Sher Mohammad Haidari heard the radio crackle with Taliban chatter as the Army platoon he was with trudged through a valley in eastern Afghanistan looking for a U.S. soldier who had abandoned his post. The …
December 14, 2016
News & Stories
Army platoon interpreter in Afghanistan ends up in El Cajon
The phrase that every piece of U.S. currency bears
In God we trust.— Salmon Portland Chase Salmon Portland Chase (1808-1873 was an American politician and sixth Chief Justice of the United States (1864-1873). Besides serving as 23rd governor of Ohio, Chase also served as …
December 14, 2016
Port district talks pollution minimization
A group numbering several dozen environmental activists along with residents of Barrio Logan and surrounding communities gathered at the Port of San Diego on Tuesday afternoon (December 13) to cheer the port's board of directors …
December 14, 2016
Rockin' Cranberries?
“I joined the group about 13 years ago and bought the company 9 years later. We have between 45 and 50 singers, depending on the season,” says Angelica Eclar Ryan, speaking with me on a …
December 14, 2016
Hibiscus beer for the win
On December 1st, Barrio Logan brewery Border X was named the $5000 winner of the Startup Brewery Challenge. The biannual competition is staged by national craft beer website Brewbound.com and Craft Brew Alliance, the "fifth …
December 14, 2016
Goat is my game
"Se habla English!!” That’s what it says on the menu I’m checking out, here in National City. It also says “Birrio de Chivo, Guadalajara-style, perfected in Tijuana and imported into the USA.” Perfect. Because tonight, …
December 14, 2016
Eight minutes with Pablo Larraín
I owe my love of Pablo Larraín to the San Diego Latino Film Festival. Their programming of Tony Manero and Post Mortem was tantamount to extracting a giant thorn from this reporter’s paw. Tony Manero …
December 14, 2016
Gifts for the last-minute hipster shopper
Dear Hipster: I’m super burnt out on the whole “holiday shopping” scene. I went to the movies in Mission Valley the other day, and I’m still having flashbacks from the sight of cars practically running …
December 14, 2016
Teenage singer/songwriter Marissa Grace lists her faves
"I play pop rock, infused with some folk, funk, and jazz,” says La Mesa’s Marissa Grace, who started studying piano at age four. The 13-year-old took vocal lessons with local stars Eve Selis and Mattie …
December 14, 2016
San Diego spots for fancy hot cocoa
My second daughter has one of those dreaded late-December birthdays, the kind that make both the birthday and Christmas feel a little less special because of their proximities. I confess that last year, budget and …
December 14, 2016
First one's free at Blowhole studio
Scott Lehman left Canada a year ago when his wife got a plum job as a cancer researcher at Salk Institute. The guitarist/keyboardist had spent three years in Acronycal, a Foo Fighter-ish band that had …
December 14, 2016
Meth lab cleanup bills go unpaid
San Diego County environmental health honchos have been lax dunning local landlords for cleaning up hazardous chemicals left over from busted methamphetamine labs on their property, an audit has found. “Although 10 collection notifications were …
December 14, 2016
Mr. Robinson's frontier spirit
Ex–Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson brings the Chris Robinson Brotherhood to the Observatory North Park on December 16. In between the phone signal cutting out in Appalachia, he took some questions. Where am I reaching …
December 14, 2016
Juniper Canyon’s evidence of tectonic plate activity
Juniper Canyon Open Space is mainly an urban remnant of the local native coastal sage scrub, with some intermingling of chaparral and some weedy growth along the trail. The trail itself varies from a narrow …
December 14, 2016
The emotional wallop of Jackie
Individuals who have history thrust upon them frequently make the best movie subjects. Lawrence of Arabia, Melvin and Howard, The Last Emperor, Vera Drake, and many other cinematic profiles have done wonders with a passive …
December 14, 2016
X times 4
Anybody who caught X when they were wee lads playing shows in Los Angeles circa 1977 is about to feel old: X is on the brink of turning the big 4-0. “The reason we’re doing …
December 14, 2016
Bob Ross, anti-hipster
Dear Hipster: Since he embraced kitsch and practically hid his most clever comments by saying them in the same soft tone of voice as everything else he said, was Bob Ross the ultimate anti-hipster? — …
December 14, 2016
Dandy Warhols' dandy ear candy
“I never thought you’d be a junkie/ because heroin is so passé.” Who would think to give the smack nation its own pink and yellow television-style game show, complete with burning luxe cars, dancing syringes, …
December 14, 2016
I stole my best friend's girl
The playwright Bash Doran has come right out and said in interviews that The Mystery of Love and Sex is a play partly about race, partly family, and mostly sexuality; but that doesn’t mean we …
December 14, 2016
The Goring of Detroit
When David Copley sold the Union-Tribune to Tom Gores and his Beverly Hills–based Platinum Equity back in 2009, the vulture capitalist with Palestinian roots vowed that he was in the newspaper business for the long …
December 14, 2016
A Nocturnal upon St. Lucy’s Day
’Tis the year’s midnight, and it is the day’s, Lucy’s, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks; The sun is spent, and now his flasks Send forth light squibs, no constant rays; The world’s whole sap …
December 14, 2016
Hamburgers, mayors, and historians
What Did They Do to the Meat? I read with interest your comments about the Habit, the hamburger restaurant. I agree with the author 100 percent about the meat — the hamburger patty has not …
December 14, 2016