DID YOU GET THE LETTER from the city of San Diego about Water Group Job 3012? Looks like they’re gonna replace some cast-iron water pipes around town. Not to worry, however. You won’t be affected — unless you live on one of the following streets: Academy, Balboa, Beryl, Cass, Crown Point Drive, Diamond, Donaldson, Emerald, Fanuel, Felspar, Fogg, Garnet, Gresham, Hornblend, Jewell, Kendall, Lamont, Loring, Los Altos Court, Malden, Oliver, Pacific Beach Drive, Promontory, Sequoia, Thomas, Turquoise, Wilbur or Windsor. Sleep well. I THINK I’M IN LOVE. Her name is Nissa and she’s the new manager at Starbucks. You know the one, next to Carl’s Jr., where the music is too loud to talk over and folks huddle together wearing parkas because of the air conditioning. Nissa, at my request, turned the music down, although not without a “WHAT? You don’t like the Bee Gees?” She’s even trying to figure out how to override the thermostat and adjust the room temperature. Be still my heart!!! MARGARET SMITH called to let me know that the “Smitty” memorialized on the bench near Kono’s was no beach bum. Bailey “Smitty” Smith was Margaret’s husband. He rode his bicycle to the beach each morning and enjoyed the ocean breezes with his friends. “He was a dedicated beach PERSON,” says Margaret. When he died in 1991 at age 69, Margaret immediately ordered the bench and plaque. TURQUOISE COFFEE is quite the success story. It’s just not on Turquoise anymore. Look for it on upper Cass Street. Funny. La Jolla Car Wash isn’t in La Jolla, but it IS on Turquoise. And the late Mission Beach Key Shop wasn’t in Mission Beach. It was on Grand Avenue catty-corner from Good Time Charlie’s. It was bright pink for a couple of weeks, perhaps with an “Opening Soon” sign. It’s not pink anymore — and closed. BEA’S RANCHO CHICO restaurant is a distant memory, but not their chile verde. Not far from Carl’s Baseball Inn on 16th and Island, it was a tiny place with jukeboxes on each table — and the songs were totalmente en Español. A few months ago, I discovered Don Ernesto’s, a fixture in San Marcos since 1966. The chili verde was as if Bea herself had cooked it. Someone recently made Don Ernesto’s an offer they couldn’t refuse, and the doors are now closed. I’ve got my fingers crossed that they will relocate. ARTISTIC LICENSES — I’m not sure if “SAABRAT” is a rat or a brat, but he (or was it a she?) drives a Saab. — John Fry may be reached at (858) 272-6655 or by e-mail [email protected].