a monumental ass

san diego reaffirmed itself as a town represented by rich white republican interests by erecting a statue of former mayor pete wilson, a rich white republican former mayor. the ceremony, held saturday at its location in horton plaza, was notable for its attendance of lily-white suited conservatives who felt it was so important to honor a guy who ignored police harassment of gays, and excluded gays from city government, that they had to put up a ridiculous statue of him.

hey, old guard san diego republicans, here's something for you to choke on after swallowing your ceremony champagne: your power and influence are waning in a city that's tranforming from a boring conservative white military town into a dynamic, diverse urban community. your poster-child current mayor looks the other way as illegal buildings are built by campaign contributors. so put up your monuments that honor your heyday, when you could do things like harass and exclude gays and get away with it. those days are over, and monuments like pete's ain't gonna bring 'em back.

lips service

after dinner at island prime we raced over to east village to catch the flaming lips perform the last set at the free southern comfort music festival. we got to the petco park parking lot around 9:40 or so, and it sounded like they were playing part of kashmir as we walked up to a huge line of a couple hundred people. we hadn't thought of that. it didn't look like the line was moving at all, so we went around to the south side of the lot and watched most of the show through the chain link fence (after a little while security came along and say the gates were open, and i did go in at one point to use the porta potties).

most of what i recognized was from their most recent album, which i'm not too crazy about. "vein of stars" and the rocking "Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung" were highlights from that. we left during an emotional "superman" (not my choice to leave, but no biggie) and heard a set-closing "do you realize" as we walked back to the car. prior to that, however, the show felt pretty uninspired and moved at a glacial pace. lead singer wayne coyne encouraged the fans to smoke as much pot as they liked, and to enjoy their f-ing free show, etc. it was funny to watch the ambivalence of the crowd to coyne's anti-bush (and long-winded) chatter between songs. while i agree with him, a liquor company-sponsored show in disengaged san diego is about the last place to expect a spirited reaction to this sobering talk.

wayne did say they had a great time at street scene in '05 at the qualcomm stadium lots, which was a far better show. he remarked on how he'd love to play it again if it returns to downtown, and maybe this year's coming flop will get its promoter, rob hagey, to consider downsizing to a show at this location. of course, these parking lots won't be there much longer, so this site is likely out in the near future.

island prime time

our friend david is moving back to sf, so we took him to dinner at deborah scott's island prime, where his good friend bill is a server. what a great spot for a restaurant - it hangs out over the harbor on harbor island just west of downtown, with great views of the city. we had dinner in the main part of the restaurant, which is tastefully decorated and dominated by large windows facing the bay. next time i'd like to try the c lounge area, which directly faces downtown.

everything was delicious, including the salmon/ahi/ceviche appetizer, my swordfish salad with pineapple orange salsa, david's crusted ahi and jay's rib eye. service was impeccable, of course, but we're biased.

c lounge was a mob scene - quite the happening place for the yuppie set. still, it's a vast improvement over previous restaurants at this prime spot, and it's always good to have options like this one on the harbor, particularly when you want to impress visitors. looking forward to lunch at c lounge soon.

fox sports grill coming to hilton convention center

the convention center hilton going in behind petco park will be home to a fox sports grill. i've never been in one, but i'm guessing it's their version of an espn sportszone. while these can be pretty obnoxious places (and i can't watch fox news propoganda), at least it's another post-game sports bar in the vicinity of petco park. anything that makes the sterile convention center area more vibrant is a good thing. i'm not sure if the harbor dr. bridge will be completed before the hotel opens in 2008 (the ccdc site says it will be complete "in 2006"), but it will certainly make it easier to get there from petco - currently that involves walking three blocks west to cross at 5th, then three blocks east along harbor.

speaking of the new hilton, it's going up pretty fast. it looms large on the waterfront as you cross the coronado bridge, and you can see the top of the hotel from inside petco park now. the public 4 acre park sounds good but sure looks boring in the photo above; that's it on the west-facing side of the building. to the east, i'm pretty sure the shipyards butt right up against the back of the hotel. it will be interesting to see how they squeeze in the typical outdoor amenities such as a pool there.

reach the beach

it's not just a bad fixx album from 1983. when the ocean temp is 75 and the air temp at the coast is in the low 80's, the beach beckons us to leave our our poorly-insulated old house (sweltering in the low 90's in kensington) and enjoy a refreshing swim. and it does so every weekend day recently, it seems. considering how brief beach season can be in san diego - the narrow window between june gloom and september upwelling - if there aren't any coastal clouds, there better be a really good reason not to be at the beach on the weekend right now.

as a result, the never-ending home improvement tasks get postponed - the old cracked wooden blinds linger on, the weeds assert themselves in the garden beds, and the new paint job for the remodeled kitchen is forgotten. but it's ok, because there will soon be 10 and a half months full of weekends where we won't be swimming in the ocean, and home depot will once again reclaim them.

so take the back-to-school sales, the end of summer reading lists, and the inane fall tv promos, and stick it. i waited all year for these 6 weeks, and i'm going to enjoy every last minute of them.

never let summer pass you by...

patio open at jayne's

north park news noted the recent opening of the candle-lit back patio at jayne's gastropub in normal heights. one of the yelp reviews indicates you need to get there early to score a table out there. we've been meaning to get back there and this gives us even more of a reason to do so.

cond-no

the inevitable condo building slowdown is happening, and the UT is on it. among the deceased projects is triangle in way-east village. however, the other projects mentioned, including what i thought was a permanently-stopped atmosphere on fifth (just north of downtown) all seem to either be re-starting or modifying. the article doesn't mention the demise of biarritz across from balboa park, but the developer says that one will start up again in the fall.

jay and i were trying to think of other projects that are looking sketchy, other than cosmo square near the ballpark, and pier in little italy, but you could probably say that about any project that hasn't been started yet. given the uncertainty, it wouldn't be surprising if the condo high-rise count in downtown is not much different in 2010 than it is now.

yog-art

stopped into the new yog-art tart yogurt shop in hillcrest last night around 10 pm. it's on university across from starbucks. i really like the design of the place, great lighting and a relaxed vibe. lots of board games available, which people were actually playing. the relatively small eatery was about half full but buzzing with activity - definitely a fun new addition to a stretch of university that could use it.

jay had the vanilla yogurt, which he said wasn't as good as yogurt world in kearny mesa. since there were no non-dairy options i settled for a strawberry slush with boba. i don't think anyone else serves boba in hillcrest, so that's a nice new option for the area.

more on utc facelift

jay and i met for lunch over at utc on friday (love that genghis khan), so we stopped by the kithaus-designed preview area for the utc redesign. here's a summary of what's planned: the big parking lots on the northwest side will be converted to residences and apparently have a parking deck or undergound parking - hard to tell. the area where sears is on the southeast side also appears to be slated for townhouses/condos. no word on where the solar panel farm is going. no info on what new stores, but you can do a video interview there and make your request for h&m, or whatever. there appears to be a grand entrance area set for the northwest corner, near where they'll be covering those lots. an outdoor dining area (second level?) is shown on the northeast lots, near where the new crate & barrel is currently going in.

also interesting was the proposed trolley stop. last i heard it didn't look good for the trolley extension up i-5 - and then how does it get over to utc? but it would be pretty sweet if that happened someday. for now, better put in lots of underground parking or decks.

who knows how much of the above will actually happen, but it does look promising. and those kithaus modules (shown above; sorry, phone cam) where they have the model look great.

utc facelift

no, i'm not talking about half of the patrons, but the mall itself. strangely, this la jolla mall has never had a makeover, and it was built in the 70's. look, i was born in the early 70's and could use some help, and i don't even live in la jolla, where you need to look good baby. maybe the dated look and limited store selection there is why many of the rich and beautiful can be seen at fashion valley instead.

they've been talking about this one for a few years now, and the renderings are strangely disappointing, actually. where are the condos that are mentioned in the video? will there be parking garages on the current large expanse of asphalt and then retail on top of that? in the video he mentions growing up, but not how many floors. i do see a second shopping level in the drawings, and apparently there will be dining on the roof. the couches in the new theaters sound pretty cool - time to start catching up to la on that one.

the large-scale solar panel installations and recycled water are good ideas. they claim they'll be able to power tens of thousands of homes on the grid with the energy generated from the former. they've certainly got the space for it, so let's hope that one comes true!

UPDATE: ok, i just saw the kithaus pics of centers they developed to facilitate customer input on the new mall. they look similar to what's in the renderings for the common areas. very clean and modern.

more vancouver

i put up a flickr set of our pics from vancouver. we took a bunch of urban shots the previous year, so these are more focused on our trip to lynn canyon and horseshoe bay north of the city, and the pride parade. this was our first time outside the city and it really confirmed what a spectacular setting the city is in. i can't think of another north american city that comes close to being this surrounded by spectacular views. while san francisco has its stunning bay overlooks, and seattle has distant mt. rainier, only vancouver has both a scenic harbor and big mountains just to the north of the city, along with the vast, lush stanley park adjacent to downtown.

some of the highlights of the trip were the incredible weather, the delicious meals, (including a terrific malaysian lunch at tropika on the main commercial drag, robson st., our last day there), and a fantastic fireworks competition. for the fireworks show, held over the harbor, it seems the entire densely-built downtown walks the streets down to the water's edge to watch. watching the crowd reminded me of how young and vibrant the population is there. vancouver seems to have the highest percentage of young folks (many of them the children of immigrants from hong kong) in any city i've been in recently.

the pride parade was fun too. it was interesting to see the large number of families in attendance, enjoying the parade for its entertainment value. in san diego, it seems most families are scared of the gays. since it was pride week, the clubs were packed - nothing like standing in line for a club at 2 in the morning. fortunately, our hotel, 910 meridian on beach avenue was quite close to davie street, the main drag for the gay clubs. i highly recommend this hotel for its location close to davie, english bay, and its apartment-like feel and residential neighborhood location.

just up hornby st. from the hotel was the appleton gallery with lots of great native art. i picked up a cool hummingbird print done in native art style. i was blown away by the quality and creativity of some of the work. plus there's racks full of more pieces in the back.

much of the time we just spent walking around the city, or i hung out at the coffee shop, reading. it was very relaxing to have such a low key weekend with friends in a very hospitable city. while we'll probably do toronto and montreal instead next year, i'll still be thinking of vancouver and how much i love this city.

van: the perfect city

just back from vancouver but i wanted to post some pictures before heading to bed. i'll follow up with details of the trip when time permits, but it really feels like a city of the future with its high density, diverse ethnicity and progressive views. it's always a humbling visit for a san diegan urbanist, but in the summer time, when its spectacular setting combines with the best weather on the continent, it truly becomes the perfect city.

mission beach boardwalk: 4th best in nation

so says sherman's travel (who?). i've been on 7 of the 10 listed, and while i'm biased, i think the mission beach/pacific beach boardwalk is the best of those. the widening of the boardwalk has made a huge difference, there's plenty of vibrancy or peacefulness, depending on which you're looking for, and you're surrounded by a beautiful california setting (and people). the housing stock isn't the best, but that's improving. and try walking the boardwalk on many of the others in february, when this shot was taken. that's reason enough to put mb/pb at the top of the list.

how walkable is your neighborhood?

(image source: pedestrians.org)

check out your walk score using this new website, which uses a proprietary algorithm to determine how livable your neighborhood is if you only get around by foot. i was surprised to see that my semi-urban kensington address scored lower (72) than my brother's suburban poway address (79). while he does have plenty of shops on the main drag of poway road that are within walking distance, the road itself is not a very pedestrian-friendly place. even though the speed limit is 35, cars routinely drive 50 mph (he used to patrol there), and the road is 4 lanes wide, plus turning lanes. not the kind of place i'd want to walk.

even worse are the new subdivisions in eastlake, east of chula vista. while there's plenty of sidewalks, what's there to walk to? first you have to make your way out of your massive development onto a feeder road, where cars whizz by at 60 mph, and you can walk for miles before seeing another pedestrian, or hitting another generic strip mall. give in to suburbia and just get in the car... and hey, stop by krispy kreme for another shot of sugar and fat while you're on your way.

i'll have to check if the site allows feedback on issues like this one - is it even possible to access the speed limits and number of lanes on a road for input to their algorithm? regardless, it's a neat development to see a site that recognizes the positive impacts of living in a walkable neighborhood - health and environment foremost among them.

san diego street views

google maps has added san diego to its list of cities with the street view feature - street-level pictures of businesses, residences, people entering strip clubs, etc. looks like most of downtown san diego has been included, with several of the main routes out of downtown covered too - including adams avenue here in kensington. check out the intersection of adams and marlborough, home to the kensington branch library, starbucks, san diego coffee tea and spices at kensington, and a soon-to-be demolished gas station.