Articles by Emma Goda

Photo credit: Jonathan Tarr Foundation Back in 1998, Jonathan Tarr was only seventeen years old when he died in a car accident.  In direct response, the Jonathan Tarr Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in Jonathan's memory, and is helping under-served students throughout the community in San Diego.  The fund was set up originally for a four year period, but with the generous donations it enabled the foundation to continue. In 2001, The Jonathan Tarr Foundation was established as a fully ...

It is that time of year again when we get together with our friends and family to partake in the utmost of holiday activities - eating. How does one decide on who will be cooking? As the stress of cooking for the many guests over the holidays can be rather stressful. To help ease the tension out of holiday cooking, several places throughout San Diego are offering holiday cooking classes to help you prepare for the holidays. Cups Culinary Teaching Kitchen in La Jolla specializes in organic cupca...

Formerly the Fleetwood in downtown San Diego, Blind Burro will be opening up its doors in East Village with a Baja style feel and menu. Blind Burro, which is a concept of the Good Time Design group - of whom also started The Wavehouse, Bubs, Knotty Barrel, and many more around the city. Blind Burro will include two bars and a restaurant and in the back, as well as  external bar - called Cat Eye Club - which will have a 50s and 60s type of feel. Blind Burro's strong suit will be specialty craft c...

Every year we anticipate one of the largest events of the year in Balboa Park -December Nights. It is an exciting two-night event that brings together over 300,000 visitors to enjoy the festival starting this Friday December 7, which will continue until Saturday, December 8.  December Nights is now entering its thirty-fifth consecutive year in Balboa Park and is the community’s’ largest free event. It was originally started back in 1978, and was formerly known as Christmas on the Prado, which wa...

Taylor Guitars has been a part of San Diego since 1974. Started by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug, the two have made themselves a household name throughout the world. The Taylor Guitar factory is headquartered in El Cajon, CA, and allows San Diegans and visitors alike to view their manufacturing process, which is a world class operation.  Taylor Guitars started with  a $10,000 loan from friends and family, and though they struggled for many years to get on their feet, now have over 800 retail locati...

The  Horton Plaza Westfield Mall broke ground on November 29 for restoration purposes. These renovations will create a central gathering space, and restore the existing park and fountain that are a historic part of Horton Plaza Park. The Horton Plaza Westfield Mall is a public-private partnership between the City of San Diego, Civic San Diego, and Westfield moving this project forward. "Today we embark on a project that will create an iconic multi-use space for visitors and residents from throu...

Many in San Diego have heard of Mama's Kitchen, but how much does one know about what they are doing in San Diego, as well as the history behind them?  Laurie Leonard had been volunteering at a local pantry for people living with AIDS, and started noticing that they were not able to shop for themselves. Leonard decided to start Mama's Kitchen back in 1990, leasing a kitchen in the bottom of a church basement in order to help prepare and deliver home-cooked meals for people who are suffering from...

Saltbox, located in the Hotel Palomar, is serving up deliciously crafted cocktails and a sexy atmosphere for San Diegans. Nominally a "gastro-lounge," that was started September 2011, Saltbox was formerly Sweet and Tender located in the  Se Hotel. The Kimpton Hotel bought out Se Hotel and established Hotel Palomar, Saltbox's new residence. The gastro-lounge was created to give San Diegans a change from the normal high end dinners at hotels by providing a stellar happy hour from 4-7pm, which inc...

A new company is emerging in San Diego called Purely Dorset Duvets, which is originally from New Zealand and is being brought to the United States by three San Diego State MBA graduates by their company Global Pacific Ventures, Inc. which was formed by three partners in the MBA program.  They are Roberto Ramirez, Rolando Avellan, and Hai La-Thai.  This team began to work together as consultants for their business in the Global Environment course to provide insight and recommended strategies for ...