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Pete Wilson was here In 1975 Mayor Wilson called the proposal to build some 14,000 homes in North City West “a big mistake.” He declared that allowing homes to be built in Carmel Valley, just …
The rise and fall of the Copley press Shortly after he purchased the two San Diego papers, a dinner was arranged in Copley’s honor at the Hotel del Coronado. He rose to speak, assuring the …
Color them gone The space theater managers argue that San Diegans need more education in science and technology, but take a look at the size of their gift shop and the types of movies — …
Season's Browse Duff Brenna's Book of Mamie won the 1988 Associated Writing Programs prize for best novel of the year. Brenna admits reading everything that crosses his path. However, there are classics he returns to …
Three days along the San Dieguito I knew I’d made a bad mistake. I jumped back, but it was already too late. A yellow, foul-smelling mist rained down on me. It was a direct hit, …
Snakebite Bob recalls, “I was getting pretty good mouthfuls of blood for a while, then everything seemed to coagulate.” Less than three minutes had elapsed since the time of the bite. He substituted the waist …
No man is an island (with the possible exception of Don Zub) Most of the main drinking establishments in town have declared themselves off-limits to Zub over the years since he left the Navy. McP’s …
Private lies and public television KPBS viewers are repeatedly told that the station must spend a great deal of money to purchase these nationally produced programs. Although the pledge-night barkers do not provide much detail, …
Captain Money and the golden girl They bought $100,000 foreign sports cars by the dozens. Still unsated they bought a limousine company for personal transportation. They had three jets. They owned several elegant homes. They …
David Westerfield betrays himself PR: When I ask you this question about Danielle, your blood pressure goes crazy. That's 25 seconds from here to here.... And the next question, it does the same thing as …
Somewhere Between Death and the Border “I ran over to pick the suitcase up and, yeah, Eddie was laying there, face down in this pool of blood in the sand about a foot across, laying …
Like your road widened, Mister? Roads like Old Highway 80, east of San Diego, were paved with concrete; but after the war, asphalt paving was perfected. Asphalt is cheaper to lay down, which is why …
Tom Morey In the beginning Morey and Faivor sold the Boogie Board through ads in surfing magazines, mail order, cash in advance. The money that came in with the first orders enabled them to buy …
Cowboys, cattle, and time Jim Kemp is the largest cattle rancher in San Diego County, but the few thousand animals he keeps in the East County are only a whisper of the huge herds that …
Adam Parfrey published a semiautobiographical novel by Joseph Goebbels, the ramblings of Charles Manson and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski plus analyses from the Aryan Nations of Don McLean's American Pie. Works he cultivated inspired Tim Burton's …
The vote is in the mail “Willie Brown is my number-one customer in politics, but I’m a Republican through and through. I’m also a businessman with 45 families to feed, and I think that anyone …
The unlikely rescue Shane heard a noise and stopped. It was a voice, unintelligible. Mike stopped too. “Tony!” they called together. They heard an answer and followed it up to where the hunter had come …
Breathless I woke Barbara, my girlfriend. She had never seen a major asthma attack before; I knew that it would probably be more frightening for her than for me. From the outside, the sufferer of …
Why men hit their wives "She was following me around the house nagging, shrieking. You could have heard her a mile away. I was going, ‘What do you want from me?’ She stood in front …
Phoenix without apologies The heat is horrible — that’s why we went there, to find out, first hand, why half of Phoenix seems to descend upon San Diego in the summertime. But Phoenicians can cope, …