Articles by The Grapevine

Samsung Escondido battery array — world’s largest — goes online next month

After racing for months, engineers here in California have brought three energy-storage sites close to completion to begin serving the Southern California electric grid within the next month. They are made up of thousands of oversize versions of the lithium-ion batteries now widely used in smartphones, laptop computers and other digital devices. One of the installations, a 30-mehawatt facility at a San Diego Gas &…


SD County farmers: Let them grow pot

For local jurisdictions, cannabis farming can generate significant new tax revenues, create jobs and help reverse course for the region’s declining agricultural sector. In the weeks and months ahead, county and local officials will be taking steps to implement medical and recreational marijuana regulations, including cannabis farming. The local farmers I’ve talked to think the time is ripe. In the last 16 months, the state…


Pickens continues fighting ‘black people food’ federal discrimination lawsuit

Lawyers for a former chef at Madeleine Pickens’ $1,650 per night, minimum 4-night stay, dude ranch south of Wells, Nevada have filed an amended complaint in U.S. District Court in Reno. They allege Pickens made racially discriminating remarks like asking him to cook “black people food.” The complaint filed this week meets the deadline imposed by U.S. District Judge Miranda Du, who dismissed Armand Appling’s original…


Charges pressed against Hunter for art slam

“I’d hang it on Duncan’s door if it was up to me. But what I don’t want to do is deflect from the fact that all this is a diversion so people talk about Duncan Hunter removing a painting and picking on an 18-year-old and being a bully as opposed to talking about the fact that he continuously takes things that don’t belong to him….


73-year-old Escondido man suspect in Fontana triple homicide

A long-simmering family feud over money boiled over early Wednesday when a 73-year-old Escondido man killed three relatives and critically wounded a fourth, according to police. Ali Zafar, of Escondido, was arrested on suspicion of homicide shortly after the shootings inside an apartment in Fontana, police Sergeant Kevin Goltara said. The 73-year-old shooting suspect surrendered to authorities at the property, police said, adding that the…


Rain, rain comes this way through weekend

Weather forecasters are describing a one-two punch of winter storms arriving in San Diego County for the end of this week. Overnight and early morning sprinkles in San Diego County are expected to continue throughout most of Wednesday as the first and weaker of two upcoming winter storms moves toward the region. “It’s a really nice, organized cold front coming through Friday night and Saturday…


Leichtag steps up for Aleppo medical relief

CARLSBAD, CA. — The Leichtag Foundation today said it was providing $75,000 in emergency grants for Aleppo emergency medical relief, and called for North County residents to do the same. “Leichtag Foundation has approved emergency grants to Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and the White Helmets, which are both providing relief directly to the citizens of Aleppo,” officials said. “We have identified these organizations in consultation over the…


Election 2016: That’s the way it was

San Diego County Registrar of Voters related these vote totals Tuesda morning for local candidates and measures. In the Carlsbad City Council race, challenger Cori Schumacher has taken a slight lead over incumbent Lorraine Wood. Schumacher has 20.15 percent (10,471) of the vote, while Wood follows closely with 20.01 percent (10,398), for a 73 vote difference. Incumbent Keith Blackburn leads by nearly 2,000 votes and…


Go time for Election 2016

San Diego County is one of only 127 in the nation, according to the Washington Post, that has voted for the winner in the last four presidential elections. Headed out to vote Tuesday? Well if so, you may end up at one of these spots. Here are some of the most unusual polling stations in San Diego County: Ranch House at Del Sur in Black…


Hunter mortgages home third time to repay $49K illegal campaign spending bill

Rep. Duncan Hunter is betting his Alpine home on being re-elected to Congress. Or at least for repaying money spent from his election campaign fund on personal expenses like Disneyland trips, hotels and travel, 16 trips to Jack-in-the-Box, online video games, and more, much more. Hunter apparently is hoping that the third home mortgage is the charm as it was reported he took out a third…