Articles by The Grapevine

DMV reorganizes, recycling disappoints

As California continues to look for ways to curb long wait times at Department of Motor Vehicle offices, state lawmakers are introducing a series of proposals to help out motorists, including one that would permit vehicle registration every two years instead of annually. Under Senate Bill 460, the DMV’s director would be authorized to permit biennial registration beginning on Jan. 1, 2020. Subsequent vehicle registration…


Escondido Creek runs through it

Escondido Creek Conservancy wants the city of Escondido to restore creeks. No surprise perhaps, yet still newsworthy, the Escondido Creek Conservancy Board asked Escondido officials to consider creek restoration priorities in 2019. Here were the priorities submitted for consideration: Restoration of Escondido Creek The Conservancy has received a grant to create a 30 percent restoration design for the portion of Escondido Creek in Grape Day…


Deaths mount from high-speed police pursuits

The high-speed chase through residential streets in Evansville, Indiana ended badly, as police pursuits often do. A Chevy Impala, which police mistakenly thought had been stolen, blasted through a stop sign at 74 mph and smashed into the passenger side of a PT Cruiser crossing the intersection. A young family was inside. “Oh, Jesus God! I need AMR here now!” a panicked Evansville officer screamed…


‘Museum of What: Love Tour’ charms

It’s a bit pricy at $24 admission, but definitely different. They’re talking a pop-up 16,000-square-foot exhibition that opened Valentine’s Day at a former patio furniture store in the T.J. Maxx shopping center in Encinitas. Called “Museum of What: Love Tour,” this is a non-traditional pop up museum featuring an array of blissful exhibits that will inspire you to live, laugh, and love, according to founders Ann Delaney and Kyle…


Stone Brewing shaking things up locally

Stone Brewing officials this week confirmed reports the company would consolidate Escondido and Vista facilities and re-assign some employees. The number of employees being re-assigned within North County was unspecified although Stone CEO Dominic Engels confirmed he was among that number. “We have a good amount of unused space in our national distribution facility in Vista, so that will be where most of the team…


Chelsea Clinton talks child welfare, justice

The Strong Families, Thriving Communities Coalition, an ongoing partnership of the County of San Diego, the Clinton Foundation and the San Diego Foundation, hosted a roundtable discussion Thursday on improving child welfare and juvenile justice. The Balboa Park event featured Chelsea Clinton, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, and was designed to foster a community conversation about equity in the child welfare and juvenile justice…


Security gaps continue at local shipyard

HII San Diego Shipyard continues to ignore federal rules designed to protect billion-dollar Navy warships it repairs, despite an inewsource investigation last month that revealed shipyard security lapses and drew the interest of a local congressman. San Diego is the principal homeport of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, and waterborne security threats have been a top priority for the Navy since the deadly terrorist bombing of…


How to have productive disagreements about politics and religion

In the current polarized climate, it’s easy to find yourself in the midst of a political disagreement that morphs into a religious argument. People’s religious affiliation predicts their stances on abortion, immigration and other controversial topics, and disagreements about these issues can seem intractable. The seeming futility in arguing about politics and religion may arise partly because people misunderstand the nature of these beliefs. Many…


RSF state rep. switches from Repub. to Dem.

If you can’t beat them, join them. State Assemblyman Brian Maienschein went from red to blue Thursday, Jan. 24. Maienschein announced at the State Capitol in Sacramento a switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, saying he had “shifted to the left” on key issues in recent years, specifically citing gun control, immigration, abortion and LGBTQ rights. The old switcheroo changed the state Assembly…


No-go on Cal drunken driving starting Jan. 1

California, and other states deploy breathalyzers in cars to limit road deaths ’Tis the season to be a little too merry, and law enforcement officials across the country are once again reminding revelers not to drive if they’ve been drinking. Along with those warnings comes a bit of good news: Deaths involving drunken driving are only about half of what they were in the early…