Month: October 2009

Did you attend the August town hall meeting on health care reform in Hillcrest — with Congresswoman Susan Davis? If you did, did you see an arrest of a demonstrator by San Diego Police?

Only one person was arrested that early evening, a hearing impaired man named Ray. Ray was arrested near the end, after the meeting itself was over, and the 300 plus pro-health reform folks and the some 35 counter-protesters were starting to go home. Ray was there that day supporting health care reform.

Over two-thirds of OB residents want a non-military solution to US involvement in Afghanistan.

We took a poll beginning October 2nd and ran it for a week asking readers what they thought President Obama should do about the war in Afghanistan. 69% of the respondents called for a non-military solution.

This included 25% who thought the US should give only social and economic aid – “assistance in education, agriculture and international commerce.”

by Ernie McCray

Oh, I can’t keep my mind off my baby,
off my girl,
off the best thing that’s happened to me
in this world.
And to keep her
from having died in vain,
I’ll try to answer a question
that’s been asked of me
again and again: “Why? Why did Nancy choose to die?”

The question is always posed by someone who: knows that Nancy loved them as they loved her; has seen with their own eyes that her family was the joy of her life; feels she had many more miles of waterways to swim and trails to hike, pictures to take and more wounded or abandoned animals to save or sick and shut in friends to tend to.

by disillusioned local

How do you say, “bah humbug!” in German? That’s my attitude about the most recent event in downtown OB this past weekend that was labeled “Oktoberfest.”

Was this an Oktoberfest or just another street fair at the end of Newport? Nothing seemed like Oktoberfest. This event was no different from any other street fair at the bottom of Newport. The charity is the same, the cost is the same, the crowd is the same…the only thing different is that this is called “Oktoberfest”.

by Mary E Mann

Even in Ocean Beach, a Mecca for sun-lovers, you can feel the fall coming. Obecians jump right into the season – just the hint of crispness in the air, and suddenly everyone is wearing sweaters, making soup, and huddling around mugs of tea or coffee, looking for all the world like extras in Home Alone 5: The Beach Holiday.

What to do with this surfeit of cozy feeling? Even in the city of eternal summer, options abound for fall fun. Here are just a few ideas for creating fall in the shadow of a palm tree:

1) Escape the bubble – I know it’s scary to cross Nimitz and venture into the shadowy world beyond OB, but I believe in you. San Diego is one of the largest and most diverse counties in the U.S.A., and an hour drive can take you to another world.

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UPDATE: Airport could get a new track – public hearings to be held on High-Speed Rail line
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OB Elementary calling on alumni for Holiday Parade
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Should this tree be cut down?
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Hodad’s staging benefit to honor OB Elementary’s Centennial
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OB Rag to receive ’special award’ from OB Mainstreet Association
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Anti-graffiti progress seen along cliffs but not at local market
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Sale of Sunset Cliffs seascape to benefit Cliffs Natural Park Council
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OB Rag to you: please support our sponsors
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Jump in the OB Elementary PTA’s recycling program
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OB Peoples Food to hold “Healthy Halloween for The Children”
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Don’t forget Halloween clean-up by OB Town Council and Dog Wash
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OCEAN BEACH, CA. As the debate over health care reform rages, OB Rag readers chimed in – and they chimed in heavily on the side of single payer or public option health care options.

From the poll, which ran for about one week starting on September 24, 2009, clearly 80% are dissatisfied with the current status quo. 72 voters out of a total 0f 90 responded that they either don’t have health insurance at all – 11%, or they want single payer – 32%, or want a public option-34%, and 2% said they have employer-provided insurance but don’t use it because of the high co-pay. That 66% want single-payer or the public option mirrors the figures in national polls.

Not able to overturn Roe V Wade, the “more holies” are stepping up their intimidation tactics another notch…. with a new law in Oklahoma taking effect on November 1 (see the entire law in PDF format) taking aim at women and the health care professionals. Part of the document contains a ten page, very detailed and personal questionnaire that would be published online. I read the entire questionnaire and was furious by the time I reached the end, there are 38 questions alone regarding the reasons a woman is seeking an abortion, check all that apply….

And yeah, it is to be published online, all in the name of the “Statistical Reporting of Abortion Act”.

by John Falchi
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I’m a long-time resident of OB, and I have been covering the increased amount of hate crime and hate speech in San Diego County in recent years. In that connection I wanted to present some highlights of the recent Hate Crimes Summit sponsored by United for a Hate Free San Diego at El Cajon’s Ronald Reagen Community Center on Thursday, October 1, 2009.

Hate crimes, hate groups and hate behavior are proliferating across the U.S. according to James McElroy, CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center(SPLC). He delivered the keynote address to an overflow crowd at the Summit, recently.

by Karma Patrol
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We had our first experience of what I would like to call, “Dog Rage” this weekend.

I have seen “Dog Rage” at Balboa Dog Park, but this was my first time experiencing it firsthand.

On a past weekend we were out enjoying the late afternoon sun with the dogs at Dog Beach. An unneutered male dog approached our blanket and attempted to mount my spayed female dog.

My boyfriend “shoo’d” the dog away from the blanket. At no time did either of us touch the dog.

The owner approached my boyfriend verbally threatening violence…..

by Arthur Salm / San Diego News Network / October 5, 2009
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Somewhere, a dog has bitten a man. And from the desk where I write, I can — by leaning back a little and looking around the orange tree – report that the sun has risen in the east.

Not only that:

Some of the local establishments that have been authorized to dispense marijuana for medical reasons may have been dispensing marijuana to individuals who may have partaken of the substance for non-medical reasons. Worse, the establishments may have dispensed the aforementioned substance with full knowledge, or at least, a pretty damn good idea that their customers intended to go straight home and crank up “Dark Side of the Moon,” and don’t even pretend that you don’t know what I mean.

It’s hard to escape the image of Americans as slothful and overweight. But what if being fat weren’t totally our fault?

The narrative we pound into our heads everyday is that we live in a country where fast food rules, where morning coffee drinks can provide nearly one-quarter of your daily calories before you even get to breakfast, and where you can have pizza topped with Oreos.

And there’s the issue that less than a quarter of us exercise regularly, and on average we spend 142 hours a month lounging on our couches, our eyes glued to a TV.

So it’s no wonder that the Centers for Disease Control report that more than a staggering 60 percent of adults and 16 percent of children are obese.