Amazon’s got everything, but some illusions must be kept alive.
March 29, 2017
News & Stories
Most San Diego booksellers close shop
April showers of San Diego record releases
New Orleans-style jazz outfit Euphoria Brass Band will debut their new CD at Panama 66 in Balboa Park on Friday, March 31. Santee reggae band Strictly Skunk has a CD release planned for April 1 …
March 29, 2017
Two-dog night
Gaslamp. Monday night. It’s a concert, for one. Sarah the street violinist has got me glued to her spot on the sidewalk at Fifth and F. Because, hey, she’s playing Umm Kulthum’s “Enta Omri” — …
Fat-wash did the trick for Patio on Goldfinch’s Sheer Determination
Brandon Curry, bar manager at the Patio on Goldfinch, presumed that the rollercoaster ride that was Super Bowl XLI would end with the Atlanta Falcons joining the New York Giants (who did it twice) as …
March 29, 2017
No car-sleeping in Encinitas, say lobbying city fathers
San Diego’s Republican county supervisors say they are gunning for legislation introduced by the local Democratic Assembly delegation that would allow for charter amendments requiring a general-election runoff for the top two finishers in primary …
March 29, 2017
Civic San Diego considering new pedestrian plaza in East Village
Owners of The Patio restaurant group are hoping for approval from Civic San Diego of its application to build a 126-square-foot pedestrian plaza in front of its Harvest by the Patio eatery, at 369 10th …
March 29, 2017
Strawberries from Rome
While the value of winning a San Diego Music Award is unclear, some insiders joke that in 2014, SDMA love seemed like the kiss of death. Just after Burning of Rome won three awards (Song …
March 29, 2017
The Boss Baby gets its kids just right
The first sign that The Boss Baby will be a pleasant surprise — and not simply an exercise in sticking Alec Baldwin’s Scotch-mellowed tycoon’s rasp in the mouth of a CGI infant and chuckling at …
March 29, 2017
Rain, washing me cleaner than I have been since I was born
April The sweetest thing, I thought At one time, between earth and heaven Was the first smile When mist has been forgiven And the sun has stolen out, Peered, and resolved to shine at seven …
March 29, 2017
Baby Vivian needs a stroller for her European vacation
My friend Marie is headed to the Emerald Isle in May. “My husband’s brother is taking us,” she explained over brunch last week, “and we will be staying one week in Killarney. Passports are in, …
March 29, 2017
Farce reigns On the 20th Century train
Theatrical wizard David Belasco (1853–1931) was a major link between 19th- and 20th-century theater. Instead of deep-fried, scenery-chomping acting, he demanded a more naturalistic style and detailed sets famous for their “tidiness.” He banished footlights …
March 29, 2017
Music therapy is real
Mandi Jo Miller wasn’t looking for a new career when a chance meeting redirected her path in life on New Year’s Eve in 2008. “I met a music therapist in a bar,” says Miller. “I …
March 29, 2017
Discover a hidden treasure on the UCSD campus
Nestled on the north end of the UCSD campus, the trail through the Ecological Park is a true hidden treasure. The trail meanders through sections of the university’s planted Eucalyptus Grove and the Ecological Reserve, …
March 29, 2017
Things hipsters ought to like, but don't
Hi, DJ Stevens: Are you a real DJ or are those your initials? — PM (initials) I wouldn’t say I’m not a DJ. Calvin Harris has been biting my style for years. He knows I …
March 29, 2017
Home is where you park it
Each morning I wake up to the continuous hum of the traffic on I-5, crawl out of my bed, and take one step into the bathroom. After I shower — the shower being only half …
March 29, 2017
Don't call him Billy Bob
A band with a couple of directions: one is old-timey country-western and one is swayed by the look and feel of the rock-and-roll music that Great Britain exported to the U.S. 50 years ago. The …
March 29, 2017
More parking than most Del Mar homes
Beds: 6 Baths: 6 Current Owner: Mark Van Oene List Price: $8,800,000 “It’s getting harder to find a property like this,” warn listing materials for the “magnificent Del Mar Craftsman estate” constructed in 1997 at …
March 29, 2017
Yay! San Diego reservoirs filling up
On January 26, San Diego County’s water authority exulted that the drought was over. On March 22, the New York Times wrote, “We have some good news on the California drought.” The huge snowpack in …
March 29, 2017
Santee Lakes catfish opener April 1 and 2
The seven small lakes called Santee Lakes began as part of a recycling plant. In 1960, the district started recycling wastewater for irrigation and commercial uses. The seven lakes were at the end of that …
March 29, 2017
SDSU’s big birdies’ tab
San Diego State University, its future clouded by a brewing fight for control of Mission Valley’s Qualcomm Stadium site, along with the imminent departure of president Elliot Hirshman for greener financial pastures at Maryland’s Stevenson …
March 29, 2017
Pastor Parcel is concerned about the state of our nation
First United Methodist Church Membership: 650 Pastor: Brian T. Parcel Age: 42 Born: Taft Formation: Louisiana, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, LA; Claremont School of Theology Years Ordained: 16 San Diego Reader: How long do you …
March 29, 2017
Letters about San Diego, TJ, and the Reader
Why Are They in TJ? Re: “Gateway between Worlds,” March 23 cover story I recently went to Tijuana to see architecture — a getaway day. I saw something there I haven’t seen before. I saw …
March 29, 2017