A leopard-print sign hanging on Andrea Smith’s front door announces, “I am a luxury few can afford.” Three years ago there was heavy truth in that statement. Smith was bringing in about $2500 a night …
June 22, 2016
News & Stories
San Diego's sex trade is second-largest underground economy after drugs
Mexico is off limits
It’s almost summer, time for “Career Orientation and Training for Midshipmen West, 2016,” hosted by the Navy in San Diego for the latest crop of Annapolis midshipmen, who are being advised to avoid trouble during …
June 22, 2016
Roque De La Fuente to run for U.S. Senate in Florida
San Diego businessman Roque (Rocky) De La Fuente, who failed in his attempt to get the Democratic nomination for president, this week filed to run for the U.S. Senate in Florida. According to saintpetersblog.com, De …
June 22, 2016
Horse with no permit
“Federal law says we can busk, ’cause we’re entertaining for tips, not panhandling, or begging,” says Brian Demers, who used to play guitar in GG Allin’s hard-rock band Malpractice but now can be found busking …
June 22, 2016
Women in politics
Former liberal Democratic House member Barney Frank of Massachusetts was set to host a June 18 $500-a-person fundraiser for Cori Schumacher, the one-time world longboard surfing champion currently running for city council in Carlsbad. “In …
June 22, 2016
Glue as record cleaner?
Dear Hipster: I found a great solution to a common hipster problem, and I thought that I’d share it with you, and by extension the Reader’s readers. Did you know you can clean your vinyl …
June 22, 2016
Pupusa ceremony
"You can sit over here if you like,” says this guy over in the booth. He’s noticed me craning my head to catch the Costa Rica game. Against mighty Colombia. Copa América. David and Goliath. …
June 22, 2016
Glorious sci-fi futures of slave robots
True Love at Seventy is passion honed by anticipation of coming despair and a certain prayer one of us will bid for one day more or one warm morning or just one shared moment of …
June 22, 2016
Bi this song by Alicia Champion
Alicia Champion knew she was bisexual from a young age. “When I was nine or ten [years old], I remember watching Power Rangers,” she recalls. “I had a crush on the pink ranger but was …
June 22, 2016
Independence Day — a resurgence?
Twenty years ago, my new wife and I stood in line for what seemed like hours at Horton Plaza to see Independence Day. Why? Because of those fantastic teasers that showed the shadow of a …
June 22, 2016
Pastor Burkey appreciates the wrestling
Membership: 1000 Pastor: Richard Burkey Age: 56 Born: Chicago Formation: Concordia College, Austin, TX; Concordia College, River Forest, IL; Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO. Years Ordained: 31 San Diego Reader: How long do you …
June 22, 2016
Los Jilgueros, a small retreat in suburban Fallbrook
This 46-acre nature preserve was an orchard and farmland before it was acquired by the Fallbrook Land Conservancy (FLC) as their first acquisition. There is still some farm equipment and waterworks visible. For its small …
June 22, 2016
Cops on boards
The image of a cigar-smoking cop with a Jackie Gleeson–like waistline hiding in his cruiser behind a billboard alongside the road in speed-trap mode is much more Hollywood than fact these days. Truth is, first …
June 22, 2016
Are you theater people?
A rich and tricky question. Ask it of yourselves before and after attending Matt Thompson’s The Complete History of Theatre (Abridged) at the Point Loma Playhouse. As the play’s second act finally delivers the titular …
June 22, 2016
Beautiful disgusts after some masterpieces
Many of us seek and cherish essences when traveling to foreign places: a food, a shop, a fall of light, an open-air market, the peculiar curve or steep of street or hillside, the play of …
June 22, 2016
Sour Stan not keen on the GoFundMe movement
Dear Hipster: Every day, my news feed alerts me of some extremely presumptuous GoFundMe or other. If it isn’t, “Help, I can’t afford to get my cat neutered,” it’s “Donate money so I can buy …
June 22, 2016
The restless mind of Sonny Smith
Sonny Smith seems like one of those individuals who has no trouble whatsoever bending people to their various whims. One example: half a dozen years ago, the Bay Area author/songwriter/filmmaker invented 100 bands, none of …
June 22, 2016
Park your boat and stay a while
Beds: 4 Baths: 6 Current Owner: Morgan Dene Oliver List Price: $8,800,000 How about a “unique and stunning 6500-square-foot bay front contemporary home” in Point Loma with a private dock? Built in 1988, the residence …
June 22, 2016
Tijuana free to rock again
Chim Arrieta Espinoza, singer/guitarist with Tijuana-based Rabbit Fever says the Mexican government has opened up to live-rock events. Arrieta has put on a number of multiband shows in small venues in TJ and San Diego …
June 22, 2016
Being served, unforgettable
The costly legal battle between UCSD and the University of Southern California over a disputed Alzheimer’s Disease research program that could ultimately be worth billions of dollars in pharmaceutical patents, may come down to a …
June 22, 2016
Julian residents object to Linden Blue’s backcountry development plans
Regardless of how you slice it, if approved, a proposed development of 1416 acres of untouched wilderness in Julian, known as the Hosking’s Ranch Development, violates state law, reads a February 4 letter from California’s …
June 22, 2016
George Clinton on the logistics of funk and the fight to get paid
Funk music pioneer George Clinton, who is bringing his 22-piece Parliament-Funkadelic band back to the Belly Up on June 23, says the small Solana Beach club is often considered a yardstick for other venues. “We’ve …
June 22, 2016
Letters and notes to the editor
To the [Dog] Rescue My husband and I have been involved in rescuing Baja dogs for years. We noticed your section, “Play with Baja Rescue Pets,” in the “Fun Things to Do” issue of the …
June 22, 2016
June 16 Crossword Contenders
Martha Awdziewicz, Clairemont, 9. L. Barling, El Cajon, 9. Evelyn Bowser, Hillcrest, 9. Dennis Butterworth, San Diego, 9. (winner!) Chris Byzewski, San Diego, 9. Joseph Ciprian, Little Italy, 9. Annette Coppede, San Diego, 9. Allan …
June 22, 2016
June 16 Sudoku Contenders
Evil Bliss Beedle, Encinitas, 9. Gregory Chauncey, La Jolla, 9. Joseph Ciprian, Little Italy, 9. Alford Claibone, San Diego, 9. Patrick Driscoll, Santee, 9. Rafael Gaceta, San Diego, 9. Don Ganoe, San Diego, 9. Larry …
June 22, 2016