The Premiere Issue of San Diego Sun: SpeakEasy

Party on, Garth. Country music superstar Garth Brooks will fill Petco Park with 50,000 fans for a March 5 concert in the round. Tickets for the show—all priced at less than $100—sold out quickly back in January. Good luck finding tickets at lo-o-o-w prices at this late date. On that Saturday night in East Village, expect large crowd and larger cowboy hats.

Friends in low races. A driver in a white SUV—too late for the January Monster Truck Jam and too early for the Garth Brooks concert—recently snuck in and did donuts on the dirt-laden Petco Park field. An uninvited male driver entered a left field tunnel near the Western Metal Supply Co. He was apprehended by the Petco Park field crew and arrested by SDPD for felony invasion. (Union-Tribune)

High times. Felony vandalism was the charge a few weeks ago in an incident on the Skyfari Aerial Tram at the San Diego Zoo. More than 100 riders experienced a 2-hour delay. Four men rocked a gondola off its cable 40 feet above the ground, forcing the ride to shut down. Where were they born, in a zoo? (Union-Tribune)

Felons not invited. SeaWorld San Diego’s new thrill ride opens to the public on March 12. Emperor, named after a penguin species, is billed as the tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster in California. Lets all behave.

You got the beads. For the first time in three years, the Gaslamp Mardi Gras returns for three days of celebration, February 25-26 and March 1, which is Fat Tuesday. (San Diego Sun)

Game on. Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘N Out Sports Bar and Arcade opens to the public on February 25. The MTV personality-backed “eatertainment” spot joins a list of downtown bar/game rooms that includes Coin Op, Smoking Gun, Time Out Sports Tavern and The Deck at Moonshine Flats. (San Diego Sun)

Everybody’s Irish. Also back after a three-year hiatus, the ShamROCK Music + Beer Festival. The St. Patrick’s Day block party takes place on downtown streets on March 12. (Fox5 San Diego)

Pick a card. And an entrée. Appearing out of nowhere is The Prestige. The Magic Lounge & Showroom at 827 Fourth Avenue offers a dinner-and-magic-show experience. Seating capacity is 42; shows are Thursday through Sunday.

Inventing Gina. New York scam artist Anna “Delvey” Sorokin is currently being celebrated on Netflix in the highly rated series Inventing Anna (check it out). Until the story about San Diego’s infamous scammer Gina Champion-Cain gets a streaming deal, read up on her exploits in “The Charismatic Developer and the Ponzi Scheme That Suckered San Diego.” (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Saints be praised. For better or worse, homelessness is constantly in the local headlines. The San Diego Sun covered the ribbon-cutting of Father Joe’s Villages’ Saint Teresa of Calcutta Villa. It’s a 407-unit affordable housing tower. The project got national notice in a story titled: “Why San Diego is Building Affordable Housing in the Last Place You’d Expect: A Downtown High-Rise.” (Fast Company)

Gaslamp Mardi Gras (February 25-26 and March 1)

Irish 4 A Day (March 11-12 and March 17)