Today’s Big News

Ides of March and Trump beware, it’s National Everything You Think Is Wrong Day

Et tu Brute? Beware the Ides of March. It’s a day cloaked in infamy and the assassination of the Emperor Julius Caesar, a turning point in Roman history; March 15, 44 B.C.E. Let that be a lesson to you, Donald Trump. Time for you to go to prison. But we digress. And, according to the Smithsonian Museum, a lot of other notable events have taken…

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Pi Day, shmiday, other numbers deserve holidays, too

March 14 is celebrated as Pi Day because the date, when written as 3/14, matches the start of the decimal expansion 3.14159… of the most famous mathematical constant. By itself, pi is simply a number, one among countless others between 3 and 4. What makes it famous is that it’s built into every circle you see – circumference equals pi times diameter – not to…

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27 years ago, Heaven’s Gate couldn’t wait

Dateline Rancho Santa Fe. March 26, 1997. A 911 call came into the San Diego Sheriff’s Communications Center. It was treated as a prank call at first. From what turned out to be a nearby payphone, the caller said something so preposterous that dispatchers took their time in relaying the information to central command. “This is regarding a mass suicide. I can give you the address,” the…

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Daylight saving time running out of time?

Daylight saving time: It’s back when clocks spring forward one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 10, 2024. Don’t forget to do the right thing clockwise or you’ll be out of sync. Californians early Sunday will join most of the nation in the yearly ritual of switching their clocks an hour forwards and back on daylight saving time. Will they be allowed to keep them…

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Why daylight saving time is unhealthy

As people in the U.S. prepare to turn their clocks ahead one hour in mid-March, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching from standard time to daylight saving time. About a third of Americans say they don’t look forward to these twice-yearly time changes. An overwhelming 63% to 16% majority would like…

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Sunlet Nursery shamrocks are evergreens

(Editor’s Note: Last weekend, roughly 70,000 shamrock plants filled some of Sunlet’s many greenhouses, but by Wednesday, almost all had been shipped out to garden centers and supermarkets, locally and throughout the western United States, according to Harry Jones of the San Diego Union Tribune. “They’ll be on their way to their forever home,” said Janet Kister, owner of Fallbrook’s 26-acre Sunlet Nursery. All of Sunlet’s business is…

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Popular Posts

Dr. Bronner rises from the grave to say

‘ALL-ONE’ soap aside, and sudsy philosophy notwithstanding, Dr. Emmanuel Bronner has emerged from beyond the grave with an appropriately nostalgic series of ruminations released on a vinyl LP. Or as the publicity department said: “‘Sisters & Brothers’ is a long-play record that features original recordings of Dr. Emanuel Bronner—visionary, soapmaker, grandfather and founder of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. Recorded between 1970 and 1995, on a variety of…


Single on Valentine’s Day and happily so

There’s nothing wrong with celebrating romantic love, but the focus on such celebrations drowns out the voices of those who are fine as they are – single and happily so. As I’ve argued in my research on the ethics and politics of the family, social practices that celebrate romance, while ignoring the joys of friendship and solitude, reflect widespread assumptions. One is that everyone is…


Harley and Hazel — A love story

To the late Charlie Sherman, a longtime Twin Oaks resident, the two geese among his front pond’s hundreds of birds were more than just beautiful creatures of nature. They were a love story. “Nine years ago a few Canada geese came over and landed on the pond,” said Sherman, a longtime local banker and loan officer. “They all went north again except one. I guess…


Dr. Robert Breedlove returns to Escondido

We are certainly NOT in Kansas anymore, Toto! I really wasn’t talking with that Wizard of Oz character recently, but rather my bride, Debbie, while we were stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-15, northbound in our rental car. We were once again visiting huge San Diego County, near Escondido, California, a city we have regularly enjoyed since we permanently relocated from San Diego to Our…


Editor’s Picks

Aldi set to open Escondido store Dec. 16

If ALDI is all but unknown west of the Mississippi River, Chicago and Germany, the unique, and much-beloved, high-quality, low-cost supermarket is planting its flag next month at Escondido. An ALDI was springing up at  1330 E. Valley Pkwy. #M, Escondido, CA 92027 with a grand opening open house scheduled for 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15. The first North County Aldi opened in May…


Coronavirus fears close local farmers markets

Due to fears of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, some local governments and property owners in California have temporarily ceased farmers market operations, while other markets remain open after bolstering safety measures to prevent spread of the virus. Abruptly closing markets, affected organizers say, hurts farmers and market customers, especially when access to fresh fruits and vegetables is a must to boost…


Where oh where did KFMB-8 and CW 9 go?

No Steven Colbert. No “60 Minutes. No nothing this week on KFMB, the San Diego CBS affiliate, and CW San Diego for those looking for them on DirecTV and AT&T U-verse. What’s a satellite TV and cable junky to do? The latest in TV content disputes hit San Diego and 50 other markets hosting Tegna’s 64 TV stations reaching 41.7 million TV households covering 39%…


Escondido Police train in, enforce, underage liquor laws

Escondido Police LEAD alcohol training program Now that you’ve got a California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) license, maybe you want to know how to serve. Escondido Police Department was scheduled to host an ABC  Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs training class 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 1. The class will be at Escondido Police and Fire Headquarters,1163 N. Centre City…


Stone Glassblowing back from the ashes

WHO: Stone & Glass WHAT: GRAND RE-OPENING WHERE: 629 W. Grand Ave., Escondido 92029 WHEN:  1 P.M. TO 7 P.M. SATURDAY, NOV. 11 WHY: Long story, see below… Welcome to the world of unintended consequences, and just plain bad luck. Or maybe making lemonade out of messed-up lemons department. Internationally recognized hot glass and mixed media artist, James Stone, had a great studio in a…


San Diego on collision course with Trump

If you wish to inspect the front lines of the conflict between Donald Trump and California, head for San Diego. Yes, it’s true that the Golden State’s fight against the president has so far taken place in the courts and in cyberspace. And, sure, challenging The Donald’s legitimacy is not a mere local pastime but an all-consuming statewide prizefight. But as a matter of geography,…


Breaking News

End of an era for Champion’s Restaurant

Tough to cull the sweet from the bitter on Wednesday Jan. 20, 2016 as customers at Grand Avenue’s landmark, iconic Champion’s Family Restaurant ate their last meals with tears flooding food-splashed eyes. Like the condemned with no remaining reprieve, customers bade sad farewells to all that tasty comfort food with final portions of signature corned beef hash topped off by to-die-for cinnamon rolls. Come to…

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Politics

John “Clown” Cox investigated by Humane Society for bear abuse in gubernatorial joke

Leave it to the political clown that is John Cox, laughed out of Illinois, and now debasing Rancho Santa Fe with his circus of stupidity as he pretends to run for governor — again — and definitively loses, again. Cox’s latest brush with political stupidity of the Bozo type apparently ran afoul of the authorities, the animal control authorities, that is to say. His bizarre…

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Sad tale of RSF’s Cox zombie governor run

(Editor’s Note: Rancho Santa Fe’s clown prince John Cox got laughed out of the last state gubernatorial race. He is reprising his ridiculous role in the 2021 faux recall attempt and ridiculous next race for governor, which Gov. Gavin Newsom will win easily while we, the people, have to pay for it. Cox is a joke. What else do you want to know.) Cox, a…

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Maskholes like Jim Desmond want us dead

I’ve reached the breaking point on the ideological crusade built around self-victimization over attempts to slow or stem the coronavirus. Yes, I’m a high risk individual, but that’s not the reason why I’m ranting today. I’m just one part of a much bigger picture, namely the portion of the population certain politicians think is expendable in the name of profit. The nation is in the…

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Illegitimate carpetbagger Issa couldn’t have won the 50th Cong. District. We must re-vote.

(Editor’s Note: After getting blowback from people who didn’t get it, let me explain this is complete satire aimed at showing Issa and other sedition party creeps that it’s oh so easy to turn their disingenuous lies and false arguments against them in the same way. Live by the lie and die by the lie.) We believe we did not have a fair and legitimate…

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Escondido

Dr. Bronner rises from the grave to say

‘ALL-ONE’ soap aside, and sudsy philosophy notwithstanding, Dr. Emmanuel Bronner has emerged from beyond the grave with an appropriately nostalgic series of ruminations released on a vinyl LP. Or as the publicity department said: “‘Sisters & Brothers’ is a long-play record that features original recordings of Dr. Emanuel Bronner—visionary, soapmaker, grandfather and founder of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. Recorded between 1970 and 1995, on a variety of…

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Surprising and Strange


Pi Day, shmiday, other numbers deserve holidays, too

March 14 is celebrated as Pi Day because the date, when written as 3/14, matches the start of the decimal expansion 3.14159… of the most famous mathematical constant. By itself, pi is simply a number, one among countless others between 3 and 4. What makes it famous is that it’s built into every circle you see – circumference equals pi times diameter – not to…

Click Here or title to read more

27 years ago, Heaven’s Gate couldn’t wait

Dateline Rancho Santa Fe. March 26, 1997. A 911 call came into the San Diego Sheriff’s Communications Center. It was treated as a prank call at first. From what turned out to be a nearby payphone, the caller said something so preposterous that dispatchers took their time in relaying the information to central command. “This is regarding a mass suicide. I can give you the address,” the…

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Move over D.B. Cooper for Geezer Bandit

People have been debating D.B. Cooper ever since his Thanksgiving 1971 leap into history and out of a commercial flight from Portland to Seattle with a whole bunch of money. The same, on a smaller scale, appears to be happening with North County’s own Geezer Bandit, so-called. He hit Vista — twice — Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla — twice — Poway and 10 other…

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Featured Content

Light’s (out) at the end of Via de la Valle: Knorr’s Candle Shop minding its own beeswax (Closing Oct. 31, 2023)

Editor’s Note From Nextdoor….. “I just learned today that Knorr’s Candle Factory on Via de La Valle is closing 10/31/23 and they are having huge sale, including holiday decor, to cut inventory. It was always one of my favorite places to shop and such a local tradition. Please support them and stop by. Everyone loves beautiful candles!!” — Chari Chanin   As the world, and…

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Mom’s Kitchen serves slice of Vista history

A slice of Vista’s past was being served Tuesday over biscuits and gravy at Mom’s Kitchen, once knows as Allen’s Alley Cafe. While a lot has changed over the last 70 years around Vista, Mom’s Kitchen has not. So, the biscuits and gravy were flowing at the town’s oldest, continuously serving restaurant much as they have since, at least, 1950 when it was known as…

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Vick Vannucci comes back to Mother Earth

Former tennis prodigy, model and TV presenter Maria Victoria “Vick” Vannucci lived through the photograph, then figuratively died by the photograph. Former owner and chef at Normal Heights’ Pachamama Restaurant, Vannucci pursues a new socially aware image featuring her tale of personal redemption centering on giving back to the community and educating people about healthy food and animal conservation. “My story is a special story,”…

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Re-booting the past: Escondido shoe repair shop one of the few left around North County

Not a lot of us are left, Doart Shoe Repair owner Lucia Capuano says before jumping out of her lunch to wait on yet another customer. Capuano’s talking cobblers, not customers. A steady stream of the latter enter the 35-year-old fixture at 103 S Broadway, just south of the 100 block of W Grand Avenue, constantly interrupting her attempt to lunch. Not to worry, time…

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Bringing mid-20th Century modern furniture aesthetics to early 21st Century lives and homes

Applying an international twist to the American Dream, the globe-trotting French native Aymerick Rondeau, 44, now scours the world for authentic 1960s Scandinavian mid-century modern furniture, bringing it all back to his San Marcos warehouse and home. Like Cher and Oprah, the effervescent Rondeau is known by first name only as Aymerick. He followed the sun as a young man working in the hospitality industry…

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Grid and Bear It

Last but not Least

Dr. Bronner rises from the grave to say

‘ALL-ONE’ soap aside, and sudsy philosophy notwithstanding, Dr. Emmanuel Bronner has emerged from beyond the grave with an appropriately nostalgic series of ruminations released on a vinyl LP. Or as the publicity department said: “‘Sisters & Brothers’ is a long-play record that features original recordings of Dr. Emanuel Bronner—visionary, soapmaker, grandfather and founder of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. Recorded between 1970 and 1995, on a variety of…

Click Here or title to read more

Single on Valentine’s Day and happily so

There’s nothing wrong with celebrating romantic love, but the focus on such celebrations drowns out the voices of those who are fine as they are – single and happily so. As I’ve argued in my research on the ethics and politics of the family, social practices that celebrate romance, while ignoring the joys of friendship and solitude, reflect widespread assumptions. One is that everyone is…

Click Here or title to read more

Harley and Hazel — A love story

To the late Charlie Sherman, a longtime Twin Oaks resident, the two geese among his front pond’s hundreds of birds were more than just beautiful creatures of nature. They were a love story. “Nine years ago a few Canada geese came over and landed on the pond,” said Sherman, a longtime local banker and loan officer. “They all went north again except one. I guess…

Click Here or title to read more

Dr. Robert Breedlove returns to Escondido

We are certainly NOT in Kansas anymore, Toto! I really wasn’t talking with that Wizard of Oz character recently, but rather my bride, Debbie, while we were stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-15, northbound in our rental car. We were once again visiting huge San Diego County, near Escondido, California, a city we have regularly enjoyed since we permanently relocated from San Diego to Our…

Click Here or title to read more

Groundhog Day, what’s with those groundhogs anyway

According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2nd, there will be six more weeks of winter; if not, an early spring is predicted. This year no shadow. Of course groundhogs – also known as woodchucks – don’t emerge at this time just to be furry weather predictors. So what’s the real reason? Research into groundhog biology shows they have other priorities…

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Keeping those New Year’s resolutions

OK, 2020 was hell on earth in many respects. And 2021 wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Not to mention 2022. Many of us have already decided that things will be different in 2023. We’ll try to finish off COVID-19, eat better, get more exercise, save more money or finally get around to decluttering those closets. But by the time February rolls around, most of us…

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Traveling Lake Hodges and the Del Dios Highway

Used by permission, this rather comprehensive look at Lake Hodges, Del Dios Highway and sites far and wide, first appeared at Postcards and Passports, San Diego resident Tami Zehrung Wilcox’s extensive travel blog. Only a few weeks ago, I took a day to discover Lake Hodges and the area surrounding it. I was astounded at all that it has to offer — especially its peaceful…

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Three Dot Lounge gets jiggy with paella, then over to the local pizza and martini joint, the new Inn at RSF and …

Yes friends, Three Dot Lounge is breaking the publisher’s no posts until somebody actually supports this site rule to bring some important, and much needed, takes on the idiosyncratic, yet very f(l)avorable, local to The Grapevine culinary scene. BTW, if you support The Grapevine by donating throughPayPal: We exist to carry your voice. We do that for the good of the community. We are a…

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