August 2016

Tale of the Toppled Hurler: A Peter Hartwell Story (Part 2)

(This is Part 2 of a 13-part serialization of the Peter Hartwell saga. Follow new chapters of the story each weekend at The Grapevine…) “They killed my father, and now they’re coming after me.” – Marty Nolan, on the pain of being a Red Sox fan, in David Halberstam’s “The Teammates.” I walked into the drab green waiting area of the emergency room at Columbia-Presbyterian…


San Marcos joins DUI checkpoint craze

Shhh…Spoiler alert. Not really, The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department wants everyone to know something is happening there, but the location shall remain hush-hush undisclosed. Joining a countywide trend, Sheriff’s deputies will conduct the following: “On Friday, August 19, 2016 from 7:30 p.m., to Saturday, August 20, 2016 at 2:30 a.m., deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s San Marcos Station will be conducting a…


Two failings of our government

On the far northern fringes of coastal North County, within a mile or two of each other along Interstate 5, are two shameful symbols of the failings of our government. One is the border checkpoint, some 60 miles north of the border. Immigration reform is badly needed, but nothing seems to ever get done. Meanwhile, our border is so porous that the federal government feels…



Tale of two master-planned developments

347-home Rancho Tesoro began to take shape this month between Cal State University San Marcos and San Elijo Hills at San Marcos. Meanwhile, 550-home Safari Highlands around Escondido was put on hold due to continued environmental concerns and the need for another round of reports. Rancho Tesoro on the way in San Marcos What once was pristine hiking turf broke ground this month for the…


Nerd Con 2016 this way comes

“Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies And ev’ryone goes, ’cause everyone knows…” (Nerd Con 2016 is in the air.) Nerds rule. For three days, anyway, Aug. 26-28, at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido for the second annual Nerd Con. About 3,000 fans of comic books, sci-fi, cosplay, video games and anime came to the California Center for the Arts in Escondido for…


San Pasqual High, CSUSM alumnus thrives in entertainment industry

Meeting Cheech Marin would lead most people to reference one of the dozens of TV shows or films in which the actor has appeared. Escondido native and San Pasqual High School graduate, Michael Flores took a different approach. He talked about art. One of the classes Flores took when he attended Cal State San Marcos required a trip to an area museum. He visited one…


Stone Brewing chases holy hotel grail

Stone Brewing’s powers-that-be have been talking about this since time immemorial, and now they’re ready to pop the top: Stone Hotel, debuting in 2018. It’s a $26 million, 100,000-square foot buildout at the 1990 Citracado Pkwy. home of Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, home base for the now international craft brewery empire. “You can’t rush a good thing,” said Greg Koch, CEO, co-founder and…


County baby names, dog names, faulty price scanners and vaccinations

(Editor’s Note: San Diego County News Service information officers have been hard at the news game recently providing information in a journalistic format. Here are some highlights…) Top Baby Names in San Diego County — Jose A. Alvarez Liam came close, but it did not quite make the top of the list of most popular baby male names in San Diego in 2015. There were…


Brush fire along I-15 at Hidden Meadows (UPDATED 6 p.m Wednesday)

[Update: Cal Fire at 6 p.m. Wednesday said the Gopher Fire was 85 percent contained on what became 35 acres of torched earth. As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Cal Fire had said “With better mapping the IC (Incident Commander) reports the fire at 35 acres and 40 percent contained. Next update will be 6 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday).” Cal Fire said 10 engine companies and six crews…