All my nephew William wants to do is go home. He can’t. He is my namesake and my nephew. The kid can cook. He’s from New Zealand, but spends half of each year working as …

“Look! Look at this! Crumbling! And they’ve even taken the historical marker plaque off the wall.” This is my brother-in-law Fred, back in town, visiting the old family home. His family were Bandinis; their pride, …

Best Friend to Joshua Trees Is there anything to be done about the plight of the Joshua tree? While state and federal agencies dither over whether the imperiled desert dweller deserves endangered species protections, one …

What do rich people hoard? I tear over at 8am to find out. This is when the Baby Del estate sale begins. Baby Del’s owner, Susan H (she doesn’t want to give her last name), …

“I was sexually abused as a child,” says Benie Kouyate. By making that simple statement, she has broken a thousand taboos. If publicly admitting such abuse is difficult here, it is impossible in Africa, she …

“I realized I was a comedian when I was 10 years old,” says Abel Silvas. “My dad wanted me to continue the tradition of our Mission Indians, and become a violinist. So he brought me …

You know from the way the parking ladies are dressed that this is going to be a classy event. We’ve gravel-crunched from Diana’s car to Del Mar’s polo paddocks. Our ticket says “Table #8.” Heavens …

You really notice the season’s changes at the beach. For starters, where are the umbrellas? Where are the people, lying around like seals on towels? More important, where is the family of young great whites …

It’s the evening of September 8 at Coronado’s Bistro d’Asia; everybody’s happy, in a gallows good-humored sort of way. Like passengers appreciating the band playing on the Titanic. And as the evening sky turns cerulean, …

“Born in the Cradle of Civilization,” reads the tagline on Josh Christy’s card. And that is a true statement, if not quite a complete one. “I spent my first ten years in Saudi Arabia,” he …

Porno King Tied to T.J. Hot Spot Reached by phone on May 14 at his residence in Rosarito (he also owns and rents a gated luxury condo in Tijuana, directly behind the American consulate building), …

“My mama’s a witch and daddy’s a sorcerer,” says Irish Eddie Murphy. He sits down outside the liquor store, stroking his beard. I offer coffee or Coke, but nope. “I’m going to get myself a …

Evening neighbors’ conversation: “Why don’t they get off their fat asses and find a job?” Annie’s talking about the homeless people she passes every day on her way back from work. “We can’t afford them! …

I have always loved the word “loquacious.” I also love the word “screwball.” And I especially love when the two come together in screwball comedies. If ever a rash of movies was by definition loquacious, …

“Limo driving?” says Corb. “It’s not all bad.” The guy should know. He has been driving execs around for 25 years. “I started in 1996, when the Republican Convention was on. I never left. I …

Happy Endings on Convoy Street In all the years I lived in and visited Korea, almost always staying in some relative’s household, I went to countless parties. When they were outside the household, they were …

We’re here for the leopard sharks. They are supposed to be the friendliest sharks in the ocean, and this is the time of year they come close to the shore around La Jolla and raise …

“I’m a node worker,” says Josh Montes. He’s in the alley, sitting on a makeshift work bench, fiddling with metal brackets. Jeff, his buddy — supervisor actually — is up in a bucket, attaching cable …

We need Mr. Roundabout! Scott Ritchie has been called “The Roundabout Guy” ever since he started a company called “Roundabouts & Traffic Engineering” back in 1998. To most of us, the modest roundabout may still …

Raised Not to Hope Too Hard Sherley Anne Williams built her career celebrating the ways black folks talked and acted. School-wise, street-smart, and quick-tongued, she reserved her deepest antipathy for those outside the African-American experience …

When friends ask Zach Johnson’s daughters what their daddy does, it can be hard. How do you tell someone your daddy races pigs? But he must be doing something right. He has four teams of …

“Storm in a teacup!” says my friend Eric. It’s a quiet Saturday evening. Noisiest things around are the crows. We’re talking — of course — about the flying tortilla incident a couple of weeks ago. …

Coronado: you’d think we’d be pretty jaded when it comes to Top Gun planes thundering overhead in this town. Happens every day, right? Especially when a carrier’s returning from a WestPac. And yet I can’t …

Something’s different! I’m off to my usual rendezvous to complete the waking process: coffee on the street at the BBC (Bay Books Cafe), with either Brent or Jose, the baristas. Then sit down to be …

San Diego is no place for cows "You should see the casino [the Pala Band] are building up there," Verboom says. "It's the Taj Mahal. They're going to employ something like 1200 people. And they …

Return of the Mountain Lion In October 1983, a lion killed a domestic goat at a ranch near Julian; in November 1983, a dead lion cub was found on the road near Santa Ysabel. In …

1.) “Lights! Let’s go!” yells Mario Alberto Ortiz Vargas. The whole crew grabs their clubs, rings, balls and unicycles, and charges out into the middle of Paseo de Los Héroes, where the rush-hour traffic has …

He came to my window in the mornings, hovering, darting, accelerating off like a UFO. I noticed sometimes he had a piece of grass in his long beak. I would stand there looking at him …

He’s looking at himself in the window mirror. His arms flail around like the Navy guy who guides planes into landings on a carrier. But what he’s actually doing is wiping the final water away …

Real estate investor and father Steve Rauber is trying to explain why he’s fighting his school district (Coronado)’s plans to make up for covid by squeezing two years of education into one. “The 4x4 [plan] …

“First thing we did when covid hit was lock the doors and put up this “STOP!” sign,” says Dr. Margaret Meadows. But not for long. Except for the initial nine-week shutdown, Meadows’ dental office has …

Sunday morning. Trying to sleep in. No chance. Not one, not two, but three mockingbirds flit around and land in the tree right outside, going “Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!” Aggressively, non-stop. “They’re mockingbirds alright,” says Jen …

“Saluton! Kiel vi fartas?” This is my friend John Drehner. A regular in this column and a regular sage. “Come again?” I say. “I said ‘Greetings! How are you?’” “In what language?” “In the language …

(To the tune of ‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips’). Bulldoze, through the redwoods Through the big trees, And the old folks’ home, Come rampage through the redwoods with me On my new Caterpillar tractor... This was …

This started off as I was in the Barrio, listening to some live jazz. Overheard this guy talking with a friend about how planets sing? I had to go and respectfully bust in. Victor Minces, …

My buddy Erik and I do a double take. “Did you see that?” Erik asks? “The Queen of England, on a surfboard?” I turn around. There she is sure enough, and wow! She has her …

Nurse’s Log Eugene Johnson — by far the sickest person on this shift. We check his I.V., which has again infiltrated. Since even 11:00, his condition has deteriorated. He is barely breathing, and his blood …

“Chinese used the spear, Japanese used the sword,” says Mr. Kim. “We Koreans used the bow. Have for 5000 years.” A badge on his tunic reads “World Kuk Gung Federation” above a sewn picture of …

You have to wonder: this past year, how did we all not go stir crazy with the Covid restrictions? Claudio Martin did it by going as far away as he could. “I travel billions of …

Schoolboy charm A 1988 graduate thought she recalled Cunanan going up to one of her male friends, grabbing one of his pectorals, and saying something like, "Oooh, very nice. You've been working out. Give me …

What does Gene Miller love most about life in Bali? “No one here gives a shit about what’s going on in America.” The San Diegan’s speaking over FaceTime from Bali, Indonesia. On the little screen, …

There are four of us on the bus, including the driver. Everyone has masks on. The younger lady sits on the side seat behind the driver, with carefully braided strings of hair, gold glinting out …

Rich Sea Stew: Sampling the California CurrentOne fisherman was doing quite well. His name was Pedro, and he worked as a crew member. Pedro had a rod holster and used shrimp flies, and he was …

“This night, we were stuck on a sand bar,” says Justin. “There’s weather out there, and strong current. There’s the potential for the boat to just get knocked over. The tide comes in very fast. …

Q: What do Lou Cooperhouse and Winston Churchill have in common? A: They both believe in growing only the part of the chicken or fish or beef you actually want to eat. Amazingly, Churchill had …

“See you at the Nudist Colony,” says John. This rainy Saturday afternoon happened in the last days of the lockdown. Still no gatherings allowed. John Drehner and I were so bored, we came up with …

Embalmed Angel Teer says that he started smoking sherm when he was 16. "I used it a lot. I used a lot of drugs, but the older you get, the less fun it gets. Smoking …

My friend said he thought he recognized a face, a face from that Wednesday night video in DC, when wannabe revolutionaries stormed the Capitol and performed for the camera while they were there. Five people …

From Calabria, about this time of day, sunset, you can see the island of Sicily winking on the horizon. But you don’t confuse Sicilian ways with yours, “not if you’re a Calabrese,” says Simone. Simone …

Covid has hit people different ways. For Khanh and her mother Hong, it spiked something they had been waiting to do for a lifetime. “We were going to take my two daughters back to see …