Police Trailer Removed From OB Pier Parking Lot After 20 Years

by on April 17, 2019 · 2 comments

in Ocean Beach

By Tony de Garate

When word got out that the Ocean Beach police trailer was going to be removed from its long-standing spot in the parking lot at the foot of Newport Avenue, OB’s most notorious spot for aggressive panhandling, open drug use and violence, some were skeptical when the announced date was April 1.

But it was no hoax. Bert’s Office Trailers brought a giant flatbed and carried away their trailer as advertised, ending a police brick-and-mortar presence that, in all, had lasted nearly five decades in this funky beach community.

For nearly 20 years, the idea was simple. Give police a space in Ocean Beach to work on a report, stow gear, microwave a snack, plug in a computer or just use the restroom, and the increased presence would have a scarecrow effect. Some say the idea came from convenience stores advertising “free coffee for cops.” Who’s going to hold up your gas station if police are likely to come around for a free cup of joe?

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Magical Mystery Rainbow Clouds in Joshua Tree

by on April 17, 2019 · 3 comments

in Ocean Beach

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Labor and Progressives Mix It Up at Summit 2019

by on April 17, 2019 · 0 comments

in Labor, San Diego

By Doug Porter / Words&Deeds / April 15, 2019

Advocates for a progressive policies and organized labor gathered in San Diego this past weekend at the Doubletree Hilton in Mission Valley. Hundreds of union members mingled with local political activists for a day of speeches, strategizing, and solidarity at the third annual Progressive Labor Summit.

The assembly of one of the most powerful forces in local electoral politics and the driver of significant social change featured nationally and locally prominent speakers. And, despite, an active public relations campaign, this column will likely be the only coverage of the event.

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Project Review Committee: 3 Projects and Improvements to Dog Beach Walkway – Wed., April 17

by on April 17, 2019 · 3 comments

in Ocean Beach

The Project Review Committee of the OB Planning Board has 3 projects to review at their meeting Wednesday, April 17. The meeting begins at 6pm at the OB Recreation Center at 4726 Santa Monica Avenue. Two projects are on Pescadero Ave and one is on Santa Cruz Ave. The committee will also review proposed OB Dog Beach Walkway Improvements.

The PRC usually makes recommendations on projects it reviews for the full board, which meets on the first Wednesday of every month.

4630 Pescadero – New 2-Story Residential

This is a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) for the construction of a new detached 2-story residential house on the .16 acre lot with an existing residence.

4684 Santa Cruz – Granny Flat

A CDP for the construction of a 260 square-foot granny flat with deck on top of an existing garage and workshop.

4811 Pescadero – Demolition and Construction of 3 Units

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OB Historical Society: World War II Letters From San Diegans – Thurs., April 18

by on April 16, 2019 · 0 comments

in Ocean Beach

The Ocean Beach Historical Society Presents: WWII Letters From San Diegans,
 Water’s Edge Faith Community, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., O.B.
 Thurs., Apr. 18, 7 pm,

Hear history as it happened! Poignant World War II letters written by young San Diegans serving in the military will be the focus of our O.B. Historical Society April 18 program. It’s all happening Thurs., Apr. 18, 7 pm,

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Black Panthers in San Diego

April 15, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

Interview with Henry Wallace – San Diego Black Panther

There are Black Panthers here in San Diego today. Henry Wallace – for one – is a member of the San Diego Black Panther Party. Henry Wallace was also a Black Panther here in San Diego back in the late Sixties, fifty-some years ago.

Today a Black Panther Party chapter exists in San Diego. And Henry Wallace is responsible for breathing new life into the militant political party that calls our town home.

Henry was a teenager when he joined the San Diego chapter of the Black Panthers in the late 1960s. His sister had been a founder when it unfurled its banner in San Diego for the first time in 1967. The Party reached its zenith locally over the course of the next two years later, but it had shaken the white establishment so much, the establishment reaction forced the party out of it public existence.

This is all part of the history Henry shares with us here in an interview with the OB Rag.

For historical context, back in the day – the late 60s – the Black Panthers were either lied about or ignored by the mainstream media such as the San Diego Union and the Evening-Tribune.

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The State of the Nation: Unhappy and Burned Out

April 15, 2019 by Jim Miller

By Jim Miller

If our morning commutes tell us anything, it’s that there are a lot of miserable, angry people out there. Sometimes on my drive to the gym, I make the mistake of counting the number of people who either cut me off, speed up to not let me change lanes, or dangerously tailgate my car.

Let’s just say the numbers are regularly dismaying.

It’s a Social Darwinist nightmare out there on the road in F-You Nation, and I have long thought that this phenomenon spoke to something larger afoot in the country—a collective darkness seems to be on the rise, and not just on the political front. We are an unhappy bunch.

As the Washington Post recently reported:

Americans are unhappy, according to the report, an annual list ranking the overall happiness levels of 156 countries — and it’s only getting worse.

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My Own Happenings as Distractions From a Mighty Storm

April 16, 2019 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

Sometimes I
feel like
I’m being gangsta slapped,
living in some form of the abstract,
at the mercy
of an orange-faced-long-tie-wearing
maniac,
who is beyond
normal definitions of
being out of whack,
spinning out of control
like a swirling tornado
descending,
destroying and sucking
the spirit
out of everything
in his windy path
as though he is
the only thing
on this green earth
happening –

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Austin Company Prints 3D-House on Site as Model for Homeless

April 12, 2019 by Source

By Drew Zeiba / Architects Newspaper

“What if you could download and print a house for half the cost?” reads the lede for the Vulcan II, a 3D printer with a name suited for sci-fi space exploration, on the website of Austin-based company ICON. Now the company has put this claim to the test, building what it says is the first permitted 3D-printed home in the United States, unveiled during SXSW.

Using its original Vulcan gantry-style 3D printer, the firm collaborated with global housing nonprofit New Story to build a 650-square-foot home, which features separate bedroom, living, bathroom, and kitchen areas.

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Point Loma Nazarene Community Reacts to Trump’s Threats to Close the Border

April 12, 2019 by Source

by Jessie Fernandez/ LomaBeat.com / April 11, 2019

Trump threatening to close the border may not be new, but many students still don’t know the implications of a border shut-down.

Mexico and the United States are a part of the United States-Mexico-Canada- Agreement. This agreement has been signed but is not officially valid, and is basically a new NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). This deal is meant to protect intellectual property and harmonize regulatory systems and e-commerce.

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Barr Threatens Heightened Intergovernmental Civil War

April 11, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

In his accusations Wednesday of government “spying” on the Trump campaign and his hints of investigating the investigators of the Russian intervention, Attorney General Barr has pushed partisanship in Washington to new levels, threatening a heightened civil war within the government.

Barr has finally exposed himself for all to see – especially those who supported his confirmation because he was an honorable guy – as the unquestionable puppet of Donald Trump at the Department of Justice. By the charge of “spying” Barr has very publicly stated his support and confirmation of Trump’s narrative – a narrative that sees the investigation as a “hoax” and that “really bad people” at the FBI spied on his campaign.

In his testimony to a Senate panel on Wednesday, April 10 Barr stated he believed “spying did occur” by the U.S. government on Trump’s 2016 campaign. When asked why he plans to probe the origins of what would become special counsel Robert Mueller’s almost two-year Russia investigation, Barr replied:

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Gray Whale Troubles in Southern California

April 11, 2019 by Source

By Sam Catanzaro / YO! Venice / April 11, 2019

From San Diego and Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and San Franciso, major cities are commonplace along much of California’s coast. Amid the hustle and bustle of these metropolises, it is easy to forget the nature that exists in many residents’ backyards. Last month in Malibu, however, residents and beachgoers got a visual and olfactory reminder of their proximity to wildlife when a young dead gray whale washed ashore at County Line Beach, greeting beachgoers with the smell of decaying flesh.

“It smelled foul,” Cole Miller, a local actor who was surfing nearby, told Yo! Venice. “I had never seen a whale that close before, so I was in awe of how large it was compared to me. Other people poked at it, but I didn’t want to. There was dried, dirty blood oozing from its eyes and mouth. It was pretty gross, but amazing to see a creature like that right in front of me.”

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Effort to Prohibit Marijuana Home-Deliveries by California Cities Stalled for Year

April 11, 2019 by Source

By Patrick McGreevy / Los Angeles Times / Apr 10, 2019

A state bill that would have allowed cities to prohibit home deliveries of marijuana has been sidelined for the year amid concerns that doing so would further hamper California’s lagging market for cannabis.

The action comes just days after 24 cities including Beverly Hills, Riverside and Covina filed a lawsuit against the state, asking the courts to invalidate a California regulation put in place earlier this year that allows home deliveries statewide, including in cities that bar pot shops.

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Promising Progressive Progress with San Diego County Board of Supervisors

April 11, 2019 by Doug Porter

Freshman Nathan Fletcher Opens Up the Budget Process

By Doug Porter / Words&Deeds

It’s all too easy to be cynical about politics in San Diego, with a history of local governance known mostly for kowtowing to reactionary interests. And I’ll be the first to say we have a long way to go. But things are changing, thanks in part to last year’s ‘Blue Wave’ elections and the persistence of some dedicated local activists.

A decision by the Regional Airport Authority to require a project labor agreement with the contractor responsible for a planned $3 billion expansion of Terminal 1 signals that the days of unions not having a seat at the table are over.

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Imagining Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes

April 11, 2019 by Ernie McCray

Imagining Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes

(For Ms Gonzalez’s Third Graders)

by Ernie McCray

Hey,
I must say
that the words
of thanks you
sent my way
put a bounce in my step
and a smile on my face
and a warm fuzzy feeling
in my heart
that just wouldn’t go away.

I’ve come to love you guys
and your wonderful school
in a very big way.

You all made me feel so at home
as I sat and talked to you
through a microphone,

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After Months of Complaints and Health Concerns About Noxious Fumes SDSU President Holds Meetings

April 11, 2019 by Source

by Brad Racino, Lauren Mapp & Bella Ross / inewsource / April 3, 2019

More than 75 faculty members, staff and students at San Diego State University packed an open forum Wednesday, April 3, to demand answers of campus leadership about noxious odors that have sickened many since January.

Editordude: From an earlier post:

The odors arose from a chemical used during roof repairs to the Professional Studies and Fine Arts building, which was closed on March 13 — six weeks after the university was told of the problem and began air monitoring tests. Students and professors who occupied the building despite the smells said the university did a poor job of notifying them or giving them options. inewsource.com

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Scooter Watch: Scooter Prices and Injuries Keep Going Up

April 10, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

We’re trying to keep track for you, dear reader, all the news about those scooters. As ER visits by scooter riders mount, the CDC is studying scooter injuries, Bird’s scooters just got more expensive. And remember those guys taking it upon themselves to “impound” scooters? Lime and Bird are suing them. As if the scooter companies aren’t themselves being sued. And the City of San Diego is being sued.

Here’s some exciting headlines:

Riding Bird’s electric scooters just got more expensive in some cities

Bird is experimenting with price changes as it seeks to tighten up the margins of its money-losing business. Since it first launched, the micromobility company has charged $1 to unlock an electric scooter, plus 15 cents per minute of riding. Now, Bird is effectively doubling that per-minute fee in some cities, while lowering it in others.

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The Convention Center Expansion Zombie Ballot Measure Rises Again

April 10, 2019 by Doug Porter

By Doug Porter / Words&Deeds

A coalition of more than two dozen voting-rights, civil-rights, social-justice, labor and community organizations organized by Alliance San Diego has written to the City Council, urging them to not place a measure on the March 2020 primary ballot.

Despite two thirds of city voters in 2016 casting ballots in support of Measure L, limiting local ballot measures to November general elections, supporters of an increase in the tourism occupancy tax (TOT) have been maneuvering to get their initiative considered earlier.

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Trump Administration Takes Illegal and Dangerous Actions toward Regime Change in Venezuela

April 10, 2019 by Source

By Marjorie Cohn / TruthOut / April 8, 2019

The United States is taking illegal and dangerous actions to execute regime change in Venezuela. In January, Juan Guaidó declared himself “interim president,” in a strategy orchestrated by the United States to seize power from President Nicolás Maduro.

In March, Guaidó announced that “Operation Freedom,” an organization established to overthrow the Maduro government, would take certain “tactical actions” beginning on April 6. Part of the plan anticipates that the Venezuelan military will turn against Maduro.

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The Airplanes Are Off Course Over Point Loma and OB, Again

April 10, 2019 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

San Diego Airport is One of Most Dangerous in Nation; Airplanes Drop Black Soot On Those Below

As I write this, it’s Sunday, April 7, 2019. Between the minutes of 6:31am and 6:52am I reported planes off course 6 times. They were flying quite a bit south of the OB Pier and very close to Pt. Loma Avenue.

This is not the first time this has happened, and as we get closer to summer and more and more tourists coming to San Diego this is going to get worse. For those of you that tell me that the airport was here before me, let me reiterate that we purposely bought our house where we did because it was NOT in the flight pattern.

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James Hudnall – Point Loma High Graduate and Comic Book Writer, Passes

April 10, 2019 by Source

By Christopher Chiu-Tabet / Multiversity Comics / April 10th, 2019

Comic book writer James Hudnall died yesterday at the age of 61. Artist Matt Cossin, who was working with Hudnall on a new book, announced the news on Facebook, stating “James’ sister, Susan, has informed me that my good friend, writer and collaborator, James Hudnall, has passed away. James was one of the very few kind hearted, genuine people I have ever met. I still can’t believe it.”

James David Hudnall was born in Santa Rosa, California, on April 10, 1957. His parents divorced when he was two, and after his mother remarried a man in the US Navy, they moved to San Diego, where Hudnall attended Point Loma High School. After graduating, Hudnall joined the US Air Force in 1976, and was stationed in England. After being discharged, he attended Coleman College in San Diego, majoring in computer science.

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A Tale of Two Crises – Homeless Living in Cars vs. Out-of-Control Scooters

April 9, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

This is a tale – albeit a brief one – of two crises – homeless people living in cars in well-off residential areas and what some believe are the out-of-control dockless scooters.

This tale is about how these two parallel crises which have hit our fair city at roughly the same time and how they both are being handled and resolved by our earnest San Diego political leaders. Now whether these twin events are actual “crises” may be debated by history, but they certainly both are urgent matters of concern at least to some.

It was just this past February when the San Diego City Council overturned the local ordinance that banned sleeping in vehicles, a law on the books since 1983, but ruled unconstitutional by a Federal Judge last year.

And ever since, the Mayor’s Office and other city council offices – plus the local media – have been inundated with hundreds of calls from irate well-heeled residents – who also vote – about homeless people living in vans and leaving their messes on their residential streets. Just about every TV station had a report about these complaints.

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Reader Rant: ‘The Hubris of Some Businesses Who Think They Can Just Waltz into OB and Start Serving Alcohol’

April 9, 2019 by Source

By Steamed X-Punker

I am kind of steamed these days with the hubris that some businesses have who think they can just waltz into Ocean Beach and set up shop and start selling alcohol. I’m thinking right now of Dirty BIrds and Mr. Motto Pizza.

Is this what is going on?

Both these businesses are in the process of setting up their shops in the new plaza at Santa Monica and Cable Street. Both have applied for alcohol-selling permits. Now we learn Dirty Birds’ permit has been denied by the ABC. (Editordude: see this.) Motto’s is pending.

I have to ask: “What were they thinking?”

Didn’t Dirty Birds owners know setting up new alcohol serving places in OB could be a tough go? Had not they heard of what happened to Little Miss Brewery?

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Surfline’s SoCal Forecast Analysis: Here Come the NW Winds, Rising NW Windswell

April 9, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

By Keaton Browning / Surfline.com / April 9, 2019

The Bottom Line

  • Surf Trend: Rising NW winds and windswell on Tues PM. Jumbled surf through Wed, but possibly cleaning up Thur AM.
  • Novice: Probably best to hold off for possible cleaner conditions, smaller surf Friday into the weekend.
  • Tides: AM lows, PM highs (but not deep tides).
  • Water Temps: Upper 50s for many areas, low 60s for South LA, South OC and San Diego.
  • Also Watch Out For: Periods of strong onshore wind Tues; Another SSW swell lining up for next week.

Today, April 9th: 3-4’+ in the morning, trending up to 4-6’+ by afternoon. Rising NW winds/windswell. Old NW swell mix fades out as a fresh round of NW windswell fills in through the day

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Over 80 Women Sue Sharp Grossmont for Secretly Videotaping Their Surgeries Without Consent

April 8, 2019 by Source

by Cheryl Clark / inewsource / April 2, 2019

More than 80 women are suing Sharp Grossmont Hospital and Sharp Healthcare for videotaping them without their consent as they underwent painful and emotional obstetric surgeries, including C-sections.

According to the 15-page lawsuit, the operating room cameras in the La Mesa facility captured videos of about 1,800 women between July 17, 2012 and June 30, 2013. Plaintiffs’ attorneys said Sharp officials disclosed those numbers and dates during legal proceedings before the lawsuit was filed.

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OB Golden Retriever-Lovers Have a Message and Have Gone Bandanas

April 8, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

Some folks who said good-bye to their favorite dog, Moose, have a message for other Golden Retriever owners and dog-lovers in general. And they’ve gone bandanas.

They have a sign up at OB’s Dog Beach about their grief and the need of Retrievers to have vet check-ups. And they’ve attached some bandanas for dogs. Here’s their message (photos by Albert C Elliott).

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Receiving an Award for My Love of Children

April 8, 2019 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

I recently received an honor of a lifetime, Barrio Station’s “Cesar E. Chavez Humanitarian Award” for my lifelong civil and human rights activism. When I first got the word from Rachel Ortiz, Executive Director of the Barrio Station, a dear hero of mine, that I was to be given such a precious distinction, I didn’t know what to say other than “Wow!”

After hanging up the phone I couldn’t help but think of what a charmed life I’ve had. A life filled with children. Children, hundreds of them, in school settings all over San Diego County, have made me who I am, gifting me with tight hugs and snappy high fives for just being myself with them:

Out at P.E. with them,
my slam dunks
and shifty moves
and softballs
hit beyond the boundaries
of the playground
dazzling them
and bonding me
as a badass dude
with them.

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The Old Broad Ponders: ‘Is Amazon Watching Me Age?’

April 8, 2019 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

The aging process really sucks. It doesn’t matter if it is the house you bought 50 years ago; or the car you bought 10 years ago; or the body that you were gifted with so many years ago. As each year passes more and more things seem to go wrong.

For example, my husband and I bought a large sectional couch 20 years ago. We placed in front of the three large windows in the living room. Behind the couch we had floor to ceiling drapes. Also 20 years ago. About 6 months ago, in preparation for a Bunco party at my house, I decided to have the carpets cleaned.

When the cleaner pulled the couch away from the wall I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

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3rd Annual Progressive Labor Summit 2019 in San Diego, Saturday April 13th

April 8, 2019 by Jim Miller

All Day Conference at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Mission Valley at 7450 Hazard Center Drive from 9:00 AM until 5:30 PM.

Want a great crash course in local, statewide, and national progressive issues and politics? Then you won’t want to miss the third annual Progressive Labor Summit this Saturday, April 13th in Mission Valley. This one-day event will feature a wide range of speakers and breakout sessions on labor, the environment, immigration, housing, transit, education, local politics, organizing, and much more.

Some of day’s highlights include: the first San Diego mayoral forum with Todd Gloria, Tasha Williamson, and Barbara Bry; a discussion with leaders from the unions whose recent strikes woke up the country—the United Teachers Los Angeles and the Oakland Education Association

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Makeup: Wreaking Havoc on the Earth

April 5, 2019 by Source

by Abby Williams/ LomaBeat.com / April 4, 2019

Foundation, blush, mascara, eye shadow and lipstick are all products under the umbrella of makeup that is used by people of all colors, shapes and sizes. The purpose of makeup? To make people feel more beautiful. But what if the one thing that is making people’s exterior feel more beautiful is making the world an uglier place? Literally.

Oxybenzone, Parabens and Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) are among numerous ingredients found in cosmetic products. While they help cover up imperfections, they are known to make the natural world a more imperfect place, according to Ben Johnson, the founder and formulator of Osmosis Skincare, in an interview with The Point.

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