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SD For Free: Lake Miramar – Great for Bicycling, Running, Rollerskating

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A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free!  We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

  1. Directions: From Interstate 15 southbound: take Mira Mesa Boulevard east, turn right on Scripps Ranch Boulevard, then left on Scripps Lake Drive. The reservoir entrance will be on your left.  From Interstate 15 northbound: take Carroll Canyon Road east, turn left on Scripps Ranch Boulevard, then right on Scripps Lake Drive. The reservoir entrance will be on your left.
    1. Map link for directions
  2. Free Hours: 5:30 AM to 6:30 PM and beginning March 10th 5:30 AM to 8:00 PM
  3. Best For: Bicycling, walking, running, chatting with a friend, enjoying a cool breeze

Nestled comfortably below hillsides topped with the suburban dream, Lake Miramar (officially Miramar Reservoir) is a great place for getting some fresh air and exercise.   [Read more…]

Bicycling Moves Forward in San Diego – CicloSDias Event Announced for August

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Streets to Be Closed to Cars in Grant Hill/Stockton, South Park, North Park and City Heights

On the beautiful sunny morning of February 25, bicycle enthusiasts, city residents, and local politicians gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at San Diego’s newest bike corral in Hillcrest.  If you’re unfamiliar, a bike corral is an onstreet parking facility for bicycles, typically taking up the space of one or two automobile parking spots and providing parking for ten to twenty bicycles.

This new installation is San Diego’s fourth bike corral, all of which are located in District 3.  For those of you scoring at home that leaves us only 87 bike corrals short of the 91 boasted by the bicycle mecca of Portland.

The new bike corral is located on the south-west corner of the intersection of Richmond Street and University Avenue in Hillcrest, next to Filter Coffee House at 1295 University Avenue. The Uptown Community Parking District paid for the corral and the Hillcrest Business Association will provide for upkeep and maintenance in the future.   [Read more…]

Who said girls can’t play rugby?

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My first introduction to Rugby was when my grandson-in-law, Ben, sent me a picture of him with the blackest eye I had ever seen after winning a Championship Rugby match in Australia. Having all daughters I was almost sickened by seeing this handsome man’s face marred by a “shiner” so large that it almost obliterated his face.

When, five years later, my 17 year old granddaughter informed me that she was going out for the rugby team with the San Diego Young Aztecs (SDYA) my first thought was of Ben and all the cuts, scrapes and bruises he had during the rugby season. (I shouldn’t have been surprised at Molly’s choice. Her Aunt Lynn, my middle daughter, was the first female on the Water Polo team out of Pt. Loma High many years ago.) Still, the remembrance of Ben’s pictures was at the forefront of my mind.

The San Diego Young Aztec Rugby Club was started by its visionary founder Nevin Kleege. He had a dream about starting up youth rugby, in a meaningful way, here in San Diego. Seven years ago six children showed up to practice, and today they serve over 600 children (from 5-19 years old) in our community.   [Read more…]

San Diego For Free: Padres FanFest – This Saturday, February 9th

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A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free! We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

Location: Petco Park – 100 Park Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92101 (Downtown)

Free Hours: Saturday, February 9th from 10 AM – 4 PM

Best For: Baseball fans, the perenially optimistic, those with an affinity for brown and/or retro clothing, families

Website

The San Diego Padres had an eventful off-season and are gearing up for spring training and the home opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, April 9th.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – The Sky is Falling! UT-San Diego Taxifornia Version

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Our local daily is featuring an article today hewing to its meme that the end is nigh for the Golden State in the wake of voter support for raising taxes in the last election. Here’s the lede:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry quietly came to San Diego last week to lure biotech companies seeking to escape from higher income taxes under Proposition 30 to the Lone Star State.

While I wouldn’t go so far as to say there are no negatives about California, at least we don’t have schools being required to use text books that whitewash the McCarthy era and fail to mention the slave trade. There’s another side of the story…

INSIDE: HEDGECOCK BOYCOTT ON, IMMIGRATION WARS, SOURING ON THE SUPERBOWL…   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – They’re Coming for Your Guns and Other NRA Falsehoods

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The national conversation over gun regulations continues to dominate the news cycle. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings yesterday saw astronaut Mark Kelly directly confronting the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre over the shooting of his wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Giffords (D-Ariz.) was the first witness called yesterday, and at the end of the day it was her seventy two word statement that still echoed in the halls of Congress:

 Speaking is difficult but I need to say something important.

Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying – too many children. We must do something.

It will be hard. But the time is now. You must act. Be bold. Be Courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you.

  [Read more…]

The Starting Line – ‘Future Facts’ Fail to Sway Judge in Balboa Park Plaza de Panama Ruling

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A San Diego judge has issued a tentative ruling that could halt city plans for building a parking garage in Balboa Park and associated renovations of the Plaza de Panama. Oral arguments will be heard in front of Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor on Friday, whose preliminary written decision reflected a clear reluctance to derail the project.

At issue is the legal interpretation of a single phrase, “reasonable beneficial use.” Since the plans included removal of a section of the historic Cabrillo Bridge, the Save Our Heritage Organisation sued, citing (among other things) San Diego’s municipal code, which says the city cannot touch an historic structure unless it’s ruled to have no reasonable beneficial use. In approving the project, the City Council said this was the case as part of the approval process.

INSIDE: The Battle Against Generic Biologics, Sick Stuff About Gun Nuts, and the Death of Football?   [Read more…]

SD For Free: Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines

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When: 11:10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 28

Ever been to a professional golf tournament? Ever been to the Torrey Pines golf course?  The answer to both questions for me is no, but I intend to change this Monday.  Due to inclement weather over the weekend, specifically heavy fog, the tournament was delayed from finishing on Sunday and tournament organizers announced free admission for Monday’s conclusion.  Quite a discount from the $40 regular price for a daily pass to the event.

Additionally, parking will be free Monday at the Torrey Pines gliderport (Lot A) until the lot is full per the tournament twitter account .   [Read more…]

To Bike or Not To Bike? That is a good question.

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By Brigitte Taylor

I love the idea of cycling all over town and the trend to encourage people (and currently women, in particular, to ride bikes.

Ideas are great, but as a result of biking in Mission Valley, Old Town, North Park, Downtown, College Area, City Heights and various parts of the city, I definitely have a new take on what it means to share the road with vehicles. I used to ride my bike frequently until I was knocked off by a driver. Thankfully, I was not injured but after that, I limited my rides to mountain biking and bike paths where road sharing is not an issue.

I decided that it was time to start riding on city streets again last year. Riding my bike on El Cajon Boulevard, I must admit, can be daunting. Depending on where you are riding, some of the lanes are so narrow that the cars parked on the street will position a cyclist in the middle of the lane for vehicles meaning that we literally must share the same lane with vehicles. The traffic is quite rapid and, in my experience, people are fairly hasty and do not drive in a manner or speed that promotes comfortable riding of a bike in the middle of the street. I noted the streets have designated lanes for the bikes; however, these lanes are in or near the same spaces along with vehicles. While I have noted more courtesy among drivers, I still think there should be a designated area specifically for bicycles.   [Read more…]

The NFL: Where Dr. King’s Dream Goes to Die

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By Dave Zirin / The Nation / January 21, 2013

As the United States celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with the swearing-in of this country’s first African-American president, there will no doubt be commentary on the great gap between ceremony and reality. It’s the gap between the public spectacle of President Barack Obama’s inaugural oath—sworn on one of Dr. King’s Bibles no less—and a country still ravaged by what King called “the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic injustice.”

In addition to the inaugural festivities, this weekend was also marked by a spectacle that will rival or exceed the inauguration in passion and interest: the National Football League playoffs. NFL football, by a country mile, is the most popular sport in the United States. It also stands as a living monument of the distance we still must travel to slay King’s “giant triplets.” I write this, in full disclosure, as someone who follows the sport religiously, but struggles to not be blind to the politics the NFL pumps through its play.   [Read more…]

San Diego All-Stars Defeat LA City All-Stars 24-17 in Westlake Village

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Some of the best senior football players from around San Diego County traveled up to Northern Los Angeles, arrive back home the victors.

It was a rocky start for the team from San Diego. Los Angeles took control of the game in their opening offensive series, covering the final 38 yards on a halfback pass that was nearly intercepted by Point Loma safety Zach Eischen, but instead fell right into the hands of LA’s Bijon Parker (Fairfax High) who darted the final 20 yards to the end zone. 7-0 Los Angeles.

The San Diegans looked to answer right back when St. Augustine’s Dominic Morgan took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards to the LA three yard line. But the San Diego offense was unable to capitalize, and was forced to settle for a 27 yard field goal by Madison’s Anthony Herrera. 7-3 Los Angeles.   [Read more…]

San Diego For Free: Hike on Cowles Mountain for the Winter Solstice – December 21st

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San Diego for Free is a weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free! We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

Location: San Carlos, hike starts at the trailhead near the intersection of Golfcrest Drive and Navajo Road

Best For: Restless spirits, insomniacs, hikers, walkers, strollers

Date & Time: Friday, December 21, 6 – 7:30 AM

Website : Here.

This Friday, December 21st is the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year and a date held sacred and marked on calendars (both paper and stone) since time immemorial.

To celebrate the date the Canyoneers volunteer hiking group is leading a trek up Cowles Mountain in the pre-dawn stillness to view sunrise from a Kumeyaay solstice observatory about halfway up the mountain.   [Read more…]

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