Longtime map seller gets routed to the exit
Aug. 27 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Not that long ago, a well-provisioned life required a few good maps.
More than just a crumb-covered zoo map and a dog-eared Thomas Guide. More than those accordion-style road maps that turn into an IQ test when you fold them.
More Gerry Braun Columns
Aug. 24 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Suit over; bully gets booted out of her life: “Gerry Congratulations!” the e-mail began. “You accomplished what you wanted.”
Aug. 20 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
United full of excuses, but family gets relief: Someone at United Airlines has a heart after all. But don't go looking for it at the corporate offices.
Aug. 17 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Waterfront proposal is taken to next level: San Diego's leaders are often accused of thinking small. That's never been Richard Chase's problem.
Aug. 13 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Bad airline stories are nothing like this: As I watch the Olympics this week, my thoughts keep turning to Anita Cabral of Spring Valley, though she is not an Olympian, or even an athlete.
Aug. 10 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Booze ban at beaches offers up two images: It's a paradox that's been applied to a glass of water, to a keg of beer, and now to San Diego's beaches.
Aug. 6 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Outsource initiative has morbid first outing: Robert Richeson does a job most people wouldn't care to watch. Yesterday, for instance, he drove into University City, grabbed a pitchfork and plastic bag from his truck, and carried away a dead possum. Then he was off to Ocean Beach, in search of skunk.
July 30 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Motorcycle risks may outweigh the reward: As gas prices soar, so does the allure of the motorcycle. And why not?
July 27 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Starbucks' exit from complex a step back: These are sad times, I'm sure, at each of the 600 Starbucks stores that will be closed in the coming year.
July 23 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Taking note of parade and suit by firefighters: Mark Tonai arrived for work on Saturday ready to have a good time. And why not? How tough can it be to drive a fire engine in a parade?
July 20 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Trickling drinking fountains are all wet: Maybe it's because I'm three-fifths water myself, but lately I've been thinking a lot about the wet stuff.
July 16 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Mayoral sidekick a dogged defender: Every day for the past 32 months, Fred Sainz has woken up with this singular thought: “What can I do today to make Mayor Jerry Sanders look good?”
July 6 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Perhaps an explanation for unused golf tickets: Once again, controversy surrounds the San Diego City Council and its cavalier attitude toward the free tickets it receives to taxpayer-subsidized sports events.
July 2 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Fair gets a dressing down for icon's outfit: An old editor of mine telephoned last month with one last assignment. “Go check out the statue,” Gary Mortenson told me. “See if they haven't dressed it up again.”
June 22 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Take down campaign signs, you scofflaws: I'm worried about Garry Haehnle, who was just elected to the Superior Court bench. My fear is that, come January, once Haehnle is sworn in, he'll be assigned a big case – say, a murder trial – and won't be able to seat a jury.
June 18 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Fisherman goes up the food chain for answer: Growing up in Ukraine, back when it was a part of the Soviet Union, Valeriy Vernik learned to dread his encounters with obstinate bureaucracies.
June 15 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
18 holes (miniature ones) with the mayor: A tourist from Arizona stopped me as I left the golf course last week, wanting to know who I'd been playing against.
June 11 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Aguirre's chances of winning? Let's count: Nobody wants to be a party pooper, but hear me out, folks: It's way too early to be dancing on the grave of City Attorney Michael Aguirre.
June 8 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
The lows and highs of latest election: I watched the ads, I read the mail, I stayed awake through the debates (most of them anyway) and, undeterred, I voted.
June 4 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Election's conclusion deserves big sign-off: “What do we do now?” The terrific election movie “The Candidate” closes on that question from Robert Redford, playing a novice politician who's just won a U.S. Senate race. He and his campaign manager are in a hotel room, with a pack of journalists waiting outside.
June 1 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Starbucks' early logo has critic piping hot: For the record, I very much doubt that a Satanic cabal is plotting world domination. (Though I may reconsider if gas hits $6.66 a gallon.)
May 28 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Candidate wouldn't go along with the script: Of all the boneheaded campaign stunts. What in the world possessed Jerry Sanders' campaign manager to think he could play ventriloquist to a revolutionary?
May 25 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Probation in gun crime no reason to throw party: People who know James Kevin Tillory say he's someone they can count on in tough times. They say there isn't a machine he can't fix, or a home repair he hasn't mastered, or a favor he won't do for a friend.
May 21 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Her pluck is a lesson in facing adversity: So how has 2008 been working out for you? Gas prices making you angry? The Padres got you bummed? Tired of listening to people complain about the housing market?
May 18 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Vanishing breed loses another to retirement: His name, Blue Fogg, easily conjures up images of a pirate captain or a Wild West saloonkeeper or a disc jockey from the '60s.
