online community journalism

Where have all the payphones gone?

“A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone) is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or a privacy hood, with pre-payment by inserting money (usually coins) or by billing a credit or debit card, or a telephone card. Around the Big Apple, Google Sidewalk Labs is replacing them with free city-wide Wi-Fi. In Ireland, units now are used less than once every…


Pala’s ultimate underground radio station

“March 21, 2023 is the 12th Anniversary of the first show of Mark’s Groovy Trip on Rez Radio 91.3. Join us today from 1:00-4:00PM Pacific Time for our special !2th Anniversary Show featuring songs that peaked out at the #12 position on the Billboard Hot 100. Download the RezRadio 91.3 app at Google Play or the Apple App Store for the best listening experience. You…


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…


Lightning in the form of an ATM machine stolen by truck strikes twice at same Del Lago shopping center

Why bother stealing from an ATM machine when you can just steal the ATM machine. Who says ATM machine theft, like lightning, never strikes twice? Somebody, or somebodies, around Escondido’s Plaza Del Lago Center just east of newly renamed North County Mall has a recurring criminal fixation with this bit of advanced banditry. For yet another time, an in-store ATM at that small outdoor shopping…


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…


Carlsbad’s iconic Flower Fields doing its colorful thing

It’s that time of the year again. Carlsbad’s iconic Flower Fields opens for the season Wednesday, March 1, 2023. That’s 55 acres of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus and a variety of new events through May 14. The attraction’s new theme, “Live Colorfully,” covers everything from the ranunculus, a flower known for its large, double-petaled blooms that sit atop tall, straight stems, to the seemingly endless rows of…


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…


Mike Bickle, North Bar owner, memorial JamFest Sunday

Tributes continued to pour in this week for Mike Bickle, 53, well-known bass player and owner of Escondido’s iconic North Bar, who died in his sleep on Jan. 15, 2023. Cause of death is as-yet not known. Friends and family will host a special, free with music and food as well as spoken word, Memorial Jam Fest from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Feb….


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…