Golden Dreams
On Sunday, September 12th, Grossmont High School sent an email to students and parents outlining changes to the school’s dress code. The email began, “In an effort to improve the atmosphere for learning in the …
You really notice the season’s changes at the beach. For starters, where are the umbrellas? Where are the people, lying around like seals on towels? More important, where is the family of young great whites …
It’s the evening of September 8 at Coronado’s Bistro d’Asia; everybody’s happy, in a gallows good-humored sort of way. Like passengers appreciating the band playing on the Titanic. And as the evening sky turns cerulean, …
“My mama’s a witch and daddy’s a sorcerer,” says Irish Eddie Murphy. He sits down outside the liquor store, stroking his beard. I offer coffee or Coke, but nope. “I’m going to get myself a …
Evening neighbors’ conversation: “Why don’t they get off their fat asses and find a job?” Annie’s talking about the homeless people she passes every day on her way back from work. “We can’t afford them! …
I have always loved the word “loquacious.” I also love the word “screwball.” And I especially love when the two come together in screwball comedies. If ever a rash of movies was by definition loquacious, …
“Limo driving?” says Corb. “It’s not all bad.” The guy should know. He has been driving execs around for 25 years. “I started in 1996, when the Republican Convention was on. I never left. I …
We’re here for the leopard sharks. They are supposed to be the friendliest sharks in the ocean, and this is the time of year they come close to the shore around La Jolla and raise …
“I’m a node worker,” says Josh Montes. He’s in the alley, sitting on a makeshift work bench, fiddling with metal brackets. Jeff, his buddy — supervisor actually — is up in a bucket, attaching cable …
We need Mr. Roundabout! Scott Ritchie has been called “The Roundabout Guy” ever since he started a company called “Roundabouts & Traffic Engineering” back in 1998. To most of us, the modest roundabout may still …
When friends ask Zach Johnson’s daughters what their daddy does, it can be hard. How do you tell someone your daddy races pigs? But he must be doing something right. He has four teams of …
“Storm in a teacup!” says my friend Eric. It’s a quiet Saturday evening. Noisiest things around are the crows. We’re talking — of course — about the flying tortilla incident a couple of weeks ago. …
Coronado: you’d think we’d be pretty jaded when it comes to Top Gun planes thundering overhead in this town. Happens every day, right? Especially when a carrier’s returning from a WestPac. And yet I can’t …
Something’s different! I’m off to my usual rendezvous to complete the waking process: coffee on the street at the BBC (Bay Books Cafe), with either Brent or Jose, the baristas. Then sit down to be …
1.) “Lights! Let’s go!” yells Mario Alberto Ortiz Vargas. The whole crew grabs their clubs, rings, balls and unicycles, and charges out into the middle of Paseo de Los Héroes, where the rush-hour traffic has …
He came to my window in the mornings, hovering, darting, accelerating off like a UFO. I noticed sometimes he had a piece of grass in his long beak. I would stand there looking at him …