Life Events

Continuing my series of ‘random’ stories of Ocean Beach, I wanted to go somewhere besides my usual haunt of Newbreak Cafe, across from the Lifeguard station. So, I tried going over to the great new coffeehouse on Voltaire that just opened, TeMana Cafe, … but it closed at 3pm. I turned and headed up the block to Hungry Lu’s where they must have good coffee, related to the Grab and Go stores – but no, they don’t sell coffee. Kids, I tried, I really did, but it was back to Newbreak for me.

It was a windy, cool day in OB, so I was looking forward to a mug of strong French Roast, and once I settled in at a small, round table inside Newbreak I was not disappointed. As I try to keep my interviews gender balanced, I was looking this day for an OBcean woman.

I found Sophie Stephens studying at her laptop; she had purple hair, so I thought this person must have a story to tell, and again I was not disappointed. She jumped at the chance to be interviewed – and as she met my criteria (resident of OB or Point Loma, willing to be interviewed, and have photos taken), I asked her to join me at my table which was a little quieter than hers.

There was a twist to the domestic violence incident that occurred in Point Loma the night of Saturday, March 30th. The woman involved went to jail and the male went to the hospital. Usually, it’s the other way around.

This time, the woman allegedly stabbed the guy – her boyfriend – in the arm during an argument at 3266 Loma Riviera Drive in Point Loma, police say.

San Diego Police officer David Stafford stated to the press:

“A woman in her late 30s got into an argument with her boyfriend. and she took out a knife and stabbed him in the arm.”

UPDATE: Boogie Boarder identified as 62 year old Vernon Taniguchi. Could be a local.

The Medical Examiner reported that the man pulled from the surf at Dog Beach on Sunday who later died is Vernon Taniguchi from San Diego.

We cannot be completely positive about whether the victim is Vernon Taniguchi of Point Loma, of Worden Street.

So the 62 year old who met his end Sunday very well could be a local. The deceased is Japanese-American and his next of kin have been notified.

Editor: this is the first in a hopefully weekly series highlighting different OBceans and their stories, OBceans chosen at random.

Each person I’ve ever met has a story. Whether it was their life experiences or their dreams, or a combination of both, everybody has a story to tell. So, with this belief firmly in mind, I set out to find a denizen of Ocean Beach who I knew would have an interesting and deeply individual story, so I could tell their story to the rest of the village.