Ocean Beach and Point Loma News Round-Up

4860-4866 Long Branch Avenue

Aerial view of the property.

4 Unit Apartment on 4800 Block Long Branch Sold

A four-unit apartment complex at 4860-4866 Long Branch Avenue just sold for $850,000. (No other info is available at this time.)

Local TV Station Picks Up OB Rag Knock-Down Game Story

Michael Chen on Channel 10News picked up our story about an OBcean being attacked in a probable Knock-Down Game incident – the first of its kind in Ocean  Beach.

OB Planning Board News & Updates – Candidate Forum – March 5th

Planning Board meeting, Feb. 2, 2011.

In order to build some momentum for the upcoming OB Planning Board election on March 11th, the planners are holding a Candidate Forum at their next meeting, March 5th.  It will come down at 6pm sharp at the OB  Rec Center,  4726 Santa Monica Ave.  See our update on prospective changes to the OB Planning Board.

• Eligibility Rules : To be eligible to serve on the board, citizens must be at least 18 and live, own property or run a business in the Ocean Beach planning area.  Candidates must gather 35 signatures in the district in which they run.   For more info here.

•  There’s still time for write-in candidates to qualify. Write-ins can turn in applications at the forum or make arrangements to submit to a member of the board’s Election Committee by March 10.

• Those who seek board appointment as they have somehow not met the election requirements  don’t have to satisfy a requirement that disqualified some: anyone running on March 11 must have attended at least one board meeting between February 2013 and January 2014.  Appointments to fill vacancies after the election could take place as soon as the April 2 meeting.

• The election will be held March 11 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the OB Rec Center. Identification and proof of residence is required.

•  Veteran Planner Seth Connolly is seriously considering going for an appointment to the Board. Seth has been on the Board previously for a thousand years.

•  We published a rumor that current Chair Tom Gawronski may be considering retiring from the Board altogether, but that is not true.  Tom has another year to serve in his current term.  He may step down as Chair.

(Lack of coverage of the meetings of the Peninsula planners and Midway planners)

We would love to publish accounts and reports of the monthly meetings of both the Peninsula Community Planning Board and the Midway Planning Committee.  We just do  not have the staff to cover those events.  If there is anyone who could assist us in covering these important meetings, please contact us at obragblog@gmail.com

Rock Church to take over El Cajon Public Arts Complex?

There were closed door negotiations between officials in El Cajon and our local Rock Church on Wednesday, Feb. 26, on whether the church would or could sign a lease for the El Cajon Public Arts Center, a publicly-owned facility.  Some east county activists are outraged over the prospect, and feel that the closed-door session was a violation of the Brown Act and First Amendment.

A Tribute to Thurgood Marshall at OB Woman’s Club – Friday, Feb 28th

This Tribute is a new one-person show inspired by the speeches and interviews of Justice Thurgood Marshall. The new drama chronicles key moments in the legendary civil rights leader and judicial scholar starring local OB legend Antonio T. J. Johnson.  This will be Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 7:30 PM, at the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club at 2160 Bacon Street in OB.

Mr. Johnson has been an multi-award winning actor, teacher, singer, songwriter, director, and producer for over 30 years in San Diego. A Chicago transplant Antonio has appeared in major roles at The Old Globe, Moonlight Amphitheatre, Black Ensemble Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Common Ground Theatre, and Lamb’s Player’s. This  actor is bringing this performance to Ocean Beach to introduce a new project bringing more live theater to Ocean Beach and the surrounding peninsula.

This is open to the public. Suggested donation is $20, please bring cash or check to the performance. There will be a forum to follow with T J discussing his recent journey to The Big Apple and the new Ocean Beach Theatre Company.There also will be an opportunity to sign-up for Acting Classes From Antonio and hear more about future productions with the new theater.  Info and reservations: Email TJOUTOFJOB@gmail.com Call 619 241 5042.  Please, RSVP to TJOUTOFJOB@gmail.com

San Diego Bird Festival – at Marina Village on Mission Bay – Feb. 27 to March 2

“This is our 18th year for the festival, which is our biggest annual event,” said Jen Hajj, festival coordinator for the San Diego Audubon Society (SDAS), which hosts the event at the conference center and marina at 1936 Quivira Way. “It’s an opportunity for people from all over the world to come to San Diego and enjoy our magnificent wildlife and our unique habitats and the wonderful diversity of birds we have here.”

Every year hundreds of birders worldwide migrate to the San Diego Bird Festival for four days of field trips, birding, exhibitions and speakers.   The San Diego Audubon Society’s four-day birdfest is the equivalent of the Super Bowl in bird watching, said Hajj. For more.

2nd Warship to Be Sunk off Mission Beach

There’s a proposal out there to go ahead and  sink a second warship off the shore of Mission Bay for diving enthusiasts.  A 366-foot decommissioned Canadian Navy destroyer was given a tentative go-ahead by a City Council committee last Wednesday.  It would be the 2nd ex-Canadian vessel at the San Diego Underwater Recreation Area, which is popular with diving enthusiasts. The HMCS Yukon was sunk in July 2000.

If approved, it could be sunk as early as September or October. The San Diego City Council’s Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee unanimously approved the proposal. It still would need approval by the entire Council as well as by the California Coastal Commission.  The ship is still up in Canada and an outfit called California Ships to Reefs is trying to get it together to acquire it and tow the ship to San Diego. Then it would be sunk with explosives and sunk.  Over the  years, a number of divers have died in scuba accidents at or around the Yukon site, and several others have had to be rescued.  Fox5

 “Rockfish Derby” to Benefit Wounded Warriors – Sat. March 1

The first ever ‘Rockfish Derby’ fishing competition is happening this Saturday in Point Loma.  On March 1st, anglers will compete in a Rockfish Derby where all the proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project in conjunction with Heroes on the Water.  San Diego tech company, The Control Group has rented The Seeker at H&M Landing for their office to board and spend the day on fishing with members of the Wounded Warrior Project. The Control Group will cheer on its crew of seven programmers-turned-fisherman.  The winners will show off their biggest catches at the end of the day.

The Rockfish Derby will raise money for its two charitable organizations by awarding prizes to the team that snags the heaviest fish in various categories. The categories include, Ling Cod, California Sheephead, California White Fish, Vermillion Rockfish and Boccaccio.  CBS8

 Point Loma High Spring & Arts Craft Faire Open to Artists and Crafters –  March 15

Local artists and crafters are invited to participate in a first-ever event at Point Loma High School, the Spring Arts & Craft Faire – being held March 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the school campus.  The event is one in a series of fundraisers created to raise funds for Protect Our Pointers (POP), an effort to provide certified athletic trainers to assist over 800 student-athletes at every practice and competition.

Currently, the school’s head athletic trainer, Megan Skelton, supervises a group of undergraduate training students from Point Loma Nazarene University. They attend as many events as can be funded, but some events are uncovered.  POP operates under the PLHS Pointer Association, a 501 (c)(3) corporation.  Persons interested in the event should contact POP at protectourpointers@gmail.com.   San Diego Community News Group

Wanna Join the OB Theatre Company?

Acting Classes: Friday’s, March 7st till April 25th, from 6pm-8pm, $100 (%10 discount if signed by the 28th of February)  Drop in classes $20 (2160 Bacon Street in OB 92107)

These classes will be open to ages 16 and above. The students will be instructed in various aspects of stage acting from the over 30 years of award winning acting and directing and teaching from Antonio T J Johnson. Classes will consist of Warm up, audition and Monologue work, character study, levels of emotional and physical connections, rhythm and flow in the text. The 8week session will culminate in a showcase of what the students have learned. Each student will be encouraged to participate in the company’s full main stage season of readings presented by the Vagabond Theatre Project in Ocean Beach. Please bring payment in cash or check to 1st class. There needs to be a Minimum of 10 students per class.

Belmont Park in Mission Bay Is Modernized With $30 Million Including Zip-Line

By Carlos Rico / The Daily Transcript

A year ago, Belmont Park’s ownership was seeking feedback from residents and planning groups on what they wanted to see at the beachfront amusement and entertainment complex.  Now renovations are well underway to restore Belmont Park into more of a family-friendly hospitality destination with more food choices, new rides and improved existing facilities.

“We are about one-third of the way complete with our plan to revamp Belmont Park,” said Brett Miller, CEO of Eat.Drink.Sleep, the park’s property manager.

Right now, the filtration system for the Plunge swimming pool inside the Wave House Athletic Club is being replaced so that the pool can meet 2014 standards. Miller said it should be opened by March 3.  He also said the various Flow Wave water machine rides are being renovated and are expected to open in early March.

Belmont Park is also getting ready to open up new dining options, such as Draft Mission Beach, a family-style restaurant from executive chef Brad Wise, that will have burgers, organic salads, gluten-free options and craft beer on the menu.  In addition, the park’s rooftop sushi restaurant, Cannonball, is being expanded, and more fast-food options such as Hot Dog on a Stick and Dole Whip are being added.  Miller said that existing rides are being renovated and new games are being installed like laser tag and a NASCAR ride for kids.  “We are also installing a 300-foot long zip line,” Miller said.

For shopping needs, The San Diego Trading Company is opening up a location at Belmont Park the first week of April.  Miller said new security offices and surveillance systems are being built, along with new public restrooms and lockers.

“Our biggest issue in the past has been having enough adequate public restrooms,” Miller said, “and we hope to solve this problem.”

This first part of the master plan renovation at Belmont Park will be completed by the middle of April, Miller said. In November, construction will pick up again with projects to modernize the rest of the Wave House Athletic Club and add meeting space on the rooftop.  A zip-line is also being added to the Mission Bay attraction.  Miller said it will take about one more year to complete the $12 million project.

“We really want to be a big force in hospitality at Belmont Park,” Miller said. “Adding to the overall look of the beachfront entertainment complex is for it to be preserving historic elements, while adding new establishments that are more appealing to today’s consumers.

“We are taking what we have and making Belmont Park better,” Miller said. “We are just trying to get it in better condition and manage it correctly.”

The park was acquired in the fall of 2012 in a trustee sale by Rancho Santa Fe-based Symphony Asset Pool XVI, which is managed by Pacifica Enterprises.  Miller said his group and Pacifica got serious about taking over Belmont Park in March of 2012, when the property was in receivership.

“In San Diego there are few properties that have the visibility Belmont Park does,” he said.

Miller said numerous engineers, architects and contractors have been brought on to perform design work, including Molinar Construction, which has been hired to handle the tenant improvement work.   San Diego Daily Transcript (subscription)

Pacific Beach Hotel on Mission Bay Sold for $13 Million

The 113-room Holiday Inn Express in Pacific Beach at 4540 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego 92109, has been sold for $13.05 million.