The Endless Summer officially ended on Jan. 10 for legendary Encinitas surfer Mike Hynson who epitomized the image of the bronzed surf god as a star of the hit 1966 surfing documentary “The Endless Summer”and, with his outlaw instincts, embodied the rebel ethos of the sport on his way to being hailed a colossus of the curl, according to The New York Times. They say…
La Jolla dreams big, signatures scrawled in ink waves, new city whispers. Six months on the streets, gathering hope, paper, faith, freedom feels so close. La Jolla seeks more, a study will show the cost, San Diego waits. Money must balance, a city stands or it falls, payments bridge the gap. Hopes rise with the tide, will the mayor take notice, fix what has been…
Escondido Grapevine, this place has everything… National City’s hottest new spot is Sessions by the Bay. Picture it: Seven years after pot became legal, the cannabis community finally has a place to chill—and let me tell you, getting here wasn’t easy. It took years of hard work, planning, and convincing skeptical politicians. (whispers) Which, honestly, is the hardest part. But now, this lounge has it…
San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez is a politician dressed in a badge, pretending to uphold the law while peddling fear and dodging accountability. On Tuesday, in a move as predictable as the sunrise, she declared herself above the will of the people she supposedly serves, all in the name of bending the knee to ICE—Trump’s personal deportation squad. San Diego County supervisors made their…
Editor’s Note: Michael Patrick Welch, renowned New Oreans writer, musician, teacher and friend of The Escondido Grapevine, conducted an interview with the provocateur known to Andy Kauffman and Bob Zmuda fans as Tony Clifton. While others have shunned this outstanding piece of informational journalism, we embrace it and re-print this as a public service. “After years of chasing Tony Clifton to get his thoughts on…
As a Cal State San Marcos professor of history, of course, Jill Watts is also a student of history. Watts knew that many U.S. history textbooks, in the all-important pages about the hugely consequential Franklin Delano Roosevelt presidency, make passing references to what the black press of the day coined the “Black Cabinet,” an unofficial group of African-American advisers to FDR as he navigated the politics of the Great Depression and the New…
Happy Mardi Gras season beginning with the Epiphany on Jan. 6 culminating Carnival Day, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. You know what that means. Time for king cake. Americans usher in the new year with diets and lifestyle resolutions galore, but many people across the globe — particularly those from predominantly Catholic countries — celebrate the calendar change with a sweet pastry known as king cake….
Fifteen years ago this week the Witch Creek Fire devastated Escondido, Rancho Santa Fe and North County San Diego. This is part of my first-hand coverage done as editor of the Rancho Santa Fe Record. I won the California Newspaper Publishers Association’s first place prize for local news coverage for this, and the other 26 stories, numerous photos, and overall coverage I produced during, and…
The battle for Lake Hodges raged not against water, but against bureaucratic chains that bound its potential like steel fetters. In the harsh, unforgiving landscape of North County, where nature’s fury could ignite with the slightest provocation, men and women stood resolute, challenging the cold calculus of state mandates. The lake, a titan of water constrained by governmental decree, trembled at 273 feet—the lowest mark…
California, ever the avant-garde of legislative theatrics! Starting January 1, 2025, prepare for a smorgasbord of new rules, ranging from the progressive to the peculiar. Cannabis cafés and expanded outdoor drinking? A toast to your libations, but do mind the irony of laws encouraging indulgence while protecting your credit score from the ravages of medical debt. Even financial institutions aren’t safe from the guillotine of…