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NBC7’s Amazing Report on Legal Scam by Michael Mills: Mills, OB Planning Board Members, Evicted Tenants and ‘Hosts’ Interviewed

by Source on June 8, 2023 · 0 comments

in Ocean Beach, San Diego

Editordude: NBC7 just published an amazing investigate report by Alexis Riva on the “host” loophole that has allowed Michael Micky Mills to have 114 licenses for short-term rentals in Ocean Beach alone. It’s such an excellent report that we are compelled to repost it in its entirety and urge readers to watch the NBC7 video that accompanies it.

By Alexis Rivas, Mike Dorfman, Meredith Royster and Jay Yoo / NBC7 / June 7, 2023

On May 1, San Diego’s short term rental occupancy ordinance took effect. The goal was to regulate an industry that’s accused of reducing the number of places people can live and decrease quality-of-life issues that can arise between vacationers and locals. But it appears at least one property owner in Ocean Beach has discovered a loophole that bypasses the spirit of the ordinance.

Each short-term rental license requires a “host.” That person must have the legal right to occupy the unit. A host isn’t allowed to hold more than one license at a time.

But a host isn’t the same thing as the property owner, and NBC 7 Investigates found a single property owner named Michael Mills is connected to 114 short-term rental licenses in Ocean Beach.

NBC 7 Investigates spoke with three of Mills’ tenants at 5188 West Point Loma Blvd, who recently found a letter on their doors giving them 60 days’ notice that their month-to-month leases would not be renewed.

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Will the OB Pier Reopen in Early July? Come to Workshop Sat., June 10 at Liberty Station

by Staff on June 8, 2023 · 0 comments

in Ocean Beach, San Diego

The Ocean Beach Pier Renewal Project Community Workshop is occurring this Saturday, June 10th, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Liberty Station Conference Center, 2600 Laning Road. This is the 2nd in-person Community Workshop on the pier held by the city.

Whether the pier will reopen in early July does not appear on the workshop’s agenda, but there are so many recent rumors flying around Ocean Beach that it will that it’s sure to be a top question from the audience. Perhaps by its anniversary on July 2nd or by July 4th.

But, the City ready wants the “public to provide input about what features they would like to see included in an ideal Ocean Beach Pier,” so much so that it’s offering free ice cream, fishing poles for the first 20 kids, and a bunch of adult fishing poles to be raffled off. As the pier is really a regional pier, the city ” is encouraging residents from throughout the region to attend and to bring their kids.”

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Large Brawl Involving Bikers Outside Ocean Beach Bar Results in Stabbing and Man Knocked Unconscious – 1 Arrested So Far

by Source on June 7, 2023 · 6 comments

in Ocean Beach

San Diego police arrested a motorcycle rider Tuesday night in connection with a large brawl outside a bar in Ocean Beach that ended with one man being stabbed and a second being knocked unconscious.

The incident began when three men — ages 19, 20 and 21 — got in an argument with several bikers outside a bar on Newport Avenue near Bacon Street. The argument turned physical and more people jumped into the fight, with 30 to 40 involved, said police Officer John Buttle said.

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The Story Behind Point Loma’s Main Street: Rosecrans

by Source on June 7, 2023 · 1 comment

in History, Ocean Beach

In most major U.S. cities you will find common street names like Broadway, Market, Oak, Elm, First, Second, etc. But in Southern California, one unique street name found in two cities transcends real history and hip-hop history: Rosecrans.

Rosecrans Avenue is a major, 27-mile thoroughfare in Los Angeles and Orange counties. It is also a bustling street in the Point Loma area of San Diego.

So where does the name come from?

William Starke Rosecrans was born in Delaware County, Ohio in 1819. He was a brigadier general for the Union during the American Civil War and, according to the National Parks Service, “was largely responsible for the Union’s early victories in northern Virginia at the Battles of Rich Mountain and Corrick’s Ford.”

Rosecrans’ military success, however, abruptly came to an end at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863 – the second bloodiest battle of the Civil War behind Gettysburg.

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Cass Street Bar & Grill and Harry’s Taco Shop Opens at Former Sapporo Restaurant in Ocean Beach

by Staff on June 7, 2023 · 2 comments

in Ocean Beach

The owner of Harry’s Coffee Shop has opened a new outpost of sister concepts Cass Street Bar & Grill and Harry’s Taco Club in Ocean Beach’s former Japanese restaurant, Sopporo at 5049 Newport Avenue. Sopporo was a favorite of locals and was the first Japanese eatery in OB.

Earlier this year, the space was taken over by the local hospitality group operated by John Rudolph, who owns Harry’s Taco Club and Cass Street Bar & Grill in Pacific Beach. The space briefly housed JJ’s Bar & Grill.

The new space is the modernized Cass Street Bar & Grill and Harry’s Taco Shop joint-concept, which first unveiled in Pacific Beach in 2020.

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Medical Staff at Kaiser Zion Call for Suspension of Surgeries Due to Contaminants in Surgical Trays

June 7, 2023 by Source

By Paul Sisson / San Diego Union-Tribune / June 6, 2023

Employees at Kaiser Zion Medical Center in Grantville are calling for the suspension of all surgeries at the facility due to what they say is visible contamination of the trays that hold sterilized surgical instruments.

“There are black/gray/brown particles of an unknown substance dusting the interiors of our surgical trays, in addition to black greasy smears of a known, but not surgically-approved substance,” said Elizabeth Haynes, a surgical technician at Zion who provided a copy of a petition signed by more than 70 employees asking for the suspension.

City Scales Down Wetlands for Northwest Mission Bay in Response to Recreation-Minded Groups

June 7, 2023 by Source

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / June 1, 2023

Backlash against San Diego’s plan to transform much of northeast Mission Bay into marshland has prompted significant revisions, including a 10 percent boost in land devoted to golf, tennis, youth sports and other recreation.

City officials have also added new language to the plan promising to minimize disruptions if fields get relocated. It also requires replacement recreation sites to be created before existing recreation sites are turned into marshland.

OB Planners Have 3 ‘Hot Topics’ on Agenda, Wednesday, June 7

June 5, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

The Ocean Beach Planning Board meets this Wednesday, June 7th, at 6 pm at the OB Recreation Center. And there are potentially 3 hot topic items on the board’s agenda.

At the top of their agenda is a presentation of the purchase of the apartment complex at 2147 Abbott Street, currently owned by the OB Community Development Corporation (CDC). The purchase of the 13-unit complex is being made by Wakeland Development Corp. This is the property the San Diego Housing Commission wishes to turn into housing for chronically unhoused people. The property has been empty for a year.

In addition, the board will review a letter from an OB Town Council committee that wants the city to close a loop hole in the rules allowing short-term rental permits. Currently, the OBTC advocacy committee says a loophole allows one entity to apply for 115 permits

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June 2023 Events from the Ocean Beach Green Center

June 5, 2023 by Source

All events are online and free unless stated otherwise

* Every Saturday 10:30 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Meetings June 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th
* June 8th Thursday 6 pm -9 pm Queens Night Out Event by California Innocence Project
* June 8th Thursday 5:30 pm Community Choice Energy: Updating the Vision
* June 8th Thursday 6 pm – 7 pm Green@Home: Planning for Electrification
* June 8th to June 11th End the Era of Fossil Fuels
* June 8th – 11th Blue Water Film Festival
* June 9th – 14th Animal Liberation Conference.
* June 10th 9 am – June 13th 7 pm The 2023 Climate Lobbying Reboot | CCL’s June Conference
* June 10th — the second Ocean Beach Pier Renewal Project community workshop
* June 10th Saturday 11 am – noon Your Home’s new Green Bin workshop
* June 10th Saturday 10 am – 2 pm 25th Annual Conference on Raza Prisoners and Colonialism
* June 10th Saturday 3 pm Amnesty International Group
COME INSIDE for details

Chemicals in Artificial Sweetener Splenda Damage Human DNA

June 2, 2023 by Source

By Delaney Eyermann / WRAL / Jun. 1, 2023

A new study discovered that a chemical found in sucralose, which is sold under the trade name Splenda, damages DNA.

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found sucralose-6-acetate, the chemical that forms when we digest Splenda, is “genotoxic,” meaning it breaks up DNA.

Making Amanda’s Dream for a Better Us Is Up to Us

June 2, 2023 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

Amanda Gorman
gifted us with
“The Hill We Climb”
at an
inaugural celebration,
a poem inspiring hope
which hangs on weakly
by a thread
in our nation,
a poem a parent had
removed from a school
because in her narrowed way
of looking at things

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San Diego Planning Commission Chair: ‘SB 10 is fatally flawed’ — Decision Put Off Until August

June 2, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

After a 5-hour hearing Thursday, June 1, on Mayor Todd Gloria’s Housing Action Plan which would incorporate the implementation of Senate Bill 10, the San Diego Planning Commission decided they needed more time to evaluate the proposal and voted to take it up again on August 3rd.

Senate Bill 10 was the prominent source for debate in council chambers during public comment. The most significant criticism of the bill by far was that it becomes irreversible once the City opts in.

CBS8 reported:

About 70 people filled council chambers in addition to a few dozen who called in over the phone, and while the majority spoke out against SB 10, a handful of supporters showed up too.

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Fight Intensifies for San Diego’s Future and Against Gloria’s Housing Policies

June 1, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

There is a fight going on for the future of San Diego and against the housing policies of Mayor Gloria. And right now, it is intensifying.

You can see it in the almost daily letters to the editor at the U-T where angry residents complain about how their neighborhoods are under attack. We saw it in early May when 600 to 800 people rallied against Senate Bill 10 and Gloria’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) plans — from University City to the College area, from Clairemont to Hillcrest and from North Park to Normal Heights.

We saw it at a contentious City Council subcommittee meeting where only one vote sent Gloria’s plans to the full council. We saw it when the Committee of Community Planners came out against the policies.

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Our Land of OZ at the Sunset Cliffs Natural Park

June 1, 2023 by Source

By Kathy Blavatt

Did you know Sunset Cliffs Natural Park has its version of a Yellow Brick Road? It is a sight to behold. Instead of the land of Oz’s Yellow Brick Road, the park’s walkways are dirt pathways that meander the cliffs and the hillsides.

The Sunset Cliffs Natural Park paths are devoid of fields of OZ’s poppies, but instead paths are lined with countless yellow daisies that blanket the landscape. The cliffside pathways lead to magical views.

Breakfast Republic Sued by Employees for Failure to Pay Wages, Overtime, Tips and Provide Meal Periods

June 1, 2023 by Staff

Breakfast Republic — the well-known eatery — is being sued by its employees for a swath of violations of California labor law.

According to the class action lawsuit, Breakfast Republic’s eight corporate entities, including its Ocean Beach site at 4839 Newport, allegedly violated California Labor by failing to:

(1) pay minimum wages;
(2) pay overtime wages;
(3) provide required meal and rest periods;

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‘The OB Pier Is Rising’ — A Video by Charles Landon

June 1, 2023 by Source

Enjoy this brand new video of “The OB Pier Is Rising” by Charles Landon.

A Small Miracle — Part II: Video of Portuguese Festa in Point Loma

May 31, 2023 by Source

A Small Miracle: International Film Crew Meets Portuguese Festa in Point Loma Part II: Video

By Colleen O’Connor

Come inside for the Portuguese Festa Video, edited by Danny Cheng–the small miracle.

No need to sign on. Just click on link and wait a few seconds.

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OB Elementary Will Be Launch Site for Luminosity’s July 4th Drone Light Show

May 31, 2023 by Source

Ocean Beach Elementary School has been selected as the venue for the upcoming Fourth of July Drone Light Show. The Luminosity Steering Committee, in collaboration with the City of San Diego, is finalizing details to launch 300 drones from the school premises for the performance.

Initially, Dog Beach was the intended launch site. However, because of nearby sensitive habitats, the location required permits, studies, and applications from multiple government agencies, which caused the group to pivot to OB Elementary for this year.

Circulate San Diego’s Undue Influence at City Hall and Lobbying for Legislation Violate Non-Profit Rules

May 31, 2023 by Source

By Geoff Page

This piece is an examination of a “non-profit” organization named Circulate San Diego, referred to as CSD here. It claims to be a nonprofit, public benefit corporation doing good for the community by advocating for “active transportation” and walkable neighborhoods.

Research into CSD’s affairs clearly shows a very close association with the San Diego development industry, which is gleefully in lock step with the YIMBY urbanists because they advocate building with no restrictions. CSD is also in lockstep with the current crop of politicians in city hall and it exercises an outsized influence in the affairs of this city.

The problem is that CSD’s operations appear to potentially violate IRS rules governing a tax-exempt organization and California rules for a nonprofit corporation.

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Tina Turner: Simply the Best

May 31, 2023 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

Tina Turner.
Gone.
I first saw her on stage
around 1957
or ’58,
and it was love at first sight.
Couldn’t help myself,
if I tried with all my might.
Not with the way
she and the Ikettes
moved and grooved

Action Alert: San Diego Residents Urged to Contact Planning Commission by Thursday, June 1

May 30, 2023 by Source

From Neighbors for a Better San Diego – May 30, 2023

The Mayor’s Planning Department continues its push with the Housing Action Plan (HAP) 2.0, which includes the SB 10 opt-in. The next opportunity to push back against San Diego’s proposed SB 10 implementation is the Planning Commission meeting this Thursday, June 1st, 2023 at 9 AM.

Coronado Residents Protest Sewage and Contaminated Water

May 30, 2023 by Source

By Megan Kitt / The Coronado Times / May 29, 2023

This year, Memorial Day kicked off a “summer of misery” – at least that’s how Laura Wilkinson Sinton, who is fed up with beach closures related to ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis, describes it.

“What do we want? Stop the poop!” chanted more than 50 people at a protest on Saturday. “When do we want it? Now!”

The protest was organized by Wilkinson Sinton and Marely Ramirez, who pulled it together in just three days after researching the extent of the sewage problem.

One Love Story Giving Rise to Another

May 30, 2023 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

I was moving
my old bones
to the music of San Diego’s
Hoover High School Mariachi Band
which put me in a deeply responsive mood
for what was next
that afternoon,
a premiere of
“A Chicano Love Story,”
a documentary
featuring Linda and Carlos LeGerrette,
two of Cesar Chavez’s
most valued right-hand
woman and man.

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A Small Miracle: International Film Crew Meets Portuguese Festa in Point Loma

May 30, 2023 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Want some positive news with a great cast of characters?

It was all there in full, glorious color Sunday, May 29, with wonderful moments, and two distinct cultures sharing the sights and sounds of Point Loma’s Festa De Spiritus Sanctus and on full display during the parade route on Avenida del Portugal to St. Agnes Church in Point Loma

A 700-year old tradition that commemorates Portugal’s Queen St. Isable, who (during a famine) promised the Holy Spirit to give her crown to the Church, “if sent a miracle, so my people will be relieved of their hunger.”

OB Slumlord ‘Transitioning’ Into Short-Term Rental Business

May 26, 2023 by Staff

Michael Mills has a reputation in Ocean Beach among our renter population. He owns over 300 rental units exclusively within OB, and is purchasing more.

These are all multi-family structures ranging from 2 to 37 units.

He is a convicted slumlord, and was forced by the court to turn over management of his rentals to a 3rd party. (For more background on Michael Mills, see this Rag article from 2016.) Here’s a quote:

Mills owns a lot of property in Ocean Beach – many rental units. And he has a long history buying up properties, raising rents, and maintaining sub-standard living conditions.

Disappointing Turnout for OB Town Council’s Pier Update — No Word on Pier’s Repair or Re-opening

May 26, 2023 by Source

By Geoff Page

The event noticed here in the OB Rag on Tuesday, May 23rd, titled the “OB Pier Update & Discussion” came off as advertised. It was sponsored by the Ocean Beach Town Council and held at the Point Loma/Hervey Branch Library. As noted in The Rag “(and there’s plenty of parking),” was accurate, but plenty went unoccupied.

The advance notice for this gathering was, unfortunately, not well done as evidenced by the attendance. There were 12 people at the live event and three more attending virtually. While the OBTC’s effort was well-intentioned, the result was a missed opportunity, not a total loss, but underwhelming.

Transforming NTC Building 178 Into a Performing Arts Center – A Photo Gallery

May 25, 2023 by Source