Grassroots and Progressive views on local, national and world news

Can’t We All Just – Stop Calling the San Diego Airport After an Anti-Semite and Nazi-Lover?

by Frank Gormlie on September 13, 2019 · 7 comments

in San Diego

There it was – the “L” word on the agenda of a local Ocean Beach community organization announcing a presentation about Terminal One by Airport Authority representatives. Ugh! “Lindbergh” as in Charles Lindbergh and as in “Lindbergh Field,” the San Diego Airport’s former name.

But ol’ Charles Lindbergh was an anti-Semite and Nazi-lover. So, can we all just stop calling the San Diego Airport after him? After someone who gushed antisemitism in his speeches and who was a big fan of Adolf Hitler and of Nazi Germany.

It’s not easy, I admit, to stop using titles that everyone’s used for decades. I slip up myself once in a while – but lately have been catching myself. A well-known writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune used the “L-word” about a year ago in an article about the airport. When I saw it, I was repulsed.

Then there’s the blinders of those who write about Lindbergh and never mention his dark side. Back in 2017, the San Diego Union-Tribune published a bunch of “rare, never-before-published photographic images of Charles Lindbergh on his way to becoming Charles Lindbergh,” while he was training in San Diego, photos that had been “hiding in storage for 90 years.” I scanned the May 7, 2017 article by John Wilkens for a paragraph about Lindbergh’s later controversies and found none, not a word – not even a hint.

7 comments

Mayoral Debate for Beach Communities – Wed., Sept. 18 at Mission Bay High School

by Staff on September 13, 2019 · 1 comment

in Ocean Beach

Come one – come all – the Mayoral Debate for the beach and coastal neighborhoods of San Diego. Of course, you’re invited to join your local community organizations, like the OB Town Council and the OB Planning Board, the OB Mainstreet Association, the Point Loma Assoc., Save San Diego Neighborhoods, ReWild Mission Bay, San Diego Lifeguards, Surfrider, Coastkeeper …..

This the time for coastal issues to be debated by Barbara Bry, Todd Gloria and Tasha Williamson at the September 18th Mayoral Debate. That’s a Wednesday and it’s happening at the Mission Bay High School, 2475 Grand Ave.

A full auditorium will send a strong message to the candidates

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The World We Want

by Source on September 13, 2019 · 2 comments

in California, Education, Environment, San Diego

The University of California Has Been Shaped by Market Value

By Niall Twohig

One thing I noticed in my decade studying and teaching at UCSD is that we—students, teachers, and our academic programs—rarely define the principles we want to live by in our university and society. By principles, I’m referring to what critic George Monbiot calls a “description of the world as we would like to see it.”

I see a risk in not defining our principles. If we do not describe the world we would like to see, we risk accepting the world we see as the only possible world. We risk accepting what is valued in that world as what is most valuable to us.

What is valued most in our current world is market value. This value is determined by how much profit one makes when one sells one’s product on the market. All that matters in the marketplace is whether you get back more than you put in. The more you get back, the greater the value.

Over the last four decades, our “public” institutions have been reshaped by market value. The University of California is no exception. Squeezed by economic and political forces beyond its walls, the university has been rebuilt as a for profit corporation masquerading as public.

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The OB Pier Pancake Breakfast Is One of the Great Social Events of the Year in Ocean Beach

by Frank Gormlie on September 13, 2019 · 0 comments

in Ocean Beach

One of the greatest social events of the year in Ocean Beach is coming right up next Saturday, September 21st. It’s the annual OB Pier Pancake Breakfast hosted by your OB Town Council. It’s actually the 21st Annual gig.

For the price of a ticket, you get a wonderful breakfast and nosh it down right over the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Plus it’s an event that mainly locals attend and you’ll get to chat with people who love this town.

Not only that – but given that this is an election season – there will probably be a number of politicians showing up to show their shiny faces as they know this an important social get-together.

And there’s more! The proceeds from this breakfast – literally attended by hundreds – go to benefit the OB Food and Toy Drive, which helps as many as 100 local families and Seniors in need during this holiday season.

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Full Moon on Friday the 13th – Gee, What Crazy Thing Could Happen?

September 12, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

Today is Friday the 13th – and hey, there’s also a full moon. So, a full moon on Friday the 13th – what crazy thing could happen?

Let’s take a look – first at the moon. For us on the West Coast, the full moon will be around 9:30 p.m. (okay – 09:33 pm (PDT)) on Friday. According to moon gazers:

September’s Full Moon was called the Full Corn Moon or Harvest Moon by the early North American Farmers. The term “Harvest Moon” refers to the Full Moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal Equinox. The Full Moon closes to this Equinox rises about 20 minutes later each night as apposed to the rest of the year when the moon rises around 50 minutes later each night.

In the northern hemisphere, the Full Harvest Moon rises very soon after sunset, providing plenty of bright light for farmers harvesting their summer crops. September’s full moon is so well-known for its luminosity and brilliance that certain Native American tribes even named it the Big Moon. The Full Harvest Moon holds major cultural significance in many different communities, who spend this full moon not just celebrating the fall harvest, but also the moon itself. From Moongiant.com

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Beach Commemoration for Lifelong OB Resident Billy Holt – Saturday, Sept.14

September 10, 2019 by Source

Billy Holt passed away unexpectedly on July 8th. He was a native San Diegan and lifelong Ocean Beach resident. Billy was a 1966 graduate of Point Loma High School and many of his former classmates have been shocked at his sudden departure.

The Colorful History of the Rowdies, Radicals and Ruffians of Ocean Beach

August 15, 2018 by Frank Gormlie

Downtown Ocean Beach during these times on any summer day or night is extraordinarily packed with people, as locals and visitors mingle on the beach, on the Greens, and in the numerous noisy restaurants and pubs that line the commercial streets.

OB’s reputation as being San Diego’s “laid-back” beach community precedes it as tourists flock to our liberal seaside village of tolerance, peace and hipness all in search of being part of it – even for just a moment – in their search for happiness. Little do they know there actually is a rough and sordid underbelly to OB’s traditions and history.

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Last Days in Ocean Beach: Reckoning with the Anthropocene

April 23, 2018 by Source

By Jennifer Cost

I have spent a lot of time in the past thirty years kayaking, hiking, and backpacking in the western United States–in Alaska, the Sierra Nevada, the Lost Coast, the Wind River Range, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Beartooth/Absarokas, the Grand Canyon, the Anza Borrego Desert, and the San Juan part of the Colorado Rockies.

Southern California Grocery Contract Approved for 47,000 Workers – Strike Averted

September 12, 2019 by Brent Beltran

Kroger and Albertsons Workers Ratify New Contract That Raises Hourly Wages, Improves Benefits, and Protects Customer Service – All With Strong Customer Support

This week, members of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) from Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new contract that improves the lives of hard-working grocery workers and their families across Southern California.

Marc Perrone, the President of the UFCW International, released the following statement:

“By strongly voting for a new contract that improves wages and benefits, thousands of hard-working members of the UFCW sent a powerful message this week about the power that comes from workers and customers standing together.

Does Todd Gloria Really Have the Mayor’s Race All Wrapped Up?

September 12, 2019 by Doug Porter

The 2020 Primaries: Is it Time for Todd Gloria to Do a Victory Lap?

By Doug Porter / Words&Deeds / Sept. 9, 2019

Short answer: Nah, he’s not gonna pull a Howard Dean.

The first round of polling made news this weekend. A Union-Tribune/10 News poll has Assemblyman Todd Gloria leading Councilwoman Barbara Bry by more than a 2-1 ratio among likely voters in the race to become San Diego’s next mayor.

Here’s the fine print: 46% of likely voters are undecided, mostly because they don’t give a hoot just yet. 39% say they have no opinion of Bry, and 23% don’t have an opinion of Gloria. The poll surveyed 550 likely voters over three days over land lines, smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices and has a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.

Longer Answer: It’s time to start paying attention folks. Welcome to the first in a weekly series of local election updates. Today it’s City of San Diego Mayoral race, March 2020 Primary.

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Watching the Watchers – A Field Guide for Police Surveillance in San Diego County

September 12, 2019 by Source

by Dave Maass, Christian Romero, Madison Vialpando / City Beat / September 4, 2019

San Diego County is a perfect storm for the surveillance state. Between the busiest border crossing in the United States, a large military presence, a major port, a booming tech and cybersecurity industry, and elected officials who campaign on government innovation, it’s a wonder that San Diego has yet to become a Big Brother hellscape.

Or has it? Perhaps the process was so gradual that no one noticed.

Cops across the region carry mobile devices for face recognition. “Smart” streetlights equipped with video cameras have blanketed San Diego neighborhoods. Squad cars hoover up license plate scans while on patrol. The truth is, law enforcement agencies in San Diego County have been early adopters of a wide range of advanced surveillance technologies—body-worn cameras, drones, cell-site simulators—often with weak safeguards and, until recently, little-to-no input from the public.

Teenager Pulled From Ocean at Sunset Cliffs Dies

September 12, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

Flowers have been left near the site where a young, 15-year old boy from Sweetwater High School died Wednesday, September 11 at Sunset Cliffs. The teenager was pulled from the ocean after he had reportedly been underwater for nearly an hour.

Anthony Womack had been jumping with friends at the cliffs between Adair and Osprey streets, a favorite jumping spot, popularized on social media. The jump is at least twenty feet.

Rescuers responded after being called at 10 a.m. with a report of a teenager struggling in the water. Womack was finally found in the water after lifeguards searched on a boat and watercrafts for almost an hour.

The Green Calendar for Ocean Beach and San Diego -September 2019

September 11, 2019 by Source

These events were put together by folks at the Ocean Beach Green Center – ( 4862 Voltaire Street, Ocean Beach 92107 oceanbeachgreencenter@gmail.com)

Events in Ocean Beach or Point Loma

September 19th Thursday 7 pm Film Night. “Time to Choose” In this 2016 documentary from Charles Ferguson (Inside Job, No End in Sight) he addresses the worldwide climate change challenges and solutions. He leaves audiences understanding not only what is wrong, but what can be done to fix this global threat. “Time to Choose” is a sobering polemic about global warming that balances familiar predictions of planetary doom with a survey of innovations that hold out some hope for the future. New York Times. Come watch this film and get yourself ready for the Climate Walkout Sept 20th. at the Ocean Beach Green Center – 4862 Voltaire Street,

LA Times Opinion: ‘I’m 73 and live in a van. …already received a warning in Ocean Beach … It feels like there’s no place for me in California anymore’

September 11, 2019 by Source

Editordude: The following opinion piece was published in the LA Times two days ago and it’s already making the rounds on the net. It’s by LaVonne Ellis, a former correspondent for ABC Radio News Networks.

By LaVonne Ellis / Los Angeles Times / Sep. 9, 2019

I wake up early these days, when morning light outlines the blackout curtains and floods the skylight above my bed. After washing up with baby wipes and donning clean clothes, I slide open a curtain to reveal the front seats and windshield of the van that is my home, and check the back one last time to make sure everything is secure. Then I crawl into the driver’s seat and turn the key.

As soon as possible every morning, I move from my night spot. It’s important — I don’t want to draw police attention. Living in a vehicle is against the law in San Diego and a growing number of cities, including Los Angeles.

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San Diego City Council Member Gomez’ Big Announcement: Whatever Could It Be?

September 11, 2019 by Doug Porter

By Doug Porter / Words & Deeds / Sept. 11, 2019

Exactly nobody will be surprised on Saturday morning if District 9 San Diego City Council Georgette Gomez person announces she’s running for Congress.

I seriously doubt she’ll be announcing free parking for the Green Day/Weezer concert at Petco during next year’s ComicCon. Or that she’ll endorse Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson.

The 200 or so people who responded to the Facebook Event Announcement overnight certainly expect her to run. This is a Big Deal.

The not-expected letter from incumbent 53rd District Representative Susan Davis declaring her retirement at the end of this term has changed the 2020 election picture for San Diego.

San Diego Housing Commission Releases RFP for Famosa Canyon – Here It Is

September 11, 2019 by Source

The San Diego Housing Commission released the RFP (Request for Proposals) for development at Famosa Canyon at the end of August. The Housing Commission calls the 5 plus acres “Site 428.”

Here below are pertinent sections of the RFP for the layperson (potential developers can go to the Commission themselves, as there is no contact info here or “how-to” info). Included is the Intro, “Background”,”Goals and Objectives”, “Site Information” and the minimum requirements for the site. (All graphics from the RFP.)

Site 428: RFP Executive Summary

INTRODUCTION

Development teams experienced in high-quality, affordable rental housing are invited to submit proposals for potential development of approximately 5.61 acres, designated Site 428, on the southeast corner of Famosa Boulevard and Nimitz Boulevard in zones RM-2-5 and RM-3-7 (Site). The Site is located within the Peninsula Community Planning Area.

Here’s the Proposed Street Vendor Ordinance for San Diego

September 11, 2019 by Source

Have you checked out the proposed Street Vendor ordinance for San Diego?

It is supposed to go before the full City Council in October. This is a good time to check into it – and as in many ordinances, it starts out with “definitions”, so don’t get lost in those. Just skip down to the more substantive sections of the proposal.

At their last meeting, the OB Planning Board endorsed it and reportedly, the OB Mainstreet Association also favors the current version.

So, here it is – in its entirety – without edit, without comment (I did add graphics):

Chapter J
Business Regulations, Business Taxes,
Permits and Licenses Article 6:
Division 1: Sidewalk Vendor
§36.U1U1

Title
This Division shall be known as the Sidewalk Vendor Ordinance. This Division regulates sidewalk vendors in the public right- of-way.

Billionaire Eli Broad’s Academy Is All About the Destruction of Public Education

September 10, 2019 by Source

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican

In 2002, the billionaire, Eli Broad, established his own education leadership training program. Although he is the only person ever to create two Fortune 500 companies, Broad, who attended public school, has no other experience or training in education.

However he is so rich, he can just institute his opinions such as his belief that education knowledge is not needed to run large urban school systems; consultants can be hired for that knowledge.

Peter Greene, the author of the popular blog Curmudgucation, framed this absurdity in his own snarky fashion:

“But Broad does not believe that schools have an education problem; he believes they have a management problem. School leadership does not need an infusion of educational leadership– they need business guys, leadership guys.

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Albert Spalding, Madame Tingley and the Great Myth of Baseball

September 10, 2019 by Source

By Randy Dotinga / Voice of San Diego / September 2, 2019

If you head out to a Padres game this month, you might assume you’re enjoying the national pastime invented by a man called Doubleday in a bucolic place called Cooperstown. But this origin story is a hoax, perhaps the greatest in all of sports, and it has its roots right here in Point Loma, where wealth, the occult and shameless myth-making collided early in the 20th century.

At the center of it all was a man named Albert Goodwill Spalding, the early baseball player-turned-sporting goods king whose last name is emblazoned on countless baseballs, bats and gloves. He landed here around 1900

Trump Is More Mad — and Worried — About Elizabeth Warren than Alabama

September 10, 2019 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor / Times of San Diego / September 9, 2019

Trump’s tweets are still going strong about Hurricane Dorian and the Sharpie map that included Alabama in its wake. And the “fake news” is still reporting it.

Trump is mad. So much so that even his aides are worried about his mental state.

But, underneath it all, Trump is truly mad, and nervous, about Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Why? Because she can count. A strong economy is Trump’s best election-year bragging right—and it is teetering.

As a Harvard law professor who specialized in bankruptcy regulations, Warren—more than any other Democrat in the field—can argue on point about Trump’s finances—business, personal, corporate, foundation, inaugural, and tax filings.

OB Woman’s Club – ‘The Inside Secrets of Sesame Street’ Plus Buddha Bowls – Tues., Sept.10

September 10, 2019 by Source

Suuunny Day ….. Sweepin’ the clouds awaaay…?

You’re invited to join the women at the OB Woman’s Club for a fun and nostalgic trip down memory lane as we listen to insider stories from Dr. Lucille Burbank, a researcher on the show and the author of “The Inside Secrets of Sesame Street”.

There’s a fun meeting on tap, packed with info about the upcoming Ping Pong Tournament, Card Night, the Obcean Luau Fundraiser and more!

A light meal of Buddha Bowls will be served

Where Is the Hero In Us?

September 10, 2019 by Staff

By Joni Halpern

Dear Ohio,

We have been flinging the word “hero” around these United States for quite some time, mostly using it to refer to anyone in uniform, and once in a while, to civilians who risk their lives to save another. Without denigrating the title bestowed on these worthy persons, it is time to call attention to the missing person in all of us — the American hero.

You might have forgotten this character, for he or she has been buried beneath so much angst, anger, partisanship, and turmoil within each of us that it is speculative whether there is anything at all we can do to resurrect this person.

From the time we were children, we were raised on American heroism. True, much was left out of the story. Not everyone acted as a hero in our history.

City of San Diego Map of Scooter Corrals in Ocean Beach

September 9, 2019 by Source

Here is the official map from the City of San Diego on scooter corrals in Ocean Beach.

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Elizabeth Warren on War and Peace

September 9, 2019 by Source

Warren’s troubling foreign policy history includes uncritical support of Israel, supporting sanctions on Venezuela, and vilifying Russia and China as national security threats. But her views are also evolving.

by Reese Erlich / The Progressive

In the last few months Senator Elizabeth Warren has gained ground in public opinion polls tracking the race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. In some states, she’s ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders and pulling close to former Vice President Joe Biden.

In domestic politics, Warren makes a populist appeal to working people with calls for free college tuition, single-payer health care and breaking up monopolies. In foreign policy, she takes a similar stand, calling for an end to foreign trade pacts such as Trump’s renegotiated NAFTA.

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Corporate Mea Culpas, Corrupt New Democrats, and Progressive Populists

September 9, 2019 by Jim Miller

By Jim Miller

This just in: our corporate overlords have turned over a new leaf. At least that’s what they were saying publicly quite recently. As the New York Times reported :

Nearly 200 chief executives, including the leaders of Apple, Pepsi and Walmart, tried on Monday to redefine the role of business in society — and how companies are perceived by an increasingly skeptical public.

Breaking with decades of long-held corporate orthodoxy, the Business Roundtable issued a statement on “the purpose of a corporation,” arguing that companies should no longer advance only the interests of shareholders. Instead, the group said, they must also invest in their employees, protect the environment and deal fairly and ethically with their suppliers.

What to make of this development? Not too much, most likely.

News and Notices for Ocean Beach and Point Loma – Early September 2019

September 6, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

Contractor Found in Violations at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park for Pesticides.

The County of San Diego has found contractor Habitat West in violations for pesticides at Sunset Cliffs “Natural Park”. Their investigation started Jan 2019. The folks behind Campaign Non-Toxic San Diego also an investigation in progress. The County published a report on the violations; it’s 86 pages long and to request the entire report email campaignnontoxicsandiego@gmail.com

Lifeguards Rescue 2 on Catamaran Stuck in Point Loma Cave

Crews rescued two people stuck on a 26-foot catamaran that had floated into a Point Loma cave early Friday morning

OB Kid Raising Money from Lemonade Stand for Diseased Buddy

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Turning Greenhouse Gas into Pure Liquid Fuel

September 6, 2019 by Source

Lab’s ‘green’ invention reduces carbon dioxide into valuable fuels

Rice University / Science Daily / September 3, 2019

Summary:

An electrocatalysis reactor built at Rice University recycles carbon dioxide to produce pure liquid fuel solutions using electricity. The scientists behind the invention hope it will become an efficient and profitable way to reuse the greenhouse gas and keep it out of the atmosphere.

A common greenhouse gas could be repurposed in an efficient and environmentally friendly way with an electrolyzer that uses renewable electricity to produce pure liquid fuels.

The catalytic reactor developed by the Rice University lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Haotian Wang uses carbon dioxide as its feedstock and, in its latest prototype, produces highly purified and high concentrations of formic acid.

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Cases of Vaping-Related Lung Illness Surge, Vitamin E Acetate One of Many Possible Causes

September 6, 2019 by Source

Indiana announced a third death linked to the illness on Friday. State and federal health officials are working urgently to understand the causes.

By Matt Richtel and Denise Grady / New York Times / Sept. 6, 2019

Federal health officials reported on Friday that the number of people sickened with a severe lung illness linked to vaping has more than doubled to 450 possible cases in 33 states, including three deaths and a possible fourth.

The Indiana Department of Health announced the third death on Friday, saying only that the victim was older than 18. “There is clearly an epidemic that begs for an urgent response,”

Ocean Beach Town Council Needs Volunteers for the OB Pier Pancake Breakfast on Sat., Sept. 21

September 6, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

If you’ve ever been to one of the breakfasts that the OB Town Council puts on at their annual OB Pier Pancake Breakfast event, you know how wonderful the food is and what a social scene it is. It’s definitely one of OB’s great social events of the year. Plus – you’re having your food while sitting over the ocean.
This year’s event on September 21 – actually the “21st Annual Pancake Breakfast” – is on schedule. But you know what – the folks who are organizing this gig, your town council board members – need help. They need volunteers.

Ocean Beach Planners Approve Proposed Sidewalk Vendor Ordinance

September 5, 2019 by Frank Gormlie

At their Wednesday night meeting, the Ocean Beach Planning Board voted by 8 to 4 to approve the proposed Sidewalk Vendor ordinance. It’s supposed to go before the full City Council in October.

Here is the proposal ordnance verbatim (it’s a long 22 page document) in its entirety:

Chapter J
Business Regulations, Business 1 axes,
Bermits and Licenses Article 6:
Division 1: Sidewalk Vendor

We Had the Bronze Age, We Had the Iron Age – Now, We Have the Plastic Age, Say Scientists

September 5, 2019 by Source

The Guardian
Plastic pollution is being deposited into the fossil record, research has found, with contamination increasing exponentially since 1945.

Scientists suggest the plastic layers could be used to mark the start of the Anthropocene, the proposed geological epoch in which human activities have come to dominate the planet. They say after the bronze and iron ages, the current period may become known as the plastic age.

The study, the first detailed analysis of the rise in plastic pollution in sediments, examined annual layers off the coast of California back to 1834. They discovered the plastic in the layers mirrors precisely the exponential rise in plastic production over the past 70 years