START MONDAY WITH GOOD NEWS / MERCY SHIPS: FLOATING HOSPITALS

Founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens, MercyShips.org is a humanitarian organization headquartered in Garden Valley (near Tyler), Texas. Its mission is as bold as it is simple: bring world-class surgical care directly to nations where access to safe surgery remains a luxury. 

Operating entirely on donations and volunteer service, Mercy Ships deploys fully equipped hospital ships to African ports, transforming harbors into floating medical centers.   

Each ship is a self-sustaining community. The Africa Mercy, a converted ferry launched in 2007, houses five operating rooms, an 82-bed recovery ward, laboratories, and accommodations for more than 400 crew members. The Global Mercy, commissioned in 2021, is the organization’s first purpose-built hospital ship. With six operating rooms and capacity for nearly a thousand people, it stands as the world’s largest civilian hospital ship.   

Life aboard these vessels is as challenging as it is purposeful. Volunteers—surgeons, nurses, engineers, teachers, cooks, and deckhands—sign on for months at a time. They share compact cabins, work long shifts, and take meals together in common dining halls. Many bring their families; schools on board ensure children continue their education while their parents serve. The environment is communal, international, and deeply mission-driven.   

Mercy Ships deployments, known as “field services,” typically last eight to ten months and occur only after an official invitation from a host nation. Advance teams work with local ministries of health to prepare for arrival. Once docked, surgeries begin immediately. Tumor removals, cleft palate repairs, orthopedic corrections, and cataract procedures are performed on board, while dental and eye clinics operate onshore. 

Deck officers aboard the Mercy Ship “Global Mercy” take a brief pause on duty. These maritime professionals help keep the hospital ship safely crewed and seaworthy as it delivers free surgical care along the African coast. 

Equally important are the training programs—local surgeons, anesthetists, and nurses learn techniques that strengthen their national health systems long after the ship departs.   

In 2024 alone, Mercy Ships completed 4,746 surgical operations and more than 13,000 dental treatments. With Global Mercy now fully operational, the fleet is expected to serve more than 1,500 surgical patients annually, expanding both reach and impact.   

The World Health Organization estimates that five billion people lack access to safe, affordable surgical care. In some African nations, nine out of ten who need an operation cannot obtain one. 

Mercy Ships does not claim to solve this crisis—but it bridges an immense gap, one patient and one surgery at a time.   

For the volunteers, it is a voyage of skill and spirit. 

For the patients, it is often a passage from despair to recovery. 

And for those who watch these ships sail, emblazoned with the promise of healing, it is proof that compassion can still chart a course across any sea. 

SUNDAY REVIEW / PSYCHOLOGY TODAY PH.D CALLS AUTHOR DAN BROWN'S NEW THRILLER FAST PACED, FUN READ BUT ...

DON'T BELIEVE THE SCIENCE BEHIND "THE SECRET OF SECRETS" 

 GUEST BLOG / By Betsy Holmberg, PH.d writing in Psychology Today Magazine--Dan Brown’s latest thriller, The Secret of Secrets, follows neuroscientist Katherine Solomon as she reports how low GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system, expands consciousness. She states in her research that low levels of GABA enable things like telepathy, remote viewing, and more. She explains that on our deathbeds, we experience a precipitous drop in GABA, revealing to us what lies beyond. Her science leads to a mind-bending cat-and-mouse chase around the most beautiful parts of Prague. 

It is a fun and riveting read. 

But is it real? 

Does lowering GABA levels open the aperture of awareness so we can sense a greater connection to each other and all that this universe is? Like everything Dan Brown writes, it sounds very convincing. And exciting! But unfortunately, the science is wrong. 

GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, is a neurotransmitter that hyperpolarizes neurons. GABA mutes neurons, so they are less likely to fire. This produces a calming effect on the brain, helping to reduce stress and anxiety and improve sleep. 

Our thoughts are also affected by GABA levels. We have two thought networks: first, the default mode network (DMN), which is our internal, automatic network (aka the thoughts that make up our inner monologue), and second, the central executive network (CEN), which is the network we use when we focus on something. For example, when you are in an anxiety spiral and your thoughts are spiraling, you’re listening to your DMN. When you write an email and think through what you want to say, you are using your CEN. 

Increased GABA levels correlate with deactivation of the DMN. It helps us turn off our inner monologue so that we can focus better on external tasks and the world around us. 

Therefore, low GABA levels don’t lead to expanded consciousness—they actually make us more internally focused. Low GABA makes it impossible to turn off our negative self-talk. When individuals are low in GABA, they tend to experience symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, depression, and even suicidality. 

If what you are reading now this leads you to think, “I want more GABA!” Here are a few actions you can take: 

1. Eat foods rich in GABA or its precursors. Do a quick search online, and you will find lots of healthy food options that are rich in GABA or its precursor, glutamate, such as spinach, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. 

2. Increase your vitamin B6 intake. B6 is an essential vitamin for converting glutamate into GABA, and many of us do not get enough B vitamins. Supplementation can help us round out our dietary needs. 

3. Limit alcohol intake. Alcohol can interfere with GABA-A receptors, making them less effective. 

Relatedly, the thought network literature shows that regular alcohol use leads to increased functional connectivity in the DMN, probably in part caused by impairments in GABA activation. 

 It is a thrilling concept to think that modulating a neurotransmitter could lead to greater awareness and perception. Unfortunately, the science is not there to support it. 

Like the rest of his works, Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets is an incredibly fun romp. He does a wonderful job bringing to life real cultural and historical places. 

Unfortunately, the science he shares in this work is not as real as the history. 

***

CRITICAL SNAPSHOTS —

The Guardian--“Weapons-grade nonsense from beginning to end — but irresistible for Brown devotees.” 

Washington Post--Brown “clearly had fun writing this,” and the energy carries the book, even through “corny dialogue and cosmic overreach.” 

Los Angeles Times--“A dense thriller that doubles as a meditation on consciousness … you’ll want to clear your schedule and just read.” 

New York Times--“A wistful testament to the power of the printed word.” Ingenious plotting and pacing, though “hyperactive prose” keeps it from Da Vinci-level resonance. 

Kirkus Reviews--“Fast, vivid, and occasionally over-explained.” Commends settings and drive; sighs at “info-dump” detours. 

The Telegraph (UK)--“A ludicrous fantasy full of laughable writing — yet oddly fun if you don’t take it seriously.” 

The Times (UK)--“Fond of cliché, hyperbole, and mixed metaphors … the first half is fun enough before it drifts into new-age fog.” 

The Independent (UK)--“Unavoidably silly, but Brown embraces the silliness with verve — thrillers, not high literature.” 

 Le Monde (France)--Notes a shift from rationalism to mysticism: “Langdon becomes a believer.” Warns fiction and pseudoscience blur at times. 

Bookreporter--“Another instant classic” that “packages complex ideas into page-turning accessibility.” 

Book Marks (Aggregator)--Overall verdict: Mixed. Critics agree on brisk pacing; divide over whether the ride justifies the noise.

PillartoPost.org online daily magazine style blog--We agree with Los Angeles Times, Kirkus Reviews and (UK) Times.  And, we ask author Brown when will he add a Cast of Characters list to help pull us out of "new age fog."  He does provide a map of Prague, however.

COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS / CAFE SANTO AN ENDURING BLESSING IN LA'S EAST SIDE

520 W Whittier Boulevard, Montebello, CA 

When Culinary Backstreets profiled Café Santo in 2022, it read like a love letter to a project just finding its footing. Marlon Gonzales and his partner Pilar Castañeda had finally brought their Oaxacan-inspired pop-up into a permanent home at Montebello’s BLVD Market. They wanted to offer more than caffeine—they wanted community, culture, and craft. Three years later, Café Santo is still pouring strong, and the vision has held. 

The first impression hasn’t changed much: white walls, spare décor softened by potted cacti and hand-drawn graphics from Oaxacan artists. The space feels curated but not sterile, a little gallery with an espresso machine at its heart. Instagram in 2025 shows the café as bright as ever, with that same minimalist warmth. It remains the market’s most inviting street-facing tenant, coaxing customers off Whittier Boulevard into a space that feels both local and international. 

The coffee continues to be the backbone of Café Santo. Gonzales still works with trusted collaborators like Casa Tostadora in Boyle Heights, sourcing beans and dialing in roast profiles that reflect his Oaxacan roots. Patrons today rave about the Oaxacan mocha, a deep chocolate-coffee hybrid that bridges two traditions with elegance. Yelp reviews from this summer note consistently strong espresso work, even if some find the prices edging toward upscale Los Angeles norms. 

But Café Santo was never meant to be just about coffee. From the beginning, chocolate was its other pulse. In 2022, they served three house drinking chocolates with origins in Oaxaca, made in collaboration with Rito Chocolateria and Reina Negra. That practice endures, and while the lineup rotates, the chocolate-espresso interplay still defines the menu. Weekend specials like memelas and minimalist breakfast burritos remain part of the draw, alongside chilaquiles that reviewers describe as “worth the trip alone.” 

If the early years promised ambitious cultural programming—mezcal pairings, art openings—today’s Café Santo seems to focus more on daily service than on staging elaborate events. Their Instagram highlights fewer community gatherings than before, a sign perhaps of pandemic aftershocks and the practicalities of running a small shop. Even so, the café continues to collaborate with local artists, and Cuarto Central, Pilar’s art studio nearby, helps keep creativity flowing. 

The verdict in 2025 is similar to that in 2022: Café Santo is more than a café. It is still an expression of Oaxacan identity transplanted to Montebello soil, still a stylish and soulful spot in an area not always known for specialty coffee. Where it once embodied promise, it now embodies resilience. Three years on, Gonzales and Castañeda have shown that their project is not a novelty but a sustained contribution to Los Angeles coffee culture. 

BODY DYNAMICS / WHY WE YAWN

Understanding the involuntary human yawn  

You don’t decide to yawn. It decides for you.  

Triggered by fatigue, boredom, or sometimes sheer social mimicry, a yawn is a built-in reflex that begins deep in the brainstem. The act itself is simple—an open mouth, a deep breath, and a brief stretch of jaw muscles—but what it triggers under the hood is a physiological reset.  

When we yawn, our body inhales deeply, flooding the lungs with air. This boosts oxygen intake while reducing carbon dioxide in the bloodstream. The sharp intake of breath also increases blood flow, especially to the brain, which is thought to help regulate temperature and keep the brain alert. One popular theory holds that yawning cools the brain much like a radiator.  

Neurologically, yawns involve a cascade of signals—starting in the hypothalamus, passing through the paraventricular nucleus, and then activating cranial nerves that control jaw movement and breathing. 

That big stretch? It’s your body instinctively trying to shake off drowsiness or inattention.  

And yes—yawns are contagious. Seeing, hearing, or even reading about yawning (sorry) can trigger the reflex. Scientists call it “social mirroring,” a behavior linked to empathy and group bonding in mammals. Dogs yawn when their owners do. So do chimpanzees. And most definitely, humans.  

So next time you catch yourself mid-yawn, don't stifle it. Your brain may be telling you something—and it might just be asking for a second wind. 

WHEN A POPULAR STRAWBERRY FIELD TURNS FALL ORANGE

Plenty of time left this month to catch the fun at Carlsbad Strawberry Company.  And, the speakeasy, too.  Yes, it has the feel that your Uncle Billy created this in his backyard, but homemade is part of the charm.

 [Carlsbad, CA--PillartoPost.org]--Each fall, the Carlsbad Strawberry Company exchanges its famous berry fields for a sea of orange. The farm’s annual pumpkin patch has become one of North County’s most beloved seasonal stops, drawing families, photographers, and romantics who still believe October should smell like hay and cinnamon. 

The I-5 pumpkin patch goes well beyond pumpkins, unfolding into a full fall-festival landscape with marigold and sunflower rows blazing along the walkways, rustic photo backdrops, tricycle races, picnic tables shaded by canvas tents, and pens of goats, sheep, and rabbits tended by patient farmhands.  

From the moment visitors roll off Cannon Road, the scene feels both cinematic and homemade. Children scatter toward the pumpkin rows while parents line up at the corn maze entrance or the tractor ride that loops the property. The air carries a trace of sea salt and straw—reminders that this is still a working coastal farm at heart, not a pop-up attraction imported for the season. 

By late afternoon, sunlight glows off the marigolds, and couples queue for portraits against the towering “pumpkin house,” one of the property’s signature installations.  

General admission, currently fifteen dollars, covers entry to the fields, flower rows, games, and shaded picnic zones. Extras—like the mile-and-a-half corn maze, petting pens, or the evening haunted maze—are ticketed separately, and costs can rise quickly for a full day’s immersion. But few visitors seem to mind. 

The variety keeps the experience fresh: one moment you’re lost among the a-mazing corn stalks, the next you’re sharing caramel corn at a picnic table or watching toddlers chase tricycles across the dirt lanes. Fridays and Saturdays in October extend into the night, when strings of Edison bulbs turn the entire farm into a lantern-lit carnival.  

The Carlsbad patch earns points for atmosphere more than spectacle. It’s festive but never forced, rural without feeling remote. What’s impressive is how well the site balances its multiple audiences—parents, photographers, couples, and school groups—without losing its easygoing charm. 

Crowds are inevitable on weekends, and some activities close half an hour before the posted time, but the staff keeps things moving with an efficiency that suggests they’ve done this for years.  

Carlsbad’s pumpkin patch isn’t the largest in Southern California, nor the most elaborate, but it remains one of the most authentic. There’s something quietly rewarding about watching a toddler hoist a pumpkin half their size while surf winds ripple through the corn. The place feels earned, the way local traditions should.  

For those seeking a genuine fall outing—one that trades synthetic haunted-house thrills for sunlight, laughter, and a faint scent of straw—the Carlsbad Strawberry Company’s pumpkin fields deliver. It’s a short drive, a long memory, and one of those small-town pleasures that keep San Diego’s northern edge grounded. 

On balance, call it a four-and-a-half-star experience for ambiance, family fun, and authenticity. AND, a speakeasy for adult refreshments.  

Open daily through October, 1050 Cannon Road, Carlsbad. carlsbadstrawberrycompany.com/pumpkin. 

It's farmy and a-mazingly corny.

SILLY US, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG WITH WASHINGTON WATCHING OUR MONEY?

Where does the Stock Market stand as Washington hits a standstill? 

GUEST BLOG / By Angelo Kourkafas-- Angelo Kourkafas is responsible for analyzing market conditions, assessing economic trends and developing portfolio strategies and recommendations that help investors work toward their long-term financial goals. He is a contributor to Edward Jones Market Insights and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, FORTUNE magazine, Marketwatch, U.S. News & World Report, The Observer and the Financial Post. Angelo graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Athens University of Economics and Business in Greece and received an MBA with concentrations in finance and investments from Minnesota State University. 

NOTE: Edward Jones has been financial advisor to PillartoPost.org for more than 20 years. 

 Key takeaways

 Here we are again, the Government has shutdown.  The U.S. government has shut down, halting nonessential operations and delaying key economic data releases such as jobs and inflation reports. 

 Economic impact limited for now - While a prolonged shutdown could weigh on growth, the current economic momentum driven by resilient consumer spending and record artificial intelligence (AI) investments should help cushion the blow. 

 Labor market softening - Hiring is slowing, though layoffs remain limited outside the government sector. With official data unavailable, the Fed may rely on weaker private indicators such as ADP payrolls, keeping its focus on the labor market and continuing interest rate cuts. 

 Market resilience persists - Stock momentum continues, led by AI and rate-sensitive sectors. Shutdowns have historically had minimal long-term impact, and any pullbacks may offer opportunities to add exposure to underrepresented areas of portfolios. 

 At the stroke of midnight on Sept. 30, the U.S. government officially shut down after lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement. The immediate impact: a halt to nonessential government operations, widespread furloughs and a pause in key public services. 

 For investors, perhaps the most consequential disruption is the suspension of critical economic data releases, such as inflation and employment reports, that markets and the Federal Reserve rely on to guide decisions. 

 Under normal circumstances, we'd analyze the September jobs report, scheduled for release on Oct. 3. But with the data on standby, we're shifting our focus to examine where the economy, labor market, Fed policy and financial markets stand as we navigate this period of statistical silence. 

 Economy: Still growing 

Since July, economic data have broadly surprised to the upside, driven by: 

--Resilient consumer spending 

--Heavy AI investment 

 As a result, the Atlanta Fed currently estimates third-quarter GDP growth at 3.8%, signaling strong momentum just before the data blackout. 

More specifically: Retail sales have accelerated over the past three months through August, reaching their fastest pace since early 2023. While the September report may not be released on Oct. 16 if the shutdown continues, auto sales for the month came in better than expected. Additionally, same-store sales tracked by the Johnson Redbook Index (a sample of large U.S. retailers) grew at a solid 6% pace in September.* Both datapoints are reported by the private sector and not impacted by the shutdown. 

 On the AI front, investment in equipment and intellectual property is contributing meaningfully to GDP, growing at its fastest rate since the internet boom of the late 1990s.* Major tech firms are doubling down: Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta alone are projected to spend nearly $400 billion on capital expenditures next year, roughly 30% of total estimated S&P 500 investment spending. 

 Shutdown impact 

 As outlined in Government shutdowns and the markets - 3 things to know, we expect a short-term slowdown in growth during the shutdown, followed by a quick recovery once funding resumes. Because furloughed federal workers are guaranteed backpay, the shutdown tends to delay rather than eliminate spending and economic activity. That said, businesses dependent on government contracts may experience permanent income loss. 

 Historical precedent suggests a potential drag of 0.1%-0.2% on quarterly GDP growth for each week of closure.* The longer the shutdown lasts, the more noticeable the economic impact, and the greater the political cost for both parties and pressure to reach an agreement. The upshot: While growth may slow in the fourth quarter, it does so from a strong starting point, with activity likely rebounding in the first quarter, assuming the shutdown lasts weeks rather than months. 

 Bottom line: Keep calm and carry on 

Driving at night with headlights suddenly off is unsettling, but swerving in panic rarely leads to good outcomes. Similarly, making abrupt investment changes in response to a government shutdown may not be prudent. 

We think the combination of a growing economy, rising corporate profits and declining interest rates supports a positive outlook for stocks. This won’t eliminate bouts of volatility along the way, but against this backdrop, we’d view market pullbacks — particularly any weakness spurred by government shutdown anxiety — as a compelling buying opportunity. 

We continue to favor U.S. large-cap stocks with high exposure to AI. However, given these stocks’ multiyear outperformance, investors may want to use pullbacks to diversify into underrepresented areas with catch-up potential, such as U.S. mid-caps and cyclical sectors. 

TUESDAY TRAVEL / SAILING CENTRAL CALIFORNIA, AN IDYLL WITH JENNIFER SILVA REDMOND

Morro Rock as seen from Watchfire

First in a series of sailboat adventures from the author of "Honeymoon at Sea." 

GUEST BLOG / By Jennifer Silva Redmond-- In June of 2020, my husband Russel and I sailed out of San Diego's Mission Bay and turned right. We stopped at a few points of call on our trip north, but, due to pandemic restrictions, there wasn’t much socializing along the way. 

Then a Small Craft Warning kept us stuck in Oxnard for a week, so it was late in June when we sailed past Santa Barbara. 

A few days later we rounded Point Conception on a calm morning, motoring north (one wants to avoid weather at that Cape, so we were willing to motor). We sailed into Morro Bay that evening and and pulled up to the dock at the always welcoming Morro Bay Yacht Club. 

We both love the central coast of California, and were looking forward to spending time there with our dear friends Neil and Brad. Russel and Neil share a birthday week, so we four often meet up to celebrate together the second week in July. Sometimes that week’s activities are built around a fun staycation at Neil and Brad’s lovely home in the California desert, but this year we’d agreed to meet up in Morro Bay for a few days of touristing. They had reserved a waterfront hotel room so the four of us would be able to take turns being afloat or ashore. 

Morro Bay (above, as seen from Watchfire) is surrounded by beautiful coastline and bucolic farmlands and there’s plenty to do—from galleries and shell shops to the farmers market and art shows in the city park—but I was still wracking my brains for a perfect big event when I saw an ad for Sensorio. 

For those who have not experienced this “happening,” it is a multi-acre light show spread out in the rolling hills near Paso Robles, and promised to be a very unusual evening. Uniqueness is key when you are trying to choose a birthday experience for the guys who have everything! 

Neil and Brad arrived late on the first day so we only briefly met up at their hotel room to make plans over drinks. They’d brought gourmet snacks as usual, so we nibbled on smoked salmon and soft cheeses with herbed crackers, and sipped the cool Italian white wine Brad had selected. 

Brad—tall, dark, and striking with bright blue eyes—has a Texas twang and a booming infectious laugh. Neil is handsome in a more golden way, bronzed by the sun with long silver locks, given to witty throwaway quips that have us rolling. We all decided that the next day would feature a seafood dinner prepared on the boat, so we needed to include a trip to the local fish store to see what was fresh on offer. 

The next morning we four strolled down the main coastal drag of Morro Bay, admiring the famous Shell Shop and peeking into many of the shops. They were suitably impressed with our favorite, a combination interior design gallery and plant nursery, with every kind of succulent, fern, bonsai, and cactus in every kind of colorful pot or vase. 

The weather that day was perfect, as Morro Bay often is, sunny with clouds and a cool salty breeze. I pointed out our favorite restaurant, Windows on the Water, which was closed for a private event, and we told them the story of the two of us going there one year for our wedding anniversary. 

At the fresh oyster bar we’d met another couple who were also celebrating their anniversary, and it turned out they’d also gotten married on May 27th, 1989. Astounding odds to have booked neighboring tables, since none of us were actually from Morro Bay. 

The outdoor tables at Giovanni’s were thronged with diners but the fish market was bountiful as promised, so we bought a few tasty treats and nibbled on samples of tangy smoked fish as we strolled. 

The afternoon flew by as we reminisced about previous birthday bashes at diverse locations. Neil and I have been friends since 1986, when we met while working at a new restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, so our humorous repertoire of “remember that day” stories runs deep. 

Russel met Neil in 1993, and Neil introduced us to Brad just a couple of years later, so we four have over twenty- five years of hanging out and throwing parties together to draw on. 

There was time to catch up on everything that had been happening in our lives, including some work drama and a few new pursuits. Neil has always been encouraging to me in my work, and Brad even hired me to edit copy for the company he runs when I was first freelancing. I pointed out the yacht belonging to a chef whose book I had edited and helped with publishing, including Russel shooting the perfect book cover photo. 

The conversation was comfortably rambling as we strolled further down the waterfront to see the wildlife the bay is justly famous for. There were plenty of sea lions—no surprise as we’d heard them barking off and on through the night. We soon stopped to gawk at a dozen or so sea otters basking atop the kelp beds. Otters in the wild are irresistible and we oohed and ahhed appropriately. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent resting from our big outing, then we rowed them out to our boat for a festive happy hour and a dinner of grilled black sea bass and veggies. There are not many places where you can still buy fresh-caught black sea bass, but Giovanni’s is one of them, and the white-fleshed fish was flaky, smoky, and delicious. 

We toasted to the perfection of the setting and to the “birthday boys.” The next day started with breakfast at the popular Dorn’s Breakers Cafe atop the hill overlooking Morro Bay. It was cool and gray but not raining so we sat outside and shivered in our shorts. 

The day warmed up quickly as we drove up the coast to San Simeon. We skipped the Hearst Castle tour since we’d all been there before but we did hang out at the state park beach and ogle the elephant seals, and their Goldendoodle Otis got to run and play in the breakers on the beach. Our dog, Ready was more of the hang out in my kennel in the shady car type of canine, so she was happy to be brought back to the truck. 

Leaving San Simeon, we drove south past Cambria and then directed them to turn east onto Hwy 46. This road is one of our favorite drives in the world, maybe second only to Highway One through Big Sur. The sun had come out and the scenery of rolling green hills along the winding road was as good as we’d promised. 

We stopped at a winery our chef friend had recommended for some red wine tasting, while Neil, our designated driver, walked Otis around the gorgeous grounds. Then we headed east again through more incredible views to Paso Robles. 

A vista from Denner Winery's Patio

By this point the mercury was hitting 90 so we were happy to retire to a shaded courtyard eatery for drinks and snacks. As the sun sank lower, we headed out to Sensorio, only a ten-minute drive out into the low hills outside of Paso Robles. The parking lot was already crowded but we found a perfect spot, our senior pet was happy to retire to her kennel in the truck in a shady location. Otis is a service dog so he was able to accompany us onto the grounds; having handed in our tickets we walked in the entrance gate and looked around. 

Photos cannot do Sensorio justice, it really has to be experienced in person. 

At first, with the sun not quite set, the sight of rolling fields studded with thousands of plastic light wands was disappointing, but as the sun set and the sky darkened, the hills came alive with the multicolored dots of glowing light. We strolled slowly around the loop and took a hundred pictures, then went around again and simply gazed in wonder at the dazzling vistas. 

The next day we opted to show them some of our favorite places in San Luis Obispo. SLO, as the natives call, is a college town full of wonderfully dusty and jumbled bookstores, colorful art galleries, and quirky boutiques. We wandered the labyrinth of historic streets and alleys, taking tourist shots at the gum wall, and posing on the quaint bridges. We peeked into galleries and bookshops while discussing art and literature—holding forth about our personal favorite artists and authors. 

Novo, San Luis Obispo, CA

Soon we were hungry again, of course, because we four share an appetite for life! Of course we suggested our favorite place for lunch or early dinner, Novo, right on the river. Fresh local foods, creative cuisine, and friendly service is the icing on the cake when you are sitting in an shady oak grove overlooking the rushing water; the views are fabulous and the tree bower makes it an oasis even on a hot day. it is dog-friendly, of course, so Otis could stretch out calmly at their feet and Ready could dance with excitement under our table (mealtimes always brought out her youth and vigor). 

The tablecloth was covered with dishes and speckled with sunshine filtering down through the oak leaves, and we had fun dissecting every dish and sharing tastes of everything. I took a bite of my fresh grilled salmon salad and sighed happily. 

Seeing these three dear faces, all digging in with gusto, I was filled with gratitude. Not only for the perfect setting and the days of summer fun we’d spent together, but for my friends themselves and Russel, my very best friend.

***

Note: An earlier version of this essay was originally published in Womancake Magazine in 2024; it is reprinted here with the permission of that publication. 

Enjoy Womancake Magazine at: https://www.womancake.com/ 

 

Honeymoon at Sea: How I Found Myself Living on a Small Boat can be purchased online or please feel free to order it at your favorite bookstore. . 

MEDIA MONDAY / HOW THE FBI BECAME A POLITICAL TOOL, AGAIN

 

Left to Right: J. Edgar Hoover; L. Patrick Gray; Kash Patel

History is repeating itself at the FBI as agents resist a director’s political agenda 

 GUEST BLOG / By Douglas M. Charles, Penn State via theconversationUS@substack.com 

Three converging events in the 1970s – the Watergate scandal, the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the Vietnam War and revelations that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had abused his power to persecute people and organizations he viewed as political enemies – destroyed what formerly had been near-automatic trust in the presidency and the FBI. 

 In response, Congress enacted reforms designed to ensure that legal actions by the Department of Justice and the FBI, the department’s main investigative arm, would be insulated from politics. These included stronger congressional oversight, a 10-year term limit for FBI directors and investigative guidelines issued by the attorney general. 

 Some of these measures, however, were tenuous. For example, Justice Department leaders could alter FBI investigative guidelines at any time. 

 Donald Trump’s first presidential term seriously tested DOJ and FBI independence – notably, when Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. Trump claimed Comey mishandled a 2016 probe into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s private email server, but Comey also refused to pledge loyalty to the president. 

 Now, in Trump’s second term, prior guardrails have vanished. The president has installed loyalists at the DOJ and FBI who are dedicated to implementing his political interests. As a historian of the FBI (and author or this essay), I recognize the FBI has had only one other overtly political director in the past 50 years: L. Patrick Gray, who served for a year under President Richard Nixon. 

 Gray was held accountable after he tried to help Nixon end the FBI’s Watergate investigation. Whether Trump’s current director, Kash Patel, has more staying power is unclear. 

 After Hoover 

 Ever since Hoover’s death in 1972, presidents have typically nominated independent candidates with bipartisan support and law enforcement roots to run the FBI. Most nominees have been judges, senior prosecutors or former FBI or Justice Department officials. 

 While Hoover publicly proclaimed his FBI independent of politics, he sometimes did the bidding of presidents, including Nixon. Still, Nixon felt that Hoover had not been compliant enough, so in 1972 he selected Gray, a longtime friend and assistant attorney general, to be Hoover’s successor. 

 Gray took steps to move the bureau out of Hoover’s shadow. He relaxed strict dress codes for agents, recruited female agents and pointedly hired people from outside the agency – who were not indoctrinated in the Hoover culture – for administrative posts. 

 Gray asserted his authority with blunt force. 

 FBI agents at field offices and at headquarters who resisted Gray’s power were censured, fired or transferred. Other senior officials opted to leave, including the bureau’s top fraud expert, cryptanalyst and skyjacking expert, and the head of its Crime Information Center. Agents regarded these moves as a purge, and press reports claimed that bureau morale was at an all-time low, charges that Gray denied. According to FBI Associate Director **Mark Felt, who became Gray’s second in command, 10 of 16 top FBI officials chose to retire, most of them notable Hoover men. Gray surrounded himself with what journalist Jack Anderson called “sharp, but inexperienced, modish, young aides.” FBI insiders called these new hires the “Mod Squad,” a reference to the counterculture TV police series. 

 Gray helps Nixon. 

 In contrast to Hoover, who had rarely left FBI headquarters and publicly avoided politics, Gray openly stumped for Nixon in the 1972 campaign. He was so rarely spotted at FBI headquarters that bureau insiders dubbed him “Two-Day Gray.” 

 At the request of Nixon aide John Ehrlichman, Gray told field offices to help Nixon campaign surrogates by providing local crime information. Gray cooperated with Nixon to stymie the FBI’s investigation of the 1972 Watergate break-in and the ensuing cover-up. He provided raw FBI investigative documents to the White House and burned documents from Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt’s White House safe. 

 Smoking Gun. 

When Nixon had CIA Deputy Director Vernon Walters ask Gray, in the name of national security, to halt the FBI’s investigation, Felt and other agency insiders demanded that Gray get this order in writing. The White House backed down, but Nixon’s directive had been recorded. 

 That tape became the so-called “smoking gun” evidence of a Watergate cover-up. Felt, in classic Hoover fashion, then leaked information to discredit Gray, hoping to replace him. 

 Gray resigned in disgrace. 

 While Felt never got the top job, he is now remembered as the prized anonymous source “Deep Throat,” who helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in their Pulitzer Prize-winning Watergate investigation. 

 But it was internal FBI resistance, from Felt and agents at lower levels, that led to Gray’s departure. Political from the start Campaigning in 2024, Donald Trump vowed to “root out” his political opponents from government. Realizing he was a target because of his investigation of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, FBI director Christopher Wray, whom Trump had nominated in 2017, resigned in December 2024 before Trump could fire him. 

 In Wray’s place Trump nominated loyalist Kash Patel, a lawyer who worked as a low-level federal prosecutor from 2013 to 2016 and then as a deputy national security appointee during Trump’s first term. 

 Patel publicly supported Trump’s vow to purge enemies and claimed the FBI was part of a “deep state” that was resistant to Trump. Patel promised to help dismantle this disloyal core and to “rebuild public trust” in the FBI. Even before Patel was confirmed on Feb. 20, 2025, in an historically close 51-49 vote, the Justice Department began transferring thousands of agents away from national security matters to immigration duty, which was not a traditional FBI focus. 

 Hours after taking office, Patel shifted 1,500 agents and staff from FBI headquarters to field offices, claiming that he was streamlining operations. Patel installed outsider Dan Bongino as deputy director. 

 Bongino, another Trump loyalist, was a former New York City policeman and Secret Service agent who had become a full-time political commentator. He embraced a conspiracy theory positing the FBI was “irredeemably corrupt” and advocated “an absolute housecleaning.” 

 In February, New York City Special Agent in Charge James Dennehy told FBI staff “to dig in” and oppose expected and unprecedented political intrusions. He was forced out by March. Patel then used lie-detector tests and carried out a string of high-profile firings of agents who had investigated either Trump or the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Some agents who were fired had been photographed kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest in Washington, D.C. – an action they said they took to defuse tensions with protesters. 

 In response, three fired agents are suing Patel for what they call a political retribution campaign. 

 Ex-NFL football player Charles Tillman, who became an FBI agent in 2017, resigned in September 2025 in protest of Trump policies. Once again, there are assertions of a purge. 

 Will Patel be held accountable? 

 Patel’s actions as director so far illustrate that he is willing to use his position to implement the president’s political designs. When Gray tried to do this in the 1970s, accountability still held force, and Gray left office in disgrace. Gray participated in a cover-up of illegal behavior that became the subject of an impeachment proceeding. 

 What Patel has done to date, at least what we know about, is not the equivalent – so far. Today, Patel’s tenure rests solely upon pleasing the president. If formal accountability – a key element of a democracy – is to survive, it will have to come from Congress, whose Republican majority has so far not exercised its power to hold Trump or his administration accountable. Short of that, perhaps internal resistance within the administration or pressure from the public and the media might serve the oversight function that Congress, over the past eight months, has abrogated. 

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Douglas M. Charles is a Professor of History at Penn State University. 

 **NOTE: Mark Felt, the FBI's Associate Director, came forward in 2005 via an article in Vanity Fair written with his lawyer—that he had indeed been “Deep Throat.” Woodward and Bernstein then confirmed that Felt was their source for info during the Watergate years. 

SUNDAY REVIEW / LET'S GO SAILING WITH JENNIFER

Editor's Note: For the next year, this blog will publish stories by Jennifer Silva Redmond, a literary gypsy, who has lived aboard the yacht that she and her husband sail the Americas. A long time voice in book publishing, she recently launched a memoir of her own: Honeymoon At Sea, a romance with husband Russel and the sea. When we asked Jennifer for a paragraph long bio to launch the beginning of her posts with PillartoPost.org she submitted the following. Yes, it's a bit longer than we asked but life is full of surprises. Our 14-year-old daily blog is delighted Jennifer ignored our paragraph request. Please meet Jennifer Silva Redmond: 

*** 

Jennifer and Russel

How did a 28-year-old young actress living in New York City end up spending the next 36 years of her life on a sailboat on the West Coast of North America? 

 Well, when Russel proposed to me we’d just spent the day sailing San Diego Bay on board his 26' Columbia, Watchfire, so I knew what I was getting into. He wanted to travel and had been preparing the boat to go cruising. I was living in New York City—not the ideal place for a sailboat. Russel said he was willing to move East and relocate his illustration business, since I was enjoying some hard-earned success as an actress in NYC, adding that he could ship the boat to Long Island and we’d sail when we could, while pursuing our careers in the city. I changed that sensible plan one day by asking the man I was about to marry what he would like to do more than anything. 

He answered that he'd like us to sail down Baja and up into the Sea of Cortez while he painted the area. It sounded so good—I was a California girl who loved the sun and the water and after six years, was getting a little tired of the Big City. However, I knew nothing about sailing. I'd only been a passenger on the boat in San Diego and it wasn’t clear if I could learn to love it as much as Russel did or even enough to enjoy myself. 

But it seemed an ideal way for us to spent a lot of time together building a strong foundation for our marriage as well as being productive for him and relatively inexpensive. We decided to do it. Nine months later, in November of 1989, after a wedding, dozens of boat jobs, and seemingly endless preparations, we untied the dock lines and sailed south. 

I learned to tolerate sailing and to enjoy what sailing meant—living in beautiful spots that were hard to get to—and more often inaccessible—by car. I fell in love with Baja and we ended up staying for a year in the Sea of Cortez, spending a majority of that time sailing and anchoring in the waters around Puerto Escondido and La Paz. 

Then we headed south, spending a few months along Mexico’s Gold Coast and Central America. We went through the Panama Canal and sailed up to Florida where we lived for a year in a marina near Sarasota, with Russel getting his paintings ready to exhibit, and me waiting tables and bartending. Then we sailed along the Intercostal Waterway along the US Gulf Coast to Texas, where we hauled little Watchfire out and trucked it back to San Diego. 

***

Then, a couple of years later, in June of 1996, we sailed down to Baja again, and spent three more years in the Sea of Cortez. While we were there, we started a magazine called “The Sea of Cortez Review” which was a collection of stories and poems about Baja, beautifully illustrated and designed by the Uber-talented Russel. 

We did three annual versions, with the last issue in 2000 being published and distributed by Sunbelt Publications of San Diego, a small press that specializes in books about California, Baja California, and Mexico. 

I fell in love with Sunbelt and the feeling was mutual; I worked for them for 11 years doing marketing and acquisitions, and was Editor-in-Chief when I left to become a freelance editor. I am still their Editor-at-Large, always keeping my eye out for great San Diego publications and partnerships. 

Russel sold many paintings over those years, but also began teaching screenwriting at San Diego City College, where he is still an adjunct professor. 

***

One sad note: In 2003, we were living aboard Watchfire up at a friend’s ranch in Harbison Canyon, near Crest. Our plan was to fix up the little boat and sell it along with the trailer we’d bought to transport it back from San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico back in 2000. 

Our friends had offered us a place to live and work in the shade of dozens of old oak trees in their home’s vast “backyard.” In October of that year, the Cedar fire began out in the backcountry and moved toward the city of El Cajon. Our friends evacuated their house and advised us to do the same, “just to be safe,” so we drove out in my new-to-me Nissan and our old Dodge RV, leaving Watchfire and our 1970 VW Van behind. 

The fire became a firestorm as it came down that valley and nothing in the canyon survived. We lived in the RV for a few months, then moved into a friend’s La Jolla home to housesit while she traveled, and one day while having tea on the patio I saw an ad for a 35 foot Coronado. I knew the boat was much like a big Columbia 26, so I pointed the ad out to Russel. 

We went up to Newport Beach and bought Watchfire 2 in August of 2004. After we moved it down to San Diego, we lived aboard in Harbor Island for 6 years, while I worked and Russel worked on the boat any day he wasn’t teaching. In the spring of 2011, after my jump into freelancing, we took off for Catalina, where we enjoyed being on a mooring in glorious Avalon. 

The rest of the summer was spent in Los Angeles, working on producing a screenplay that Russel and I had written that spring. The next few years were spent living on the boat in the winters, much of that time spent on a mooring in Coronado Island. 

We found our dog Ready, a small red rescue mutt, at PAWS in Coronado; she was little, with a big personality, and made a great addition to the crew. Being that close to my mom who lived in San Diego's historic North Park, I was able to take care of her after a stroke in 2011, and when she fell and broke her arm a couple of years later. 

 During the summers, when Russel was off school, we would sail up to Morro Bay or Monterey, rent a slip, and get to know the town by walking everywhere. My editing business was slowly becoming a viable support, and Russel’s teaching job now offered us both benefits. He started teaching hybrid classes, that met for a few sessions then transitioned to online. Eventually he was teaching exclusively online, and I was working exclusively online, except for teaching at a couple of local conferences. 

Life was good. 

Yet, in 2016, my mom started to show signs of memory loss, and was diagnosed with vascular dementia, as a result of her stroke. I spent a lot of time in her tiny North Park duplex, with my niece Emma living in the front half. Russel enjoyed having a garage and workshop for boat jobs and renovations, so we gradually became landlubbers. 

By 2018, my mom began to wander off and it was clear that she was unable to live in her house anymore. By then we were all sharing the tiny half-house, me, my mom, Russel, and Ready, who loved having a yard to run in. I was lucky enough to get my mom involved with PACE, and they found her a room at the Villa, a memory care facility located on the east side of Balboa Park, and run by the amazing people of PACE. (I can’t say enough about how great a resource PACE is for San Diego’s low income seniors!) 

We sold the North Park house and moved back aboard Watchfire in the summer of 2019. When my mom passed away in hospice in the fall, it was clear that nothing was keeping us tied to San Diego any longer. We made plans to leave in March of 2020. Yeah, no. That didn’t happen. The Pandemic hit and we got stuck on the boat through May. We stayed in the lovely Pier 32 Marina in National City, which afforded us great walks through mostly uninhabited neighborhood of industrial buildings. 

There was also a nearby boatyard to haunt out and fix up our rigging and some other boat jobs. Then in June we sailed north out of Mission Bay, stopping in Oceanside, Dana Point, Long Beach, and Oxnard where we visited with family. We sailed on to Morro Bay and spent a month there, enjoying the quiet of that normally bustling summer tourist town. Finally, we made it to San Francisco, sailing under the Golden Gate in August of 2020. We spent fall in South Beach Marina, right by the Giant’s ballpark, before heading east for a winter in the Delta, and then back for another summer and fall in the SF Bay area. 

In the winter of 2022, we trucked the boat up to Washington state and spent the summer exploring Puget Sound. During this relatively quiet couple of years, I had finally turned to finishing the Baja memoir I’d been promising myself I’d write since about 1993. I wrote and rewrote chapters, and shuffled them again and again, like someone doing a thousand-word jigsaw puzzle with no picture on the box. 

Finally, I was pretty happy with the first 50 pages, and I started thinking about looking for a publisher. One day on Instagram I saw a post about a new publisher looking for true stories about adventurous women, so I sent my query and the first fifty pages off to Rebecca Eckles at Re:Books of Toronto. 

 In January of 2023, I was in San Diego when I got the message that Re:Books wanted to publish my memoir, Honeymoon at Sea. I was thrilled of course, and spent that year editing, finalizing, copyediting, and anticipating the publishing of my book. I even recorded the audiobook in a sound studio in Seattle that summer. I had started my Substack, also called Honeymoon at Sea, earlier that year and I did a zillion podcasts and appearances of all kinds in Washington that summer and in Southern California during the winter and spring. 

Since then, we have spent another three summers up in Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, with summer 2025 dedicated to exploring British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. I have been posting occasional travel columns for Womancake Magazine for the last two years, and now—thanks to PillartoPost.org—I’m going to share them with you here. I’ll update them with info about how we got to each place, unless that is made clear in the piece, add more photos where I can, and I’ll be happy to take any questions from readers: Jsilvaredmond@gmail.com 

***

Note: Jennifer's first article will appear next Tuesday: www.pillartopost.org 

COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS / HOW EURO DEFORESTATION LAWS IMPACT WORLD COFFEE TRADE

 European Parliament gave final adoption on the EU Deforestation Regulation [EUDR] on May 16, 2023 in session, Brussels

Via TheConversation.com 

GUEST BLOG / By Paul Mwebaze, Research Economist, University/Illinois--Urbana-Champaign--If your morning can’t begin without coffee, you’re in good company. The world drinks about 2 billion cups of coffee a day. However, a European Union law might soon affect your favorite coffee beans – and the farmers who grow them. 

Starting in 2026, companies selling coffee on the European Union market will have to prove that their product is “deforestation-free.” That means every bag of beans, every jar of ground coffee and every espresso capsule must trace back to coffee plants on land that hasn’t been cleared of forest since Dec. 31, 2020. 

The new rules, found in what’s known as the EU Deforestation Regulation, are part of a wider effort to ensure European consumption doesn’t drive global deforestation. 

However, on the ground – from the coffee hills of Ethiopia to the plantations of Brazil – the rule change could transform how coffee is grown, traded and sold. 

Why the EU is targeting deforestation

 Deforestation is a major driver of biodiversity loss and accounts for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And coffee plantations, along with cocoa, soy and palm oil production, which are also covered by the new regulations, are known sources of forest loss in some countries. 

Under the new EU Deforestation Regulation, companies will be required to trace their coffee to its exact origin – down to the farm plot where the beans were grown – and provide geolocation data and documentation of supply chain custody to EU authorities. 

They will also have to show proof, often through satellite imagery, that any open land where coffee is grown was forest-free before the 2020 cutoff date. 

The rules were initially set to go into effect in early 2025 but were pushed back after complaints from many countries. Governments and industry groups in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia warned of trade friction for small farms, and the World Trade Organization has received complaints about the regulations. 

Most companies must now comply by Dec. 30, 2025. 

Small enterprises get until June 30, 2026. 

Potential winners and losers 

The coffee supply chain is complex. Beans are grown by millions of farmers, sold to collectors, then move through processors, exporters, importers and roasters before reaching grocery shelves. Adding the EU rules means more checkpoints, more paperwork and possibly new strategies for sourcing coffee beans. 

Small farms in particular could be vulnerable to losing business when the new rules go into effect. They could lose contracts or market access if they can’t provide the plot-level GPS coordinates and nondeforestation documentation buyers will require. That could prompt buyers to shift toward larger estates or organized co-ops that can provide the documentation. 

If a farm can’t provide precise plot coordinates or pay for mapping services, it could end up being excluded from the world’s largest coffee market. 

Larger coffee growers already using systems that can trace beans back to specific farm plots could gain a competitive edge. 

 

 Farmers check on coffee beans at a small agroforestry operation in Kenya. The coffee bushes were planted among trees that provide shade. World Agroforestry Centre/Joseph Gachoka via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 

  The new regulations also include stricter oversight for countries considered most likely to allow deforestation, which could slow trade from those regions. As a result, buyers may shift to regions with lower deforestation risk. 

Even outside Europe, big buyers are likely to prioritize beans they can trace to nondeforested plots, potentially dropping small farms that can’t provide plot-level proof. That could reduce availability and raise the price of some coffee types and put farms out of business. In some cases, the EU regulations could reroute undocumented coffee beans into markets such as the U.S. 

Helping small farms succeed 

For small farms, succeeding under the new EU rules will depend on access to technical support and low-cost tools for tracing their crop’s origin. Some countries are developing national systems to track deforestation, and they are pushing the EU to invest more in helping them. 

Those small farms that can comply with the rules, often through co-ops, could become attractive low-risk suppliers for large buyers seeking compliant crops. 

The change could also boost demand for sustainability certifications, such as Rainforest Alliance, 4C Common Code or Fairtrade, which certify only products that don’t contribute to deforestation. But even certified farms will still need to provide precise location data. 

Agroforestry’s potential 

Arabica coffee, the most common variety sold globally, naturally evolved as an understory shrub, performing best in cooler tropical uplands with good drainage and often partial shade. That points to a way farmers can reduce deforestation risk while still growing coffee: agroforestry. 

Agroforestry involves planting or conserving shade trees in and around coffee plots to maintain the tree canopy. 

Global forest area by type and distribution in 2020, according to a U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization assessment.

In agroforestry systems, shade trees can buffer heat and drought, often reducing evaporation from soil and moderating plants’ water stress. Several field studies show lower evaporative losses and complementary water use between coffee and shade trees. In some contexts, this can lower irrigation needs and reduce fertilizer demand. Practical tools such as World Coffee Research’s Shade Catalog help farmers choose the right tree species for their location and goals. 

Agroforestry is common in Ethiopia, where Arabica originated, and in parts of Central America, thanks to long traditions of growing coffee in shade and specialty demand for the products. 

Under the new EU rules, however, even these farms must prove that no forest was cleared after 2020. 

Why this matters to world wide coffee drinkers 

For coffee drinkers across the planet, the new EU rules promise more sustainable coffee. But they may also mean higher prices if compliance costs are passed down the supply chain to consumers. For coffee lovers elsewhere, changes in global trade flows could shift where beans are sold and at what price. 

As EU buyers bid up beans that can be traced to nondeforested plots, more of those “fully verified” coffees will flow to Europe. U.S. roasters may then face higher prices or tighter supply for traceable lots, while unverified beans are discounted or simply avoided by brands that choose to follow EU standards. 

FRIDAY FUNNIES / WHAT DO YOU THINK, DEAR?

THE FOODIST / HUMBLE CORNER VAULTS INTO WORLDWIDE FAME

[Original PillartoPost.org review]--When Finca opened in early 2024 on the northeast corner of Grim Avenue and North Park Way in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood, it brought huge ambitions to a modest neighborhood corner and became a show piece of epicurean savoir faire, a place where Spanish tapas met California produce, where wine was poured with knowledge but without pretense, and where neighbors felt welcome. 

In less than two years, that corner has vaulted into international view. In the October 2025 issue of Wine Spectator, one of the most widely read wine publications in the world, Finca appeared on the cover as part of the magazine’s annual roundup of “Editors’ Favorite Wine Bars.” 

The honor placed Finca among 38 wine bars worldwide and marked the only San Diego entry on the list. What drew Wine Spectator’s editors to North Park was not flash or exclusivity but a balance of substance and community. The magazine praised Finca’s range of more than 20 wines by the glass and a bottle list of about 165 selections, most priced under $100. 

Equally important was the atmosphere: a restaurant where the food and wine work together, and where the tone stays neighborly even as the ambitions reach higher. “A community-focused establishment centered on good food, wine and company, as any good wine bar should be,” the editors wrote. 

The selection validated what local critics had already been noting. San Diego Magazine described Finca’s menu as bold and inventive, pointing to dishes such as bone marrow with red-pepper jelly and steak tataki with fermented scallop ponzu. 

Eater San Diego highlighted the integrity of the tapas concept, saying it was not staged as a novelty but built into the daily rhythm of the kitchen. Now, with a Wine Spectator cover under its belt, Finca finds itself in a rare category: a neighborhood restaurant with international recognition. 

For longtime residents of North Park, that recognition carries extra weight. “Amazing to see modern North Park shine so brightly. Amazing because the neighborhood in the early 1990s was considered a blighted area by the Feds,” said Thomas Shess, founder and editor of North Park News. 

From its beginnings as a barbershop and repair shop corner to its present identity as a destination for food and wine, the corner of Grim and North Park Way has come a long way. Finca’s rise offers proof that neighborhood spirit and global standards can meet on the same block — and sometimes, even make the cover of a world famous epicurean magazine. 

Finca Restaurant Looking South San Diego Magazine photos.

AMERICANA / NOSTRADAMUS PICKS WORLD SERIES WINNER

 

In the year twice ten and five, the diamond’s crown alights— 

From western sun ‘neath rising shadow, titans clash through nights. 

A city’s heart, for long unseen, shall beat with fire divine— 

The Friars reborn, their banners raised, shall sip the victor’s wine.