There was a crowd so large outside the Village Theatre in Coronado on the afternoon of September 29, you would have thought there was a movie playing. And, after about ten years, there will be. …

Chula Vista Deputy Mayor Rudy Ramirez is opening his office doors on Monday, October 4, inviting Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to ride shotgun in a discussion about the high rate of underage, under-the-influence drivers …

Perhaps reluctant to reveal their advanced age and weight, indie-rock icons the Pixies took to a darkened Rimac stage and opened with the obscure "Dance the Manta Ray." Like an insecure lover, the group kept …

Ranessa Ashton, public information officer for San Diego Continuing Education, explains with the program has to offer. First, please tell me about the Continuing Education program. Are the classes really free? We’re the adult education …

You are an entrepreneur who has been successful building your business over the past two years. Your company has grown to the point where you are no longer able to be the president, the accounting …

Vince Clarke, modern-day Bach? For those of you not tuned when Yaz (Yazoo in the U.K.) did this the first time around, I figured I'd get your attention. Realistically, Vince Clarke (the half that doesn't …

During a city revenues update to the Budget and Finance Committee on Wednesday morning, chair Anthony Young asked for a date when committee members could view the City's revenue receipts for fiscal year 2010 to …

Membership: 400 Pastor: Gene Beezer Born: Punxsutawney, ­PA Formation: Bachelor’s, Houghton College, NY Ordained: 48 Years San Diego Reader: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon which ­flopped? Pastor Beezer: I …

Everything you never wanted to know about the advent of Facebook, where “friends” gather on the Internet, will be revealed in The Social Network. That’s not to say you will understand it. Structured as an …

Culture is roughly anything we do and the monkeys don’t. — Lord Raglan It was warm and sunny the Friday before Labor Day — a perfect day to go to the zoo, or at least …

Thirty Years AgoFour o’clock on a Sunday afternoon is perhaps not the most convenient time for a concert; the wooden pews in USD’s Camino Hall are surely a minatory foretaste of Hell; and during Father …

The graffiti wraps the California Theatre in a ten-foot-tall necklace of yellow and black and silver, squished-together letters shaped like half-inflated airbags. The odd thing is whoever did it also surrounded it with a new …

Robert Byron of La Mesa, who claims to be the only living direct male descendant of the poet Lord George Gordon Byron, gave us a call the other day. He sounded pleased. Although he’s known …

It seemed like a good idea...a great idea. What can beat sunset, PB, and happy hour at a place where you’re gonna see the green flashes? At a place that’s filled with experts? Because, well, …

AFC West: Kansas City (3-0). Not bad for a team that’s only racked ten wins over the past three seasons. Is Kansas City worth a 3-0 record? Chiefs head coach Todd Haley says, “We’re still …

Jon Spencer named his band the Blues Explosion, but it was never about the blues. With Judah Bauer and Russell Simins, Spencer tapped into the vein of the truest American roots music — plantation, country, …

Around the middle of the meal at West Coast Tavern, I realized that I’m really getting into the gastropub craze. They’re multiplying in nearly every neighborhood, offering an easy way to eat out with friends …

How ’Bout Those Amish? With regard to the Reader of September 23, in the letters to the editor on page 63, there is a letter from a Name Withheld entitled “Illegal Islam.” I would just …

What are you reading? “Black Elk Speaks, by John Neihardt. I picked it up because I had taken some eco-theology courses at my university a while ago and had read some small excerpts from it …

“What ever happened to home economics class in school?” asked my Aunt Azelda. “So kids don’t learn to sew. Sew what?” I joked. Yeah, she didn’t think it was funny, either. “We have everything from …

Compared to her cramped apartment in L.A.’s trendy Silver Lake neighborhood, the Mission Valley condo that Lorelei Plotczyk (bassist-vocalist for indie band Film School) moved into is a welcome change. “It’s in Mission Valley — …

Ryan Hiller moved from New Orleans to San Diego in 2006. He had played Winstons during a 2003 national tour. “After Katrina, I knew I needed a change,” he says, “and the beautiful women and …

It was more years ago than he can remember when Tom Courtney, a blues singer from Texas, became known as Tomcat. “It was some woman in New Mexico that gave me that name,” he says. …

Q: What are badlands? A: “Wasteland” that has been eroded into unusual shapes by wind and water — originally from the French term les mauvaises terres. Our local version of this, the Borrego Badlands in …

At the former City Heights site of Radio Room and Zombie Lounge, recently unveiled Eleven offers (mostly) free live music with a warm, locals’ bar atmosphere. The latest enterprise of Hamilton’s and Small Bar founders …

The notion of a man-god, or of a human being endowed with divine or supernatural powers, belongs essentially to that earlier period of religious history in which gods and men were still viewed as beings …

An alert to my colleagues in the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle: I hereby nominate Rob McClure for a Craig Noel Award, Lead Performance in a Musical, Male. His Charlie Chaplin in Limelight, at the …

The rain has held back for days and days, My God, in my arid heart. The horizon is fiercely naked — Not the thinnest cover of a soft cloud, Not the vaguest hint of a …

Coming in to work today, I found on my desk a five-year-old copy of this publication. Pretty much five years ago to the day I had written, “It is not the usual thing for the …

Since their debut release two years ago, School of Seven Bells has racked up a lot of comparisons to My Bloody Valentine and the Cocteau Twins, but there’s nothing special about that: Pretty much anyone …

What do the Silent Comedy, Transfer, Republic of Letters, and David Maldonado have in common, besides being nominated for San Diego Music Awards? They have all played or recorded with classically trained multi-instrumentalist Marta Zaludova …

Late August, over 50,000 participants from around the world spent a week in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada for the 24th annual Burning Man. A handful of San Diego performers braved the Martian …

Matthew: You’d better help me or I’m in bad shape. My dad absolutely loves old-time country-western music, and he blasts it all over the house all day long. I don’t even know their names, but …

Look at me. I’m standing on a deck in the middle of Oregon. There are people inside the house. It’s not my house, you don’t know them. They’re drinking and singing and playing guitars. You …

While everyone frets about burgeoning obesity, a local medical equipment maker is getting rich off the fat of the land. Yes, fat asses are delivering fat assets to ResMed, which makes equipment to relieve sleep-disordered …

Robert Duane Mason was 60 years old when his body was discovered in his home, a modest house in a quiet Encinitas neighborhood where he had lived for 20 years. The homes on Pegaso Street …

Gay men who took advantage of the free HIV testing offered during a recent health fair this past September 15 gave healthcare officials a disturbing new statistic to ponder regarding the spread of HIV infection …

Chula Vista residents will have to pick their poison when they go to the polls November 2. Proposition H, a utility users’ tax, is posited by the mayor and city manager as a vital source …

That karma business gets some serious testimony via Paul Collins. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for the Baja Bugs: despite a more-than-competent, high-spirited tour of Beatles arcana, few onlookers deign to tap a foot for "a …

Just when we thought the Cortez “hole” project was set for future development, a new glitch of sorts has emerged. The Centre City Development Corporation would like to see the now-filled Cortez “hole” (abandoned Atmosphere …

Songstress of sulk Sia Furler gained prominence via Six Feet Under's use of her sublime "Breathe Me." Remember? "Help, I have done it again/I have been here many times before/Hurt myself again today/And the worst …

What makes someone in San Diego a local is sometimes debatable, but it’s hard to dispute the status of the folks who got together for the 60th reunion of Point Loma High School’s class of …

A rope fence installed on September 23 keeps visitors from approaching the Lily Pond in front of the Botanical Building in Balboa Park. “Landscape Renovation Project Under Way,” reads a sign on the fence. “Sorry …

The white-breasted nuthatch has his head and jet-black beak pointed up the jacaranda tree as he scurries from trunk to limb to the hanging bird feeder. I’ve seen him in our yard almost every day …

In a September 22 letter addressed to Chief William Lansdowne, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis indicated that the prescription drug Carbamazepine could have been to blame for the violent behavior of 31-year-old Nathan Gable Manning, who …

Concerned about an increase in business fees and lack of improvements in the downtown neighborhood surrounding his business, Barry Baker appeared before the Escondido City Council on Wednesday, September 22, to voice his displeasure. Baker …

Author: Brady Pesola Neighborhood: San Carlos Age: 26 Occupation: Survival specialist/instructor About a month ago, I learned about Cowles Mountain from Derek Loranger of 100peaks.com. I had told him about my videos, and he said, …

The amount owed on your latest SDG&E bill may have been arrived at with the help of a little proration that cost you some extra money. SDG&E split my billing cycle of 33 days into …

The Tommy Castro Band closed out the Scripps Birch Aquarium's Green Flash summer concert series with a scorching set. In the beautiful seaside setting, the six-piece outfit served up tunes such as the gritty "Gotta …

Help me, Rhonda, help, help me, Rhonda, get this CD...out of my head. Brian Wilson takes one of the greatest love songs ever written and turns it into the Beach Boys singing “Little Saint Nick.” …

The Cult kicked off their American tour in San Diego to a packed house at 4th&B. Touring in support of their most recent release, Capsule One, 2010 finds the band sounding fresh. Even 25-year-old hits …

Interior designer Nina Dayton discusses the pros and cons of working for commission. First, tell me how long you’ve worked in the field of sales and interior design. It’s been about five years now. How …

On September 20 at 7:40 a.m., a Lakeside dog was shot and wounded when he growled and charged at a sheriff’s deputy who was responding to a hazard complaint. According to Sgt. Brent Strahm with …

"We need to get as many people as possible to attend meetings and write letters. We need to drive the City nuts to get them on our side. Wherever they want to put it is …

The man is blessed with thick calves — voluptuous, meaty calves. He says that’s what attracted me to him. The man likes to see me laugh. The ample gams war against his soccer socks. The …

The controversy over the future of Linda Vista’s Skateworld has spilled over into the Sixth District race for San Diego City Council, with opponents of Howard Wayne pointing out that earlier this year the former …

Ben Affleck’s second directed film, The Town, is a moderately diverting, mildly despicable game of cops-and-robbers that counts, in its play for the spectator’s sympathies, on the moral depravity of the public at large, a …

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown has been picking up campaign cash of late from local givers, including $3000 from ex–UC president Richard Atkinson; $1000 from attorney Eric Isaacson; $5000 from Price Entities owner Robert Price; …

Old Democratic warhorse Bob Mulholland, fresh from a successful bout with a serious illness, is back in the political fray, this time as part of a three-man hit team called CEO Watch, sponsored by the …

We’ve Met Often Back to back appeared the stories of David Burleson (“Wake Up From the Nightmare,” Cover Story, September 16) and Adam Jacobs (“Voyage With Mother on Piggyback,” Feature Story), two young men who …

The Tijuana cartel as we know it today has its roots in the Mexican states of Sinaloa on the southeast side of the Gulf of California and Jalisco in central Mexico. A former Mexican Judicial …

The acquisition of the knowledge of navigation has a strange effect on the minds of men. — Jack London Lou and I waited on the dock for the others to catch up — they were …

The program for Moonlight’s Miss Saigon shows the famous photo that inspired the musical. Taken in 1975 at the Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Vietnam, it’s a frantic crowd scene. In the foreground, a …

"Who wants kombucha?” Eli shouts as I walk into his new downtown loft around 10:30 p.m. The second-story space on the corner of Fourth Avenue and K Street feels utilitarian and bohemian — all concrete, …

February 1964: The Beatles’ “Do You Want to Know a Secret” and “Love Me Do” dominated the U.S. and U.K. charts. British songwriter Dave Humphries remembers it well — he was there. Humphries moved to …

“The lower world is a house whose inmates labor for loss, and only abstention from it makes one happy in it. He who befriends it in desire and love for it will be rendered wretched …

San Diego music festivals have started using SonicBids internet-booking site as a method for selecting live talent. The site operates as a middleman, allowing artists and promoters to find one another. Bands pay $6 per …

“You know who [Arizona lawman] Joe Arpaio is, right? Every time we go through there, it never fails... We won’t play Arizona anymore,” says Crocodiles’ Brandon Welchez in response to a question about a song …

“I didn’t know there was a problem.” That’s me speaking. “Surfboards are toxic — they’re incredibly toxic. The nature of surfing is, you have a board, you break it, you chuck it, and then you …

Up to His Neck. On Tuesday, September 7, a horse fell into an old septic tank in Jim Wells County. He remained trapped up to his neck until community members arrived to free him. The …

‘The economic impact of a minor-league team is not sufficient to justify the relatively large public expenditure required for a minor-league stadium.” That was the conclusion of Arthur T. Johnson, author of the 1995 book …

Two Boys They take the new machine gun out of its wrap in pieces, the flat black barrel, the other parts, delicate in their oil, plastic stock like a toy until snapped onto the rest, …

Pissaladière? I know. Sounds dodgy. But trust me, this $3 “snack” is sensational. It’s like a pizza, with a filling that looks like tomato, tastes tomato-ish, but ain’t got a single tomato in it. Or …

The theist is a man firmly persuaded of the existence of a Supreme Being equally good and powerful, who has formed all extended, vegetating, sentient, and reflecting existences; who perpetuates their species, who punishes crimes …

In 1986 Charles Thompson dropped out of college and decided to form a band with his friend Joey Santiago. “I broke it to my dad [a medical doctor] by lying to him,” says Santiago via …

Thirty-Five Years AgoSAN DIEGO’S “TOM HAYDEN for U.S. Senate” committee is holding an auction! Your generous donations are desperately needed. Art, plants, services, etc. CALCULATOR FREAKS to form club and build together mini-machines and exchange …

What do these bands have in common: Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and Dum Dum Girls? They all play simple, melodic rock ’n’ roll that’s steeped in ’60s girl-group sounds, flavored with ’80s–’90s indie pop, and …

Contact: PO Box 131131, Carlsbad, 92013; 760-602-0722; thefieldschurch.org Membership: 300 Pastor: David Fandey Age: 46 Born: Torrance Formation: California Polytechnic State University, San Louis Obispo; Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, La Mirada. Ordained: …

Chon Hung Kim wants to be a wave farmer, but the State of California has other ideas. “They don’t want to help guys like me.” Kim, a mechanical engineer who logged a 20-year stint at …

“I was watching a Behind the Music special on Kiss,” says guitarist Wayne Riker, “and [Gene] Simmons is describing their audition for a lead guitarist, the final piece to the quartet, in January 1973. He …

After four years in business, salon/watering hole the Beauty Bar in City Heights will be throwing their farewell party on September 26. While he declined to talk about specifics, Beauty bartender Peter Kalker notes that …

Thursday 23“Jazz flute is for little fairy boys.” I dare someone to yell that out when Dungen master Gustav Ejstes whips out his flute. Just kidding. You stay classy, San Diego. The psych-rock Swedes will …

This is something I heard in an anonymous setting: I said, ­“I’d like to steal this story” and was given permission to do so. “Just change my name,” Rick (­let’s call him) said. “Maybe ­it’ll …

Recipe by Karen Krasne, executive chef, Extraordinary Desserts What’s unusual about me is that while I am a pastry chef, I lead a very healthy lifestyle. I do raw food sometimes and there are periods …

If Shelter Island seems overly familiar to you, then try visiting this artificial “island” (or shall we say, peninsula, which is technically more correct) at either the opening or the closing of any clear day. …

Carlsbad-based Aptera Motors recently failed to win the Automotive X Prize, a competition, according to the website, “To inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem …

A teenaged Tijuana girl was allegedly raped by a “gringo" in the early morning hours of September 19, according to an article in the daily Frontera. The 16-year-old girl was found in a state of …

When visiting Stockholm, a must-see stop is the historical district known as Skansen. A trip to Skansen is like stepping into a time machine and being transported to a Sweden of centuries past. The world’s …

My civil rights movement information hunt started with an arresting experience at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama. As the “I Have a Dream” speech beamed on TV, I knew where the next location …

More than 50 individuals from activist organizations and their supporters gathered at Horton Plaza on September 19 to demand the release of Army PFC Bradley Manning. The Army intelligence analyst was arrested and jailed for …

“Tonight, I am asking for [city clerk] Susie Vasquez’s resignation,” said San Marcos business owner Laura Mouradian during the oral-communication portion of the September 14 city-council meeting. According to Mouradian, she was told by a …

You are invited to interview with a company for an opening as a controller. You have already been “screened” on the telephone by human resources. The next step is to interview with the decision maker, …

At Wednesday's Imperial Beach City Council meeting, councilmembers will address the city's adult-entertainment establishments by proposing a new ordinance. City staff, according to a report from City Manager Gary Brown's office, first conceived of the …

I didn't know anything about the Jonas Brothers, other than they're a Disney product, and young girls are in love with them. We dad's were outnumbered 50 to 1. The stars from the made-for-TV Disney …

Maybe there's a message here for musicians determinedly gigging, recording, and self-promoting. Something about breaking up — and releasing nothing for 17+ years — has proven a brilliant gambit for Scottish post-punk/garage brats Frances McKee …

Portland's Menomena maneuvered through their musical minefield to a capacity crowd at Casbah. Supported by Tu Fawning and Suckers, the trio of multi-instrumentalists/vocalists highlighted material from their acclaimed 2010 release Mines. Band members Danny Seim …

"Bring your own bucket," the notice said, and residents of Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park got angry. For five days in mid-September, no water came from faucets and no toilets could be flushed due to …

The vibe at oft-creepy Kava Lounge, home of the Vegan White Russian and kava mixed drinks, is atypically cheery for the Bonobo Benefit. About 25 primate empathizers mill about beneath dangling fliers of factoids from …

The seven-hour bus ride through the sticky night to a city called San Gil, Colombia, made the Matterhorn at Disneyland seem like training wheels: roller-coaster-like turns followed by potholes in the road the size of …

Even though summer’s officially over, a lot of outdoor fun can still be had in California's Eastern Sierras. Just 20 minutes north of Mammoth, on Highway 395, is the alpine town of June Lake at …

David Ross, known as "The Water Man” and as an advocate for homeless people in San Diego, appeared at the city-council meeting on Tuesday, September 14, with a shopping cart. His aim was to appeal …

Around 9:00 p.m, on Wednesday, September 15, a 17-year-old male bicyclist hit a moving Yellow Cab. The boy was riding southbound on Evergreen Drive in Encinitas. He ran the stop sign at the busy intersection …

Jim Cartmill has been a Sweetwater Union High School District board member since 1990. This November, he’s running for a seat against Karen Janney. As the incumbent, Cartmill’s campaign donors have predictable associations. Sweetwater is …

I was walking around Hillcrest recently and wondered what's with the lifelike metal animal sculptures in front of houses on the 3700 block of First Avenue. I found out through the Hillcrest Town Council that …

The adults of Generation Y are expected to earn upward of $3 trillion by 2017, even with a rocky economy messing up two or three of those years. These 70 million adults born between 1979 …

Two years ago I was late on a credit card bill and my interest rate jumped immediately from 13.4 percent to 28.4 percent. I was upset, but I had made a mistake and clearly the …

On the morning of September 13, several of residents of South Mission Beach woke up and witnessed two rare sightings: a sunny morning devoid of any persistent marine layer and an animated pod of dolphins …

San Diego Sheriff’s ASTREA helicopter came to the rescue once again on El Cajon Mountain in Lakeside Sunday night. Three hikers were hoisted to safety after becoming lost without warm clothing, food, or water. Their …

For several nights in August, a perplexed resident of Mountain Shadows Mobile Home Park in Escondido heard voices coming from her next-door neighbor’s coach. Whether she was out on her back porch or lying in …

“On July 1, 2011, we have a $72 million budget deficit that we have to fill,” District 3 council representative Todd Gloria said to 50 people at a September 14 forum on Prop D, the …

While there has been an exodus of musicians from San Diego in recent years — including Anya Marina, Barbara Nesbitt, the Album Leaf, John Miller, Kim Divine — musicians are also relocating to San Diego. …

Del Mar singer-songwriter Michael Tiernan releases his 11-track album L.A. Can Wait this week. A free single, “Easy,” is available for download at Tiernantunes.com. Peter Sprague plays an album-release party for Calling Me Home on …

Thursday 16Los Angeles electropop trio Autolux will get all Transit Transit on Belly Up tonight. The shoegazers’ sophomore record dropped last week and is sure to be the batch to put ’em on the map. …

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. — Ralph Waldo Emerson An electronic melody toodled in the other room. Like a mob of meerkats, …

"See the field?” says this guy waiting for the Number 3 bus. “Your place is just past it. Looks like the Little House on the Prairie.” A field? In Hillcrest? Carla and I have been …

“It seems the fans were more into us in New York than they were in San Diego.” Tim Hines plays guitar in the band Lights On. He lives in La Mesa. He’s not sure why …

This weekend, the second one in September, now (as of publication) passed, I will be doing something I have never done before: reading a second book in a row by Norman Mailer. I sense “T.G.I.F.” …

For your Mafia fix, you can safely go to The Sicilian Girl, a fictionalized factual story from the fatherland, focussed on (at the start) the ten-year-old daughter of a soon murdered mob boss, slowly simmering …

San Diego Unified school board candidate Steve Rosen has been making a big deal about how his company, TV Magic, has repeatedly volunteered its services for the benefit of local students. “Steve and his company’s …

If you don’t blink, Stephen Dietz’s Becky’s New Car makes for an entertaining evening. Blink, however, or pause for reflection, and how and why things happen would perplex even the most gullible among ­us. Maybe …

Mama said there’d be days like this, but I don’t remember anything about “weeks and weeks like this.” Normally, I’d try to save a report on food-delivery services for the rains of winter, but in …

OzymandiasI met a traveler from an antique land Who said:—Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled …

ON THE PHONE, EDITH, my re-employment dominatrix, was emphatic: “Wear a tie, Mr. Looper, and don’t be late.” Let go, and “out-placed” as a senior design engineer at 58 years of age, I am about …

A Buddha is primarily a fully “enlightened” being. But the characteristic attributes and qualities of a Buddha have been described and enumerated in several definite formulae…. A Buddha is one, who has acquired the ten …

“We figured out we had enough in common to make music we liked,” says Matt Cliff, bassist for indie-pop rockers the Midwinters. “We started playing shows around San Diego and Southern California in 2006. With …

I used to think Phoenix was no more than a band of trendy French guys who had managed to leverage their connection to the band Air into a friendship with filmmaker Sofia Coppola and a …

Because men had eliminated God from life, nay, even from nature, and found the basis of life in possessions and its aim in enjoyment, deeming life the product of the multitude of human desires, just …

“Imagine if I could grow tomatoes year-round…” I said as I came in from the garden. “One word,” replied my husband Patrick. “Hydroponics.” John at Mr. Hydro in Solana Beach (858-259-9100; mr-hydro.com) gave me an …

Bad Timing I picked up this week’s Reader on Thursday, September 9 (“They Should Not Display Their Beauty,” Cover Story, September 9). Two days before 9/11. I looked at the front cover. You guys couldn’t …

It’s a story out of a comic book: two decades after losing a high-profile court battle, a lawyer steps from the shadows to avenge his past failure. In late August, Los Angeles–based attorney Kenneth Feinswog …

Most visitors motor right up to the cool forests of Palomar Mountain’s parks or observatory on the curling South Grade or East Grade roads. Exercise-minded hikers might try an alternative east-side approach that actually reaches …

Howdy, Matt: The other day I had a couple of brews that I’d left out and they were warm, so I put them in the freezer to hurry up the cold. These were beers in …

Contrary to what you might think, true indie rock was invented during the late 1970s by bands that recorded in analog studios, released music on records (or cassette tapes), and hoped for a sweet record …

Every long once in awhile the story of one human being frames a national issue with such fierce honesty that even the hardest-hearted sports fan has to stop and pay attention. This happened Thursday night, …

When big business was selling the public on the need to approve multimillion-dollar school bonds, whose needs were they talking about? In 2008, a majority of South Bay voters agreed to open their wallets for …

A VOICE BELLOWS THROUGH THE DOOR. “San Diego Sheriff’s Department, open up!” I wonder if cops learn how to do that in the academy. “It’s gonna be all right,” my mom says, feigning confidence as …

Thirty-Five Years AgoDoctors will take into consideration the reasons for the surgery and the patient’s financial condition. Example: a starving actress who needs cosmetic surgery may be in a better situation for reduced fee than …

On September 11, 2009, Mike and Zerla Bell closed escrow on their first home, a 1302-square-foot single-family residence in Lincoln Acres. It was a big step for the Bell family, who had been living in …

Dennis Grimes spends the first half-hour of every day “tending to Twitter, being a cheerleader” for Ramona Valley wine. From September 6 of this year: “94F today, 47F low & 83F tomorrow Ramona Valley AVA …

It could and probably will be posited once The Inevitable Past Is the Future Forgotten goes under the critical microscope that post-rock trio Three Mile Pilot didn't disband so much as reproduce. A little indie-rock …

"You all are fascists," yelled 53-year-old Carlsbad resident Richard Shapiro during his three-minutes of public comment to the Carlsbad City Council on September 14. "Because of a word I was removed from this hall. That's …

Traffic was slowed to a crawl on eastbound highway 78 last week, as a mule-drawn wagon took the right-of-way. Apparently the laws allowing horse and wagon the right-of-way are still on the books. Gene Glasscock …

A desperate traveler named Robin pleaded with waiting taxicab and pedicab drivers to help retrieve her phone, which she dropped down the storm drain outside the Santa Fe train station on the afternoon of September …

I've loved Patty Griffin since 1996's Living With Ghosts, where she premiered a voice that could purr and whisper and insinuate on its own successful terms, but rose to quick, sharp stabs, as if the …

The O.B. Music and Arts Festival emerged from its economically influenced hiatus on September 11, more ambitious than ever with 7 venues and 27 acts. Difficult to pick standouts, but the performance of the Geoffrey …

Tift Merritt sang five or six songs to a relatively empty house, but she sang as if she were performing for a sold-out Madison Square Garden. I recommend you catch her next time she is …

After a yearlong hiatus, numerous O.B. residents and visitors welcomed the Jazz 88 Ocean Beach Music & Art Festival (formerly the O.B. Jazz Fest) back to Newport Avenue on Saturday, September 11. One aspect of …

Breaking from his role as lead man for the Killers, Brandon Flowers tests the waters of a solo career. His new album Flamingo has enough floating particles of the Killers' sound to make it appealing …

She's almost an alien in this So-Cal watering hole: no makeup, no push-up bra, no "work done." Pale and gaunt, hers is the only shadow on the stage as she sets up; gracefully, methodically. She …

On September 9, Caltrans held the last of five community meetings for the public to review the Interstate 5 environmental impact report for the proposed 27-mile freeway-widening project. The meeting, held at Oceanside High School, …

A norteamericano had a fatal encounter in Tijuana on the morning of September 8. Kenneth Donald Plouffer Jr., 39 years old and a U.S. citizen, was noticed by TJ cops as he sat in a …

El Cajon Boulevard Maintenance Assessment District is teaming up with the North Park Maintenance Assessment District to spruce up the stretch of El Cajon Boulevard between the 805 and 54th Street. As part of the …

“What are we doing with our police department?” Oceanside resident J.C. Clayford asked the city council on Wednesday, September 8. Clayford expressed concern regarding several recent controversies that have involved Oceanside police officers. He alleged …

“I think it’s going to be a lot easier to get on the freeway in the mornings,” said a Little Italy resident before crossing Beech Street on the morning of September 10 with her pug. …

Normal Heights, a 104-year old neighborhood in the Mid-City area, is shown on a new city map (click here) divided into two parts: the area north of Adams Avenue has been renamed Adams North; the …

In these tough economic times, one needs to expand one’s thinking, become flexible to changes in the ways in which a job search is conducted, and open one’s mind to new possibilities. Sounds great, but …

Remember back when you had a job? Did you used to gaze out the window on company time and dream of running off to live and work in a foreign country? Maybe you’re having a …

Sandra Martinez, a 30-year-old mother of two, is back in school. Tell me what you were doing for work two years ago. I was waiting tables at a café in Normal Heights, and I was …

Many people with college degrees would willingly trade their diplomas for ones bearing the names Harvard, Stanford, or Columbia University. There is no question of the sex appeal of a big-name university when you go …

City officials in Oceanside are on the offensive and are searching for ways to save money in its Parks and Recreation budget. One way the city looked to score cash is by raising the fees …

At around 9:00 p.m. on September 6, a delivery driver for the Pizza Hut on Cannon Road stopped for a girl who stepped off the curb against a red light. She was in her late …

Not being a musician or performer, I have no idea what it’s like to be in a life that lurches from on-the-road lulls between gigs to the raw, over-the-top energy of performance. Like most of …

Thirty-Five Years AgoUnlikely as it seems, San Diego has an expanding core of rock bands doing original material, and taking their cue from the San Francisco bands of seven years ago, these outlaw units have …

Anna StumpArtist, drawingwithanna.com I have two French films to recommend. The first is Séraphine, based on the life of French painter Séraphine de Senlis. I recommend it especially for a transcendent scene in which the …

Wheeling-Dealing This is in response to “Skateworld Rolls Away” (Cover Story, September 2). I’ve been an active participant in the rallies, and I’ve been at some of the meetings of Bayside, and you have completely …

“I think Thursday is the best night in San Diego, honestly,” says blogger Rosemary Bystrak, who books music at the West Coast Tavern in North Park. “There’s always the most things going on then.” She …

“The Stones were on tour, and the saxophonist they had with them wasn’t working out.” Ernie Watts, on the phone from his Los Angeles home, is having a bad case of jet-lag after performing with …

Thursday 9Guilty pleasure alert: the singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow will deliver a smorgasbord of songcraft to Humphrey’s by the Bay, catering to all your country, pop, rock, and R&B needs. No kidding, Ms. Crow’s Very Best …

I deliberately ignored the most recent previous incarnation of Old Town State Historic Park and everything in it. Oh, I did succumb to curiosity at one point, enough to have a margarita and a few …

I come home from Florence with $26.40 in my bank account. I need a job, preferably at an Italian restaurant, some upscale place in the Gaslamp where I can speak the language occasionally. I find …

“Can I make room in my heart for a gecko?” joked my hubby Pat. When an overwhelmed Marine-wife friend of ours asked if we’d adopt her family’s pet, a house gecko, how could I say …

‘Do you have a, like, breakfast section?” I ask because I’m looking at the menu, and it’s either spring rolls, noodle soups, or rice dishes. I know, this is Vietnamese. But, at 10:00 on a …

Weekly Attendance: 1200 Pastor: Jason Graves Age: 36 Born: Van Nuys Formation: Life Pacific College Ordained: 10 years San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermons? Pastor Graves: That can vary greatly, …

Recipe by Marc Liautard, executive chef, Barrel Room Why did I leave France? Well, I was curious. I grew up in Clermont Ferrand in Auvergne in the center of France. One day, I answered an …

These days, someone talking about a double-dip isn’t ordering ice cream. A double-dip is the dolorous possibility that the economy will slump again, after staging a very modest, government-goosed recovery from the worst downturn since …

Proposition 19, the measure on the November ballot to legalize and tax marijuana, raised a total of $370,565.64 through the end of June, a relatively paltry portion of which came from donors in San Diego …

Christian theology, having thus determined, established, decreed, and ordained the nature of God, proceeded to examine the nature of much-more-visible man and found him, by contrast with the perfect Almighty God, quite a worm of …

In the creation God commanded the plants of the earth to bring forth fruit, each after its kind; and in a similar way He commands Christians, who are the living plants of His Church, to …

Over the phone, Maureen Slater sounds like a soccer mom. She uses words like “jammies” instead of pajamas and laughs at her own jokes (“I’m smarter than my husband, ha-ha-ha”), some of which aren’t really …

“It was a struggle to get the permits from the City of Chula Vista,” says Mikey Hernandez. “They rarely issue permits for live music that goes beyond 11 p.m., but I was adamant about getting …

The Heat of Autumn The heat of autumn is different from the heat of summer. One ripens apples, the other turns them to cider. One is a dock you walk out on, the other the …

I must write this on the eve of Labor ­Day’s three-day weekend, so I ­can’t very well tell you how it went, how it was — what the hell. There is a distinct shade of …

“I’m blown away. I just can’t fathom this.” Gary Beck is the midday radio host at Jazz 88.3. “Kenny and I were real close. I’d known him almost 30 years. I talked to him just …

Yes, another San Diego Music Awards — Sunday is the 20th annual — another hip-hop category controversy. Nothing new here. Some may remember the local rap artist “Trick” picketing the SDMAs outside Humphrey’s back in …

Camping: nature’s way of promoting the motel industry. — Dave Barry "Are you a Burner?” asked the guy sitting across from me. I couldn’t remember his name, only that he was a college student by …

Dennis Dickinson takes his dogs for a hike off Borrego Valley Road in Borrego Springs at 6:30 in the morning to avoid the heat. From the trail, Dickinson looks west toward San Ysidro Mountain. In …

The hike (or mountain-bike ride) to Sunset Peak, near the community of Mount Baldy, offers up fine views of an archipelago of high peaks stretching from San Gabriel Wilderness in the west to Cucamonga Wilderness …

Back when, a dear friend used to give mix tapes as gifts: collections of favorite songs on audio cassettes. She insisted that the sequence was as important as the songs. Like a baseball lineup, it …

Political pundits have been quick to dissect the motive for $20,000 in contributions made earlier this year by Chargers owner Alex Spanos, a lifelong Republican, to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, pointing out that the …

“We were working part-time all the time/ We were banking on the kindness of strangers and loved ones and those who fall between/ To give us everything, ’cause we need everything.” Those are the opening …

“I go for a groovy vibe,” says singer-percussionist Debora Galan, “mixing old jazz and Latin jazz standards with lounge music, along with whatever surprises I decide to add in.” Born in Madrid, Spain, Galan says …

Heymatt: My kids like nothing more than sleeping. They can sleep maybe 12 hours a night. On school days they have to go to bed really early, and it’s almost impossible for me to get …

Concerned that the imminent departure of San Diego State president Stephen Weber, coupled with the state’s financial crisis, will crimp research funding at the school, a group of professors there has launched the SDSU Principal …

"We've produced a video about a mega-church invasion," said Bonnie Mann from the dais at Tuesday morning's city council meeting. Ms. Mann is a member of Concerned Citizens of Point Loma. The Point Loma resident …

Synthesizer guru Hadji Bakara could not join Wolf Parade for their third album, Expo 86: "Hadji Bakara's brain got so big that he accidentally got accepted into the University of Chicago to pursue a doctorate …

In addition to one of the most awesome neck-beards in the business, Patrick Stickles possesses one of the sharpest wits in rock and roll. Throughout the 80-minute set at the Belly Up, the Titus Andronicus …

At 2:45 a.m. on September 6, a loud crash woke up residents of the 5000 block of Long Branch Avenue. Many rushed onto the street to find a light-colored SUV speeding west. A resident with …

San Diego firefighters rushed to a fire in the 800 block of Granger Street shortly before 9:30 a.m. on September 5. Battalion chief Dennis Clay confirmed that a young boy was responsible for the fire …

Made internationally famous as the title of an ersatz folk song by the Kingston Trio in 1959 (reaching Number 12 on the charts), the downtown Tijuana jail, known widely as “El Ocho” because of its …

At the September 2 Escondido City Council meeting, Larry Steneck, president of the Coalition of Escondido Mobile/Manufactured Home Voters, discussed the plight of residents at the Green Tree Mobile Estates, who had to deal with …

Seattle's Lights opened the show with a cover of Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown." Their brand of rootsy punk was followed by the similarly compelling electronic krautrock of Jonas Reinhardt, featuring guitarist Phil Manley, who I've …

The Mexican poet Octavio Paz once said, “In the United States the word death burns the lips, but the Mexican is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, and celebrates it. …

I was in my second grade history class, here in Southern California, when I first remember seeing the video images of men and women shotgun-hosed ruthlessly, police dogs trained to bite the nearest dark-skinned person, …

Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn is best known for his 1991 hit "Walking in Memphis." On his new CD, Cohn takes us back to 1970, the year after Woodstock, and offers his interpretations of some of the …

For 27 years I've wanted to see Meat Loaf in concert. On August 18, I was able to scratch it off my bucket list. The man many of his generation consider the best rock-and-roll singer …

During the late afternoon of September 1, in an eastern residential section of Tijuana, a woman was assaulted on her way home from work while walking down an alley. The suspect, a dark-skinned Latino male …

"All three approaches lead to concession. It is the mindset of the board to take this to concession and that is something that I am not in favor of," said San Diego cabbie Edris Wahab …

At approximately 7:00 p.m. on August 31, I arrived at the Sunset Cliffs parking lot at the end of Osprey Street to watch the sunset along with many other onlookers. At approximately 7:30, the last …

The San Diego Unified School District board met in a “Special Meeting” on Tuesday, August 31 (click to boarddocs.com/ca/sandi/Board.nsf/Public for more info). Among other items on the agenda was a discussion that touched on a …

On August 31, residents at a Valley Center home were accosted by two armed men who claimed to be law-enforcement agents. The victims, all of whom are in their 20s, complied with the perpetrators, who …

On Monday, August 30, at around 5:00 p.m., a Navy man attempted to back his jeep out of its parking spot in the 4700 block of Niagara Avenue alley. The serviceman was startled to notice …

Samuel Johnson has re-entered the workforce – and it’s taking some adjustment. Tell me about your previous work life. What did you do, for how long, and how much did you make? I’ve been a …

Here’s some great news for everyone, whether you’re female, male, or somewhere in between: this may be the first time in history that you can benefit from an increasing number of women in a workforce …

Kim Mohiuddin is a nationally certified résumé writer, president of both MovinOnUpResumes.com and Authentic Executive Careers, and Certification Chair for the National Résumé Writers’ Association. Why don’t you start by telling me exactly what you …

Early this year, a Gallup poll revealed that 70 percent of workers think they currently hold their “ideal” job. That doesn’t feel right. From the simple observation of my own community of friends, I’ve found …

Summer is a hot time for tourism at Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo, even hotter for thieves prowling the cars along Zoo Drive. From January 1 to July 31, there were 64 reports …

Don’t look now, but corporate profit margins — earnings as a percent of sales — are back to where they were before the Great Recession began three years ago. A major reason is that companies …

Membership: 1500 Pastor: Paul Cunningham Age: 43 Born: Fresno Formation: Santa Clara University, Santa Clara; Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ; Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL Years Ordained: 16 years San Diego Reader: Can you think …

An Easy Coon Solution I just want to comment on “Raccoon Wars” (Feature Story, August 26). I never saw anything sillier in all my life. I’ve been bothered by coons in the yard many times. …

In January, San Diego Magazine put Colin Rice on its “50 People to Watch in 2010” list, reporting that the loyal ex-aide and political advisor to former assemblyman and insurance-company lobbyist Juan Vargas, who narrowly …

Howard sits on a mauve recliner in the middle of his front yard, an area that he refers to as his office. He looks over a waist-high chain-link fence, on which hangs a handwritten sign …

“The new band name on this record is Shawn Rohlf and the Buskers,” says the now-titular leader of the group formerly known as the 7th Day Buskers. Rohlf founded the band in 1997, playing guitar, …

My posse-mate Lynne, queen of the food-blog scouts, discovered Sessions Public via a detailed, positive review on Chowhound, one of the most honest and sophisticated local food boards. (Oddly enough, the blogger was reporting on …

“I put in a dollar and got one song,” says Space Nature singer Matt Meyers at East Village dive the Jewel Box. Both the Hank Williams and Cramps tracks skip on the jukebox, so “The …

Top of the heap this week, The Tillman Story rehashes the shameful facts of how Pat Tillman, Jr., the Arizona Cardinal who set aside a professional football career to enlist in the Army post-9/11, had …

Tooth and Nail I always feel befuddled by how democracy works in Mexico, and Tijuana is a good example of how this type of democracy works in just about every other corner of the country. …

“Which one of you is Thomas Yearsley?” At 10:30 on a Friday night, a car parks in front of Yearsley’s recording studio on Wisconsin Street in Oceanside. The driver identifies herself as the mother of …

Patrick’s nephew is coming in for a visit, right in the middle of this heat. “Let’s do a root-beer-float party,” suggested Uncle Pat. “And let’s get some killer root beer — make it interesting for …

“I never sang a note until I was 30 and didn’t even think about a music career until my 40s,” says Ronald Hill, aka Happy Ron. Beginning with open mikes and tutorials found in books …

Thursday 2Where have all the rude boys gone? Back to school! And campus collective Ché Café has booked a weekend of winners to welcome back UCSD’s student bawdy. Tonight, the heady, socially conscious punk of …

Late August and early September: the light shifts, even in Southern California. The sunlight is almost subliminally tinted with a faint amber as if in re-creation of an old daguerreotype, lending the world a certain …

On the Lord’s own day, assemble in common to break bread and offer thanks; but first confess your sins, so that your sacrifice may be pure. However, no one quarreling with his brother may join …

Thirty-Five Years AgoIf film directors like Altman and Fellini ever run out of suitable sites for their confetti-like pageantries, they might do well by turning towards Tijuana. The rolling hills, crippled streets, lopsided architecture, high-pressure …

Dear Matt: What’s happening with the birth-control pill for men? I keep hearing about it every once in a while, but then nothing happens. Why is it so difficult to make one? It didn’t take …

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wade; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. “Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that …

Michael Jackson is in a good mood. It’s a muggy Saturday afternoon downtown, and he’s just been released from jail at Front and C Street after six months inside. “I was in for narcotics. My …

Do you remember Mike Riley, Chargers head coach from 1999 through 2001? His was a short, dismal captaincy, compiling a record of 14-34 and a .292 winning percentage. I wrote at the time: “Lashed to …

“Reggae had started to get big in San Diego and Tijuana in the 1970s and 1980s.” Adrian Cisneros, known as AK, grew up in Chula Vista listening to his mother and his uncle play reggae …

It was pretty cool to see Arcade Fire’s new album go to the top of the album charts. But let’s face it: The Suburbs went to number one with sales of fewer than 150,000. Ten …

San Dieguito Lagoon’s new “Lagoon Trail” and boardwalk now stretches 1.4 miles between Jimmy Durante Boulevard and the Albertsons shopping center just south of Via de la Valle. The new segment of trail is yet …

But let us inquire whether there really is a temple of God. There is — there where He Himself says He is building and perfecting it!... I find, therefore, that there is a temple. How, …

During this spring’s state Democratic primaries, the campaign of assembly hopeful and San Diego city councilman Ben Hueso accepted a $1000 contribution from Anthem Blue Cross, a big health insurance outfit. When the donation was …

Decision time: Eddie’s Philadelphia Steaks or Lefty’s Chicago Pizza? I’m near Upas, quarter of nine at night. Got half an hour before the next #2 bus. Oh, what the heck. I’m on Lefty’s side of …

“I think I’m stealing this line from Kathy Griffin, but we all need to find the strong black woman inside of us and set her free.” Scott Paulson offers this in response to a question …

Wayne Bamford knew more secrets about Linda Vista than anyone. It was the spring of 2007, and Bamford was helping me dig into the community’s ongoing squabbles. Two years later, in early May, I wanted …

After a month-long hiatus, I decided to hop back on my bike. I’d ridden the Bike the Bay event (39 miles, door to door), and it reminded me how much I love to bike ride …