Month: June 2013

Here is a photo gallery of the Ocean Beach Street Fair 2013 held on Saturday, June 22nd. The photos are by Tom Cairns. Tom, a former OBcean and OB Rag staffer, comes to OB every year around this time of year, and he always visits the Chili Cook-off.

By April M. Short / Alternet

With the exposure of troubling obesity rates, outrage over undisclosed genetically engineered wheat (and other) crops, the successful worldwide March Against Monsanto effort in May and statewide bans of GE crops that followed, the US citizenry is expanding its awareness and concern about food health. The junk food industry is responding by getting sneakier in its tactics to entice, exploit and beguile people into consuming its concoctions.

Here are a few of the most disturbing deceptions the industry is using to keep Americans hooked on its junk.

1. Branding Processed Foods to Look “Natural” Those grill marks on your burger? Not real.

It is official now. San Diego’s daily has declared open warfare against the city’s most liberal mayor in history – Bob Filner.

Over the weekend, the U-T ran its new weekly poll, but this poll displays this aggression against Filner, as it asks readers to judge Filner’s job performance. Those who have been observing, know “Papa” Doug Manchester to be a reactionary, homophobe.

We in the progressive media world were so outraged by this naked demonstration of partisanship by the editors of San Diego’s monopoly press that both the OB Rag and the San Diego Free Press have polls on the homepage asking readers to judge “Papa” Doug Manchester’s job performance now that he has owned the U-T for over a year and half. So far, he’s received a majoritarian grade of “F” for failing.

By Judi Curry

My dog Buddy and I were awakened early Sunday morning by the smoke alarm going off in our bedroom. (Yes, Buddy and I sleep in the same room – although not in the same bed.) He freaked out because the high pitched noise hurts his ears, and he quickly ran into the other part of the house to hide.

A Poem By Cowboy Wordsmith

Old Cowboys, Old Hippies, love Ocean Beach
Because it helps keep memories within reach

Neighborhoods of old houses, family businesses downtown
Only just a few Multinational Corporations hanging around

No Multistory Multinational building where Winston’s is now

San Diego lifeguards are warning ocean goers to be on the alert for stingrays in the water. There’s been an increase this season of the bottom-feeders who swim close to shore. And there’s been an increase in “attacks” at local and regional beaches, according to officials.

For example, Huntington Beach last year witnessed an all-time record number of stingray injuries, with more than 400 seen by November.

Instructions of how to avoid stingrays was given by Lifeguard Supervisor Kevin Pearsall, who described that it’s important to shuffle your feet when entering the water. He said:

“As you enter the water, onto the sand, you kind of shuffle, you keep the sand moving, the area moving as they hear you coming and see you coming. They’re going to flee. They do not want contact with us in anyway.”

100th Anniversary of OB’s Wonderland One of Themes of 2013 Street Fair

The 34th Annual Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-off Festival begins today – Saturday, June 22nd. The Fair offers eclectic fun in the sun that’s great for all ages. Join more than 70,000 visitors throughout the day for tasty festival nosh, art, beachfront entertainment, shopping and more.

The chili competition will feature more than two dozen tastings from amateur entrants competing for the titles of Hottest Chili, Judges’ Award and grand prize People’s Choice Award.

The OB Rag has received communication from Wal-Mart and they deny that they plan to open any kind of store…

That’s right, kids!

Send us your best photo from tomorrows OB Street Fair and the winner will win an OB Rag T-shirt!

The Street Fair begins Saturday, June 22nd and lasts all day. Take some snaps, copy them to your server and send them to us: obragblog@gmail.com

How’s that for a sensational headline?

Actually, there is a rumor in Ocean Beach there a Wal-Mart food store is going in at the old Apple Tree Market building on Santa Monica Avenue.

And the OB Rag is trying to track down answers.

Messages – email and phone calls – were left at the Wal-Mart corporate HQ seeking answers. I did not receive any response all day from Wal-Mart. And no answer today either.

Today, I called Elliot Megdal and Associates – the owner of the building in OB. I spoke to his assistant Debra who is fairly familiar with all his business. She knew about the Apple Tree Market and empty store. She was very polite.

Editor: The debate continues. Here, Geoff Page – former chair of the Peninsula Community Planning Board – responds to Maxx Stalhim’s “Everything You Wanted to Know About the OB Community Plan Update …”. Stalheim is a senior planner with the City of San Diego and was instrumental in developing the Draft plan in its final years.

By Geoff Page

I hope everyone with an interest in this subject matter reads [the] piece by Maxx Stalheim, carefully. It is very much the same as what I originally criticized. Parts of this statement are definitely worrisome.

The first part I found disturbing began with the question “What is different about the new plan?” Stalheim wrote that this is a new document and “it represents a “no change” update.” Somehow, this word choice seems contradictory to me. It sounded like doublespeak. Stalheim stated that “the Neighborhood Commercial Designation for the Voltaire Street and Pt. Loma Avenue districts will be replaced with a Community Commercial Designation” without bothering to provide a modicum of definitions for these terms.

Restore the 4th Protest Planned for San Diego in Balboa Park – July 4

Public support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is growing across the country in leaps and bounds.

Already over 62,000 people – as of 10:30 am 6/20/13 – have signed an online petition in support of Snowden. The petition can be accessed here.

The online petition at RootsAction states:

Thank NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden

Our country is in the midst of a struggle between the growing surveillance state and our precious civil liberties. Now a whistleblower has boldly stepped forward to expose the National Security Agency’s vast spying on our phone records and online communications.

Explaining his actions, the 29-year-old computer expert said:

“I can’t in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building.”