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OB Pier

In Search of the 420 Celebration in OB

April 21, 2010
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Closing in on the 4th hour of the afternoon on April 20th (4/20), I grabbed my camera and note pad and headed for the beach. I was in search of the 420 celebration, hoping to catch OBceans partying for the holiday at 4:20 pm. I also hoped I would have more luck than other reporters searching for the same.

Easing my car into the lifeguard parking lot, I scanned the beach for a cannabis style floatopia or some such event. Yet, I saw only a couple here and there on the sand, enjoying the last rays of a sun about to be gobbled up by in-coming clouds. No mass gathering of youthful civil disobedients on this beach, flaunting johnny law to light up on this holiday.

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‘We’re Watching You’ – Surveillance Cameras to Be Installed On OB Pier and Around Mission Bay

March 22, 2010
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City Government Enters Official Bid Process for Public Surveillance System In Beach Areas – Including OB Pier

Winston Smith, you’d better touch those toes. And don’t bend your knees to do it either, because Big Brother’s watching, and if you cheat, he’s gonna know. [Editor: in case you are not familiar with the novel, Winston Smith is the main character in George Orwell's "1984."]

It may be a couple decades late, but 1984 has finally arrived – government surveillance cameras are soon to be installed in a handful of locations along the San Diego coast, kicking off a program that seems destined for expansion into a spectrum that could one day encompass every public space in America (and whatever private spaces aren’t protected by a heat-shielding drawn curtain). It might soon be time to bust out those tin-foil-lined hats.

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OB FLASHES – News, Calendar, and Discussion: January 19 – 25, 2010

January 19, 2010
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* OB Pier Closed Due to High Surf and Damage

* Circle of Life Comes to the OB Rag

* Local Coastal Commission Manager Insists on Public Hearing Before Removal of Fire Pits by City

* Contest to Find Missing 9th OB Fire Pit

* OB Cottage Becomes Home Design Classroom

* Don’t Crap On Us

* Volunteers Needed for Dog Beach Dune Habitat Restoration Project – January 23rd

* OB Poet Hosts Poetry Reading at Jungle Java

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State Appeals Court exonerates OB lobster poacher after questionable traffic stop

January 8, 2010
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The California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District on Tuesday ruled that a state agency may not pull over and search a motorist on a mere hunch that a lobster might be hidden in the vehicle. The court considered the case of Bounh Maikhio, a motorist stopped by Department of Fish and Game Warden Erik Fleet on August 19, 2007 at 11pm. That evening, Fleet had been spying through a telescope on the Ocean Beach pier in San Diego when he saw Maikhio put something into his bag.

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Around Town – Waves close pier, Christmas Tree down, and bar crash

December 28, 2009
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OCEAN BEACH, CA. The big news around downtown OB today was the big waves, number one – which forced the OB Pier to be closed by lifeguards. And number two, the infamous “Charlie Brown” OB Christmas Tree came down – to be recycled.

With large swells arriving up and down the Southern Cal coast, and with a National Weather Service high surf advisory in effect until 10 p.m. on Monday, local lifeguards had to close the pier, while a few top-notch surfers braved the waves – which could have been as high as 8 feet.

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Jim Grant’s Lens

December 22, 2009
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OCEAN BEACH. It is difficult not to be amazed by Jim Grant’s lens and the scenes he captures. Here are some recent December views of our ocean and our little piece of land.

Whether it’s Peace Rock or the cliffs at Sunset Cliffs Park or the OB Pier, Jim Grant’s lens seem to hold the magic of nature that surrounds us, particularly when our star glides into the ends of the earth.

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OB Oktoberfest 2009 – Surrealism and Silliness Abound

October 11, 2009
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The trick to reporting on these events, as I discovered after a few trips around the block, is to either go late or go early. I went early today and missed out on what one my usual sources called “a flood of douchebags” from Pacific Beach. I wonder how he knew? Do PB people have tattoos that give away their douchiness?

Early turned out to be a good call as I got to see OB Oktoberfest with kind of a corny and small town feel…if it were being shot for a Fellini movie.

Over at the Gitmo Memorial Beer Garden, the early drinking crowds were sparse, and the staff was able to have a little fun, dancing around in their “authentic” Germanish costumes and posing for pictures. The best costume of the morning, however, was up on the stage, where the lead singer from a band called Way Cool, Jr. was dressed up like a Deutschland Dominatrix ala Berlin back in the day.

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Tony Messadri Surf Classic Makes a Splash at the OB Pier

August 18, 2009
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On Saturday August 15th, Ocean Beach witnessed the Tony Mezzadri Surf Classic at the Pier. This was the 15th year of bringing awareness and fundraising for spinal cord injury research to the local community.

Local photog Jim Grant was there. Here is what he saw.

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