April 2009

The OB Rag blog just had its best day ever !

April 15, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

April 14th, 2009, turned out to be our best day ever – in terms of visits – since we began October 25, 2007.

We registered 660 “unique visitors” during the 24 hour period represented by April 14th. We had been cruising at 350 to 500+ visitors a day for weeks, then it just took off.

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“It’s great that you heard us about our library, Mayor Sanders, just don’t pit us against the unions.”

April 14, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

As expected, Mayor Jerry Sanders held a press conference this morning in front of the Ocean Beach library. And as expected, Mayor Sanders announced that in his new city budget proposal, no libraries or library services will be cut for this year’s budget.

“We heard you, Ocean Beach,” the Mayor said. “There will be no library cuts.” The crowd applauded.

News you may have missed: 30 year ban on Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’ finally lifted in Welsh town

April 14, 2009 by Source

In case you missed it, a thirty-year ban on public viewing of the hilarious comedy “Life of Brian” made by the English comedy team, Monty Python, was finally lifted in a Welsh town. The town is Aberystwyth – which I have no idea of how to pronounce. But the movie had been considered “blasphemous” by some Christians who perceived it as a mockery of Jesus Christ. Most of the rest of the planet considered it one of the funniest films ever produced.

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First Annual OB Global Rock Fest, April 18th, 2009

April 14, 2009 by Jon Carr

By Jon Carr

The first annual OB Global Rock Fest is taking place at the pier parking lot on April 18th, 2009.
The event is being promoted as “Carbon Neutral” because the stages will be powered with Solar energy and there will be plenty of environmentally conscious vendors in the grassy area between the wall and Abott street.

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READER RANT: ‘She begged them to keep the Children’s Energy Center open’

April 14, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

Chris Yule is far to modest. My family has known Chris for years, she is my closest friend.

She begged both Funke and Winkler to keep the school open. At the time of its closing, less than $3,000.00 in repairs would have kept the school open. The school was refurbished long AFTER its closure.

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City workers’ union responds to Union-Tribune editorial

April 14, 2009 by Source

by Judi Italiano

In another shameless effort to pit the public against City employees and their Unions based on lies, the Union Tribune editorialized this morning that “to no one’s surprise, organized labor rebuffed the mayor’s bid to negotiate $32 million in employee benefit concessions to help close a $60 million deficit in the budget year that will begin on July 1.”

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The Looming Defense and Intelligence Budget Battles – the San Diego Connections

April 13, 2009 by Doug Porter

by Doug Porter

President Obama’s FY 2010 baseline budget of $534 billion for the Defense Department represents a 4% increase over the $523 billion allocated to the Pentagon by the Bush administration for FY 2009. Obama’s budget contains $6.7 billion more than the previous administration thought would be needed for the coming fiscal year.

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Mayor Sanders to announce no cuts for libraries in front of OB branch Tuesday April 14th

April 13, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

by Frank Gormlie

Tomorrow, April 14th, your mayor Jerry Sanders will stand in front of the Ocean Beach branch library and announce to the world that his proposed FY10 City budget will include no Library cuts. The Mayor’s budget will have no reductions in library branches, hours or staff.

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Anatomy of a Bank Failure – Does FDIC Encourage Excessive Losses?

April 13, 2009 by Dave Rice

Okay, by now we’re all pretty familiar with the Troubled Asset Relief Program, right? Can you watch a newscast without some mention of what bank is receiving TARP funds, what they are (or, rather, aren’t) doing with them, who’s criticizing who got them, and who has a better idea about how to end the ‘recession’ whilst dancing around the taboo ‘D’ word decribing our current situation? How about a different look at what’s going on with the banks, namely the ones that fail?

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An Interview with Jim Bell

April 13, 2009 by Dave Gilbert

Dave Gilbert: You didn’t run for mayor last time, why not and will you run again?

Jim Bell: I did run for a while and took out papers but I dropped out and endorsed Floyd Morrow. I though he would have campaign money and might have a better chance to win than I would. …

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READER RANT: Open Letter to the Metropolitan Transit Board

April 11, 2009 by Source

My apologies in advance for any perceived crudeness of language in the e-mail. That’s just how I roll, yo.

Hi, Please allow me to preface this letter by identifying myself as an infrequent user yet ardent supporter of public transit in our county.

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A Trip by President Obama Filled with Hope

April 11, 2009 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

I loved the image Obama projected abroad although I could have gone without the scene wherein our troops in Iraq stood wide-eyed listening to him, in so many words, say to them: “You don’t have much longer to stay but you just might end up shooting and ducking and covering your behinds in Afghanistan someday.”

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Greed is a screed in OB: the shameful story of the Children’s Energy Center

April 11, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

by Frank Gormlie

Remember the old Children’s Energy Center? it sat directly across from the OB Elementary playing fields. It was usually full of kids as it was a child care center itself, serving kids from 2 to 10 years of age. Well, the kids were all kicked out three years ago – and it appears all for greed. …

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Do real taxpayers think Transit riders are pond scum?

April 11, 2009 by Anna Daniels

by Anna Daniels

This past Friday morning (April 10) the SANDAG Board of Director’s meeting had an agenda item for a special Transit Operations Funding workshop. Thirty public speakers presented testimony for and against additional fiscal support for MTS. (SANDAG is the San Diego Association of Governments – a coordinating policy body for the area.)

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Water quality testing and life guards at Mission Bay to be replaced by surveillance cameras

April 10, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

by Frank Gormlie

Water quality testing around Mission Bay is being severely cut back … Mission Bay is losing two life guards. But don’t worry! The Department of Homeland Security iS funding 13 to 16 surveillance cameras to be installed around Mission Bay …

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Keith Kifer – the Blues Wizard: “I’m always on stage.”

April 9, 2009 by Mary E. Mann

by Mary E. Mann

A pigeon hops through the open door of the plywood camper, sneaking up behind an unsuspecting Keith Kifer, who’s busy preparing lunch. Kifer, otherwise known as the Blues Wizard, gently shoos the bird away, exclaiming: “How rude! He didn’t even knock.”

How rude indeed, to sneak up behind a burgeoning blues legend. Kifer has been making a name for himself in San Diego, as the lead guitarist for The Blues Wizard and the Masters of Humility.

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Why Marijuana Legalization is Gaining Momentum

April 9, 2009 by Source

Back in February, we detailed how record numbers of Americans — although certainly not yet a majority — support the idea of legalizing marijuana. It turns out that there may be a simple explanation for this: …

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The Daily Show mocks right-wing paranoia about Obama

April 9, 2009 by Patty Jones

Obey! The return of Baracknophobia.

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The Rise of Glenn Beck’s Bizarre Media Militia

April 9, 2009 by Source

Fox News is playing an increasingly erratic and dangerous game by embracing paranoid insurrection rhetoric and conspiracy theorists.

After a night of drinking, followed by an early-morning argument with his mother, with whom he shared a Pittsburgh apartment, 22-year-old Richard Poplawski put on a bulletproof vest, grabbed his guns, including an AK-47 rifle, and waited for the police to respond to the domestic-disturbance call his mother had placed.

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Don’t let buses disappear or fares increase – attend SANDAG public workshop

April 8, 2009 by Anna Daniels

by Anna Daniels

Our transit service- the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) – is on the brink of bankruptcy! Bus service will be reduced and/or eliminated on some existing routes. This is a done deal.

Transit advocates were successful, however, in temporarily halting the approval of fare increases which MTS has presented as the only remedy to this fiscal emergency.

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Homelessness in OB

April 6, 2009 by Staff

By OB Rag Staffer

Can you picture yourself being homeless and living in a tent city? That’s a frightening thought, but it is a looming possibility for more and more San Diegans as the economy gets worse for ordinary people.

Ocean Beach has a large homeless population. We see these people, chat with them and help them out with a buck here and there. But …

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‘A street is not a home’ nor a toilet

April 6, 2009 by Anna Daniels

by Anna Daniels

One day last week I read that the City was disbanding its winter shelters, which not only provided protection from the elements but also linked people up with services they needed- health care, jobs, and housing. These shelters “housed” a very small percentage of the total homeless population but their importance shouldn’t be dismissed.

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Are Republicans Blackmailing Obama Over Bush’s Torture Memos?

April 6, 2009 by Source

Senate Republicans are now privately threatening to derail the confirmation of key Obama administration nominees for top legal positions by linking the votes to suppressing critical torture memos from the Bush era.

A reliable Justice Department source advises me that Senate Republicans are planning to “go nuclear” over the nominations …

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Art in April, Point Loma/Harvey Branch Library

April 5, 2009 by Patty Jones

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Our neighbor, Hannah Creighton, invited us to share the sunny day with some local artists and art patrons. It was a small show and I’m sorry I didn’t get to talk to everyone, but all the artists had beautiful things to show and sell, were very friendly and the atmosphere was wonderful!

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What appears only at night, and disappears at daylight? … San Diego’s Tent City

April 5, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

Last night I drove downtown to see firsthand San Diego’s own Tent City. And there it was, not necessarily in front of the main library, but along the west side of the Post Office, on the sidewalk, along Eighth Avenue.

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San Diego’s Tent City: Everynight in front of the downtown library

April 3, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

Patty Mooney informed me that every night in front of San Diego’s downtown main library, a tent city pops up – right in front of the doors, and also across the street, in front of the Post Office.

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The Invisible Ones: Homeless Combat Veterans

April 3, 2009 by Source

by Patty Mooney

How many times have you passed up a sleeping figure underneath a blanket or tarp on the darkened streets of your city? Have you ever considered that this could be one of our war heroes?

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Point Loma college students’ ‘shanty town’ is good first step

April 3, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

The fact that a group of college students from Point Loma Nazarene University has set up their own ‘shanty town’ to learn about Third World poverty – is a good first step. And it would be good for the City if San Diego politicians would follow in their foot steps – to learn about Southern California poverty.

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Why socialism? Because of Wednesdays.

April 2, 2009 by Source

Socialism is once again up for discussion, so I thought it was time to propose an answer to the question: why socialism? And my answer is: Wednesday. What is Wednesday? Wednesday — or as my old man used to call it: hump-day — is the third day in the work-week.

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Thanks California Republicans for Screwing the Middle Class

April 2, 2009 by Source

It was just over a month ago that our State Legistlators and our Governor were telling us that “everyone had to give up something to repair the state’s finances”. It made a good sound bite and attempted to create a shared sense of urgency. But that’s about it, it’s not the reality of the 42 billion dollar fix.

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kh April 18, 2024 at 11:45 pm on 2 New Projects Proposed for West Point Loma Boulevard in Ocean BeachCurrently you can deduct more property taxes on an investment property than on your primary residence. That’s just insane. This is because of the $10K...
kh April 18, 2024 at 11:40 pm on 2 New Projects Proposed for West Point Loma Boulevard in Ocean BeachWe should not be incentivizing any home ownership beyond your primary residence. It just increases the barrier for those who can’t afford 1 home.
Will April 18, 2024 at 10:35 pm on 2 New Projects Proposed for West Point Loma Boulevard in Ocean BeachI weep not for people who own second homes. We are so thankful to own our OB shack. We see people who do all sorts...
Kirk Mather April 18, 2024 at 7:24 pm on OB Planners’ Project Review Committee: 20 Units at 4705 Point Loma Ave., — Wed., April 17Paul Webb If I read your numbers correctly seems like more than a small deviation @4X increased density. And OB NYC as a comparison seems...
David St John April 18, 2024 at 5:59 pm on Why San Diego Should Not Be Awarded Anything for Its ‘Bonus ADU’ Program — Not One ADU Unit Has Been Built as Low-Income HousingGreat analysis. Have you thought about sending your analysis to the Ivory Group? This ADU plan doesn’t deserve a prize.
Lynne Miller April 18, 2024 at 5:41 pm on Proposed 20 Units on Point Loma Ave Will Only Have 3 ‘Affordable’, Only 9 Parking SpacesWe need to appeal by the deadline, and that means collaboration and planning based on the $1,000 appeal fee per applicant. btw, I want to...
nostalgic April 18, 2024 at 5:31 pm on Proposed 20 Units on Point Loma Ave Will Only Have 3 ‘Affordable’, Only 9 Parking SpacesI think the 9 parking spaces is history; it is 3.5 parking spaces, or maybe 4 or maybe 3.
kh April 18, 2024 at 4:44 pm on 8 ADUs in 3-Story Complex Proposed for 4500 Block of Pescadero in Point LomaAlso, the Coastal-certified code only allows 1 base ADU on a lot with a single-family-development. Even in a multifamily zone. This means any ADU over...
kh April 18, 2024 at 4:39 pm on 8 ADUs in 3-Story Complex Proposed for 4500 Block of Pescadero in Point LomaThe city is violating noticing requirements on these projects near CPG boundaries. See section (b)(4) §112.0302 Notice by Mail (b) Persons Entitled to Notice. Except...
At the Edge of D7 April 18, 2024 at 4:16 pm on Proposed 20 Units on Point Loma Ave Will Only Have 3 ‘Affordable’, Only 9 Parking SpacesI did need that spelled out for me, kh, thank you. That makes sense to me now. Single individuals, as in 1 person, with no...
kh April 18, 2024 at 4:10 pm on Proposed 20 Units on Point Loma Ave Will Only Have 3 ‘Affordable’, Only 9 Parking SpacesI thought it was 40% of base density. It would be interesting to see how the affordable density bonus would apply to this project vs...
kh April 18, 2024 at 4:06 pm on Proposed 20 Units on Point Loma Ave Will Only Have 3 ‘Affordable’, Only 9 Parking SpacesOB is not on the SDA map because that code update has not been approved by the Coastal Commission. Nor have the zero-parking code updates...
FrankF April 18, 2024 at 4:01 pm on Proposed 20 Units on Point Loma Ave Will Only Have 3 ‘Affordable’, Only 9 Parking SpacesIf you want to see what the future looks like, 3781 32nd Street at North Park Way a block from the North Park Library. A...
kh April 18, 2024 at 3:53 pm on Proposed 20 Units on Point Loma Ave Will Only Have 3 ‘Affordable’, Only 9 Parking SpacesCoke and strippers oriented
Frank Gormlie April 18, 2024 at 3:37 pm on Open Letter to Councilwoman Campbell on ‘Complete Communities’ from Point Loma HomeownerKH, can you confirm the vote of the PRC.