On June 13, when most eighth-graders at Earl Warren Middle School in Solana Beach were sitting at their graduation ceremony thinking about summer and what high school might hold in store for them, student Tom …

After his final two years playing outfield with the San Francisco Giants, current San Diego Padres bench coach Dave Roberts returned to his San Diego roots. (He graduated from Rancho Buena Vista High School in …

By Wednesday, June 11, the third day of its four-week run, the San Diego County Fair was in full swing. Traffic was backing up on northbound I-5 by 10:30 a.m. As a regular fair fanatic, …

May 30 is a date that the Leitzke family of Vista can never forget. It was the day in 1993 that nine-year-old Ryan Leitzke was left to die on the roadside, hit by a driver …

For the 29th consecutive year, Escondido’s Margaret Austin, known as the “Pink Pig Lady” for her rolling collection of pink pig memorabilia, was the first to walk through the front gates on June 7 — …

What if they held an election, and no one voted. That was almost the case in California’s June 3 gubernatorial primary election. Only around 20 percent of the state's eligible voters turned out to cast …

On June 6, Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas was the site of a mock training exercise in the emergency room: a “patient” with mental problems walked out of exam room #13. As he was trying …

Demolition of one of the county’s oldest original McDonald’s sites began on June 3. Located at 137 Canyon Drive, near Mission Avenue, the restaurant was one of three McDonald’s locations that served the San Diego …

Each year Korean War vet, Vic Caruana, 85, decorates his home for Memorial Day weekend. It’s not hard to miss his house on Harding Street with the 66 American flags, five branches-of-service flags, and his …

At around 3:30 p.m. on May 21, a gray-haired man in a white T-shirt stopped his pickup truck on the northbound on ramp of I-15 at Gopher Canyon Road. The man said to witnesses he …

A May 19 visit to the 1700 block of Poinsettia Lane, site of Carlsbad’s “Poinsettia Fire,” revealed a much different scene than just one week ago: apparently, illegal dumpers have been throwing their trash in …

On the evening of May 13, most North County coastal residents breathed a sigh of relief that the “Bernardo“ fire in the Rancho Santa Fe area appeared to have not developed into a repeat of …

Encinitas sheriff’s deputies were on the lookout for a silver Nissan Titan truck with Mossy Nissan new-car plates on the evening of May 12. Shortly after 8:30 p.m. they found it, missing a large part …

When fire evacuations were ordered in the Fairbanks Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe areas the afternoon of May 13, the staff at the Helen Woodward Animal Center sprung into action. The center’s evacuation plan called …

At 5:08 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, the Eastern Sierra trout season was on. Hundreds of San Diegans headed up Highway 395 to hit the ice-free lakes from Big Pine to Bridgeport, in what was …

At around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, SDG&E started a construction project to get power across Olivenhain Road to a new, small development of condos off of Amargosa Drive. The construction required the reduction …

Caltrans has announced future improvements to the Birmingham Drive/Interstate 5 interchange in Cardiff by the Sea — roundabouts, rather than traffic signals. The Birmingham Drive exits are the last remaining I-5 interchanges that don’t have …

While driving eastbound on Miramar Road, I spotted a classic train car sitting on an abandoned railroad spur. The 1948 Pullman car sits with 30 other industrial freight cars on an end-of-the-line track, fenced off …

Three hours before President Obama’s motorcade was scheduled to roll through La Jolla, protesters were shouting their slogans at passing motorists at the corner of Torrey Pines Road and Dunaway Drive. The $10,000-a-seat Democratic Party …

A few weeks ago, Buddy, a ten-year old Lab, was reunited with his owners after having gone missing for seven years. During the San Diego County wildfires of October 2007, Buddy and his family were …

Three women named Betty, with a combined age of 284 years, were honored at the Oceanside Library’s Volunteer Appreciation Day on April 11. While 11 other library volunteers were honored for as “Volunteers of the …

In an announcement that stunned many supporters, populist Encinitas mayor Teresa Arballo Barth recently announced that she will not run for reelection. In her April 5 email to constituents, she cited her original campaign pledge …

A tale-tell sign that spring has arrived along the beaches of North County is the appearance of rock sculpture. Made by informal artisans, they’ll find various-sized riprap rock that has been added for erosion control. …

Cardiff by the Sea’s restaurant matriarch has passed away. Ki Holcomb, 88, founded the popular oceanfront Ki’s Restaurant along Cardiff by the Sea’s Restaurant Row, on Coast Highway 101. In 1980, at the age of …

Playing to two shows at the La Paloma Theatre on March 22, Surfer magazine presented the San Diego County premier of its new film, The Cradle of Storms. The 25-minute documentary follows three West Coast …

What if you had a fairly well maintained, 23-unit motel, two blocks from the beach, and during the first week of spring break, nobody checked in? Such is the case of the Scandia Motel at …

Maldonado Farms, active in Cardiff by the Sea for over 40 years, is shutting down — at least at the location they’ve held. The large greenhouse at 1412 MacKinnon Road was torn down last week. …

Motorists along Highway 76 between Bonsall and I-15 are happy to see that the final six-mile phase of the Highway 76 widening project has begun. Last week, crews started clearing out heavy brush and trees …

Seen as the community’s last chance to postpone the auction of the old Pacific View Elementary School site, almost 100 people showed up at a meeting of the Encinitas Union School District on March 11. …

Trying to revive the art of 1930s hollow wooden surfboards and expand the “sustainable surfing” movement, seven surfers recently took a four-day board-building class. On March 7 — day two of the class — the …

After two weeks of harassment by a man who was described as a bipolar transient from Florida, sheriff’s deputies were called to Swami’s beach parking lot on March 6 at around 9:30 a.m. Danny Knoblaugh …

Recently, Leucadia resident Scott Chatfield woke up one morning at 3:00 a.m. and realized he had to do something to save the old Pacific View Elementary School. The 2.8-acre property comes up for public auction …

On February 20, Caltrans began construction on the long awaited improvements at the I-5/Santa Fe Drive on and off ramps — on the west side of the freeway. The southbound I-5 off-ramp is one of …

Just when SoCal skiers and snowboarders thought winter would never come, the Pineapple Express has opened up and is dumping tons of snow on Mammoth and June Mountain. The weather phenomenon picks up moisture-laden air …

Last week, the 125-year old Oceanside house in disrepair at 102 Pacific Street received a fresh coat of paint, its first since 1985. For all its problems — peeling paint, crumbling overhangs, and leaning porches …

In 1913, Cardiff by the Sea’s founder, J. Frank Cullen, realized his growing town’s kids should probably have something better than a classroom in the MacKinnon farm’s barn. So he donated land and built Cardiff’s …

The San Diego mayoral race wasn’t the only special election on February 11. The majority of Solana Beach voters passed Proposition B — an initiative brought to the ballot box by citizens. It asked voters …

Spy, a sunglass company based in Carlsbad, has created controversy again, with their newest billboard on Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Last week, a new (possibly provocative) billboard message was put up to promote the …

Last Monday, February 3, employees arriving at the Beach House Restaurant in Cardiff were surprised to learn they no longer had a job. Servers Justin and Dylan arrived at 10:00 a.m. to find the owners …

Motorists traveling northbound on I-5 through Camp Pendleton have probably noticed the slow disappearance of the old, rusty, white railroad bridge over the Santa Margarita River. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company built …

On February 1, close to 300 friends and family showed up at the Kraken on Coast Highway 101 for a remembrance and celebration of life of Oceanside resident Hugh Williams. Williams was killed on the …

Korean War veteran Vic Caruana is known throughout coastal North County as “the flag guy.” He helps local businesses maintain their American flags and takes part in flag-raising ceremonies. On January 31, Caruana was asked …

Some type of major law-enforcement action seemed to be taking place on the southbound I-5 through Camp Pendleton on January 29 at around 2:00 p.m. There were numerous law-enforcement agency vehicles parked at the Las …

Driving from the upper Midwest through Illinois, immediately across the state line is the historic town of LeClaire, IA. We quickly pulled off the I-80 exit, but not to visit the quaint old buildings in …

On January 13, Encinitas resident Youssef Boulaalam, through his attorney Allen Berrey, filed a 40-page claim of civil rights violations, illegal search, fabrication of evidence, false arrest, and imprisonment against Mono County and their sheriff’s …

According to a resident of the fourplex community off South El Camino Real, behind the Target store, the whole neighborhood woke up to the sound of crashing cars around 1:00 a.m. on January 16. A …

On the eastbound off-ramp of Highway 78 at Jefferson Street — the location that inspired a 2012 panhandling article — a turf war developed on January 8, causing three California Highway Patrol units to respond. …

A mainstay business in downtown Carlsbad since 1947, El Corral Pottery, is closing its doors. Located at 340 Carlsbad Boulevard (Coast Highway), the location is the last independent seller in Southern California of the colorful …

After a memorial service in Laguna Nigel, about 100 family members, friends, and those who never knew Fallbrook’s McStay family, showed up at the San Clemente Pier for a memorial paddle-out on January 4. The …

Coinciding with opening day of horse-racing season at the Santa Anita track in L.A., Ocean’s Eleven Casino in Oceanside premiered coastal North County’s only off-track betting lounge on December 26. Where once was the card …