January 2016

Escondido station first in SoCal with gas under $2

An Escondido gas station’s price drop yesterday (Jan. 28) means San Diego motorists can join the rest of the country in buying gas under two dollars a gallon. Story will be update later tonight. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, the APEX station at 1602 E Valley Parkway in Escondido became the first station in Southern California to lower its price to $1.99 a gallon….


Turn out the lights, Champion’s party is over

Lines out Grand Avenue, tears on half-eaten cinnamon rolls, Champion’s Family Restaurant was scheduled to wrap it up Friday, Jan. 29, the future be damned. Friday was going to be a kind of Escondido Mardi Gras Day, a carnival of anticipation, regret and last hurrah before the inevitable All Souls Day and Lent. As word got out last week that the family-owned American cuisine institution…


Tales of Shen Yun at Escondido

Chinese culture wars came to the California Center for the Arts, Escondido (CCAE) last week. Shen Yun, the New York-based performing arts company affiliated with the Falun Gong spiritual movementm was at the Center for a series of performances from Jan. 26-28. Falun Gong was founded in Northeast China in 1992, emphasizing  Buddhist and Taoist tradition. While the Chinese Communist Party initially supported the movement,…


EUSD trustee José Fragozo defends himself against DA election fraud complaint

The San Diego County District Attorney will be filing a criminal complaint against José Fragozo charging him with misrepresenting his domicile for purposes of being elected to the Escondido Union School District (EUSD) Board. Fragozo will be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4. He denies any criminal wrongdoing and will defend himself in court against these false charges. Fragozo, an elected EUSD Board member, called…


SMHS cornerback Terrell Burgess Utah signing makes media news, literally

This just in, news from Utah — San Marcos High School defensive back Terrell Burgess is headed to the University of Utah. Burgess, a three star rated CB by Rivals.com and 247sports.com, chose Utah over Arizona, Cal and San Diego State. He said Utah coaches would start him off as defensive back, but might play him on offense as a wide receiver as well. However, Burgess…


Grand Avenue filmmaking 101: ‘Mr. Getaway’

Lights, camera. Action? What the heck was going on Saturday in the alley behind the 100 block of E Grand Avenue? A white mini-van was there. People were milling around. Sometimes the mini-van was moving, and people were running around. Weird. While word on the street is “alley-way-cul-ture” is a secret Escondido happening, this was unusual even for that. Turns out this was the master…


New Palomar College baseball field now in play

Palomar College has one of the top junior college baseball programs in the nation. Now it has a $10.2 million baseball complex second to none if the JUCO world. The brand spanking new baseball complex opened play on Jan. 27 with the Palomar Comets taking on the College of the Desert Roadrunners. A brief ribbon cutting and ceremony preceded the game. Baseball and Palomar sports…


Meadow Lake Golf Course becomes new, shorter Boulder Oaks links

Escondido’s Meadow Lake Golf Course isn’t looking like its old self anymore. It’s a new, shorter course with a new name — Boulder Oaks. When last we played through, the course ceased play in July. That was to implement a $6.2 million course renovation financed by the Metropolitan Water District’s turf removal program. It’s all part of the plan to lure hitherto non-golfing golfers since…


Escondido ‘Dream Team’ protests ICE raids

Several dozen protestors against immigration deportation policies rallied at Escondido’s Police Headquarters, then Escondido City Hall at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26. Members of the San Diego Dream Team, sponsoring the protest, posted various real-time social media accounts, some of which are displayed here. They followed picketing with a community meeting in the evening at the East Valley Community Center. San Diego Dream Team is…


Ukuleles from New Zealand with love

You don’t have to ask Ukulele Ray where the hot ukulele action is this season. Simply head over to the California Center for the Arts, Escondido (CCAE). World-renowned, The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra takes center stage at the 1,523-seat main concert hall on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The New Zealand entertainment powerhouse’s repertoire consists of “ukulelefied” versions of many contemporary pop classics by Justin Timberlake, Dolly…