September 2017

Why Does the Colorado River Need to Sue for Its Right to Exist?

September 29, 2017 by Source

View of Dead Horse Point, Colorado River

By Will Falk / San Diego Free Press

On Tuesday, September 26, the Colorado River will sue the State of Colorado in a first-in-the-nation lawsuit requesting that the United States District Court in Denver recognize the river’s rights of nature. These rights include the rights to exist, flourish, regenerate, and naturally evolve. To enforce these rights, the Colorado River will also request that the court grant the river “personhood” and standing to sue in American courts.

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Ocean Beach Town Council Provides a Much-Needed Forum for Residents

September 29, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

There was a slim audience inside the Masonic Center when the OB Town Council meeting got off the ground, Wednesday night, Sept. 27th, but by time the agenda entered the more prominent portions, it had swelled to nearly 60 – not including the dozen board members. And once again, the council provided a much-needed community forum for all kinds of issues of residents and businessowners, wannabe politicians and all those in the audience.

Here, below, are issues, news and events announced or raised.

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Reader Rant: ‘This Short Term Vacation Rental Mess Is Like Groundhog Day in San Diego’

September 28, 2017 by Source

By John Thickstun

Save San Diego Neighborhoods thinks San Diego should stop messing around with the Muncipal Code. Do what other responsible California coastal cities – like Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and Coronado – have done. Vote to reiterate – and enforce – what’s already in the Municipal Code – which prohibits short-term vacation rental(s) (STVR) because,

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OBceans Urged to Push San Diego into Joining Lawsuit Against Big Polluters

September 28, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina Speaks at OB Town Council Forum on Pollution

At the Ocean Beach Town Council meeting on Wednesday, September 27, Serge Dedina, the mayor of Imperial Beach, urged those in attendance to pressure the City of San Diego to join the lawsuit that Imperial Beach is part against big polluters.

Dedina, formerly an environmental attorney, has shepherded his city into being part of a suit against “36 of the world’s largest polluters”, which was begun by the northern California counties of San Mateo and Marin and is being joined by other cities, like Monterey and Santa Cruz.

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San Diego City Council Member Zapf Unacquainted With Cannabis Science

September 28, 2017 by Source

By Terrie Best /San Diego Americans for Safe Access / September 27, 2017

As the victory at City Council sinks in and a path to legitimacy will soon exist for San Diego’s cannabis supply chain, it is important to take a look at some of the city council members who made this happen and some of whom obstructed it.

In July, the city staff offered two options for opening zones, beyond retail, for the cannabis industry in the city of San Diego. Option One would

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Some Democrats on San Diego City Council Are Missing the Big Picture on Short Term Vacation Rentals

September 27, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

There’s some Democratic members of the San Diego City Council who are missing the “Big Picture” on the issue of short term vacation rentals. Particularly Councilmembers David Alvarez and Chris Ward. Mrtyle Cole is not off the hook yet either.

I know these seats on the council are supposed to be “non-partisan” but we all know they’re not. Democrats hold 5 seats on the council and Republicans have four. Many of the council votes reflect priorities of the different parties, and usually the Democratic councilmembers are on top of the big issues that affect San Diegans.

But not right now –

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Questions Remain Over Denial of Harbor View Drive Project at Peninsula Planners’ Meeting

September 27, 2017 by Source

By Geoff Page

There wasn’t a lot on the agenda for the Peninsula Community Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting at the Point Loma library Thursday, September 21, but there was one proposed project that encountered a lot of opposition apparently being led by former City Council member Byron Wear.

3328-40 Harbor View Drive

The contested project is at 3328-40 Harbor View Drive. There are three existing lots on this parcel of land that the applicant wants to reconfigure. There are two existing houses on two of the lots and the owner wants to build a third home after the reconfiguration.

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City Expands Sidewalk Sanitation Efforts to Ocean Beach, Midway and PB

September 27, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

Bleach Cleaning to Combat Hepatitis A Will Extend to Beach Communities Beginning Wed, Sept. 27th

The City of San Diego issued a statement today, September 27th, announcing that the program to sanitize the sidewalks in the most critical areas of downtown is expanding today to Ocean Beach, the Midway area and Pacific Beach. The City believes these neighborhoods also have the need to combat the hepatitis A outbreak.

Cleaning crews began today in parts of the Midway area, Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach, the City announced. Crews will work in Uptown and Mid-City on Friday. The announcement stated:

Sidewalk sanitizing is one of the key actions the City is taking to assist the County of San Diego’s efforts to eradicate the virus.

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Ocean Beach Town Council Responds to Target Express

September 26, 2017 by Source

From OBTC Newsletter

As a designated 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, the Ocean Beach Town Council (OBTC) is dedicated to expressing the will, representing the welfare, and sustaining the spirit of the community of Ocean Beach. Some of the many ways our organization does this include providing forums for the discussion of community issues, communicating the views and needs of the community to relevant parties, and taking appropriate action on community issues.

Recently, we held a public community forum on Target’s proposal

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San Diego Coastal Groups Working to Preserve Our Oceans

September 26, 2017 by Source

By Rachel Deitch /San Diego Entertainer Mag / September 20, 2017

Coastal groups are very important to our society here in San Diego, because we want to preserve our beautiful beaches. It’s important to educate the community on how to be aware of how to preserve our home. Restoring life and beauty to San Diego is done by the local coastal conservation groups, and its time for all of the ocean lovers and San Diego locals to get involved.

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OB Town Council Forum: Climate Lawsuit Against Big Polluters – Wed., Sept. 27

September 26, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

From OB Town Council

The City of Imperial Beach has joined two California counties in suing 3 dozen big oil, gas, and coal companies to help pay for damage caused by climate change, including rising sea levels. As a coastal community, the OBTC will host a forum for our residents to learn more about this action and how it might impact OB.

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Restaurant Review: Broken Yolk Cafe in Point Loma

September 26, 2017 by Judi Curry

Restaurant Review

Broken Yolk Cafe
3577 Midway Drive
San Diego, CA, 92110
619-358-9966

Many years ago, when my husband was still alive the Broken Yolk Café was one of our favorite restaurants for breakfast. When the widows decided to get together last Friday we thought it might be fun to return to the restaurant on Midway Drive. We had all been to the one in the Grossmont area together and although I do not usually do a review of a “chain”, we decided that this chain was smaller than many and we’d give it a try.

Parking is not a problem and getting to it from Midway was relatively easy.

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News and Notes from Ocean Beach and Point Loma – Early Fall 2017

September 25, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

* OB Pier Pancake Breakfast Raises Over $7,000 for OBTC Food and Toy Drive

* No Target in OB Events
* City Feels Push Back on Parking Regulations
* City Makes Improvements After Tragic Accident and Large Settlement
* Point Loma Pocket Park Design Chosen by Workshop
* Ocean Beach Woman’s Club Celebration – Oct. 5th

* Golfers Rally to Save Mission Bay Golfcourse

Come inside for these and other stories of OB and Point Loma

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Why Does Trump Keep Firing Up His Base?

September 25, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

What Is Trump Preparing His Base for?

First of 2 Parts

By Frank Gormlie

No matter the issue, Donald Trump always speaks reassuringly to his base, that 35% of the electorate who are loyal supporters who have stood with him no matter what he says or does. Even his speech at the United Nations was delivered directly to his base, with its trumpeting of the nationalistic themes of the campaign, using derogatory nick-names – a style lifted right out of his campaign – all to keep them on the Trump train.

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Midway Planners Hear Plans to Re-Develop SPAWAR’s 62 Acres

September 25, 2017 by Source

By Geoff Page

The Midway Community Planning Board members were excited by a presentation at their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, September 20 at the San Diego Community College’s West City Campus on Fordham Street. The board learned that the huge SPAWAR complex on Pacific Highway is in for a big change.

SPAWAR Buildings

SPAWAR is short for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.

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Lessons from Naomi Klein: Learning How to Resist Trump’s Shock Politics

September 25, 2017 by Jim Miller

Part Two

Last week, I discussed what I see as the first central lesson of Naomi Klein’s new book, No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need—that Donald Trump represents nothing new in American politics but rather, is the logical extension of decades of terrible ideas and policies. Today I’ll focus on the second key lesson of Klein’s work.

Neoliberal Incrementalism Brought to You by Democrats Is Not Enough

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Follow The Money to Understand Graham-Cassidy. Use Your Heart to Stop It.

September 22, 2017 by Doug Porter

Facts don’t matter when it comes to the Graham-Cassidy ‘get rid of Obamacare’ scheme. But feelings do. They had seven-plus years to come up with a plan. The best the Republicans could do earlier this year was to create underfunded versions of the Affordable Care Act. Facing a September 30th deadline for getting a bill passed using 51 votes, they have opted to blow up the law entirely.

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San Diego Kumeyaay Etched ‘Resistance Art’ in Floor and Roof Tiles of Early Spanish Churches

September 22, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

Richard Carrico, anthropology professor at SDSU, held an audience of over 60 people transfixed last night at the OB Historical Society monthly presentation with his slides and descriptions of how Kumeyaay laborers sketched artwork on floor and roof tiles of the churches they built for the first Spanish colonists in San Diego. He called it “resistance art or abusive art”.

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Border Wall Push Back at San Diego City Council Where Zapf Becomes an Embarrassment

September 21, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

California Sues Trump Administration Over Wall
This week has seen a definite push-back on Trump’s border wall, both locally, as the San Diego City Council voted 5-3 condemning it on Tuesday, and from the State of California which on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over the planned border wall.

During the debate on Councilwoman Georgette Gomez’s resolution opposing the construction of a border wall, our own Councilwoman Lorie Zapf became an embarrassment to her constituents in District 2.

More on Gomez’s successful motion

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Seeking Equality with a White-Supremacist-in-Chief in the White House

September 21, 2017 by Ernie McCray

Woman holding sign reading "Super Callous Fragile Racist Sexist Nazi POTUS"

By Ernie McCray

Some dude on television was trying to make a case that the president is not a white supremacist.

But, hey, I’ve dealt with white supremacists for 79 plus years and I have to say that Donald J. Trump is not only one, he’s the best example of such a being I have ever seen.

Take what he did with Jemele Hill, the ESPN sportscaster, my latest hero. She called him out on his white supremacism and he wants her fired and wants the network to apologize to him for her “untruth.” Scratch the prefix “un” and you see what he really wants her to apologize for.

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OB’s Own Melanie Williams Caught Up in Two Mexico Earthquakes

September 21, 2017 by Staff


OB’s own Melanie Williams went through both Mexico earthquakes that just occurred. Melanie, a former member of the OB Town Council board and an energetic mover-and-shaker in the local yoga world, had just recently moved to Mexico in June to set up a yoga center.

She was interviewed by San Diego Fox5. She told them about her experiences during the 8.1 quake off the southern Mexican coast where she was living in a fishing village about 30 miles from the epicenter when it struck 12 days ago. It woke her up:

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Bonnie Dumanis Uses Quotes from the OB Rag in Attack Ad Against Nathan Fletcher

September 20, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

Bonnie Dumanis, former DA and now candidate for the Board of Supervisors, recently used quotes from the OB Rag – who is no friend of Dumanis – in an online attack ad against Nathan Fletcher.

Both Dumanis and Fletcher are running for the same District 4 seat on the San Diego Board. Fletcher is the most-well known Democrat and will probably be endorsed by the County Democratic Party and Dumanis is the Republican establishment’s candidate (she was slammed in the special mayoral election a few years back).

In a mock pro-Fletcher ad, called “I (heart) Nathan”,

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Petition: Investigate Mayor Faulconer for Criminal Negligence in Hepatitis A Outbreak

September 20, 2017 by Source

Faulconer Has Ignored Calls for More Public Restrooms Downtown Since 2014

By Martha Sullivan / Change.org

The San Diego City government, led by Mayor Faulconer, has been told for three years that more public restrooms are needed downtown.

But the Mayor has consistently cried poor mouth — despite spending $2.1 million on an unplanned EIR for an upgraded Qualcomm Football Stadium during this time.

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End of Summer Ocean Beach Community Cleanup – Sat., Sept. 23

September 20, 2017 by Source

COME INSIDE FOR DETAILS

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County Supervisor District 4 Race Gets Crowded with Entry of Lori Saldaña

September 19, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

Ron Roberts is retiring. Roberts has been the County Supervisor who has represented Ocean Beach – and most of the rest of the City of San Diego – since 1994 so term limits will see him to the door at the end of 2018. And now the race for that District 4 seat is heating up, with the entry of Lori Saldaña who just announced she is running.

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The Widder Curry Says: ‘Water, Water Everywhere, But Too Expensive to Use’

September 19, 2017 by Judi Curry

In the past few days – probably after everyone received their new water bill, I have been inundated – not to be confused with the terrible floods on the east coast – with calls from people asking me if I saw a difference in my water bill this month. Without exception, everyone that called found huge increases in spite of the fact that their water consumption had not increased.

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Reader’s Rant: Sports versus Political Protest – Solutions to the National Anthem Controversy

September 19, 2017 by Source

By Beau Grosscup

As we enter the early weeks of the 2017 football season, the issue of political protest at sporting events is dominating media venues.

A long debated issue (e.g. former NBA star MahmoudAbdu-Raul-Rauf refused to stand for the National Anthem in 1996) San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick rekindled the debate by kneeling during National Anthem in the 2016 NFL season (since joined by others at every level of football/sporting events).

The NFL owners alleged conspiracy to keep Kaepernick from NFL employment, followed by pro-Keapernick protests at NFL headquarters in New York City, have so inflamed emotions

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Endangered Trees at Torrey Pines State Reserve Should Be Tested for Aluminum Poisoning

September 19, 2017 by Source

View of dead trees at Torrey Pines Reserve

By Dale Williams / San Diego Free Press

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve just north of San Diego is a majestic wilderness with views to the ocean, scenic sandstone cliffs and is home to one of the world’s rarest pine trees, the Torrey Pine. Anyone who has visited Torrey Pines Reserve in the past two years will have seen the large numbers of trees that died.

You see them along both sides of the main road to the visitor center, along Guy Fleming Trail, and several other locations. As I watched them die, I wondered why nobody was testing the soil, analyzing tree samples, or doing anything that might help determine the cause. I wanted to do something but didn’t know what. The media reported that the die-off was due to drought and beetles,

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Hepatitis A Vaccinations Available

September 18, 2017 by Source

By South OB Girl

By now most San Diegans are aware of the Hepatitis A outbreak in the city. If you would like some information about the availability of free vaccination — read on.

Free hepatitis A vaccinations will be available at the San Diego Central Library on September 19 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

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Kumeyaay Resistance and “Abusive” Art Under the Spanish – OB Historical Society, Sept. 21st

September 18, 2017 by Frank Gormlie

Kumeyaay Resistance and “Abusive” Art at Mission San Diego and the San Diego Presidio By Richard Carrico

Richard Carrico, local historian and anthropologist, will delve into the “dark art” that the Kumeyaay used to continue their ancient artistic practices and their use of symbology under the Spanish. Carrico usually makes an appearance once a year in Ocean Beach to share his vast knowledge of the history, culture and experiences of the San Diego area native Americans.

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