Helen McKenna
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Bay Park: 32 Years of Wildlife and Ocean Views
Hi and thanks! I thought I was the only one to go through the voter lists. I always imagine most people are too shy to look. I do love seeing the canyon creatures. When I lived in N.J. long ago I loved going to the Bronx Zoo. I'm definitely an animal nut. Helen— January 28, 2011 5:15 p.m.
San Diego off-leash citations
Dear Ponzi: Please cite the study that shows your dismal statistics: "50% of the people do not pickup their dog waste". Of course you can't because it's a figment of your imagination. Why don't you give credit where it's due? Do your own study. Afraid you might discover that the vast majority of dog owners pick up after their dogs? One day about 7 years ago when visiting a dog park near the ocean in San Francisco I deliberately looked for dog poop over an hour-long period. Do you know how many dog poops I found? Zero. I even wrote the mayor about it. Helen— July 7, 2009 1:38 a.m.
Dog owners and non-motor boats battle over Mission Bay
Don: Why mess with the present or fencing some of current unfenced area when there is question I have going way back. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but has anybody or anything changed the 1972 law that made all of Fiesta Island leash-free? And dog beach in Ocean Beach? And simultaneously, the 1972 law was enacted so all other beaches could be closed to dogs. This was the trade-off. And closed not only to leash-free dogs, but dogs period. City closed not only the sand, but the shores, the sidewalks, land that's yards and yards away, hardly defined as "beaches". (Forget the tiny bit of few hours on leashes now allowed--insignificant.) Maybe this is where we need to go now, back to where it all started in 1972 and start all over again. If we look around, we see miles and miles of beach and bay area in our city, all closed to people with dogs. Other cities, that don't brag about being "the Finest" do not have such ignorant Draconian restrictions on people exercising their dogs, or running WITH their dogs. Finest, my foot. Helen— February 11, 2009 8:51 a.m.
Dog owners and non-motor boats battle over Mission Bay
Don - #54. Like so many great jokes, based on truth. And fighting city hall is almost impossible when city has upper hand, so no level playing field. I got burned out. Speaking of fighting city hall, last night I dreamed of Mike Aguirre. I was helping him on some project. Why was he in my dream? Must have been a mistake, some kind of wires crossed and it was an old Mayor Sanders nightmare. To #55 Lenny: Maybe we could get somewhere if everybody promised to be scrupulously, sickenly honest and self-critical. Ha ha. That means forget all the dog poop exaggerations. Helen— February 9, 2009 5:11 p.m.
Dog owners and non-motor boats battle over Mission Bay
Don: Great title. Unfortunately I'm in the midst of writing another book of comedy right now, doesn't include World's Finest City. Will have to put Dogfather off for now. Speaking of superlatives, I just read this morning that New Jersey was voted most corrupt state in the country. Louisiana came in second. Helen— February 8, 2009 1:58 p.m.
Dog owners and non-motor boats battle over Mission Bay
I agree with PB92109 in #43. The 1972 law making Fiesta Island leash-free should have been honored by Park and Rec. Mr. Bauder -- $20-30 million isn't the best argument for dog owners. The above fact is. The "disdain" that PB92109 mentions Park and Rec. having for dog owners is familiar to me. I come from Hudson County, New Jersey. It was one of the most corrupt counties in the country. I was literally surrounded by racketeers, Mafia mobsters and crooked city and county officials. After 6 years dealing with Park and Rec. on off-leash dog areas, I got the same bad taste in my mouth I had in New Jersey. Talk about disdain for the people. I expected more, maybe because of all the pretty sunshine. Naive I guess. But the pretty sunshine seemed to clash with all our city corruption.— February 6, 2009 5:55 p.m.