After years of delays, Normal Street's pedestrian promenade, which began as a grassroots effort in Hillcrest in 2015, is moving forward. What was the holdup? A driveway. Hillcrest Village Square Partners, who have owned the …

The first time I lay down on a waterbed, I thought, “Who wouldn’t want one of these?” The undulating motion of the water, the evenly distributed pressure against my body — so relaxing, and sensual …

Toni and Rupert’s political romance Controversial right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson is out of a job, and Fox News is poorer by $787.5 million, thanks to its settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation charges arising …

“Be strong!” said my brother as I was led out of the courtroom. I had just been sentenced to 90 days in the county jail for possession with intent to sell. I had hired the …

Books do furnish a room “More Luxury Coming Soon!” promised the poster at Fashion Valley, by way of explaining and apologizing for the mall’s rough-and-tumble construction zone vibe. But inside Banana Republic, it had already …

I was frustrated. I hadn’t asked for a Tesla when I made the rental car reservation. I certainly hadn’t asked for a Tesla with the pre-set user name Papa Simp. (I move my seat back, …

On May 18, a Zero electric scooter caught fire at an apartment complex in Normal Heights. The Thursday night fire by the hillside overlooking Mission Valley and just west of the 805 was the fifth …

Call them crape myrtles or crepe myrtles, both names correctly describe the deciduous small trees from the Lagerstroemia genus in the loosestrife family (Lythraceae). Crape Myrtles are in bloom around San Diego this month through …

San Diego sides with Carmel Partners in Rolando project The Boulevard at 63rd, formerly known as Centrepoint Luxury Apartments from developer Carmel Partners, has been at the center of a controversy that so far has …

Dock Totals 5/14 – 5/27: 5081 anglers aboard 247 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past two weeks caught 1 barracuda, 2849 bluefin tuna (up to 186 pounds), 30 bocaccio, …

San Diego's Antiochian Orthodox church surprises. He looks like a regular young guy — maybe late 20s or early 30s. Head shaved to mask a receding hairline, a black goatee to offset the baldness, the …

Shelter Island’s Bali Hai was never some little grog shop “Special Tables for Spies, Espionage Agents to View the U.S. Fleet — Binoculars furnished to U.S. Citizens only,” said a 1950s advertisement for the restaurant. …

Rigorous is a word that rarely raises its strict head in the fair city of San Diego. Relaxation is the dominant paradigm. Rigor must hide in the shadows cast by the eternal sunny disposition of …

Oceanside’s Ryes & Grind is a West Coast Jewish Deli that gives off upscale coffee shop vibes, underlain by a tinge of surfer grunge. Most people I saw dining in either wore beanies or had …

As regular readers already know, we look at some pretty nice houses here at Unreal. But if you’re wealthy enough to be looking at homes in one of the country’s most expensive communities, property that …

After graduating from La Jolla High in 2011, singer/songwriter Josh Blevins attended Pepperdine before enrolling at SDSU and launching Gunner Gunner around 2014. After a long period of inactivity, the band will perform a reunion …

“What made you think the world needed another brewery?” I ask Burning Beard Brewery co-founder Mike Maass. He doesn’t miss a beat, laughing as he explains the art of brewing, and the environment he and …

The upright bass is in some ways the most essential instrument in a jazz ensemble. The trouble is that there just aren’t enough bass players to go around, and the really good ones end up …

May 27-28 North Park Music Festival North Park A music, food, and art festival as unique as North Park itself. The North Park Mini Park and surrounding streets will be transformed into a music venue, …

Sara’s care package It was off to Kenya for a week starting April 8 for House Democrat Sara Jacobs, who hasn’t been wasting any time catching up with her predecessor Susan Davis in the free …

Miranda’s malign message Danielle Thomassen’s interview in San Diego Reader of vapid divorce attorney Tim Miranda (“Divorcée talks with Antonyan Miranda, king of divorce billboards”, Cover Stories, May 3, 2023) gave him much more credence …

As I recall, it was around the middle of the last decade when I first encountered pickleball. My friend Andy Cox and I were nearing the end of a game of tennis at Collier Park …

El Cajon planning commissioners last week voted 4-0 to revoke the "deemed approved" status of a motel where adults had rented rooms for minors, and a teen was found shot in the head. The motel …

Since the March 11 end of Title 42, which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their process is worked on, migrants crossed the first wall of the two existing border walls. Small groups …

“June Gloom,” the generally dreary, overcast, late-spring weather along San Diego’s coastline, has already begun and could intensify next month. Occasionally, the low clouds will stick around for several days. This is usually triggered by …

Linda Vista in conflict with itself Linda Vista is San Diego’s cucuy room. People drive past it on the way to somewhere. Sometimes they go there for a specific place like Skate World but don’t …

Waves bigger than your house We are on the road to Playas de Tijuana, the stretch where the border fence acts as guardrail on the right. Jeff has agreed to tutor me in the ways …

All the mayor's men White, 35, has been with Wilson longer than any of the mayor's advisors, and has made it a personal policy not to get within writing distance of reporters. He ducked back …

When it comes to symphonies, very few composers have all of their symphonic utterances consistently performed. Of course, Beethoven sits atop the heap even if his First, Second, Fourth, and Eighth symphonies don’t get the …

Coastal Vineyard Contact: 5663 Balboa Ave. #605, San Diego ( Sunday gatherings: 10 am at Kavod Charter School, 6991 Balboa Ave.) 858-456-5045 www.coastvineyard.org Membership: 70 Pastor: Michelle Wilson Age: 53 Born: Lawrence, KS Formation: University …

Hoxton Manor’s theme of Southeast Asian inspired food with a California flair might seem a bit heady: the influences lean on Thailand and Vietnam, but there are no rules when it comes to flavor combinations, …

Temblad (Spanish for “Tremble”) was founded as a metal cover band before developing original music. The group will debut their album Hallucignosis at the Soda Bar in City Heights on Friday, May 19, with other …

I’ll start out with a confession: I hate crowds. I get pretty stressed out at a sold-out concert, which is why I’ll do just about anything to arrive early enough at a general admission show …

Problems in Modern Puppetry Performance : When SDSU English department grad and tech geek Michael Buchmiller turned himself into Professor B. Miller of the Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, he knew he’d face challenges in the songwriting, …

A recent verbal altercation at a local Lucha Libre-inspired restaurant in Mission Hills was actual and not a professional wrestling skit, as many onlookers thought. "Ma'am, give me my receipt, you fu--ing bit-h .... "You …

I hesitate to admit this, but much of my writing is rooted in dreams. Before your eyes roll back in your head and you start struggling with whether or not to feign interest — you …

Pot and trash talking La Mesa Vice Mayor Colin Parent, CEO of self-styled pro-transit nonprofit Circulate San Diego, has of late been under the microscope for soliciting $700,000 over the past five years for Circulate …

San Diego has no shortage of sports-related beers. Padres fans have Ballast Point’s Swingin’ Friar Ale and AleSmith’s .394 Pale Ale, while Aztecs fans can sip on AleSmith’s San Diego State Ale, and even Gulls …

“McKinley Elementary’s library hadn’t been updated since 1970,” says interior designer Heather Vitti Pruett. “Fifty years!” Then, back in 2018, Pruett suddenly found herself in a position to do something about that, after she enrolled …

“It’s almost like an infant,” says Jonathan Bickoff. It’s a refreshingly simple take on one of the most tortured topics currently getting bandied about among La Jolla’s digi-pioneering crowd: AI. Artificial Intelligence: an evolution-leaping phenomenon …

Housing-starved students in University City say they're fighting for elbow room with older, more established residents. "They're calling us transient - the new word is migratory now," said Aidan Lin at a city workshop last …

Mule Deer by the dozens continue to roam through the 25,000 acre Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Take an early-morning drive down Highway 79 through the park, and you’ll likely spot deer on or near the …

Are the volunteers getting hosed? Nicio Aguilera is blunt: “Nobody up here trusts the county. We don’t trust them, we don’t like them.” Aguilera, who spent 15 years fighting fires in Philadelphia and another 15 …

Dock Totals 4/30– 5/13: 3,889 anglers aboard 189 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past two weeks caught 892 bluefin tuna (up to 180 pounds), 35 bocaccio, 334 bonito, 133 …

Treacherous Santiago Canyon Road Leonard Duguay’s 85th birthday came and went on July 5, 2016, without celebration. The Modjeska Canyon resident had disappeared and the search for him took a mysterious turn weeks later when …

Steal Beer And Die The bloodstains have long since faded, courtesy of Scram, sun, and time. More than a decade ago, in the parking lot of a Vons in Santee, Christopher St. Louis, 18, lost …

The San Diego Symphony concert on Saturday, May 6, started off with a new piece of music entitled Onward by Brian Raphael Nabors. This composition took me by surprise. I am always skeptical of new …

Statement from Walter Mencken: Here at SD on the QT, we try to avoid making the obvious joke. Well, most of the time. But when you get a slow news week combined with the city’s …

Last week, visitors to the Jenny Craig website were surprised to find its usual offerings of subscription meal plans, exercise regimens, and articles on weight loss and nutrition replaced by a blunt message: “We give …

Last week, the Biden Administration announced that it would be sending 1500 troops to the United States’ southern border, in anticipation of a migrant surge following the expiration of Title 42, which allowed for the …

May Night The spring is fresh and fearless And every leaf is new, The world is brimmed with moonlight, The lilac brimmed with dew. Here in the moving shadows I catch my breath and sing-- …

The intersection of North Broadway and Washington is buzzy and busy. If you’re not careful, you might miss the signage for Four Tunas, which is bumped up against Adriana’s Insurance Services in one corner of …

Founded in 2019 and led by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Parker Griggs (Radio Moscow), El Perro is a psychedelic rock band with a second guitar and percussionist pushing the music into syncopated Latin and funk grooves. The group …

It’s finally starting to feel like Southern California again, rather than the soggy Pacific Northwest. The weather tax is finally paying its dividends. Everyone’s spirits are elevated. The sun is chirping and the birds are …

There are plenty of stories about drummers who got their start while still in their teens or even earlier. But not many involve someone with the talent and potential of Young Lions Jazz Conservatory phenom …

The oldest hotel murder in San Diego is believed to be that of Roger Whitaker, a gambler who was shot to death in room 309 of the historic Horton Grand Hotel which now stands at …

Fire in the hold A report to Congress by the United States Government Accountability Office in the wake of the July 2020 fire that devastated the USS Bonhomme Richard has found that when it comes …

Located in Guatay near Pine Valley, Guatay Mountain is a moderately strenuous hike. With a length of 5.3 miles and an elevation gain of around 1,600 feet, the hike will take most people 2 to …

We tend to go big here at Unreal. Whether that means massive houses or more modest ones with a long history, one thing they usually have in common is that they’re going to take some …

A proposal to put a modern sculpture by an acclaimed artist outside the Del Mar Civic Center nearly died last week before the public could even weigh in. "I'd rather just rip the bandaid off …

One month has passed since a landslide took place in El Mataderom, the cliff where the road to Playas de Tijuana was built on. The original project to connect Playas with the downtown Tijuana was …

Wild Rose, a California native, is in bloom in San Diego County’s foothills and mountains. In moist, lowland areas and along small watercourses, wild rose shows off small, fluorescent-pink flowers. By June and July, the …

How high can Bankers Hill go? A project to build a 20-story residential tower next to the St. Paul’s cathedral on Sixth Avenue between Maple and Nutmeg won praise and criticism from the community Thursday …

Do not sell your children to monsters My first novel is in the bookstores. My name and, here and there, my picture pop up in newspaper book reviews and Asian-American weeklies. “Are you famous?” Sam …

The forgotten war "It’s just like it was yesterday. On November 27 [1950] we were in a little village of Hagaru [North Korea]. That was the day the Chinese attacked further north and headed our …

When I'm in a cultural depression, I often turn to The Edwardians. The Edwardian Era is home to England’s most accomplished composers, save Georg Frederik Handel. The era lasted from 1901 to the death of …

Gina Tang has spent a lot of time thinking about what makes a good life, and trying to effect changes accordingly. Much of her career has involved working on projects that she believes in, whether …

“Inspiration comes from a cocktail I had in Oaxaca, Mexico,” says Sarah Block, Bar Manager for J & Tony’s Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse. A well-traveled colleague recommended visiting a bar called Sabina Sabe …

Wolf in the Woods treats food as a cultural expression, presenting the flavors of New Mexico with artful craft, assisted by the freshest ingredients and heartfelt preparation. Owner Johnny Rivera has managed a perfect blend …

Temecula-based melodic punk group Strike Twelve has a new album due at the end of June, Last Band Standing, preceded by a video for “Smart Phones, Stupid People” filmed with the members’ cell phones. “I …

Bay Park — a cloudy Sunday in April. Still jacket weather in San Diego. My destination for the day was The Garten. I turned on Sherman off Morena, turned left on Banks, and found my …

Evan Hawkins’ first exposure to reggae music came courtesy of his mom, who listened to Bob Marley and UB40. Then, when he was a teenager in the mid-2000s, a friend started bringing him to see …

Five months into my recent nuptials, I found myself in something of an ominous place, matrimonially speaking: on the 21st floor of the downtown Emerald Plaza, which houses the law office of popular divorce law …

Preuss’s trolley travails UCSD’s PR honchos are well-known for frequently touting the university’s charter prep school. “The Preuss School is located on the UC San Diego campus and is led by an alumna of the …

The bare bottom line on Nathan Fletcher Like many people, I was pretty heartbroken learning of our representative’s downfall. (“Where will the Nathan Fletcher money go?”, News Under the Radar, April 12, 2023) He unfortunately …

The bus you see here being readied for a new paint job is Red Rover, or at least, it will be. That’s Gina Tang, Creative Director of Little Shepherds Nature Lab, applying some tape before …

They're a step closer to landing on a sidewalk downtown, but not an inch closer to universal love: dozens of eight-foot-tall digital kiosks that threaten to end the city's historic ban on new outdoor advertising. …

On April 22 and 23, the El Cajon Facebook page challenged those living there to hop onto their "My El Cajon" app and "mark every pothole you can find within our city limits and have …

The Catalina Eddy, a meteorological condition responsible for days-long episodes of dreary, overcast weather over San Diego, is most likely to occur in May and June. This weather pattern, which intensifies our late-spring “June Gloom,” …

Sorrento Valley lacks stickiness It’s among the safest of neighborhoods. A glance at crime statistics shows negligible amounts in Sorrento Valley proper (most months: no murder, no rape, 20 nonresidential burglaries). The place is either …