Featured
By Frank Sabatini Jr.
The scent of suntan lotions wafted through the air under a midmorning sun as lean-bodied twenty-somethings lazed on chaise lounges scattered around the pool deck. Some of the patrons sipped on boozy coffee drinks and micheladas. Others noshed on eggs and guacamole after playing a few quiet rounds of cornhole in an area flaunting canvas cabanas.
“This isn’t your typical brunch setting,” I explained to my aunt, who was visiting from Buffalo, New York, as we settled into sturdy wicker stools at a high-top table. Read More
By Ken Williams | Editor
With 16 local people dead this year from hepatitis A and more than 400 infected by the virus, San Diego city and county officials are warning the public that those numbers are expected to rise before the crisis comes under control. In addition, health officials on Sept. 19 launched a “Vaccination, Sanitation & Education” campaign to urge residents to take up the challenge of helping to stop the spread of the virus. Read More
Family and friends to celebrate life of longtime theater critic and poet, Charlene Baldridge
By Morgan M. Hurley | Editor
“She’s gone. Mother left this world on Saturday evening. Always knew just how to pick an exit. … ”
That’s how Chuck Ortego, Charlene Baldridge’s only surviving adult child, began his post sharing the news of his mother’s passing with the San Diego Theater Critic’s Circle. Read More
SD Int’l Film Fest comes to town with films from 68 countries and one from East Village
By Dave Schwab
An animated film without words being used to promote Father Joe’s Village and highlighting the plight – and potential – of San Diego’s growing homeless population will leave you speechless.
“Shine” takes place in a world of minerals and gems. It portrays a lump of coal, Nicoal, left alone in the cold and rain. Just when all hope seems lost, compassionate neighbors from Father Joe’s Villages welcome and embrace Nicoal, compressing her with respect and kindness. Read More
By Joan Lowerison | Theater Review
Three unique people — a guy who owns a garage, the schizophrenic sister he’s been looking out for since their parents died in a car crash years ago, and a guy named Sam (as in “play it again”) who clutches a book about Buster Keaton and dresses like he’s in a ’20s Chaplin movie — are the main characters in “Benny & Joon,” playing through Oct. 22 at The Old Globe. Read More
By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Food and Drink Blotter
Café 222 continues celebrating its 25th anniversary with an October spotlight on pumpkin waffles, an original year-round menu item that has garnered praise by Gourmet Magazine, Food Network’s “Best Thing I Ever Ate” and other national media. Read More
By Kris Michell | Downtown Partnership News
As a native San Diegan, I am certainly partial to our city. How could I possibly be unbiased? With miles and miles of beaches and bays, nearly 300 days of sunshine each year and an unparalleled quality of life, San Diego is objectively amazing.
So, when world-renowned placemaking expert Fred Kent came to visit, I couldn’t wait to show him around the place I am proud to call home. Within an hour of meeting with Fred and his team from NYC-based Project for Public Spaces, I swallowed a dose of reality: San Diego needs work. Read More
By Andy Cohen | Congressional Watch
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-50) made the news again this month, and once again, not in a good way. Hunter has been no stranger to controversies. Just in the last year he has been caught using campaign funds for personal expenditures; including vacations, private school tuition and school meals for his children, oral surgery, and air travel for his pet bunny, among other things. He also just recently discontinued $3,000 monthly payments to his wife, Margaret, for “consulting work.” Despite having supposedly paid back $62,000 in personal expenditures, Hunter and his campaign are currently under federal investigation for violating campaign finance laws. Read More
By Chris Gomez | Little Italy News
Little Italy is plentiful of annual traditions. The urban neighborhood is constantly evolving — always creating new ways for the community and its visitors to make lasting memories.
The 48 square blocks that make up Little Italy are known for a busy October calendar and this year, guests and community members can expect the return of Little Italy’s Bulls of Sant’Agata Charge Little Italy, as well as a neighborhood favorite, “Trick-or-Treat on India Street.” Read More
By Joan Wojcik | East Village News
Great cities have great signatures. One cannot think about Paris without imagining the Eiffel Tower; Chicago and its Picasso; and St. Louis with its Arch to the West.
A group of East Village architects, planners, and designers, along with the community, are proposing a new design to create a signature piece for America’s Finest City. Read More
By Sandee Wilhoit | Gaslamp Landmarks
As lead tour guide and historian for the Davis-Horton House Museum, I often wondered how the tour guide business got started. I inadvertently found the answer while researching something entirely different.
Not all Gaslamp “landmarks” are buildings. San Diego’s first tour guide, known coast-to-coast, was Reuben Williams, or as he was simply called, “Reuben the guide.” Read More
By Diana Cavagnaro | Fashion Files
Muses of the Old Globe
“Muses of the Old Globe” is an exciting new exhibit at the Women’s Museum of California.
There have been many women who have played a major role in the Globe’s history, beginning with the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition up to the present, including actors, stage directors, playwrights, craftspeople, and business leaders. This exhibit is about these exceptional women who have made a difference. Read More
By Jean Lowerison | Theater Review
Gentlemen’s clubs, British imperialism and sexism are just some of the topics spoofed in Nell Benjamin’s “The Explorers Club,” making its San Diego premiere through Sept. 24 at Lamb’s Players Theatre.
Picture the first scene: 1879 in the bar of London’s Explorers Club, where a group of scientists gather periodically to schmooze, brag about their latest discoveries and — oh, yes — indulge in their favorite pastime; brandy and cigars. Read More
Your interest will push the final 10 forward but deadlines loom
By SDCNN Staff
The deadline for 2017 Orchids and Onions nominations has now passed and Downtown San Diego has a record-breaking number of nominees in the running for an Orchid at the awards ceremony on Oct. 26, presented by the San Diego Architectural Foundation (SDAF).
The public’s interest in each of nominees determines which of them move forward to a final vote by a panel selected by SDAF. Read More
By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Food and Drink Blotter
San Diego’s priciest taco has emerged at Puesto. Created by executive chef Katy Smith, the luxury taco involves filet mignon folded into a plop of melted cheese on the griddle. Read More
By Delle Willett | Art on the Land
When Gail Garbini was studying in the early 1970s at San Diego State, she was pursuing her bachelor’s degree in art. That changed when she read the list of classes for landscape architecture in the UC Berkeley class schedule. Read More
By Toni G. Atkins | Notes from Toni
As this column, derived from my newsletter “Toni Times,” was being prepared, my top-priority bill, SB 2, was still under consideration in the Assembly — the deadline for Senate bills to pass “the other house” is Sept. 15.
SB 2 — the Building Homes and Jobs Act — is part of a package of bills aimed at addressing California’s severe housing crisis. Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, all pledged to make the package a priority during this year’s session’s home stretch. Read More
By Kris Michell | Downtown Partnership News
Nothing brings people together quite like delicious food. Whether it’s in the comfort of your own kitchen or out at your favorite restaurant, food has a special place in our hearts (and stomachs). Read More
By Andy Cohen | Congressional Watch
On Saturday, Aug. 11 and 12, a group of “white nationalists” (a watered-down term intended to normalize white supremacists) took to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, and the campus of the University of Virginia, in what was billed as a “Unite the Right” rally, ostensibly to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Read More
By Sunny Lee | East Village Biz News
The East Village Association, Inc. (EVA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that manages and promotes the East Village business improvement district, recently named Dora McCann Guerreiro as its executive director, effective July 10.
“Dora is exactly what the East Village Association needs,” said James Haug, EVA’s board president. “I am excited to have her join our team to help activate and advocate for our neighborhood.” Read More
By Reema Makani Boccia | Growing Balboa Park
With the lazy days of summer officially in the rear view mirror, we can now look forward to all things fall and pumpkin, especially in the jewel of San Diego’s Balboa Park. Read More
By Chris Gomez | Little Italy News
Friday, Sept. 29, is National Coffee Day! Time to celebrate with a cup of java at one of Little Italy’s hot coffee spots. Read More
By Diana Cavagnaro | Fashion Files
The McKenzie Rae experience
McKenzie Rae Dresses is a new fashion forward boutique in Downtown. The founder of this spacious store is McKenzie Peck, a fashion designer and seamstress. Peck is also a former Ms. Utah and semi-finalist for Ms. United States 2015. Read More
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