Grassroots and Progressive views on local, national and world news

San Diego Library Advocates Are Calling for Residents to Speak Out at City Council Tonight — Wed, May 8 at 6 pm

by Source on May 8, 2024 · 1 comment

in Culture, Economy, San Diego

Patrick Stewart, the head of the San Diego Library Foundation, a non-profit advocate for the City’s libraries, is calling upon residents to attend tonight’s City Council meeting to show elected officials that libraries are essential to our communities. They deserve to be funded in our City budget, not neglected.

Directions for Wednesday, May 8 Budget Review Committee meeting at the City Administration Building, 202 “C” Street, 12th floor Council Chambers

The City Administration Building is a one block walk from the Civic Center trolley stop off the Orange or Blue lines and is served by several MTS bus lines. Paid parking is available in lots near the Administration Building and in the adjacent Evan Jones Parkade.

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San Diego’s Cannabis Equity Program at Risk in Mayor’s Proposed Budget

by Source on May 8, 2024 · 0 comments

in Economy, Health, San Diego

By Joey Safchik /7SanDiego /April 29, 2024

A city of San Diego cannabis social equity program has been in the works for years.

The program’s goal is to open doors for people and family members impacted by the criminalization of cannabis so that they can enter the now-legal industry. The city’s own study found people of color were disproportionately affected.

Megain McCall has a felony cannabis conviction for possession of a bag of cannabis-infused candy. McCall has spent half a decade advocating for the social equity program.

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Mayor’s Office vs. OB’s Historical District

by Source on May 8, 2024 · 2 comments

in Ocean Beach

By Colleen O’Connor

Last night’s overflow crowd of concerned OB and Point Loma residents at the monthly meeting of the OB Planning Board demonstrates once again, the deafness of the Mayor, most of the Council and a slew of bureaucrats.

It was yet another serious event to stop the overdevelopment, the neighborhood destruction, the arrogance of Mayor Gloria and those claiming to support a daft slogan,“Complete Communities,” but leads quickly to the “loss of neighborhood character” and then to their demise.

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Ocean Beach Planning Board Rejects 20-Unit Complex on Point Loma Avenue

by Frank Gormlie on May 8, 2024 · 8 comments

in Ocean Beach

Before a packed community meeting room, the Ocean Beach Planning Board last night rejected a proposed development with 20 units on Point Loma Avenue. The vote was 7 to 1 – and immediately, applause broke out.

Board member Kevin Hastings made the successful motion to reject the project — an earlier motion to approve it failed for lack of a second — and Kevin based his motion on the loss of commercial space and for being out of compliance with the OB Community Plan.

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OB’s ‘Volley Ball Wars’ Over Public Beach Leave the Public Out

by Staff on May 8, 2024 · 2 comments

in Ocean Beach, Sports

By Geoff Page

A volleyball company’s use of OB’s sands to make money has residents who live nearby upset. This was all detailed in The Rag’s February 22 piece. It appeared that this problem was solved recently when the city denied Volo Sports, the subject of the previous Rag story, a permit to use “pop-up” volleyball nets.

The immediate issue, the apparent reason why the city denied the permit, was a safety concern brought forward by the lifeguards. The official word from the lifeguards is not forthcoming, but it is known the objection had to do with “pop-up” volleyball nets.

It is not difficult to discern the safety issue when looking at a pop-up net. It consists of a pole and at least two, or three, guy ropes tied to stakes or buried weights under the sand. When Volo’s business is in full bloom, there is a forest of these guy ropes everywhere.

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The Real ‘Outside Agitators’ at UC San Diego

May 8, 2024 by Staff

How the Anti-Vietnam War Movement Hastened the End of the War, the Draft and Improved America

May 7, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

The May Rebellion of 1970: It Hastened the early withdrawal from Cambodia and the End of the Vietnam War

By Frank Gormlie

The month of May 1970 was the very height of the anti-Vietnam war movement — and I just wrote an entire book about that fateful month, The May 1970 Rebellion. Here, then, is an excerpt from an earlier edit.

The May Rebellion changed America and changed American politics forever – both in the immediate sense and over the ensuing decades.

The historically unparalleled “100-a-day new campus protests that occurred during the four days following the student fatalities at Kent State” led to the creation of the largest student strike in American history.

It hastened the early withdrawal of the US military from Cambodia and was instrumental in forcing the end of the Vietnam war.

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It’s Always the ‘Outside Agitator’ Who’s to Blame

May 7, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

By Frank Gormlie

In my book, The May 1970 Rebellion – about the height of the anti-Vietnam war movement, I discuss “outside agitators.” Here’s an excerpt:

From college administrators, mayors, local politicians and governors to the President of the United States, the real instigators of all the violence and turmoil were the outside agitators, the Weathermen, professional instigators and rioters.

For example, Kentucky Governor Louie Nunn blamed “outside agitators” and “professionals” for the disturbances at the University of Kentucky. At Ohio University Athens and at the University of Minnesota in Duluth, outside agitators were blamed for the violence.

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An Investigation by County Grand Jury Into San Diego’s Planning Process Picks Up Support

May 7, 2024 by Source

There’s a movement afoot to have the San Diego County Grand Jury investigate the city of San Diego’s planning process, and it just recently picked up support from the La Jolla Community Planning Association.

The idea for such an investigation started with a complaint from the Community Planners Committee, which meets monthly and is composed of the leaders of community planning groups across the city. (OB Planning Board head Andrea Schlageter chairs the CPC.)

CPC has asked the planning groups to “endorse a request for an investigation of the San Diego city Planning Department, Development Services Department and reporting structures that have led to improper project classifications, improper legislation of municipal code and non-compliant communications.”

At their May 2 meeting, the La Jolla Community Planning Association gave its unanimous support to the proposed investigation.

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SDSU Claims No Documents Exist About Free Sports Arena Offer

May 7, 2024 by Source

By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa / May 2, 2024

San Diego State University and the California State University Chancellor’s office now claim there are no public records related to a 2022 proposal from a private developer to build a new sports arena at no expense to taxpayers within the SDSU West campus in Mission Valley, although a term sheet was reviewed in mid-2022.

SDSU President Adela de la Torre, several University officials, and two private businessmen flew to Texas on a private jet in May 2022 to tour a similar sports arena built at the University of Texas at Austin’s campus yet there are no emails, text messages, or documents to detail the opportunity that was the reason for the high-level trip.

The trip came after discussions with Oak View Group, a Denver-based venue developer and operator that financed the then-new $345 million Moody Center in Austin under a deal that did not require any public taxpayer dollars but includes a profit-sharing deal with UTA that will provide millions of dollars to the University over the lifespan of the arena.

Restaurant Service ‘Fee’ Will Soon Be Illegal in California

May 7, 2024 by Source

By Chris Lindahl / Patch San Diego / May 5, 2024

From automatic service charges to vague “living wage” fees, California restaurants have increasingly been tacking on extra costs to diners’ bills in recent years, much to customers’ chagrin. But starting later this year, that practice will become illegal — the menu price (plus tax) is all you’ll have to pay.

Signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October and set to take effect July 1, SB 478 will prohibit hidden fees, defined by state officials as fees in which a seller uses an artificially low advertised price to attract a customer, disclosing additional required fees in fine print or tacking on unavoidable charges later in the buying process.

Researchers at UC San Diego Create ‘Self-Recycling’ Plastic

May 7, 2024 by Source

By Jared Aarons / ABC10News / May 02, 2024

By Jared Aarons / ABC10 / May 02, 2024

A team of researchers from UC San Diego has come up with a unique solution to help with the world’s plastic problem.

They created a form of plastic that can basically recycle itself.

Dr. Adam Feist and Professor Jon Pokorski combined traditional polyurethane with a microbial spore to create plastic that can break down in compost or any other natural environment in around 5 months.

They published a paper this week in Nature Communications detailing their process and results.

“There are some studies that show, of the millions, trillions of microbes out there, some can eat the plastic itself,” says Feist. “So we were saying if we combine them together, what would happen? And how can that better facilitate that massive problem we have with polymers everywhere?”

2024’s Last Chance: Divine Intervention or ‘Megalopolis’

May 6, 2024 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

“Ahead of the movie’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, the first trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi passion project, Megalopolis, has been released online.”

Coppola, the magician of movies with relevance (Godfather I and II and Apocalypse Now) worked on his new film for more than a decade. Part Sci-Fi and part morality play, it may demonstrate a last chance for salvation. Dwindling audiences define politics while Blockbuster moments prevail elsewhere.

Barbie and Oppenheimer in movies. In sports. Katlin Collins and the WMBA finals. Add Saturday’s 150th Kentucky Derby crowds and photo finish. Blockbuster concerts like Taylor Swift. All mega events. All with cheers. Massive crowds of appreciation. Not so in current U.S. politics.

Making Sense of the Federal Policy Changes for Cannabis

May 6, 2024 by Source

Roll up for Cannabis Equity

By Terrie Best

The Department of Justice has announced they plan to move “marijuana” (they call it that because they are silly and won’t get onboard) from class I to III on the controlled substances schedule.

74% of Americans live in a state with a cannabis program of some kind. This is the first change to federal cannabis policy in decades and it is to be celebrated for sure. Still, the goal is and must remain full legalization and removal from the controlled substances schedule altogether. Which could mean that medical cannabis will take a different track then adult use.

OB Historical District Should Prevent Proposed 20-Unit Complex for Point Loma Ave., But City Says ‘Forget About It’

May 6, 2024 by Source

By Geoff Page

Mayor Todd Gloria’s Complete Communities Housing Solutions are coming for OB in the form a 20-unit anthill on a 7,396 square foot lot with virtually no parking or outdoor space.

Anyone who wants to defend Ocean Beach from this kind of mutant development showing up next door to them should attend the OB Community Planning Board meeting tomorrow, May 7, 6:00 p.m., at the OB Rec Center.

The Project

The project was detailed in The Rag’s April 16 story. The project is designed to take advantage of the city’s new Complete Communities Housing Solutions, or CCHS, program. The problem is, the city’s own CCHS documents state the project is not allowed because it is within an historic district.

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OB Planning Board to Review Proposed 20-Unit, 3-Story Complex on Point Loma Ave. — Tuesday, May 7

May 6, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

The OB Planning Board meets this Tuesday May 7th at 6pm at the OB Rec Center.

There is one project on agenda: 4705 Point Loma Ave.

The Board’s sub-committee, the Project Review Committee reviewed the project on April 17, 2024. Their action was as follows:

“Motion to approve the project with a condition of approval requiring a 30-day minimum rental agreement for all building occupants. (Passes 3-2-0)”

What’s being proposed at the corner at 4705 Point Loma Avenue is a 3-story, 20 unit complex — but only 3 of its units will be “affordable” and it will only provide 9 parking spaces.

The density that is being proposed in way out of whack with OB’s normal density limits. But the developer can bypass local community plans as long as it’s complying with Mayor Gloria’s so-called Complete Communities.

Here’s the official agenda (see below for more on “The Point”).

UPDATED: Gaza Solidarity Encampment at UCSD Cleared Out — Dozens Arrested

May 6, 2024 by Staff

Law enforcement has cleared out the “Gaza Solidarity” encampment at UC San Diego. Dozens of protesters were detained or arrested, according to media reports.

Authorities declared the encampment an unlawful assembly at about 5:45 a.m. and ordered the protesters to leave.

The university announced that there was police activity from North Torrey Pines Road to Interstate 5. Non-essential employees were advised to move to remote operations, while essential employees were directed to report to work as usual, according to UCSD.

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Is UCSD Palestine Solidarity Encampment About to Be Shut Down?

May 6, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

A contact of the Rag’s at UC San Diego has just informed us that the situation on campus appears that law enforcement is preparing to shut down the Palestine solidarity encampment.

The encampment — now in its 5th or 6th day — consists of some 50 tents and is mainly near the Geisel Library.

E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Organic Walnuts Sold in San Diego Stores, Including OB People’s Food

May 3, 2024 by Source

An E. coli outbreak has been linked to organic walnuts sold at stores in San Diego County.

Gibson Farms, a company based in Hollister, California, voluntarily recalled its Organic Light Halves and Pieces shelled walnuts after discovering the nuts could be contaminated with an E. coli strain that “causes a diarrhea illness often with bloody stools.” So far, 12 people have been sickened and seven have been hospitalized,

San Diego County Has Already Met State’s Housing Unit Mandate for Projected Population Growth Thru 2050

May 3, 2024 by Source

By Richard T. Carlson/ Times of San Diego / April 30, 2024

Has San Diego County already built enough new housing to accommodate all the currently projected population growth through the year 2050?

This is a stunning question to ask given the frenzied rhetoric about needing to build large numbers of new units of every type, everywhere to deal with what is widely perceived as a massive housing shortage by politicians, housing advocacy groups, and the public.

But the answer, surprisingly, is “yes.”

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UCSD Jewish Faculty and Students Stand in Solidarity with Campus Protest for Gaza, Now in 3rd Day

May 3, 2024 by Source

Students at UC San Diego have settled into their encampment of support for Palestinians in the Middle East, near the Geisel Library. And due to the protest, UC San Diego officials announced the cancellation of the annual Sun God Festival that was scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 4.

The UCSDivest Coalition is demanding a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Among the group’s other demands is a call for the university to divest from all of its Israeli financial interests.

Meanwhile, Jewish Faculty and Students at UCSD just released a statement of solidarity with the campus protest.

‘Raising Cane’ Coming to the Midway

May 3, 2024 by Source

The eighth San Diego location of chicken tender restaurant chain Raising Cane’s is heading to San Diego’s Midway District.

A San Diego branch of Raising Canes’s is currently in the planning stages for the property on the corner of Camino Del Rio and Hancock Street where a Jack In The Box and Denny’s previously sat in the Midway District/Sports Arena area of San Diego’s Point Loma. Like other locations, the incoming restaurant will offer a concise menu centered around fresh-never-frozen, hand-dipped chicken fingers that are breaded and fried to order and available in combo platters and on sandwiches.

May 2024 Events from the Ocean Beach Green Center

May 3, 2024 by Source

Every Saturday at 10:30 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings May 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th. Keep up-to-date on climate issues and Climate Action events. To register email Jon Findley at jon@climatemobsd.org. More info: https://www.facebook.com/SDClimateMobilization/

Every Saturday 12 pm – 1 pm Peace Vigil for Palestine: Advocate for Peace and Justice in Gaza and Everywhere Join CODEPINK SD, San Diego Veterans for Peace, and Palestine Pals every Saturday at 12:00 pm on the plaza corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and W. Point Loma Blvd., entry to Ocean Beach, San Diego. Wear pink and bring a peace-related poster if you have one! Contact: Nathanael · nathandw@riseup.net

May 1st to May 31st Bike Month 2024! Events by San Diego County Bike Coalition Bike Month is our favorite time of the year! For list of events and more info: https://sdbikecoalition.org/event/bike-month-2024/

Michael Smolens: ‘A judge’s ruling and pushback from the Coastal Commission present challenge to market-rate development advocates’

May 3, 2024 by Source

Editordude: This is an excellent summary of the very current trends in California and San Diego housing and a must-read.

By Michael Smolens / Columnist – San Diego Union-Tribune / May 3, 2024

In recent years, the Legislature has passed several laws to increase housing density across the state. But a ruling by a Los Angeles County judge and pushback from the California Coastal Commission may slow that momentum.

Both developments highlight perhaps the most disputed notion in the politics of housing — that producing more market-rate housing will lower sale prices and rents.

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The ‘Shell House’ in Point Loma Is No More

May 3, 2024 by Source

From CBS8/ April 29, 2024

A Point Loma landmark is now rubble. Seashells torn down from the front yard of a place locals called the “shell house”.

Manny Neves has lived behind the unique house with all the shells in the front yard off Rosecrans for years. He’s Portuguese like the fisherman who lived in the home and built a seashell garden, of sorts.

Mass Arrests, Building Take-Overs, Clashes and Claims of ‘Outside Agitators’ Echo Height of Anti-Vietnam War Movement

May 1, 2024 by Frank Gormlie

1300 Arrests and Calls for National Guard to Deal with Palestinian Protests Echo May 1970 Rebellion and Kent State Murders

Whether I submit to it or not, because I’ve just finished writing a book about the height of the anti-Vietnam war movement over 50 years ago, I am now an expert on the era that brought us the Kent State massacre and the first national student strike of May of 1970.

The reports of up to 1300 arrests nation-wide of pro-Palestinian protesters, up to 2 dozen college campuses undergoing protests, numerous building take-overs and encampments, clashes between police and students, threats to bring in the National Guard and now claims of “outside agitators” — all echo what happened during the high-water mark of the decade long movement against the US wars in Southeast Asia.

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Judge Rules SB9 Is Unconstitutional

April 30, 2024 by Source

By Liam Dillon / LA Times – Yahoo News / Mon, April 29, 2024

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled that a landmark law ending single-family-home-only zoning in California is unconstitutional, a decision that could lead to the law being invalidated in the state’s largest cities.

Judge Curtis Kin determined that Senate Bill 9 does not provide housing restricted for low-income residents and therefore cannot override state constitutional protections afforded to local zoning practices.

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City Conducts ‘Survey’ on New Ocean Beach Pier Design But It’s a Waste of Time

April 30, 2024 by Source

COST TO BUILD??? COST TO MAINTAIN??? WTF???

By Geoff Page

For anyone who may not be aware, the City is conducting a fourth survey of opinions about a new OB pier. This survey followed the last public workshop the city held on Saturday, April 6 at Liberty Station.

So, imagine going to a car dealer who brings you out three cars to look at: a VW Bug, a Ford RAV, and a full sized, four-door, black BMW sedan, with no pricing on them, and being asked, which one you “preferred.” The BMW would be the winner for sure.

Then, the dealer shows you a list of fancy options and asks which ones you ‘prefer” and you go for heated seats of fine leather and other unnecessary niceties, with no pricing.

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Jellyfish-Like Blobs Washing Ashore in SoCal

April 30, 2024 by Source

by Amber Coakley / April 27, 2024

There’s some bizarre sea creatures washing ashore along the Southern California coastline. They can be described as jellyfish-like blobs that are shaped like oval discs. Known as Velella velellas, this marine species lives on the surface of the open ocean.

With other names like sea raft, purple sail, little sail and by-the-wind sailor, this sea creature has a “sail” rising vertically from the center of its bodies. Jessica Rodriguez, the education and communications manager at a popular whale watching tour agency in Newport Beach, California, said velella velellas are not always around.