Articles by Special to The Grapevine

Psycho-Deli Burger hungry for James Beard

Step off cheesy regular burgers, Pechanga Resort Casino can tell Jose Mendoza is going for the glory as the only local chef dishing it out in the prestigious participating in the James Beard Foundation’s 2019 Blended Burger Project. The competition, which has drawn burger entries from 266 chefs nationwide, asks restaurants to create a menu burger that is made with at least 25 percent chopped…



Earthquake risk is underappreciated danger

On July 4 and 5, two major earthquakes, followed by several thousand smaller ones, struck Southern California. Their size and the damage they caused captured attention around the country. What tends to get much less notice from the public is what can be done to prevent catastrophic damage from big quakes. Had the epicenter of these latest large California earthquakes been closer to downtown Los…


Wildlife habitat gets break around Wohlford

The Escondido Creek Conservancy (Conservancy) has secured $4.2 million in grant funds from the State of California to protect the 282-acre John Henry property near Lake Wohlford—now known as George Sardina, MD Preserve. The Conservancy took ownership of the property on July 2 and is already making plans to restore areas damaged by past uses. Between the George Sardina, MD Preserve and the 693-acre Mountain…


National food waste cut goals not being met

While 1-in-8 Americans are considered to be “food insecure,” an estimated 40 percent of the nation’s supply of fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat goes to waste, discarded by farmers, retailers, restaurant owners and households. Three federal agencies have agreed to work together to cut that food waste in half by 2030. But a recent government oversight report found that the agencies – the Environmental Protection…


Don’t go to Brawley if you’re looking for work

With all the talk of how great the economy is and how anybody who wants a job can get a job, San Diego County’s neighbor to the east is suffering from sky-high unemployment numbers. To visit California’s Imperial Valley is to enter a sleepy place worlds away from the glamorous boom towns of California’s coast. Pickups outnumber BMWs. Vast farms irrigated by the Colorado River…


One Hunter down, one to go in fraud scandal

Margaret Hunter, a co-defendant in a federal fraud case with her husband Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Vapeville), changed her plea to guilty Thursday at a change of plea hearing in front of U.S. District Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan, at the San Diego courthouse. The couple misused about $250,000 in campaign donations for personal expenses, according to Hunter. In one incident, Rep. Hunter planned on buying a pair of…


Hunter wants this war criminal pardoned

Which war criminal will Donald Trump pardon next? Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Vapeville) thinks it should be this pig, Eddie Gallagher. Trump issued a full pardon earlier this week to Michael Behenna. A military court convicted the former Army lieutenant in 2009 for killing an Iraqi prisoner. Behenna claimed he shot Ali Mansur Mohamed, who was naked at the time, in self-defense. Who’s up next for…


Destination limbo: Health suffers among Tijuana asylum seekers at border shelter

Immigrants from Mexico and Central America seeking asylum in the United States frequently end up at border shelters in Tijuana, Mexico. They stay in them for weeks as they wait for the U.S. government to approve or deny their applications. Most of the refugees get sick during their journeys due to insufficient food, a lack of clean water and poor sanitation at camps and shelters…


How dumb is Duncan Hunter? Don’t ask.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Vapeville) pretended to cross the Mexico border, and in the process got called out by his Democratic challenger, Ammar Campa-Najjar. Najjar said that if Hunter actually were crossing the border, it would violate his parole while awaiting federal trial for allegedly spending at least $250,000 of campaign funds on personal expenses. “The congressman and his wife, who at times also served as…