Welton Jones '58: Sandiego.com senior arts critic

Sandiego.com posted a nice lengthy piece yesterday on the 50-years-and-counting career of arts critic Welton Jones II '58, credited most recently with founding and building the arts part of that Web site. It even shows a clip with his mug from the Battalion in October 1957 and reprints the text of that first review.

The article traces his career from the very beginning, from a junior high school paperboy, to the Batt, on to the Lubbock A-J and the Houston Post, to Shreveport and then to San Diego in 1965. He retired in 1999 from the San Diego Union-Tribune as critic-at-large and then took on a new challenge, it says:

In 2000, he began writing for this site, sandiego.com. He's been instrumental in pulling together a team of erudite, enthusiastic and dedicated writers that cover nearly all of the professional performances in town, winning awards in both 2006 and 2007 as the dominant arts reviewing group in the city.

Also provided are lots of links to his work, including his biography of Gregory Peck, descriptions of his theater work including writing, producing and directing, and more. The article mentions he cofounded the San Diego Press Club and sits on the board of San Diego's Save Our Heritage Organisation.