Del Mar Stories
At this year’s San Diego County Fair, a business coup took place that went unnoticed by most fairgoers; but, it was the talk of longtime merchandise-booth owners in Bing Crosby Hall. For over 25 years, …
At the San Diego County Fair on July 1, just after 3:00 p.m., a freshwater main ruptured at the O’Brien Exhibit Hall, gushing hundreds of gallons onto the walkways and into nearby booths outside the …
On the first anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, June 25, the San Diego County Fair celebrated the pop icon by hosting the “Ultimate Michael Jackson Tribute Band,” Who’s Bad. By 7:00 p.m., the Paddock’s stage …
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department arrested three people in Encinitas, Del Mar, and Solana Beach for furnishing alcohol to persons under the age of 21 on March 26, according to the state department of …
An izakaya is the Japanese equivalent of a tapas bar or gastropub — a place where salarymen flock after work to snack on a variety of small dishes (or some big comforting ones) for a …
On Wednesday of this week, the State Race Track Leasing Commission was scheduled to approve a new request for proposals for a new lease of the Del Mar track. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the …
Members of North County volunteer action group P.L.A.G.U.E (Prevent Los Angeles Gridlock Usurping Environment) hopes to spread their objections to a three- to four-billion-dollar Caltrans proposal to broaden Interstate 5 by a total of 22 …
At about 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 28, an employee of the Albertsons supermarket on the 2700 block of Via de la Valle reported to police that a customer had pulled a knife on a …
BALBOA PARK Another Perfect DayBy downtownphotoguy, June 26Today we were in Presidio Park in the morning and Balboa Park in the afternoon. We were shooting with a variety of lenses and techniques…. It seems everybody …
The Lynnester has ways to make men talk. When Mark and I arrived to meet her at Iris, she was having a drink and pumping the charming manager, Edd Golden, younger brother of chef-owner Tommy …
Trekking in Nepal involved 25 grueling vegan days of rice, lentils, mustard greens, noodles, barley stew, and boiled potatoes (and one glorious night of smoky yak steak and real mashed potatoes from the best darned …
"This story isn’t about me!” Richard Eckfield, who’s been on a three-year crusade to get a train stop built at the Del Mar Racetrack, is adamant. “It’s a much larger issue.” But Eckfield’s relentless dedication, …
It’s over, you know that. But it’s not. It’s never over. Year after year it comes back; and every goober, his brother, and his family will be there jamming traffic for miles on three freeways, …
Crest Canyon, an open-space park within the city limits of San Diego, helps separate the woodsy City of Del Mar from the bustling sprawl of inland Del Mar and Carmel Valley to the east. The …
I’ve got stripes, stripes around my shoulders, I’ve got chains, chains around my legs…— Johnny Cash (based on Leadbelly’s “On a Monday”) For months I’ve been meaning to eat at Kitchen 1540, formerly the more …
According to San Diego County assessor/clerk/recorder David L. Butler, the assessed value of all taxable property in the county has dropped to a 25-year low -- an overall decrease of 2.3 percent from the previous …
On Tuesday, June 30, on the San Diego County Fair’s SDG&E Showcase Stage, the Jamul School of the Performing Arts began their 1:00 p.m. presentation for the crowd of about 150 fairgoers. The numerous choreographed …
The theme for this year’s Del Mar Fair is “Music Mania.” Chris Behar of reggae band High Tide thinks that’s false advertising. “The fair is supposed to be all about music this year. They are …
District 1 Councilmember Sherri Lightner isn’t San Diego’s most outspoken city politician. Typically, her comments at council meetings are succinct, slightly awkward, and usually start off with a clumsy grab at the microphone. She’s not …
I was just thinking that this particular stretch of Del Mar Trails Road reminded me of some ancient Italian village (only with more yard space and much bigger houses), when a bend in the road …
Richard Eckfield knows the perfect way to draw bigger crowds to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. He’s pitched the idea for over three years. The problem is, nobody at the fairgrounds is listening. Eckfield wants the …
Three years ago, Del Mar Unified School District decided to sell off a 5.3-acre parcel of surplus property located in the heart of the city, at Ninth Street and Camino del Mar, for $8.5 million. …
In San Diego’s hemorrhaging real estate industry, it’s better to be upside-down and rich than upside-down and poor. That may sound axiomatic — it’s always nicer to be rich than poor — but carriage-trade folks …
Forty-two years ago today — September 11, 1966 — Del Mar was renamed “Clarksville” as part of a promotion for the Monkees’ TV show to debut the following night. The Sunday event marked the first …
The Del Mar City Council wants to be marketable: more distinguishable from its coastal sister cities. They want a brand name and to have their own catchy slogan. In local government lingo, they want to …
Pinback live at Del Mar Fairgrounds on Friday, August 1, 2008.
“I grew up on a farm in Cole Camp, Missouri. I enjoyed watching amateur rodeos, but my family wasn’t a rodeo family,” says professional bull rider Matt Bohon. “I’d see bareback riding, bucking horses, calf …
The unsmiling man in the Hawaiian shirt takes your money.
Familiar to most people around Del Mar but unknown to many outsiders, the Torrey Pines State Reserve Extension conceals itself amid the coastal bluffs inland from Del Mar and just north of the main Torrey …
The Fourth of July is about celebration. It's about honoring our country, our freedoms, while tossing a few back with family and friends — not on the beach of course — and watching the spectacular …
What’s the difference between National City and Rancho Santa Fe? Well — er, uh — money comes to mind. Last year, median household income in National City was $44,130, according to figures provided by the …
Bing Crosby (left, in the white jacket and straw hat) at the Del Mar Racetrack’s setting of a memorial stone, 1936. (The track opened the following year.) To the right of the hoist chain, the …
The racing season is long over at Del Mar, but 20 state legislators and their relatives no doubt have happy memories of the meet, thanks to the generosity of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. According …
Israel and Lebanon were at war. England and Argentina were at war. In Hollywood, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed. Navy beat Army 24-7, the Chargers beat the Dolphins 41-38 to make it to …
Dear Matt: Whatever happened to the "Fairest of the Fair" at the San Diego County Fair or Del Mar Fair? -- Bob, via e-mail Hey, you're right. Haven't seen her around lately, but never missed …
Insiders say two Del Mar Fair Grandstand headliners this year will get paid a lot more to play the venue than what they would otherwise get for a local show. Switchfoot, which would normally command …
Matt: The wetlands intersected by I-5 just south of Via de la Valle, looks like a major construction project is underway. Isn't that environmentally protected real estate? -- Keith W. Turner, Encinitas Hey, Matt: Settle …
"If it loses money, I'm prepared to do it again," said Chris Wepsic in 2005 when he launched the first Festival Del Mar. Wepsic produced and bore primary financial responsibility for the two-day event at …
On the first day of the year, the roads are empty and most televisions are tuned to the Rose Parade — some for the flowers, others in anticipation of the Rose Bowl (USC against Michigan …
Continuing with Don Jacklin, president of the American Mule Racing Association. He is, by the way, the Jacklin of Jacklin Seed, "one of the world's largest national and international grass-seed research, production, and marketing organizations." …
The first drive-in theater I snuck into in San Diego was also the first one built here, the Midway, on the northwest corner of Mission Bay Drive and Sports Arena Boulevard. It was December 1979, …
Combining beach, lagoon, crest, and canyon, this looping hike touches upon every natural landscape the community of greater Del Mar (the west-of-Interstate-5 part, anyway) has to offer. On a typical early-summer day, with a tepid …
Mary Jo and her friends Jackie, Mary Ellen, and Kelly decided to form an organization that "fights frump," an anti-Red Hat Society. A friend once told Mary Jo, "We don't see you wearing a red …
When the time came for Randy Gruber to name his first restaurant, a corner eatery on Del Mar's main drag, he chose Americana because "the name rolls off your tongue and it works well for …
Exit Interstate 5 at Del Mar Heights Road and head west. Cross Mango and go down the hill toward the heart of Del Mar. Take in one of the most beautiful stretches of scenery anywhere. …
Esmeralda Bookstore 1555 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar Plaza 858-755-2707 Small, but with an amazingly diverse collection, Esmeralda serves coffee and munchies at cafŽ tables and chairs inside and out on the patio. At the …
Harvest Ranch Markets and Jonathan's Harvest Ranch Market, 1555 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar, 858-847-0555 Harvest Ranch Market, 162 South Rancho Santa Fe Road, Encinitas, 760-944-6898 Jonathan's, 7611 Fay Avenue, La Jolla, 858-459-2677 Harvest Ranch …
Arterra Marriott Del Mar Hotel 11966 El Camino Real, Del Mar 858-369-6032, 858-523-1700 What better "power breakfast" than tangerine soufflé hotcakes, the paragon of pancakedom -- light, sweet, and pungent all at once. The ethereal …
"Grazing" Some menus call them "small plates" or "global tapas." Others come right out of the closet and admit what they are: grazing menus -- collections of artfully constructed, smaller-size dishes (sized as large appetizers …
A wealthy San Diego developer wants to construct what appears to be a first in American history: a private family cemetery on a public golf course, specifically designed as the final resting place for a …
The three lanes of Torrey Pines Road between the state reserve of the same name and Del Mar crown a half-mile sand berm separating the Pacific Ocean to the west and Los Peñasquitos lagoon to …