September 2010

California Marijuana Legalization Opposed by Beer Industry – duh!

September 22, 2010 by Source
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The California Beer & Beverage Distributors is spending money in the state to oppose a marijuana legalization proposition on the ballot in November, according to records filed with the California Secretary of State. The beer sellers are the first competitors of marijuana to officially enter the debate; backers of the initiative are closely watching liquor and wine dealers and the pharmaceutical industry to see if they enter the debate in the remaining weeks.

The opposition to pot among beer makers, however, is not unanimous among the CBBD’s membership. …

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Stewart and Colbert’s political ‘joke’ – both plan “dueling rallies” in DC

September 21, 2010 by Source
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Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have cast their faux dueling Washington rallies as a kind of grand satire of the current state of media and politics.

“It’s just like everything they do – it’s really for the joke,” said one person familiar with the planning of the October 30 event, who asked – in the spirit of the “Daily Show” – to be described as a “senior administration official.”

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New City benches along Sunset Cliffs cool … illegal dumping by city workers not so cool.

September 21, 2010 by Source
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by Jim Grant

Ocean Beach is known for being Ocean friendly and aware of the community and environment. And the association between the two. Surf Rider Paddle Out’s…Beach Clean Up’s and the like are very common in Ocean Beach. People come from all over San Diego to watch the sunset ……From Dog Beach to Ladera Street, the Cliffs and Beach is packed with people coming to enjoy the sunset.

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Bradley Manning: An American Hero

September 20, 2010 by Source
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By Marjorie Cohn / Huffington Post / September 19, 2010

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. This week, his supporters are holding rallies in 21 cities, seeking Manning’s release from military custody. Manning is in the brig for allegedly disclosing a classified video depicting U.S. troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in Iraq in July 2007.

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Affordable Housing is a Human Right!

September 20, 2010 by Rocky Neptun

By Rocky Neptune

Every human right has had to be fought for against powerful interests who profit from the subjugation and misuse of their fellow persons. The right to vote was opposed by kings and emperors and is still occasionally nullified by millionaire judges, …

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San Diego’s homeless population is a complex mix

September 19, 2010 by Source

By Michael Stetz / Union-Tribune / September 18, 2010

Not every homeless person pushes a shopping cart full of clothes, blankets and second-hand possessions. Not all are haggard, drunk and smelly. Not everyone is an adult, and some choose to stay on the streets.

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The Ocean Beach Pizza Port wins silver medal for its Skidmark Brown.

September 19, 2010 by Source
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Some things in life are a given, and right up there with death and taxes is the fact that San Diego’s talented stable of brewers will bring home the hardware at Denver’s Great American Beer Festival (GABF). The largest annual beer competition in the U.S., …

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Blackwater’s Black Ops

September 17, 2010 by Source
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by Jeremy Scachill / The Nation / (current issue – October 4, 2010)

Over the past several years, entities closely linked to the private security firm Blackwater have provided intelligence, training and security services to US and foreign governments as well as several multinational corporations, including Monsanto, Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, …

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Poetic Justice “Off the Hook”

September 17, 2010 by Ernie McCray
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I just received an email regarding an Ex-con play, an original musical drama, Off the Hook, featuring a 15 member cast of formerly incarcerated people, which will be performed this Saturday, September 18th, at 2:00 PM at Queen Bee’s Art & Cultural Center at 3925 Ohio Street.

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Mexican Independence Day : Viva Mexico! 200 Years Since War of Independence from Spain

September 16, 2010 by Source
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Editor: Many gringos and gringas think Cinco de Mayo is THE Mexican Day of Independence. But of course it is not. It’s September 16th – and it’s the 202th anniversary of the beginning of the war against imperial Spain. It’s September 16 and it’s that time of year when all Mexicans from around the world are celebrating Mexican Independence Day.

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OB FLASHES: News, Calendar, and Whatever — September 16th, 2010

September 16, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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ALL DETAILS AND LINKS INSIDE:
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Liberty Station Pledge Up In Smoke (and mirrors)?
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OB Kindergarten In News
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Party benefit for Walk for the Cure at noon designs – Sept 22nd
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Celebrate the Cabrillo Festival – Sept 25-26
_______________
Community-based School Reform – Town Meeting at PLHS – Oct 6th

AND MORE …..

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The “bums” are us! One out of 7 Americans living in poverty.

September 16, 2010 by Source
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WASHINGTON — The number of people living in poverty has climbed to 14.3 percent of Americans, with the ranks of working-age poor reaching the highest level since at least 1965.

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Las Vegas Drone Trial Makes History

September 15, 2010 by Source
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Fourteen anti-war activists may have made history today in a Las Vegas courtroom when they turned a misdemeanor trespassing trial into a possible referendum on America’s new-found taste for remote-controlled warfare.

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Whitehouse (finally) appoints Elizabeth Warren as special consumer advisor.

September 15, 2010 by Source
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The White House has tapped Elizabeth Warren as a special adviser to help set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, affirming its support for a tough new agency charged with protecting consumers from abusive lenders.

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Is this the beginning of the end for Ron Roberts?

September 15, 2010 by Source
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by Blue San Diego

With November being just two months away, the Ron Roberts saga began its last whimper. I figured County Supervisor Roberts would try to salvage his campaign and ditch his “smoke and mirrors” approach to try to claw back on top to stay in office another four years.

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Education Reform Part 4: The San Diego Education Reform Plan – Keeping It Local and Working Together

September 15, 2010 by Doug Porter
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In previous installments of this series, we’ve discussed the history of education reform, examined school testing, looked at a high performing system in Finland and examined the latest federal plans for reforming our schools. This time around we’ll take a look at what’s on the boards for students in the San Diego Unified School District and tell you about ways you can become involved in this process. As much of this plan exists only on the drawing boards, it’s hard to make any judgments at this point. The plan is, on its face, very different from what we hear coming out of Washington DC, so it’s bound to be getting national scrutiny in the coming years.

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The Strand Theater of Ocean Beach – Part 2 – Memories from the Seventies

September 14, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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Mention the Strand Theater to an OB “old-timer” and a smile instantly embraces their face. And probably a laugh too. Now I don’t mean “old-timer” in the classic sense (the stooped-over scraggly white-haired old guy) – I mean somebody who experienced the Strand in its heydays of the Seventies. The Strand does brings back good memories to them. Funny memories. Incredible memories.

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‘Back To School Special’ Part 3— Why Reforms Don’t Work

September 13, 2010 by Doug Porter
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Coming soon to a theater near you will be Davis Guggenheim’s (Director of An Inconvenient Truth) latest documentary entitled Waiting for Superman. The picture, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, is a moving and compelling account (I viewed a copy over the internet) of a handful of kids and their parents who simply want to go to a decent school.

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OB Jazz Festival

September 12, 2010 by Doug Porter
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We ventured down to Newport Avenue on Saturday to check out the Jazz 88 OB Music & Art Festival. The sounds of jazz filled the air, and the crowds, while not as big as the Street Fair/Chili Cook Off, were decent. With 7 stages, 26 bands and 70 artists participating, there was certainly something for everybody, even if you didn’t have the thirty bucks to buy access to the paid stages. Newport Avenue was closed off between Bacon and Cable for the Artist booths. There were also numerous “craft” booths scattered about.

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What Happened to Marisco’s Taco Truck?

September 11, 2010 by Terrie Leigh Relf
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By Terrie Leigh Relf / Special to the OB Rag

Marisco’s German Taco Truck was a neighborhood presence from mid-March to mid-August of this year. Parked next to the Pirate Cove café in the Apple Tree Market’s parking lot on Cable and Santa Monica, they offered a delicious variety of Mexican-style seafood. Their $1.00 fish tacos and samples of spicy seafood soup were quite enticing, and nearly every time I passed by, there was a line of dedicated patrons.

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Terriers Series Premiere Review: Season Pilot – Great On-Screen Chemistry

September 11, 2010 by Source

C’mon, what else are we going to do, cure cancer?”

Terriers is not a spin-off of Best in Show. In fact it’s the furthest thing from a show about dogs, unless the title is a play on the makeup of its lead characters—dynamic, tough and fearless. Terriers is the latest brainchild from Ted Griffin (Ocean’s Eleven) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield).

Donal Logue (Grounded for Life, Damages) stars in this surf and turf crime series as Hank Dolworth, a former cop turned unlicensed investigator.

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Here are things to do on 9-11 that you won’t find in the San Diego U-T:

September 10, 2010 by Staff
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Do you want to show your contempt for the Florida church that’s threatening to burn Korans? Do you wish to do something meaningful on Saturday, the anniversary of 9-11? Here are several events to attend – that you won’t find in the San Diego U-T:

Noon Peace Protest at Federal Building to Condemn the ‘Burn a Koran Day’
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Vigil to Support Rights of Muslims at Islamic Center – 5 to 7:30 pm
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Local Group Declares Sept. 11th “Government Blowback Day” – Noon Rally at USS Midway Museum

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The Strand Theater-Part 1: the Year the Porno Theater Was Stopped

September 10, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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It was a gaggle of people moving back and forth – many with signs – in front of a Newport Avenue business. There was about twenty of them, many women, some children, and they began chanting:

“Get the smut out of OB! Get the smut out of OB!”

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Reader Rant: McDonalds Goes Robotic (finally)

September 10, 2010 by JEC
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by JEC

It’s happened.

McDonalds has followed through on their threat to turn every store into a robotic extension of a central hub located somewhere in – well – India I think.

Today grabing a snack wrap and coke, after suffering the delay of the predetory sales pitch – this time to buy a 400 calorie smoothie made with 10% fruit juice – a male voice asks for my order.

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California pot legalization ‘could end Mexican drug war’

September 9, 2010 by Source
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The Mexican drug war that has taken the lives of 28,000 people over the past four years could conceivably come to an end if California votes to legalize marijuana, say prominent American and Mexican policy makers.

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“Terriers” – Well? Did you like it? Post your review here …

September 9, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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Some of us from the OB Rag were at the Harp last night watching the premier of “Terriers”. I counted about 120 souls about the bar and restaurant, a noisy place until the show came on. Hosted by Ted and Kathy of the Old Town Restaurant – where 6 or 7 scenes were shot – the crowd at the screening cheered every time a scene of Ocean Beach appeared on the big screen.

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The Hip School – a poem by Ernie McCray

September 9, 2010 by Ernie McCray
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At the hip school
they aren’t aware
and they don’t even care
about what their
test scores might be
because they’re much too busy
rolling up their sleeves
trying to keep up with the boys and girls
with their stash of electronic accessories,

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“Terriers” Finally Arives – Premier Showing Tonight – Sept 8th – at the Harp

September 8, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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The day has finally arrived. The premier of the television series, “Terriers”, shot mostly in Ocean Beach, is this evening on FX at 10pm. For months, OBcieans have endured blocked streets, parking taken, lighting mechanisms in front of their fave stores on Newport, throngs of spectators hanging around the film crews, and quite a bit of controversy and complaints. There was even that nude swimmer who disrupted one filming.

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Back To School Special Part Two: Testing, Testing….Is You As Dumb As We Says You Is?

September 8, 2010 by Doug Porter
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A few weeks back the Los Angeles Times began publishing a series of articles on value-added testing in public schools. In a value-added system, a student’s past performance on tests is used to project his or her future results. The divergence between that prediction and the student’s actual performance after a year is the “value” that the educator added or subtracted. The series made available the evaluations of 6,000 elementary school teachers, profiled some of those teachers and generally stirred the pot regarding the ongoing national debate about the value and use of standardized testing in schools.

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Paddle for Clean Water this Sunday

September 8, 2010 by Staff
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Hundreds of local surfers and ocean enthusiasts this weekend plan to paddle around the Ocean Beach Pier to raise awareness about pollution along San Diego County’s coastline.

The 19th annual Paddle for Clean Water Festival, expected to draw more than 1,000 people using everything from surfboards and bodyboards to kayaks and outrigger canoes, begins at 9 a.m. Sunday.

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