Dock Totals 4/16– 4/29: 3509 anglers aboard 151 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past two weeks caught 2607 bluefin tuna (up to 180 pounds), 2 bocaccio, 243 bonito, 3 …

A model trout habitat in Baja Two years ago, when I first began my search for Salmo nelsoni, the Baja rainbow trout, I contacted Don Albright, a longtime Baja aficionado who regularly leads friends and …

Misty of Chincoteague author ends up in Rancho Santa Fe When Marguerite Henry died last month at the age of 95, a relationship that began for me more than 35 years ago came to a …

Some unavoidable conflicts thwarted my plans to go to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 on Saturday, April 22. By all accounts, it was a lovely performance. Yet, at the end of the day, it is …

Way back in the ‘90s, National City banned lowrider cruising on highland avenue, citing concerns about crime and congestion. Some city councilpeople worried openly that the practice was attracting “the wrong element,” a claim that …

When New York City Mayor Eric Adams introduced rat czar Kathleen Corradi two weeks ago, touting her willingness to commit to the wholesale slaughter of the city’s dirty and diseased rat population, San Diego Zoo …

Recently, a number of 7-11 owners around the country have admitted that they play opera inside their stores in a surprisingly successful effort to drive away the homeless. Still more recently, a number of 7-11 …

Vinya: vino + vinyasa, 5185 Balboa Avenue, Clairemont Mesa; Driving up to Vinya: vino + vinyasa, I was confused. The Balboa Crest Shopping Center in Clairemont Mesa housed a liquor store and a check-cashing site. …

Jimmy LaValle formed his meditative electro-organic musical project The Album Leaf in 1999, going on to several acclaimed releases and touring with acts such as Sigur Rós. May 5 will see the release of a …

“What’s this,” marveled the lady approaching the rest rooms at Humphreys before the show on the evening of April 14, “no line for the women’s rest room? And a line for the men’s?” “It is …

Don’t get him wrong, San Diego native Bill Perrine has no insurmountable beef with his hometown. He’s happy to rock out at the Casbah, or to stick his head into Nate’s Garden Grill or the …

This lowly but common part of every city’s infrastructure, as the National Association of City Transportation Officials so eloquently states on its website, plays “a vital role in city life. As conduits for pedestrian movement …

Cookies and beer Controversial Budweiser-pitching transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney is deeply rooted in San Diego’s Republican old-boy network, reports Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post. “Her grandfather, James Mulvaney Sr., who died at age 87 …

Colonel Ed Fletcher made quite a name for himself in turn-of-the-last-century San Diego. Arriving in town at age 16 with just $6.10 in his pocket back in 1888, Fletcher turned a job selling produce in …

Winter rains bring vibrant, colorful floral displays each spring throughout San Diego. For this hike, I walked the Grasslands Loop, which takes hikers close to the Old Mission Dam and up into Oak Canyon. Distance …

On April 9 La Sierra Residential, a two-building condo complex located on Cuatemoc Sur Boulevard, one of the busiest roads that lead traffic in and out of Tijuana's downtown, collapsed. The last several days the …

In January, floodwaters swept away the tents, blankets and clothing of the homeless living along the San Diego River bed from Ocean Beach to Lakeside. Now some say the city is trying to sweep the …

Blue-Blossoming Jacaranda Trees have already produced a first wave of color along the streets of San Diego. By early or mid-May, warm weather permitting, this Brazilian import could put on a dazzling show. The larger …

It’s Fairly Easy to Get Bored Around Here Bonita lies in the Sweetwater Valley, nestled inside three freeways--I-805 to the west, 54 to the north, and 125 to the east. To the south lies the …

The Climb to Gold Mountain: San Diego's Chinatown Joe Quin has a wholesale produce business at 431 Third Avenue, between Island Avenue and J Street. He and his family live above the lugs of vegetables …

Will they go the way of abalone? Not long ago, sea urchins were considered a nuisance, a weed in the kelp gardens off Loma and the Channel Islands. “People used to be amused that anyone …

With the NBA Playoffs in full flight, I will take this opportunity to explore some classical music via the logos of some of the teams in contention this year. Some teams, such as the New …

“I live in the Maori world,” says Te Mairiki Williams. He says this because I have asked him about his moko, the tattoo that covers his face. I asked because this is not a usual …

Calvary Chapel Escondido Contact: 2245 E Valley Pkwy, Escondido 760-487-8098 www.calvarychapelescondido.com Membership: 100 Pastor: Rick Greene Age: 44 Born: Oceanside Formation: Marietta Calvary Bible College Years Ordained: 14 San Diego Reader: How long do you …

When I was a younger man, I wrote up the Chevy Chase apartments, situated on the border between La Mesa and Spring Valley, as ideal bachelor digs. Unfancy, freeway close, but more importantly, bumping up …

“I used to perform nearly full-time in cover bands, but left the live music world behind many moons ago to ‘find myself’ when it came to the music industry,” says singer-songwriter Audrey Callahan, whose original …

“Suicidal Tendencies and The Last Gang shirts, I knew you would be exceptional people,” exclaims Agusto from South America, who is complimenting my wife and me on our T-shirt choices. The man himself is wearing …

“Dustin wanted to turn my parents’ dining room into a music room,” says Jen Lothspeich, widow of Dustin Lothspeich, who died unexpectedly of natural causes in his La Mesa home on March 23. “On more …

“I’m repping my shirt today: San Diego State, baby!” exclaimed Kyle Turley to me on April 1. The Aztecs’ men’s basketball team had just come back from 14 points down in the second half against …

Pradeep’s rise A shadowy network of unidentified fat cats has come up with $13 million to fund the $500,000-a-year raise awarded to UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla by the University of California’s regents on …

“I’ve always wanted to have the ability to marijuana-up my beer, but that’s a no-no,” beams Belching Beaver Brewmaster Troy Smith, discussing the motivation behind his latest beer, Tropical Terps IPA. “If you had to …

It’s an odd feeling, meeting in a five-million-year-old crater halfway down the South Island of New Zealand, and then hearing a San Diego song blast in your ears. I’m in Lyttelton, a harbor in New …

Several dozen community members gathered in front of 4350 Cleveland Avenue (at Meade) in University Heights on Saturday April 15, to protest the pending 49-unit, eight-story “affordable housing” building slated for construction on the quiet …

On April 14, between 6:30 pm and midnight, of the 717 drivers the Escondido Police Department pulled over at a checkpoint at East Valley Parkway and Beven Drive, police cited four drivers for driving with …

The Annual Green-to-Golden Transition of San Diego’s wild grasslands normally takes place in late March or early April. But this winter season’s late and heavy precipitation triggered a late growth of grasses, so the dry-out …

This isn’t Mira Mesa Boulevard or Black Mountain Road.” Some Rancho Peñasquitos residents who were pleased to see yellow wheelchair ramps put in at the corner of Rife Way and Sparren Avenue were astounded days …

Dock Totals 4/2– 4/15: 2560 anglers aboard 106 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past two weeks caught 230 bluefin tuna, 4 bonito, 4 calico bass, 1 halibut, 28 lingcod, …

Go solves the problem of most board games In San Diego most go players get that practice on Tuesday nights at the Balboa Club building at Sixth and Ivy. Here the Go Club meets, using …

The Man who Turned Fact into Fiction One of the most famous bits of literary advice in the 20th Century was Sherwood Anderson’s suggestion that William Faulkner write not about aviators and New Orleans bohemians …

Having been inspired by San Diego Opera’s recent production of Tosca, I’ve spent the last week listening to war horse recordings of war horse operas. I’ve selected a few highlights here. Based on what I’ve …

Allies: According to Herodotus “Just how much are you worth?” Xerxes asks Pythius, reputedly the richest man in Lydia, at the entertainment Pythius was holding in his palace for Xerxes and his chiefs of staff. …

“I don’t get it,” says guard Trenton Newton, who led the University of Connecticut Huskies to victory over the San Diego State Aztecs in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship on April 3. “We beat …

Last Monday, Legoland California proudly celebrated the long-awaited opening of its San Diego miniland, which joins famous urban landscapes like New York, Los Angeles, and New Orleans at the world-renowned theme park. And last Tuesday, …

“I was horrified,” says Rich’s Nightclub Director of Rectitude Natasha Trigger-Warning, recalling the moment that staff discovered a Pride flag featuring Harvey Milk’s friend Gilbert Baker’s original eight-color design. “On the one hand, seeing a …

Hello, friends. Before we get going, a quick programming note: this column you’re holding in your hands (or staring at on a screen, whatever) marks the 260th installment of Unreal Estate. That’s a solid 10 …

When A.J. Croce was a week past his second birthday, his father, singer-songwriter Jim Croce, died in a September 1973 plane crash. Croce will celebrate two of his father’s albums, 1973’s Life and Times and …

I belly up to the bar inside the dimly lit barroom of the Fraternal Order of Eagles community center in National City and order a five-buck bottle of Pacifico. Only three other souls share the …

“I’ve been playing sax for seven and half years,” says Nick Caldwell, a 17-year-old high school senior who attends the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts in Paradise Hills, and who is also …

A few months ago, I received one those scam message from a fake Instagram account. The user photo depicted a grinning, bearded man wearing a puffy vest. He looked like someone who owned a cabin …

Sempra’s choice Now that Democrat Nathan Fletcher is resigning as a San Diego County supervisor due to the region’s latest elected official sex scandal, what will become of the million dollars or so amassed from …

Claire’s on Cedros made me a believer, again, in the joy of eating out for breakfast. You won’t find any rubbery three-egg combos or dry, heavy stacks of pancakes here. Only original dishes, carefully crafted, …

Sympathies for A Woman Scorned Nathan Fletcher, the Gift that Keeps on Giving (“Key Todd Gloria backer Gil Cabrera gets hand slapped: Big stores, big money”, News Under the Radar, April 5). Actually our sympathies …

A rooftop battle over radio-frequency (RF) emissions has been won by telecom giant Verizon - for now. It's not over, say attorneys for Carole Sachs, who owns and lives in the uptown penthouse condo that …

Are recent thefts of designer perfume, sunglasses, tees, and underwear more common, or is it just social media? On March 9, Diana Llamas posted a video on TikTok of a person allegedly stealing from the …

Bracken Ferns are rising on the higher mountains of San Diego County, their bright green, unfolding fronds (called “fiddleheads”) pushing up through the russet remains of last year’s growth. By late April or May, fully …

Party at the snakes' place The joke is that nobody is from here, because we are on the edge of nowhere, but, sure as snake’s teeth, the right kind of folks will settle just about …

Lie down in darkness The night sea off the coast of La Jolla was smothered in fog on December 18, 1917, and in those pre-sonar days the American submarine F-1 had no way of knowing …

Torture in TJ "They apprehended me of work and handcuffed me They took me in on old grey van with, I think, blue license plates—maybe I didn't see them well. the inside of the van …

Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca was the best thing San Diego Opera has produced in years. This production had it all, especially where it counted the most. Competent, seasoned, opera singers who knew their business performed the …

Tifereth Israel Synagogue Contact: 6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd., San Carlos 619-697-6001 Membership: 240 Pastor: Rabbi Mathew Marko Age: 56 Born: Brooklyn, NY Formation: University of Florida, Gainesville Years Ordained: 7 San Diego Reader: What is …

“In hindsight,” says MTS Spokesman Ellen Speed, “it may have been a mistake to fire Public Relations specialist Grecia Figueroa on the same day Nathan Fletcher announced his bid for state senate, especially given the …

“It’s baffling,” says San Diego Democratic Party Chair Becca Taylor. “Democrats are obviously the good guys in this world, fighting against the policies of the racist, sexist, corrupt, exploitative Republicans. And here in San Diego, …

Statement from County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher: “As I look back over my career as a County Supervisor — at my support for draconian lockdown measures during covid, at my insistence on covid vaccines for low-risk …

Spring has finally sprung — some might say it’s sprung a leak — so it feels seasonally appropriate to start with a lighter shade of cocktail before enjoying dinner at North Park’s RustiCucina. Bartender Vincent …

“Our children’s album, Life is But a Dream, is available streaming worldwide,” announced dream pop duo Little Hurricane. Among the fifteen tracks are kids’ standards such as “Wheels On the Bus,” “This Old Man,” “Three …

I pull up in front of a homeless encampment on G street downtown next to the Arco, scan the meter, and pay for an hour and fourteen minutes of parking. Parking after six o’clock is …

“We’re just dirty pop singing about pizookie appetizers at BJ’s,” says Auz Fontaine co-founder Captain Auzmo. “It always works and has this fun element, like when you go to a prix fixe and you get …

Once upon a time, if you wanted to take part in a ceremonial psychedelic experience, you had to pay a pretty penny: a flight to Costa Rica or Peru, and then a journey into the …

Getting Gil’s goat A political committee run by the chair of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Gil Cabrera, which emailed a hit piece attacking ex-Assembly Democrat Lori Saldana last year during her bid …

Lake Hodges Dam has received the state's worst possible safety rating, leaving the city with another delay in making repairs some say are decades overdue. Last month, the state's Division of Safety of Dams downgraded …

Work has begun on a new field station and learning center at the Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve that by year’s end will provide a more spacious and modern facility for academic researchers, K-12 students and community …

The Sticky-Sweet Odor of citrus blossoms is wafting on the spring breezes this year, as it has in every year since the 1870s, when the county’s first commercially planted orange and lemon groves began to …

As aviation-gas lead drops over Serra Mesa... Usually when people complain about small regional airports, the issue is noise. But Serra Mesa resident Gary Keller is worried about lead poisoning, and a California health coalition …

When I arrived in La Mesa nearly 25 years ago, the odd, triangular lot at the end of the main drag was occupied by a sleepy restaurant with a sleepy name: Village Garden Restaurant & …

Dock Totals 3/19– 4/1: 1,359 anglers aboard 62 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past two weeks caught 18 bluefin tuna (to 120 pounds), 39 bocaccio, 17 calico bass (21 …

I adored American Christmas I fell in love with America for the first time on a sweaty night in a Bangkok refugee center in March 1991. “In America people have meat with every meal,” my …

Will Work for Food I lost my job, my wife, my car, and I’m now homeless. I’m trying to stay sober. I’m hoping generous San Diegans will pass a few bucks my way to help …