Vista Stories
With a March 12 party at its Vista brewpub, Belching Beaver Brewery celebrated a brand refresh that includes a cleaner redesign of its can and bottle labels; also the punny new slogan, "Dam Good Times." …
The brewery in Vista continues to rise. Battlemage Brewing Company enjoyed its first brew day on March 8th, making it the 16th beer company in the city of 100,000. There will be more opening this …
In most cases, shutting down a business for two years would probably not be good for its growth. But don't tell Max Moran and Geri Lawson. When their Vista nanobrewery, Indian Joe Brewing, reached the …
Federal indictments unsealed yesterday (March 1) charge 55 drug dealers and gang members with crimes including money-laundering, robberies, vehicle thefts, burglaries, assaults, and trafficking in heroin, methamphetamine, and firearms. The gang members operated in North …
As any recruiter will tell you, military service provides on-the-job training and work experience that may be applied to future careers. While those recruiters likely don't have brewing in mind, David Casperson makes a convincing …
A Vista school meeting with an immigration attorney — set up to help parents prepare to protect their families should they be suddenly deported — was abruptly canceled Thursday (February 23), hours before it was …
Hundreds of North County residents packed Jim Porter Recreation Center in Vista on Tuesday night (February 21), while a thousand or more were left to gather outside for a town-hall event missing only its guest …
A 30-year-old North County man who suffered a brain injury and multiple amputations after being repeatedly tased by a sheriff's deputy has agreed to settle his lawsuit. According to court documents obtained by the Reader, …
Vince Obarski recalls first hearing about mead as a kid, referenced in fantasy games such as Dungeons & Dragons. He associated it with beer, and medieval times, but didn't grasp how far back it actually …
Three-year-old Vista brewery Barrel Harbor has been getting active of late. It began releasing cans of Fenris IPA earlier this year and aims to begin canning South Island pilsner by the end of the month. …
North County is better off economically than the rest of San Diego County, according to a study released yesterday (December 7) by the Center on Policy Initiatives. It used data from the Census Bureau's 2015 …
Earlier this month, Mother Earth Brewing Co. opened a tasting room in the town of Nampa, Idaho, about 20 miles west of Boise. That's because in August the brewery fired up a 40,000-square-foot production facility …
Leave it to me to order fried chicken from a food truck with the word braise in its name. I promise there was beer involved. Toolbox Brewing was pouring a few rare beers for its …
Membership: 250 Pastor: Derek DaPena Age: 35 Born: Bellflower Formation: Biola University, La Mirada; Azusa Pacific University Seminary, Azusa Years Ordained: 8 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon? Pastor Derek …
Vista barrel-aged and wild ale specialist Toolbox Brewing Company has enjoyed a year of recognition and growth since bringing on head brewer Ehren Schmidt last summer. The four barrel brewhouse expanded into an adjacent industrial …
While chatting with a friend in New York recently, he told me, “I know you don’t think we have good Mexican food in the city, but I just got the best cemita in Brooklyn.” “Yeah, …
Belching Beaver Brewing has been in serious expansion mode this spring. In March, the company more than quadrupled its capacity by moving in to a 30-barrel production brewery in Oceanside. Meanwhile, its original 15-barrel Vista …
In a nondescript warehouse in Vista’s Business Park district, pro-skater Neal Mims opened his new indoor skatepark. The March 30 reservation-only session was a preview to the park’s public opening on April 2. About 40 …
Hangovers aside, the proliferation of craft beer in San Diego has made little impact on its local rock scene. But for some areas of the county, breweries hosting live shows have established music venues in …
“Some will ask, ‘How can a loving God send people to hell?’”
When I moved to Vista in the 1980s, there was a barbecue place located in a run-down shack on S. Santa Fe Avenue which served great food, but the venue took some getting used to. …
Undercover sheriff deputies in Vista found plenty of liquor-store clerks willing to sell booze to "obviously intoxicated" patrons, according to the results of a sting on Saturday afternoon (December 5). "An undercover deputy entered a …
Just before Thanksgiving, Vista Village's Wavelength Brewing issued its beer in bottles for the first time, offering three stash-in-the-fridge options: a vanilla bean variation of its Off Kilter Scottish heavy, its Ad Astra Belgian quadrupel …
On the day set for her misdemeanor trial, Anastasia Kirkeby, 50, a woman plagued by multiple drug-related arrests at her home in Encinitas, made a plea deal and was ordered to get counseling. That hearing …
Two North County Episcopal churches, both over 60 years old, were told last week that due to declining attendance and compounding red ink, the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego has decided to fold them. The …
Vista is about to get its third tattoo establishment — after a careful vetting process by a panel of city-council members, economic development folks, and the chamber of commerce. With downtown redevelopment underway, the city …
After years of watching cars speed through the intersection by her Vista home, Betty Haver got her traffic sign on Tuesday, October 13. After much discussion, the Vista City Council voted unanimously to place “Yield” …
A new musical that has been compared to The Music Man and The Wizard of Oz — entitled simply, Big Fish — is currently bewitching audiences at the Moonlight Amphitheater. The story shifts between two …
Pork is highlighted at this new “pub & kitchen” in Vista’s Paseo Santa Fe district, but I decided to go with the tri-tip. A good decision. First I ordered a light fare of ham and …
When I visit a restaurant for the first time without knowing much about it, my usual MO is to ask a server for recommendations. When I got to the Vista location of Hungry Bear Deli …
A new craft-beer concept plans to launch in Vista this month. Bear Roots Brewing Company will open in September as a home-brewing supply shop before adding a brew-on-premises workspace and brewery/tasting room later this fall. …
After dark, parking a home is a problem. That was clear in 2010, when advocates for the houseless opened the first overnight safe parking lot. And the need goes on. “The program was a direct …
Shrek: The Musical is part romance, part twisted fairy and all irreverent fun, and the large cast is currently strutting their stuff at the Moonlight Amphitheater. Based on the Oscar-winning film from Dreamworks, the show …
Even though pet-store operator David Salinas's legal bills are mounting, cities are outlawing his puppy-supply pipeline, and animal-welfare activists continue to bite into him, he plans to continue selling puppies. "If you run a small …
Keeping track of all the breweries in San Diego County is tough, whether you're a beer reporter or attentive enthusiast. When I think about it the other way around, I marvel at how many have …
There is something magical about the open-air setting of Moonlight Stage Productions’ The Music Man: a perfect spot for the classic American musical. Taking place in River City, Iowa, the story centers around the interactions …
Laura Wakil, M.D., a psychiatrist, has sued Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and related Kaiser organizations for violation of the state health and safety code, retaliation, negligent supervision, and wrongful constructive termination. (Constructive termination is a …
According to documents filed in federal court, two men, Thomas Ferguson of La Mesa and Duane Bowen of Chula Vista, are responsible for a spate of bank robberies in San Diego and Riverside counties. Also, …
T’is the season. Count some of the ways: NOW PLAYING: La Jolla Playhouse: Come From Away. The world premiere musical, by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, creates a comedy within a tragedy. On the morning …
Moonlight’s latest effort, a new musical comedy about a guitar-playing, hip-swiveling roustabout, makes the stage come alive with songs that Elvis Presley made famous. Conceived by Joe DiPietro, the man partially responsible for the musical …
Membership: 300 Pastor: Philip Clark Age: 61 Born: Covington, KY Formation: Great Plains Baptist College, Sioux Falls, SD Years Ordained: 39 San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to preach? Pastor Philip …
Attorneys for a man who suffered permanent brain damage after being repeatedly stunned by a sheriff deputy's taser are suing the County of San Diego, two deputies, and sheriff William Gore for failing to properly …
Few brewing companies have shown such a burning desire to grow — and grow now — as Vista-based Belching Beaver Brewery. Less than a year after their early 2012 debut, they became one of the …
It used to be that San Diego County's most traveled congressional office belonged to Democrat Susan Davis, who over the years has run up an impressive string of tabs, picked up by special interests, to …
Though my initial visit to Toolbox Brewing Company didn’t yield beers that cashed in on the brewery’s ultimate potential, they were promising, and I’ve made it a point to check out their beers whenever an …
It’s been nearly two years since Urge Gastropub co-owner Grant Tondro announced a grand scheme to convert a former Vista fitness center into a combination brewpub, bottle shop, and bowling alley. That ambitious interest was …
An assistant to North County Republican congressman Darrell Issa — whose failed bid for a repeat term as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been chalked up by some to his …
Even though it was for the best, I was sad to see Kevin Buckley exit the San Diego beer industry. A former brewmaster at Vista’s Latitude 33 Brewing Company who also logged time at Alpine …
Two weeks ago, while manning my beer beat at the latest meeting of the San Diego Brewers Guild, I took advantage of the hospitality of our host, Mother Earth Brew Co., and cashed in my …
“It’s not like we’re going to camp out in the parking lot of an establishment.” Lt. Eric Skaja, spokesman for the Escondido Police Department, maintains that the “Avoid the Eight on the 78” campaign isn’t …
By the end of 2015, Vista will have two new military memorials. The Vista Hi-Noon Rotary Club recently broke ground to build a memorial wall that pays homage to all branches of the military. "This …