Basic Bar & Pizza is moving to a new East Village location. (Courtesy photo) East Village dining staple Basic Bar & Pizza is vacating it’s current location after nearly two decades in operation. Take a breath, there’s good news: Basic’s rectangular, thin-pie offerings will be available at a new location shortly after it’s last day at the current spot. Essentially since the opening of Petco Park, Basic has been a premier pre- and post-game hangout for San Diego Padres baseball fans. The eatery’s address is 410 Tenth Avenue, but its open-air dining area fronts J Street, just a couple bl ..read more

Cielo Rooftop Lounge in the Gaslamp Quarter. (Facebook) Downtown resident Susan Simon says the late-night musical bombardment from a Gaslamp Quarter bar complex was maddening. The noise was so loud she’d close the windows on her unit, turn up the TV and still not be able to drown it out. Other residents at downtown condo building Meridian, primarily those who live on the Front Street side facing east, had similar complaints. “It was constant–from Wednesday through Saturday–and would last into the night past midnight,” Simon says. ”Some of the DJs at special parties were the loudest.” Noise co ..read more

Cinco de Mayo in the Gaslamp Quarter. (Courtesy photo) There are two muy grande ways to commemorate the victory of the Battle of Puebla during the French-Mexican war (no, not Mexican Independence Day): The Gaslamp Cinco de Mayo Block Fiesta and three days of a Cinco de Mayo SD Bar Crawl. Here are the details on both: Gaslamp Cinco de Mayo Block Fiesta. This free party centers on Fifth Avenue and runs from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 4. Highlights include: Five Luche Libra matches, as well as meet and greets with the wrestlers. Mariachi music, as well as Latin bands and DJs. Ball ..read more

Pandas will return to the San Diego Zoo. (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance) A pair of giant pandas are coming from China and will take up residency–again–at the San Diego Zoo as part of an ongoing conservation partnership between the two nations. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said its caretakers recently visited China to meet the giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, ahead of their planned trip to San Diego. A specific arrival date has not been set. Yun Chuan, a mild-mannered male who’s nearly 5 years old, has “deep connections” here. His mother, Zhen Zhen, was born at the San Diego Zoo i ..read more

San Diego mayoral challenger Larry Turner at an April 24 debate, sans a debate partner. (Instagram) Another brick in the Wall? Only one candidate showed up for a San Diego mayoral debate scheduled for April 24, 2024. Challenger Larry Turner was therefore given the floor and the entire debate time at the downtown University Club setting sponsored by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. An empty chair reserved for incumbent Mayor Todd Gloria occupied a spot in front the crowd. The mayor’s campaign manager says Gloria only heard about the proposed debate on social media, according to The ..read more

Body Fit Training to open in Little Italy. (Courtesy photo)  Body Fit Training (BFT), a global boutique fitness brand, is opening in Little Italy and offering discounted memberships and free classes during its grand opening weekend. A ribbon cutting will be held on Friday, May 3 at 10:30 a.m. Free classes will be offered from May 3 to 5. The gym is located at 2100 Kettner Boulevard. BFT offers 50-55 minute group strength training classes in an inclusive, multi coach-led group environment. BFT Little Italy is owned and operated by local entrepreneurs, Curtis Bielski, a ..read more

IV Doc’s downtown San Diego connection Cindy Cook. (Courtesy photo) Got a hangover, jet lag or feel a cold coming on? Downtown San Diego now has a dedicated medical practitioner who’ll do house calls primarily in the 92101 ZIP Code. East Village resident Cindy Cook is the newest member of the national IV Doc network. The private service was founded in 2013 in New York and is in at least 20 cities in the United States, with several in Europe. Cook has been a registered nurse for more than a decade and worked in an emergency room and oncology and cardiac departments. “My goal is to take care of ..read more

The San Diego Cocktail Championship is April 28. (Courtesy photo) A group of 21 San Diego County restaurants and bars will take part in the inaugural San Diego Cocktail Championship on Sunday, April 28. The event will be an outdoor San Diego block party, with guests sampling and voting for their favorite cocktail. If you can make your way to the event, be sure to say hello to San Diego Sun editor Ron Donoho. He’ll be one of the judges tasked with sampling all 21 craft cocktails. The Cocktail Championship block party is hosted by Rustic Root, Swing Social and Tiki Annex. All are on t ..read more

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria was named the local SPJ’s Wall Award recipient. (Photo by Sal Giametta) The San Diego Mayor’s office did not respond to questions from The San Diego Sun. Too often, that’s a line of journalistic due diligence inserted into local political news stories. In this case, it’s the lead. The San Diego Society of Professional Journalists gave the “Wall Award” to Mayor Todd Gloria at its annual Walls & Windows event held on April 18, 2024.  Awardees are “those in our community who have worked hard to expand the public’s right to know by fighting for transparency ..read more

Rooftop Cinema Club. (Photo by Eric Scire) Rooftop Cinema Club Embarcadero at the Manchester Grand Hyatt released its lineup through July 7 and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are pillars of the spring/summer offerings. The lineup includes nearly 200 films and special events, many of which will celebrate Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in cinema, Black music in movies and LGBTQ artists and filmmakers. May is AAPI Heritage Month and Rooftop Cinema Club will celebrate Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in cinema with showings of Moana, Everything Everywhere All At Once and Cr ..read more