Articles by Special to The Grapevine

Columbus Day? ‘California Dream,’ indigenous peoples

The California Dream is a myth for many California Indian peoples and tribes. Since settlers arrived, California Indians’ reality has largely been one of land dispossession, cultural assimilation and even genocide. If California Indians were to design their own dream it would place decolonization at its core. Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, part of what I study as a scholar of Native American studies….


The man who made it rain, rain, rain in 1916

It rained a lot this past winter. However, as we all know, that hasn’t always been the natural state for the arid San Diego region. It took Charles Hatfield to make it rain 107 years ago in San Diego. The only problem was he couldn’t make it stop. A deep dive through the San Diego Historical Society archives courtesy of the OB Rag reveals the…


Esco CBD product company sued for $300K wage fraud

In three years, James Woo racked up more than $200,000 in personal credit card debt while fronting the cost of flights, meals, hotels and trade show bookings for his employer, a CBD product company based in Escondido.  Then in 2020 the company abruptly fired him without paying him back, according to court documents. Woo filed a wage theft claim with the state and sued the…


California Avo Commission spotlights female farmers

In honor of International Women’s Day, March 8, the California Avocado Commission, which represents growers farming on about 50,000 acres in the state, is sharing profiles of some female avocado farmers to showcase the role of women in the industry. As with all farming, women have long been active in growing California avocados. Many California avocado growers come from multigenerational farming families, and with generational…


Blowing up ATM machines crime does not pay, DOJ says

Chad Lee Engel was sentenced in federal court on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2023 to 138 months in prison for blowing up ATM machines to steal the money contained inside, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California. Engel, 50, of Chula Vista, pleaded guilty in July 2022, admitting that he participated in conduct outlined in the original indictment, including his part in causing…


Death and dying with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

The archive of the influential psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, who developed the theory of the five stages of grief, has been given to Stanford Libraries, Stanford University officials said this week. What does that have to do with Escondido? Plenty. Of special note in the archive are complete runs of newsletters from the Shanti Nilaya Healing Center, which Kübler-Ross founded in Escondido, as well as manuscript…


And they’re off…Del Mar awarded 2024 Breeder’s Cup

The Breeders’ Cup has selected Del Mar to host the 41st world championships next year, marking the third time the picturesque Pacific track will stage the season-ending graded stakes races that feature the top thoroughbreds. Del Mar will present 14 Grade 1 races with purses worth more than $31 million on Nov. 1-2, 2024. The track last hosted in 2021 at 50% capacity because of…


Six local libraries join to fight health misinformation

Six local libraries work collaboratively to create a toolkit that addresses the public health crises caused during the pandemic – and in general – by health misinformation A new effort to counteract the spread of health misinformation has taken flight. The San Diego Circuit libraries (Circuit), a consortium of six prominent academic and public libraries, has announced the availability of a campaign website designed to…


CSUSM art exhibit showcases creativity through April

Call it From the Mountain,” an art exhibition by Cal State San Marcos students, faculty and community, is currently on display and runs through April 6 in the School of Arts gallery. The exhibition, which showcases sculpture from students’ creative activities and research along with data visualizations by students developed in collaboration with service-learning partners in conservation research, features work that extends from CSUSM’s pollinator…


UCSD model: SD housing prices to fall 12 percent

A new model of forecasting home prices based on consumer demand predicts that prices for housing will decrease by 5% nationally and 12% in San Diego County by the end of this year. The model, which highlights online search activity, was recently published in a new study from the University of California San Diego’s Rady School of Management. The model’s predictions have a proven accuracy rate of…