Community

Best Annual Music Festival or Music Event

Adams Avenue Street Fair

Honorable mention: Jazz 88. Ocean Beach Music & Arts Festival, Gator by the Bay, 94/9 Independence Jam

Best Beach

Coronado

Honorable mention: Ocean Beach, La Jolla Shores, Torrey Pines

Best Annual Event

Comic-Con

Honorable mention: LGBT Pride, December Nights, San Diego County Fair

Best Charity Event

AIDS Walk San Diego

Honorable mention: Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Dining Out for Life, Jeans 4 Justice

Best Elected Official

Todd Gloria

Honorable mention: Jerry Sanders, Bob Filner, Susan Davis

Best Monument or Landmark

Balboa Park

Honorable mention: Coronado Bay Bridge, Mt. Soledad Cross, Cardiff Kook

Best Nonprofit

San Diego Humane Society

Honorable mention: Father Joe’s Villages, Zoological Society of San Diego, Helen Woodward Animal Shelter

Best Park

Balboa Park

Honorable mention: Mission Bay Park, Kate Sessions Park, Bird Park

Best Tourist Attraction

San Diego Zoo

Honorable mention: La Jolla Cove, Sea World, Old Town

Best Place to Camp

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Honorable mention: San Elijo State Beach, Cuyamaca State Park, Mount Laguna

Best Local Neighborhood

North Park

Honorable mention: Hillcrest, Ocean Beach, Little Italy

Best Place to Get a Bail Bond

King Stahlman Bail Bonds

Honorable mention: Alladdin Bail Bonds, All Pro Bail Bonds, San Diego Bail Bonds

Best beach: Coronado

Photos by Alyssa Stocker-Keef

Take a big ol’ whiff at Coronado Beach (coronado.ca.us—click “Visitors / Beaches & Bays”) and you’ll be treated to the clearest salty ocean breeze. Indeed, the seaweed is usually cleaned away, so your nostrils won’t be assaulted by the stuff’s murky stench. But that’s not the only reason this pleasant stretch of shore is so popular. There are mild tides for the kids, fire rings for parties, a beach for dogs to play (the smells probably aren’t as pleasant over there) and a rock outcropping for lounging, not to mention lots of soft sand that glitters in the sun. Also, the historic Hotel Del Coronado is nearby, offering luxurious lodgings and fine dining—the latter producing a whole other smorgasbord of lovely odors to enjoy.

—Peter Holslin

Best Bank

Chase 

Honorable mention: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Union Bank

Best Credit Union

San Diego County Credit Union

Honorable mention: Mission Federal Credit Union, California Coast Credit Union, Navy Federal Credit Union

Best College or University

UCSD

Honorable mention: San Diego State, USD, Mesa College

Best Career College

Coleman University 

Honorable mention: National University, Chapman University, New School of Architecture

Best Place to Get Married

Balboa Park

Honorable mention: Hotel Del Coronado, Sunset Cliffs, La Jolla Cove

Best Local Hotel (non-chain)

Hotel Del Coronado Honorable mention: The Pearl, U.S. Grant Hotel, Lodge at Torry Pines

Best Hotel Swimming Pool (open to the public)

Lafayette Hotel

Honorable mention: The Pearl, Handlery Hotel

Best Theme Park

San Diego Zoo

Honorable mention: Sea World, San Diego Safari Park, Legoland