On January 2 the first new San Diego brewery of 2016 opens its doors. Bitter Brothers Brewing Co. has been a long time coming, building out its BayHo brewhouse and tasting room since spring of …

Instead of making a list of best concerts from 2015 we’re going with a few of the best moments. The best moment of 2015 was soprano Emily Magee singing Marietta’s Lied at the San Diego …

The first Monday of the new year is shaping up to be a confrontational one for UCSD versus the University of Southern California, the possibly precedent-setting legal battle of the universities over the future of …

The first time I went to La Corriente Cevicheria Nais was around five years ago, one of the first restaurants I visited in Tijuana. Back then, the sign that says how many red snapper tostadas …

Last April, San Diego police officer Neal Browder shot and killed 42-year-old Fridoon Nehad in an alleyway. A surveillance camera captured the shooting, but district attorney Bonnie Dumanis, who decided that Browder’s use of deadly …

“About 250 guns, including shotguns — sawed-off and non-modified — a Tech 9, an AR15, assault weapons, a .380 handgun, a 9mm, a .30-06, an Uzi, small handguns, single shots, and many others were traded …

Three days after moving to a new location, Imperial Beach's IB Yoga studio found itself homeless on Christmas Eve. The studio had moved on the weekend of December 19th into the location of Clube de …

Pete Wilson's statue on politics? Shamu on SeaWorld! Bill Kolender on law enforcement! Karl Strauss on craft beer! And Jack Murphy on the stadium!

A Bother Here’s Rocco now, sprawling across the keys; whatever I may try to write, he’s there in black and white, purring, rolling on his back to bite my fingers if he disagrees, minding my …

As 2015 comes to a close, we look back at the local musicians who have passed away over the past 12 months. January 12, Garrett Smythe, aka drummer Tank Johnson of Deadbolt. February 5, Professor …

Each new year heralds the distribution of extracurricular appointments to members of the San Diego City Council, for which they have the opportunity to accrue extra money from the taxpayers, in addition to their salaries. …

“Let’s stop right here, take it all home. Then fry it all up for breakfast tomorrow. Yes?”

“Remember one thing: la city is not a utopia or a dystopia, it’s the afterparty where you hear the last call.” The words of the late Rafa Saavedra, a culture writer and champion of Tijuana …

San Diego’s coffee community has come on strong the past three years, and it did not stop growing one bit in 2015. The number of roasters producing beans countywide grew to at least 26, while …

The San Diego Chargers today (December 30) submitted its stadium subsidy plan to the National Football League. It is almost the same as the earlier plan put forward for a Mission Valley stadium. The stadium's …

“These are people who didn’t get into music for fame, money, or to sleep with beautiful women,” Brandes says. “These bands weren’t interested in cutting corners or changing their sound in order to get a record deal.”

Tecolote Canyon, featured on area maps for almost 200 years, is designated a natural park 6 miles in length, .25 to .5-mile wide, with a 2-mile tributary totaling just over 900 acres. Elevations range from …

Strip searches have been declining at the San Diego County–owned U.S. Immigration Service’s 1040-bed contract detention facility on Otay Mesa, run by Corrections Corporation of America. According to a federal audit covering fiscal year 2015, …

"New Year, new perspective,” I told Patrick. “You’ve never seen your city from above, except through some scratched-up plastic window in coach. What about a hot-air balloon? No windows, scratched or otherwise. Just a balloon, …

Founded in 1903 by health enthusiast Bernarr Macfadden, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the oldest organization in the country. Macfadden is credited with inspiring the health and fitness movement in the United States. …

One of the breakout entertainment success stories of 2015 was a one-day geek-rock festival called NerdCon. Think low-budget Comic-Con with live bands. The first-ever NerdCon, held in August at Escondido’s Center for Performing Arts, drew …

At some point, we became accustomed to framing our discussion around food choices in moral terms. It’s stupid, and we need to stop.

An all-points bulletin to the Hipster Congressional Fact Finding Committee.

When Garfield Kwan was an undergraduate student in marine biology at UC San Diego, he began to notice a trend: the internet was full of funny stuff, but science was not included. Furthermore, materials available …

I remember how she came out. I was hung over as hell. It was the last time I visited Michigan, July 2013. I’d gone out with some friends the night before. We’d consumed every drink …

Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight is being billed as the director’s eighth film. It appears as though QT, like most devoted cinephiles, has forgotten about his segment in Four Rooms. The addition brings the tally …

Back in September I remarked that “2015 may be one of the gutsiest years ever in San Diego theater. I can’t remember so many world premieres.” The final three months kept pace. Call it the …

’Tis the season for giving and receiving. No matter what your holiday is — Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Festivus — gifts are bound to be exchanged, though levels of merriment may vary. Often gifts will be …

Eleanor and Claude Thedford, owners of Epic Pest Control and Landscape Services, believe employees in San Diego’s Purchasing and Contracting Department are trying to shut down their business. The reason for the vendetta, says Eleanor …

Alas, once again Los Lobos got snubbed by the nominating committee that oversees who does and who does not enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fans have expressed indignation via social media, but …

Nailed It Neal Obermeyer, Mary, Joseph, and the NFL. Reader, you finally got it right. Merry Christmas. Name withheld via voicemail Things Were Different in ’66 Concerning Roam-O-Rama, December 24, that picture there of the …

The yearlong legal battle over the status of Chula Vista city councilman Steve Miesen, who also happens to be a top executive with the city’s trash-pickup provider, Republic Services, shows no signs of abating soon. …

On the morning of December 24, Mark Bromley, a photographer, was at Windansea Beach in La Jolla with Mark Frapwell and Derek Dunfee. Bromley had just taken the money shot of the Windansea surf shack …

Since Christmas is done we’re going to return to our Beethoven Five playlist. We’re using Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 as a loose reference point for a curated playlist. It’s something like six degrees of Beethoven’s …

On December 29, appellate court judges overturned a San Diego County Superior Court judge ruling that allowed a late claim to be filed by a woman who was allegedly groped by former mayor Bob Filner …

John Lennon's guitar found in San Diego Julien’s Auction House in Beverly Hills calls it “one of biggest finds in music history.” Intravaia and McCaw found video of Lennon playing the guitar and noted several …

The two cities of Buda and Pest once stared each other down with nothing but the Danube separating them. But in 1873, they merged to form Budapest after the Chain Bridge opened as the first …

12/25 — HP was called to a vessel adrift near the main shipping channel by the A-3 Anchorage (Laurel Street). HP responded and located the small sailboat that had broken away from its mooring ball …

Sunday's passing at 92 of Ellsworth Kelly, noted in the New York Times as "one of America’s great 20th-century abstract artists," has gone unheralded in San Diego, though he was once a household name here, …

San Diego Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani — now one of San Diego's most controversial persons — has purchased a condo unit at 60 East 8th Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The price for his unit, 18J, …

Most coastal North County residents probably don’t know a piece of World War II history rests on a hilltop in Leucadia. But the residents of the Skyloft condominiums, east of I-5, do. A question to …

Inshore: Rockfish continue to dominate the local catch as is usual for this time of year. Bonito are biting well on the surface just off the kelp edges and the calico bass are turning on …

With the New Year coming I feel as though it's time to take an intellectual inventory. The inventory reveals that I’m in need of some new ideas. The one’s I have right now are solid …

The year 2015 has seen more than 20 new breweries open in San Diego. While it seems unlikely they'll crop up at such an unprecedented rate in 2016, these 8 new breweries plan to open …

Wednesday 30 Gilbert Castellanos begins his double-shift evening at Panama 66 (1450 El Prado) by hosting the Young Lions Series at 6 p.m. At 8:30, he leads the jam session until 11:30 p.m. All-ages, no …

Barber-slash-slasher gets ten years in jail Vaughn didn't know the barber, Daniel Roberto Flores, who was the only other person in the shop. When Flores insisted on trimming Vaughn's beard with a straight razor, the …

After admitting that the music “sucked” on his own radio station, Dave Rickards, anchor for the Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw morning show, announced in a pre-recorded statement Saturday morning that his station, long-known as Jack-FM, …

On December 24, superior-court judge Katherine Bacal ruled that the City of San Diego violated the city's own site development permit while going about the construction of a state-of-the-art lifeguard tower in South Mission Beach. …

When I'm in New York, I eat a lot. I eat everything I can get my hands on. I don't leave without seeking out great pastrami, some kind of smoked fish, and a bagel. You …

Repairs to the riprap rock protecting part of Cardiff State Beach’s parking lot came just in time. The project quickly went from planned maintenance to an emergency repair. After applying for California Coastal Commission permits, …

A 17-year-old identified as Adal Mundo Rodríguez was videoed abusing a homeless man, making him repeat different humiliating phrases in the Otay region of Tijuana, on December 20th. The teenager holds what seems to be …

Ballast Point sold for $1B The B in billion makes anything world news, and Ballast Point's billion-dollar sale to big beer in November didn't just get its name in financial papers — TV networks even …

Authorities in Santee are looking to the public for help in identifying a suspect accused of using a "skimmer" device to steal debit card information from patrons of a local bank. On the afternoon of …

The efforts of about 130 bird-watchers last weekend resulted in one of the most diverse species observations on record. According to the San Diego Audubon Society, 35 teams of volunteers spread across a 15-mile-wide circle …

Two days before learning they would join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2016, Cheap Trick brought their classic power pop to the Belly Up. The band opened the show with the …

Women Think That Men Are Hairy Women Who cares if the hunter leaves home hungry? I was about to participate in a seminar where women spend two days learning about men. I mentioned my upcoming …

Hershey Felder, dubbed by critics as a “one-man cottage industry,” tackles his latest subject, Irving Berlin, with the same mix of music and lyrical historical storytelling audiences familiar with his representations of George Gershwin and …

Sheriff's deputies and San Diego police officers raided the office of One Source Realty in Imperial Beach on the morning of December 21st. The raid added to the recent troubles of well-known local property managers …

Mark Fabiani, who feasts off celebrities in trouble, is now representing Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, whom Forbes estimates is worth $25 billion, the 15th richest plutocrat in the United States. Through a front …

The star of this year's Christmas pardons by governor Jerry Brown may be Hollywood's Robert Downey, Jr., but some long-ago jailed drug offenders and a manslaughter convict of San Diego's justice system are also among …

The last time I went to McD's was in 2010 at LAX, one of the worst airports at which to eat. That day, I strayed from the burgers and got nuggets and a McFlurry. I …

As of November, as reported by the Reader, boardmembers for the San Diego Tourism Marketing District have spent more than $2.1 million on outside attorneys trying to get a lawsuit dismissed. Attorney Cory Briggs for …

Among the many new projects pending for Liberty Station's north end arts district is a multipurpose store from design and fabrication brand Moniker Group. The 5400-square-foot indoor/outdoor Moniker General will combine a modular retail concept …

Baja California's scenic toll road between Tijuana and Ensenada is at risk of another major collapse similar to or worse than one that occurred on December 28, 2013, a scientific expert has warned. Luis Alberto …

Jocose journeymen offer counsel.

This week, Nathan Williams’s Ghost Ramp Records is launching a monthly subscription service featuring exclusive vinyl releases, starting with a Wavves/Best Coast 7-inch, a Wavves/Cloud Nothings 7-inch, and a Sweet Valley 12-inch, with more to …

Weatherbox founder Brian Warren explains why his fans would appreciate Entertainment Law, one of the three bands opening for him Sunday at the Ché Café. “They have three ex-Boxists.” There are three ex-members of Weatherbox, …

“Name’s Ken,” says the guy on the right. “As in ‘Ken, still looking for Barbie.’"

Fans of the Black Heart Procession or anything that hometown singer/guitarist/composer/producer Pall Jenkins has ever done will love Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects. Their story begins in the 1950s when a failed stuntman named …

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department wants to join the bicycle age in high-priced style, with an order for six “high quality fully assembled police patrol bicycles with lighting systems, gear bag rack, gear bag …

Past San Diego shows that turned serious as a coronary.

Clairemont Lutheran Church Membership: 800 Pastor: Jonathan Doolittle Age: 50 Born: Columbus, OH Formation: Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH; Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, IL Years Ordained: 21 San Diego Reader: How long do you …

I clamber out of bed, make for the kitchen and coffee. While passing through the living room a thought arises, “There’s too much Apple dreck in my life.” I have a second-generation iTouch with a …

The Santa Margarita River Trails are managed by the newly merged Live Oak Coalition and the Fallbrook Trails Council. Through an agreement with the Fallbrook Public Utility District, which owns the property, the nonprofit group …

Joe Garrison is a musical survivalist. The 64-year-old jazz and new music composer has shaped his artistic life to favor more beginnings than ends. Like his hero, Igor Stravinsky, he’s learned that to reinvent himself …

No sooner was it announced that 100 theaters across America would be screening Ultra Panavision 70mm prints of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight than images of a big hulking thingamajig from another era, lying dormant …

David Lowery’s dueling musical outfits, Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, are in town to play their annual year-end concert at Belly Up on Sunday. The decade-long tradition, however, features a twist this year. Lowery tells …

Current Owner: Geranium Limited | Beds: 8 | Baths: 9 | List Price: $12,500,000 This edition’s “spectacular custom estate” is “located in The Shores, a highly desired La Jolla neighborhood” less than a quarter-mile from …

Maybe the multiple breakfast beers deserve some credit, but when I arrive at the third annual San Diego Zine Fest at Bread & Salt community center on an early October afternoon, the place feels brimming …

A biologist from China and graduate student at Scripps Institute during World War II, C.K. Tseng was the institute’s first scientific diver. In 1944 he used Japanese equipment, which pumped air to him from the …

The Sess was burnt out when they disbanded in 2008. However, they’re feeling inspired again while rehearsing for their reunion show at Soda Bar on New Year’s Eve. Soda Bar talent-buyer Cory Stier said it …

Native Scene The beasts of Jerusalem will murder him, but in the meantime the beasts of Bethlehem warm him with their breath. — Giovanni Papini Nights are still cold on the starry hillside; Dew still …

"The weakest recovery in history will not become the longest in history.” Thus speaks Kelly Cunningham, economist for the National University System Institute for Policy Research. From late 2007 to early 2009, the United States …

One-Sided and Prejudiced I am an American who is a Roman by blood and a Roman Catholic by religion. Your one-sided and prejudiced statement about Charles Chiniquy does you no credit. In fact, you have …

An ex–Kevin Faulconer assistant, whose most recent gig for the Republican San Diego mayor was as a member of his ill-starred Citizens’ Stadium Advisory Group, has bagged a mayoral appointment to the board of the …

San Diego's somewhat rich and famous were all over the map when it came to presidential campaign giving this year, judging from recent financial disclosure filings, though Donald Trump did not place among the favorites. …

A group of South Park residents, who objected to a proposed development in the 28th Street canyon two years ago, have initiated fundraising efforts in hopes of purchasing the property. The Protect 28th Street Canyon …

I never had a problem with the beef sandwiches at the BBQ House. I sure ate enough of them when I lived in Ocean Beach. Weekly visits earned me Regular status, greeted like a champ …

A wave of armed robberies has swept across Tijuana in the past year, claiming the lives of six small-businesses owners and forcing many neighborhood shops to install security bars through which transactions with customers are …

We haven’t had an “esoteric pick of the week” for a while so let’s take a look at a seasonal piece. The Gloria has a long and complicated history concerning its inclusion in the Catholic …

A 25-year-old security guard who captured his interaction with a "loose cannon" undercover sheriff's deputy on film last May pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon (December 21) to charges of assaulting an officer. After a traffic …

Paul Moore IV was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday (December 21) for running a Ponzi scheme that was brazen even by San Diego standards. According to federal court documents, Moore told investors that …

Maine lobster in North Park Pete’s Seafood and Sandwich brings the crustacean. The lobster roll had good-sized pieces of knuckle and claw meat from a Maine lobster, served chilled on a griddled New England style, …

If all goes as planned, a cell-phone tower, disguised as a eucalyptus tree, and a 20-foot-by-9-foot concrete enclosure will be placed less than 10 feet from a sidewalk and approximately 300 feet from the nearest …

For the moment at least, another brewery has joined the craft-beer ranks of Santee. Thr3e Punk Ales debuted December 12th at the New Kids fest, an event dedicated to San Diego's newest breweries. Thr3e Punk …

12/14 — Lifeguards respond to an injured surfer at tide-pools in Point Loma. Fires, Medics, and SDPD also respond. Medics transport to Scripps La Jolla. — Lifeguards respond to medical aid behind PB restrooms. Fire …

It was a beautiful fall day in late November. In between weather fronts, warm with little or no breeze and a small swell. The ocean water temperature was unseasonably warm at 64-66 in the kelp …

It’s Friday night at Baja Calypso and there’s a calm but buzzing energy in the restaurant, and a soft glow from the Moroccan lanterns hanging from the ceiling and candles perched in tabletop wine bottles. …

As part of a plea deal last week in San Diego’s North County Superior Court, David Diaz admitted killing a young man who had rented a room in his Carlsbad home two years ago. On …

If you've never been to South Oceanside — and I'd wager most haven't — you probably don't imagine you're missing much. Lately, you'd be wrong. Urge Gastropub's on the verge of opening a spacious 42-tap …

Saturday (December 19) at about 1:00 p.m. a thief walked out of Pitbull Audio with a tabletop controller used to record music. The theft occurred at 300 West 28th Street in National City. On December …

About two dozen protesters gathered outside the entrance gates to SeaWorld in Mission Bay on Sunday morning (December 20), continuing a years-long campaign that's evolved to target not just the theme park's orca shows but …

San Diego real estate baron, car dealer, and banker Roque (Rocky) De La Fuente, who is running for president of the United States, has become the first person in modern history to submit enough signatures …

One of San Diego's hardest to come by beers is Duck Duck Gooze. The Lost Abbey gueuze is a blend of old and young barrel-aged wild ales that only releases in small quantities every three …

Monday 21 Guitarist Bob Boss leads a quartet with Gilbert Castellanos on trumpet, Duncan Moore on drums, and Marshall Hawkins on bass at the North Coast Repertory Theater (987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive), Suite D, …

A tad late with the trend of cooking everything with bacon, Sweet Bacon opened its doors a couple of months ago in downtown Tijuana. They are located on the main road (Revolución) between 6th and …

Inshore: Rockfish continue to dominate the local catch as is usual for this time of year. The past two weather systems seem to have quieted the bite for the pelagic species, though a few bonito …

On December 16, residents gathered a second time to review a proposed development on Third Avenue and K Street in downtown Chula Vista. Although city staff provided pastries and coffee, the mood of the crowd …

My Highschool Days With Lester Bangs When Lester Bangs moved to Detroit to join the staff of Creem magazine, we kept in touch with letters and phone calls that came less and less often. The …

Last week, former Border Patrol agent Armando Gonzalez was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for planting a hidden camera in the women’s restroom at a Chula Vista Border Patrol facility. The camera, which …

I don’t often suffer from hangovers — as a pro, I know how to pace myself. But every once in a while a night gets away from me, and I imbibe more booze than water, …

St. Louis's aldermen voted yesterday (December 18) by 17-10 to build a billion-dollar-plus stadium to keep the Rams in the city. But the football team's owner, Stan Kroenke, has never shown any interest in keeping …

The Reader Local Music Playlist [www.sandiegoreader.com/songs/] currently features 1160 playable MP3s, including these recently streamed tracks. Dornob, “Zangula”: The Persian avant gardists, extant since 1985, jump right into the deep end of the Enigma pool …

Bear Roots Brewing Co. officially joined the ranks of Vista breweries with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, December 18. The one-barrel nanobrewery actually soft-opened through November, releasing a few batches of beer to share with …

It's time again for the holidays, when the state's giant corporate special interests ante up to cover the cost of turkeys distributed by elected officials to their impoverished constituents. As previously reported, San Diego mayor …

Local water-quality activists are protesting what they say is a weakening of pollution controls on water runoff in storm drains by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. Last month, the board added a …

I recall back in the mid-'90s, some Bay Area transplants I knew assured me the arrival of fast casual sandwich chain Togo's, expanding into southern California at the time, was going to change the way …

Three-time World Series champion Tim Flannery’s newest album, Three Ring Circus, is his best. His all-star band the Lunatic Fringe, featuring Douglas Pettibone, Dennis Caplinger, and Dean Smith, helps Flannery come into his own on …

Considering that his band’s set list included songs with titles like “Marijuana” and “Bales of Cocaine,” you’d think that Jim Heath would have had some pretty crazy stories of debauchery on the road to share …

Last week, the van that Border Psycho brewery uses to transport kegs to their tap room and other bars was stolen with beer inside. The reward offered by the brewery for information that leads to …

Anyone who has watched an NFL game this season has seen a "Football is Family" ad extolling the ways that pro football and pro football fandom can help bring people together, solve problems, provide comfort, …

San Diego County's unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 percent in November, according to the state's Employment Development Department. That rate was down from a revised 5 percent in October and 6 percent a year earlier. …

It is December 1942. BJ Gibson, a youthful guy with a killer smile and a beautiful voice, is in love with a singer but soon must go off to war. Walton Jones’s 1940s Radio Hour …

Inmates in San Diego County jails will soon be allowed to receive letters, books, and magazines, according to a settlement reached on November 18. The county will be required to return to the former policy …

As the Reader reported on December 14, gas prices in San Diego County reached a five-month low — $2.31/gallon at an Escondido station. But prices are turning upward. At around 3:00 p.m. on December 17, …

Whose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queerTo stop …

While some local radio stations celebrate the holidays with non-stop Christmas music, hosts on the morning show of Channel 8’s sister station KFMB (AM 760) had their own take on providing yuletide cheer. KFMB’s Armstrong …

Houston Texans owner Bob McNair made substantial waves in San Diego this week by blasting the mayor and city council's failure to come up with a sufficiently gold-plated stadium proposal to keep the Chargers in …

The corner lot on Clairemont Drive and Balboa Avenue was covered in graffiti again on December 4. It wasn't the first time Stephanie Pfaff of Bay Park had seen the vacant buildings behind the chain-link …

I’m not sure why I never made it into Aladdin before now. I walk by it at least once a week on my way to Trader Joe’s in Hillcrest, so it’s not like I didn’t …

On December 9, the Palomar Card Club was named as one of many illegal gambling operations that had laundered a total of approximately $10 million in proceeds. Two days later, on December 11, the club …

At 8:52 P.M. on July 11th, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug kingpin known as El Chapo, sat on the bed of his cell in Altiplano, Mexico’s only super-maximum-security prison. Surveillance footage appears to show a …

One of the unique gems of the North Park music scene has gone dark. The stage in the back room of Seven Grand is no more. “I felt our music program was amazing, but we …

An already well-traveled executive at the San Diego city employees’ retirement system has been on the road again, taking another trip to New York City courtesy of a well-heeled investment fund. The free trip is …

The Virgin Mother! whose virgin bosom was uncrost With the least shade of thought to sin allied. Woman! above all women glorified, Our tainted nature’s solitary boast; Purer than foam on central ocean tost; Brighter …

The classic Vieux Carre oozes with the decadence of a New Orleans cathouse even as its name invokes the baroque sophistication of the cast iron rail- and grillwork that entwines the French Quarter. Named for …

Bill Cosby on Monday (December 14) filed a countersuit in federal court in Massachusetts, claiming that seven women who have accused him of drugging and sexually exploiting them are guilty of "malicious, opportunistic, and false …

“It’s fresh, not processed, and have you ever seen a fat Japanese guy? Except for sumo wrestlers?”

Wayne Hancock. His nickname is “the Train,” and his act is what remains of honky-tonk, a scarce form of entertainment these days. In truth, honky-tonk defines a type of venue and an era more than …

Normal Heights coffee roaster Dark Horse will soon become a Golden Hill coffee roaster. Following more than a year of planning and construction, the company soft-opened its new retail shop on 25th Street just before …

Scott Weiland’s recent death may increase sales of his records, but fans may want to hold off on honoring his musical memory by starting a tribute band. “There are a dozen Stone Temple Pilot tribute …

Is the fix in for choosing a future operator of San Diego’s putative new taxpayer-funded film commission? So worries an unidentified respondent to the city’s October 29 “request for ideas” regarding setting up a new …

Wilson Trail and Peak were named for the rancher, Alfred Wilson, who ran cattle in this area in the first half of the 20th Century. The Wilson Trail goes southeast along Pinyon Ridge for several …

“I wrapped one with the Sunday comics, one in an old map, one in a beautiful silk scarf...”

In Youth, Rachel Weisz plays Lena, the long-suffering daughter of famous composer Fred Ballinger. She had a rough time of it as a kid, what with Dad always paying attention to the Muse and all, …

San Diego’s controversial but well-connected Ace Parking has been around since 1950, making it one of the city’s most well-entrenched special interests. As is the case with the Evans hotel family, another influential local dynasty, …

Charles Dickens wrote at top speed, in part because of gifts that didn’t seem so at the time. In his youth, he was a court stenographer. He learned the intricate Gurney system of shorthand in …

A three-foot rise in sea level would displace an estimated 480,000 people in San Diego.

“If you think you’re done, Buster, think again,” he said to the machine as if it could understand him. “I’m just going to keep running you until that floor is clean.”

Dear Hipster: I almost always have a really hard time buying gifts for people. Birthdays are tough enough, but this time of year is all but impossible, seeing as how there are so many people …

Determined in court by cold legal principles.

Following years of planning and nearly two hours' worth of public comment on December 15, San Diego's city council voted unanimously (8-0, with councilmember Scott Sherman not attending) to approve a final climate action plan …

The obvious item on the how-to-get-gigs list would be: make good music. That became clear to Grizzly Business when they put out the catchy pop tune “Rich Girls” in February. “After it came out we …

When Luis Montijo came upon downtown Tijuana’s Pasaje Rodriguez, the arts and culture alleyway was losing steam. “It wasn’t really going anywhere,” the 32-year-old Tijuana native recalls of his 2013 visit from Mexico City, where …

No Mainstream Media Here Re: “Angel’s No Angel” (December 10 cover story) Finally, you guys are describing a military automatic assault rifle — the ones that the mainstream media keep thinking that the public can …

When he attended Poway High in the late ’90s, music didn’t mean that much to Sam Morgan. For starters, he was raised in a conservative Christian household that didn’t permit rock music indoors. And even …

It seemed that God was far away, but He was very near. Suddenly the thought entered my mind: “You have your Gospel; read it, and you will find the light.” On my knees, and with …

On December 11, Jeffory Fry filed a suit in federal court, claiming members of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department kicked, punched, and stomped on him, causing a trip to the hospital, because he was …

Five years ago this past May, congressional Democrat Susan Davis, then known for being one of the most frequent junketers in the House, took off with her husband Steve on a weeklong mission costing $21,327 …

The long-closed Coco's restaurant at 2644 El Cajon Boulevard in University Heights is finally scheduled for demolition. The site will become a Starbucks coffee shop. Realtor Mike Clark with Cushman & Wakefield said they “had …

A post by Gustavo Dudamel started running around Facebook on Tuesday morning. Back in October John Williams contacted Dudamel and asked him to conduct the opening and closing credits of the upcoming Star Wars: The …

The California Public Utilities Commission today (December 15) delivered a surprising victory for the rooftop solar industry, slapping down utilities that wanted to slash rates at which solar customers are compensated for electricity they generate. …

Today, December 15, the city was set to begin removing three Coronado eucalyptus trees, longtime residents of Spreckels Park. An assessment by the city’s arborist found the sweet-scented trees, which are similar in size and …

Tijuana is a city that loves its delivery food. Hundreds of motorcycles with all sorts of food zoom down the streets day and night. One morning I woke up to find out my roommate had …

San Diego's singles scene is 41st out of 150 American cities, according to WalletHub, a company that compiles statistics on cities, metro areas, and states. (This study only relates to cities, not metro areas.) Half …

Before first light, in the early-morning low-40s temperature, over 200 fishermen hit the opening day of trout season at Escondido’s Lake Wohlford. The December 12 opener was preceded a few days earlier with a 6000-pound …

Rio Verde is a small Ecuadorean puebla in the center of the country. Nestled between two tunnels on a mountainous road, the one and only entrance can be easily missed. Fortunately there are signs and …

It was a cool, maybe even cold morning by San Diego standards, as some volunteers began to arrive just before sunrise at the Miramar National Cemetery on Saturday, December 12. Their purpose was to support …

United States supervisory Border Patrol agent Armando Gonzalez was sentenced today (December 14) to 21 months in prison for secreting a camera in a women's restroom to capture images. The camera had been placed in …

“Now serving Pacific on Tap” was the slogan of the day December 14, when the San Diego County Water Authority announced the full operation of the largest desalination plant in the Western hemisphere. In actuality, …

For beer week this year, Karl Strauss and Monkey Paw bottle released a long-brewing collaboration under the French name Deux Amis (Two Friends). Monkey Paw's contribution, a three year Bourdeaux barrel-aged strong ale, was blended …

12/6 While on patrol vessel Guardian noticed a stolen dingy attached to recent impound released vessel. Owner of dingy states he wishes to press charges. Marine III with 124 John take 2 persons into custody …

I was headed down to the craft fair at the end of Newport Avenue in O.B. on Saturday, December 12, at around 2:30 p.m., hoping to get a little Christmas shopping done. Instead, I came …

Delia Knight’s Disappearing Act centers around Alex, a Marine struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. As he encounters the realities of war, each time he returns on leave, he and his loved ones must try to …

Brahms once again proved to be the go-to composer for Maestro Ling and the San Diego Symphony. I can’t think of another composer whose music has been so consistently excellent within the confines of the …

The sign looks new: IB Street Tacos. Now Open. It’s been slung up on a banner above the street frontage. Always suspicious when a place says it has “street tacos.” Means it’s actually middle class, …

As of 5:00 p.m. on December 12, the U.S. Gas station at 445 West 5th Avenue, at the corner of Centre City Parkway in Escondido, sold the lowest-priced regular gas in San Diego County. In …

Tomorrow, December 15, attorneys for the City of San Diego will update councilmembers and the mayor on one of four unresolved legal cases stemming from former mayor Bob Filner's sexual harassment scandal. The case to …

San Diego–based NuVasive, maker of spinal surgery devices, revealed Thursday that it has selected a site in West Carrollton, Ohio, in the Dayton area, for a manufacturing facility. NuVasive will move almost 100 jobs from …

Inshore: Rockfish continue to dominate the local catch on bumpy seas. Not a lot of folks venturing out, but those ½ day and ¾ day boats that do are finding good action on the bottom …

If I'd Been Born a Woman “Don’t be such a girl.” I hear the boys taunt each other at the playground near my house. “Don’t be such a girl.” Nothing could be worse. Most men …

Wednesday 16The Purity of Essence Jazz Trio featuring Ed Kornhauser, Mackenzie Leighton, and Isaac Crow play original music at the Studio Door (3760 30th Street) at 7 p.m. for a $5 cover. Thursday 17 Fresh …

Any time I find myself in Bay Park during business hours, I wind up wandering into Siesel’s Meats. The place is basically a high-end butcher shop with a gourmet market and full-service deli built around …

EyeCandy, a nude dancing establishment, opened in Chula Vista in October 2012. Seven Mile Casino, a gambling establishment, opened on the same street as EyeCandy in August 2015. EyeCandy is gone for good, and Seven …

“Whoa, they have the Link Amiibo. I can’t find them anywhere in L.A. I’m getting one for my lil’ brother.” I was touring my friend Gabe through Tijuana when he got excited and we stopped …

Circle Circle dot dot’s “LGBTQ+ On-Campus” was a site-specific examination of queer life at San Diego State University. In collaboration with the university’s Pride Center, this performance was a two-hour rotating installation project inspired by …

The intrigue surrounding the saga of UCSD Health's departed top man Paul Viviano continues, with a lengthening search underway to fill the vacancy, and approval by U.C. regents of a $516,000 interim appointment. As previously …

Time for the depressed Disneyland-dad at Christmas when his ex has the kids playlist — also known as "a brief contemplation on the mysteries of solitude at Christmas playlist." We’ve got Es Ist Ein Ros …

Imperial Beach residents celebrated the completion of an alley-paving project at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 9. About 40 residents and government officials attended the nighttime ceremony in an alley off 12th Street and Ebony …

More than a dozen Baja and southern California bands came together atop a parking garage for Rumble Fest Tijuana. The second edition of the DIY-defined event offered a location that’s also the best view in …

When I moved to Vista in the 1980s, there was a barbecue place located in a run-down shack on S. Santa Fe Avenue which served great food, but the venue took some getting used to. …

On Tuesday, December 15, the San Diego City Council is expected to finalize payment of $1 million to two property owners in San Diego's San Carlos neighborhood for flood damage resulting from a backed-up storm …

They’re missing Peter Hook. Without his bass leading the charge or waiting to, everyone lays back. Cool lapsing into cold. Heatless — but seamless — groove slipping between disco, disco with electronica synth touches, razor-chop …

El Cajon's efforts to combat public drunkenness include a "Do Not Sell Alcohol List.” The lists — with names and photos of what authorities refer to as "serial inebriates" or "habitual drunkards" — have been …

The La Mesa City Council on December 8 unanimously approved the first reading of two ordinances banning medical marijuana cultivation, deliveries, and mobile dispensaries. One ordinance includes a misdemeanor penalty for dispensing and delivery. In …

Banned for ninety-five years in the United States until 2007, absinthe has garnered almost a century’s worth of mystique as a drink responsible for festive delusions. But such mystique is no match for the knowledge …

The city's latest taproom-slash–bottle shop is in Bay Park. The Poseidon Project opened Thanksgiving week, transforming a onetime spin studio into a stylish eight-tap bar with a curated assortment of bottles and cans. The packaged …

On Wednesday afternoon (December 8), Jill Marr of Clairemont was getting groceries at the Smart & Final on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard with her houseguest from Atlanta, Stacy Allen. Marr said on December 9, "We were …

Pacific Beach resident Nate Nicholson is ticked at McDonald’s. On December 10, he was protesting out in front of the restaurant at 1121 Garnet Avenue, to the honking approval of several passersby. After returning to …

HANGING OUT AT THE DOCKS, GAZING WISTFULLY OUT TO SEA, EMBARCADERO — “Business is funny,” says Bumblebee Tuna Chief Operating Officer Royal Jelly. “Sometimes, you think you have everything in place to make a huge …

Don’t expect to hear Justin Beiber or Kelly Clarkson any more on Jack FM. And whoever that is who squawks “It’s all about the bass (no treble),” has also been jettisoned off the 100.7 airwaves. …

When whole-animal butcher shop Heart & Trotter opened last spring, I was impressed with its quality selection of meats, sausages, and eggs. I didn’t know then that they had a plan to make sandwiches. They …

On November 24, the Clairemont Community Planning Group voted to change Clairemont Drive between Balboa Avenue and Clairemont Mesa Boulevard from two lanes into one to accommodate a bicycle lane. The deputy city engineer, Brian …

Conductor John Mauceri just wrote an excellent piece in the Huffington Post which explores some of the themes we’ve touched upon here in this column/blog. A few of those themes are sports versus classical music, …

Eight years after a landslide in the Mt. Soledad area destroyed nine homes and damaged dozens of others, the city is replacing a storm drain that stopped a third of the way down the steep, …

To hear it from Bill Richardson — aka crooner Jose Sinatra — his destiny was decided by a chance highway encounter. “The Beatles passed my family in a limo as we were returning to San …

Ex-Democratic city councilman Tony Young continues to grow his lucrative city hall lobbying business. Already flush with a bevy of well-heeled clients, including SDG&E, shopping-mall developer Westfield Corporation, and San Francisco’s Zirx, a start-up specializing …

When the Reader ran a story on October 22 about a death at a Burning Man event on Palomar Mountain, many readers reacted negatively over news accounts of deaths at EDM events. Alma Rodriguez was …

Good to have nice, big eggs with floods of bright yellow yolk.

It’s been a busy three months for Brian Karscig and his brainchild, the Nervous Wreckords. In that short time span, his band performed at the KAABOO festival, he joined friends the Killers at their North …

Something pure and holy about downtown’s streets.

The White Buffalo and Jake Smith are one. It’s not an alter ego so much as a nickname that stuck. When he calls the Reader from his home in Los Angeles, I ask him about …

Hike the transition from high to low desert on this historic cattleman’s trail.

Last April I wrote a column about taking up the game of golf. My previous golfing experience occurred many frog lives ago, having to do with a road trip, two women, two guys, the usual …

Among the endemic peoples in Southern California were the Mohavae, Yuma, Kamia, Diegueño, Miwok, and Chumash. These early settlers of the region had access to wild vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Wildlife was abundant, and they …

The Internal Revenue Service is on fire! Red-and-blue emergency flashers scat about the structure, but this is a fire that will never, ever be put out. “As you can see,” Nick Pecoraro offers, “the firemen …

Once upon a time, a guy named Tony L. headed up the film department at Chicago’s Columbia College, an institution of higher learning where I would spend 11 years of my life teaching. I thought …

Confident in their hairiness and hairlessness.

On November 19th, Second District councilwoman Lorie Zapf presented a city-council proclamation celebrating the 100th anniversary of Sunset Cliffs. On this anniversary, many San Diegans and visitors are not able to access Sunset Cliffs Natural …

“The inequity here is that a civilian goes to jail and is presumed guilty, whereas an officer is given a leave with pay.”

With the departure of the Chargers for Los Angeles looking likelier than ever, according to many accounts, do rowdy fans pose a real danger to what could be the team’s last days in Mission Valley? …

San Diego Museum of Art’s Art of Music exhibit welcomes visitors with a giant ceramic auricle and protruding ear trumpet that, upon detecting the voices of passersby, proceeds to emit Beethoven’s “Grosse Fuge.” It’s a …

Current Owner: El Secreto LLC (William & Kathryn Scripps) Bedrooms: 8 Baths: 13 Price: $23,000,000 Welcome to “The Secret Ranch,” a 12-acre estate with more than 12,400 square feet of living space under roof located …

Bodiless You leave your signature like the atom whose footprint is its only proof, the pencil’s sharp point indenting the paper next to my poems’ lines. With what voice you have uncovered my concealed intentions, …

What do Stewardess bassist Grant Reinero, Vinyl Junkies record-swap founder Eric Howarth, No Knife’s Brian Desjean and Mitch Wilson, Rebecca and Demetrius Antuna from art-metal band Kata, and Ghetto Blaster guitarist John Cota have in …

Blame the Astrodome for the Chargers’ supposed stadium crisis.

The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market has the freedom to test new markets for fish that most high-volume wholesalers are unwilling to consider. For example, this monchong (aka pomfret), which was line-caught off San Diego’s deep …

Gayla Peevey can’t avoid hippos, even if she wanted to. “People assume I collect them, so they give them to me,” she tells me from her home near Mt. Helix. “I have figurines and a …

Puzzled Fourteen people were just slaughtered in San Bernardino, and Barbarella writes a fucking column about a puzzle room (Diary of a Diva: “A Room with a Clue,” December 3). Are you kidding me? Michael …

Dec. 8, 2015 Overnight TV news reports that high surf has broken railings on the O.B. Pier and the pier is closed. The Point Loma buoy is at 7+ feet at 14 seconds at 7 …

I’m feeling like the best way to experience Handel’s Messiah is at a sing-along. My kids (ages 11 and 8) and I went to the Greater San Diego Music Coterie Chamber Orchestra and Chorus sing-along …

Anyone who's spotted AleSmith-Mikkeller beers on tap around town within the past week already knows what was made official today: Danish rock-star brewer Mikkel Borg Bjergsø is making beer in Miramar. One day after Stone …

To buy or not to buy. That was the question still pursuing Eli Broad as he issued a denial of media mogul Rupert Murdoch's tweet that Broad wants to take over the L.A. Times, and …

The Check 'n Go store at 2509 El Cajon Boulevard in North Park has closed down. Activist Omar Passons, former president of North Park Community Association, welcomed the exit, saying, “I think it is a …

When I heard that Roppongi in La Jolla was closing down after 17 years, I wasn’t surprised. Owner Sami Ladeki said the restaurant’s closure was due to changing neighborhood tastes. I always liked Roppongi and …

A group of local fishermen and others in the food industry gathered downtown on Monday afternoon (December 7) to celebrate the passage of a new state law aimed at helping establish dockside fish markets in …

Newport Avenue is the most important commercial corridor in Ocean Beach. The avenue’s historic buildings, bars, eateries, and antique shops rate high on the funk scale, drawing people from all over San Diego and beyond. …

11/25 — Harbor Police responded to disturbance call in a north SD Bay anchorage. The disturbance was caused by a domestic violence incident. — Harbor Police responded to a sailboat near Shelter Island that was …

With the fate of the Union-Tribune still very much in limbo, Malin Burnham, who once aspired to take over the newspaper, and Irwin Jacobs, his longtime political comrade in-arms, have hatched yet another scheme. The …

Imperial Beach lost one of its celebrated locals last month — Kermit Brown, known as the "Wagon Man" for the advertising-covered Conestoga wagons he used to pull around the beach town with his motorized wheelchair. …

Earlier this month, San Diego County Department of Health and Human Services reported that, for the third straight year, sexually transmitted disease rates had seen double-digit increases. "Gonorrhea is up 16%,” says Department spokesperson Peter …

Undercover sheriff deputies in Vista found plenty of liquor-store clerks willing to sell booze to "obviously intoxicated" patrons, according to the results of a sting on Saturday afternoon (December 5). "An undercover deputy entered a …

The Internet wants to feed you. A bunch of tech companies are advertising convenience in an effort to make their way into the food chain, most of them by marketing restaurant-delivery services to lazy home …

In September at San Diego State University, campus police responded to a report of an alleged threat of physical violence made by students toward a university employee. Captain Joshua Mays of the (SDSU) department of …

A gentle snow falls at dusk in a pristine Finnish forest. The long arctic night is descending near the winter solstice and a solitary figure wanders the wood, lost in the trees. And so the …

San Dieguito Union High School District will no longer charge registration fees to adults looking to learn English as a second language, says associate superintendent Eric Dill. The district's decision to stop charging the $40 …

After more than 60 years in business, the Vogue Theater in Chula Vista closed its doors in July 2006 — and people have been waiting for it to reopen ever since. The single-screen theater opened …

Inshore: Fishing inside and off the kelp edges has produced a few bass, sheephead, and lots of sculpin. The sculpin, however, are to be released by boat-based anglers (since September 1) and are expected to …

In late November, Nola — one of the last Northern white rhinos in existence — was euthanized at the San Diego Zoo after doctors proved unable to contain an infection stemming from an abscess in …

Tuesday 8 The Bad Plus adds saxophonist Joshua Redman for a show at the Music Box (formerly known as Anthology) in Little Italy (1337 India Street) at 8:00 p.m. Tickets range from $25 to $50 …

Goldlink was establishing himself as a thoroughbred in the Tumblr generation when he became a 2015 XXL Freshmen. With one previous release under his belt, the 22-year-old dance-rap artist has made a name for himself …

The Office’s undercover series attacked the Clash on the chilly last night of November. The hologram of Joe Strummer was unavailable this evening, so a variety of local singers took on the role of the …

Two San Diego–based tuna companies, Bumble Bee Foods and Chicken of the Sea (which is owned by a Thailand firm, Thai Union Group), abandoned plans to merge after the Department of Justice said the merger …

Smugglersville “The cops mess with us. The thieves mess with us. Everybody messes with us.” I was hobbling back from the store with a liter of milk, when I saw three young men sitting on …

As of November 30, the San Diego City Council has approved the Municipal Water District’s plan to raise water rates 41 percent over the next five years. “If we don’t raise rates,” says City Council …

At a December 2 Del Cerro Action Council meeting, a representative of a real estate developer said traffic wouldn’t increase much after the construction of 26 homes on a 5.6-acre site off College Avenue. ColRich …

On December 3, San Diego residents Jerry Black, along with his passenger Larry Gallego, crashed in Black’s Piper Mirage airplane into a field at Mammoth Yosemite Airport (seven miles from Mammoth Lakes). According to police …

The prices and controversial quality of food and atmosphere at San Diego's international airport, also known as Lindbergh Field, has long been a matter of contention among air travelers who eat there during flight waits. …

The family of a man who died while in the custody of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the department and county. According to the complaint, filed in federal …

Floating down the Huangpu River on a late spring afternoon as the last gleam of daylight faded away, I watched as the skyscrapers of Shanghai gradually transformed into a multitude of flashing lights. Locals and …

In a decision yesterday (December 3), the California Public Utilities Commission fined Southern California Edison a piddling $16.7 million for not reporting an illegal, amoral, clandestine meeting it had in early 2013 with Michael Peevey, …

How many plays have the rent past due, foreclosure banging down the door, a way of life on the ropes? Hundreds? Thousands? Ah, but how many display the event through countless pairs of eyes, and …

My knowledge of coffee? It ranges from joe with milk to joe “au naturel.” So when I happened upon this new (couple of months, max) Place-With-No-Name (at least as far as outside signage) at J …

"Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band the Wildabouts," according to …

Monday, December 7th, European countries will get their first official taste of Stone brews on draught, as the inaugural batch of beers out of the new Stone Brewing Berlin brewhouse will simultaneously debut at 6 …

Since June 2014, fishing-boat captain Joe Cacciola has been fighting to keep his charter sportfishing boat’s slip at the Oceanside Harbor. And since this September, he wondered each day if U.S. Marshals would show up …

An Imperial Beach church is holding a "community conversation" on December 10 to discuss a ban on the Four Loko alcoholic beverage, which has been linked to deaths and binge-drinking problems. The action comes a …

On Wednesday evening (December 2), the folks at Barons Market on West Point Loma Boulevard had a special shopper wander into their store. According to the Facebook post, a marmoset "just ran into Barons and …

Walking her dogs at 6:00 a.m. in Bay Ho on November 19, Stephanie Rosenbaum spotted a package ripped open in the bushes halfway down the 4000 block of Kamloop Avenue. "It was a light green …

Spending and security at San Diego's public library, ensconced in luxurious new digs, is out of control, endangering safety and the city treasury. So indicates San Diego city auditor Eduardo Luna in a December 2 …

The first things I noticed when I walked into Entrada weren’t the Muertos murals, sea-tortoise-green booths, or Talavera tile patterns adorning the north wall. It was the pair of 18-foot faux olive trees bracketing the …

California assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez joined the San Diego chapter of the National Action Network and the San Diego Black Police Officers' Association on Wednesday afternoon (December 2) to call for a name change to Robert …

San Diego police, including officers from the Street Gang Unit, responded to a stabbing on the 2900 block of K Street Wednesday, December 2, at about 5:15 p.m. Police say that three Hispanic males were …

Stuff stockings, stalk Santa.

I first saw Double Indemnity (USA, 1944, Paramount) in a college film class. I had grown up with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray as the perfect TV mom and dad on The Big Valley and …

Sheriff’s deputies have not solved the mystery of who killed Larry Robinson, the guitarist remembered for his decades of local shows and legions of guitar students. He was murdered in a Temecula music store two …

For a cocktail on Humphreys’ newly revised drink menu, bar manager Austin McAdams uses as a base liquor a perfect 15-year-old scotch. But before serious scotch drinkers storm Humphreys with broadsword and targe, McAdams asks …

Seattle’s Tacocat — singer Emily Nokes, guitarist Eric Randall, bassist Bree McKenna, and drummer Lelah Maupin — brings their surf/pop/throb/costume riot to the Casbah on December 7. Ms. Nokes sat for some email questions. Which …

“It’s the border,” Rodrigo says. “So crazy. It stops good things happening all the time.”

Forty years of Robert Cray: all the while, some among us are waiting for that guitar of his to quicken into flames, rather than smolder like last night’s fire. Not a very heroic guitar hero, …

The Shawshank Redemption (USA, 1994, Columbia) is debatably my favorite movie. It shouldn’t be because it deals with a lot of serious issues, and I’m only 15. Tim Robbins is so smart, and Morgan Freeman’s …

Mission Beach coffee roaster Swell Café has experienced massive growth in the past four months. For one thing, it might no longer be right to call it a Mission Beach roaster. While its original café …

Natives populated Otay Valley 9000 years ago.

Big-wave surfing was born in the minds of Southern California surfers in 1953, when a photo of George Downing and Buzzy Trent riding a 15-foot wave at Makaha, Hawaii, appeared in Life magazine and National …

Boys like to shoot guns. I like children to remain uninjured. Airsoft, which involves shooting one’s friends but also involves plastic BBs and full facemasks, sounded like it might be a way to meet halfway. …

Rick Alverson’s Entertainment not only elicits the same kind of uncomfortable laughter fans of comedian Gregg Turkington’s alter ego Neil Hamburger have long grown accustomed to, it does so in understated and sublimely subversive cinematic …

A staffer to congressman Juan Vargas has accepted a free overnight in Manhattan courtesy of a Washington think tank. This time it’s Scott Hinkle, legislative director for the border Democrat, who took off for New …

Nick Lowe is of two minds about Christmas. “In Britain, Christmas is different,” he tells me by phone from his home in England. “In the states, you embrace the corniness. Here [in Britain], it’s more …

Cats are a problem. We gotta enclose the areas where we’re growing.” Diane Moss breaks it down for a visitor. “You gotta be careful with your compost. It’s composting,” she explains, “and that brings the …

I asked the most knowledgeable surfer I know about the name Grimace Rock. Skip Frye told me it comes from a picture taken when a surfer realized he was about to hit the rock. Grimace …

“I have a confession to make. The four of us tried the escape room downtown.” I didn’t understand why it was a big deal until she finished her confession: “We didn’t make it out.”

No nation can be strong except in the strength of God or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a …

Disney's mustache doesn't cut it.

The movie based on Marco Collins focuses on his role in the grunge explosion in the 1990s, his support of Washington state’s gay marriage referendum, and his sidelining addictions. “I don’t feel completely comfortable about …

ReWild Mission Bay gave a presentation in the Midway District on November 18 at the Loma Riviera community room under the auspices of the Friends of Famosa Slough organization. Rebecca Schwartz, the conservation program manager …

Why San Diego Opera's second act won't end in tragedy.

The Art of Denial If you ignore a thorn in your hand it will go away but first the hand gets infected, swells, turns coal-purple, and sometimes parts must be amputated to save what remains. …

State senator Marty Block, locked in a rough-and-tumble primary race with fellow Democrat Toni Atkins, termed out of her Assembly seat, is going all out to attract donors to his financially challenged campaign war chest. …

Childish Mayor I’m calling in response to Mayor Falcouner’s letter, “El Niño, El Schmiño.” I wonder if he wants some French fries to go with that waah burger. We’ve got way more pressing issues than …

I saw The Color of Pomegranates (by Sergei Parajanov, a Soviet filmmaker of Armenian heritage, 1969, International Film Exchange) during the Soviet Arts Festival in the company of a visiting cadre of Georgian culturistes who …

In a November 20 memorandum of law, chief deputy city attorney Prescilla Dugard found the city is at risk of violating California's open-meeting laws if councilmembers continue to issue memos on issues and attend committee …

In June of last year, 31-year-old Navy SEAL Bradley Cavner was killed in a parachute accident. On November 25 of this year, his parents, Steve and Beth Cavner, had their wrongful death suit moved from …

Just before Thanksgiving, Vista Village's Wavelength Brewing issued its beer in bottles for the first time, offering three stash-in-the-fridge options: a vanilla bean variation of its Off Kilter Scottish heavy, its Ad Astra Belgian quadrupel …

When Cheryl, Alex, and their son Lucas donated the top of their enormous Norfolk Island pine eight years ago for the Ocean Beach Christmas tree, they probably never thought they would be donating from the …

Early arrivals to the MiraCosta College Oceanside campus Monday morning (November 30) discovered graffiti slurring MiraCosta’s African-American community. Hateful words were spray-painted on the windows of the school’s student center, where the Black Student Union …

On Wednesday, July 28, 2010, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new central library in downtown San Diego, one month and 56 years after the current library at Eighth and E Streets opened in …

The proposal to ban grocery stores and big-box retail stores from using plastic bags has moved one step closer to becoming law. On November 20, the city posted the draft Program Environmental Impact Report required …

The first weekend in December is stacked with concerts. 'Tis the season to make a choice because many of these promising events conflict. Sunday is like a battle to the death, with no fewer than …

After more than a year of prodding from activists and planning by officials, a climate action plan for San Diego introduced by city councilmember Todd Gloria during his stint as interim mayor is moving toward …