December 2016

The Obstacles to Navigating San Diego’s Housing Crunch

December 30, 2016 by Source
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By David Jackson / San Diego UrbDeZine

A Population Boom and a Housing Crunch. Rising prices and short supply are making it increasingly difficult to pay the rent in San Diego. If you’ve attempted to search for a place to rent in San Diego you’ve probably encountered more than a few roadblocks and had your fair share of frustrations. The challenges multiply if you’ve tried to find something affordable anywhere near where you work.

Housing prices have soared over the last several years to the delight of homeowners and landlords, but to the dismay of renters, especially those with lower incomes. The effects are being felt most directly by low income residents and millennials. New low income housing is needed in the short term with further developments in the coming years to prevent the city’s housing crisis from turning into an economic one.

A study by the London Group published by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce highlights one of the root causes for the housing shortfall, a lack of new building permits being issued in San Diego County.

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We Have to Stop Lamenting and Keep Hope Alive

December 30, 2016 by Ernie McCray

By Ernie McCray

The last two months of this year have been a living hell for many people, including me, considering our social and political sins but I’m definitely not going to classify 2016 as the worst year of my life – as a lot of people seem to be doing.

I mean by nature I tend to give very little value to my crummy times and tons of bonus points to the moments wherein my soul is filled with hope. Where there’s hope there’s got to be a good year. And I’m pretty much hoping for this and that all the time.

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Left Behind: Myrtle Cole’s Committee Appointments and Neighborhoods South of 8

December 30, 2016 by Anna Daniels

By Anna Daniels / San Diego Free Press

Myrtle Cole

San Diego City Councilwoman Myrtle Cole’s contentious election as Council president last week culminated with her appointments to the various City Council committees.

Few of us know that these committees exist or what they do, but by the time issues are brought before the full City Council for legislative action they have been discussed and pretty much finalized in a committee.

Cole’s appointments to the Public Services and Livable Neighborhood (PS&L) committee denies a seat at the table for those of us who live in communities south of 8. Her selection of Council members Chris Cate (chair), Lorie Zapf (vice chair), Barbary Bry, and Chris Ward is enraging, deeply concerning and unacceptable. Here’s what PS&L does:

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The Top 15 Stories from Ocean Beach and Point Loma for 2016

December 29, 2016 by Frank Gormlie

It’s that time of the year when media and press outfits turn reflective and ponder the “best” or “most important” stories they’ve published over the last 12 months. We’ve done something similar here after reviewing our archives from 2016, and have come up what we think are the “top stories” from OB and Point Loma for the year.

The “stories” are really news, photos, analysis and opinions about real issues within the communities of the Peninsula, a number of which have continued from last year. So, here they are, the top 15 stories – not in any precise order, but in some kind of semblance of importance, with the mostest at the beginning

1. Short Term Vacation Rentals

Definitely a hold-over issue from 2015, short term vacation rentals continue to spark an invigorated opposition from coastal communities – including OB. The loss of community that vacation rentals pose for Ocean Beach and other beach communities was explored here in The Loss of Community .

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Fighting the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” Decision

December 29, 2016 by John Lawrence

Wolf-Pac: A PAC Dedicated to Getting Money Out of Politics

By Paul Keleher and John Lawrence

The United States Supreme Court held (5–4) on 21 January 2010 that freedom of speech prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation.

The principles articulated by the Supreme Court in the case have also been extended to for-profit corporations, labor unions and other associations.

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Well Known OBcean “G-Rock” Badly Injured in Vehicle-Pedestrian Accident Christmas Night

December 29, 2016 by Staff
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A well known Ocean Beach man – who goes by his nickname “G-Rock” – was badly injured Christmas night in a vehicle-pedestrian accident; he’s currently hospitalized but is expected to recover.

Police reported that “G-Rock” was hit by a car at Ebers Street and Voltaire Street in Ocean Beach. It was determined by police that drugs or alcohol were not involved.

G-Rock’s name is Glyn Abraham Franks, according to a cousin, who contacted the OB Rag looking for any information about what happened. (Media called him “Glen”.) Franks is mentally challenged but has lots of friends in the community, as he was born and raised in OB.

He’s also an aide to his dad, Glyn Franks of 2nd Chances, Bread of Life food distribution.

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The Report of OB Rancho’s Death Is an Exaggeration – Now Due to Re-open in February

December 29, 2016 by Frank Gormlie
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There’s been lots of rumors and reports of the closing of Rancho’s in Ocean Beach – the well-loved veggie Mexican restaurant on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.

Eater San Diego went as far as including the closing of OB’s Ranchos on its list of “The Saddest Restaurant Closures of 2016”. The food blog quoted Troy Johnson of San Diego Magazine:

Rancho’s in Ocean Beach. Vegan and vegetarian-friendly Mexican food that had been a staple for the community for 30 years. Salsa that renewed my faith in life. Its closing is a sure sign of the Armageddon and bistrofication of San Diego’s last affordable beach town. Hopefully Cheesecake Factory will take its place so that I can finally throw myself off Sunset Cliffs with confidence.

Well, the OB Rag can now report – with some confidence – and paraphrasing Mark Twain’s famous quote,- that –

… the report of Rancho’s death is an exaggeration.

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Why We Still Need Feminism

December 28, 2016 by Source

Woman holding sign with heart-shaped cut-out reading: My Body, My Business, Mind Yours

Until recently, American women didn’t even own their own bodies.

By Jill Richardson / Other Words

From his campaign rhetoric to his transition appointments, our next president has placed himself squarely in a conservative movement calling itself the “alt-right.” That movement, the Los Angeles Times reports, “generally embraces and promotes white nationalism, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny.”

As a privileged, white, and heterosexual woman, I’ve never considered my rights under attack to the same degree as the other groups in that list. But to this incoming bunch, feminism is a dirty word.

Maybe it’s time to review what feminism is, and why it emerged in the first place.

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Buyer Beware!

December 28, 2016 by Judi Curry
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How many times have you heard that? How many times have you said to yourself that you will not be caught up in any type of scam or fraud scheme because you are too smart for that?

I’ve said it a dozen times, and wouldn’t you know it – I got caught twice this week. Damn fool!

The first time was when I purchased a skin ointment to erase my wrinkles. (See my article on my New Years Resolution . A “free” trial and just pay shipping. That has been resolved, after I saw a $89.90 bill on my credit card.

But let me tell you about this other one.

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Historic Marston House Hosts Book Release of Maria Garcia’s ‘La Neighbor’

December 28, 2016 by Anna Daniels

By Anna Daniels / San Diego Free Press

Maria Garcia recently release her long awaited book based on the award winning San Diego Free Press series The History of Neighborhood House in Logan Heights. The site of the book release—the historic Marston House—was no accident.

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Movie Review: The Many Resistances of Rogue One

December 27, 2016 by Source

Rogue One

By Daniel Gutierrez / Medium.com

Their labor is all the more praiseworthy in that they will not see the fruits of their sacrifices; but they can be certain that their labor will not be wasted. Nothing in this world is ever lost; tiny drops of water form the ocean. Mikhail Bakunin

There’s no doubt that the latest Star Wars film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, provides an uncanny reflection of our own times. The movie was released at the tail-end of a year that saw the death of countless poets, the demise of popular democracy across multiple countries, and the increasingly visible reconfiguration of a nationalist tendency throughout the global north. Looking towards next year, with the coming elections in both Germany and France, it should be clear that 2016 was not just one unjust, anomalous year?—?rather, its the first bad year in a new cycle defined by injustice.

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Censored 2016: Underreported Stories of the Year

December 27, 2016 by Frank Gormlie
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By Jim Miller

Project CensoredIn my final column of 2015, I wrote about the most underreported story of the year according to Project Censored’s annual list: “2016 will be the year when half of the world’s wealth will be controlled by the top 1%.” After reporting the dismaying details of that story, I ended with the following analysis:

So putting this all together, we are just about to end a year where we learned that global plutocracy is becoming more and more firmly entrenched and that the beneficiaries of that very system are not just responsible for an immoral level of economic inequality and human suffering but also for speeding us toward an apocalyptic end to the climate crisis.

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“A New Wrinkle in the Face of Things” – A New Years Resolution

December 27, 2016 by Judi Curry
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>Lets “face” it. My husband has been gone over seven years and for the past 6 of those years I have tried to find a new companion.

I lost 100 pounds; I grew my hair long – I’ve since cut it -; dyed my silver-gray hair brown – I’ve since gone back to being a blond; and put back some of the poundage I lost. And although I have met several men, none of them were “Mr. Right” – and many of them have been “Mr. Wrong”, as evidenced by the book I am writing entitled, “Liar, Liar.”

So I have tried everything that I know what to do to attract a man with no success. I even have been in a passive relationship, where I have pretended to know nothing so that HE could be the dominant one. That didn’t work either.

What must be the problem? I asked myself.

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The Celtic Roots of Christmas Traditions

December 24, 2016 by Source


by Alastair Kneale / Transceltic / December 15, 2016

The roots of the Christmas traditions that we recognize today can be traced back to pre-Christian celebrations of the Winter solstice.

The solstice is the twice yearly event when the sun appears to be at its highest or lowest point above the horizon. In the northern hemisphere the Winter solstice usually occurs annually between December 20 and December 23.

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A Call for Mayor Faulconer to Halt San Diego’s Confiscation of Blankets and Tents of the Homeless

December 23, 2016 by Anna Daniels

Editor:We received a report of police confiscating the blankets of OB homeless at the beach, we commented recently about Park and Rec crews removing homeless sleeping material from a tree in Robb Field, and below is a post by Anna Daniels who lives in City Heights with an accompanying video of trash workers removing tents and belongings of homeless. (If you cannot view the video, go to the original store at San Diego Free Press.)

Finally, at the end of the article is a petition being circulated calling upon Mayor Faulconer to confront the nightmare of homelessness. They are demanding Emergency Humanitarian Action to stop criminalizing homeless people in San Diego. It would be very Christian of him.

Did You Wake Up this AM in a Warm Home? Thousands of San Diegans Didn’t

By Anna Daniels / San Diego Free Press

The first of two storms expected to move through the San Diego region this week arrived last night with steady moderate rainfall here in City Heights. It was sixty degrees on the porch at 6:00 am this morning. The cats had taken shelter there and were curled up in loosely strewn bedding. I was still bed warm and savoring the first cup of coffee. Then I remembered this:

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The Benefits of Community Choice Energy and How California Utilities Aim to Block Them

December 23, 2016 by Source

Graphic depicting Community Energy Choice model

By Tyson Siegele / SD350.org

In California, the fight is on between renewable energy advocates and the old guard electric utilities. All across California, cities and counties have been moving to implement Community Choice programs because they provide cheaper, cleaner, locally generated electricity. In fact these programs are so good, the utilities hope you never hear about them.

Before we get to the conflict and intrigue, let’s look at the basics of this new approach to buying electricity. Community Choice Energy (CCE), also known as Community Choice Aggregation, is a way for cities, counties or regions in California to look out for their own energy interests, a hybrid between regulated and deregulated electricity supply

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General Health Advisory Issued for Ocean Beach and All County Beaches and Bays

December 23, 2016 by Staff

Swimming, Surfing and Diving Need to Be Avoided for 72 Hours After Rainfall

The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health has issued a General Advisory for the all coastal waters and beaches – including Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliffs, Mission Beach, Mission Bay and Pacific Beach – due to all the substantial recent rainfall. It also includes San Diego Bay and all all coastal beaches.

Swimmers, surfers, and other ocean users are warned that levels of bacteria can rise significantly in ocean and bay waters, especially near storm drains, creeks, rivers, and lagoon outlets that discharge urban runoff.

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Review : Kona Kai Resort & Spa – Vessel Restaurant

December 22, 2016 by Judi Curry

Restaurant Review

Kona Kai Resort & Spa – Vessel Restaurant
1551 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
Reservations – 800-566-2524

Last month when I did a restaurant review with Deb, we agreed that we would try to do one more before the year was out. One day this week was that day and we decided to try the lunch at “Vessels” at the Kona Kai Resort. I am so glad that we did.

But, of course, it didn’t start out the way we hoped it would. I had made a reservation using “Open Table” for 12:15pm. The parking is somewhat difficult, and the lot is to the right of the hotel. One must take a ticket to remember to have validated before trying to retrieve your car.

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Why Privatizers Look Forward to 2017

December 22, 2016 by Source

Earth excavator

By Donald Cohen / Capital & Main

“We’re just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks.”

That’s what Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s chief strategist and cofounder of the website Breitbart, said a few weeks ago about Trump’s plan to rebuild America’s infrastructure.

That pretty much fits with what we know so far. Trump wants to “invest” $1 trillion in fixing and building roads, bridges, water pipes and other infrastructure. But by “invest” he means using massive tax breaks to convince private investors to spend the money.

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City to Halt Coastal Mansions Permitted Through Affordable Housing Program

December 21, 2016 by Frank Gormlie
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The good news is that the City of San Diego has halted a decade’s old practice of allowing large single-family homes to be built in coastal areas expedited under the City’s affordable housing and sustainability program.

The bad news is that the City’s Development Services Department allowed single-family mansions to be built at all under a program that they were ineligible for – for a decade.

We reported in an earlier post about this program and how developers of single-family units had their projects expedited and how one big-time insider was able to take advantage of his connections:

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Trying to Climb Back to the Mountain Top

December 21, 2016 by Ernie McCray
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by Ernie McCray

On the Sunday before the election I felt so good, sitting on a rock at Mt. Palomar in the sun. The day before I had gone on an invigorating hike as woodpeckers stored acorns and wasps and gnats and flies flitted about with critters unseen on the run.

I was on the top of the world, my usual self, full of humor, and get up and go.

Election night came along and after the results were in I had evolved into somebody I didn’t recognize. It seemed as though I had been shot with a taser gun that had been designed to take down a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

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Oklahoma Residents Taking Action Against Frackers But Is It To No Avail?

December 21, 2016 by John Lawrence

FrackersEarthquake Capital of US

By John Lawrence

We have written previously about the fact that Oklahoma is now the earthquake capital of the US. It seems forcing all the waste products from fracking down deep wells has disturbed the earth enough to cause a lot of earthquakes there.

In addition to jolting the nerves of Oklahomans, it is destroying their property. In 2014, there were over twice as many earthquakes recorded in Oklahoma as in California, making Oklahoma the most seismically active state in the contiguous United States by a substantial margin.

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It’s Official : America Is in Distress – Place Your Flag Stamp Upside Down

December 20, 2016 by Frank Gormlie

With the Electoral College vote on December 19th confirming Donald Trump as the next president, it is now official that the United States of America is in distress.

We are calling on our readers and supporters to d0 something every day to signify this distress.

And one of these things can be as small as placing your American flag stamps upside down every time you mail something.

The upside down American flag is a time-honored tradition of demonstrating in a small way that the country is in trouble, in distress.

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More News from Point Loma and OB

December 20, 2016 by Staff
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SWAT Action on Coronado Ave.

An incident at a Point Loma-area home Monday prompted a police SWAT response,

OB Neighbors Replace Stolen 90-Year Old’s Bike

Days after thieves stole the bicycle of a 90-year-old retired doctor, his neighbors came together to give him a new bike.

Arrest in Hit and Run that Injured 2 Pedestrians in Midway

A 21-year-old man arrested early Sunday, Dec. 18, is accused of seriously injuring two pedestrians in a hit-and-run crash in the Midway Area.

Point Lomans Want to Barricade City’s Proposed Chain-Link Fence Design for Nimitz Bridge

Whether one calls it the Nimitz Blvd. Bridge or the Voltaire Street bridge, the concrete span that passes over Nimitz Boulevard on the 3900 block of Voltaire Street between Wabaska Drive and Sea Colony Court, has found itself in a bit of a controversy.

Old Warhead Found in Point Loma Home Under Construction

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s bomb squad investigated what appeared to be a military ordinance that was found in Point Loma Saturday afternoon.

YOU HAVE TO COME INSIDE FOR THE STORIES

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One Person, One Vote: Time to Eliminate Electoral College

December 20, 2016 by Anna Daniels

By Anna Daniels / San Diego Free Press

Yesterday, December 19, electors cast their votes in the Electoral College against a backdrop of protests across the country, including here in San Diego.

For the second time in some of our memories, the winner of the popular vote lost the Electoral College vote.

Democrats howled after Al Gore’s loss in 2000 and agreed that something must be done about the Electoral College. All of the sound and fury ultimately signified nothing–here we (Democrats) are again.

A useful thought experiment is to imagine what would have happened if Trump had won the popular vote and not the Electoral College. Do you seriously think that we would be hearing about anything except how the election was stolen from Trump?

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Floppy’s New Wheels

December 20, 2016 by Source

By South OB Girl

Over the years you may have seen the Welsh corgi Floppy at the side of his owner, Steve Mallory, who is the owner of Mallory Furniture on Newport Ave in Ocean Beach.

Recently you may have seen 16-year old Floppy in his new “ride.” A shopping cart which was abandoned in Mallory’s parking lot, with no markings of Vons or Ralphs or any business name. After asking police officers if using the cart would be okay – Mallory has transformed the cart into a portable bed to take Floppy out on strolls. As quite tragically, Floppy now suffers from a genetic disorder, canine degenerative myelopathy.

Canine degenerative myelopathy is an incurable, progressive disease of the canine spinal cord that is similar in many ways to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Progressive weakness and in-coordination of the rear limbs are often the first signs seen in affected dogs, with progression over time to complete paralysis. Mallory says the first sign for Floppy was that he could not walk up stairs.

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Five San Diego Protests Planned for Trump Inauguration Weekend

December 20, 2016 by Doug Porter

By Doug Porter

The ugly reality of the Trump era is coming more into focus every day as announcements about billionaires, generals, and bigots joining his cabinet are made.

I’m looking ahead to the activist actions being planned for the weekend of the inauguration. In addition to local events, there are already rallies, demonstrations, and marches planned for more than 60 cities worldwide.

The local events are still not quite focused, and I expect the lineup will change over the next month. The one that looks to be the biggest will be the Women’s March on January 21st. You can read about them all following next week’s events listed below.

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Restaurant Review : Pomodoro in Point Loma

December 19, 2016 by Judi Curry

Restaurant Review

Pomodoro
2833 Avenida De Portugal
San Diego, CA 92106
619-523-1301

Strange how fate works. I have been asked five times in the last six weeks if I had ever eaten at Pomodoro. Several times I had planned on doing so but just had never been able to find the right time or right person to go with me. Then earlier this week I saw on Face Book that my daughter had lunch there and really enjoyed it. Then I knew I had to try it.

I belong to a support group where all of us have lost a loved one and it just so happened that we were going to meet on Saturday and it was my turn to select the restaurant. No question as to where we were going to go!

And let me start out by saying that I am glad we went.

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75th Anniversary Party at Pacific Shores

December 19, 2016 by Source
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By South OB Girl

Friday night – December 16th – was the 75th Anniversary Party at Pacific Shores.

This was not an average Friday night at Pac Shores. Locals as well as people from all over the county came out for the special event.

Billy Butter catered a feast that was free to all who arrived before the food ran out. It was a decadent meal. Roast beef with gravy and horseradish sauce. Baked potatoes with flavored butters which Billy makes himself. Dinner rolls and salad. A full dinner. Laid out in the back room where the pool table is. Billy’s grandfather used to cook at Pac Shores when he came back from fishing trips. It is a family tradition that Billy has continued.

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Progressive Stocking Stuffers for the Impending Trump Era

December 19, 2016 by Jim Miller

A Handful of the Most Important and Interesting Books of 2016

By Jim Miller

If you just can’t bring yourself to give up on the sordid consumer frenzy and go all in for a Buy Nothing Christmas, then perhaps getting your loved ones a few good books to help them navigate the dark near-future is the next best thing.

Here is my annual list of a handful of some of the most instructive stand-out books of 2016:

1. Back in the Spring, I wrote the following about Thomas Frank’s Listen, Liberal Or What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?:

Thomas Frank has written the most important political book of 2016,

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