“Holding a baby skunk is on my bucket list,” I said. Bob shot David an Is she for real? look, and David assured him of my sincerity.
July 29, 2015
United States
Is that a skunk in your pocket?
Papa Doug buys Rhode Island estate
Manchester Financial Group, a limited partnership belonging to former Union-Tribune owner Papa Doug Manchester, has purchased an historic home on the ocean in Newport, Rhode Island, for $15 million, according to the Providence Journal. The …
July 28, 2015
Ashford University to close its doors
After spending recent years facing enrollment declines and fighting to retain accredited status , Ashford University, a tiny Iowa-based college owned and operated by San Diego's Bridgepoint Education, announced it will be closing its doors …
July 11, 2015
Summer in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom
Vermont’s storied "Northeast Kingdom" was given its name by former Governor and U.S. Senator George D. Aiken in 1949 for its special beauty. While lots of people think of Vermont in terms of a snow-covered …
July 10, 2015
Florida biotech subsidies not working
Jeb Bush, who wants to be president, claims he rejuvenated Florida's economy. But his subsidization of San Diego biotech research operations proves otherwise.
July 8, 2015
Star-spangled drunk
Let us talk "Star-Spangled Banner." First, the tune is a British drinking song — people would sing this while they got drunk and nobody had a problem with making this the national anthem of the …
July 7, 2015
Miss what most of us never had
Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Is there a more nostalgic title? It evokes a yearning for simpler times, a time when fathers watered their lawns by hose in the evening, after supper, while children played and …
June 29, 2015
Altadena: a rustic Los Angeles
Author Zane Grey said, "In Altadena I have found those qualities that make life worth living." Walking down Mariposa Street, “Millionaire’s Row,” where Grey’s home still stands – past the oversized craftsman-style bungalows and through …
June 29, 2015
Tranquil Cambria, California
With a backdrop of Monterey pines drooped in a misty veil, interrupted now and again by the sun, you can see why the sleepy artist village of Cambria has drawn Californians for decades to its …
June 19, 2015
La Jolla millionaire goes for Denver green
La Jolla publicity maven Marc Paskin has remade himself into the pied piper of pot on the public airwaves and he says he will eventually do the same in San Diego. Published reports have said …
June 9, 2015
Welcome to Florida's Conch Republic
The Florida Keys attract a cast of irreverent, lively characters and denizens – independent folk who embrace the perks of island living. Perhaps that’s why the Keys became the “Conch Republic” in 1982, succeeding with …
May 29, 2015
Back to nature in Tucson's Ventana Canyon
The long section of Highway 8 heading from San Diego toward Tucson, Arizona, is mostly flat and dead, with the occasional string of mountains popping up across the landscape. But as I barreled my way …
Whiskey in the White House
"George Washington slept here!" And he did, too. Truth be told, he slept there as well. And there. What can I say? The man got around. With four family homes, you’d expect as much. He …
May 19, 2015
Escape the Go: Fiesta Island
We didn’t have anything like this in Chicago. We didn’t have a jutting piece of terrain you could drive out on, pull your car off the road wherever you felt like it, and set up …
May 10, 2015
Boston's budget-minded spooks
With the boss heading out on a free junket with his wife to the Bavarian Alps, Scott Hinkle, legislative director for Democratic congressman Juan Vargas, took his own gratis spring-break trip to Boston. Hinkle's two-day …
May 5, 2015