Month: January 2013

Right around 9:15 Friday night – Jan 18th -in Ocean Beach a woman stabbed a man in his forearm with a pocketknife – or folding knife – while they were arguing. The 44 year old woman was taken into custody by police.

Late last week I had called Officer David Surweilo, the Community Relations Officer for Ocean Beach, for any updates on the San Diego police investigations into the various assaults and violence, including some sexual assaults, that had occurred in OB since August. I had emailed him a list of the violent and sexual assaults. Surweilo promised a report this week – now, that’s no easy feat, as Surweilo is the community relations officer for all of Western Division.

There’s only a giant mound of dirt there now, but that old blue building at the intersection of Santa Monica Avenue and Ebers Street – recently demolished – is being replaced by four single-story and single family residences – each with a garage.

Please bear with us today – Jan 17th – as Editor Dude was laid up all day with a swollen foot and unable to publish any articles. So, not so much “technical difficulties” as physical difficulties.

Actually he’s been laid up since mid-afternoon yesterday, Wed, and hasn’t been able to assemble and post some really interesting material on OB –

The regularly scheduled meeting of the OBPB Project Review Committee for tonight – Wednesday, Jan 16th – has been cancelled as the agenda items that were tentatively on the schedule have both had to reschedule for next month.

By John Lawrence / San Diego Free Press

The average temperature for 2012 was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit, 3.2 degrees above normal and a full degree higher than the previous warmest year recorded — 1998 — NOAA said in a recent report. All 48 states in the contiguous U.S. had above-average annual temperatures last year, including 19 that broke annual records, from Connecticut through Utah.

It was also a historic year for “extreme” weather, scientists with the federal agency said.

By Mic Porte

Please, please let your politico spouse
Do some decoration at the house!

Choose the new towels or buy kitchen tiles
Instead of re-development contractor files.

Pharaohs made mortgaged slaves build lasting pyramids, yes,
But destroyed their society and land in the process.

Like human locusts, they devoured the land;
All that’s left now is the pyramids and sand.

When I received my invitation to attend the “State of the City” address by our new mayor, I was really jazzed. I had attended a fund raiser for Bob Filner a few weeks before the election and enjoyed talking to him and having my picture taken with him. (I still think it is the best picture he has ever taken!) I met Bob Filner many years ago – many times – when I was a teacher, an administrator and an assistant professor. I was always impressed with him, even though at times I thought he was gruff.

When I arrived at the event, I saw other reporters from the San Diego Free Press, like Andy Cohen and Ernie McCray, so I decided that I could not approach my article as a “reporter’s report.”

The Ocean Beach Historical Society Presents:

Photographer Joe Ewing

ALL SURF!!

DOES O.B. GET GOOD SURF?

JOE HAS THE PHOTOS TO PROVE IT!

Thursday, January 17th, 7 PM

P.L. United Methodist Church,
1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., O.B.

By Councilmember Kevin L. Faulconer / Special to the OB Rag

Having lived in the beach area for over two decades, I am especially proud to be the Councilmember fortunate enough to represent our City’s beaches and bays. San Diego’s beaches, cliffs, bays and channels are some of the greatest treasures our City has to offer. Every day I’m working to protect and celebrate our coastline for residents and future generations. In Ocean Beach, I’m working to enhance the quality of life that this unique community has to offer.

From large capital projects to individual community requests, we accomplished a lot in 2012 to improve Ocean Beach. By acting on requests from you and your neighbors, the City has successfully installed traffic calming signs along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, replaced aging bike racks along the Abbott Street, approved the City’s first electronic vehicle charging stations at Robb Field and signed a contract to have 373 palm trees trimmed throughout Ocean Beach.

By Harvey Wasserman / Alternet

Two stricken California reactors may soon redefine a global movement aimed at eradicating nuclear power.

They sit in a seismic zone vulnerable to tsunamis. Faulty steam generators have forced them shut for nearly a year.

A powerful “No Nukes” movement wants them to stay that way. If they win, the shutdown of America’s 104 licensed reactors will seriously accelerate.

The story of San Onofre Units 2 & 3 is one of atomic idiocy.

In last week’s column I noted how the tax increases on the 1% included in the “fiscal cliff” deal amounted to little more than the political equivalent of a love tap for the rich because upper income tax rates remain much closer to their historic lows than to their mid-twentieth century highs.

This is disheartening because, as the political narrative shifts toward some form of austerity in the name of deficit reduction, our country’s historically high level of economic inequality remains deeply entrenched and there simply will not be enough revenue to engage in a robust progressive program centered around “nation building at home” as President Obama likes to say.

In sum, the unemployment crisis and other key social and economic needs will take a back seat to deficit reduction and the battles will not be about whether an austerity agenda is the right course for America but rather what form of austerity program we should pursue.