News at the Beach You Might Have Missed …

The famous OB Pier.

 Was Sunday’s Broken Water Main in Ocean Beach or Point Loma? Local Media Still Confused About Boundaries of OB

Over the weekend, there was a serious water main break in the Peninsula, – on Sunday, August 17th – and the water had to be turned off in the immediate area. So, around 4:20pm, the breakage happened. Water Dept crews came, repaired the break and cleaned the site up – as mud had formed.

Reportedly, a small pipe caused a “service interruption” and a crack in the road. No water was rushing from the pipe, but the issue forced authorities to divert traffic.

But one local TV station reported that the break was in Ocean Beach –  Fox5, and another reported it was in Point Loma – 10News. Which is it, guys?

The 4100 block of Voltaire Street was the area of the water main break.  Legally, that’s of course, in Point Loma. But it is close – and it’s also close to Catalina Boulevard, which some believe is the boundary of Ocean Beach. But it’s not.  The City of San Diego recognizes the legal eastern boundary of OB to be down the center of Froude Street.

Yet, there are areas that have historically been part of OB – like the Collier Park area just a block north of Voltaire Street at the crest of the hill as Voltaire leaves the flatlands of OB and goes east.

Despite “Upgrades” – Protests Still Continue at SeaWorld

The protesters were back at SeaWorld San Diego on Sunday, August 17th, despite the theme park’s announcement just recently that it was going to build larger tanks for its killer whales, also known as orcas. The so-called “Blue World Project” includes the construction of a  10-million-gallon orca holding tank, set to open to the public in San Diego in 2018.  It’s not enough, protesters told the media.

 Baby Whale Leaves Mission Bay Because It’s Too Stinky

In the middle of last week, a baby gray whale was seen cruising into Mission Bay, right next to Ocean Beach. The whale was spotted surfacing in the bay sometime the morning of Wed., the 13th of August, according to CBS.

Also according to local reports, it turned around and headed back out to sea because the Bay was too toxic for it, too stinky. It was last seen swimming north near South Mission Beach.   Times of San Diego

OB Warehouse – Latest Cohn Family Eatery – Opens on Newport Avenue

We’ve all been waiting for it. And earlier this month, the latest David and Lesley Cohn restaurant opened on Newport Avenue in OB – the site of the old Portugalia. The place was months in the making. David Cohn told the Beacon:

“This project has been a long time in the making, and we’re incredibly pleased to bring this fun, world-cuisine dining option to the area. Ocean Beach is a vibrant community known for its character and originality, and we’ve created a menu and design that complements the neighborhood.”

The new place is  4839 Newport Ave. on the new second-floor, with a 6,000-square-foot eatery and bar, and outside patio in the back.

Actors Alliance to Include “Ocean Beach Ensemble Experiment” for Mock Audition of  “Carrie the Musical”

Actors Alliance of San Diego has announced that they will be producing Carrie the musical as part of their 2014 AASD Summer Theatre Intensive.

During the  three week training program Emerging Professional Artist will focus on audition preparation, marketing materials, the Business of the Business, and will rehearse for their production of Carrie the Musical presented at Moxie Theatre. More at Broadway World.

 OB Is One of Few Areas With Green Cans

Right now Ocean Beach is one of the few neighborhoods of San Diego that have the green bins for green waste.  Besides OB, sections of Tierrasanta, La Jolla, Clairemont, Allied Gardens, San Carlos, Pacific Beach and Point Loma have green bins. Scripps Ranch and Rancho Penasquitos are next to expand. Recycling officials believe the green bins encourage more people to collect their green waste.  7SanDiego

 OB Gas Station Robbery Thief Sentenced to 25 Years

Review of Local OB Band Banyan @ Winston’s Beach Club – San Diego, CA – July 25, 2014

 From PopMatters  by Greg M. Schwartz

At times it sounded like Miles Davis was sitting in with the Band of Gypsys, which made for quite a compelling sound.

A rare and special alignment in the galactic scheme of things calls for a similarly unique musical performance to mark the occasion and so it was with this gig in San Diego’s Ocean Beach neighborhood. July 25 marks “the Day Out of Time” in the Mayan calendar, akin to the Mayan New Year’s Eve according to late great Maya scholar/prophet Jose Arguelles. When this show from Stephen Perkins’ Banyan project was announced, it seemed like the type of synchronicity Arguelles long preached would manifest if humanity would move over to a 13-moon calendar.

“‘The Day Out of Time’ is the day to celebrate time is art. And since art is the basis of constructive peace, this day is also celebrated as International Peace through Culture Day,” said Arguelles’ Law of Time site of this year’s holiday (see LawofTime.org). “The Thirteen Moon New Year’s day occurs on July 26. Why is that? This date was originally correlated to the conjunction of the sun with Sirius rising. The 13-moon calendar is not just a solar-lunar orbital measure, but is coded to galactic timing cycles, most notably the Sirius cycle. Through the 13-moon calendar, human consciousness can enter into galactic consciousness. Give the human a harmonious standard of measure and then a harmonious human will walk a harmonious mile. Harmony – that’s what the day of time is all about!”

Peace and harmony were evident at Winston’s on this Friday night, and galactic consciousness seemed there for the taking as well. This was especially true with Perkins having pulled in Brian Jordan, former axeman for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, on guitar for the show. Jordan led many psychedelic trips in the Tiny Universe and Perkins is also well known for his cutting edge alt-psyche-rock excursions with Jane’s Addiction. The pairing therefore made for an intriguing combo here. Add in Dan Shulman from Garbage on bass and trumpeter Willie Waldman and Perkins had himself a dynamic quartet for the occasion.

The band rocked a vibrant high-energy sound throughout most of their two-hour set, led by Perkins’ hard-hitting attack. Here’s a guy who has played countless arena rock and even stadium gigs, yet he was still crushing the skins with the same fervor in the intimate confines of Winston’s. If Perkins was driving the spaceship, then Jordan was navigating with his interstellar fretwork. He can funk it up with the best of them, but he can also dig into the Jimi Hendrix power trio arsenal for scintillating riffage that can melt face. Waldman was the free-space wildcard with his trumpet, alternating between jazzy and spacey vibes depending on the direction of the jam. At times it sounded like Miles Davis was sitting in with the Band of Gypsys, which made for quite a compelling sound.

This was most true on the spacey jams that recalled the reality-shifting alternate dimensions of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew era. Davis may even be responsible for launching the alternative rock genre with the fusion sound he pioneered in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, adding psychedelic guitar to his jazz bands to create a new sound. Perkins is clearly a fan and it was a treat to see him playing around with the fusion genre here.

The crowd was rather sparse in the beginning of the show but continued to grow throughout the set as passersby seemed to be drawn in by the sound that was blasting out of the club to send ripples through the space-time continuum. If the club had been downtown, it probably would have drawn a crowd many times larger, with much of San Diego’s attention focused downtown for Comic-Con International.

Perkins himself was said to be heading down after the show for a late night jam with Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Exodus, but psychedelia such as this is best experienced in the laid back environs of Ocean Beach. Linkin Park had headlined Comic-Con’s MTV Fanfest the previous night right next to the Padres’ Petco Park and drew a large gathering, but the vibe seemed somewhat sanitized by all the corporate glitz. With Banyan tripping the light fantastic at Winstons, it seemed like that window to galactic consciousness was open and accessible.

 Ocean Beach Historical Society presents: “OCEAN BEACH” – Aug. 21

A newly released book by the Ocean Beach Historical Society & Arcadia Publishing will premier at the OBHS August 21st program. The Ocean Beach Historical Society will present O.B.’s wonderful history, cover new information and show some never before historical photos. A book signing and reception will follow the program. The book will be available to buy at the program. This is a chance to learn a lot of O.B.’s history, talk with the OBHS authors, see many O.B. Thursday, AUGUST 21, 2014, at 7 pm at the P.L. United Methodist Church at 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., O.B. We encourage those who donated to this book to join us, as we all celebrate the introduction of this fantastic book “OCEAN BEACH”.

Pt Loma Democratic Club Celebrates 60 Years at Summer BBQ – Aug. 24

Join everyone with a “D” at their annual summer BBQ. The Pt Loma Democratic Club is celebrating “Celebrate 60 Years on the Point” plus a Support Western Service Workers Association Back-to-School Drive. This is all on Aug 24. Special Guests include: City Council President Todd Gloria, Councilmember David Alvarez and Unified Schoolboard President Kevin Beiser

Also, the local Point Loma Democratic Club announced that they just received the “Best Democratic Club” award for the year.