Month: March 2013

Here’s the agenda for the monthly meeting of the Ocean Beach Planning Board to be held on Wednesday, March 6th. The Board meets at the OB Rec Center, 4726 Santa Monica Ave., and begins its meeting at 6pm sharp.

The main action item on the agenda is Verizon Wireless Antennae site upgrade/ renewal approval or denial. These are the upgrades to existing wireless antennae on the sides of the Masonic Temple, at 1371 Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.

By John Carroll / ABC 10News / March 3, 2013

Point Loma residents made homeless two weeks ago by floodwater from a broken water main are now being housed at an extended stay hotel. But they told 10News that the city has dropped the ball when it comes to answering questions about their future.

The Feb. 17 water main break on Nimitz Boulevard sent water rushing into Kimberly Callahan’s apartment, soaking her belongings. Weeks later, those items are still in her home — some in plastic bags, some where they should not be.

As the historic battle between Mayor Filner and San Diego’s big hoteliers over the tourism marketing deal unfolds, it’s clear where the lines are drawn.

On one side, you have a new strong mayor who is committed to ending business as usual in San Diego and on the other, you have folks like Terry Brown, chairman of the San Diego Tourism Marketing Association who, as Matt Potter at The San Diego Reader has pointed out, is a big time Republican funder as are the crew of business lobbyists, real estate developers, and San Diego Taxpayer Association types who have miraculously found they can love a tax after it has transubstantiated into a fee and serves as a giveaway to corporate interests.

NBC San Diego / March 5, 2013

An old military artillery shell was discovered in the backyard of an Ocean Beach resident Monday night [March 4].

A woman working in the garden of her new home at Saratoga Avenue and Santa Barbara discovered what looked like an explosive device and called 911.

When bomb experts arrived just after 6:30 p.m., they found the shell in the dirt outside the home.

UPDATE: Boogie Boarder identified as 62 year old Vernon Taniguchi of San Diego.

An unidentified male boogie boarder was pulled from the surf Sunday, March 3rd, unconscious. He had been spotted off the shore near Voltaire Street in north OB. CPR was administered but to no avail as he died about an hour later.

The county Medical Examiner’s Office is trying to determine his identity.

Just before 7pm, a surfer found the guy, and pulled him to the beach, where a bystander performed CPR on him, before medics arrived. The medics then took the man to UCSD Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 6:58 p.m., the Medical Examiner’s Office reported.

His name and age were not immediately known.

Much has been made of Bob Filner crashing the City Attorney’s news conference a little while ago but we shouldn’t forget that in that flurry of feistiness he pointed out that there are people among us, fellow citizens, family, friends, you name them, who are paid tacky wages. Like hotel workers.

He made it clear that the tourist industry isn’t going to ply their trade with $30 million dollars of the city’s money unless they pay hotel workers what they deserve.

How refreshing is that, a mayor for the people, a man standing up for the folks who make visitors to “America’s Finest City” comfortable and well fed, with nice pools for a swim on well manicured hotel grounds. These people get out and about town and spend money by the ton and the people who added so much to the fineness of their stay don’t get anywhere near their fair share of this bounty.

By Robert Reich /RobertReich.org

Imagine a plot to undermine the government of the United States, to destroy much of its capacity to do the public’s business, and to sow distrust among the population.

Imagine further that the plotters infiltrate Congress and state governments, reshape their districts to give them disproportionate influence in Washington, and use the media to spread big lies about the government.

Finally, imagine they not only paralyze the government but are on the verge of dismantling pieces of it.

Far-fetched?  Perhaps. But take a look at what’s been happening in Washington and many state capitals since Tea Party fanatics gained effective control of the Republican Party, and you’d be forgiven if you see parallels.