About half an hour before sunset, something extraordinary happens at Mission Bay Park. Giant, iridescent bubbles float through the air, some stretching 8 to 12 feet, occasionally drifting over Interstate 5 and past apartment windows, leaving wonder in their wake.

Behind this phenomenon is a bubble artist who has called San Diego home since 1987 and spent the past nine years perfecting her craft and earning the nickname “Bubble Queen of Mission Bay.” 

Reggie Dyer Veit’s journey into bubble artistry began nearly 40 years ago at the Ocean Beach Christmas Parade, where she first saw a bubble artist perform.

“I just fell in love with it. I thought that’s so neat,” Dyer Veit said. 

But life got in the way and she waited three decades before pursuing her passion. The turning point came when she spotted someone creating giant bubbles on the dunes in Pacific Beach. 

“I went home that night and started learning everything I could about bubbles,” Dyer Veit said. 

What followed was an intensive self-education. Dyer Veit discovered a wiki site with information about bubble physics and history, spending four or five days absorbed in reading. Within her first year, she became a certified bubbleologist — a designation requiring both theoretical knowledge and practical skill. 

“You have to take a test to become a bubbleologist,” Dyer Veit said. “You have to be able to do certain tricks with the bubble.” 

One of the most challenging tricks she learned is called “the cube,” created by renowned bubble artist Tom Noddy, who performed on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” The trick involves blowing five bubbles around two connected bubbles to form a cube shape in the center. 

Like other bubble enthusiasts, Dyer Veit is part of a community with its own vocabulary.

“We have our own bubble language,” she said. “You’ll hear us talk about things like the dragon and the wick.” 

Dyer Veit said October is often her best month for bubbling, as higher humidity helps the bubbles last longer. She has spent years perfecting her bubble juice recipe, a secret mix of five ingredients besides water. Her goal is to create bubbles that can withstand wind and drift for extended periods.

“If you can get a bubble to last over 30 seconds, that’s pretty good,” she said. “I’ve had them go for almost three minutes.”

Mission Bay provides ideal conditions due to the moisture in the air. However, she also ventures to La Jolla, Dog Beach in Ocean Beach and the Torrey Pines Gliderport, where updrafts can send bubbles soaring over cliffs. 

The reactions she witnesses range from pure delight to the downright surreal. Her most unusual encounter happened at De Anza Cove when one of her giant bubbles floated over the freeway, high above the hillside.  

“A hawk was circling and dive bombed the bubble,” she said. “That was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.” 

More often, Dyer Veit sees faces light up, moods shift and she hears a lot of “wows.”

“I know that I’m going to turn somebody’s day around,” she said. 

Dyer Veit has made many friends through bubbling, including Steve Coy, who has apprenticed with her for two years. While she favors a few giant bubbles at a time, Coy prefers a garland that releases 20 to 60 medium bubbles with each sweep. 

Joel Gomez, a 22-year-old Paralympic runner from Encinitas, recently won gold at the 2025 Para Athletics World Championships in New Delhi, India in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:57.71.

Gomez was born with a rare genetic disorder called blue cone monochromacy and he races in the T13 (visually impaired) division. According to a U.S. Para Track and Field press release, Gomez wasn’t the favorite coming into the Sept. 29 race but he took the lead from the start. He set a conservative pace and then made his move in an “absolutely insane” final lap, holding off two competitors to take the win on the homestretch.

“Nobody was taking the lead. And I knew that I had been working a lot more on endurance rather than speed this season,” said Gomez in the news release. “I just had to take it out and keep increasing the pace all the way to the finish.”

According to his bio, Gomez has been running track since he was nine years old, competing for the Speed to Burn Track club. After discovering Paralympic track and field when he was 14, he went on to become a two-time Paralympian, competing in both the Paris and Tokyo games.

The gold medal win was Gomez’s best world championship result, as he placed seventh in the 1500 last year. He has hopes to be in Los Angeles for the 2028 games, running on his home turf.

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Jayden Denegal was 14-of-17 passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns, Chris Johnson returned an interception 40 yards for a score, and San Diego State beat Nevada 44-10 on Saturday night for the Aztecs’ fourth straight win.

Nevada (1-5, 0-2 Mountain West Conference) has lost 13 straight in conference play and 11 in a row versus FBS opponents.

Nevada went three-and-out on the game’s opening drive and Jordan Napier — who finished with five receptions for 110 yards — returned the ensuing punt 75 yards for a touchdown just 59 seconds into the game. Johnson’s pick-6 gave the Aztecs (5-1, 2-0) a 14-0 lead with 7:11 left in the first quarter.

Denegal threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Christian Washington on the first play of the second quarter and a 31-yard scoring strike to Jacob Bostick with 9:05 left in the first half before Lucky Sutton ran for a 3-yard TD that made it 35-0 with 1:46 to go in the first half.

Gabriel Plascencia made field goals of 21, 45 and 49 yards in the third quarter. The senior is 10 of 10 this season and has made 22 straight, dating to last season, the longest active streak in Division I.

San Diego State’s Brady Anderson was ejected with a little more than four minutes to play for a hitting a defenseless player after a hit on sliding quarterback Carter Jones.

Joe McFadden kicked a 34-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and Jones threw a 16-yard TD pass to Marshaun Brown with 2:32 to play.

Jones, a true freshman who made his first career start, was 16-of-32 passing for 177 yards with two interceptions.

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