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Stories by Dave Rice

Award winning restoration of Escondido house once subject of the PBS TV show Restore America

Escondido’s Beach House may be more than 15 miles from the coast, but it’s filled with historical charm and old-world craftsmanship you won’t find in a modern oceanfront mega-mansion. Built in 1896 for real estate …

March 7, 2019
Former spouse of oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens offers Ocean Front home in Del Mar

Listing materials for the beachside estate at 2808 Ocean Front in Del Mar describe a property that “has long been considered one of the most prominent coastal contemporary beach homes on the West Coast and …

February 21, 2019
Three stories of seaside lounging in Oceanside

Oceanside, San Diego’s northernmost city, is often overlooked in discussions about the region’s most exclusive real estate, which tend to focus on coastal North County cities such as Carlsbad, Encinitas, or Del Mar. But while …

February 7, 2019
Virgin villa on Rutgers Road

Listing materials for a recently-constructed southern La Jolla mansion pose a question they’re more than happy to answer. “What would you call a residence of high style, beauty, and sophistication, intelligent design and refined in …

January 24, 2019
Point Loma’s largest Italian Renaissance mansion

Rosecroft is a historically-designated estate occupying nearly two-and-a-half acres atop Point Loma. Built in 1912 by architect Emmor Brooke Weaver, who oversaw the design of dozens of local residences between 1904 and 1945, the Italian …

January 10, 2019
The “permanent vacation” feel

The newly-constructed estate at 7430 Hillside Drive in La Jolla includes five separate elevator-accessed levels of living area totaling nearly 6300 square feet of living space carved out of the side of Mount Soledad. “A …

December 27, 2018
Studs-out remodel in Coronado

This week we visit a “forgotten historic Coronado home” that’s been “brought back to life!” The 2400-square-foot craftsman at 1302 8th Street in Coronado was originally constructed in 1901 but has undergone extensive renovation since …

December 13, 2018
A “striking contemporary classic”

This week we present you with an opportunity to “reside in one of the largest homes on the breathtaking Del Mar beach.” “Take pleasure in the ultimate seaside lifestyle,” invite listing materials for the residence …

November 29, 2018
Frontal attack on gig economy

A Northern California man working as a "Juicer" for electric scooter-share operator Lime has filed suit against the company, claiming it improperly classifies thousands of workers as independent contractors in a system designed to skirt …

November 23, 2018
The epitome of California canyon living

“Hidden behind beautiful hedges,” this 1924 Bankers Hill estate at 3372 Front Street “is truly unique in downtown San Diego and the epitome of California canyon living.” So promise the listing materials. The residence, which …

November 15, 2018
Marine Lair

Occupying a prime oceanfront plot in La Jolla’s esteemed Barber Tract is a mansion the owner has dubbed “Marine Lair,” a home the listing promises is “built entirely different than any other home in San …

November 1, 2018
San Diego's last ocean front lots

Thirty-six years ago, the Reader surveyed the San Diego County coastline in search of any remaining vacant, buildable land along the coast. In January of 1982, we found a scant 79 parcels of land remaining, …

Dignity through showers

"Choice is something a lot of service providers and volunteers trying to provide help to others don't often consider," Think Dignity director Anne Rios tells me when we sit down at her group's North Park …

October 24, 2018
A west coast Statue of Liberty

A cross-denominational faith group on Friday (October 5) announced their plans to construct what they're describing as a West Coast Statue of Liberty on a San Ysidro hilltop overlooking Tijuana. Modeled after the Virgin Mary …

October 19, 2018
Bankers Hill Mansion exemplifies both Roaring Twenties exuberance and refined European design

From its perch atop Bankers Hill, the mansion at 435 West Thorn Street sits as an example of both Roaring Twenties exuberance and refined European design. “This one of a kind 1926 Italian Palladian home …

October 18, 2018
A simple fix-and-flip can go horribly wrong

A long-derided construction project at 2269 Ebers Street in Ocean Beach, spearheaded by Curtis Nelson of Nelco Properties, officially suffered its death blow this spring; after failing to attract a buyer at a foreclosure auction, …

October 10, 2018
Electric shock

San Diegans have been shocked by skyrocketing electric bills over the last two months, with many customers being told by San Diego Gas & Electric they owe two or even three times as much as …

La Jolla luxury high rise

Let’s have a peek at “the only luxury high rise in the village of La Jolla,” 939 Coast. Eponymously named for its oceanfront location along Coast Boulevard, the building is currently comprised of 153 units …

October 4, 2018
Veterans for Peace hit roadblocks in third year

The Miramar Air Show, gearing up for its 65th year next weekend, is billed as the largest military-themed air show in the United States. For the last three years, a group of anti-war military veterans …

September 24, 2018
She won without a camera

For thirteen years, the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park has been sponsoring a youth photography competition. The contest is open to students in kindergarten through high school in San Diego and Tijuana. Winners …

September 21, 2018
An entertainer’s dream with panoramic ocean views

An entertainer’s dream with panoramic ocean views

September 20, 2018
Mission Hills' premier entertaining house during the Roaring 20s

Mission Hills' premier entertaining house during the Roaring 20’s

September 6, 2018
PB church opens door to refugees

A month into its launch, a network of temporary shelters for asylum seekers arriving at the world's busiest border station in San Ysidro is beginning to take shape. The Safe Harbors project, spearheaded by Dr. …

A dusting of snow at Ahvsan Ranch

Shots of a sun-drenched pool deck are essentially a requisite box to check when developing marketing materials for a San Diego-area mansion, but how many elite local homesteads can be accurately portrayed with a dusting …

August 2, 2018
Famosa and Nimitz plans point to density

Since learning about the revival of a decades-long plan to develop affordable housing on a five-acre parcel at the intersection of Famosa and Nimitz Boulevards, Point Loma residents have been voicing stiff opposition to any …

Food trucks for homeless, toilet tank monitors

‘You just drop it into the back of your toilet tank,” explains David Vesay. “From there, it’s continually monitoring your water quality and you’ll get a message on your phone if it ever detects any …

July 25, 2018
La Jolla’s oldest structures

This week we look at “a unique opportunity to own a collection of three meticulously restored, award-winning historic homes” in La Jolla’s Barber Tract, adjacent to Windansea Beach. Home to some of La Jolla’s oldest …

July 18, 2018
You won't get rich charging Lime scooters

Whether gaudy orange (Mobike), canary yellow (ofo), nearly-neon green (LimeBike), even more orange (Uber-owned Jump electric bikes), or a comparatively unimposing matte black (Bird electric scooters), dockless bikeshare has descended upon San Diego’s streets. Depending …

July 11, 2018
KPBS shutters local paper reading

Last week, San Diego State University's KPBS broadcasting operation quietly put an end to providing local content on its Radio Reading Service, a special radio subchannel featuring volunteers reading newspaper and periodical content for those …

July 9, 2018
A home built by city-designated master builders

The historic mansion at 2440 C Street in Golden Hill was not built to cater to San Diego’s latest crop of nouveau riche. Remote-controlled, gated driveways? Nope, but a custom wrought iron gate still leads …

June 21, 2018
Shhh — San Diego is better deal

Tourism has long played an outsized role in the local economy. According to the San Diego Tourism Authority, 35 million people visit the city each year to enjoy its sunshine, sandy beaches, and potholed streets, …

June 18, 2018
No wonder they went after the bike tracks

A crowd of Point Loma residents gathered at Hervey Library on Thursday evening (June 14), offering vociferous opposition to a proposal that would place 83 units of low-income housing on a vacant city-owned parcel at …

Views from every room (and deck)

The estate home at 110 15th Street in Del Mar is described as a “one-of-a-kind compound,” its one-third acre lot nestled into a hillside just across the street from the waterfront Seagrove Park. A “modern …

June 7, 2018
Luscious living high up in a downtown penthouse

This week we visit the top floor of Sapphire Tower at 1262 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego’s 17th-tallest skyscraper at 32 stories and a height of 380 feet above street level, where penthouse suite 3802 occupies …

May 31, 2018
Concepto's Essencia: essentially ill-conceived?

Nestled into the side of Mt. Soledad about a half-mile from the coast in what listing materials describe as “the Hollywood Hills of La Jolla” sits the residence dubbed “Essencia.” With six bedrooms and seven …

May 24, 2018
City board to SDG&E: Drop dead

Recommendations from an advisory board to San Diego's city council and Mayor Kevin Faulconer that a clean energy plan from San Diego Gas & Electric be rejected could clear the way for the city to …

May 18, 2018
Reader contributor Adam Parfrey dies at 61

Adam Parfrey published a semiautobiographical novel by Joseph Goebbels, the ramblings of Charles Manson and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski plus analyses from the Aryan Nations of Don McLean's American Pie. Works he cultivated inspired Tim Burton's …

Solar picks up after 2017 dip

After a decline in new solar system installations in 2017, numbers are back on the rise in the first quarter of 2018, according to data released by industry data firm OhmHome. California, which accounts for …

May 1, 2018
Oceanfront fraud

How about an opportunity to own a nearly-new oceanfront estate in south La Jolla for less than half the original asking price? The home at 5490 Calumet Avenue sits just two doors north of Calumet …

April 26, 2018
C.W. Kim's Sundial House

From its perch on Mount Soledad above La Jolla Country Club, the Sundial House, as the estate at 7191 Encelia Drive is monikered, enjoys “brilliant design and panoramic views” of the San Diego coastline. The …

April 12, 2018
Solana Beach nexus for border resistance

A little over three months after launching a volunteer-driven campaign to shield undocumented San Diegans from immigration action and assist those caught up in raids, the San Diego Rapid Response Network held its second official …

April 6, 2018
Pot — savior of opioid users

While Californians as a whole have shifted their marijuana consciousness in recent months to freshly-legalized recreational pot, a pair of local doctors are among those continuing to explore the plant's medicinal properties. On Wednesday evening …

April 5, 2018
Rough road ahead for solar adopters

The Solar Energy Industries Association was in town last week, hosting an annual conference for more than 800 solar-related businesses. "The market has continued along going into this year — we may see a slowdown …

April 2, 2018
Coveted in the Covenant

This week we visit Buena Vista Farms, an estate set “on a raised plot of land” comprising more than 15 acres of coveted land within the Rancho Santa Fe Covenant. The property at 6025 El …

March 29, 2018
Candidates square off for Alvarez's council seat

Ramping up campaigns for the June primary, three candidates to replace David Alvarez in the San Diego City Council's District 8 met before a packed house in Sherman Heights on Thursday night (March 15) in …

Del Mar's "moving meditation"

Listing materials bill the Del Mar estate at 507 Van Dyke Avenue as “a moving meditation.” Originally built in 1985, the four-bedroom, five-bath home underwent an extensive three-year renovation that was completed in 2017 that …

March 14, 2018
Your new mansion has a disco with mirrored ceilings

Listing materials for the massive 14,000-square-foot estate at 2681 Idle Hour Lane, one of a small handful of cul-de-sacs tucked away west of the UC San Diego campus between the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and …

March 7, 2018
Racial disparities alleged in aerospace hiring

Increased federal spending in the defense industry over the coming years could lead to a sizable production boost for San Diego's aerospace industry. But a group of activists organized by the local chapter of Al …

March 6, 2018
There goes the affordable neighborhood

It took three years of planning, hours of contentious debate before the city council, and a last-minute deal with opposition forces that left some tenants feeling blindsided, but Lennar Homes ultimately got approval March 5 …

Pot delivery services optimistic in Chula Vista

After being rebuffed by San Diego's city council, marijuana delivery businesses seeking legitimacy may have found a savior to the south in Chula Vista. "Local permitting provides a path to a state license, which is …

March 1, 2018

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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
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