“This Striking Contemporary, Fully Gated Estate is set on 1.46 acres and is exquisitely DREAMY!” So opens the Zillow write-up for our home this week, a newly constructed 7000-square-foot mansion at 1781 Colgate Circle, billed …
February 16, 2022
La Jolla Stories
The dreamy mansion tucked into the hills south of Mt. Soledad
U.S. Navy ship crews working 10-20 hours some days
Suicide by Navy Crew shortages, limited training, and exhaustion at the nation’s Naval bases — including San Diego’s — are responsible for both a service-wide maintenance meltdown and a mental health crisis, and at least …
February 16, 2022
San Diego's freedivers have the freedom to die
The history of freediving is so rich in La Jolla that diving in its cove is akin to a Catholic visiting Rome: maybe it didn’t all start there, but that’s where it really hit big. …
February 2, 2022
UCSD not watching drugs used in human experiments
UCSD’s uncontrolled substances An audit completed last fall but just recently released to the public following a request to the university under the California Public Records Act calls out UCSD Health for being out of …
February 2, 2022
Space, privacy, and famous neighbors in Rancho Santa Fe
San Diego certainly boasts more than its fair share of wealthy enclaves. Horseplayers assemble every summer where the turf meets the surf in Olde Del Mar, the city’s old money power brokers cut deals in …
Surfers and others not scared away by Jan. 15 tsunami
On the morning of January 15, Carol Niotta and her Yorkie, Pebbles, walked out on their La Jolla home's balcony to check if the tsunami emergency alert at 7:03 am, affected the surf scene below. …
February 1, 2022
The internet writers gang up on San Diego
The Marina District is one of San Diego’s more prestigious addresses. Once consisting mostly of warehouses and vacant lots, the 343-acre area on the west side of Downtown is now a cluster of apartments, high-rise …
"Meet every moment as a friend, and don’t try to change things"
How long have you been surfing? About 3 years. I have always loved snowboarding and it is kind of the same mentality. The body mechanics are very similar, it was an easy transition for me. …
January 18, 2022
Find a group of friends that you can suck with.
Are you a local? I grew up here, but I live in Chicago now. I’m here visiting my family. Favorite thing about surfing? I like the fun of progressing. It’s a technical skill that’s very …
January 11, 2022
A welcoming, resort-like feel in La Jolla’s Muirlands neighborhood
“Sublime seclusion, luxurious ambience, and phenomenal design for welcoming family and friends are yours in this magnificent gated estate,” promises the Zillow opening for our stop this week at 6001 La Jolla Scenic Drive South, …
January 7, 2022
What drives San Diego neighbors crazy
Michael Vilkin owned a huge vacant lot in Olivenhain, right next to a house John Upton was renting. On the morning of March 28, 2013, Vilkin drove up to the 2.6-acre lot on Lone Jack …
Coastal Commission approves regs for tiny houses
Tiny houses on wheels, the cheapest and easiest small units to build, were initially left out of San Diego's granny flat ordinance. That changed in July 2020, when the city, seizing on their potential as …
December 21, 2021
Elisabeth Kimmel's pre-jail pleas for mercy
Before her December 9 sentencing to six weeks in federal prison and a year of home confinement, along with a $250,000 fine and 500 hours of community service, lawyers for ex-KFMB TV and radio owner …
December 10, 2021
People start getting agro on a 2-foot day
Local? “No. I’m from Riverside.” How long have you been surfing? 2 years. What motivated you to take up the hobby? “I moved [to PB] two years ago. My roommate is really into surfing and …
December 7, 2021
MTS can't get enough bus drivers
Headlines at the website of Metropolitan Transit System or MTS, the agency that operates the buses and light rail in the city, rave about the recent expansion of the San Diego Trolley with nine new …
December 7, 2021
Eureka!: like the Samoa Cookhouse fed the lumberjacks
“This is North County, so let’s not expect cheap,” says my friend Diana. No sticker shock for her. She’s into swanky malls like this one, UTC. Problem: sign says the mall closes at eight, but …
Paru brings specialty tea to La Jolla
Most afternoons, I would be disappointed to make the trek into La Jolla only to find the peninsula sheathed in fog. But on this day, I would welcome the chill, because there’s a new tea …
November 19, 2021
Creep Catcher gets 45-year-old meeting 14-year-old boy at Ramona's Stater Brothers
On a sunny day in September 2020, a 45-year-old public school teacher drove to the Stater Bros. grocery store on Main Street in Ramona to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy he had …
November 19, 2021
Rose Canyon Fault’s annual slip is about 2-3mm per year.
The California Geological Survey released new earthquake fault zone maps in late September – and San Diego-area homeowners may be surprised to learn their property sits atop a fault. A press release from the agency …
October 19, 2021
Get out there every day and have fun. Don’t skip school.
Are you originally from San Diego? No but I have lived here for 30 years. I moved here straight out of college just to surf. My girlfriend and I packed up our car and drove …
October 5, 2021