Of all the labels people look for when it comes to food, locally grown is number one, surveys find. But more than a decade after the county launched the San Diego Grown 365 label, few …
February 7, 2016
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Stories by Sheila Pell
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Is the farm-to-table movement over?
Coronado, for one, has more time to think about pot shops
As cities rush to restrict medical marijuana before a March 1 state deadline, it turns out there’s no hurry. The date was an error. An emergency bill to strike the deadline should reach the governor …
January 12, 2016
Preemptory strike on eucalypti
Today, December 15, the city was set to begin removing three Coronado eucalyptus trees, longtime residents of Spreckels Park. An assessment by the city’s arborist found the sweet-scented trees, which are similar in size and …
December 15, 2015
My dog needs a rubdown — what's the problem?
Wellness care for pets is thriving in San Diego. There are fitness trainers, massage therapists, and more. For many animal owners, it’s a tool to prevent illness. To the California Veterinary Medical Board, it’s risky …
October 3, 2015
Nature guy and Cal Fire surround compromise
A controversial plan for preventing wildfires is back. It’s the final round for Cal Fire’s vegetation-treatment plan, which targets 60,000 acres of state-responsibility land for annual brush clearing. On August 26, the new draft was …
September 15, 2015
The fight for freedom of street sleep
After dark, parking a home is a problem. That was clear in 2010, when advocates for the houseless opened the first overnight safe parking lot. And the need goes on. “The program was a direct …
August 30, 2015
Prices paid for San Diego public loos
A lot has, and hasn’t, happened in the decades since downtown’s public restroom shortage came to light. Two grand jury reports and vast sums of money have been aimed at the problem, the homeless population …
August 15, 2015
That rattling sound is the food chain
A ban on U.S. Pacific sardine fishing that took effect July 1 will mean more food for starving sea lions, pelicans, and other creatures. But there’s no shutting down the other forces rattling the food …
July 11, 2015
How small can a small house be?
It’s the kind of change that gives tiny-house supporters hope. On June 4, new zoning rules will go into effect that make it easier to build small, detached homes on city lots outside the coastal …
June 1, 2015
Compost County
It’s not easy to be a composter in San Diego. There are state, county, and in some cases, even city rules about odors, size and more. Now, however, soil tenders have hope. CalRecycle, the state …
April 2, 2015
Feeling the burn, San Diego?
The controversial California Fire Prevention Fee may soon affect more property owners in San Diego. If proposed changes to the fire-zone map are approved, some rural county residents will have to start paying the annual …
February 28, 2015
Fungi wanted for fungal library
San Diego is so arid, it can leave mushroom hunters foraging for irrigation. Try parks and cemeteries, some suggest. Or go see local species on display at the annual Fungus Fair in Balboa Park on …
February 14, 2015
Growers wanted
A new progress report on farm-to-school food programs, released December 19, indicates that more than one-third of children in San Diego are overweight or obese. For many children, eating a lot of processed foods means …
January 11, 2015
Environmental roshambo: Navy smashes lotus
Last month, the Navy’s proposed Coastal Campus on the Silver Strand took another step forward, despite concerns about natural resources, sea rise, and traffic and visual impacts on Coronado and Imperial Beach. Against a staff …
December 2, 2014
Encinitas seeks to control invasive plants
It began with a focus on accurate seed-container labels. But in July, as Assembly Bill 2470 neared signing, it took a spin for the worse, its critics now say. The dangerous twist was the insertion …
November 18, 2014
Coyotes are dogs, too
In the world of moving targets, coyotes are enemy number one. On forums, hunters confess that it can take multiple hits to “put a dog in the dirt.” A testimonial on a website that sells …
September 26, 2014
Bikes on the water (cars in the sky)
There’s a new way to cross the San Diego Bay: bike. “Why not?” asks Judah Schiller, a Northern California designer who developed a water bike that glides on pontoons and has a pedal-powered propeller. It’s …
August 7, 2014
Coronado land-grab prevention
The future of the Coronado bayfront is crowded with ideas. Some link islands of green and gray to increase options for walking and biking; others target tourists and revenue. But what will the San Diego …
June 24, 2014
Sea star health watch
If you've spotted a severed arm or leg along the shoreline, take note. Something is mutilating sea stars, and extra eyes are urgently needed to solve the mystery. “Sea star wasting syndrome,” a disease that …
May 21, 2014
EPPICard fees heaped upon child-support recipients
It was a good year for collecting child support in California. More aggressive collection efforts helped the state bring in $38 million more in the fiscal year that ended in June. San Diego ranked 22nd …
November 20, 2012
Sonoma County Supervisor Arrested at Downtown Nightclub
It wasn’t the first time this year that someone left a rap concert downtown on a stretcher. What made the Labor Day brawl unusual was the identity of one of the players. Not Rayan Jastaniyah, …
September 11, 2012
Cal Fire’s Mission Has Changed
California State Assembly Bill x1 29 calls for an annual “fire prevention benefit fee” of up to $150 per “habitable structure.”
July 25, 2012
Can living near a major road be dangerous to your health?
As any urban dweller knows, all traffic is local. But what’s inside its dark spew, and how it affects people nearby, is a mystery. Two new air monitors coming to San Diego will help answer …
February 22, 2012
Late To Change Lanes
In Coronado, alternative transportation mostly means bikes, scooters, skateboards, legs. The options end at the bridge, where a link to San Diego is provided only for cars and motorcycles. Some say the bridge favors traffic …
February 15, 2012
The Ghost Fleet of Suisun Bay, California
They are a floating museum, revered by some, reviled by others. But no trip to the Bay Area is complete without viewing the huddled battalion of old military ships that haunts its northern reaches, where …
September 27, 2011
SDG&E Smart Meters – cause of heart trouble?
When a San Diego Gas and Electric technician asked Susan Foster how the company could allay her concerns about smart meters, her reply left him speechless. “Can you get me a new heart?” Foster stood …
April 27, 2011
Toxic Waste Is History
The deadline looms for aviation and architectural buffs to claim a piece of San Diego history. Chandeliers, floors, decals, and aviation emblems are among the items offered to museums, archives, non-profit groups, and the public …
March 9, 2010
Big Bore Banter
Will some Coronado voters be confused by the wording of a June ballot measure and support a tunnel they don’t want? Councilmember Barbara Denny thinks so. She considers the draft ballot language “unintentionally misleading” and …
February 20, 2010
Who Put the Dogs Out?
San Diego is on the map as one of the dog friendliest of cities. Beaches, hiking trails, and even some stores and cafés accommodate four-legged visitors. It’s all here, from dog sports to doggy daycare. …
February 3, 2010
Jellybean Pizza Butt
A rare Sparrow, one of 285 of the eye-popping electric cars ever made, was recently spotted in Encinitas. The owner wasn’t around to provide details, but an internet search revealed that the car was a …
January 21, 2010
Good Driver Wanted
At about 9:45 p.m. on Sunday, December 13, a driver speeding down Sixth Avenue lost control of his car after taking a sharp turn onto Palm Street. The errant driver’s car hit and smashed a …
December 16, 2009
Festival of Car Lights
“December Nights” in Balboa Park kicked off with a lurch, leaving winners and losers in an all-night battle over parking. The two-day event opened Friday; a night to forget, according to a would-be attendee who …
December 6, 2009
Scariest part of Halloween – henna and phthalates
On a blustery afternoon, just down the road from a Mission Valley lot that’s already advertising Christmas trees, costumed sign bearers point the way to a recently opened Halloween store. Every October “they just pop …
October 28, 2009
Tony's Friend
Kurt and Tony are friends who travel together for safety. At night they sleep in one of San Diego’s many “cubbyholes,” as the homeless call the spaces behind bushes and buildings. Kurt Wiley said he …
October 25, 2009
Baja cities stop electrocuting dogs
At 2:00 a.m. on August 26, Donna Liebrich left San Diego and headed east on I-8 for the Mexican border. Mexicali, her destination, is a good two-hour drive, depending on the Border Patrol checkpoint and …
October 7, 2009
Stopped in Their Tracks
At about 5:30 p.m. on October 1, cops swarmed the grounds outside Balboa Park’s Sixth Avenue bathroom across from St. Paul’s Cathedral. Soon after, a tall, thin man wearing sweatpants, sneakers, and a baseball cap …
October 2, 2009
Transients Attack Cop
“I was taking a little siesta,” said a man lying on the grass in Balboa Park, observing an unfolding crime scene on September 25. Just down the hill, a section of north Balboa Park had …
September 25, 2009
Tunnel Vision
The Coronado Tunnel Commission met on September 10 to discuss the next step in their proposal to build a 1.4-mile underground tunnel that would redirect military traffic between the bay bridge and North Island naval …
September 15, 2009
Mayberry Modernized
Todd Shallan, president of the Coronado Chamber of Commerce and general manager of the Hotel Del, began a presentation to Coronado City Council on May 5 by saying, “Our economy is not going to get …
May 10, 2009
Coronado Underground?
On March 12, the Coronado Tunnel Commission (CTC) — a group formed to seek funding for construction of an underground tunnel to ease the town’s traffic congestion — held a meeting at the Coronado Police …
March 17, 2009
Newspapers: Dead or Alive
On February 27, the day the Rocky Mountain News published its last edition and just a few days after owners of the Philadelphia Inquirer filed for bankruptcy, a panel convened at the Museum of San …
March 1, 2009
For Whom the Tolls Irk
Seven years after the toll for the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge was dropped, a controversial proposal to bring it back is in the works. The toll would fund construction of an underground tunnel or underpasses …
February 23, 2009