Just when SoCal skiers and snowboarders thought winter would never come, the Pineapple Express has opened up and is dumping tons of snow on Mammoth and June Mountain. The weather phenomenon picks up moisture-laden air …
February 14, 2014
North America
Winter skiing's finally on in the Eastern Sierras
Bailing out the last frontier
There’s been a lot of talk about the northern part of California breaking away from its nether regions to form one or more new states. Last September, before a standing-room-only crowd of 40, Modoc County …
February 12, 2014
New York water in Coronado pizza
“It’s a huge expense financially and environmentally it’s a disaster, but nine out of 10 people prefer it,” says David Spatafore, owner of two Village Pizzerias in Coronado. The “it” he is referring to, is …
February 8, 2014
O’ahu on a plate
A culinary expedition: journalist resolves to achieve edible incapacitation in the Aloha state. Let us resolve to gain weight this new year! Known as the melting pot of the Pacific, Hawaii is home to hundreds …
February 5, 2014
What's the delay at Manchester's Austin hotel?
Texas media are wondering what's holding up the beginning of Papa Doug Manchester's 1035-room hotel in downtown Austin, to be named the Fairmont. A headline in the Austin Business Journal this week asked, "Hotels abound …
February 1, 2014
Hipster Tucson
Tucson’s becoming a hipster destination? Get out of town! Recently, Tucson was named one of the top up-and-coming "hipster" cities in the U.S. Someone must have stumbled out too deep into the desert and started …
January 31, 2014
A roadside find: American Pickers in Iowa
Driving from the upper Midwest through Illinois, immediately across the state line is the historic town of LeClaire, IA. We quickly pulled off the I-80 exit, but not to visit the quaint old buildings in …
January 28, 2014
Canada issues travel warning for Mexico
Canada has joined the United States in warning its citizens of the potential dangers they may face when visiting Mexico, with specific reference to Baja California. In an advisory posted on the home page of …
January 23, 2014
Adam Sandler occupies Manchester’s Austin hotel site
This was supposed to be the month that Douglas Manchester finally broke ground on his latest mega-money development, the $350 million Fairmont in Austin, Texas, according to an announcement back in October of last year …
January 17, 2014
Hunting big trees in California
With its varied climates, landscapes and ecosystems, California is a one-of-a-kind state. When European settlers first arrived here, one of the signs of this uniqueness they discovered were the mammoth trees of California, the sequoia …
January 11, 2014
Peters sets up fundraising committee with Arizona Democrat
La Jolla Democratic congressman Scott Peters and fellow House Democrat Ron Barber of Arizona, under fire by ads sponsored by the billionaire GOP Koch brothers of Wichita, Kansas, have set up a joint fundraising committee, …
January 10, 2014
Chhatrala Group hotels in trouble for back taxes
San Diego–based Chhatrala Group, which owns hotels around the country, is in trouble for back taxes in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Victorville. The company has a limited-liability company named Chhatrala Grand Rapids, LLC. The Grand …
January 6, 2014
New Year brings new taxes in Mexico
Baja Californians awakening today, New Year's Day, face what the daily newspaper El Mexicano describes as "a cascade of taxes." In addition to an increase in the sales tax to 16 percent, Baja Californians will …
January 1, 2014
Carl DeMaio, King of New York
GOP congressional candidate Carl DeMaio, running against freshman La Jolla Democrat Scott Peters, has been raising money in New York City. According to the website PoliticalPartyTime.org, Log Cabin New York threw a December 10 Manhattan …
December 30, 2013
SDG&E in legal tangle with Montana wind farms
NaturEner, which operates three wind farms in Montana, has filed a suit in Montana District Court against San Diego Gas & Electric, according to the publications North American Windpower and Power Engineering. Those three wind …
December 24, 2013