Dressed in drab green Army jackets and thrift-store chic, the Sadies tower over me as they walk by, each over six feet tall. While large in stature, they aren’t the least bit intimidating, carrying a …

If you've ever read Wooden on Leadership, a motivational book by UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, you'll remember that one of his keys to success was never playing to win. Rather, he trained with the …

Fans flocked to the Casbah on one of the first chilly nights of the season to catch Pacific Northwest trio the Thermals. It was a rare instance that found many locals in thermals while watching …

Several weeks ago, CareerBuilder.com reported that an estimated 30 percent of American workers had played hooky from their jobs at least of American workers had played hooky from their jobs at least once in the …

A United States customs worker in the Bush Houston International Airport points to a white-countered window where a middle-aged woman, appearing to be of Asian descent, sits patiently behind a counter. One of the uniformed …

"I have reluctantly decided that it is in the best interests of the community that I resign my position as general manager and allow the board of directors and the community an opportunity for a …

You can't miss Lone Pine along Hwy. 395. Just look for the one-stoplight Western-style town 10,772 feet directly below the continental U.S.'s tallest mountain, Mt. Whitney, at 14,505 feet tall. With a current population of …

The rolling green hills in Santa Barbara County wine country provide little clue as to what awaits the visitor approaching the little town of Solvang. Also known as the "Copenhagen of the Pacific," Solvang is …

High up on a ridge overlooking the vast expanse of Anza-Borrego 's Indian Valley is a room-size rock shelter once used by Native Americans to honor and perhaps foretell the coming of the summer solstice. …

You may not have heard of Daniel Lanois, but that doesn't mean you haven't heard him. From Bob Dylan to U2, the acclaimed musician and rock producer's touch can be found on some of the …

For the fourth time in as many years, Milwaukee native Willy Porter returned to Acoustic Music San Diego and amazed and amused the receptive crowd. Touring in support of his How to Rob a Bank …

Activists protested the sale of fur at the crowded Fashion Valley mall on the afternoon of November 26, designated “Fur Free Friday” by more than one animal-rights group. Groups of activists passed out leaflets depicting …

Imperial Beach residents living along Connecticut Street on the south side of Imperial Beach Boulevard have been concerned for years about vehicular traffic. They complained that cars traveled too fast and something needed to be …

Solana Beach city councilmembers gathered in council chambers on Thanksgiving eve expecting to review the response from Del Mar councilmembers about their proposal for both cities to combine efforts and buy the Del Mar Fairgrounds …

"In the code now, for a Planned Development Permit, there is a statement that the proposed development, considered s a whole, would be beneficial to the community. But the city proposes to strike that out," …

After months of digging and upheaval, the streets of El Centro de Tijuana (the downtown center) are accepting maiden voyages. All the primary downtown traffic conduits have undergone radical reconstruction and improvement. Dug-up streets where …

“I joined the band to become a bartender,” says singer John “Moon Boots” Thompson of ’77-style punk band the Last Years. “I think that’s how it works.” Moon Boots once tended his dream bar, Tower, …

“We wrote a sludge opera and called it Blind Dead,” says guitarist-drummer Sam Lopez. “Mandy sings.” She also plays bass. “Esteban sings. It’s got six acts. We recorded it, but we don’t know what we’ll …

Straighten Those Facts It’s always good to get media attention for the plight of 50,000 seniors that live in poverty in San Diego County and the Angel’s Depot mission to feed them. However, Matt Potter …

A good friend of mine has this theory that In-N-Out Burger employees are actually reanimated dead kids from the ‘50s. Think about it. They’re hardworking, way too nice, and have names like Bucky, Peggy Sue, …

When it comes to staying young, a mind-lift beats a face-lift any day. — Marty Bucella My laptop sat atop the piano, two windows open: one displayed sheet music for an advanced, chord-heavy version of …

For beachcombing, tidepool exploration, and all-over suntanning, the coastal stretch north of La Jolla Shores can’t be beat. This coming winter’s extreme low tides (typically a tide of -1 foot or lower) are especially conducive …

My son walked into the room, and I nearly passed out. The aroma from his Speed Stick deodorant was overpowering ($2.99 for 3.25 ounces at Walgreens). I’d prefer body odor to that heavy, cheap-cologne smell. …

Thursday 25Go stuff yourself. Friday 26It’s Black Friday, that vortex of consumerism that sucks us into the holiday shopping season. Go easy, you don’t want to throw out your credit-card sliding arm this early on, …

‘What is our town coming to?” asks Mama Cecelyn. “We got whores, pimps, drug addicts, murderers, and liars in Storyville. But now we even have horn thieves amongst us. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.” She just put …

Dead of night. Dead of the week. Dead of November. At 1:15 a.m. I am looking north at the unhurried, shimmering serpent of Highway 163, up from Mission Valley to a borderland of gaudy neon …

Bees! The Jim Wells County Sheriff’s Office locked down Ben Bolt Middle School in early October after a yard worker disturbed a large nest of bees across the street from the school. Ben Bolt Fire …

Thanksgiving is thought of as family time. But, we all know Thanksgiving is more than family, bigger than family. Thanksgiving means the NFL is coming at you with three rock-’em sock-’em football games running from …

For San Diego pop-rock band Flight to Athena, most of the summer was spent alternating its course. In June, guitarists Pat Alcoke and Stephen Colbertson disembarked to stay closer to home. In July, the remaining …

Folk troubadour Roy Ruiz Clayton was raised in the steel-mill town of Fontana, California, before moving on his own to San Diego at age 16. “I started writing songs while playing guitar at an early …

I like my own poems best. I quote from them from time to time saying, “A poet once said,” and then follow up with a line or two from one of my own poems appropriate …

Thirty Years AgoToday, the casual visitor to the north part of University City remarks two major features: the University Towne Centre and the vast open spaces surrounding it. Tomorrow — or so it will seem …

Movies invade us, and we invade them. It’s a personal transaction. When the Harry Potter film series launched, my children were close to the ages of kid Harry and his new chums at the Hogwarts …

Last November Conrad, my father-in-law, sent me an email, a long one, stating that he was in love. Considering that his studio apartment was situated in Point Loma, a short 15-minute drive from our home, …

“We converted the original video into 3D for Slash and did the deal with him,” says Steve Glum of PassmoreLab on Morena Boulevard. The Bay Park–based company, founded here in 2003 by Greg Passmore, produced …

Ask Steve Poltz how he would like to be remembered, and he doesn’t hesitate: He says he’d like to be thought of as a guy who brought people together. He explains that his audiences are …

Membership: 300 Pastor: Emilio Meza Age: 55 Born: Coahuila, Mexico Formation: Golden State University, California Years Ordained: 15 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon? Pastor Emilio Meza: I spend all …

Heymatt: How did gold become the “metal of choice”? Even back in the ancient days it was revered. Why not lead, tin, copper or...? Who or what made gold the precious metal? — Doug Blackstock, …

Author: Charles Arsenault Neighborhood: Spring Valley Age: 30 Occupation: Electronics technician (seasonally at McMurdo Station, Antarctica) The judge had sentenced me to many hours of hard labor. He hadn’t mentioned the complete lack of intelligence …

I still live for the holiday season. I love hearing The Nutcracker Suite. But it’s a different feeling now. I am not jolted by adrenaline but filled with sadness because something is missing. People still …

Craft and Commerce occupies the spot in Little Italy where a wannabe trendy restaurant named Illume briefly bloomed and died, trying to be a magnet for the hip young crowd moving into the nearby condos. …

In such evil case I believe the man would be glad to come in contact with the worst loathed insect: it would be a shape of life, something beyond and beside his own huge, void, …

My God and my Lord, eyes are at rest, stars are setting, hushed are the movements of birds in their nests, of monsters in the deep. And Thou art the Just who knoweth no change, …

Anné Josefson walks toward a table outside the Starbucks in La Mesa’s Grossmont Center, carrying a black three-ring binder. Clasped inside are two 11-by-24-inch pictures of her son, Nathan Manning. She opens the binder, displaying …

In 1903, Native Americans who had occupied Warner Hot Springs and surrounding land for many generations were forced by the United States to evacuate in a three-day trek called the Trail of Tears. But a …

The nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation’s “Party Time” website, which tracks fund-raising celebrations by members of Congress and their sponsors, is out with a list of invitations to events held by House Republicans vying for the power …

It hasn’t been the greatest of political years for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Its last-minute, closed-door deal with Mayor Jerry Sanders to pass the sales-tax-raising Proposition D backfired when proponents failed to …

A song cycle, as I hear it, about an aspiring Jersey Girl — aspirant to Jersey City, at least, and Anything With Capital Letters Above All (Even If She Hasn't Thought That Through). She runs …

A lot of women like the Dragons — so many that even though I've staked out a prime spot, I regret running outside for a smoke — when I return, 10 minutes before show time, …

“Thirty percent of Brazilians live in favelas,” says Michael David Lynch, proprietor of Albergue Pedras da Sereia in Salvador, speaking of neighborhoods like the one he moved to 25 years ago. Basically, favelas are built …

In October, San Diego's City Planning and Community Investment Department introduced electronic polling stations at public workshops for the community-plan updates in North Park, Uptown, and Golden Hill. The polling stations are used to collect …

On November 15, Stewart Payne went before the Sweetwater Union High School Board and asked for the creation of an independent task force to investigate charges against the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the governing body …

I'd like to think that everyone has moments of nearsightedness. That eases my chagrin at the knee-jerk wince evinced earlier this year when Crushed Stars were making waves with "99 Red Balloons." The wince was …

First, original LPD member Silverman came onstage to set up his modified keyboard and assorted, unidentifiable electrodevices. Cofounder Edward Ka-Spell joined him later with recent addition Erik. A buzzy speaker prompted a restart of show …

Between thick layers of glossy production, Kid Cudi delves into matters of the psyche untouched by mainstream rap. One can draw a comparison to Eminem's recent work in terms of rapping about drug addiction, but …

News out of Hollywood suggests that Tom Cruise is considering coming back for a Top Gun sequel. If that movie gets made, we'd all better hope it's nothing like the version Vince Vaughn and Kevin …

Escondido resident Ann McDonald appeared before the city council on November 17 in order to urge reconsideration of the decision to close down the gift/craft shop at the Joslyn Senior Center, which has been open …

On November 17, the Escondido City Council unanimously agreed to lease its old police department building on Grand Avenue to the San Diego North Economic Development Council. The rent? One dollar per year for up …

Mission Beach residents awoke on the morning of November 16 to find a banner promising a $25,000 reward hanging from the roof of an empty storefront near the rollercoaster. "I'm not sure who put that …

On Tuesday, November 16, owners of Bluefoot Bar & Lounge in North Park, Cuong Nguyen and Adam Cook, and dozens of supporters appeared before the North Park Planning Committee looking to amend their Neighborhood Use …

Ghent, a small Belgian city (pop. 240,000) in the Flemish part of Belgium, may not be first on your Belgium list – but it should at least be in the top 5. My friend who …

At the Escondido City Council meeting on November 17, the council voted unanimously to purchase property located at 2120 Harmony Grove Road for use as a public-works yard. The cost will be $6,050,000 plus escrow …

Seoul, South Korea, is one of the most underrated places to visit. I highly recommend you visit this vibrant, animated “city of the future.” Although I visited Seoul in November and froze the entirety of …

Vibrant gold and amber leaves shimmered in the sunlight as I drove through the Colorado mountains on “Colorado Color Sunday.” Passing working coal mines in Bowie, Colorado, with stacks of dark black coal piled high, …

You’ve had creative urges all your life. You’re an aspiring musician, composer, writer, artist, dancer, actor, comedian, or filmmaker. And you were fired from your damn day job. AGAIN! Only this time being downsized in …

A building at 2200 University Avenue is undergoing a total renovation after its purchase by longtime North Park veterinarian Robert Nagell. Located across from Albertsons, the structure was originally a Jack LaLanne gym, “so was …

Lost In Netflix Land No-o-o-o-o-o!!! Say not so. Duncan, don’t leave! What am I gonna do? Who am I gonna use as a guide for my Netflix queue? Don’t do it! David Waltersvia email True …

Not long after the March 2009 breakup of Wild Weekend, guitarist Kelly Alvarez and bassist Cara Bowman recruited drummer Mikey Peterson and got started on their new band, the Ramones-influenced garage-rock band Jungle Fever. Since …

’It were sport, Uncle,” Abigail Williams tells the Reverend Parris three pages into The Crucible. Arthur Miller took the quotation from the testimony of Mary Warren, a servant of John Proctor. Accused of witchcraft in …

On the day that I go to hear the man many hail as San Diego’s preeminent straight-ahead jazz tenor saxist, he is playing piano. Sunday morning at Croce’s is the only gig that Daniel Jackson …

Duncan Shepherd filled this column for 38 years. I step in with gratitude (he asked) and with serene confidence that I will not be writing in 2048. “Style,” said Susan Sontag, “is the principle of …

Pastor: Tim Gerdes Age: 37 Born: Flint, Michigan Formation: Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri Years Ordained: 11 San Diego Reader: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon that completely flopped? Pastor …

Recipe by Camron Woods, chef, Amaya I love the creativity of being a chef. I remember once when I was starting out, a sous chef in the kitchen made everyone a snack to eat and …

Madness is rare in individuals — but in groups, political parties, nations, and eras it’s the rule. — Friedrich Nietzsche By 9:30 a.m., we’d been standing on the grass at the National Mall in Washington, …

Thursday 18Ikea, girls with dragon tattoos, crazy-delicious little meatballs, black-metal music. These are Sweden’s main exports, according to the Swedish Trade Council, which, y’know, I totally called. From Sweden, black-metal trio Watain will challenge your …

The HoleA string of notes — A string of words could be a worm or a needle passing in and out through some hole — stitching what to what? I imagine myself passing among your …

What is to be done, O Moslems? For I do not recognize myself. I am neither Christian nor Jew nor Gabr nor Moslem. I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor of …

Thirty-Five Years AgoWhenever there’s a lull at a party I lean forward and say, “You know I don’t drive.” Of course, if I announced that I had given up sex, not a head would turn, …

When the Black Veil Brides from West Hollywood decided to film their San Diego performance on November 15, they chose SOMA near the Sports Arena, a decision that came down from the Black Veil Brides’ …

They are the third Portland-based band I’ve talked to in as many weeks. First STRFKR, then Boy Eats Drum Machine, and now the Thermals. Is every group from Portland on tour? “It’s an infestation,” says …

The name “Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin” needs a comma. It should read like “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” In fact, every time I see the band name, I imagine a Peanuts-style drawing …

Sammy Gonzales didn’t speak until she was four years old. In her first two years of school, she was considered “slow,” often completing assignments long after all the other children had finished. Sometimes she drifted …

I’ve never met a gun enthusiast I didn’t like, which is strange and probably means I haven’t met many. Even so, I’m still surprised when mouth-foaming, flag-waving, gun-emblem T-shirt-owning, gun-show-booth-manning true believers turn out to …

Look at the skyline: this could be the land of Ali Baba. Blue domes, red towers, gold domes. Right now, evening time, even the Food 4 Less looks muy romantica. Or, you could be thinking: …

Trung Ngo and Brad Petering, otherwise known as TV Girl, were as surprised as anybody to find that Pitchfork had given their new EP, a catchy patchwork quilt of songs crafted over time and distance …

Have you ever driven down Interstate 8 east of Jacumba and, eyeing the immense boulder piles that rise on both sides, wondered what it would be like to clamber over them? Here’s your chance. Follow …

Hallelujah! I’m not cooking for Thanksgiving this year — the Kellys have gotten themselves invited to a monster gathering up north. When I asked what I could bring, they just said, “Wine, and lots of …

“That whole Chilean-miner story was weird for me,” Batwings singer/keys/bassist Robert Lopez relates in the band’s Mission Valley practice space. “It’s this feeling of being stuck and told you can’t get out. A lot of …

Each speck of matter did He constitute A mirror, causing each one to reflect The beauty of His Visage. From the roe Flashed forth His Beauty, and the nightingale Beholding it, loved madly. From that …

The practice called behesting, wherein state legislators tell their fat-cat campaign donors which nonprofit organizations to contribute to — and in turn bask in the reflected political glory of the donated cash — is alive …

It all started last year, when I tried and failed to find a local turkey for Thanksgiving. I defined “local” as raised and processed entirely in San Diego County. This year, I decided to find …

La Jolla’s Lynn Schenk, the ex–Democratic congressmember and former aide to Jerry Brown who was written up last month in the Los Angeles Times for allegedly taking a questionable foreign trip in conjunction with her …

Shortly before sunset on Tuesday, November 16, a couple responding to a Craigslist ad about a “free trailer” found a small child wandering at Florida Street and Grove Avenue in Imperial Beach. They immediately notified …

As usual, recent disclosures show that the county’s gambling tribes have been offering hospitality to politicians from far and wide. In particular, on September 14 Barona’s “private gaming area” hosted a $56.25-a-plate meal for some …

The Chicago Tribune of January 16, 1995, ran a story of a mother, Carol Spizzirri, lamenting the death in an auto accident of her 18-year-old daughter, Christina, in 1992. “This is my girl,” whispered Spizzirri …

At breakfast today, November 16, two Mexican caballeros were discussing an article in the daily Frontera regarding the number of billboards advertising “adult entertainment.” One diner, surprised at the uproar, shrugged his shoulders and said, …

Ed Kravitz, webmaster for political watchdog site saveib.com, wants to see some action from Imperial Beach political candidates whose campaign signs were pulled by city employees and thrown into a city hall closet days before …

Home Video looks about to start. A film projects the sandstone of Horseshoe Canyon onto a sheet behind the stage — unusual imagery to introduce synthesized and guitar/drum amplification pumped so deep my blood cells …

In the second week of November, two units at Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park were burglarized while residents were gone during the day. According to the manager for the park, only one street was targeted. …

From the moment she bounded onto the stage, KT Tunstall filled House of Blues with energy and thrilled the small crowd with stories and Drastic Fantastic music for about 90 minutes. She opened the set …

There are two worthy new versions of rock classics on Carlos Santana's latest compilation album: one is a tag-team take of Carlos on his soaring guitar and Rob Thomas on guest vocal, recapturing and possibly …

Larry Poppins will not tell you his true name at first. First, it’s “Peter picked a peck of…” He claims to live in Pacific Beach, has long hair, is maybe in his 40s, and walks …

Six-time Grammy nominee and Concord recording artist, Nnenna Freelon brought her golden pipes to the Saville Theater at City College. Accompanying her was pianist Mike Garson (David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails) and locals …

On Elizabeth Cook's last album, Balls, she sang "Sometimes it takes balls/to be a woman" — the record's only good joke — and the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning," the record's only earworm melody, and it's …

Bill Warrren sounds as if he has seen too many Dos Equis' commercials when he says that he is the "most interesting man in San Diego...if not the world." Warren talks of Navassa, the Guano-filled …

Janelle Butler, a Carlsbad resident for the past 34 years in the Rancho Ponderosa neighborhood, appeared before the city council on Tuesday, November 9, in order to express her concerns about a treehouse that her …

Last week, before city councilmembers adopted the Small and Neighborhood Business Ordinance, a law that makes it more difficult for big-box retailers to open stores in San Diego, several citizens, including city councilmember Sherri Lightner, …

Do not get fired before you get hired. If you are in the process of conducting a job search, you may wish to consider some of the following ideas. Remember, the hiring decision is often …

Bless all this technology we have in our workplaces today … and pass the aspirin. It seems the Great Information Age – which allows information to be transferred from one person to the next with …

Early morning on Veteran's Day, November 11, tugs dragged the dead-in-the-water Carnival Splendor into the Embarcadero. The cruise ship had been disabled since a November 8 engine-room fire. Tugs brought the vessel and its nearly …

The Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet on Avenida Revolución recently posted a sign on its door stating that it will no longer accept dollars in cash for any of its chicken dishes. (They'll accept dollars only …

"Let me show you something,” said Jeff Matthias proudly from the Christmas-light-draped front yard of his home on 28th Street in North Park on November 9. “You're just going to freak out." Matthias, a serious …

A rabid, adult gray fox was recently found in a remote area of rural Jamul, county officials announced on November 5. Dr. Gundula Dunne, veterinary medical officer for the County of San Diego, says, “The …

It had to end sometime. Now’s as bad a time as any. After thirty-eight years of them — commencing with a typo-marred encomium on Hickey and Boggs dated November 2, 1972 — this is to …

Gayle Skidmore’s CD-release show for Make Believe happens November 13 at the Ruby Room. “I played over a dozen instruments on the album and took over a year and a half to record it,” reports …

The cactus and Joshua tree’d villa at 30th and Quince in North Park lent the perfect aesthetic for a Halloween Dia de los Muertos party. Roommates Hannah and Emily, both half Mexican, had decorated the …

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. — Mark Twain "Jane’s waiting for me downstairs. I’ll see you in a few hours,” I said, kissing David on each cheek. …

Hi, Matt: I’m a former San Diegan who now lives in China. The bed here is provided by my employer, and it is a bit more firm than the average bed in America. Strangely, every …

Kelptown What a cool surprise for me to see a photo of one of my kelp art installations on page 135 this week (“Pictures of a Town,” November 4)! With the onset (hopefully) of winter …

How to build an old-fashioned neighborhood.

Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t frequent adult entertainment establishments. Not anymore. But whenever I drive from the airport to Balboa Park, while going up Laurel I sometimes give a friendly nod to Pure …

The sun of my Perfection is a Glass Wherein from Seeing into Being pass All who, reflecting as reflected see Themselves in Me, and Me in them, not Me, But all of Me that a …

Thou, Whose breath is sweetest perfume to the spent and anguished heart, Thy remembrance to Thy lovers bringeth ease for every smart. Multitudes like Moses, reeling, cry to earth’s remotest place “Give me sight, O …

Back in the Neolithic Era, the year my in-laws were coming for Thanksgiving dinner, I was so nervous that when the doorbell rang, I dropped a raw egg on the kitchen floor. Today we have …

Jon Ragel from Portland, Oregon, performs as his alter ego, Boy Eats Drum Machine, a one-man act that leans heavily on turntables and digital sampling. “Also saxophone,” he says. “A tenor saxophone. A real one.” …

Whenever I say, “I am from the Faroe Islands,” the most common reaction I get is “Sorry, what, where is that?” So here is a brief description of the Faroe Islands before we continue: The …

This year’s Heaven Is Whenever is the fifth studio album by Brooklyn’s Hold Steady, and if you’ve been paying any attention, you know what to expect. There are big, butt-rockin’ guitar riffs. There are boozy, …

Aha... There he is. Allen and his ’88 Chevy lunch-truck, parked here on Carroll Centre Road. It’s Monday evening, about dusk. Takes a bit of street-scanning after the 210 bus leaves me. Then I see …

Of Sons and Ghosts are based in North Park and played their debut gig in May 2010. “The band is named after the recent departure of three of our most influential father figures,” says singer-keyboardist …

Thursday 11A pair of seasoned punks from the Palm Desert scene — Circle Jerk Zander Schloss shredding an acoustic and wordsmith Sean Wheeler of Throw Rag — bring their folk-raunch shtick to Brick by Brick …

I was just turned twenty-one, And Henry Phipps, the Sunday-school superintendent, Made a speech in Bindle’s Opera House. “The honor of the flag must be upheld,” he said, “Whether it be assailed by a barbarous …

Membership: 100 Pastor: Walter Frank Born: San Diego Formation: Pastoral training in Korea Ordained: 14 years San Diego Reader: Can you think of a sermon that flopped? PF: It was July about two years ago…. …

Thirty-Five Years Ago“Al would come to work every day on time. From the moment he arrived at the beach he never took his eyes off the water until it was time to leave.... When the …

“There were a lot of extenuating circumstances that led to the death of Nautical Disaster, both private and public,” writes Berkeley Kent Austin, singer-guitarist for San Diego psych-rockers Heart Beat Trail. In April of this …

“People think it’s making beats,” says UCSD doctorate student Mike Gao, “but it’s actually programming things to make music with, or making things to make things to make music.” Thanks to the guidance he received …

Had to smile at what was happening on one corner of the big split-screen TV. I’m talking about Sunday’s game, specifically, the last Oakland Raiders drive, the one in overtime, the one that set up …

"Each of us who loves the theater,” writes John Lithgow, “has a secret list of the great shows we never got to ­see.” His may be. Mine’s not. I would love to have seen the …

At 6 p.m. on a Monday evening, an ex-rocker named Bob Bell, along with 18 other music students, tune various instruments in classroom 801 at Southwestern College. Music 157, also known as Mariachi Garibaldi, is …

The 1100-acre La Tuna Canyon Park, basically an open-space area with minimal picnic facilities, drapes over the north-facing slopes of the Verdugo Mountains near Glendale. On this trek, which is perfect for a cool late …

You can’t be blasting your fellow man with dragon breath. So, when Patrick complained of the chalkiness of his Dentyne Pure Mint gum ($1.49 for 9 pieces at Ralphs), I knew a replacement was needed. …

"Try to remember the kind of September…” The song was from a musical named The Fantasticks. In that spirit, try to remember September of 2006. The media crowed that the state added 17,300 jobs that …

Twenty-nine politicos from the League of California Cities got in free to September 19’s Chargers versus Jacksonville game at Qualcomm, thanks to tickets with a face value of $98 each, distributed by San Diego city …

700CN, the gleaming blue and white 1990 Gulfstream Aerospace G-IV executive jet that was the pride of Copley Newspapers and its owner David Copley, has finally been sold. The new owner, according to Federal Aviation …

Forget the price of health insurance for its employees, the City of San Diego also has to deal with setting up a health and dental plan for its police dogs. According to a recently posted …

If he’d take it as a compliment, I’d call him the Einstein of West Morena Boulevard. That’s where Tony Iaquinta holds forth in his restaurant, Bull’s Smokin’ BBQ. It’s mighty good food, the barbecued ribs, …

Three days after election day, when Southwestern College school-board incumbents Yolanda Salcido and Jorge Dominquez were voted out of office, the board called a special meeting. The meeting — called for by the board only …

The city-government office that administers health-inspection cards to prostitutes in Tijuana has noted a twofold increase in card issuances during the past three years. According to Angel de La Torre, director of Servicios Medicos Municipales, …

On November 7 at about 9:30 p.m., a customer broke the glass on the front door of the Circle K store on the corner of Shadowridge Drive and Watson Way in Vista. According to a …

Tom Lochtefeld stood before San Diego city councilmembers Tuesday, November 9, and urged them to direct the city's Real Estate Assets Department to restart negotiations on Belmont Park's land lease and rethink the 700 percent …

It’s around 2am, and I’ve taken the “L” train in the wrong direction. There are two “Western” stops on the blue line. I could have sworn that I knew which was which – one located …

My sleepy eyes drank in the Austrian countryside as the overnight train from Venice moved closer to Salzburg. The glorious green hills were a refreshing change from the equally stunning but distinct Italian scenery. I …

After setting his axe down, Dirty Beaches' Alex Zhang Hungtai sticks a finger in his ear and wiggles it, blurting, "Fuck!" The feedback demons he's attempting to exorcise did little to deter paeans to empty …

The Reader reported in May and July of this year that Derrick Roach appeared before the Chula Vista City City Council to accuse former interim councilmember Mitch Thompson of unlawful activity. All complaints filed by …

We Tierrasantans love our dogs. We’ve given over our parks, our streets, and even some of our restaurants to them. One local man and his fluffy friend hit the streets daily, riding on a Segway, …

Minnesota hip-hop duo Slug and Ant are back with a double EP of instrument-infused indie rap. On To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy, Slug has become the Bruce Springsteen of the genre, …

So, we're walking around UCSD looking for the Loft in the airport-like Price Center and locate it tucked up among students tapping on laptops. Upon entering, the Loft continues the airport vibe, with an upscale …

A Delta II rocket carried the Thales Alenia Space-Italia COSMO-SkyMed Satellite southbound over the Pacific, past San Diego, at 7:20 p.m. on November 5. The rocket, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base (north of Santa …

“I can’t get any help…where do I go? I’ve paid taxes and I’m waiting for disability,” said longtime Oceanside resident Samantha Ewen as she spoke before the city council on Wednesday, November 3. According to …

of Montreal’s tenth studio album completes the third installment of an unofficial trilogy highlighting frontman Kevin Barnes's penchant for love, lust, loss, and all the sweat-soaked alleyways in-between. Enlisting producer Jon Brion (Fiona Apple, Kanye …

When I tell you that of Montreal's set at the Hollywood Palladium included machine gun-wielding fish, straight-jacketed dancers, men in checkered body suits, and mimed intercourse with pigs, I don't expect you to "get it." …

"The Uptown Partnership voted to take the suicide pill," reported one Hillcrest denizen in an email after returning from the parking agency's November 4 meeting. According to several area residents who attended the meeting, Uptown …

On Thursday, November 4, supporters of the LaRouche Political Action Committee set up shop on the sidewalk in front of Stumps Village Market on Via De Santa Fe. Two activists maintained their post all day …

A 30-year-old Florida man named Donald Johnson was shot with a 9-millmeter pistol while he waited in his car for a friend who had gone inside a Rosarito bakery to buy bread. The director of …

An estimated 2000 people turned out on the scorching-hot morning of November 4 to pay their last respects to fallen San Diego policeman Christopher Wilson. Wilson was shot while helping to do a probation check …

"All of these mounds have a hole straight down into them. When you go up top, you'll see," says the guide at Knowth. County Meath, Ireland, is one of the earliest known developments – older …

October 26, 1881, gunshots rang out, men lay dead and the O.K. Corral was forever known as the famous Old West shootout. Today, gunslinging characters slowly swagger down the boot-worn wooden sidewalks of Tombstone, Arizona. …

Shirley Cabri-Rumrill, Food Service Labor Supervisor for San Diego Unified School District, explains what to expect as a part-time substitute for school lunch service. First, let me ask, are you really hiring, or just accepting …

If your idea of searching for a new job is posting your résumé on Monster.com and then plopping down on the couch to watch The View, the odds of finding your perfect career are pretty …

On Wednesday, November 3, city councilmembers met to discuss a city ordinance that would deter big-box superstores from opening in San Diego's neighborhoods. The Small and Neighborhood Businesses Ordinance, proposed by councilmember Todd Gloria, requires …

"We don't need the harassment anymore," said Jonathon Rosita at Wednesday's city council meeting. "Why don't you just put it at Newton, huh? Stop playing with Golden Hall, and stop playing games with us." Rosita …

In 1998, Carlsbad native Adam Carruth was “kind of a life student — just [kept] going back to school.” He’d studied botany at UC Riverside, so for a change of pace, he headed north to …

I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. — Abraham Lincoln Dad apologized …

Alberto LopezFilmmaker and member, San Diego Latino Film Festival selection committee With Thanksgiving approaching, here are two movies that I am most thankful for right now. One is David ­Fincher’s Seven because ­it’s not only …

The EdVoice Independent Expenditure Committee, whose parent EdVoice has been backed by wealthy charter school advocates such as Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad and San Diego investor Buzz Woolley, gave $25,000 to the Republican Party …

So it was with the suitcase left in front of the hotel — cinched, broken-locked, papered with world ports, carrying what mattered until then, when turning your back to cup a match it was taken, …

My first meal at Izakaya Sakura was an especially joyous occasion. Not only did I get to enjoy sharing bites with Candice Woo (former CityBeat food critic who just replaced David Nelson at San Diego …

“I won’t know for a month if I’ll get called back for the show,” says comedic singer-songwriter Ron Hill — aka Happy Ron — who auditioned October 23 for the upcoming sixth season of America’s …

Longtime San Diego resident Gary Wilson, conceptual artist and second-generation lounge musician, has been an underground legend since his 1977 lounge/soul/freakout debut LP You Think You Really Know Me. His new album, Electric Endicott (named …

Hey, Lay Off! I think Matthew Alice ought to be ashamed of himself, unless you did this deliberately as part of your “Typo Patrol” test. I’m talking about the October 28 Reader, page 6, Matthew …

Membership: 200 Pastor: David Keil Age: 61 Born: Los Angeles Formation: California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks; Concordia Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana Years Ordained: 35 San Diego Reader: Can you think of a time when you …

With quaint footbridges spanning two wooded ravines, scores of historic homes, plus mature landscaping, Banker’s Hill speaks to historic elegance and the preservation of nature. The following short ramble through canyon bottom and along quiet …

Anybody heard of Castle Park? I sure hadn’t. Everybody except Thomas Bros. calls this part of town southern Chula Vista. Whatever, Castle Park’s where I am, hoofing it up Third Avenue at around eight at …

The six-year-old Indie Music Fest will be moving from North Park to the NTC Promenade at Liberty Station for the next event, March 12 and 13, 2011. While the first day will be music-based, the …

If men wish to draw near to God, they must seek Him in the hearts of men. They should speak well of all men, whether present or absent, and if they themselves seek to be …

“I’m starting to think I should just start busking every day instead of looking for jobs,” says Incomplete Neighbor guitarist Tyson Zamora. “Busking pays a lot better.” The band recently pared down to a three-piece …

After the Second World War, a couple moved from Mississippi to Chicago, where they put together a family gospel-singing act and began singing in churches. As the ‘50s turned into the ‘60s, they became active …

A few months ago, the Helen Earth Band unloaded all its cash and maxed out a credit card to buy a tour van that singer-guitarist Marc Allen describes as “a total lemon. They sold us …

Thirty-Five Years AgoOctober 29 was Alice Doesn’t Day, the National Organization of Women’s much-heralded attempt to organize a show of force by women. The conservative Copley Press was not without incident. Advertising secretaries, who are …

I consider the ghost story essentially optimistic: it presupposes something, after all, beyond this mortal coil. This first week of November promises to continue the interesting variety of autumnal as well as desert coastal weather …

The Moaners are a guitar-and-drum rock duo from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a couple of part-time bartenders named Melissa Swingle and Laura King who make music steeped in both punk and the Mississippi Delta. The …

Ten minutes into the second quarter of the Chargers’ second preseason game, a crowd in the end-zone View section of Qualcomm Stadium stands up to shout, “Raiders suck! Raiders suck!” But the Chargers are playing …

My poor son’s face has become a wasteland of angry red bumps. It brings him no end of misery, and nothing I’m bringing home from the drugstore is doing much good. Time to call in …

PrologueNow that I’m getting into my late 60s, I’m developing a gag reaction to jewelry in particular and sales in general. Just one problem: it’s how I’ve made my living since 1975. But writing is …

Thursday 4Bethesda band Trans Am drives into Casbah tonight. The Thrill Jockey transformers (krautfunk, anyone?) this year turned in Thing, the trio’s ninth proper on the indie stalwart. The 20-year vets keep up the sci-fi …

God is: there is no existence save His existence. To this the Prophet pointed when he said, “Revile not the world, for the world is God’s” — it is related that…God said to Moses, “O …

En route to Athens, my flight connected in London with a stopover just long enough to view the famous Elgin Marbles in the British Museum. Greece has been determined to have them returned to their …

Bridgepoint Education, Inc., the controversial private schools outfit, was spreading the campaign cash around this election season. On October 13, it gave $1500 to Democratic senate candidate Juan Vargas; the same day, Democratic assemblyman Marty …

Union-Tribune owner Tom Gores played it straight down the middle in the high-stakes battle for California governor. On October 20, the Beverly Hills billionaire gave $25,000 to Democrat Jerry Brown. The same day he gave …

Raphael Ramey cursed, yelled, and swore some more. This mechanic Eddie had demanded money to fix his car, a job that was supposed to be done two months ago. Ramey had bought the 1970 Chevy, …

The timeworn Hotel Sandford, a single-room occupancy facility for low-income seniors at 1301 Fifth Avenue, will soon receive long-overdue renovations. The San Diego Housing Commission purchased the building earlier this year for $6.8 million and …

During an October 12 Chula Vista City Council meeting, mayor Cheryl Cox gave a statement regarding her thoughts and opposition to the legalization of marijuana. “The potential for criminal action is enormous and threatens the …

Blue Line trolley service from the San Ysidro station to points north has been halted on weekends so the Metropolitan Transit System can rebuild sections of track and station platforms to accommodate the more modern …

Before 11 a.m. on October 30, hundreds of people lined up at Seau's restaurant to audition for a TV show. Twenty-four competitors on a large obstacle course will be the basis for a program to …

According to some official-looking maps on some official- looking websites, I live in Hillcrest. This is a problem for me. I drove 3000 miles to live in North Park. And when I found a small …

I became aware of Sugarland while watching a country-music awards show and heard hit song “Life in a Northern Town.” This spellbinding song, which packs original lyrics, world beats, and a reggae-gospel chorus, is unlike …