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Ceviche House
2415 San Diego Avenue
Old Town.

Bright Flavors at Ceviche House in Old Town

by Bob Edwards

It’s hard to find a good new restaurant to review in the Beach Area. Although it seems like there’s one or two restaurants opening every month, I find that most are boring and predictable or just don’t provide the quality cooking that inspires me to do a review.

I ate three meals at a seafood place in Point Loma recently, took a ton of photos, and started writing about it a few times and finally gave up.

San Diego Housing Commission Met With Many Questions From Community Members
By Geoff Page

Once again, the Peninsula Community Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting May 19 provided entertainment value for those who attended. And, this time, it was also an excellent illustration of what a planning board is meant to be.

The controversy over that piece of open land off Famosa Blvd. across from Cleator Park more or less erupted. The often heated discussion took up about an hour and a half of the meeting, far longer than originally intended.

It’s basically “mum’s the word” at OB’s hostel on Newport Avenue about their recent application for a liquor license with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Concerns have been raised in some quarters of the community about yet another alcohol establishment on OB’s main commercial drag.

But even if granted, USA Hostel Ocean Beach only plans to serve its own guests – those travelers who lease out spaces at the hostel. No one from the outside would be allowed into the 2-story iconic building – they have 24/7 staffing at the only front door, I was assured by Julie, the on-site manager,

Twenty years ago, Jim Bell – OB’s well-known ecology consultant – bought an old building on Voltaire Street in Ocean Beach, which once housed a variety of businesses over the years, including Seedless, one of the incarnations of Hodads and Effie’s Cafe. And for 2 decades Bell rented out the numerous interior rooms while he worked out of his office, “the cave”, deep inside the building.

Now the property is up for sale. Jim Bell’s daughter Heather, who lives in Seattle, confirmed to this reporter she is trying to sell it. The lot is 50 by 100 feet. This turn in events is all due to Jim’s failing health – he’s now bedridden in a local Point Loma senior assisted living facility, and his well-being is dependent on the sale.

It appears the City of San Diego is getting set to dismantle the 30 foot height limit in order to allow massive redevelopment of the Midway District.

With the Midway area community plan update – okayed by the Midway planning committee on March 21 – about to be approved by the City Council in June, all the chips are falling into place to set the stage for some kind of political action that would get rid of the sacrosanct height limit for the some 1324 acres being considered for the redevelopment. The redevelopment would bring in dense housing – some of it affordable -, “modern commercial districts”, and 7-fold population increase to the area.

But the 30 foot height limit stands in the way of the dreams of developers, city planners, and their sycophants within the mainly commercial zones of the district.

This Thursday, May 17, the Ocean Beach Historical Society will present: “Picture Perfect – Three of O.B.’s Top Photographers”, at Water’s Edge Faith Community at 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., at 7 PM,

The above photograph is of three of O.B.’s top photographers and OB Exposed! judges Cliff Beck, Steve Rowell, and Joe Ewing.