More than 110 years after they were planted in Golden Hill, the trees in Bennington Memorial Oak Grove are getting a dose of proper decorum. In July 1905, when the boiler on the USS Bennington …
April 20, 2017
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Stories by Leorah Gavidor
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USS Bennington oak grove now on Balboa Park map
What’s in surfers’ guts?
This October, UC San Diego School of Medicine doctoral student and native Hawaiian surfer Cliff Kapono sets out on a nine-month global journey to swab surfers in search of unique microorganisms. “If surfers have a …
November 2, 2016
In Cousteau’s slipstream
Commercial fishing boats near Scripps Pier must stay out of the adjoining areas, but La Jolla visitors might have noticed a ship recently prowling around the underwater reserve: the R/V Robert Gordon Sproul. During the …
September 28, 2016
Seagoing action
On a gray day in May, a group of San Marcos Middle School girls and other visitors gathered in the Birch Aquarium galleria to try something that had not been done at the aquarium before: …
August 31, 2016
Mo and Jo coast-walk from Oregon to Mexico
A 1972 state proposition mandated a public walking path spanning the California coast, but to this day the trail has not been finished. To raise awareness of the need for improvements, marine scientists and trail …
August 3, 2016
Study seeks best treatment for jellyfish stings
Jellyfish stings are a familiar part of the beachgoing experience. But, says UC San Diego medical student John Stevenson, there is no conclusive data on treatment. Along with two UC San Diego doctors, Richard Clark …
May 25, 2016
Goodbye, Melville; hello, Sally Ride
Scripps Institution of Oceanography has bid bon voyage to R/V Melville, a research vessel that has cruised the world’s oceans since 1969. Last month, the U.S. Navy turned over operations of the ship, now named …
May 11, 2016
When Bill Clinton claimed the couch
A piece of old furniture is getting jettisoned in the Birch Aquarium’s office remodel: the couch Bill Clinton took a nap on in 1997. Clinton gave the UC San Diego commencement address that year, then …
March 24, 2016
Black’s Beach road closed for repair
Storms, high tides, high surf, and winter swells damaged the emergency access road to Black’s Beach, causing UC San Diego to close the road for repair until March 6. The damage occurred sometime between the …
March 14, 2016
Gobies go on vacation
The endangered tidewater goby, native only to the California coast from Del Norte County to San Diego County, is a tiny fish. Growing up to two inches long, the species lives exclusively in coastal brackish …
March 9, 2016
A prowl through Los Peñasquitos Canyon
A coyote mauled one of the cameras, and a bobcat marked (that’s right — urinated on) another. In tracking, those are good signs.
February 24, 2016
Who are these drifters?
Every day under the Scripps pier in La Jolla, two cameras capture thousands of images of the weird and wonderful organisms called plankton. “Plankton,” a Greek adjective that can mean “drifter,” is a diverse group …
January 20, 2016
Gimme babies or gimme death
When Garfield Kwan was an undergraduate student in marine biology at UC San Diego, he began to notice a trend: the internet was full of funny stuff, but science was not included. Furthermore, materials available …
December 30, 2015
RezRadio reaches the world
“On the reservation they have a saying,” Fox chuckled, “‘B.C.—before casino.’’’
November 25, 2015
Australian visitors spotted in San Diego Bay
About 100 yards into an early-morning kayak-fishing excursion on September 28, Steve Piper noticed a plentiful presence on his fish finder. As he paddled out into San Diego Bay from the boat ramp at Pepper …
October 14, 2015
50th anniversary of Sealab II
Fifty years ago off the coast of La Jolla, the U.S. Navy performed experiments to find out how long humans could live underwater. The Sealab project had three vessels, the first of which was sunk …
October 12, 2015
Marine fireworms to do horizontal boogie
In the shallow coastal waters of Mission Bay, a dazzling display lights up the sea after dark. Not the SeaWorld fireworks — it’s the marine fireworms, coming to the surface in swarms to mate. Like …
September 17, 2015
Grandma drove a tank while pregnant in 1948 Jerusalem
Israel was the first foreign country I visited, in 1980, four months after I was born. Although my Jewish-ish parents didn’t take my brother and me to temple, I went to the Holy Land six …
May 20, 2015
Exhibitionists
“No reading, no memorizing. It’s all oral,” described Storytellers of San Diego president Marilyn McPhie of the yarns these spinners create live for audiences. Join the performers for the Storytelling Festival on March 21 at …
February 4, 2015
The thought of marrying a Jew gave me the creeps
I think the term “interracial” is a misnomer. We are all members of the human race.
September 17, 2014
The Pickles Are on the Wall
Look up Azerbaijan on the map and one can see immediately how this Caucasus country is a confluence of cultures: Persian, Russian, Islamic, seafaring, to name a few. All of these influences contribute to modern-day …
August 20, 2014
Golden Hill canyon to fill with 27 new homes
Where 29th meets B Street, in a quiet part of Golden Hill, a previously undeveloped, narrow green canyon will soon be the site of 27 new homes. The canyon, which for many years included the …
April 8, 2014
Galactic Girl to depart Golden Hill grocery store
For now Galactic Girl, a work by professional aerosol artist Caleb Aero, resides where she has for the past several years — among 15 to 20 other 6´x 4´ paintings decorating the wall above the …
January 22, 2014
Charmed, I'm sure
Mrs. Kymberli Parker, a teacher of etiquette for young children, has garnered a clientele of adults as well.
August 21, 2013
Where will the gallinas of Golden Hill go?
Maricela Martinez has kept her happy chickens in her yard at 28th and A, across from the golf course, right next to the sign that demarcates South Park from Golden Hill, for seven years. Signs …
August 18, 2013
Golden Hill Street Fair re-revived, slated for October 13
In an interview with Jim Miller of the San Diego Free Press in early May, Greater Golden Hill Community Development Corporation board member Judd Curran stated that the second annual Golden Hill Street Fair was …
August 7, 2013
Whatcha gonna do when your well runs dry?
The city is drilling a test well for water at 32nd and B streets in Golden Hill.
June 19, 2013
New Mural at Golden Hill’s Jaroco Market
On Wednesday, May 29, local artist Giancarlo Pia installed his first outdoor large-scale mural — on the north wall of Jaroco Market at the corner of 25th and B streets. At approximately 17’5” wide by …
June 6, 2013
Prepare to be assimilated
Before books travel across town to take their places on the new shelves, they will undergo a technology upgrade and take a fantastic journey through tubular space.
March 6, 2013
Golden Hill post office becomes residential
Major renovation is under way at 2692 C Street, the address that was previously home to George Washington Station, the post office that served Golden Hill from the '60s until it closed permanently in February …
January 29, 2013
Garbage Truck Spills Load in Golden Hill
Sometime between morning trash pick-up and 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 1, a loaded city trash truck malfunctioned and spilled most of its contents onto the street on the corner of 26th and A streets, …
November 3, 2012
The Plan for Golden Hill's Newest Multistory Building
Turning an old service station into a mixed-use urban development is the latest Golden Hill project for FoundationForForm, the architects behind mxd830 on 25th Street, home to bar/restaurant Counterpoint and Mosaic Yoga, as well as …
August 28, 2012
My Milkshake Brings All the Birds to the Yard
Name: Leorah Gavidor Neighborhood: Golden Hill Age: 31 Occupation: Retail/editor Actually, it’s not really my milkshake, and, technically, it’s not even a milkshake at all — it’s a basic solution of sugar and water, boiled …
March 12, 2012
The Watching Birds
Just the other day, late in the afternoon, I was sitting on the couch, reading the Reader (yes, really!), when I sensed something large watching me through the front picture window in our living room. …
July 25, 2011
Painted Lady
From many neighborhoods in San Diego, you can look out and see other neighborhoods. That’s how it is in a city of hills. When I lived on Boundary Street, in North Park, I could look …
March 28, 2011