July 2009

Reader Rant: When is it good ol’ fun – and when is it too dangerous?

July 17, 2009 by Source

by Jim Grant

I wonder though about cliff diving….I was at the cliffs yesterday and took this of two guys diving head first off a famous jump spot along Sunset Cliffs – south of Ocean Beach. These guys did this about 20 times.

Now should this be deemed illegal? Is it ?? Is it enforced ?? Is it safe? I have a whole slew of questions……

Beach sand can make you sick – even without marshmallows

July 17, 2009 by Source

by Mike Lee / Union-Tribune / July 16, 2009

Add playing in the sand to the long list of fun things that may be bad for your health.

A new study says you risk getting an upset stomach and diarrhea if you dig into the granular stuff to fill toy pails, build sand castles or bury yourself. You’re better off walking along the shore or swimming in the surf.

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San Diego Minutemen Host “Enemies List”

July 15, 2009 by Doug Porter

by Doug Porter

Back in the 1960’s the Minutemen were a right wing fringe group that engaged in harassment of civil rights and anti-war activists.

They were organized under the premise that the time was soon coming that paramilitary groups would be called upon to defend the US against the creeping communist conspiracy. As the decade ended, the organization splintered, with various factions arising based on differing views of the need for immediate action.

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Free Concert: OB “Waves” Party Set to Rock at Masonic Temple

July 15, 2009 by Doug Porter

Producer Chuck Schiele and the OB Mainstreet Association (OBMA) joined forces this year to produce a CD called “Waves” featuring bands based in Ocean Beach with songs about life in our community.

They are hosting a CD release party this Friday (July 17th) at the Masonic Temple, located at the corner of Santa Monica St. & Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

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Information Sought – Up to $1,000 Reward Offered

July 14, 2009 by Source

From San Diego Crime Stoppers

San Diego County Crime Stoppers and detectives from SDPD Western Division are asking for assistance from the public in determining how a man was seriously injured on July 4, 2009 in Ocean Beach.

On July 4 at about 11 p.m. SDPD dispatchers received a call from a citizen saying that he found a man who had sustained a head injury and was unconscious in the 1800 block of Bacon Street.

MORE ON CHRIS BOWD – CRIME STOPPERS OFFERING REWARD …

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Stop another bad GOP appointment – John Davies to Airport Authority

July 13, 2009 by Source

On Tuesday, July 14, the San Diego City Council will be voting on the Mayor’s appointment of John Davies to the San Diego Airport Authority. Currently, the Airport Authority has 8 Republicans and only 1 Democrat.

We need our Democratic Council members to stand up to the mayor and so no.
Who is John Davies?

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Police continue their investigation into who attacked Chris Bowd while (most) local media still ignore him

July 13, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

by Frank Gormlie

San Diego Police are still conducting an investigation into what happened to Chris Bowd, the OBcean found unconscious at Newport and Bacon the night of July 4th. Bowd remains unconscious.

To get an update, I spoke with Detective Patrick Hall, who is leading the investigation, and his sergeant.

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Show Me the Money – Part II – Where Did the Street Fair Money Go?

July 11, 2009 by Gary Gilmore

by Gary Gilmore

The rockets’ red glare is gone. The echoes of the bombs bursting in air have faded. The volleys of marshmallows have been put to rest for another year. It’s time for an accounting. Where did all the money go?

At the risk of tainting the innocent pleasure that our fireworks bring to the happy hordes of revelers that flock to our little beach town on this holiday I’m going to tell you what they cost.

Twenty five grand. $25,000. …

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Mainstream Media Blackout On Chris Bowd Ends

July 10, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

by Frank Gormlie

Up until a few hours ago, no major mainstream media, print, online or television had covered the tragic and still unfolding story of Chris Bowd – the OBcean who was knocked unconscious after the fireworks on July 4th. Bowd is still unconscious and in the hospital, although as of this writing, he is in a stable condition. This mainstream media blackout on him is finally ending.

The OB Rag blog has been the only media covering this story …

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Mission Bay of Yesteryear

July 10, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

There’s a growing interest in our neighborhood in historic photographs of our little corner of the world. Check out these aerial shots of Mission Bay and surrounding areas – taken before it was dredged, while it was being dredged, and then later.

Viewing these images gives you knowledge and a historical background to this area. Knowledge is power.

If you’d like to see more, let us know.

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Water: Tap, Toilet Or Bottled? And More Precious Than We Know

July 10, 2009 by Doug Porter

by Doug Porter

Sometimes a story takes on a life of its own.

It would seem that we’re awash in stories about water. And there’s a fairly predictable breakdown of opinions/options along the way. There are experts that say the glass is half full. Others say it’s half empty. There are still others that question the need to wade into this topic, given other crises like the swine flu epidemic. And still others are hoping that I’ll stop watering down this story with so many puns. (I’ll try, promise.)

I’ve been planning to review Elizabeth Roytes’ excellent book, Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It. …

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The Saga of the July 4th OB Parking Lot Controversy

July 9, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

Originally posted July 9, 2009

by Frank Gormlie

Earlier this week I set out to get to the bottom of this July 4th OB Pier Parking Lot controversy. On Monday, July 6, the Reader ran an on-line article that we supplemented about how 26 RV owners were evicted from the Pier parking lot by police in the early morning hours of July 4th. They were threatened with arrest and having their vehicles impounded. The police wanted the parking lot for their own vehicles. …

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San Diego Still a ‘Bad Trip’ for Medicinal Marijuana Users

July 9, 2009 by Source

by Will Carless / Voice of San Diego

In theory, life should be getting easier for San Diegans who want to buy, grow, sell, transport or smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Last year, California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued long-awaited guidelines aimed at clarifying the state’s laws on medicinal marijuana. …

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Mystery surrounds how OBcean – still unconscious – was injured on July 4th – community is asked for help

July 8, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

by Frank Gormlie

It wasn’t all fun and fireworks in Ocean Beach on July 4th. Christopher Bowd was somehow and somewhere knocked unconscious possibly on Newport Ave after the marshmallow fight and taken to a hospital – where he remains today still unconscious. Bowd’s family and friends are seeking answers and are turning to the rest of OB for help.

Police are currently conducting an investigation and believe Chris was injured at Newport and Bacon around 11pm July 4th.

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Live Blogging:The Michael Jackson Funeral With Sarah Palin, Howard Hughes and Elvis

July 7, 2009 by Doug Porter

by Doug Porter

Please excuse the headline. I lied. Now that I have your attention, however, let’s talk about our so-called star system.

We live in a culture that is obsessed with stardom. People that find themselves designated as stars, regardless of their ability or desires are thrust into an alternate reality. A reality where the unthinkable becomes everyday and the everyday becomes unthinkable: a world where handlers and enablers define truth.

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Grumbling from the parking lots on July 4th as police moved in

July 7, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

The Reader reported on Monday, July 5th, that over two dozen RV owners were forced out of the OB Pier parking lot by San Diego Police.

And alot of grumbling was going on. Apparently, many of the RVs had pulled into the parking lot at the end of Newport Avenue in the early hours of the 4th in order to get close, set up their grills and their families. The police arrived at 8 am and forced them all to leave, upon threat of arrest and towing of their vehicles.

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Iran: Clerics Denounce Presidential Vote and Mousavi Forms Political Party

July 5, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

Things in Iran are still very tense. A stalemate has developed between the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the reformist opposition movement, led by Mir Hossein Mousavi. A top editor of a government-aligned newspaper called Mousavi a foreign agent, ratcheting up the rhetoric in the stand-off that has enveloped this country ever since the disputed presidential election on June 12.

However, one of the more positive developments favoring Mousavi is …

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Honduran President Blocked From Landing As Thousands Rally – Clashes Kill Two

July 5, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

Editor: The situation in the Honduran crisis took a dramatic and deadly turn today, July 5th. Two supporters of deposed President Manuel Zelaya were killed in clashes with police at the capital’s airport.

Thousands of his supporters had marched on the airport in anticipation of his return there today. But Zelaya’s jet was blocked from landing, and the plane flew to El Salvador. Here is the most recent MSM report, from CNN, posted at 7:30 pm PDT:

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Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – OB Fireworks

July 5, 2009 by Jeff Stone

Fireworks at the end of the OB Pier are always good for a huge crowd. The beach, the pier, the surrounding blocks, the overlooking hilltops, and the cliffs are packed. It seems like the whole world comes to OB for the fireworks every 4th. And why not? They’re great!

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A New Dog in Town? The Union-Tribune and the Watchdog Institute

July 5, 2009 by Anna Daniels

by Anna Daniels

Who are the watchdogs who have published the recent San Diego Union-Tribune series on the topic of City worker pay? The series and the links to individual employee names and compensation are published under the rubric of “Watchdog report.”

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Reader Rave: OB’s Own Dog Whisperer

July 5, 2009 by Source

by Larry Kosta, Jr.

When I got to know Dave Gilbert a little better, I asked him what he did. He told me he was a dog walker.

I thought to myself, is that really a job? This isn’t New York City. Do people in San Diego actually pay to have their dogs walked?

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Who Started the First OB Marshmallow Fight?

July 4, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

Most locals know about the famous OB Marshmallow Fight that happens after the fireworks each July 4th right at the beach. Two great throngs gather and begin pelting each other with the mushy white gobs. This goes on, with each side advancing or retreating until enough people tire and the event melts away like the last fireworks.

Who did start the first OB marshmallow fight?

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A Paradise Guarded by the Tides – Photo Gallery

July 4, 2009 by Frank and Patty

by Frank Gormlie

Reposted from July 6, 2008

OCEAN BEACH, CA. There are secret caves along the cliffs in Ocean Beach. It just so happens that the stretch of cliffs next to the boulevard of the same name, from Point Loma Boulevard south to Ladera Street, contain an array of beautiful, hidden and fairly inaccessible caves.

Only during real low tides are some of them reachable. But these hidden geological grottoes and cuts in the sandstone cliffs and the beaches and pools inside them are nature’s displays of the wondrous interplay of land and sea that has occurred over time – right here on our front porch.

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39 Julys Ago: How OB Stopped the Jetty the City Wanted

July 4, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

THE JETTY IS STOPPED

There was definitely turmoil in OB the summer of 1970. For a number of weeks during those hot days, OB residents used a combination of direct action and legal moves to battle efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers and the City to construct a jetty parallel to the southern edge of the San Diego River channel — next to what is now Dog Beach.

Many locals viewed the jetty as a prelude to an attempt by the City and developer interests to create a marina and resort district at Ocean Beach’s waterfront.

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History of Ocean Beach Street Names (ho-hmmm?)

July 4, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

Originally posted on January 12, 2008

by Frank Gormlie

Always intrigued about the origin of words and idioms, I found interesting the history of Ocean Beach street names.

It is axiomatic in our world that whoever plans out and develops a community gets to name the streets! And the rest of us then get to live with those street titles. Now, of course, who does plan out and develop a community from scratch? Who was responsible for putting together the sub-divisions that make up what is the present community of Ocean Beach?

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Two Views of Ocean Beach’s Early Developers

July 3, 2009 by Frank Gormlie

Originally posted June 19, 2008

2 ENTREPRENEURS DEVELOPED TOWN IN THE LATE 1800s

By Joe Tash / UNION-TRIBUNE /June 14, 2008
Long before Dog Beach, the People’s Organic Food Market and The Black became Ocean Beach fixtures, Billy Carlson and D.C. Collier put their stamps on this seaside community. The two entrepreneurs are considered co-founders of Ocean Beach for their pioneering roles during the late 1800s and early 1900s, said Pat James, a businessman and president of the Ocean Beach Historical Society.

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The Lost Street Fair Photos

July 2, 2009 by Jeff Stone

Diligent researchers at the OB Rag blog have just unearthed an entire batch of foggotten photos from OB’s Street Fair held last weekend.

These photos, by Jeff Stone, cover a variety of subjects. We need assistance however in determining who is in the photos. So if you see someone or some band you know, give us a shout-out.

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OB Burners and Hoopers Get Busted

July 1, 2009 by Mary E. Mann

By Mary E Mann

A young man spins unlit fire chains by himself, in the middle of Collier Park at Soto & Greene. His phone rings, a tinny sound from his pocket. He pauses to answer it, tucks it between his shoulder and his ear, and continues to spin while he talks. The spinning is almost an afterthought, his body dancing slowly, almost like tai chi, but with whizzing metal balls on chains involved.

Slowly a troupe forms, ten people or so, mostly men and mostly young-looking, in their 20’s and 30’s. MORE INSIDE …

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Privatization track record sparks backlash

July 1, 2009 by Source

As San Diego County supervisors seek to privatize more services, public officials elsewhere are reading the danger signs and starting to move in the opposite direction.

Like many other local and state governments desperate for budgetary quick fixes, the county board fell back on the old knee-jerk assumption that private companies can perform public services “better, cheaper and faster.” The facts show that quite often the opposite is true.

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Sewer Spill and Graffiti Updates

July 1, 2009 by Source

DOG BEACH SEWER SPILL UPDATE
by Dave Gilbert

As of 9 this morning (7-1-09) the danger signs are still up at Dog Beach where the S.D. river meets the ocean but the difference is that today nobody (dogs or people ) were in the water. … more inside
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GRAFFITI UPDATE
by Jon Carr

We’re seeing more and more murals and electric boxes with actual “art” being hit by taggers. Apparently there’s supposed to be some sort of street code that says you don’t tag someone’s already established artwork. … more inside

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