News for Locs at the Beach

Sharon Chipman has been missing since Oct. 12th.

Sharon Chipman walked away from her group home in Paradise Hills around October 10th. Her family is very worried as they fear  she is not taking her prescribed medications and needs to return to her mental health facility.  Chipman, 34, is on medication.

Sharon, raised in Ocean Beach, was seen in OB over the weekend, and authorities want help from the public to find her. She apparently made a banking transaction in Spring Valley on the 11th. Reported missing by her Lakeside grandmother, Sharon’s purple bike was found locked at a McDonalds near Sweetwater Rd and Jamacha Blvd in Spring Vally on the 18th.

Family members from Texas flew into San Diego to search for Chipman. They handed out fliers in OB this past Saturday.

People fishing on the OB Pier contacted Sheriffs and reported that they are certain that they saw her on the pier in the late hours on Saturday. Others have reported that they think they saw Chipman in OB on Sunday.

Sharon Chipman is  white, 5 feet 7 inches tall , 145 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes.  Anyone with information is asked to call the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000 or the Sheriff’s Department at (858) 565-5200.  (News source U-T San Diego.)

Gretchen Newsom Elected Head of OB Town Council

At its last Board meeting on Oct. 8th, the OB Town Council elected member Gretch Newsom as president.  Newsom, previously served as the Board’s recording secretary, and also serves as chair of the annual OB Holiday Parade. In a press statement Gretchen stated:

“I am honored to serve Ocean Beach and the OB Town Council. This is a great community group with a strong and dedicated set of leaders working toward preserving and improving our community resources, advocating for a sustainable local economy, enhancing community discourse and civic engagement, increasing neighborhood safety, and maintaining our unique Ocean Beach vibe.”

Dr. Gordon Closes OB Practice

On Friday, Oct. 18th, Dr Jeoff Gordon closed his OB practice once and for all. A mainstay in the medical community at the beach for 50 years, Dr Gordon’s progressiveness led him to help establish the very first free medical clinic in San Diego County.  It later became the Beach Area Community Clinic.  Jeoff also devised a program where trained medical people would go door-to-door in the beach communities performing basic medical testing, such as blood pressure taking, urine and blood testing. People found with problems were immediately referred to a non-profit clinic.

Sometime during the late Seventies, Gordon opened up a private practice in PB, which he later brought over to OB. He’s still around, and Dr Gordon will be volunteering for the San Diego Family Health Centers.  (See this post.)

 Homeless Man Arrested for Mission Bay Park Stabbing

Charles Hill, a homeless man in his early 50’s, was arrested on suspicion that he stabbed another guy Monday, Oct. 21, in the afternoon.  Hill was arrested a few hours later. This all came down at Mission Bay Park.  The two were believed to be arguing about money when Hill pulled out a small knife and stabbed the other man, a 44 year old.

Police showed up just before 1pm on Ingraham – near Vacation Rd. – and found the victim bleeding. He was taken by paramedics to a hospital; his wound was not life-threatening. Hill was arrested and  jailed on assault with a deadly weapon and has bail set at $30,000.

Mission Bay Bridge Widening Project Gets Funding

by Adam Pollack / Examiner.com

Another federal grant the city asked for to pay for engineering work on the Mission Bay bridge widening project can prove timely. The project funded in 2000 will move straight forward.

A long way into the engineering design work, the city council decided this week to ask Caltrans for the 137, 295 dollar federal grant. The engineering consultant’s guarantee on the 6 lane bridge design is needed before work on the project can be finished.

Two parallel structures with 3 lanes once fully designed an built will give drivers, bicyclists, and walkers a way over the San Diego River on West Mission Bay Dive with more leeway. On the bridge, beach community drivers come in close distances with locals and bicyclists traveling through the road that has narrow shoulders. Narrow sidewalk crossings force the walkers and bicyclists on the sidewalk to fall in lines not open enough for people to make a move and change course.

The unfinished widening project has been on hand for over a decade. Councilman Kevin Faulconer’s promise to make travel by the sea easier was not, during the recession years, put out to bid to the contractors lined up to do work. The council did not have enough money to pay.

Widening the four lane crossing built over the rock shores on the river’s banks takes contributions from a full set of carefully selected contractors. The last addition to contractor funding was last year. No funding increases had been made since before the recession.

This latest contract addition counts as one more positive step for the locals who travel between Mission Beach and Pacific Beach and the Loma Portal and Point Loma area.

 Phil Elsbree Passes

It is with great sadness that we honor the passing of Phil Elsbree, a true OBcean and active member of the community.  Phil – who owned and managed along with his wife, Katie, the Elsbree House Bed & Breakfast- passed on August 8th surrounded by family and good friends. They had the B&B for 22 years over on the 5000 block of Narragansett.  He was 71 when he passed.

Some of Phil’s first activist community work was with the OB Community Planning Group and in the mid-Seventies he helped encourage the City Council and then Mayor Pete Wilson to authorize the setting up the OB Planning Board.  The OB board became the very first planning group in the City and State to be democratically elected.  And Phil was elected to that very first OB Planning Board in 1976.

With a bachelors in teaching and masters  in counseling, Elsbree worked as an educator for the San Diego court system and community schools from 1972- 1999. Plus, he was an avid gardener and designed the B&B he and Katie ran for over two decades.

U.S. Journalist Wins Point Loma Nazarene’s 2013 Japanese Kyoto Fellowship Prize

Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) today announced that Gemma Tarlach, a Wisconsin.-based associate editor of Discover Magazine, has been named the recipient of PLNU’s 2013 Kyoto Prize Journalism Fellowship and will attend the 29th annual Kyoto Prize events in Japan.

Tarlach is an accomplished fiction and non-fiction writer whose journalism contributions have been seen in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dallas Morning News, Rolling Stone, TimeOut New York and Discover Magazine, among other publications. Tarlach’s travel and lifestyle writing has been recognized by The Inland Press Association as well as The Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, which twice named her a national finalist.  For more, go to  Authorlink

Mission Beach bar allows kids

After more than half a century of only allowing customers 21-years of age and older into its bar, the Coaster Bar and Grille will now welcome babies and kids.  The Coaster, which is known for its craft beer, has been a local hang out for its customers since it first opened in 1956.  The Coaster switched from a type 48, commonly called a “saloon license,” to a type 47 liquor license so it can allow children. In order to qualify for a type 47 license, at least 50 percent of an establishment’s revenues must come from food sales.

The bar, which is also a restaurant, became kid friendly so families could dine together.  “It’s typical of the cultural change that has happened in Mission Beach ever since the drinking on the beach ban in 2008,” said Darren Renna, general manager of The Coaster Bar & Grill. Fox5

Wear red at Sunday morning’s `Walk to Stop Diabetes’ at Mission Bay – Oct. 27th

Admission is free at this Sunday’s diabetes fundraising walk.  The American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) San Diego office will host “Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes,” a fundraising walk this Sunday morning, Oct. 27, at De Anza Cove in San Diego’s Mission Bay area. The public is invited to attend. Registration and check-in will begin at 7:30 a.m., followed by opening ceremonies at 8 a.m. and the 3.1-mile (5k) walk will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Walkers are encouraged to wear red-colored attire, including shirts, pants, hats and jewelry. Red is a designated color for the ADA. At Step Out, a prize will be given to the best-red-dressed walker team.

About 1,000 walkers are expected to participate and raise about $120,000 in donations for diabetes research. More than 110 teams are expected to walk, including teams representing businesses, neighborhoods, clubs, community groups, churches and family members affected by diabetes. The walk will start and finish at De Anza Cove with a rest stop at the Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa, 1775 East Mission Bay Dr., San Diego.

Admission to attend Step Out is free. There is no cost to be a walker. Prizes can be earned by those walkers who raise the highest donation dollar amounts. Prizes will include sweatshirts, iPads and televisions. Walkers who raise $100 or more will receive an official Step Out event t-shirt. Monies raised at Step Out will benefit the ADA’s ongoing effort to serve local families affected by diabetes. Funds raised also will help support research to find a cure.

The event will feature music, food, entertainment and activities for children. Food items will include assorted breakfast foods from Corner Bakery Café restaurant and snacks from KIND Healthy Snacks. Emcee will be Delana Bennett from radio station Star 94.1-FM. Conducting warm-up exercises prior to the walk will be Jeremy Dunn Jackson, actor and singer who played Hobie Buchannon on the television show “Baywatch” from 1991 to 1999. Event information is available at www.diabetes.org/stepoutsandiego, or contact Kim Sorin at KSorin@diabetes.org, or (619) 234-9897, ext. 7432.

San Diego Run, Rock & Wine 10/5K @ Mission Bay – Nov. 3rd

Start: Sunday, November 3, 2013 @ 2:00 PM at De Anza Cove Park-Mission Bay, 2125 Park Blvd San Diego. Registration Closing Date is Friday, November 1, 2013 @ 10:18 PM (PDT); go to Organizer’s Website It’s $52.00 for the San Diego RunRockWine 5K, only $47.00 if you register now.

We’ll be Runnin’, Rockin’, & Winein’ on November 3rd @ 2PM!Enjoy a 5/10K Run at MB beginning/ending at DeAnza Cove! Participants will enjoy a post-run award ceremony, Entertainment, Wine Tasting & Microbrew, and Vendors/Sponsors on-site.Participants will be sent confirmation message 10/22 with final event & parking information and other important details. New sign-ups after the 22nd will receive this message automatically.

Please see www.victoryruns.com for complete event details, map, and award age brackets.Runners will receive a Rockin’ Medallion, Custom Victory T, & Runners Bag!Enjoy involvement of community businesses and organizations!There are no age restrictions for the running segment of this event. To enter the Wine/Alcohol Area you MUST have a valid I.D. Children or anyone under 21 years of age will not be admitted to the alcohol area. Strollers are allowed on the course and doing so is done at your discretion. No dogs, in-line skates, bicycles, or any other equipment that might cause accidents on our course. Please email us with any questions. Thank you for joining us for this event!~Come Support Make A Wish Foundation of SD!