escondido grapevine

Communities lose when local news dies

It is a story of corruption that will stay secret, politicians who will need fewer votes to win, even dangerous communicable diseases that will spread faster as our best scientists struggle to fight them. The story is the slow and painful demise of local newspapers, a story whose ending is not yet written but which — without bold intervention and strong reader support — could…


Let us now praise Bruce Kauffman

Mensch (Yiddish: מענטש‎ mentsh, cognate with the German word Mensch meaning a “human being”) means “a person of integrity and honor”.[1] Highly savvy in the ways of journalism, and a brilliant analyst of the ways of the world, Bruce Kauffman was the very epitome of a mensch. He always was ready to lend an ear to a friend’s tale of joy or woe and help…


Crafting local independent online news

(Editor’s Note: The Escondido Grapevine last year was admitted to the Local Independent Online News Publishers (LION) den. Matt DeRienzo recently was named the group’s first full-time executive director. Kristen Hare of the Poynter Institute, one of journalism’s leading think tanks, today posted a Q&A with DeRienzo in the “innovation” section of Poynter’s online journal discussing LION and the future of independent online journalism like that presented…


Seaside Courier (of Encinitas) bites the dust

Another attempt to bring local independent news in the form of a print newspaper failed at Encinitas as the 2-year-old Seaside Courier announced that’s all folks, quietly fading into the dust bin of history last month. Thomas K. Arnold, who also has contributed stories to The Escondido Grapevine reported the news to another Grapevine friend Roman Koenig, who worked with us at North County Times…


Modest proposal: Support The Grapevine

The Escondido Grapevine website has proven successful, reaching 500 to 6,000 visitors daily, and gaining national recognition for quality and direction. Now, it’s time to do more, but that takes community sponsorship. Sponsorship ads can be successful on many levels. Sponsors receive maximum and positive community exposure, reaching local residents in the most popular and credible online format available today. Aside from getting out the…


Escondido Grapevine roars like a LION

After undergoing a rigorous application and review process, The Grapevine became part of something larger today. The prestigious 130-member LION, the Local Independent Online News Publishers organization, accepted The Grapevine into the fold as its newest member. Founded in 2011, LION Publishers is the leading national nonprofit educational group focused on local independent online news publishers, their editors, reporters and staffers. The Grapevine is the…


Wide World of Foam: Abnormal and Stone

“Spanning North County to bring you the constant variety of beer… the thrill of consuming… and the agony of finding true brew… the human drama of brewing competition… This is Escondido Grapevine’s Wide World of Foam!” Welcome to a tale of two local craft brewing companies, one large and in charge of Escondido and the other smaller, but trying harder at Rancho Bernardo. We’re talking…


Kennedy & Associates back at it again with 2016 Grand Avenue Festival this Sunday

Escondido’s Grand Avenue Festival, aka Escondido Street Faire, that returns Sunday, May 15 might be only the second-largest single-day festival in California, but as they used to say in the old Avis rent-a-car commercials, they try harder. An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people will flock to Grand Avenue and block after block of 500 vendors, food and music from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Escondido’s…


Escondido Grapevine March 17 Print Issue

We now post online copies of our print newspapers, so members, and newbies, can see what all the fuss is about…Look to the sidebar for a permanent link to past issues. For more information about advertising and memberships, call Shera Sandwell at (760) 877-1055.


Join these Escondido Grapevine sponsors

Be special. Get out the good word about you and your business. Connect direct with the community. Enjoy special sponsorship and membership opportunities. Email EscondidoGrapevine@gmail.com for more information. Or call (760) 877-1055. JOIN THESE GREAT SPONSORS IN THE ESCONDIDO GRAPEVINE FAMILY: