“Bamboo Ben” Bassham has been involved in creating more than 20 tiki bars from San Francisco to Georgia. After he remade them in his version of Polynesian paradise, the bars and restaurants saw business pick …
January 2, 2019
News & Stories
Change coming to Oceanside pier
Two years of Mayor “The Feet”
“Human rights are for humans who do right” became the catchphrase of Tijuana’s mayor, Juan Manuel “El Patas” (The Feet) Gastélum Buenrostro, referring to the caravan of migrants. The news anchor for Univision, Jorge Ramos, …
January 2, 2019
A garden of gardens
San Diego Botanic Garden has a collection of over 4,000 unique plants, many found at exotic locations throughout the world. You can explore habitats from places you would like to visit without ever leaving San …
January 2, 2019
Three poems for the New Year
Mild Is the Parting Year Mild is the parting year, and sweet The odour of the falling spray; Life passes on more rudely fleet, And balmless is its closing day. I wait its close, I …
January 2, 2019
Kumeyaay, cawfee, and candy canes
Just came off the mountain. Been dreaming of sitting down, taking a load off, slurping the first gulp of cawfee. Got a mountainous appetite. On the other hand, this morning has been totally exhilarating, climbing …
January 2, 2019
Bring it, 2019!
The year is going to be all about refreshing the mind, body and soul. I’m resolving to take in more free art, listen to more free live music, hike more of our climate areas. Our …
January 2, 2019
Most of us deserve better than a celebrity BFF
In the play Always… Patsy Cline (which ran December 12 through December 30 at North Coast Rep), a country music star befriends one of her biggest fans, forming a close relationship with someone who has …
January 2, 2019
Hillcrest: gayborhood or ghetto?
To some, Hillcrest is little more than 40 acres of overpriced, rambling urbanity to be avoided. Such Hillcrest-averse see two problems: scarce parking, and a homeless crisis that seems “worse than Ocean Beach.” “Currently the …
January 2, 2019
Christmas with intoxicated Bob
I missed the first half of Mass on Christmas Eve because I’m an usher down at Our Lady of the Rosary. That means I wind up dealing with the busyness at the back of the …
January 2, 2019
Bridge booms in Balboa Park
“I didn’t know people still played bridge.” “I guess you could say it’s extremely vulgar. I like it a lot.” — Exchange from Whit Stillman’s excellent movie Metropolitan, which came out in 1990, 17 years …
January 2, 2019
What our dear friends in Corporate America know
Dear Hipster, Going into 2019, I’m contemplating a change of perspective. Throughout my life, I have tended to take a “close enough for rock and roll” attitude towards a lot of stuff because life is …
January 2, 2019
Del Mar's project, Solana Beach's headache
The seaside Del Mar Resort, if built, would be the biggest project ever built in Del Mar. Some are wondering why a project atop Del Mar’s last open coastal bluff is even being considered. Others …
January 2, 2019
LimeBike greases San Diego palms
DC undocked San Diego, widely known for its hands-off policing of e-scooters, is equally notorious among medics and insurance companies for rising shattered bone and head injury rates among the daring who partake in the …
January 2, 2019
The impossible railroad
Off the rails I once lived in San Diego as a Navy man. I so enjoyed the city and all it had to offer. Being a native of California then moving to Alabama I do …
January 2, 2019