OB FLASHES – News, Calendar, and Whatever – March 9, 2011

Sunset and a seagull. Photo by Jim Grant.

Arrest of Second Suspect in OB Business Window Vandalism Imminent

According to SDPD Detective Bill Miles, the second suspect in the huge graffiti etchings that hit Ocean Beach businesses last month has been identified.  He had reportedly fled the state for Nevada. Officer Miles of the Graffiti Strike Force told the OB Rag today (3-9-11) that the warrant for suspect #2 is in the system and he should be arrested within the week.   Suspect #1, Jonathan Gurr of Pacific Beach, was arrested March 2nd with the aid of “good old-fashioned police work” Miles said. Plus several tips came through on the SDPD Crimestoppers post.  Suspect #3 has also been identified and is under surveillance.  Over a hundred windows were vandalized in one evening’s graffiti spree in OB.  Pacific Beach businesses were also targeted and Gurr is charged with those damages also.

Officer Miles said that Gurr is not “Hispanic”, despite the allegations that all three suspects were Latino.  An OB business security videocamera caught the three while they were engaged in their vandalism. Miles also urged victims to contact him with follow-up estimates of their damages.  Det. Miles’ desk phone is : 619-515-2756.

OB Planning Board Election – March 15th

If you’re a resident, property owner, or businessperson of Ocean Beach, you ought to be voting in the upcoming annual elections of your local planning committee, the OB Planning Board. The election to fill vacant spots on the 14 member Board is on Tuesday, March 15th, from 4 to 7pm at the OB Recreation Center, corner of Santa Monica and Ebers. Go to the Board’s website here to see which District you are in.  The OB Planning Board is the only democratically-elected representative body in town, and in recent months, it has held hearings – either informal or formal – on the Torrey Pine on Longbranch, the VFW moving, and the Brighton Ave. restroom.

NEW UPDATE: Special Meeting on Proposed Medical Marijuana Ordinance – March 16th

The Ocean Beach Planning Board will be holding a special meeting 3/16/11 at 6:30 pm at the OB Rec center to discuss the new medical marijuana ordinance that the city council will be voting on this month.  There will be a chance for public comment before the board comes up with any recommendation on the issue – so make sure you attend if you have any interest.

OB Rag Letter-Writing Campaign Over Lack of U-T Coverage of Large San Diego Labor Rally Gets “Apology”

On February 26th, a thousand supporters of the demonstrators in Wisconsin rallied in San Diego.  The OB Rag not only covered it but was one of the original instigators of the event.  But when the San Diego U-T failed to mention it, we were so incensed that we began a letter-writing campaign to the U-T to complain.  This campaign did elicit an apology of sorts from Jeff Light, the new editor of San Diego’s daily:

I’m not sure how we missed covering Saturday’s event. I am looking into it.

Our own Doug Porter sent a personal email to Jeff Light about the lack of coverage, and in response, received this from Nancy Wyld, Newsroom Operations Manager:

Dear Mr. Porter,

We blew it. No simpler way to put it. I am told there was discussion that we would have something on the rally. The editor in charge that day is not in yet for me to find out what happened but this was in error.

Pot-hole Locator Wins OB Rag T-shirt

We held a contest a short while back about finding the best OB pot-hole, with the winner receiving an OB Rag T-shirt.  Well, someone going by the handle “All People Everywhere” won hands-down by sending us a list, photos and locations of about 30 Ocean Beach pot-holes.  And they received one of our T-shirts in the mail. Congrats!

U-T Cartoonist Snags OB in Weekly Caption Contest

Each week, San Diego U-T editorial cartoonist Steve Breen holds a caption contest.  He draws a cartoon and readers are urged to come up with the funniest or most pithy caption. The winning caption and author’s name and runners-up are all published at the end of the week.  Well, this week, Ocean Beach is in Breen’s sights; the cartoon shows a large sign that says, “Ocean Beach Where Our Motto is: ” (blank)”.

We’re unclear why Breen decided to run this cartoon and caption-suggestion at this point in time. Ocean Beach has not particularly been in the news of late (except for the graffiti vandals and Park and Rec fraud).  It has been nearly a year since the divisive “bums” sticker controversy erupted in OB – which this cartoon suggests or implies. So, we are bringing this “contest” to your attention, dear reader, in the hopes that you can make some sense of all this and even submit a real humorous caption to counter the likely derisive ones that this contest will most certainly elicit. (You can submit captions via email to contestentry@uniontribune.com .)

If you read the U-T‘s online publication, SignOnSanDiego, just about any article about Ocean Beach receives a batch of the most bewildering xenophobic and derisive comments about OB, the homeless, and our residents. So, this caption contest should be interesting to see what rabbits the editors pull from their hat full of responses.

OB Historical Society’s Annual Wisteria Tea Party – March 19th

Why not join the Ocean Beach Historical Society at their annual Wisteria Tea Party? (Not to be confused with the tea parties of Sara Palin and Obamaphobes.) This one is slated for Saturday, March 19th, at 1 pm (weather permitting) at 4761 Niagara Ave.  This is to be held at Board Member Ned Titlow’s early 1900’s home, under the largest Wisteria canopy in O.B. Enjoy a variety of teas, fresh homemade lemonade, scrumptious delectables while listening to featured violinist Alicia Previn, cellist Mark Sander, and keyboarist Mark Saverino. Also, you’ll have a chance of winning great prizes in an opportunity drawing.  Minimum Suggested Donation: Members $8, Non-Members $10 or $15*, (* includes a year membership as well).

Ex-Robb Field City Worker Accused of Stealing From City

By Craig Gustafson / SignOnSanDiego / Originally published March 3, 2011

A former San Diego city parks employee whose job was saved from budget cuts five years ago has been accused of embezzling about $101,000 in recreation center funds.  Rogelio “Yogi” Najera Jr., 48, who worked for the city for 30 years before resigning last year, was arraigned [March 3rd] in Superior Court after an investigation that began with a tip to the city’s fraud hotline.  A report released Thursday by the City Auditor’s Office detailed allegations against an unidentified parks employee. City officials later confirmed the employee was Najera, who worked at the Robb Field Recreation Center in Ocean Beach during much of his career.

For the remainder of this article, please go here.

END THE WARS! Rally – March 19th

Join the San Diego Coalition of Peace and Justice and a host of other organizations for a rally to End the Wars! SDCPJ calls for Solidarity with the Arab People – No to US Intervention!  The event will be Saturday, March 19, 2011, from 12:00 pm – 3:30 pm, at 6th Ave. & Grape St, Balboa Park, San Diego.

Gather for music, speakers, outreach tables, networking opportunities, Bradley Manning support postcards to convey your own personal message of hope & support. Voicemail blast your congresspeople a message of dissent and demand an end to these wars of oil and empire!

40th Anniversary of the Collier Park Riot Coming Up

This March 28th will be the 40th anniversary of the infamous Collier Park Riot of 1971.  Come join us for some kind of celebration at the Park, located at Greene and Soto (details will emerge soon), so be on the lookout for more info. The Collier Park Riot was a watershed event for Ocean Beach and is an important milestone in the community’s history.

Tagged as: Collier Park, OB Planning Board