Raise a glass – even a wee one – to the latest food and beverage fests in San Diego. There are two this weekend. Photo credit: Screen shot, Liquid City via YouTube This San Diego weekend, there’s art, music and street fairs, a party for a king (really!) and cocktails and cheese. What more could you want? First up, two art extravaganzas, in Balboa Park and Little Italy: Art Alive, an event in which flowers are used to represent great works of art, continues at the San Diego Museum of Art Saturday and Sunday. See installations, live performances and more with the focus on the art of India. Tick ..read more

Los Angeles Police surround students protesting in support of Palestinians at an encampment at USC. REUTERS/Zaydee Sanchez The University of Southern California said on Thursday it has called off its main-stage graduation ceremony this year, one week after canceling the valedictorian speech by a Muslim student who said she was silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred. New safety measures in place this year, such as additional screening procedures, will increase the processing time for guests “substantially,” according to an update on USC’s website. “As a result, we will not be able to host the main ..read more

María Sánchez arrives to greetings from the San Diego Sirens, a group of Wave supporters. Photo credit: @SD_Sirens via X San Diego Wave FC have acquired veteran forward and Mexican National Team star María Sánchez from the Houston Dash for cash and other considerations. Sánchez will be under contract with the Wave through the 2026 season, with a mutual option for 2027. “We are thrilled to bring María to San Diego and offer her a warm welcome to our club and community,” said San Diego Wave FC President Jill Ellis. “For club and country, María has been an integral part of every team she has been ..read more

Chuck Chaldekas. Photo by Chris Stone Chuck Chaldekas. Photo by Chris Stone Chuck Chaldekas. Photo by Chris Stone Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument. Photo by Chris Stone Chuck Chaldekas is flying with Honor Flight San Diego this weekend to see military memorials in Washington, D.C., and connect with his brotherhood. But on his mind will be a lesser-known monument in Coronado — one that honors 2,564 fallen Navy and Coast Guard members who served in Vietnam, which he thinks deserves greater national attention. The 76-year-old Coronado resident plans to meet with the director of the Vietnam Mem ..read more

White smoke billows from the end of the Oceanside Pier Thursday. Photo credit: ci.oceanside.ca.us/ Flames erupted Thursday where the Oceanside Pier juts into the ocean, sending a thick plume of smoke that could be seen for miles into the air over the coastal haven. The pier fire broke out shortly after 3 p.m., prompting a warning from the Oceanside Fire Department for residents and visitors to avoid the area. The blaze burned in a structure that once housed a Ruby’s diner on the end of the pier. The restaurant closed three years ago. Shortly before 6 p.m., Oceanside fire officials announced th ..read more

A downcast Wandy Peralta tried to get back on track in the eighth inning, to no avail. Photo credit: Screen shot, mlb.com/padres The Padres, up by five after the top of the eighth inning Thursday, came thisclose to leaving Colorado having taken three of four from the Rockies. But then the bottom of the inning happened, and the Friars had to settle for a split at Coors Field after a 10-9 loss. The Rockies put six on the board in the bottom of the eighth, after Yuki Matsui gave up a double and a walk and manager Mike Shildt pulled him for Wandy Peralta, who carried an impressive .150 ERA into th ..read more

The crime-riddled area the operation focused on, at 16th and K streets. Photo credit: Screen shot, Google Street View An East Village “open-air drug market” that prosecutors say operated under gang control is the subject of grand jury indictments returned this week against 51 people. The charges, for crimes ranging from drug sales to weapons offenses, stem from an investigation into the area surrounding 16th and K streets, where officials say police were called to respond around 56,000 times over a period of two years. Nearly 6,200 of those calls were for “violent acts” such as shootings, stab ..read more

Austin Spirz. Phoro credit: Screen shot, NBCSan Diego.com A man who struck and killed a motorcyclist in Campo last Thanksgiving and fled the scene has pleaded guilty to hit-and-run causing death, among other charges. Gary Baker, 46, of Campo, admitted Wednesday in El Cajon court to causing the death of Austin Spirz, 26, who family members say was a father of three young daughters. Spirz died at the scene of the 5:30 p.m. crash, which happened on Sheridan Road near Custer Road. The California Highway Patrol said a Jeep heading west drifted across the double yellow lines and crashed into the vic ..read more

Federal courthouse in downtown San Diego. Photo by Chris Stone A former executive who prosecutors say stole more than $400,000 from a nonprofit pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal wire fraud charge. Katherine Lu Acquista, 47, of Escondido, who previously served as the director of operations and accounting at the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, used her access to bank accounts, credit cards, checkbook and payroll system to siphon money from the organization, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors allege the thefts were concealed through false entries Acquista ..read more

San Ysidro Port of Entry. Photo credit: OnScene.TV A Baja California state police officer who tried to drive through the San Ysidro Port of Entry in a drug-laden vehicle pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal drug count. Victor Alfonso Moreno-Mejia, 35, who Mexican officials said had been an officer for seven years, was arrested last September with around 100 pounds of cocaine in his car. A criminal complaint states Moreno-Mejia’s vehicle was inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, who discovered 35 packages hidden in the driver’s seat, passenger seat and rear seats. According ..read more