Manzanita Shrubs are starting to bloom this month in the foothill areas of the Cleveland National Forest. The various manzanitas, characterized by smooth, reddish bark and tough, leathery leaves, bear myriads of tiny, white to …

Anti-Trump, pro-pal I’m not dropping my Trumper/MAGA friends just ‘cuz I’m Ridin’ With Biden (“Trump Trumps Love”, Cover Story, Feb 2). Politicians come and go. Friendships last forever. Trumpers come in two flavors: rich and …

Cruelty in the captions? The photograph of a “granny cottage” in Del Mar (“Affordable housing laws descend on Del Mar”, Neighborhood News, Jan 10) was captioned “Why would you ever ruin such an adorable addition …

San Diego County’s Waterfalls, swollen with runoff and snowmelt from recent storms, should be at their very best during the next month or two. Three of the most accessible are: Green Valley Falls at Cuyamaca …

What’s the real Torrey story? Regarding the dispute over protected Torrey Pines obstructing views ("Del Mar Torrey pine headed for pruning suffers big limb break," Dec 29), I would like to know whether the trees …

We are, in fact, all going to die I really enjoyed your article “Anti-Social Contagion.” It makes me happy that there are people like Deanna Polk and Amy Reichert who will stand up for all …

December Nights Balboa Park Join your fellow citizens on December 2 and 3 for the City of San Diego’s largest free holiday festival in beautiful Balboa Park. The family friendly event brings San Diegans together …

Should have rifled Google Your article about the Cleveland School shooting (“Ways of Escape”, Nov. 24, 2022.) is rather interesting in terms of its number-one error in the very beginning of the article where it …

Pastor Karla on Hell I’d like to comment on the Sheep and Goats interview concerning St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (Reader website, Oct. 14). In reading the church and denomination websites, I discovered that they undermine …

Schad fan finds peer Kudos to Ryan Brothers for his great article “ROAM” about his trek to Lawson Peak. (“Two hikers on the ascent to Lawson Peak and two on the way down,” Nov. 10) …

Faked it and made it This is a letter for Peter, who was in your last issue (“Homeless bootcamp at Ocean Beach,” Letters, October 26). You have to go to Goodwill places and get nice …

Lately, I’m getting the feeling that I came in at the end. —Tony Soprano, The Sopranos The Sopranos television series ended its remarkable run in 2007, right around the time when this final batch of …

Everything costs in Ocean Beach. If you want a cup of coffee you can buy a cup for $3 at OB Beans Coffee Roasters where they don’t usually play music too loud unless the drug …

These were the happy days. The salad days, as they say. —H.I. McDonnough, Raising Arizona I started working here in 1995, thanks in large part to features editor Judith Moore. She had arrived over a …

“Lifestyle and slice-of-life themes, often written in free-form styles that border on the bizarre.” In May of 1989, the Los Angeles Times published a profile of Jim Holman and his newspaper, the 17-year-old San Diego …

A half-century of San Diego stories from the Reader So much of identity is memory. There’s experience; maybe we chase it, maybe it just washes over us. But memory is what makes experience stick, what …

Walled Mexican garden, undersea succulents Bottlecraft gives San Diego access to beers you never thought of Zad in Casa de Oro introduced me to quzi Specialty Produce really is special Post-Covid serendipity in East San …

Writer and friend (Reader) writer Joe Deegan was a friend. I really enjoyed our conversations over a beer at The Ould Sod. I loved his articles. I was interviewed by him once and part of …

Rock out and over I enjoyed the article by Thomas K. Arnold on the rock spots of San Diego (“San Diego glimpses: the Doors, Elvis, Grateful Dead, Kingston Trio, Beach Boys, Pearl Jam, Gary Puckett, …

Mission Bay secret parking revealed On the front page of the current Reader down on the left side on the bottom it says “Secret free parking in Mission Bay.” I have to wonder if this …

Hellhole finder I’d like to comment on your story “Time on the Line” (“The Sentri pass, crossing at Otay, the annoying seagulls,” Cover Stories, August 3).I was in Mexico one summer afternoon in 1943. My …

Negative glory Don’t you believe that if you didn’t advertise this kind of crap that there wouldn’t be so many young men taggers messing up the place (“San Diego graff artists confess,” Cover Stories, June …

Placename change Looking for the Granada Piano Bar in Hillcrest mentioned in the story (“My uncle plays the Granada piano bar in Hillcrest,” Writing Contest, April 20). Love piano bars but can’t find this one. …

Music worth saving History, geopolitics, and social sciences are my fields, but as a young boy growing up on Long Island, I was the organist of our parish and even joined the AFM in my …

First Place Winner CHANGING OF THE GUARD Unexpected violence at the San Diego Zoo When people found out I worked security at the world famous San Diego Zoo, they asked: “What’s the craziest thing you’ve …

Digging concurrence Unfortunately have to concur with most of the digs (“The internet writers gang up on San Diego,” Cover Stories, January 19). Born in MA, grew up in NC, have lived in LA (total …

No way with words Hold off giving to the incessant fund-raising of KPBS Public Radio 89.5 FM which has been interrupting scheduled programming for the last two weeks in its chronic bid for listener bucks …

November’s and December’s Vividly Colorful Sunsets and sunrises are no accident. This is the time of year when high cirrus clouds, often the precursors of storms, sweep through our area with some regularity. When cirrus …

Taking up the rear The people of Ocean Beach should start a petition to recall Todd Gloria (“Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach – open-air insane asylums?” Neighborhood News, September 2). I guarantee once the petition …

Chinese Flame Trees all over the San Diego region are displaying colorful clusters of orange, reddish, or salmon-pink seed pods. Good specimens line the south end of Balboa Drive in Balboa Park, and Lake Murray …

Dense Ground Fogs are a trademark of the onset of autumn along San Diego’s coastal strip. Fog materializes during the night and early morning hours when moist marine air that has settled in valleys and …

Dog and war story I love the Reader and I am so glad that it has continued to be a force during our unprecedented time. Thank you so much for that. Be sure and thank …

Needle sticks This letter is in response to Michael Quirk’s letter (“Paralyzing notion”, Letters, September 1). First of all, have you ever seen a viral video or product so popular that customers are breaking down …

Fall Officially Begins at 12:21 pm local time on Wednesday, September 22. Not just the beginning of pumpkin-spice flavored everything but also a good excuse to throw an evening party to celebrate the occasion. At …

The Time of Sunset changes most rapidly this time of the year. This is mainly because the sun is swinging rapidly south along the ecliptic (its apparent path through the background stars). From the latitude …

Surfside punch-out Some airhead, I guess it was a girl, Ella, is quoted as saying, “I cut off this guy once on a wave and he started calling me all these names.” (“Picking colleges based …

Chaparral, the tangled assortment of low-growing, drought-resistant, native shrubs covering most of San Diego County’s lower mountain slopes, has managed to remain fairly attractive this summer. Unlike many of the scrubby natives near the coast, …

Discriminating intelligence I am NOT going to take the Covid vaccine (“City expands outreach to vaccine-hesitant communities,” SD on the QT: Almost Factual News, June 18). There is no proof that it works. There seems …

Jasmine’s Thick, Sweet Odor wafts on the night breezes this time of year, especially throughout the older, well-landscaped neighborhoods of San Diego. The exotic odor is produced by the flowers of true jasmines (genus Jasminum), …

Thunderstorms have visited the Imperial Valley and parts of eastern San Diego County over the past several weeks. The seasonal arrival of moisture from the east and south, more or less typical for late summer, …

The Perseid Meteor Shower, the best known of the many meteor displays that return annually, will take place under optimum conditions this year because there’s no moonlight to interfere. Peak viewing nights are Wednesday, August …

Pathetically satirical Satire articles are pathetic attempt to copy The Onion (“Torrey Pines High School becomes all-white campus in effort to combat racism,” SD on the QT: Almost Factual News, July 30). It is confusing …

Towering Thunderheads have been seen hovering over the mountains east of San Diego in recent weeks. Afternoon rainshowers have already dampened Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Mount Laguna, with more of the same expected at times during …

BIPOC studies Being from California, you might think that aspects of Critical Race Theory are implemented in the public education curriculum, but that is not necessarily the case (“San Diego students required to take ethnic …

Birdwatchers need not despair now that the winter migrants are gone. Plenty of shore birds can be found on summer evenings in the natural coastal wetland areas of San Diego County. From south to north …

Foodie Heaven Great article Mr. Anderson. (“Best San Diego food in most hidden corners, Cover Stories,” July 14) We here in Coastal North County also have our share of unconventionally stationed eateries. Keep your foot …

Cumulonimbus Clouds, or thunderheads, are most likely to form over San Diego County’s deserts and mountains during the latter part of the summer season, beginning about late July. The clouds appear by midafternoon — often …

Paean for pans Accolades and praise for a well put together, researched article that was nicely delivered (“San Diego stupid,” Cover Stories, June 30). Unbelievable (almost) as to just how vacuous and STUPID some people …

July Is San Diego’s Driest Month, according to precipitation data compiled since the year 1850. Only four hundredths of an inch of rain falls on average this month, compared to almost two inches in January …

The Heat of Summer will most likely reach its feverish peak in inland San Diego County during the month of July. (Coastal San Diego is different: since its weather is greatly affected by the slowly …