State-Wide Group Pushes Initiative for 2024 Ballot to Return Voices to the Neighborhood

by on March 31, 2023 · 0 comments

in California, San Diego

The group Neighbors for a Better San Diego have of late been tooting the horn of a state-wide organization, Our Neighborhood Voices – in fact just recently NBSD held an online town hall meeting with Voices. Here’s what ONV says about itself:

The politicians are taking away our ability to speak out when developers damage and gentrify our neighborhoods.

A series of recently passed laws allow developers to build multi-story, multi-unit buildings right next door to single-family homes and deny our ability to fight back.

We are a coalition of thousands of California neighborhood leaders creating an initiative to be put on the 2024 ballot that would bring back our ability to speak out about what happens in our own neighborhoods.

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César E. Chávez (1927-1993)

by on March 31, 2023 · 17 comments

in Civil Rights, History, Labor

Originally posted March 31, 2009

César Chávez is one of the greatest labor leaders and human rights activists in the United States history and the world. He fought for a better life for migrant farm workers, and founded the first successful farm workers’ union. César was the president of the United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO.

César Estrada Chávez was able to accomplish his goals through the philosophy of non-violence that he inherited and followed from leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King.

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‘Viva Lorena!’

by on March 31, 2023 · 0 comments

in History, San Diego

By Frances O’Neill Zimmerman / March 30, 2023

A lot of Democrats have drowned in water under the bridge since Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher wrote this hopeful piece ten or so years ago. But Lorena is still standing and I personally hope she will reassess her situation and our need and carry on.

Included in the flotsam and jetsam are failed political careers of Democrats that Lorena’s essay mentions as up-and-comers

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Pursuing Innovation for the Ocean Beach Pier

by on March 31, 2023 · 0 comments

in Ocean Beach

By Nicole Ueno

When I was nine years old, I went fishing for the first time on the Ocean Beach Pier with my father. We didn’t catch anything, but I didn’t mind – it was the time spent with my dad that I cherished.

Years later, I would often take my children out on the pier and watch their faces fill with wonder as they looked out over the waves and surfers, little hands pointing at pelicans cruising past in a ‘V’ or dolphins playing in the water below. The pier holds many happy memories for my family and for countless others who come to marvel at the beauty of this liminal space between land, sea and sky.

Now the time has come to determine a new future for the OB Pier. After a series of devastating winter storms, the pier has been repeatedly closed due to structural damage and ongoing public safety concerns.

The deck and pilings are crumbling from the inside out as waves crack the concrete and expose the encased reinforcing steel to corrosion from saltwater. When the metal rusts it expands, further destabilizing the surrounding concrete. Colloquially known as ‘concrete cancer,’ it is unfeasible to merely repair the damage– surveys indicate that the pier has come to the end of its useful life and must be replaced.

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‘Fire SDG&E!’ Rally at San Diego Civic Center Plaza – Sat., April 1

by on March 30, 2023 · 1 comment

in Energy, Environment, San Diego

From Press Statement:

The Public Power San Diego coalition will hold a mass FIRE SDGE! rally on April 1st, Noon, in Civic Center Plaza, downtown San Diego.

The event will be the first mass protest advocating a divorce from San Diego Gas & Electric, which charges the nation’s highest electric rates. “This rally signals a turning point.” said Craig Rose, a member of Public Power San Diego’s steering committee.

“The option to organize a community-owned, non-profit utility has been discussed and researched. This rally moves public power from a talking point to a political movement that aims to end our relationship with SDGE.

“We can’t afford a utility that charges these sky-high rates and is too often an opponent –not a partner – in fighting the climate crisis.”

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‘Live Justice’ Swap Event at P.L. Nazarene – Friday, March 31

by on March 29, 2023 · 0 comments

in Education, Ocean Beach

By Megan Lonsdale / LomaBeat.com / March 29, 2023

Live Justice is an annual Point Loma Nazarene University campus event hosted by the Center for Justice and Reconciliation (CJR). It is grounded in five areas of action where students can live out the principle of justice and create changes with the intention of doing good for people and the planet: Drink, Do, Wear, Eat and Live.

This event has undergone some revisions this year. Kellyn Gonzalez, third-year marketing major and marketing lead at the CJR, said, “This year, we decided to turn it into one big event with a more immersive experience on each of the topics.”

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OB Pier Renewal Community Workshop – Liberty Station Sat., April 1

March 24, 2023 by Source

The City of San Diego is holding a community workshop on the OB Pier renewal Saturday, April 1 at the Liberty Station Conference Center.

Presentations will be given at noon and at 2 pm followed by “self-paced interactive workshops” about the condition of the pier and for community input on “its potential renewal.” This workshop will be the first in a series of public meetings about the pier and “options for the structure.”

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Public Input Needed on Robb Field Improvements in OB — Tuesday, April 4

March 22, 2023 by Source

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After Over Quarter of Century With Same Owners, Ortega’s in Ocean Beach to Change Hands

March 30, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

Whenever I inform out-of-town friends or OB newbies about restaurants in Ocean Beach, I always describe Ortega’s on Newport Ave as the best Mexican eatery in the village.

Now, however, after over 25 years under the same family ownership, Ortega’s Cocina is changing hands.

Brothers Adolfo and Erik Barrientos-Ortega have been operating Ortega’s at 4888 Newport Avenue since the mid 1990s.

Over its 27 year tenure, the restaurant has become known for its lengthy menu of central Mexican fare, including tamales, enchiladas, fajitas, burritos, tacos, pupusas and much more.

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OB Woman’s Club Annual Hat Contest Is Back on April 6

March 30, 2023 by Source

The 3rd annual OB Woman’s Club Hat Contest is back on April 6 from 6:30 – 8 pm at Dirty Birds Ocean Beach.

Start immediately creating your hat.

HATegories include:

  • Ode to Mae (celebrating our garden history)
  • Most OBcean
  • Most Original
  • Most Out of This World
  • Most LUMINOUS! (Coordinating with The -LUMINOSITY Festival coming to OB in July)
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‘Activism in OB in the 70s and 80s’ – A Video With Kathy Blavatt

March 30, 2023 by Source

See this short video by Charles Landon about “Activism in the 70s and 80s” with Kathy Blavatt talking about her book, San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs Park.

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Tennessee Logic?

March 30, 2023 by Source

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Local Mountains Take the Storm

March 30, 2023 by Source

 

Here is the Mt. Laguna Lodge live cam image at 8:52 this morning, Thursday, March 30. Just in case you thought spring was right around the corner.

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San Diego’s Plan to Crackdown on Encampments Hits a Legal Challenge

March 29, 2023 by Source

by Cody Dulaney/ inewsource / March 28, 2023

A Superior Court judge could undermine San Diego’s strategy to clear homeless encampments from city sidewalks and parks.

This afternoon, Judge Yvonne Campos is set to hear final arguments in a pretrial hearing for a misdemeanor case against a 59-year-old unhoused woman charged with encroachment. It’s a city law that was intended to prohibit trash cans from blocking a sidewalk, but San Diego police have increasingly used it to break up tent encampments that officials say pose a risk to health and safety.

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Myths About Historic Preservation of Houses

March 29, 2023 by Source

Ch-Ch-Changes… Evaluating Historic Places

By Bruce Coons / SOHO / March-April 2023

One of the great misunderstandings or myths about the historic preservation of a house or building is that it must be “frozen in time” to qualify for historic designation.

But this is not the case. The National Register of Historic Places guidelines clearly state:

“Additions and changes to a historic building over time need to be evaluated for their own potential significance, and the historical and architectural importance of the building as a whole should be considered.”

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Walking the Point

March 29, 2023 by Source

By Kathy Blavatt

Photos by Kathy Blavatt

We will remember Winter 2023 as the year we got rain. Months of storms pounded our coastline. On  the upside, there were clear and even sunny days between showers. The clean air provided extraordinary views.

On a clear day, Cabrillo Monument at the tip of the Point Loma Peninsula is the primo local spot for views of San Diego, Mexico, and the ocean.

As I ventured to Cabrillo Monument for a hike, I was tantalized by the juxtaposed details of the far-off mountains that contrasted with the downtown urban center and the Coronado Cays.

Days earlier, at other viewpoints to the North, I could see snow on the mountains as far as Big Bear.

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Feeling Thankful as I Near 85

March 29, 2023 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

I’m almost 85.
And with more years behind me
than ahead of me
I am thankful
to still be alive
and to have been brought to life
by a mother who
loved and befriended me
and guided me
towards a nice path
to take on my life’s journey,
a voyage
I’m thankful for
just for the gifts
that have been bestowed on me:

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The Promise of California’s Climate Roadmap

March 28, 2023 by Source

The Golden State can only stand up to its formidable climate disasters if it fully commits to its climate initiatives.

By David Helvarg / The Progressive / March 23, 2023

Ten years ago, I wrote a book called The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea. Back then, I suggested that California, with almost forty million people and the world’s fifth largest economy, was proof that you could grow a progressive society while protecting your coast and ocean—and that the two are intrinsically linked. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the book “just might make you feel optimistic about the future.”

Well, that future has arrived and I’m less optimistic.

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Kensington’s Historic Over-110 Year Old Trees Have Been Under Threat From the City

March 28, 2023 by Source

By Maggie McCann / SOHO / March-April 2023 Newsletter

After ill-conceived actions by the City of San Diego, Kensington’s parkways still retain 30 of the original California pepper trees planted when the subdivision was mapped in 1910.

When neighbors first proposed that the City designate the trees under Council Policy 900-19’s Conserve-a-Tree program as heritage trees, 37 trees were alive and doing fine. The City has since suspended the program, claiming that having trees designated as historic would cause them California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) problems. As if that’s a bad thing.

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Port of San Diego on Oversized Vehicle Parking on Shelter Island

March 27, 2023 by Source

From Peninsula News / March 23, 2023

PLA member and former Officer, Ted Walker, attended the Port of San Diego’s public comment presentation concerning oversized vehicle parking at the Port’s Administrative Offices on March 16th.   The Port’s parking consultant presented the proposed regulation intended to address oversize vehicle parking on waterfront property, with particular focus on Shelter Island.

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3-Story With 3 Units to Replace Modest House on Cable in Ocean Beach

March 27, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

The city has announced that owner Dominic Ballerino has applied for a Coastal Development Permit to construct a new 3-story, 4,631 square foot building at 2077 Cable Street in OB.

The new buildings would include:

  • a dwelling unit, laundry, and 2-car garage on the first level, and
  • two 2-story accessory dwelling units on the second and third floors
  • with a roof deck.
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The Innocence Project: Stories of Exoneration

March 27, 2023 by Source

By Camden Painton / The Point / March 22, 2034

Marilyn Mulero was 21 years old when she received her execution date.

On May 12, 1992, two members of the Latin Kings gang were shot and killed in a bathroom in Humboldt Park in Chicago. There was one eyewitness to the shooting. The witness claimed to see a woman hand Mulero a gun, who then shot a man dead at midnight. Mulero was picked up by police the next evening and brought into the station, where she was denied legal representation and questioned for over nine hours.

Without counsel or sleep, Mulero signed a prepared statement that implicated her for both murders.

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The End of San Diego’s Community Planning Boards: How We Got Here

March 24, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

By Frank Gormlie

After decades of existance, the community planning boards of San Diego were delivered a devastating shock last September 13, 2022, when the City Council passed a breath-taking tsunami of so-called “reforms” that laid out a blueprint for the demolition of the city’s current 42 citizen volunteer planning panels.

In my post from yesterday, I outlined the 3 main methods the city will use to dismantle San Diego’s community planning boards.
None of this is hyperbole. Here is the language at the city’s Planning Department website page under “Community Planning Group Reform“:

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Storm Wreaks Havoc on OB’s Shoreline

March 24, 2023 by Source

By Kathy Blavatt / March 23, 2023

All Photos by Kathy Blavatt

This was not a traditional Grunion run, this was storm damage from a high tide and huge waves. Because of the high tide and waves up to 12 feet, Grunion washed in and were stuck in a new pond at North O.B. almost to the parking lot.

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Reader Rant: ‘How California Set Up the Licensed Marijuana Industry to Fail’

March 24, 2023 by Source


By Midnight Toker

Very briefly, here is how the State of California set up the licensed marijuana industry to fail.

Here is the receipt I received after purchasing an eight of an ounce (3.5 grams) of decent cannabis flower recently at a licensed dispensary (not in the city of San Diego):

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Here Are the 3 Main Methods the City of San Diego Will Use to Dismantle Local Community Planning Boards

March 23, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

By Frank Gormlie

Last September, the San Diego City Council enacted a series of what they called “reforms” to supposedly make local community planning boards or groups “more independent” and the development review process more “streamlined.”

In truth, as the Rag and our writers Geoff Page and Mat Wahlstrom have been warning, is that the city is actually moving to dismantle these volunteer panels, including the Ocean Beach Planning Board — which has been around since 1976, three years shy of half a century. From a review of their writings, the following is offered:

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From One End of the Rainbow to the Other Over Ocean Beach

March 23, 2023 by Source

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How We Can Stop the Corporate Surveillance State of Vladimir Gloria

March 23, 2023 by Source

By Matthew S. Melin & Brittany M.Pope

Preface

The most profitable mother-load of the $68 Billion mass data collection industry is dragnet surveillance, tracking everyone’s movement 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in perpetuity.

We believe the City has violated the Brown Act and failed to adequately notify the public on the San Diego Police Department “Smart Streetlight Surveillance” presentations between March 3-10th. To be clear, San Diegans have NOT acquiesced our First and Fourth Amendment rights to the Mayor, City Attorney, City Council, the Council President, SDPD, San Diego County Sheriffs, SANDAG and local governments.

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San Diegans Challenge Banks to Stop Funding the Fossil Fuel Industry

March 22, 2023 by Source

From Third Act

Over 50 San Diego climate activists rallied at Chase Bank Plaza at 101 West Broadway and marched to Citibank on Tuesday, March 21 as part of a national day of action across the US to pressure the major banks to stop financing the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.

Organizers included Third Act SoCal, Sierra Club, SanDiego350, SanDiego350 Youth, Climate Action Campaign, ACT, Hammond Climate Solutions, Surfrider, and the Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice.

The rally was among the more than 100 events that took place in over half the United States involving rallies, art installations

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Tonight’s OB Town Council Meeting Only on Zoom and Facebook Live – Wed., March 22

March 22, 2023 by Staff

The word has gotten out that the venue for the OB Town Council meeting tonight, Wednesday, March 23, Water’s Edge, has sustained damage from the storm and won’t be available to host the OBTC Monthly Meeting.

The meeting will still take place on Zoom and Facebook Live, as always.

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3-Month Effort to Get City to Move Unsafe Fencing in Downtown San Diego

March 22, 2023 by Source

By Geoff Page

Apparently, no one in city government cares if things fall off a downtown building and hit people on the head or care about pedestrians being hit by vehicles in the street. That is despicable enough, from a humanitarian standpoint. It is also a ridiculous financial risk of city money that is already in short supply.

Back in December 2022, a complaint on Twitter about a fence blocking the sidewalk on C Street and 4th Ave. caught this writer’s eye.

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