A stray dog for Christmas Without a safety net: JoAnne (not her real name) earns $12 per hour driving a shuttle for a major auto dealer. She also drives Uber and Lyft on the side …
August 10, 2016
News & Stories
San Diegans who contend with too much debt
Earth Making
Before making humans, Someone Powerful had created plants and animals and had told them to stay awake and watch for seven days and seven nights. (This is just what the young men do today when …
August 10, 2016
Now see this, fans of Hamilton and postapocalyptica
I adore postapocalyptica, and Snowpiercer (South Korea/USA, 2013, Radius-TWC) is a lesser-known masterpiece of the genre. A 2013 English-language South Korean film based on a French graphic novel, Snowpiercer is set on a train hurtling …
August 10, 2016
Corporate (park) jams
Pitbull Audio opened their National City storefront in 2014. They’re an independent musical instrument and pro-audio retailer that has to compete with big-box chains, such as Guitar Center and Sam Ash. One of the methods …
August 10, 2016
Gaslamp Tavern’s Heisman
Since the Gaslamp Tavern is a come-as-you-are watering hole for the local crowd and parched tourists alike, Gaslamp Tavern bartender Marshall Gillen has come up with a way to draw the home team and visitors …
August 10, 2016
To China
Republican county supervisor Ron Roberts, who will finally be departing his job in two years because of term limits, has found another way to use leftover campaign cash from his last run for the board …
August 10, 2016
Israeli food is drenched in history at 2Brothers
“Our pita bread? We import it from Israel. U.S. pita is made from different flour.”
This Broncho has a reverb tank
Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Broncho has traded in the new-wave sound prevalent on their last album, Just Enough Hip to Be a Woman, for a reverb-drenched collision of ’80s synth-rock and dreamy shoegaze. With three LPs out, …
August 10, 2016
The great sigh of our still blue marble
Climate Change It is the great sigh of our still blue marble: Each new storm a gasp for air, a crying out from the rivers of truth that are poisoning our political seas. Who makes …
August 10, 2016
An adolescent John Cusack; LARPing with heavy metal
Better Off Dead (USA, 1985, Warner Brothers) is not only supremely entertaining, but it also has an amazing soundtrack! For my music-loving husband, and my ’80s teen movie obsession, it’s the perfect mix for us! …
August 10, 2016
Dark-rock duo Blood Ponies tracking that fuzz all over town
"Our music is dark, heavy post-punk, made by two people who make a surprising amount of noise," says Jeff Terich, who partners with Candice Renee in Blood Ponies. “It sounds best at night when our …
August 10, 2016
Microtrenching threatens city streets
High-tech giant Google, Inc., all over the corridors of San Diego power in its quest to build a new fiber-optic communications system in the city, has been pulling out all the stops, an influence-peddling disclosure …
August 10, 2016
The Golden Age of Debt takes the La Jolla Playhouse stage
David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross takes place in 1983. His desperate real estate salesmen will do anything to put their name on the board with a big sale. That would validate their worth, literally prove …
August 10, 2016
Throw Rag throw-down
San Diego rocker/promoter Davit Buck has regrouped his Homeless Sexuals to join locals the Downs Family, the Screamin’ Yeehaws, and one of his favorite area bands, the veteran Salton Sea desert rockers Throw Rag, at …
August 10, 2016
Zippy shredding units
Donald Takayama was probably the first professional surfer in the sport, according to Dale Velzy, notable longboard rider and board shaper. In the early 1950s, Velzy saw the young Takayama surfing at Makaha Beach on …
August 10, 2016
Book-clubbers meet over gin and St. Germaine cocktails
Dear Hipster: I think I have a rather unique problem. I am a member of a private, co-ed book club. We are mostly middle-agers, with a few younger and a few older people mixed in. …
August 10, 2016
Cruise loos
David is the guy who, upon hearing a fart joke at a party, rolls his eyes and repeats the adage that, given enough time, all conversations seem to devolve into discussions of bodily functions.
August 10, 2016
Take an alternative scenic route to Cuyamaca Peak
The Conejos Trail in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a beautiful, less-traveled trail with a striking view of Lake Cuyamaca to the northeast, Middle Peak and North Peak to the north, and El Capitan Reservoir …
August 10, 2016
What do Marilyn and Snoop require backstage?
Before Marilyn Manson makes his appearance at Sleep Train Amphitheatre on Wednesday, August 17, his backstage rider specifies that “All rooms shall have private flush toilets (Porta Johns are specifically not acceptable).” In addition, “Promoter …
August 10, 2016
Here comes Hell or High Water
The stars align in the Western sky. Hell or High Water is the sort of film that tempts the critic — well, tempts me, anyway — to start writing the sort of copy that might …
August 10, 2016
New Chargers stadium guarantees higher prices
Last month, a poll by the Union-Tribune and 10News delivered encouraging news: only 30 percent of respondents were in favor of a stadium subsidy; 40 percent opposed it and 30 percent weren’t sure. Although more …
August 10, 2016
Take that slow ride with Foghat
Through classic-rock radio’s reliance on one song, over the decades Foghat has been reduced to a footnote in the pantheon of rock and roll. Listeners young and old seem never to tire of hearing, yet …
August 10, 2016
Utah’s spousal San Diego freebies
A July 20 audit of the Utah Local Governments Trust by Utah’s state auditor tells the tale. Trustees, who oversee an insurance co-op for municipalities and other government entities, have been running amok with public …
August 10, 2016
9/11 Pentagon theories abound
Retraction Inquiry Regarding your retraction in the August 4 issue of the story of the July 28 Neighborhood News story, “Tasting Rooms, Breweries Blamed for Problems.” If you’re retracting that the “400 percent increase in …
August 10, 2016
Go in skeptical, come out enchanted
Brooklyn (United Kingdom/Ireland/Canada, 2015, Fox Searchlight) surprised me. I went in not expecting much aside from enjoying one of my favorite actresses, Saoirse Ronan, but I came out truly enchanted. The story of a young …
August 10, 2016
August 4 Sudoku Contenders
Evil Bliss Beedle, Encinitas, 4. Joseph Ciprian, Little Italy, 4. Alford Claibone, San Diego, 4. Patrick Driscoll, Santee, 4. Rafael Gaceta, San Diego, 4. Ralph Levy, La Jolla, 4. Larry Lewis, Poway, 4. Terry Messina, …
August 10, 2016
August 4 Crossword Contenders
Evelyn Bowser, Hillcrest, 4. Dennis Butterworth, San Diego, 4. Chris Byzewski, San Diego, 4. Joseph Ciprian, Little Italy, 4. Allan Dorfman, Del Mar, 4. Gian Ghio, Chula Vista, 4. Chad Griffith, Poway, 4. Sue Janisch, …
August 10, 2016