Articles by dweisman

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…


Krispy Kreme Tuesdays bites off more than it can chew at North County mall

 Krispy Kreme Tuesdays Burbank apparently bit off more than it could chew at Escondido’s Westfield North County regional mall last night. When the police and fumes cleared the vast parking lot and its environs, namely freeway feeder lanes and nearby exit/entrances, an estimated 1,500 to 2,500 Southern California vehicular flash mob enthusiasts were gone, if not forgotten. Not so coincidentally, the car show flash mob…


Malloy to Hunter in 50th Dist: It’s on!

“Hunter has only praise for Trump and silence about Trump’s disgraceful statements. Silence is compliance.” — Patrick Malloy, Democrat for 50th Congressional District While challenging 50th Congressional District opponent Duncan Hunter for his very vocal surrogate support of Donald Trump, political newcomer Patrick Malloy also challenged Hunter to a debate. “Duncan Hunter, a a surrogate and prominent member of Donald Trump’s campaign, has repeatedly slammed…


Escondido rejects county Grand Jury call for citizen’s police review board

Think Escondido should have a citizen’s review board for its police department. Think again. Escondido officials this week rejected the recommendation of the San Diego Grand Jury to establish a citizen’s police review board. Following investigation into “several citizen complaints regarding police behavior in local jurisdictions,” the Grand Jury called on Escondido along with El Cajon, La Mesa, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Chula Vista and Coronado to…


Keeping up with the Joneses

Seventh Annual North County Farm Tour Farmers will open their gates and give tours of their farms, showcasing San Diego County’s diverse agriculture during the seventh annual Farm Tour Day, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, ept. 17 Hosted by the San Diego County Farm Bureau, this event is an opportunity for locals to spend a day in the country, in their own backyard. The…


San Marcos joins DUI checkpoint craze

Shhh…Spoiler alert. Not really, The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department wants everyone to know something is happening there, but the location shall remain hush-hush undisclosed. Joining a countywide trend, Sheriff’s deputies will conduct the following: “On Friday, August 19, 2016 from 7:30 p.m., to Saturday, August 20, 2016 at 2:30 a.m., deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s San Marcos Station will be conducting a…


Tale of two master-planned developments

347-home Rancho Tesoro began to take shape this month between Cal State University San Marcos and San Elijo Hills at San Marcos. Meanwhile, 550-home Safari Highlands around Escondido was put on hold due to continued environmental concerns and the need for another round of reports. Rancho Tesoro on the way in San Marcos What once was pristine hiking turf broke ground this month for the…


Nerd Con 2016 this way comes

“Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies And ev’ryone goes, ’cause everyone knows…” (Nerd Con 2016 is in the air.) Nerds rule. For three days, anyway, Aug. 26-28, at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido for the second annual Nerd Con. About 3,000 fans of comic books, sci-fi, cosplay, video games and anime came to the California Center for the Arts in Escondido for…


Stone Brewing chases holy hotel grail

Stone Brewing’s powers-that-be have been talking about this since time immemorial, and now they’re ready to pop the top: Stone Hotel, debuting in 2018. It’s a $26 million, 100,000-square foot buildout at the 1990 Citracado Pkwy. home of Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, home base for the now international craft brewery empire. “You can’t rush a good thing,” said Greg Koch, CEO, co-founder and…


Brush fire along I-15 at Hidden Meadows (UPDATED 6 p.m Wednesday)

[Update: Cal Fire at 6 p.m. Wednesday said the Gopher Fire was 85 percent contained on what became 35 acres of torched earth. As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Cal Fire had said “With better mapping the IC (Incident Commander) reports the fire at 35 acres and 40 percent contained. Next update will be 6 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday).” Cal Fire said 10 engine companies and six crews…