Del Mar is just full of fun & games
The historic house of rocks at 15th and Luneta in Del Mar is no longer a bed-and-breakfast. It’s the private home of developer and rain forest preservationist Ivan Gayler. But the big old sign still hangs out front proclaiming it “The Rock Haus.” And neighbors are having fun with that. On a home across the street from “The Rock Haus,” hangs a sign proclaiming it “The Paper-Scissors Haus.”
Political sandbox: Despite some polls showing him running behind San Diego’s three other mayoral candidates, Nathan Fletcher has been reserving his fire almost exclusively for one of them: Carl DeMaio. A new strategy aimed at knocking out the front-runner? Fletcher’s team says no, he’s just been responding to misrepresentations of his record by DeMaio. Whoever started it, the rhetoric is becoming increasingly hostile. In a March 8 posting on the San Diego Rostra website, Fletcher says, “Let’s not play adolescent games and be cowardly about it.” He’s referring to an anonymous package reportedly sent to local GOP organizations belittling Fletcher’s ratings with taxpayer groups and his liberal position on sexual orientation and family values. DeMaio campaign director Ryan Clumpner says if Fletcher has a problem with his “abysmal scores from third-party organizations” he should take it up with them. As for the matter of sexual orientation, there’s irony. Fletcher, who’s straight, says it’s not the role of government to “impose our moral values.” DeMaio, who’s gay, says the mayor shouldn’t be involved in gay-rights issues. Tune in tomorrow.
A big hit: When Gary Petill awoke at 2 a.m. the other night to the sound of his car alarm, he feared the worst. He was right. Out front of his South Park home, he discovered a giant dent in the side of his Toyota van, and “a huge guy, 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, at least,” staggering on down the street, singing blithely. Drunk driver? Hit-and-run? No, says Petill. Drunk pedestrian. Hit-and-walk.
So they say: A notice from the San Diego Opera about a March 24th benefit concert by renowned soprano Renee Fleming says she’s known as “The People’s Diva.” “What ‘people,’” asks Bob Hawkins, “are they talking about?” Ticket prices peak at $1,000 each . . . Part-time San Diegan Marion Ross reunites with her “Happy Days” costar Henry Winkler March 16 in a St. Patrick’s Day episode of “Handy Manny,” the Disney Channel TV series . . . The 15th annual Humane Society/SPCA Telethon steps up to the big time this year. For the first time, it will air during prime time (Channel 8) on St. Patrick’s Day . . . San Diego’s Steve Albrecht is quoted in the March issue of Esquire magazine. The subject: “What people don’t know about cops.” Albrecht, an HR consultant who worked for SDPD from 1984 to 1999, should know it all.
Unsung hero: The man sitting next to play-by-play announcer Ted Leitner during the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament is the genuine old pro. He’s Mike McGregor, who’s celebrating his 51st year in radio this month and 44th year of continuous broadcasting in San Diego, likely the longevity record in local radio. He came to KDEO in 1968 and started his first producer-engineer duties for Chargers and Aztecs games that year. But McGregor hasn’t forgotten his humble beginnings. His first gig was at ABC-TV holding cue cards (before teleprompters) for Lawrence Welk and Dean Martin.
Breaking news: Those of you who caught the news in the blogosphere last week and phoned to ask me if it was true San Diego’s mayor had been fired for poor job performance: True enough, but not the whole story. The mayor was Joe Olivera, of San Diego, Texas, population 4,400.