13 years have passed since the Centro de Resistencia Sabino Arellano was first set up in Benito Juarez Public Park, one of the oldest and the last remaining public parks in the Zona Rio area, …

On January 6, prices of large white eggs in cartons dropped from $7.50 per dozen to $7.37 per dozen in California, according to the USDA site. But even at those high prices, Ashley Hahn noticed …

Ornamental Pear Trees are bursting into bloom all over town. The thousands of white blossoms appear in sheets and clusters, rather like snow when viewed from a distance. Nice specimens can be seen along Lake …

Alpine's Secret Valley Here we could raise animals and grow a garden, learn the old arts of canning, butchering, milking, and cheese-making. The '70s provided this back-earth movement, and our few neighbors, like my family, …

A father’s blood in Rancho Santa Fe Kim saw the two men come outside and walk up a pathway to the pergola; it was a high spot on the property where they could sit and …

This menu can’t be pinned down. I see both pasta and chow mein, kabobs and wings, tacos and “artisan pizza.” But mostly, there’s Indian food. A drink at the bar might shed some light on …

San Diego's 300 electronic bulletin boards Mank Larson, a San Diego writer, claims he'd be useless without a computer. "I bought this thing two years ago just for word processing. Now it's taken over my …

There once was a tremendously popular piece of music about a Native American which was written by a composer of African descent whose forbearers had been slaves in the New World prior to the American …

Annabel Lee It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she …

The Light Church Contact: 831 3rd St., Encinitas 760-975-2403, www.lightsandiego.com Attendance: 700-800 “on any given Sunday.” Associate Pastor: Stevy York Age: 29 Born: Escondido Formation: Biola University, La Mirada Years Ordained: 8 San Diego Reader: …

“Och, dreich. Ye coulda picked a better night, sailor,” says Annie. “It’s chucking it down.” Annie’s my Scottish friend. She’s right about the rain. Says it takes her back to “Caledonia.” That’s the old name …

Sun Room was founded in 2020 by Long Beach transplant Luke Asgian, while attending Point Loma Nazarene University. Their music has been heard on the Netflix program Outerbanks. An upcoming EP called Outta Their Minds …

“I’m 64 years old with one leg. I don’t need any help falling down,” Social Spit frontman Cliff Cunningham tells me. He’s not spewing random trivia; he’s responding to my question about whether he’s drunk …

There always seems to be something new at Liberty Public Market. Of the 35 vendors currently doing business in the Liberty Station food hall, only eight remain from its original, 2016 lineup. Like so many …

Three years ago in these pages, I eulogized Mr. San Diego: civic leader George Mitrovich, the man who famously “knew everyone.” Now I’m back to pay tribute to his fellow flack and Kensingtonian, Colin Flaherty, …

Sunbreak’s second chance It didn’t take long for Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and the New York Post to pick up on a homeless opinion piece co-authored by ex-basketball pro Bill Walton, adding to growing suspicions …

January 15, a rainy Sunday. It’s 1 pm; my friends Ted Winter, Sandra McBride and I are pregaming by drinking Heinekens and doing White Runtz bong hits. At 1:45, I get a text from my …

A rural housing project that has been in limbo for decades is worrying Alpine neighbors who found out it may be revived. The 152-home zombie, known as the Bell Bluff extension, was to be the …

On January 11 Rebecca Phillips told the Santee City Council about an experience she had two weeks prior at Santee’s Cameron Family YMCA on Riverwalk Drive. When she walked out of the shower, she said …

San Diego County’s Waterfalls, swollen with runoff and snowmelt from recent storms, should be at their very best during the next month or two. Three of the most accessible are: Green Valley Falls at Cuyamaca …

San Diego’s secret missile-testing sites While hardly Death Valley, Scripps is hot in August, with any errant ocean breezes conditioned by their journey over industrial parks and tract homes on the intervening mesas. And no …

Dock Totals 1/8 – 1/21: 691 anglers aboard 43 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past two weeks caught 6 blacksmith, 68 calico bass, 124 halfmoon, 2 halibut, 15 lingcod, …

Feature stories Leave me alone: San Diego's Goths During a conversation at an IHOP in El Cajon, Carnell brings up Hamlet. Carnell is the moniker of the 40-year-old co-publisher of Carpe Noctem; a locally published …

San Marcos hides the ugly truth about its schools I wonder too about this city I’ve moved to, a chance I took about a decade ago and that now, like all old bets, begins to …

I came across some vinyl records with the label “Phase 4 Stereo” on them. I promptly contacted my friend who is into vinyl and gave them over to him. He must have thought me a …

It’s standard operating procedure for breweries to concoct anniversary releases. But for its sixth anniversary, Burgeon Beer Company amplified the trend and brewed not one, but two commemorative beers. “We knew for sure one of …

On Thursday, January 19, the Music Box hosts Carry the Stone: An All-Star Tribute to the Music of Pink Floyd. The core band features locals Josh Taylor and Sam Hunt (guitars and vocals), Josh Weinstein …

“People are very intrigued by seahorses,” says Leslee Matsushige, associate curator at Birch Aquarium. And intriguing fish — signs of whimsy in the relentlessly efficient natural world — are good PR for an institution hoping …

A conversation among the inscriptions scribbled amid the doodles on the ochre walls of the Georgian restaurant Pomegranate — layer upon layer, the ink fading like echoes, dim voices from the forgotten past. Remember QAnon …

Slack Key Ohana didn’t intend to release a live album. But the mahalo groove (aka the Hawaiian spirit of gratefulness for everything) held sway in the end. The slack key guitar band’s new full-length Live …

While noodles, dumplings, and other savory fare draw the most attention to the Convoy District, you could practically fill a guidebook to the neighborhood based solely on singular Asian dessert restaurants. I’ll have to circle …

“In Mexico or Baja California, there is a lot of corruption done by the municipal police force as they arbitrarily arrest people and the officers ask for a bribe to release them, without going before …

Throwing Goldstones As city hall’s controversies continue to burgeon, Democratic mayor Todd Gloria has gotten his reelection paperwork in early, in the form of a January 4 candidate intention statement filed with the city clerk’s …

Even longtime San Diegans who consider themselves experts in the city’s geography can be forgiven for overlooking Rancho Pacifica. Perched at the northernmost point of the city’s inland boundaries — past where the coastline has …

Chula Vista’s North Island Credit Union Amphitheater is less than 30 miles from D.Z. Akin’s, the place from which Mrs. Steffenhagen and I set out at 4:30 pm. The Iron Maiden show isn’t slated to …

The most contested update to the land development code has been passed 3-1 by the city's land use and housing committee. Sustainable development areas — the city's new term for places where transit-oriented housing can …

5 Peaks of Mission Trails Located in San Carlos, the 5-Peak Challenge is a very strenuous hike. With a length of 17 miles and an elevation gain of around 4,300 feet, the hike will take …

On April 14 of last year, an earthquake with an epicenter in Ensenada rattled Tijuana hard enough that the city closed its Simon Bolivar bridge. Eventually, it was determined that the bridge’s infrastructure was so …

The Frost-Nipped Legacies of last November’s and December’s cold spells aren’t hard to spot. Brown lawns, half-dead-looking avocado trees, and wilted ornamental plants like poinsettias in certain areas of San Diego County tell the story …

Leucadia funk-removal machine to start up soon Leucadians rallied against the issues of the day on Coast Highway, a proposed 7-Eleven, a drive-thru Jack in the Box, and the terminus of proposed Highway 680 — …

Bad blood in Barrio Logan As Alvin Ducheny and I roll through Barrio Logan in his dirty white Mercury Lynx, I ask him. “Why do so many people hate your guts, Al? You’d think you …

Call it a case of mistaken identity, but I’ve been sleeping on Tahini. A byproduct of writing about food week after week is that my brain has become a de facto restaurant map, where any …

Almost Beautiful: the death in El Centro of Nathanael West, one of America’s most mordant authors Fifteen minutes ago, a bit after 2:30, they started driving north from the grand, desert-white De Anza Hotel in …

I had some solitary cleaning projects on my plate this last week and decided to use the time to cover some ground with a composer I’m not too familiar with. I considered a few options …

San Ysidro’s PedWest border crossing is reopening this week after more than two years of closure in the wake of covid-19, and to celebrate, President Biden outlined a plan by which 30,000 people per month …

Southwest Airlines left over a million passengers stranded over the Christmas holiday, thanks to a combination of terrible weather, even more terrible management and systems updates, and a government so hands off it might as …

“We see this all the time in the wild,” says San Diego Zoo gorilla therapist Elaine Silverback. “Monroe and Frank had been living in a troop led by 50-year-old Winston, but when they reached sexual …

I came for yak, the classic mountain meat from the Himalayas. I ended up with tikka masala, the classic Indian dish from, uh, Scotland? But I’m getting ahead of myself. It was the yak that …

Nominated for Best Rock Artist at the 2022 San Diego Music Awards, Canadian transplants Daring Greatly will headline a packed Music Box bill on Thursday, January 12 in Little Italy. Co-headliner Ash Easton released her …

“Bienvenida a la selva,” reads a neon green sign inside one of Gaslamp’s newest restaurants, Zama. Greeting me with an exuberant smile, Bar Manager Gerry Bedolla explains, “That’s our theme here, our vibe. Our concept …

“Hi, hi, hi, high / Marijuanaman, marijuana man / Say we gonna save the land.” So go the lyrics of Ziggy Marley’s 2016 joint “Marijuanaman.” On February 3 and 4, the oldest son of the …

Entering Jacumba Hot Springs — a “census designated place” in the high desert just north of the Mexican border some 70 miles east of San Diego proper — is like stepping into a Steinbeck novel, …

Rainmaker’s run-in Fresh from a $1.8 billion March 2021 buyout by Roche of his previous employer, San Diego-based GenMark Diagnostics, the company’s chief financial officer Johnny Ek signed on in with Specific Diagnostics of Mountain …

I’ve always imagined the Til-Two Club as the kind of haunt where you might have found the late author Charles Bukowski buzzing around. If he dressed in black leather and lived in San Diego when …

Kadampa Meditation Center San Diego Contact: 3502 Adams Ave, San Diego 619-230-5832 www.meditateinsandiego.org Membership: 70 Resident Teacher (Gen): Kelsang Lhadron Age: 49 Born: Chattanooga, TN Formation: Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Kadampa Meditation Center, Glen Spey, …

At first glance, the arrival of La Central Birrieria & Menuderia doesn’t seem momentous. Birria, after all, has spent the past few years becoming the most talked about Mexican meat dish on the planet. We’ve …

Over 40 new state laws are casting shadows over local control of housing, and cities are choosing their battles. In Del Mar, officials are turning to the Coastal Act to fend off increases in height, …

On Christmas Day, the San Diego Police Department caught the drivers of three Chevy Corvettes and a Ford Fox Body Mustang for participating in a "drifting sideshow." They impounded all four vehicles and posted the …

Green and Gold will be the colors of the coastal region’s natural landscape in early 2023. The recent rain will trigger the growth of annual grasses and weeds, with greens replacing yellows and browns. At …

What am I doing in Eastlake? The western end of the loop consists of a series of shopping centers, all butted up against Eastlake Parkway, and all bearing names that declare their neighborhood allegiance: Eastlake …

Dock Totals 12/25 – 1/7: 1108 anglers aboard 45 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past two weeks caught 10 bluefin tuna, 24 bocaccio, 2 bonito, 1 black seabass (released), …

There isn’t a tougher port to work at than San Ysidro There is a switchblade in that car — and a woman with a trembling left breast. The woman of the trembling breast and her …

A page or two out of Clifford Newman's book “Then these three guys come and I’m still on the phone with the dispatcher. And they’re standin’ there — with the gun and the burritos — …

With the holidays all wrapped up, we look toward what could be considered the meat of the classical music season. January is generally quiet but things get rowdy in February. On February 2 and 3, …

Luxury and opulence are obviously the prime factors underpinning what we do here at Unreal. Whether that means ultramodern sleekness in a living space rivaling the size of a large grocery store, a penthouse unit …

A short trolley ride brings me to San Diego’s House of Blues, where a video monitor at the entryway — emblematic of the modern concert venue — warns “Hate will not be tolerated here!” The …

The Tourmalines were founded by Deven Berryhill, son of Bob Berryhill, of the ‘60s surf rock group the Surfaris. The new Tourmaliners CD on local Pacific Records, Surfidia, continues the band’s exploration of cinematic surf …

“Watch your step,” says the girl. “Watch your…oh dear. You okay sir?” I brush off dust, drink, pride, and reply, “Yes of course.” And it’s true — except for the pride part. I’m with a …

“I started the San Diego Super Padres motto,” says masked fan Padre Libre, whose new baseball rap will debut next opening day, March 30. “I found some guys to make the music for my song, …

Video:You Don't Need a Record To Attend Set Free ChurchThe painter Michael Cassidy is either the least or most practical person I know. Least in that he doesn’t measure success in terms of money; most …

Lorena’s loot Given that traditional local news outlets suffer financial duress and the Union-Tribune is expected to go exclusively online most days of the week, the word that ex-Assembly Democrat Lorena Gonzalez has set up …

What’s the real Torrey story? Regarding the dispute over protected Torrey Pines obstructing views ("Del Mar Torrey pine headed for pruning suffers big limb break," Dec 29), I would like to know whether the trees …

Granite Mountain Located at the end of Cool Canyon Road in Anza Borrego, Granite Mountain is a grueling grind that will test your endurance and tolerance for pain. With a length of 7 miles and …

Mission Trails is the sort of place that gets a lot of January action, largely from people who resolve to spend more time outdoors and exercising in the new year. I might have fallen into …

As Hillcrest considers turning its core into a historic district, gays have lost one of only two sites dedicated to the LGBQT community. The planning commission voted unanimously last week to approve a development permit …

As thousands of people were stuck at the San Diego International Airport during and after Christmas because of canceled flights, many people rented cars inside and near the airport and drove to their destinations. One …

Recent Chilly Days and Nights only confirm that San Diego’s lowest temperatures (according to more than a century of weather records) tend to occur during the month of January. January’s mean temperature at Lindbergh Field …

Bay Park remains a mere neighborhood Bay Park was around long before there was any movement in Clairemont. Bay Park has history going back to 1877. Clairemont wasn't developed until the 1950s. Ocean Beach lives …

Sherley Williams – from Fresno to La Jolla Sherley and I were the same age, both of us writers, both of us descendants of slaves. In 1966 we became the first in our respective families …