Grassroots and Progressive views on local, national and world news

85°C Bakery Café
Loma Square
at Rosecrans and Midway

by Bob Edwards

Up until a few weeks ago, the only Chinese pastries I’d ever tasted were at tea houses or “dim sum” palaces, huge restaurants where you can enjoy a brunch of fried or steamed noodle dumplings with savory fillings such as minced shrimp, pork, or vegetables. \

Dim sum parlors also usually have a few sweet buns that are baked or steamed and filled with sweetened bean paste. The only beverages served are hot tea or, if the tea house also has a liquor license, cocktails. You can’t get coffee but you can slam bloody marys, mimosas. or Tsingtao beer to your heart’s content!

Since opening in February of this year in Loma Square, 85°C Bakery Cafe has been serving Asian-influenced pastries that are mostly quite different from dim sum. At this busy restaurant near Sprout’s Market you will find one company’s versions of classic European baked goods as well as unique Chinese/European/American/Japanese fusion treats.

Ocean Beach Now Has Up to 519 Whole-Home Vacation Rentals

By Kevin Hastings

The new short term vacation rental (STVR) proposal from the mayor’s office addresses whole-home vacation rentals. It would allow 1 full-time STVR per “person”, in addition to part-time STVR use of their primary residence.

The may sound restrictive at first glance, but the devil is in the details.

In fact this “1+1” proposal isn’t new at all. It first came about during a city council meeting in December 2017 in an effort to find compromise during the marathon meeting. The idea was to block the big money operators from snapping up multiple homes, while still leaving the door open to resident hosts or those with a 2nd/ vacation home here.

The 1+1 concept failed.

There are 3 projects up for review this Wednesday by Ocean Beach planners – and all three are proposed “granny flats” (you can bet ‘Granny’ will never live there) – 4629 Coronado, 4828 Long Branch, and 4741 Brighton.

It’s a meeting of the Project Review Committee, a subcommittee of the full board, which gives recommendations to the board on proposed projects. They meet at 6pm at the OB Rec Center, 4726 Santa Monica Avenue.

On June 20 then, the planners will review the following:

What’s Behind That Green Curtain at the OB Fire Station?

Have you driven by OB’s Fire Station on Voltaire Street only to become curious of just what’s behind those green curtain fences? This reporter dropped by on Friday, June 15 to find out. Without the proper procedure being completed which can take days and maybe weeks, reporters cannot visit inside, and as this was just a peak over the fence, I bypassed that.

Is that a food truck? No, it’s a …..

Ocean Beach Plaza Begins Its Domination

Work has been progressing on this major construction project,

Last night, Thursday, June 14, about 80 Point Lomans crowded into the meeting room at the local library and gave representatives from the San Diego Housing Commission a piece of their collective mind about the proposed 78 units on the table to be built.

It was a special meeting of the Peninsula Community Planning Board on the open space land at Famosa and Voltaire – and although the Board failed to manage a quorum – they really didn’t need one as it wasn’t a voting meeting for them. What it the meeting represented was another chance for the Housing Commission to explain their project and get feedback.

Apparently, the discussion became testy – as different sides were being heard

A young man had to be airlifted off the rocks at the bottom of Sunset Cliffs as he was so badly injured – on Thursday morning, June 14. The as-yet-to-be identified man was reportedly bleeding from his head from a 30 foot fall.

A woman collecting shells saw him around 6:15 a.m. and called 911. She told the press the man was breathing and moved a little when sirens were heard arriving.

Lifeguards, police and firefighters responded and he was eventually airlifted off the rocks near the foot of Hill Street in Point Loma

A Point Loma man, Peter Bentz, went missing just before Thanksgiving last year. His family went to the police and reported that he didn’t show up for a planned family outing out of town, and it was unlike him to not contact friends and family members. Bentz, 68, was last seen at Dog Beach in Ocean Beach on November 19. Missing posters went up.

Somewhere along the line – and for as yet undisclosed reasons – developments in the case caused police investigators to believe they had a murder case on their hands and it was turned over to homicide detectives.

This reporter’s cousin, Mindy Elliot, reports on facebook that the OB Mermaid has been blown off “Bird Shit Rock”.

OB Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off

From OBMA:

Mark your calendar for the 39th Annual Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off Festival on Saturday, June 23, 2018!

The 39th Annual Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off Festival will offer attendees eclectic fun in the sun for all ages. Join more than 70,000 visitors from 10am to 8pm on Saturday, June 23, 2018, for tasty festival nosh, art, beachfront entertainment, shopping, and more. Entry to the Street Fair is always free! The Chili Competition featured tastings from amateur entrants competing for the titles of Hottest Chili, Judges’ Award, and Grand Prize: People’s Choice Award.

Attendees of all ages can take part in creating the annual Street Fair Community Mural.

Here are the details:

The Ocean Beach Green Center is honored to host author, historian, and activist, Kathy Blavatt who will present her new book “Ocean Beach Where Land and Water Meet”.

The new book event is at the Ocean Beach Green Center, 4843 B Voltaire in OB, on Thursday June 14 at 7 p.m.

Kathy will focus on the importance of what makes Ocean Beach special