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700 gallons of used oil found in Otay Mesa

By Mike Madriaga On the morning of July 12, workers in the Otay Mesa area called the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to check on an abandoned, white-colored, Isuzu flatbed truck that contained about 700 gallons of used motor oil. “[It’s] a truck leaking what appeared to be motor oil, leaking possibly into the storm drain,” […]

2 days ago

Why Vespa theft in San Diego now?

By Mike Madriaga On June 2, the San Diego Police Department Facebooked a photo of a stolen red moped. “A community member notified us of a man parking a moped and then running away, which [the man who reported it] thought was suspicious,” SDPD captioned the photo in part. “After tracking down the registered owner, […]

3 days ago

Blue Frida Kahlo house southwest of San Diego State draws comments

By Mike Madriaga A day or so before June 24, an anonymous person living by the El Cerrito neighborhood enclosed a hand-written letter in an envelope that read “Why?” and “my gosh …. how sad,” — poking fun at the owner of a “bright Frida Kahlo blue color” painted home. On June 24, the owner […]

3 days ago

San Diego skate parks rule Tokyo

By Mike Madriaga North County athletes are sendin’ it from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games — including Bryce Wettstein, Jordyn Barratt, Cory Juneau, and Heimana Reynolds. Per their Olympic Games’ profiles, Bryce Wettstein, who is 17, was born and still resides in Encinitas; Barratt is 22 and dwells in Oceanside; Juneau, 22, was born in […]

4 days ago

Second person killed in Pershing Drive bike lane

By Mike Madriaga On September 28, City of San Diego personnel installed reflective bollards along Pershing Drive by the Balboa Park Golf Course across the street from the Morley Field Golf Disc Course by North Park. “The dividers went up the week [and three days] after the scooter incident,” Mary Garton said to me on […]

2 weeks ago

San Diego bike thefts soar

By Mike Madriaga “In 2020, 243 stolen bikes were reported to us, and ten were recovered,” he continued, “then, in 2021, 332 stolen bikes were reported to us, and it’s only October; 14 were reported recovered. These are our internal numbers showing results for a 25-mile radius around San Diego.” The nonprofit organization’s website and […]

3 weeks ago

240SX up in flames

By Mike Madriaga On September 16, a person who wore a dark-colored hoodie and carried a red-colored gas container walked up to Mervynn Fernandez’s 1990 Nissan 240SX near the Paradise Valley neighborhood on Dillard Street. “He poured gas on it and lit it on fire at 2:50 a.m.,” Fernandez said to me on September 26. […]

3 weeks ago

Teledyne touts San Diego and Chula Vista cop drones

By Mike Madriaga “I found your third suspect,” said Elias Rodriguez from the San Diego Police Department. “There’s a patrol unit parked on the [805] freeway with the flashers on. He’s between you and Franklin, midway up the hill hiding in the treeline.” Rodriguez, a tactical flight officer, was about 1386 feet above the Imperial […]

1 month ago

Were the crashes at Sycamore Den and Manhattan Club DUIs?

By Mike Madriaga On August 26, a driver of a yellow Kia Rio crashed into a tree in front of Top Gun Wash & Groom on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. “I had just crossed the street,” Jonathan Conklin explained to me via DM on September 4. “So, if I were 15 seconds slower in […]

2 months ago

Private train car “The America” broken into last week

By Mike Madriaga Over a week ago, a man broke into a private train car, which former President John F. Kennedy allegedly traveled in. It was parked at the Santa Fe Depot train station. “We attempted to speak to him, but he refused and went back into the railroad car,” posted the San Diego Police […]

2 months ago

Karol G in “Spotlight”

By Mike Madriaga The palabra within the off-road community is that reggaeton star Karol G has brought some new fans and racers into off-roadin’ culture. “I think it’s awesome that more women are getting involved in off-roading,” said Yolie Stover, who has covered the off-road racing scene since the ’90s, when Karol G was birthed […]

4 months ago

Becky G

By Mike Madriaga The original story was published in the print edition of the San Diego Reader on June 24, 2021[/caption]Throughout the month of June, pop-rapper and reggaeton songstress Becky G has tweeted and TikTokked while “drippin’” with Dime Optics, the sunglass/eyeglass brand she signed on with during the pandemic. Some ‘90s hip-hop heads say […]

4 months ago

Popeyes’ Lemon Grove success – and its detractors

By Mike Madriaga This month, those who live in Lemon Grove were soured by the grand opening of a Popeyes restaurant. “Just two days open has already made it impossible to navigate the parking lot by Bank of America, as the [Popeyes] drive-thru line extends into the narrow exit onto Central!” exclaimed Charlie on our […]

5 months ago

Asking $1200 for two Chargers stadium seats

By Mike Madriaga On May 29, wellsready2fish, a local eBay seller, sold a concrete chunk from the recently demolished SDCCU stadium — for $15. The online seller sold a different concrete chunk a week prior titled “San Diego Jack Murphy Qualcomm Stadium …. Souvenir Authentic” for $10. “So happy to have this little chunk representing […]

5 months ago

Norman Powell signs sneaker deal with AND1

By Mike Madriaga A sense of elation followed by pride broke out among San Diego hip-hoppers and sneakerheads last month when Lincoln High alumnus, Norman Powell, signed a sneaker deal with AND1. “Powell is currently the only San Diego-born player with his own shoe,” said local hip-hop head and sneaker dealer Dante Rowley. “Powell signing […]

6 months ago

Redefining Media

Mike Madriaga is an award-winning multimedia journalist who has created content for various media outlets, including newspapers, television, magazines, radio stations, and blogs.

Mike is a writer, photographer, videographer, reporter, social-media editor, and video editor. In 2017-2021, his Mike Madriaga byline was attributed to over 400 articles worldwide.

With society’s demand for instant gratification at its fingertips, Mike has the knowledge and experience to document an event or subject and create a professional and timely multimedia package for your audience.

700 gallons of used oil found in Otay Mesa

Why Vespa theft in San Diego now?

San Diego skate parks rule Tokyo

San Diego bike thefts soar

240SX up in flames

Teledyne touts San Diego and Chula Vista cop drones

Were the crashes at Sycamore Den and Manhattan Club DUIs?

Private train car “The America” broken into last week

Karol G in “Spotlight”

Becky G

Popeyes’ Lemon Grove success – and its detractors

Asking $1200 for two Chargers stadium seats

Norman Powell signs sneaker deal with AND1