Rancho Santa Fe

2020 MLB Draft: Some locals get crunked

Several local players made the grade in the wild, and weird Major League Baseball (MLB) abbreviated five-round draft on Wednesday and Thursday while the San Diego Padres took six newbies with hopes to bring them into the Petco fold. The five-round 2020 MLB Draft is in the books now. A total of 160 selections were made over two nights in the abbreviated selection process. MLB…


‘Round Town: Panache, puppies, meals, mo’

(Here are a few random items relating to Escondido, San Marcos, Rancho Santa Fe and Valley Center that might have missed in the rush to societal protest and coronavirus relief…) Coronavirus be damned, time for some Panache Panache is the most important event on Escondido Arts Partnership Municipal Gallery (EAP)’s busy calendar of exhibitions, educational programming, and special activities benefiting San Diego county residents and…


Lake Hodges Dam opens its floodgates

In an unusual move necessitated by last week’s prodigious record-setting rainfall, Lake Hodges Reservoir this week opens its valves sending millions of gallons of water down the San Dieguito Riverbed towards the Pacific Ocean. The city of San Diego, which owns the reservoir and dam, is sending about 923 million gallons of water from the reservoir down the old riverbed through Saturday. And, as they…


Spring trends are in the air with Penelope

Eco-friendly furniture made of recycled or reclaimed woods is very popular for the spring season, and are showing up more than ever throughout designer showrooms…… — Rancho Santa Fe interior designer Penelope Voisen There’s a pretty outlook for Spring 2020.  On the home decorating front, it’s a season of renewal and reinvention.  Spring is the perfect time to change out a few accessories or introduce…


Love it or leave it, Valentine’s Day on the way

Celebrating all things romantic, Valentine’s Day comes this way on Friday, Feb. 14 throughout Escondido, North County, San Diego and the world. What are you going to do about that, lovers of love. Let’s consider some options. Sure, flowers, candy or other sweet things, and the exchange of cards, called valentines, expressing love are going to be big everywhere. But some people are going the…


People Behaving Badly: Mid-Winter Edition

Welcome to a sometimes continuing series covering a never-ending story, people doing bad things, allegedly. Frankly, The Grapevine takes a slightly different tack than TV stations and other outlets when it comes to the lawbreaking and fire making of modern society. We’re selective when it comes to reporting in this area. While, we don’t question interest in the subject matter, we question how it is…


Lake Hodges re-opens for season and more

Lake Hodges is back in business, baby, re-opening this week for the 2020 season and getting a makeover cleaning to boot. The 1,234-acre reservoir just has been closed since November, but the serene paradise — home to grebes, fishermen/women, and just plain lovers of lovely landscapes and hiking —  is opening its gates to let the good times roll. The lake’s shoreline stretches for 27…


Esc-RSF Adobe Home Tour; holocaust exhibit

An historic landmark home built in 1831 and three residences built between 1926 and 1982 represent the spectrum of San Diego County’s romance with its adobe heritage. The Ninth Annual San Diego Adobe Home Tour, Sunday will allow visitors to experience California’s multi-cultural roots in the rancho hacienda and California ranch house styles, where immigrant pioneer, Spanish and Mexican influences coalesce. This year’s tour showcases…


World-Famous Chino Farm is just over there

Last week I made the easy trek to Chino Farm at Rancho Santa Fe. If the traffic gods are smiling, it’s just a short drive to the unprepossessing north San Diego County farm stand, where, upon arriving, if you didn’t know in advance you would never guess that anyone outside the immediate neighborhood has any idea the place exists. But, oh, do they ever. Thanks to patrons like…


Emergency responders deal with tragedy, sometimes joy around Rancho Santa Fe

 The ambulance at Rancho Santa Fe Fire Station 1 sat idle, if only for a moment, as paramedic John Salinsky contemplated the upscale North County beat he works for San Diego Medical Services Enterprise, the area’s 911 paramedic provider. “This is a lot different than working downtown,” Salinsky said. “It’s just better quality here. It’s like the difference between Thunderbird and fine wine.” Upscale, yes, but…