VOLUME 2 ISSUE 21


October 15-28, 2010


OLD TOWN • MISSION HILLS • HILLCREST TERROR P. 8


BANKERS HILL • UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS • NORTH PARK • SOUTH PARK • GOLDEN HILL • NORMAL HEIGHTS • KENSINGTON • TALMADGE


WiFi and internet take over the social scene at coffeehouses


Old Town offers spooky and spirited fun all the way to Halloween.


BEVERAGE P. 11


DOUBLE SHOTS LAPTOPS


AND


By Catherine Spearnak SDUN Reporter


Fall means fresh hops in hometown beers.


FILM P. 16


Uptown Partnership funding severely reduced


City could dissolve organization if rapid reforms not made By Pat Sherman


SDUN Assistant Editor In the wake a stinging grand jury


report, the San Diego City Coun- cil has sent Uptown Partnership a strong message—voting to approve only three months of funding for the agency instead of its usual one-year contract. The nonprofit Uptown Partnership


Sam Rockwell must count on his sister to overturn his “Conviction.”


MUSIC P. 21


Janet Shih takes advantage of a quiet Sunday afternoon to study at Lestat’s, 3343 Adams Ave. (Courtesy Ron Sanchez)


O Heights. She is studying.


Andrew Belle’s music goes from TV teen dramas to live onstage at Anthology next month.


Index


Uptown Briefs……………2 Pet of the Week…………9 Opinion…………………6 Dr. Ink…………………10 What's Up!……………15 Going Slow……………19 Puzzles…………………20


Contact Us Editorial/Letters


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Sales and Marketing 619-519-7775 ext 108 miker@sduptownnews.com


Janet’s earphones block the music outside and her laptop erases the view of the painted- white street performer Angelique on a plat- form near the huge window of LeStat’s. Janet, 21, and her friends come here often to study. “It’s the only place in San Diego I know that is open 24 hours a day, so it’s really conve- nient,” said the UCSD cognitive medicine major. WiFi, laptops and studying are changing


n a hot Sunday during the Adams Avenue Street Fair, Janet Shih is virtually the only soul in the comfort- able LeStat’s coffeehouse in Normal


the atmosphere of the San Diego coffeehouse scene.


“Once upon a time, LeStat’s was very social. Like a bar without any alcohol,” said Joseph Johnston, LeStat’s longtime manager. “But about two years ago the college crowd moved in, and along with it came a sea of laptops.” At one time, Johnston said, customers were hanging out and talking at LeStat’s because they were looking for something to do. Now the college crowd takes advantage of WiFi, which is free at LeStat’s, 3343 Adams Ave. between 33rd


and Felton.


“A lot of students can’t afford WiFi at home, so see Wifi, page 10


LGBT community loses a longtime voice


San Diego’s longest-running LGBT publication, the weekly Gay & Lesbian Times, ceased publication earlier this month. The newsmagazine’s last issue was published on Sept. 30.


Though its last issue was published online, it did not appear on newsstands as scheduled Oct. 7. GLT staff were noti- fied Oct. 8 that they were being laid off indefinitely. The paper, which launched in Janu-


ary of 1988, served as the LGBT paper of record in San Diego for more than two decades. The GLT chronicled the election and ascent of San Diego’s first openly gay elected officials and the


see GLT, page 20


has been barraged with criticism from community members who question the way the group has managed park- ing meter revenues in Hillcrest, Mis- sion Hills, Park West, Bankers Hill and Five Points, where Washington and India streets meet. Since incorporating in 1999, Up-


town Partnership has received 45 per- cent of the $1.9 million in annual me- ter revenues the city collects in those communities. The county grand jury report found that, during that time, the partnership spent about three times more on operating expenses than on tangible projects, creating fewer than 50 new parking spaces. In voting to accept the short-term


funding, the group’s board of directors issued three-month notices to its staff members. “I don’t want to see anyone lose


their jobs,” said City Councilmember Todd Gloria, who proposed the three- month contract. However, noting his constituents’ much-publicized dissatisfaction with the “size of Uptown Partnership’s overhead relative to the projects that have been completed,” Gloria said a reduction in staff or pay cuts may be


see Partnership, page 6


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