(This article originally appeared HERE in San Diego Uptown News.)

SAN DIEGO -- If you hang around South Park at all, you have probably noticed that dogs are almost as welcome as humans in this happening little Uptown neighborhood, but the people that helped make that so will tell you it was not always the happy, dog-friendly place it is today.

(This post originally appeared HERE on SDGLN media partner San Diego Uptown News.)

With cases of seasonal flu on the rise across the country, Scripps Health is reminding Uptown residents of some basic tips for keeping influenza at bay and dealing with the illness if it strikes.

SAN DIEGO -- Sponsored by the San Diego chapter of the California Restaurant Association (CRA), the City’s biannual Restaurant Week returns this month. For one week, Jan. 13-18, over 140,000 people are expected to participate by visiting numerous restaurants, including several in Uptown.

Restaurants will be offering three-course prix-fixe dinner menus for $20, $30 or $40 per person. There are over 180 eateries scheduled to offer the special prices. In addition, several restaurants will be offering two-course lunch menus, starting at $10 per person.

Like most everyone else in the country, I listened, read and watched with horror on Dec. 14 as the details of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. unfolded. I was running errands with my 3-year-old twins, who don’t really know what guns are for or what dying is. We stopped at a pizza joint for lunch, which, unfortunately, had televisions aimed at us from every angle.