Articles by The Grapevine

‘Hey Baby, it’s the Fourth of July’

Escondido, San Marcos and the world celebrate the Fourth of July on the 4th of July; that’s a Monday. It’s Birthday No. 240 for the good ole U.S. of A. Here is the official word on how Escondido and San Marcos are celebrating the annual holiday. Escondido: 53rd Annual Independence Day Festival & Fireworks Escondido’s annual Independence Day Festival & Fireworks has become a North…


Palomar College pledges free tuition for all San Marcos school district graduates

Move over Bernie Sanders, community college just became free at San Marcos for local students. Sanders is known for his proposal to bring free tuition to public colleges, and today, Wednesday, June 21 Palomar College became just that — free — for all eligible graduating San Marcos Unified School District students. The Palomar Community College District Governing Board approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between…


New season set at Cal Center for the Arts

California Center for the Arts, Escondido this week announced its most ambitious season ever, set to hit the resurgent landmark’s stages beginning Aug. 11. To name but a few of the stars alighting Escondido’s cultural horizons through June 2017: Kathy Griffin, Keith Sweat, Big Head Todd And The Monsters, Montgomery Gentry, Garrison Keillor, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Pink Martini, Shaping Sound, The Midtown Men,…


Congressman Duncan Hunter’s ‘Awkward Trump-Related Hill Encounter of the day’

“What I’m done with is trying to articulate or explain or answer for what Donald Trump says. I think he’ll be a great president. I think he’ll make good decisions on the economy, on the border, on national security, but it doesn’t mean we endorse what he says. I think what he says and what he’ll do are two different things.” — Congressman Duncan Hunter speaking…


San Diego’s losing avocado market grip

The Gist: Salty water turns avocado leaves brown, curbs root growth and can even stop trees from producing fruit at all. In the past three years, the amount of salt in the water used by most avocado growers in San Diego County has gone up by 20 percent, according to one expert. Like any plants, avocados need water to thrive. But lately, water has been causing a lot…


North County Report: Roberts, Gaspar — Not Abed — advance to D3 runoff

The Gist: Darrell Issa might have a real race on his hands, North County voters less interested in local race than the presidential contest, New York Times drops in on Carlsbad and more in our weekly roundup of North County news. Perhaps the biggest news for North County in Tuesday’s primary election was the District 3 race for county supervisor. Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar knocked…


Largest cupcake tower: Escondido breaks Guinness World Records record

A group of North County cancer survivors and caregivers took their battle against the disease to new heights last week by trying to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest cupcake tower; their sweet success — a 31.5 foot tower made out of 25,103 cupcakes – have crushed the previous record of 21 feet and 7,500 cupcakes, according to the World Record Academy. Thousands…


Connected for Life — Mariee Mena lives on

Curtis Kingfisher will always carry a piece of Escondido’s Mariee Mena with him. At 12 years old, Curtis received a kidney donation from Mariee, a former Escondido High School and University of Oklahoma softball player, which gave him a second chance at life. Since then, he and his family have been deeply connected with both the Menas and the OU family. When Curtis was born,…



Vending industry leader lobbies Sacramento

The people who provide vending machine treats — micro-markets in trade parlance — and coffee around California break rooms descended on Sacramento for some good old-fashioned marketing two weeks ago. One of their leaders was Jeff Leider, president of San Marcos-based Tri-R Coffee & Vending and first time legislative day participant. His dad, Norm Leider, founded the company in 1984, and created the intriguing Tri-R…