Month: July 2013

Point Break Cafe
2743 Shelter Island Dr
San Diego, CA 92106
(619) 758-9870

“Doesn’t Anyone Use REAL Ham Anymore?”

Years ago our family patronized this restaurant site when it was the Boll Weevil. It was a favorite of ours, not because of the décor but because of the hamburgers and accompanying condiments on the table. After it closed down, we had several meals at the “Point Break” but it looked rather dingy to us and we were told that it was going to be remodeled. I have not been back for at least 4 years, but I heard that the Pt. Loma Democrats go there after their monthly Sunday meetings. Now that I have renewed my membership in the club I decided if it was good enough for them, it must be good enough for me. I asked my neighbor Jim and his friend Marilyn to join me and they were eager to try it out.

It could have been an omen, but when we walked in and seated ourselves, we were in front of one of the many televisions in the small restaurant. And you will never guess what channel was playing: Yep, FOX News. I sat with my back to it but both Jim and Marilyn got to watch it, even if they didn’t want to.

Much to our astonishment, when we opened Sunday’s U-T op-ed section, “SD in Depth”, we found the OB Rag logo and excerpts from some of our readers’ comments plastered right there on the second page of the section.

The whole page was wrapped around the headline: “Both sides vocal on Mayor Filner Saga“, and there were quotes from readers at the LA Times, KPBS, the U-T, San Diego Rostra, and from the OB Rag.

By David Warmoth

In recent days, there have been subtle, and more than a few overt implications that those of us who have not yet jumped on the resignation bandwagon don’t have a high enough sense of morality or aren’t concerned about the serious issue of sexual harassment. I don’t believe this is true and it saddens me.

It saddens me that a freedom rider who has done so much for civil rights, worker’s rights and just generally, the improvement of the lives of average San Diegans has been brought to the position that he now finds himself. The irony though, is that for all the manufactured outrage and scandal from the UT, City Attorney, Council members, and supporters of other mayoral candidates seeking a re-do for their man/woman, it’s the Mayor’s own hubris and venality that has brought him here. He is a crotchety, old misogynist who will probably end his career in disgrace because he couldn’t keep it in check. I’m sad for this end but a self-inflicted wound is not the biggest tragedy.

He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone… – John 8:7

By Bob Dorn

The Pharisees are circling. Their feasting on what are –still — unsubstantiated rumors reveals the same mob-thought and histeria of ancient history, before the rule of law.

We still haven’t heard descriptions, neither anonymous ones nor any from his public accusers, of what Filner has done. Of all the “multiple victims” (the words of a principal accuser who happens to be a lawyer encouraging people to use his services) not one has stepped forward into the light to explain when and where the mayor harassed her, or him. The words sexual abuse have not even appeared in the trash talk of the politicians and partisan lawyers.

There’s a sloppiness in this attack that beggars the imagination, as if the hatred and passion of those dancing around the bonfire has relieved them of their reason and awareness of what they’re saying.

The most recent story to come out against the mayor was from Lori Saldana, a Democratic State Assembly member until 2010.

…the real winners here are the same old downtown insiders who are busy popping champagne corks and laughing at Filner’s implosion and cheering the welcome help they are getting from unlikely sources.

By Jim Miller

Whatever the end result of the Filner sexual harassment scandal, it’s clear that even if the mayor beats the odds and survives, his credibility and ability to move a bold populist agenda is severely damaged.

Hence, San Diego’s first truly progressive mayor may have squandered the opportunity to be a transformative figure, the progressive fighter and game changer we had hoped he would be. Worst of all by engaging in abusive behavior towards women, Filner has betrayed the core principles of any progressive politics by failing to respect the civil rights and humanity of women. We don’t need to hear all of the details to know that this is true–he has admitted as much himself.

For the last twenty-four hour news cycle, San Diegans have watched stunned as three Democrats have stepped forward and publicly called for Mayor Bob Filner to resign. Donna Frye, Cory Briggs and Marco Gonzalez all sent letters to Filner – and the media – in the last couple of days calling on the Mayor – who has been in office all of seven months – to step down.

Briggs and Gonzalez are both attorneys involved in litigation against the City of San Diego. Donna Frye, of course, is the former City Councilmember and the ‘woman who should have been mayor’. Frye actually won a three-way race a few years ago for mayor in her write-in campaign, but was not sworn in due to the ballots being questionable.

Frye and Gonzalez alleged sexual harassment charges in their letters – although no details were given – whereas Briggs cited other issues, mainly around the latest Sunroad controversy.

The three are holding a press conference, today, Thursday, at 10 a.m. to outline more details it is assumed. (The OB Rag will be reporting on the presser, hopefully later today after the San Diego Free Press reporter writes up a story.)

In the meantime, thoughtful Democrats and progressives have had their worst nightmare materialize. Their darling – the most liberal mayor of San Diego in history – is on the ropes. Will he resign? Can he weather this crisis?

At this point – we urge Mayor Filner NOT TO RESIGN.

We’re going surfing – boogie-boarding to be exact. I have a new board and new fins and plan on meeting JEC down at Tower 2.

In the meantime, here is an open thread – on issues of Ocean Beach. Leave your comments, observations, opinions, and thoughts in the comment section below. And if you don’t like the issues we suggest, raise some of your own.

Here are some discussion points:

• Marshmallow/ marshmellow wars – Do you think they’re ready to be banned or brought under control some how? And how and who will do this? Who should pay for the clean-up? We personally think that the police should be kept out of it, that volunteers and locals need to deal with it.

• OB’s new draft Community Plan update. … What? … Yes, the City has issued a new community development plan for OB. All OBceans need to familiarize themselves with the new plan, the old plan, planning issues, and history.

Whether OB benefits from a new long-period south swell which is scheduled to hit San Diego County late Wednesday, we’ll have to see. But this south well will bring big waves and strong rip currents to the beaches through Saturday night, meteorologists said.

OB is not a south-facing beach, but several of the surf breaks along Sunset Cliffs are, which means that they could see the large swells coming in from the “south”.

By Norma Damashek / San Diego Free Press

To tell you the truth, these mindful walks can give me a headache…notice and let it go… notice… let go…

When I started these walks it looked like letting it go would be the hard part. Turns out the noticing part is worse — because what I’ve been noticing is really screwy. In fact, it stinks.

I notice that while Republican voters no longer dominate San Diego elections, the city’s entrenched wheeler-dealers (still predominantly Republican) persist in manipulating, controlling, and subverting city government, the news media, and public opinion.

By Jim Miller

Upon returning from my travels it was with some amusement that I noted the tag at the end of my “greatest hits” series of columns in June: “We’re re-running some of the best of his columns while Jim takes this ‘vacation’ thing we keep hearing about.” I was amused because I hate “vacations.”

Hate vacations? What am I crazy? No, not crazy just not a fan of the way our consumer culture steals our lives and sells them back to us. As Michael Ventura notes in his seminal essay, “Report from El Dorado”:

Our idea of “a vacation” is an idea only about 100 years old. To “vacation” is to enter an image. Las Vegas is only the most shrill embodiment of this phenomenon … People come here to step into an image, a daydream, a film-like world where “everything” is promised.

During their monthly meeting on July 3rd, the OB Planning Board held a discussion and then voted unanimously to release to the public the new Draft Community Plan Update for Ocean Beach. The Board also announced its ranking of public facilities it wants funded under the new plan.

It was the day before the Fourth of July – which everyone knows is a beeg deal in OB – and the attendance at this meeting was light. The Board – with 14 seats and two vacancies – had problems getting a quorum on Wednesday. Finally, 7 board members were present, and Chair Tom Gawronski continued to conduct the meeting that was to be the first public forum on the new Draft Update.

By Ernie McCray

I was a bit out of tune the other day from just dealing with whatever tiny bits of frazzle-dazzle life had laid in my path that day and as I’m mumbling to myself over my little “First World Problem”, my cell phone vibrates in my levis pocket and I turn it on and there’s a picture of the dude, my main man, the leader of the band: Lyric. Flashing a smile that says in its very cuteness “Hey, dude, let all that minutiae go, bro.”

And so I did, like the sun melting snow. I just let it slide off my hide. I do that anyway, via my DNA, but my grandson’s smile made me not only stop but pause. Any rose near my nose was going to be smelled.