Crews continued to douse a major fire at the end of the Oceanside Pier on Friday, April 26, as community and regional leaders pledged to get the damaged portion rebuilt as soon as possible. The fire, which started the day before somewhere around the restaurant space that once held Ruby’s Diner, spread quickly but was contained to that portion of the pier, authorities said. While the restaurant space and end of the pier, called the hammerhead, were a total loss, the vast majority of the structure was undamaged. “I would say the damage at the end of the pier — probably the last 5% we call the ha ..read more

Smoke from a significant fire at the Oceanside Pier could be seen throughout North San Diego County as crews worked to extinguish the blaze during the late afternoon Thursday, April 25. A 6 p.m. update from Oceanside city officials stated that the fire was contained and that crews would remain on site through the night. The fire broke out at about 3 p.m. at the end of the pier where the empty Ruby’s Diner space is located. The restaurant spaces, as well as the pier structure itself, are damaged. The cause of the fire was not yet known. No injuries were reported, according to the city, and pers ..read more

Cococabana Rooftop Bar in Oceanside, Union Kitchen & Tap in Encinitas and Monarch Ocean Pub in Del Mar are among 21 San Diego County bars and restaurants facing off in the inaugural San Diego Cocktail Championship through the end of April. Patrons can visit participating establishments and vote on their drink creations now through April 28, when the competition culminates in a block party, hosted by Rustic Root, Swing Social and Tiki Annex, in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter along Fifth Avenue from Market Street to Island Avenue. Cococabana’s cocktail for the San Diego Cocktail Championship is ..read more

A historic local surf shop, community garden nonprofit, doctor and student were the recipients of Encinitas environmental stewardship awards on Wednesday, April 17. The awards, presented annually by the city’s Environmental Commission, were presented at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. Excellence in Environmental Stewardship Awards for 2023 went to Hansen Surfboards and the Encinitas Community Garden as local business and nonprofit recipients. City officials noted Hansen’s affiliation with nonprofit Plastic Beach’s recycling program to encourage responsible recycling of plastic wrap waste. “I ..read more

Oceanside and Carlsbad will share more than $11 million to help move homeless residents out of encampments and into housing through a state grant program, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday, April 18. The funding comes as communities throughout California struggle to solve the ongoing challenge of homeless camps in public areas. The Oceanside-Carlsbad partnership is the only San Diego County applicant to receive a slice of about $192 million in Encampment Resolution Fund money. Oceanside, in partnership with Carlsbad, will receive $11.4 million total. The grants are administered by the Calif ..read more

Oceanside and Vista joined other North San Diego County cities this month in an alternative network to supply energy to their residents. The Clean Energy Alliance — which now includes Oceanside and Vista in addition to Carlsbad, Solana Beach, Del Mar, San Marcos and Escondido — supplies energy using alternative resources while still utilzing SDG&E lines. Oceanside and Vista joined CEA as of April 1, with the cities’ residents automatically enrolled in the public entity’s Clean Impact Plus option, which offers 50% renewable and 75% carbon-free power, according to CEA’s website. “We’re honor ..read more

I can’t recall if she went by “Lizard” or “Lizzard.” It doesn’t really matter at the moment. What matters is what I recall about Elizabeth, a student colleague who was a year ahead of me at San Dieguito High School when we were on The Mustang student newspaper staff. I recall her having a dry sense of humor and a no-nonsense approach to doing things. I remember snippets like how she signed her nickname on a news staff planning document, something I believe I still have in storage somewhere among my old high school paperwork. Or the time we had an end-of-semester gathering, and the dinner host ..read more

Back in 1985 when I was in charge of publicity and historical archives at the venerable Hotel del Coronado, I had a somewhat unplanned event occur that had historic impact and importance. I had invited San Diego television newsman Jack White to review the posh dinner menu at the hotel’s high-end Prince of Wales Grill, where a steak cost more than 25 bucks an entree — a lot of money at that time. Now, for those who don’t know it, the late KGTV Channel 10 news anchor not only was a class act as a news reporter, but he was a master magician as well. Over the years, I watched him mesmerize audienc ..read more

A recent uptick in fatal train collisions in San Diego County is raising alarm bells for city and law enforcement officials. The number of deadly incidents along the rails has spiked this year, renewing concerns over access to mental health services for people at risk of suicide. In the first three months of 2024, there were 10 fatal collisions in San Diego County. Eight of these were on the stretch of coastal tracks from Del Mar up to Oceanside. Four of them were in Encinitas and Carlsbad. For comparison, there were a total of 12 fatal collisions in 2023, according to data from the North Coun ..read more

Rite Aid drugstores will leave Encinitas entirely in the coming weeks, according to an updated closures list filed in an ongoing bankruptcy case. The store, at 439 Santa Fe Drive in Cardiff across the street from Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, is closing its pharmacy by April 17, according to a Rite Aid employee. A liquidation sale is underway through May 16. The first closure occurred at the end of last August when the Rite Aid location on Manchester Avenue in Olivenhain was shuttered. It preceded the closures of several locations in the region, and more nationwide, as Rite Aid entered ..read more