The Padres checked the first box on their offseason to-do list when they hired Craig Stammen as their next manager. The second box is larger, louder and unavoidable: finding enough starting pitching for Stammen to employ. Every club at the Las Vegas General Managers’ Meetings this week claimed pitching as priority No. 1. A.J. Preller has said the same before. But this autumn the need…
When I contemplate the present condition of America, I am struck dumb by the sheer theater of it all — the gilded spectacle, the red-hatted congregation, the rallies that thrum like tent revivals for a man who believes himself chosen not by Providence but by poll numbers. We have suffered under the reign of Donald Trump as our forefathers once suffered under monarchs — and…
As people in the U.S. prepare to turn back their clocks on Nov. 2, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching from standard time to daylight saving time. About a third of Americans say they don’t look forward to these twice-yearly time changes. An overwhelming 63% to 16% majority would like to…
We are going to consider a few outstanding three-dot items stripped from below, well below, today’s sundry headlines. But first, a reminder and salute about he who pioneered the three-dot way… It’s been over 25 years since famed San Francisco journalist Herb Caen (1916-1997) died. For journalists and San Franciscans, Caen was a superstar. Known as “Mr. San Francisco,” his columns were a vital piece…
What happens now? That may well be the question being asked by “No Kings” protesters, who marched, rallied and danced all over the nation on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Pro-democracy groups had aimed to encourage large numbers of Americans to demonstrate that “together we are choosing democracy.” They were successful, with crowds turning out for demonstrations in thousands of cities and towns from Anchorage to…
San Diego’s got sunshine, surf, and—who knew—synthetic journalism. Lately, a site called San Diego City Wire has been popping up in social feeds and search results, dishing out “local” tidbits about home sales, city meetings, and “community happenings.” It looks like any of the old-school weeklies that used to land on your porch in a blue plastic bag. The headlines are tidy, the writing reads…
When Jonathan Berman came to Cal State San Marcos as a film professor in 2004, he was close to finishing a documentary about a Northern California commune during the counterculture era. The documentary was released the following year. Now, 20 years later, Berman is marking the anniversary of the film with a new digital restoration and a national tour of screenings and interviews. “Commune” is…
Right around the Fourth of July, Americans pay renewed attention to the country’s crucial founding document, the Declaration of Independence. Whether Republican or Democrat or independent, some will say – with reverence – that adherence to the values expressed in the declaration is what makes them American. President Barack Obama, in his second inaugural address, gave voice to this very conviction. “What binds this nation…
Folks, you can’t make up this stuff: Former accused car thief who was arrested and eventually pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon, Rep. Darryl Issa, (R-Bonsall???) said March 4 that he had “nominated President Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.” For real? “Not since Ronald Reagan has an American president better represented the national resolve of peace through strength or the fundamental…
Next weekend, April 5, there will be protests in 600+ locations in the US, with really big ones in Washington DC and London. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of our neighbors to the north choose to exercise their right to free speech in Canadian cities. These won’t be your ordinary protests. There are thousands of reasons to raise our voices. Everybody participating will own…