rancho santa fe

Shhhh…..RSF Secret Car Club confidential

Do you wanna know a secret? Drive around Rancho Santa Fe’s Cielo Village just off Del Dios Highway around…Shhh… San Diego and Orange County real estate agent Chris Erickson along with two of his clients organized the members-only club in 2010. They wanted a different type of car club inclusive and open to all makes, models and motorcycles. The club holds no meetings. No officers…


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…


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…


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…


Madeleine Pickens, you are what you eat

Or what’s eating Madeleine Pickens? Rancho Santa Fe resident and ardent Donald Trump supporter Madeleine Pickens wanted the African-American chef she recruited from the Del Mar Country Club she owns in Southern California to cook “black people food” — not “white people food” — at her rural Nevada dude ranch and wild horse sanctuary, according to a federal lawsuit accusing her of racial discrimination. Armand…



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…


Disbarred RSF Casey Anthony attorney Macaluso gets jail for $13M cocaine scheme

Summary: The former attorney of accused-murderer Casey Anthony, who has since been disbarred, was convicted of drug smuggling. (Editor’s note: It is with great pleasure we present this tale of justice served in the case of Todd Macaluso, former Casey Anthony attorney and Rancho Santa Fe reprobate. As editor of various Rancho Santa Fe newspapers and websites, I had the “honor” of being threatened with…


Jack will serve you now (mum’s the word)

(Editor’s Note: Jack in the Box finished market testing Friday and rolled out the brisket burger at other restaurants Saturday, Sept. 2…) How does a cheeseburger topped with 9-hour slow-cooked brisket, onion rings, a red wine glaze and smoky chili aioli serve on a sesame and poppy seeds artisan potato bun strike you? Forget about the amazing Wooden Spoon or Vintana at Escondido, newly opened…