Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Letters
Bar Walmart
I was surprised at the poor journalism displayed in your “They’ve Taken the Dive Out of Dive Bars” story last week (Cover Story, February 5). The idea of the piece was great — North Park’s “extreme makeover” (read: homogenization) is a complex subject that I’ve thought a lot about. But Rosa Jurjevics simplified the subject far too much and made some blatantly false statements in the process.
First of all, I’ve been a resident of North Park for a while now, and bars changing ownership is nothing new. RE-Bar became Bluefoot and Dino’s became Bar Pink years ago, and those changes actually added to the number of dive bars in the area. If you’ve ever been to the Bluefoot on a Monday or Bar Pink on a Sunday, you know what I mean. Soda Bar — the new Chaser’s — seems to have continued that tradition, as the place is dark, the drinks are cheap, and the lack of pretense that makes a dive a dive is alive and well. There is nothing “corporate” about small business owners buying local bars and, like, giving them new pool tables. Jurjevics’s story completely disregards that in an effort to make it seem like Walmart is taking over North Park. Her case would have been much better had she focused on the Office, U-31, and the fact that Shooters was bought by the owner of P.B. Tavern.
Also, Chaser’s reopened as Soda Bar just weeks after the new owners bought it. You actually recommend a show at Soda Bar in the very same issue where Jurjevics declared it “closed indefinitely.” Is your staff really that out of the loop? Should y’all start reading more CityBeat and less Yelp? (I think so.)
Here’s to hoping you publish an apology and avoid lazy journalism in the future.
P.S.: Although I consciously approached this subject objectively, it is worth noting that I’m a bartender at Bluefoot Bar and Lounge and the art director of San Diego CityBeat.
Adam F. Vieyra
via email
Poop Patrol
I wish to comment on your article concerning “Battle on the Beach” in the February 5 edition of the Reader (“City Lights”). Mr. Les Hopper, as spokesman for the boating clubs, should be a little more professional and knowledgeable with his statements. Concerning “the majority [of owners] do not clean up their dog poop,” he does not know because he is not walking there three to seven days a week as the dog owners are. Almost all the dog owners love the natural beauty there and do not want to see any kind of litter and so do pick up after the dogs.
Also, I would think a project manager for Fiesta Island such as Mr. P. Jacob should be talking directly with the involved parties. (I understand there is proof that he has communicated with the paddlers.) He should not be getting secondhand information from Mr. Singleton, who was reported in your column making invalid statements, such as the “toxicity of the landfill” at South Shores Park and the “incompatibility” issues of the paddlers at other sites.
FIDO leaders have been trying to sit down and talk with the paddlers to work out solutions, but they have refused repeatedly. The big question is…why?
Marilyn Link
Pacific Beach
It’s People, Not Dogs
Re: City Lights: “Battle on the Beach,” February 5.
FIDO’s position from the beginning is that we have no other place to go. So yes, we will fight for our 90-acre fenced area. However, our intention has always been to find a compromise that would provide a space for ALL users, dog owners and paddlers included. We have never said that paddlers were unwelcome. However, their location within our area will require roads, fences, and parking lots that will bisect our space and make it less usable and dangerous, not to mention the $20 million price tag. Their insistence on locating there remains a mystery, as there are other existing locations that fulfill the list of requirements that they themselves gave to the developer (KTU&A) at a meeting on October 4, 2006. The paddlers continue to roadblock this process by refusing to consider these locations. FIDO has no interest in delaying this project or taking this fight to council chambers — we merely want a fair and equitable solution. This is not about dogs but about the thousands of humans who want a place to go and exercise — with their dogs.
Mr. Jacobs, the project manager who is a paddler, claims that he has not corresponded with the paddlers. We have emails he sent to paddler groups as early as July 2006, before the first public workshop was held, rallying them. We, on the other hand, have had to fight to be heard at every step of this process.
Jean Spengel, DVM
La Jolla
I Like Chaos
I just have to reply about this “Letters” reply (“Didn’t See That Track?” February 5) about griping concerning the train noise at 3 a.m. The letter of reply was signed by Chaos Rabbit. I will agree with everything he wrote concerning how these people buy property then whine about the noise etc. I will agree with this person 100 percent. Example: this fighter jet crashes in the area of Miramar which, it has been noted, has been in this very spot long before any houses were built. My own personal attitude is that they should never have been allowed to get a permit to build houses right in the air flight space to begin with. On the other hand, now the homeowners have the nerve to request the base should relocate.
I have lived in many places and — over a period of 23 years living here — I will admit California surely has many stupid people. If you have money, city hall will issue you a permit to build any place, anywhere.
Pauline Davis
Point Loma
Little Know-It-All
“Diary of a Demon,” or maybe it should be “Diary of a Little Thoughtless Bitch.” Barbarella’s article last week (February 5) called “Do Right” should be retitled “Do Wrong.” I love when people find ways to rationalize to fit their screwed-up values. Hers being: There is no right thing to do, there is only what is right for you.
What a bunch of spoiled brat crap. I only wished my grandparents lived longer than my 15 years — so much you can learn from them about yourself. You can really develop a sense of history of who you are by reaching out to your family and asking questions. But of course this little girl thinks she already knows it all. The least she could have done is reached out to her mother. Her generation is so thoughtless. If she is not getting professional help, she should.
Yosel Tarnofsky
via email
Date Of The Dead
The opening line in this story (“Crasher,” February 5) states that this past December 8 would have been Jim Morrision’s 60th birthday. This is incorrect. December 8, 2008, would have been his 65th birthday.
Here is a link to his gravesite which states this to be so (findagrave.com/ cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page= gr&GRid=740). Any fan of the Doors should know this!
Bryen Beglinger
via email
Thirst And A Good Vibe
I’m one of the main doormen at Patrick’s, and your comic strip was way out of line (“Overheard in San Diego,” February 5). Your depicting a drunk gentleman on our patio putting his finger into a pedestrian’s belly and judging him on his North Park looks, that would never happen at our bar, and if it did, they would be asked to leave. I took offense to the second bar depicting this fictitious character escorting the guy out on his North Park looks. I looked into Cathryn Beeks Ordeal’s MySpace page to find out she is a musician and probably has an agenda against Patrick’s booking, but as far as how we treat anyone, and I mean anyone, come on down with a good vibe and a thirst for some cheap drinks and some good blues, and you will see how we treat you, like family.
Keith
via email
Shameless Pleading
Man…I know times are tough but it’s writers like Ollie that make it just a little better for all of us. His weekly article (“Remote Control King”) always makes me laugh and brings me back to the Reader website each week. I seriously haven’t missed a column since he started. Please bring his column back! Begging.
Mel
via email
“Remote Control King” has been discontinued. — Editor
Here's something you might be interested in.
Letters
Letters
Bar Walmart
I was surprised at the poor journalism displayed in your “They’ve Taken the Dive Out of Dive Bars” story last week (Cover Story, February 5). The idea of the piece was great — North Park’s “extreme makeover” (read: homogenization) is a complex subject that I’ve thought a lot about. But Rosa Jurjevics simplified the subject far too much and made some blatantly false statements in the process.
First of all, I’ve been a resident of North Park for a while now, and bars changing ownership is nothing new. RE-Bar became Bluefoot and Dino’s became Bar Pink years ago, and those changes actually added to the number of dive bars in the area. If you’ve ever been to the Bluefoot on a Monday or Bar Pink on a Sunday, you know what I mean. Soda Bar — the new Chaser’s — seems to have continued that tradition, as the place is dark, the drinks are cheap, and the lack of pretense that makes a dive a dive is alive and well. There is nothing “corporate” about small business owners buying local bars and, like, giving them new pool tables. Jurjevics’s story completely disregards that in an effort to make it seem like Walmart is taking over North Park. Her case would have been much better had she focused on the Office, U-31, and the fact that Shooters was bought by the owner of P.B. Tavern.
Also, Chaser’s reopened as Soda Bar just weeks after the new owners bought it. You actually recommend a show at Soda Bar in the very same issue where Jurjevics declared it “closed indefinitely.” Is your staff really that out of the loop? Should y’all start reading more CityBeat and less Yelp? (I think so.)
Here’s to hoping you publish an apology and avoid lazy journalism in the future.
P.S.: Although I consciously approached this subject objectively, it is worth noting that I’m a bartender at Bluefoot Bar and Lounge and the art director of San Diego CityBeat.
Adam F. Vieyra
via email
Poop Patrol
I wish to comment on your article concerning “Battle on the Beach” in the February 5 edition of the Reader (“City Lights”). Mr. Les Hopper, as spokesman for the boating clubs, should be a little more professional and knowledgeable with his statements. Concerning “the majority [of owners] do not clean up their dog poop,” he does not know because he is not walking there three to seven days a week as the dog owners are. Almost all the dog owners love the natural beauty there and do not want to see any kind of litter and so do pick up after the dogs.
Also, I would think a project manager for Fiesta Island such as Mr. P. Jacob should be talking directly with the involved parties. (I understand there is proof that he has communicated with the paddlers.) He should not be getting secondhand information from Mr. Singleton, who was reported in your column making invalid statements, such as the “toxicity of the landfill” at South Shores Park and the “incompatibility” issues of the paddlers at other sites.
FIDO leaders have been trying to sit down and talk with the paddlers to work out solutions, but they have refused repeatedly. The big question is…why?
Marilyn Link
Pacific Beach
It’s People, Not Dogs
Re: City Lights: “Battle on the Beach,” February 5.
FIDO’s position from the beginning is that we have no other place to go. So yes, we will fight for our 90-acre fenced area. However, our intention has always been to find a compromise that would provide a space for ALL users, dog owners and paddlers included. We have never said that paddlers were unwelcome. However, their location within our area will require roads, fences, and parking lots that will bisect our space and make it less usable and dangerous, not to mention the $20 million price tag. Their insistence on locating there remains a mystery, as there are other existing locations that fulfill the list of requirements that they themselves gave to the developer (KTU&A) at a meeting on October 4, 2006. The paddlers continue to roadblock this process by refusing to consider these locations. FIDO has no interest in delaying this project or taking this fight to council chambers — we merely want a fair and equitable solution. This is not about dogs but about the thousands of humans who want a place to go and exercise — with their dogs.
Mr. Jacobs, the project manager who is a paddler, claims that he has not corresponded with the paddlers. We have emails he sent to paddler groups as early as July 2006, before the first public workshop was held, rallying them. We, on the other hand, have had to fight to be heard at every step of this process.
Jean Spengel, DVM
La Jolla
I Like Chaos
I just have to reply about this “Letters” reply (“Didn’t See That Track?” February 5) about griping concerning the train noise at 3 a.m. The letter of reply was signed by Chaos Rabbit. I will agree with everything he wrote concerning how these people buy property then whine about the noise etc. I will agree with this person 100 percent. Example: this fighter jet crashes in the area of Miramar which, it has been noted, has been in this very spot long before any houses were built. My own personal attitude is that they should never have been allowed to get a permit to build houses right in the air flight space to begin with. On the other hand, now the homeowners have the nerve to request the base should relocate.
I have lived in many places and — over a period of 23 years living here — I will admit California surely has many stupid people. If you have money, city hall will issue you a permit to build any place, anywhere.
Pauline Davis
Point Loma
Little Know-It-All
“Diary of a Demon,” or maybe it should be “Diary of a Little Thoughtless Bitch.” Barbarella’s article last week (February 5) called “Do Right” should be retitled “Do Wrong.” I love when people find ways to rationalize to fit their screwed-up values. Hers being: There is no right thing to do, there is only what is right for you.
What a bunch of spoiled brat crap. I only wished my grandparents lived longer than my 15 years — so much you can learn from them about yourself. You can really develop a sense of history of who you are by reaching out to your family and asking questions. But of course this little girl thinks she already knows it all. The least she could have done is reached out to her mother. Her generation is so thoughtless. If she is not getting professional help, she should.
Yosel Tarnofsky
via email
Date Of The Dead
The opening line in this story (“Crasher,” February 5) states that this past December 8 would have been Jim Morrision’s 60th birthday. This is incorrect. December 8, 2008, would have been his 65th birthday.
Here is a link to his gravesite which states this to be so (findagrave.com/ cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page= gr&GRid=740). Any fan of the Doors should know this!
Bryen Beglinger
via email
Thirst And A Good Vibe
I’m one of the main doormen at Patrick’s, and your comic strip was way out of line (“Overheard in San Diego,” February 5). Your depicting a drunk gentleman on our patio putting his finger into a pedestrian’s belly and judging him on his North Park looks, that would never happen at our bar, and if it did, they would be asked to leave. I took offense to the second bar depicting this fictitious character escorting the guy out on his North Park looks. I looked into Cathryn Beeks Ordeal’s MySpace page to find out she is a musician and probably has an agenda against Patrick’s booking, but as far as how we treat anyone, and I mean anyone, come on down with a good vibe and a thirst for some cheap drinks and some good blues, and you will see how we treat you, like family.
Keith
via email
Shameless Pleading
Man…I know times are tough but it’s writers like Ollie that make it just a little better for all of us. His weekly article (“Remote Control King”) always makes me laugh and brings me back to the Reader website each week. I seriously haven’t missed a column since he started. Please bring his column back! Begging.
Mel
via email
“Remote Control King” has been discontinued. — Editor
Comments