OB Rag

Editordude: We are continuing our celebration of the 50th anniversary of the popular vote in OB that established the Ocean Beach Planning Board with a series of “Memories.” Doug Card’s memory is first and its from 2016. Doug was a member of the very first Planning Board and played a key role in the days up to and after that election on May 4, 1976.

By Doug Card

With the current bizarre national presidential election campaign, it’s good to reflect upon a true grassroots election in OB just 40 years ago – today – Wednesday the 4th.

To recall how, during a time of great national upheaval, a dedicated band of idealistic activists managed to create a permanent structure to maintain the integrity of the character of Ocean Beach in the face of heavy developmental pressure. And how the cooperation between OB’s traditional rival organizations and facets of San Diego City government ended a long-running conflict and worked together for the sake of the people and the future.

Having been an active participant in some of this progress I’m pleased to set down a few memories of that exciting significant era – both for personal reasons and for the sake of history. As an active social historian myself, I’d like to leave behind some material which would could be of use to any researcher in the future, for this event deserves historic recognition. Perhaps some local grad student is looking for a thesis topic….

The San Diego Community Coalition publishes this email bulletin to keep our members and the general San Diego public informed about important Council and Planning Commission hearings and other city public meetings.

Budget Review May 4 — May 8

The Council will spend all five days this week (May 4–May 8) in one continuous meeting to review the proposed FY2027 budget. Here’s the link to the week-long agenda of city department budget presentations

A quick review shows that Mayor Gloria is making good on his threat that the defeat of the 2024 Measure E sales tax increase would result in cuts to community services.

The “Community Services Branch Expenditures Summary” lists a reduction of 38 positions or 8.8% ($3.4M) out of 434 in the Library Department; 94 positions or 8% ($8.8M) out of 1,168 in Parks and Recreation; and 33 positions or 4.3% ($2.8M) out of 760 in Engineering and Capital Projects.

Celebratory Party Being Planned for Later in May

It was May 4, 1976, and thousands of OB residents, property owners and business owners took part in a day-long election to select the very first Ocean Beach Planning Board. It was the first time a community democratically elected their volunteer citizen planning committee in San Diego history.

Fifty years later, we celebrate this victory for the OB Planning Board is still alive and kicking. And now there are over 40 other community planning boards across the city.

Here’s the history of the moment 5 decades ago.

Working with the San Diego County Registrar of Voters and the League of Women Voters, Ocean Beach was divided into 7 voting districts, and on May 4th, there were one to two voting sites per district, mainly in front of markets. The balloting took place all day – and at the appointed hour, ballot boxes were taken to the OB Recreation Center for counting, with everything monitored by the League of Women Voters.

When the votes came in, it was apparent that the election and its turnout had been astounding. Thousands had voted. All told, nearly 4500 ballots were cast in this special election. With a community population of 13,000, the eligibility rolls included 6,100 registered voters, 2,100 property owners (1,100 inside the plan area and 1,000 outside the area), and 600 business license holders.

The Ocean Beach Planning Board meets Tuesday night, May 5 at 6 p.m. at the OB Rec Center for their monthly meeting. \

The major item on the Board’s agenda is part 2 of the District 2 Candidate Forum. Candidates Josh Coyne, Richard Bailey, Nicole Crosby and Mike Rickey will be in attendance and each will be given 15 minutes to make introductory statements and answer questions from the board and the audience.

JW August reports:

No ICE! No War! “Hands Off Our Vote” was one of the themes running through Friday’s ‘May Day Strong’ event at Chicano Park.  Billionaires were not welcome, nor were Democrats or Republicans. The park, long a gathering place for protests, was again a staging area for emotional speeches and pleas followed by a march to City College.

The speeches echoed the language and themes on the organizers and their website

It was all about pocketbook issues and the creation of the ‘Real Affordability Agenda’.  “A promise of a good life for everyone back in reach” said one speaker, “if workers will unite”. Supporting a goal of “making billionaires and corporations pay what they owe” says the website, repeated by the protest speakers as well as multiple signs and tee shirts with an anti-capitalist theme.

One of the dozen events happening in San Diego County today, May Day, is in Chicano Park.

Our on-the-spot photog JW August took these.

By Sean Bothwell / Guest contributor LA Times / April 30, 2026 

The marine ecosystem along Southern California’s coastline is in crisis. Sea surface temperatures are hitting record highs, rivaling the devastating marine heat wave known as “the Blob” that wreaked havoc on West Coast fisheries and ecosystems a decade ago.

Scientists from NOAA, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources are warning that a developing El Niño could intensify conditions further. There are steps we can take that would relieve the pressure on these already stressed waters, and it’s past time for California lawmakers and regulators to act.

Last year, harmful algal blooms led to the illnesses and deaths of hundreds of sea lions, dolphins and seabirds off Southern California. Further north, Dungeness crab shells are dissolving in acidic waters. Fish populations and marine mammals are struggling to survive in growing oxygen-depleted zones that can stretch 50 miles from the coast. Warming ocean temperatures are accelerating all of it.

The critical factor contributing to this crisis within our control is nutrient pollution from wastewater discharges and agricultural runoff.

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa San Diego / April 29, 2026 

In the race for San Diego City Council’s 8th District, one candidate stands out as uniquely UNQUALIFIED to run for higher office: Antonio Martinez.

Martinez has served on the San Ysidro School Districts Board of Trustees since December 2012, but has also run and lost twice for the same San Diego City Council seat he is running for again this year. He lost twice to Vivian Moreno, in 2018 and 2022, and is now running when Moreno is termed out of office.

District 8 includes the San Diego communities of San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Ocean View Hills, Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, and Sherman Heights.

Maybe serving on a local school board for 14 years would seem like a good background to run for higher office, but the San Ysidro School District is currently under financial distress and has certified that it may not be able to meet its current year and next two years’ obligations to pay teachers and staff.

by Ernie McCray

I showed up
at the San Diego County Democratic Party’s
46th Annual Roosevelt Dinner
with a mind jumbled with questions
concerning the theme:
“A New Hope for Democracy,”
wondering what could be said
as, seemingly,
the country
is sinking like a ship
in an extremely agitated sea,
even if the keynote speaker
is someone
whom I consider to be
one of the most extraordinary
speechmakers there could possibly be,
my cherished friend,
Shirley Weber,
California’s Secretary of State,

Back in the late Sixties in San Diego, there was only 3 local TV stations and TV 8 (the future CBS8) was one of them. And one of their best reporters was Harold Keen – who later wrote for San Diego Magazine during its hey-day.

In this video from the past, Keen does a story on OB’s Inbetween, a youth drop-in center on Newport Avenue. Come inside to check it out.

by Scott Hopkins / Times of San Diego / April 29, 2026

There will be new leadership at Point Loma High next school year, after the current principal announced his early retirement. David Jaffe took the job with the school three years ago, succeeding Kelly Lowry, and had planned to work for three more years.

Over the past 34 years, Jaffe has served across all grades from pre-K-12. He has served as principal at four high schools, one elementary school, and for two years as a district superintendent. He began in 1992 as an instructional aide at Lewis Junior High School in San Diego.