Researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science and Moores Cancer Center at University of California San Diego have found that, among smokers in the United States, e-cigarette use does not increase smoking cessation and is actually associated with reduced tobacco abstinence. The findings, published March 5 in JAMA, refute the notion that e-cigarettes can help people quit, a common…
The official Facebook page of Suññataram California Monastery in Escondido’s Wat Sunyataram at Escondido, California, posted photos and a message on Sunday afternoon, March 9, 2025, confirming the death of Phra Yantra, the President of the temple. The temple’s message read: “With deepest sympathy, we send our respects as we guide Phra Ajarn Yantra Amaro, President and spiritual leader of Wat Sunyataram, to Nirvana. Phra…
As people in the U.S. prepare to turn ahead their clocks on March 9, 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…
Now, I am standing on the sunny side of life when I tell you that the high-class citizens who dish out the cabbage at Del Mar are planning to spread a little extra sugar this summer This is very good news indeed for the horsemen who like to see a little more weight in their pockets when they turn for home. The season, which breaks…
Lake Hodges swung open its proverbial gates on Wednesday, Feb. 7, under the same ironclad rules and regulations that were holding court in 2023. Ah, fishing—a pursuit as noble as whittling a fine piece of oak into a chair leg, but with the added benefit of possibly getting dinner out of the deal. The grand season opener at Lake Hodges arrived with all the pomp…
Nobody, especially Trump, knows it yet. His fate, his downfall, and his doom is, as we speak, being set in stone. And considering the roll he is on, few will believe what I am writing here. Just as well. Best not to believe or repeat what I’m telling you. Fortunately, Trump is so full of himself and too stupid to see what he is doing…
There’s nothing wrong with celebrating romantic love, but the focus on such celebrations drowns out the voices of those who are fine as they are – single and happily so. As I’ve argued in my research on the ethics and politics of the family, social practices that celebrate romance, while ignoring the joys of friendship and solitude, reflect widespread assumptions. One is that everyone is…
The virus was moving faster than expected. Across the country, emergency rooms were filling up with feverish patients, their bodies wracked by chills and muscle pain. Some had difficulty breathing. The U.S. winter virus season had arrived in full force—and by at least one metric, it was the most intense in fifteen years. The data was unambiguous. One of the key indicators of flu activity—the…
A smattering of Ramona folks, hats in hand and grins wide, gave a hearty cheer on February 4th as they hitched themselves to the notion of reviving their long-dormant Ramona Grange. It was a sight fit for a painter—some twenty souls gathered in a meeting hall, bent on deciding the fate of a once-thriving society of farmers, ranchers, vineyard keepers, and assorted agricultural folk. At…
San Marcos residents wanted this week to bring call attention a troubling pattern of behavior involving San Marcos officials and longtime City Attorney Helen Holmes Peak and her Escondido-based law firm, Lounsbery Ferguson Altona & Peak, which has been handling municipal ordinance violations. This law firm has been taking excessively harsh legal action over minor infractions, such as failing to apply for permits—permits that city…