Articles by dweisman

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…


Healthy food choices come to town

Fresh & Delicious comes to downtown Fresh & Delicious Coffee-Salad -Juice Bar started with a soft opening, yet made healthy food news at 158 W Grand Ave. by Maple Street Plaza this week. The Escondido husband-and-wife team of Eloy and Blanca Flores spent 18 months lining up the proper permits to bring an eclectically healthy menu of tortas, sandwiches and wraps; blends, smoothies, homemade salads and…


Stone Brewing builds Berlin beer buzz

Nearly seven years in the making, American craft beer has made a milestone leap into Europe’s time-honored beer culture this week. Escondido-based Stone Brewing announced that its Berlin, Germany brewery now is fully operational and the company is distributing its brew to 17 countries throughout Europe. Stone is the first U.S. craft brewery to independently build, own and operate a brewery in Europe. For generations…


NCTD: Don’t tread on Sprinter tracks

The luckiest man in San Marcos spooked North County Transit District officials so much they tightened pedestrian trespassing enforcement this week. Meanwhile, the man who got struck by a Sprinter train traveling at 40 mph at the Palomar College Station is still at large after casually dusting himself off and walking eastbound on the NCTD tracks, presumably towards home.  “There’s an increasing problem we are…


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…


Fragozo pleads guilty to voter fraud count

Facing 13 counts of election and voting fraud, Escondido Union School District (EUSD) trustee Jose Fragozo Monday pleaded guilty to one of the lesser felony counts in a plea bargain agreement. The remaining 12 charges were dismissed. Fragozo entered his guilty plea mere hours after a 55-member jury pool was brought into court. They were being interviewed about participating in a trial expected to last…