Oceanside Stories
“I’m blown away. I just can’t fathom this.” Gary Beck is the midday radio host at Jazz 88.3. “Kenny and I were real close. I’d known him almost 30 years. I talked to him just …
Along with Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, and Santee, Oceanside has a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, which could stand until May 2011. On Wednesday evening, Oceanside’s city council will address the issue of …
Janina Hardoy was 24 years old when last seen around the Oceanside Pier, quoting the Bible to homeless people; a couple of months later, in early 2005, she was reported missing from her rented Oceanside …
Appearing before the Oceanside City Council on June 30, Elaine Godzak presented her opinion on the effect of the North County Humane Society's merger with the San Diego Humane Society, which occurred earlier this year. …
On March 23, after deliberating for 40 minutes, a jury emerged from the jury room inside the courthouse in Vista. The 12 members had reached a verdict. As they filed into the jury box, the …
Carlsbad resident Mark Lowe, a Marine Corps reserve officer stationed at Camp Pendleton, was sentenced on May 14 for his role in an alleged spy ring. Lowe, who also works as a pilot for Delta …
Two teenage boys walk into Steel Guitars of North County in Oceanside, scan the assortment of vintage oddities arranged on the walls, do a quick appraisal of the pack of 50-somethings trying them out, turn …
Chris and Becky Brown, owners of Oceanside’s Fire Water Saloon and Pier View Pub, are set to host downtown Oceanside’s Big Iron Music Festival, a ten-hour event boasting “babes, bands, beer, bikes, and booze.” “The …
A temporary fence was installed last month around the playground at Pier View South (south of the pier) to keep the kids off of the equipment. Winter storms resulted in lost sand and revealed the …
On March 14 at around 3 p.m., a Toyota Avalon hit a fire hydrant in the parking lot of the Albertsons grocery store at the intersection of Marron Road and Cannon. The fire hydrant was …
On Thursday afternoon, March 4, members of the Oceanside Teachers Association joined a statewide protest over school funding cuts. The over 400 protesters gathered in front of the Oceanside City Hall on Coast Highway. Most …
On Monday, January 25, Kia of Oceanside customers were probably surprised to find the dealership closed. The car lot, located off SR-78 at 2205 Vista Way, used to be the Saturn of West 78 dealership …
Most Oceanside hoteliers and vacation property owners, 82 percent of them, agree that the city should start a tourism-marketing district. They submitted petitions to the city and appeared at the Wednesday, January 20, city council …
December was a divisive month for an already fractured Oceanside city council. Early in the month, councilmember Jerry Kern was victorious in defeating a recall effort. In that recall election, two of Kern's colleagues, Mayor …
While purchasing a train ticket in Oceanside shortly after 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 27, I witnessed some of the chaos of this holiday travel season. An Amtrak passenger had been left behind after she …
American Medical Response, which has lucrative paramedic and ambulance contracts with the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City, and a host of other local government agencies, gave $2000 to the county …
Halloween was a complete nightmare for me. I had three parties lined up and the easiest costume in Halloween history. My girlfriend had ordered a Kate Gosselin wig and goofy big sunglasses for herself. I …
This year, the City of Oceanside couldn’t afford to host its downtown celebration of Día de los Muertos, but the festival found a new (if slightly smaller) home on the grounds of Mission San Luis …
Seven months of countywide conflicts, calamities, and curiosities, part 2.
Oceanside resident Woodrow Higdon continues his search for additional evidence of police corruption and city council collusion. During the Wednesday, October 21, council meeting, Higdon testified before Oceanside councilmembers and says he was snubbed by …
On Sunday afternoon, October 11, hours after a stabbing was reported to the Oceanside police, a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. On Saturday evening, the victim and the …
The U.S. Postal Service has revised the list of post offices it hopes to close, sparing three San Diego locations. However, the USPS branches in North Park and Golden Hill remain on the chopping block. …
North County Transit District in Oceanside, the operator of the Breeze bus service and the Coaster and Sprinter commuter-train service, recently cut back on security personnel at most of the transit centers they serve. Since …
Members of North County bands Wanted Dead and Irieside have come together to form Sound System. Wanted Dead is a hardcore street-punk band known for their wild stage presence, anti-authority anthems, and raucous fans. Irieside …
Oceanside resident Woodrow Hidgon's three minutes of public testimony at the September 2 city council meeting ended with jeers from the audience: "Sit down!" were the shouts from inside city council chambers. "Okay, people, you …
Whether or not it was Oceanside city councilmember Jerome Kern's intention to turn the December 8 recall election into a war against labor unions is speculation, but one thing is for sure -- that's what …
December 8 will be a day that lives in infamy, at least for Oceanside city councilmember Jerry Kern. That's when residents decide whether to recall the first-term councilmember from office. Three weeks ago, activist group …
With the intent of reducing graffiti, an Oceanside Police Department task force conducted a sting on 15 paint retailers on June 22. Six citations were issued to business owners for having open paint displays and …
I drove up to Oceanside for a surprise party that Wayne was throwing for his wife’s birthday. I squeezed into a spot on the street, slightly blocking the driveway of a nearby neighbor. I could …
Speaking with a few young dudes and a few chicks up here in North County, I asked, “What’s up with your weekend?” this past last Friday/Saturday of gloom and damp in May. Justin Daum is …
I was given detailed directions on how to get to Charley’s party. He was graduating from Cal State San Marcos. But the beachfront condos in Oceanside, where he lives, all had gates I couldn’t get …
I am a regular rider on North County Transit District (NCTD) buses and the Sprinter. Over the years, I've developed friendships with several of the bus drivers. Their union, which includes maintenance workers (about 80) …
A New Zealand white rabbit discovered last month by campers at Oceanside’s Guajome County Park has tested positive for Tularemia, or “rabbit fever,” a rare infectious disease that can cause severe illness and death in …
At the foot of the wooden Imperial Beach pier on a gray Wednesday morning, environmental group Heal the Bay issued San Diego County’s annual report card for water quality at its beaches. There was some …
Three weeks ago, in an effort to increase downtown parking space, the City of Oceanside added diagonal parking on Civic Center Drive, a five-block street behind City Hall. Unfortunately, someone forgot to first measure the …
Fabio Marchi stood in front of Oceanside’s city hall building during an April 7 demonstration. He held a neon-green sign that read: “No Clear Master Plan.” Surrounding him were 12 other protesters, some dressed in …
On New Year’s Eve, Howard Jackson was in court with Ellen Falcone, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child. For more than nine years, the last three in Oceanside, the two had shared custody of …
On Sunday, March 29, over 200 people and at least 250 dogs showed up at Oceanside Harbor. The group, known as Friends of Oceanside Dog Beach, walked around the area to show support for a …
Each year, around January 1, a miracle of Mother Nature occurs at a little strawberry farm in Oceanside. The “miracle” is not that the little hillside farm is still in business, surrounded by large shopping …
Several weeks ago, during the public comment portion of an Oceanside City Council meeting, a concerned citizen asked the mayor and four councilmembers to take a stand on the potential closure of the detention facility …
Author: Rob Pink Neighborhood: Oceanside Age: 60 Occupation: Winemaker Oh, Yolanda, Yolanda, just speaking your name sends shudders of loving emotion resonating through my body. Come closer to me, my love, I must have you …
Mel Vernon leans against a black steel fence behind Quarry Creek Shopping Center, on the border of Carlsbad and Oceanside. Above him towers a massive signpost facing the traffic on State Route 78. Below him …
At a December 17 Oceanside City Council meeting, councilmembers Jerry Kern, Rocky Chavez, and Jack Feller voted in favor of awarding La Mesa's Helix Environmental Planning, Inc. an extra $247,000 for an environmental impact report …
At the November 19th Oceanside City Council meeting, Caltrans along with shopping mall giant, Westfield Group, appealed the Planning Commission’s decision to support Jefferson Enterprises proposal to build a 92-acre shopping plaza in Oceanside, near …
November 2 was the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed at St. Mary, Star of the Sea — All Souls’ Day, the Day of the Dead. Sheets of parchment hung along the walls of the …
On October 8, the Oceanside City Council meeting got off to a fiery start. The first speaker, Ray Melendrez, president of the Oceanside Firefighters Association, accused Councilman (and mayoral candidate) Rocky Chavez and Councilman Jerry …
Surf, sand, and picturesque bluffs. Salty breezes and the ever-present licorice scent of wild fennel. The rhythmic bumping of your bike tires over the pavement of an old four-lane highway, abandoned save for the occasional …
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 …
On June 11, the local division of the state water board ordered the North County Transit District, which recently completed the Sprinter rail project, to pay a $685,000 fine for discharges of construction sediment into …
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 …
“In the mid to late 1990s, we saw a lot of contamination — from places like the shipyards in particular — flowing freely off those sites, like Southwest Marine and NASSCO [National Steel and Shipyard …
The interior of St. Margaret’s church has an oddly spare quality — the huge central dome gives the impression of an old-fashioned Catholic church, the sort that might be swarming with statues and stained glass. …