Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
jcatrocks's avatar

John T. Griffith

John T. Griffith is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

Monumental: Military Dog Memorial in Encinitas

The Rancho Coastal Humane Society’s military working dog (MWD) memorial is the first of its kind on America's West Coast. Dedicated on April 16, 2011, the monument is to honor "all military working dogs and …

October 10, 2012
Monumental: Airplane Ridge

On the eastern slope of Japacha Peak, in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, is the location of a little known and most unusual monument anywhere in San Diego County. This piece of history began 90 years …

October 19, 2012
Snails Invade Vista After Recent Rains

Shortly after the rainfall on the weekend of Oct. 19–21, Vista’s (southeastern) Buena Creek area and western Vista, near S. Santa Fe Avenue, were invaded by thousands of small cone-shaped snails. The terrestrial gastropod mollusks …

October 26, 2012
A Man, His Service Dog, and a Parks and Rec Officer

My ten-year-old service dog Ginger and I exited the car recently at a quiet local park. She was at my 9:00 heel position as we walked the 20 feet to our regular shaded spot that …

October 26, 2012
Monumental: POW Liberation Memorial in Miramar

Dedicated on September 16, 2011, the POW Liberation Monument is located at the Miramar National Cemetery. Designed by artist Richard Becker, the memorial is a 15-foot tall, bronze, concrete, and stainless steel sculpture, a tribute …

November 5, 2012
Monumental: SDSU War Memorial

Sponsored by the SDSU Alumni Association's Veterans War Memorial Committee, the war memorial at San Diego State is one of few such tributes of its kind to be erected on a U.S. college campus. Located …

November 21, 2012
Vandals Smash Cars in Vista

Located on the 200 block of Smilax Road Vista, Mariposa Apartments has been the site of countless vehicle damage and vandalism incidents since the spring of 2012. Situated in a park-like setting, the complex is …

November 27, 2012
Sandy Hook Elementary School Memorial in San Marcos

In the aftermath of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, the country was left devastated. One San Marcos man wanted to express more than his own grief by …

December 29, 2012
Imperial Beach phone booth dumped

For years, a phone booth sat on the corner just outside of the Siesta RV Park in the 400 block of Palm Avenue in Imperial Beach. Made of aluminum and glass with a light in …

Del Mar Racetrack’s long lost airport

If the recent plan to have a train stop at the Del Mar Fairgrounds falls through, resurrecting the adjacent former airport is certainly a nonstarter. Located on the San Dieguito River wetlands between the Del …

January 23, 2013
Monumental: Alta M. Hulett at Mt. Hope Cemetery

Alta M. Hulett, born on June 4, 1854, in Rockford, Illinois, learned how to operate the telegraph at ten years of age and went on to become an operator. Fascinated with the legal profession, she …

February 1, 2013
Vista’s illegal parking problem on Poinsettia Avenue

On Poinsettia Avenue in Vista, which runs parallel along the westbound side of Highway 78, catering trucks, vehicles for sale, and vehicles parked there to advertise services are a everyday sight from the freeway. According …

March 9, 2013
Bridge dedication for Oceanside police officer Dan Bessant

In an early-evening ceremony on Friday, March 8, the bridge on North Pacific Street (over the beach area of the San Luis Rey River, south of Oceanside Harbor) was dedicated to the memory of Oceanside …

March 12, 2013
Air traffic control tower at the Ramona Airport to close

The threat of the federal government to close the air traffic control tower at the Ramona Airport has caused the County Board of Supervisors to protest. The Federal Aviation Administration had placed the Ramona tower …

Big Lots store in Vista closes after 16 years

The Big Lots store at the Shadowridge Plaza Shopping Center located on Sycamore Road in Vista, is scheduled to close its doors forever on April 15. According to store manager Oliver Cregier, even though the …

April 8, 2013
Carlsbad desalination plant pipeline installation proceeds

Due to the Carlsbad Desalination Project, Las Flores Drive, between Grand Avenue and Mirada Drive in San Marcos, will be closed for a week. KSD Construction manager Brendan Slagle said the closure is related to …

Camp Pendleton erects war memorial

On Thursday, April 11, families and dignitaries gathered at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside to dedicate a memorial to honor coalition troops killed in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. USMC Major General Charles Mark Gurganus with British Brigadier …

Vets’ shelter to remain open in Midway District until July

On Tuesday, April 22, the San Diego City Council voted to keep open the homeless veterans’ tent shelter at 2801 Sports Arena Boulevard. The shelter, a 150-bed facility for homeless vets that usually operates from …

Food trucks cause concern near San Marcos elementary school

Food trucks have reportedly been causing unsafe traffic conditions while they sell snacks to children as they leave Joli Ann Leichtag Elementary School in the afternoon. According to Hector Romans, the father of two daughters, …

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader