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
Dog Eat Dog...Or, Prisoner
I can't wait to hear Fred's take on this: EAST COUNTY — A man armed with a large knife was shot and killed by El Cajon police at a busy intersection yesterday afternoon after numerous less-lethal attempts by officers failed to stop him. The man, whose name was not released, led police on a mile-long uphill chase on Avocado Boulevard, running all the way, said police Lt. Steven Shakowski. Investigators said they have no idea why the man was running with the knife and were working to determine whether he had committed any crimes before being shot. Police said they received a call about 11:50 a.m. about a man running with a hunting knife near Chase Avenue and Avocado Boulevard in El Cajon. Officers followed the man south on Avocado to Horizon Hills Drive. When he refused to drop the knife, they fired two stinging beanbag rounds at him. They also shot him with a Taser, an electric stun gun. None of it stopped the man, who continued running up Avocado with the knife, Shakowski said. Two more beanbags were fired. The man was still running up Avocado as officers fired more beanbag rounds. By the time he reached Avocado and Fuerte Drive, outside El Cajon city limits, he had been hit eight times, to no effect, Shakowski said. Fearing he might enter the businesses at the intersection, police tried to cut off the man, who had been running uphill for about 13 minutes, Shakowski said. The man then raised the knife and charged at the officers. Four officers opened fire with their pistols, firing at least six shots. Well Fred, how are the evil cops wrong here?— March 29, 2009 1:22 a.m.
Dog Eat Dog...Or, Prisoner
Is Fred the most liberal person on the planet? "The USA has the shameful reputation of maintaining the worst prisons in the entire industrialized world". Really? I guess those bribes I've paid over the years to stay out of jail in TJ were wasted. It must be like club med. As for the iditarod, I have a solution. You make the dogs pull the musher one way, then make the musher pull the dogs all the way back.— March 29, 2009 12:12 a.m.
Pull Gun on Cop -- Collect $325,000!
As for your indictment of our criminal justice system, I agree with you it sucks, unfortunately it's also the best we can do. Better than any alternative I've heard until foolproof lie detectors come around. But the problem in this case isn't the jury system, it's cowardly administrators and politicians who won't stand up for what's right, because they don't want to be held accountable, which leads to miscarriages of justice like paying off this family . Do the right thing! Take a stand on principle!— March 29, 2009 12:04 a.m.
Pull Gun on Cop -- Collect $325,000!
The problem with this debate is you have debating world views. Some people are conspiracy theorists, have a problem with those in authority, and therefore always think the worst of them. These are also the people who aren't going to follow directions when dealing with authority, therefore having bad experiences with them which they then hold up as proof of the truth of their worldview. The fact is cops are just guys doing a really tough job, most trying to do it right, following the rules. But this kind of job is going to attract "aggressive" personalities, who will sometimes get an attitude with people. All the more reason to follow directions, be cooperative, and end your interaction as quickly as possible.— March 28, 2009 11:57 p.m.
More Police, More Problems
I agree people have to be responsible for their actions. If you set a chain of events in motion that results in something bad happening, you're responsible. When somebody sets up one of those domino-tipping exhibitions, when the last domino tips over, you don't blame the second to last domino, you blame the guy that tipped the first one. But criminals aren't real big on being responsible.— March 28, 2009 11:45 p.m.
Eddie + Alcohol = Air guitar
I just read the cover story about the world-class nutballs who pretend to be other species, and as a group can't figure out if they're attracted to the opposite sex, the same sex, or the chair. Now that's a party you should crash!— March 28, 2009 11:33 p.m.
Crashing a Float
I'm old enough that I've burned out on parades. They're all the same. But now I have a new reason to go. To pick out my fav float and hop on.— March 19, 2009 9:32 a.m.
Chapel of Happiness on Broadway too noisy for neighbors
I hate noisy inconsiderate neighbors! Don't give up Alvarez!— March 19, 2009 9:21 a.m.
None
Why does a vet use deciduous when talking about tooth extractions? Isn't that a kind of tree? Anyway, I hate "judgment". Why isn't it "judgement"?— March 19, 2009 9:13 a.m.
Punching Women and Shooting Burglars
Here's a conversation starter: Nearly half of the 200 Boston teenagers interviewed for an informal poll said pop star Rihanna was responsible for the beating she allegedly took at the hands of her boyfriend, fellow music star Chris Brown, in February. Of those questioned, ages 12 to 19, 71 percent said that arguing was a normal part of a relationship; 44 percent said fighting was a routine occurrence. The results of the survey, conducted by the Boston Public Health Commission across the city and equally among boys and girls, are startling for local health workers who see a generation of youths who seem to have grown accustomed, even insensitive, to domestic violence. "I think you'd have to be pretty jaded if you weren't startled by it," said Casey Corcoran, director of the health commission's new Start Strong program. The program began in the fall as part of a Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships Initiative, a private foundation program that was offered in 11 cities across the country. Corcoran said the four-year, $1 million competitive grant program will allow the city to train mentors and outreach workers to speak to 11- to 14-year-olds about the dangers of domestic violence. Corcoran said the Rihanna and Brown controversy, which is one of today's top entertainment news stories and a topic of conversation for young people, allows for teachers and parents to begin conversations about the dangers, and prevalence, of domestic violence. "This is something tough for parents to bring up, but this is a very big case regarding domestic violence," said Corcoran, pointing out that Oprah Winfrey devoted her television show yesterday to teen dating violence and featured the Start Strong initiative. "This is an opportunity to start those conversations; it shouldn't end with a survey," Corcoran said. The Brown-Rihanna incident has created much controversy, mostly because of Rihanna's reported continuance of her relationship with Brown after alleged past assaults. The case has been pointed to by advocate groups for domestic violence victims as an example of the challenges victims face in confronting domestic violence. Health counselors are specifically concerned with teenagers' views of the controversy. Of the teens questioned, more than half said both Brown, 19, and Rihanna, 21, were equally responsible for the assault. More than half said the media were treating Brown unfairly, and 46 percent said Rihanna was responsible for the incident. Local teenagers from the Hyde Square Task Force in Boston said they found the case, and the survey, troubling, adding that the pop stars are supposed to serve as role models. But unfortunately, they are seeing such violence too often. "I had friends getting beat by their boyfriends and coming to school with black eyes," said Kendra Lara, 19, of Jamaica Plain. "Some people do take it, and I don't understand it."— March 14, 2009 1:39 p.m.