed at how easy it is for high-powered city lobbyists to get their feet …
May 14, 2008
In Memoriam
The ceremony will begin in five minutes. Rows of metal foldout chairs are arranged neatly in the center of a long rectangular room. At the far end, flanked on either side by personnel standing at …
May 14, 2008
Faith Community Church
Mothers got more than just a mention at Faith Community’s Sunday service, but they weren’t the main attraction. The music leader paused in the midst of the opening 30 minutes of hymns to ask “a …
May 14, 2008
Heaven and Hell
Life is divided into the horrible and the miserable. — Woody Allen I led David to the nose of the ferry — it was a gusty day and the sea was choppy, so the ride …
May 14, 2008
Name This Place
Clue: At what point pleasure? 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: Son of a beach) Charles the golden retriever …
May 14, 2008
Herbal Life's pyramid scheme
On April 25, the stock of Herbalife Ltd., which sells weight-loss and energy products through multi-level marketing, plunged by 9 percent to $40.08. On that day, San Diego fraud sleuth Barry Minkow had revealed that …
May 14, 2008
Popped
Last week, Defamation League cofounder MC Chas Lomack, 22, who performs as Khemical Ali, was one of the people arrested in SDSU’s federal drug sting. Lomack was charged with selling cocaine and having marijuana plants …
May 14, 2008
Those Days Are Over
Twenty-nine years ago tomorrow – 5/16/79 – the Police played the long-gone Roxy club on Cass Street in Pacific Beach. Broadcast live on 101.5/KGB-FM, the performance was widely bootlegged, the most common version being San …
May 14, 2008
True Lagoon
“In June 2000, the highly invasive Caulerpa taxifolia — the aggressive algae which has destroyed thousands of acres of the Mediterranean Sea — was discovered [in the Agua Hedionda Lagoon], most likely dumped into the …
May 14, 2008
True Idols
Guitarist Stevie Salas appeared last Wednesday at the Sports Arena, fulfilling his role as musical director for American Idol finalist Jordin Sparks (on tour opening for Alicia Keys). Salas first appeared on the scene in …
May 14, 2008
Into Jack Johnson
Artist: Three Day Old Beaver Song: “TMNT” (from myspace.com/threedayoldbeaver) Heard By: Tad Wuertz, College Area I thought the music was really good. The guy could play guitar and sing really well. I could imagine if …
May 14, 2008
Cult Bandleader on the Roof
“We played on the rooftop of the venue,” says local ’70s cult bandleader Gary Wilson of an April 26 gig at Sunset Boulevard’s Eighteen-Thirty club. “We went on about 12:45 a.m. I’m surprised the cops …
May 14, 2008
Yer Mom!
Kiss bassist Gene Simmons came to town on April 23. He showed up at six different 7-Elevens to sign autographs and promote a new energy drink called Frank’s. A crowd of almost 100 waited for …
May 14, 2008
Sheena Is a Waverider
Name: Sheena Casamassima Age: 20 Lives In: Mira Mesa Surfing: Law Street, Pacific Beach Pre-Surf Music: Jack Johnson Post-Surf Food: Any fast food “It was a gnarly day for me,” Sheena says of the most …
May 14, 2008
McGovern, 1972
Senator George McGovern (left of center), 1972. He swung through town that year in his presidential campaign against Richard “Dick” Nixon. A Democrat and WWII combat veteran, McGovern’s election would have amounted to a referendum …
May 14, 2008
Ms. in-the-chips
San Diego State University has been getting more than its share of bad ink lately, what with the campus drug raid last week. But at least one top SDSU executive has good news to report: …
May 14, 2008
Darth Vera
I went up to Fallbrook a while back for a Fallbrook Film Factory event called the Comic and Animation Filmfest. I had met Dean LeCrone at a previous party, and he had made a documentary …
The Gift of Music
Did you miss Mother’s Day? Did you fail to observe it and your mother is still alive? I did for many years, even as a child. It was, after all, my mother, Mary Jane Arburn, …
May 14, 2008
Sticky Bumps wax lets surfers ditch petroleum
On the afternoon of April 3, barefoot surfers ran down the concrete steps at Swami’s in Encinitas toward ideal surf conditions. The waves were chest high and clean, with not even the slightest breeze present. …
May 14, 2008
San Diego's Prop C, a way to silence the auditor
‘I characterized that administration as ‘form over substance.’ They were more concerned with how their guy looked than to do the right thing.” That is John Torell, who was San Diego city auditor from 2005 …
May 14, 2008