what an october

the weather this month has been unlike any october i've seen since moving here in 1997. the average high at the airport is currently 77.5 degrees, which makes it warmer than any month so far this year. it's been even warmer away from the coast of course. while 1999 had a very warm october, i don't remember it being as consistently warm all month - more than half the days this month (13 of 25) have had highs of 80 or above. we've had entire years in san diego where the number of days over 80 was about the same as that. and warmer-than-normal months have been hard to come by recently; this will be the first well-above-normal month since july 2006.

one of the reasons i moved to san diego was to get away from the gray and cold of upstate new york where i grew up. it really is amazing to experience consistent 80-degree weather at the coast in late october, and it's been great for biking, or walking on the beach. if you enjoy being outside it's definitely an improvement in your quality of life. meanwhile, my hometown of albany new york had two inches of rain yesterday.

airport proposal website: sanplan

sanplan is online with information about the proposed changes to lindbergh that are being promoted by the ad hoc airport regional policy committee, led by mayor sanders. some pretty cool stuff on there, especially slide 22 of the current presentation pdf, which shows a transport center on pacific highway bringing cars, trains, trolleys and high speed rail right to the airport's new east-facing front door.

the most recent summary report states that the above center has been moved west, requiring no changes to the current i-5 on/off ramps. the next meeting of the committee is at 7:15 a.m. "in the Board Room, Commuter Terminal, 3rd Floor San Diego County Regional Airport Authority", on thursday october 30th.

balboa park obama walk sunday

there's a walk for obama event this sunday at noon at balboa park. if you're interested in taking part, email walkforobama@sbcglobal.net. come out and show san diego it's not a conservative military town anymore.

"love thy neighbor"

one of the reasons we bought a home in kensington was that it was one of the more tolerant areas in san diego. as a same-sex couple we didn't want to live somewhere where we felt unwelcome, and kensington has a significant gay community among its liberal residents. however, our block of biona drive had several houses that showed their support of the president and his unjust war by displaying bush/cheney signs four years ago. they could have shown support by sending their kids to fight in the war, but why do that when you can ship less-privileged kids off to die instead?

this year, proposition 8 has given these folks a whole new opportunity to show their true colors, and they're all the dark ones: mean spiritedness, intolerance, hypocrisy, and outright bigotry. currently, there are four "yes on proposition 8" signs on our block, more than anywhere else in kensington, as far as we can tell. now, these neighbors know they live in a community with plenty of gays - many of them married - including us right down the street. yet they have the balls to put up signs declaring their intent to permanently take away their neighbors' marriage rights.

i think we've been pretty good neighbors for the past 8 years, fixing up the house and landscaping, paying our taxes, no loud parties (ok, a couple). and looking around, i think that's the same of other gays in the neighborhood, who have improved the property values of their homes and those around them as a result. so what did we do to the "yes on 8" folks to merit this treatment? how would they like it if we voted to strip them of their marriages?

the icing on the intolerance cake comes from the assistant pastor for the rock church who moved in last year. his family has their "yes on 8" sign up, of course, and the rock is one of the biggest donors to yes on 8 in san diego. yet the bible says to "love thy neighbor", and we are literally the pastor's neighbors. we've never done a harmful thing to them. but instead of showing compassion and support to a neighbor, traits that jesus advocated, they instead show just what selfish hypocrites they are.

UPDATE, 10/27: the "yes on 8" and mccain/palin signs have been stolen, except for the "yes on 8" sign at the other end of the block. i know i wouldn't want my signs stolen, so it's unfortunate that things are coming to this.

us grant makes forbes hotel 400

the us grant was one of four san diego properties to make the forbes traveler 400, their list of the best hotels in the world. its owners, the sycuan band of kumeyaay, have dumped 56 million into it since purchasing it in 2003, and it appears to be paying off with the above honor and an award for best luxury guestroom design. it's a real jewel of downtown, on the national register of historic places, and while a room will probably set you back several hundred dollars, the grant grill restaurant offers a cheaper way to visit.

$280 million for bike network

north county times reports on the 500 mile bike network sandag has planned for the region, which will include a variety of methods to define and/or separate bicycles from road traffic. more details are available in the task report, or go to the balboa park presentation wednesday at 6 pm. i'm happy to see the bike path set for construction along the side of I-15, which will make it easier to get into mission valley.

less happy it seems are the nc times' conservative readers, who blast the project as a waste of taxpayer money in the comments after the article. anything but more lanes (and conversion of carpool lanes to solo) is unacceptable to these folks, who predicted the sprinter would be a slow motion train wreck and would pollute more than cars. now that they've been proven wrong with surging ridership due to high gas prices, it's clear they only want our transportation tax dollars to benefit themselves. i guess they're more important than shared environmental good, or folks who would use alternative modes of transportation.

cosmo square: not gonna happen

it hasn't been looking good for a while for cosmopolitan square at j and seventh - the last proposal called for the inclusion of a mondrian hotel in the condo project - and now the union tribune reports its developer has lost it to foreclosure. it's the third downtown property for simplon ballpark llc lost to bankruptcy and/or foreclosure; the other two are shown below. new owners sdg left field have ties to cisterra development, who built the diamond view office tower inside petco park. while this location could now become an office building, the UT speculates that is unlikely given the current business environment. more likely (my speculation here) the owners will sit on the property until it becomes profitable again to develop it. that's understandable, but it's still disappointing that this interesting project isn't to be, or that we'll probably be looking at the same old house for a while at the 17th and g location (next to the 94 east on-ramp):



same goes for the parking lot at the state and ash location:


meanwhile, vantage pointe at 9th/10th and a/b streets (pictured below) has topped out. it's probably one of the last major downtown condo projects to go up, and voice of san diego reported a while back it may go part rental, not the best news if you've already bought in.

twiggs between the heights

the new adams avenue location of twiggs has opened after a longer-than-expected rehab of its building. it's located at 2804 adams, a couple of blocks west of cantina mayahuel. that was convenient friday night for sobering up after downing a few of their excellent margaritas (and witnessing a woman fall on the floor after too many of the same).

a bit bright inside at night, the large space offers several tables and a few comfortable chairs and a couch. plenty of natural light during the day lights up the brightly colored walls, matched by the warm service from behind the long bar/dessert case (bereft of carrot cake friday, unfortunately) that greets you upon entry. a small outdoor patio is beyond the door on the east side and has a cozy feel, or you can watch the activity on adams from tables on the south and west sides of the building.

not to diss cafe 2121 across the street, but this "between the heights" spot really benefits from having a major cafe in the neighborhood. and another breakfast option is a good thing, with various bacon, egg and sausage biscuits and croissants on the menu. congratulations to owners bernie and dan on their successful opening.

vote no on prop 8

pictures from our wedding are popping up in the flickr widget below, so i should probably note that jay and i were married at scripps institution of oceanography on 10/5. we had planned on doing a separate ceremony at the county administration building but ended up surprising our guests by being married by our good friend "the reverend" john colvin, who had been deputized by the county. it was a really fun party on a beautiful evening overlooking the ocean, with a huge assist from waters fine catering, who provided impressive service and delicious comfort food at a fair price.

we're very grateful that marriage rights were granted to same sex couples in california during our lifetime. however, those rights will be permanently removed if proposition 8 passes next month, and it's unclear if our marriage will be voided under that scenario. the AP reported today on the resulting rush to marry in california. so if you think that your fellow (gay) citizens deserve the same rights as everyone else (and not in a separate-but-equal way), please vote no on proposition 8. and if you feel strongly about that, consider donating your time and/or money to the no on prop 8 campaign.

little italy festa

festa was this past sunday in little italy, and by the looks of the crowd size, it continues to be one of the biggest street festivals in san diego. for some reason the chalk street drawings (like the one above) were pushed all the way down to the south end, and jay said they didn't appear as impressive as in years past.

it was a spectacular day for the festa, and little italy was looking good as usual:



i didn't get to see the drawings since i got sidetracked volunteering at the obama/biden voter registration booth, which was mobbed with folks looking to beat the 10/20 registration deadline. amusingly, the mccain/palin booth was right next door, but silly me, i forgot to wear my voter registration high heels:



speaking of registrations, the long-held republican advantage in san diego county is in danger, and a big part of that is the monumental effort made by the san diego democratic club and greg bolian, who coordinates the registration work. while california should be a solid obama win, that could actually be echoed here in conservative san diego county for the first time since clinton took the county with a plurality in 92, and the first majority since... well, i couldn't find when the county has actually voted majority democrat in a presidential election, including the lyndon johnson landslide in 1964. unfortunately, county results prior to 1960 are unavailable. meanwhile, san bernardino county has gone blue.

the inevitable for jade theater

sd food buzz updates its rumor on the closing of jade theater with a confirmation. ever since it opened, we wondered how long a place could survive in that awful location at c and 7th, with hardly any pedestrian traffic around. the answer: one year. although there are plenty of scary reviews on that yelp page above, we ate there during restaurant week and it wasn't too bad. i liked the design of the place, too. it will be interesting to see what, if anything, opens in this challenging spot in an even more challenging economy.

olivetto

olivetto cafe and wine bar opened recently in the new mission hills commons development on washington. we stopped in last night for a late dinner and found it still full at nearly 9 pm. Warm woods abound at the bar and tables, with nary a tablecloth in sight, lending the place a real neighborhood feel. There's nothing casual about the service however, which was among the best in recent memory, with our very friendly server and his supporting staff checking in frequently. My seafood pasta included some heavy duty shrimp and tasty sauce, and my beet salad was quite good, including the goat cheese "wafer" that accompanied the latter. The calamari could have used a bit more flavor, and we'll have to sample the extensive wine list next time. Great atmosphere and fantastic service at this new neighborhood hangout - too bad it's the only restaurant in the new development for now, since the structure on goldfinch that will contain philippe beltran's papa nanou is still under construction.

baby steps at horton plaza

westfield has announced some planned changes to horton plaza downtown, and while it's great news to hear that the long-overdue makeover of this fortress-like mall is on the drawing board, there's not much on that board yet. the image above, showing changes to the building that faces the park fronting broadway, is about all they've shown (more images available on skyscraper page), with street-facing businesses planned. it's an improvement for sure, but there's nothing remarkable about it as currently shown.

removal of the endless ramps in the mall's interior is also slated to happen, but not anytime soon. at least they're polling customers on what they want, which apparently includes more restaurants and electronics stores - how about an apple store?



meanwhile, four new restaurants are coming to east village, helping to fill all that empty retail space in the new condo buildings around petco. el vitral (mexican cuisine, tequila lounge) goes into the schiefer building pictured here - that will really liven up j street in front of the park at petco. wine steals opens its fourth location in the kvass/legend building on 7th, while diamondview gets two new restaurants, acqua e terra (from the owners of acqua al 2 in the gaslamp) and banc, mediterranean-style cuisine. these join tilted kilt and wings pizza n things as new petco-area options.