Month: July 2013

By Frank Gormlie

Finally sitting down with the 166-page Draft OB Community Plan Update the other day, I managed to review the first few chapters and now offer a few thoughts on the Draft – to be discussed at the July 3rd OB Planning Board meeting.

The new Plan is broken down into various chapters, each with an issue within the planning world, like “Land Use Element” (Chpt 2), “Urban Design Element” (Chapter 4), or the “Mobility Element” of Chapter 3 and so forth, with others covering public facilities, services and safety, recreation, conservation, noise and historic preservation. There are plenty of nice, colorful maps, as well, included in the Update.

The following is not a point by point exercise of review of the draft, but more of a list of my thoughts, concerns and issues after reviewing the first several chapters.

In general, there is much flowery language in the Plan – as the original had. Flowery language is cheap, yes, but if it is followed by specific recommendations that are feasible and commonsensical, it can be solid. But if the pretty language has no anchors in real life, then it is just that – pretty and nice-sounding words. There is much of that in the new Draft.

The Draft essentially took the former OB development blueprint, the OB Precise Plan – passed by the City in 1975 that established the OB Planning Board – and reworked it so it fits into San Diego’s General Plan.

By Judi Curry

For the first time in many years, I had the opportunity to baby-sit two of my grandchildren. Actually, these were two of my four great-grandchildren, and, after swimming all day the first day they stayed with me, I realized we would have to do something else or all of us would go nuts in the remaining five days.

Thanks to a great friend, I was given complimentary passes for three to SeaWorld and, in spite of my broken shoulder, decided to drive the short distance instead of taking a bus or taxi. The tickets also included the $15 parking fee.

We parked near the entrance – or what I thought was the entrance – only to find that there was a lot of construction going on and the entrance had been moved about an eighth of a mile from where we parked. (If you have ever had a broken shoulder you know that each step jiggles the two broken bones, and you keep feeling your shoulder to see if the bones are sticking out yet.)

The letter I received told me to pick up my passes at the “Will Call” but… there was no “will call.” I asked the guide where we should go to pick them up and he looked at the huge line where “ordinary” people were picking up their tickets and said “at the end of this line.”

Keeping the cameras rolling during trying times resulted in an insightful examination of the world-famous event.

By Elizabeth Limbach / Alternet

In 2012, after 26 years of ballooning in popularity, Burning Man was on the verge of popping. And Steve Brown’s documentary crew was there with cameras rolling.

At their regular monthly meeting this Wednesday, July 3rd, the OB Planning Board is scheduled to give their feedback and response, as well as offer issues and questions to City staff on the new Draft proposed OB Community Plan Update.

One month ago, City senior planner Maxx Stalheim presented an outline of the update to the Board, handing them each a copy of the 166 page document, and telling them that staff would return on the 3rd for a debate. (It’s unclear whether Stalheim will be at this hearing, as he announced he was retiring during the month of July.) City planners are not looking for approval at that time as the update plan will not have been made officially available to the public by then.

Not until July 12th will the public “officially” view the Update. However, it has been available here at the OB Rag, on the OB Planning Board website and at the City Planning Commission website.

The Board meets sharply at 6pm at the OB Recreation Center, located at 4726 Santa Monica Avenue.

San Diego, CA – On Thursday, June 27, 2013, legal cannabis patient and defendant Tim O’Shea’s jury came out of deliberations hopelessly deadlocked in a three guilty; nine not guilty split and Judge Charles Rogers declared a mistrial.

Defense Counsel, Mark Bluemel, immediately gave an oral motion to dismiss the case in the interest of justice, which the judge delayed hearing arguments on until today, July 1, 2013. His reasoning was to allow the District Attorney’s office time to decide if they would re-file against Tim, which is their right in cases of deadlocked juries.

Just minutes ago, a jury reached its verdict in San Diego’s infamous Chalk case: Not guilty of all counts!

Jeff Olson, accused of 13 counts of vandalism for drawing messages about Bank of America with water-soluble chalk , is free to go.

Olson had been brought to trial by San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith. Judge Herbert Shore – the trial judge – had issued a gag order for all parties and witnesses, which is unheard of for a misdemeanor case. Judge Shore had also ruled that Olson could not raise First Amendment issues during the showdown in court.

This was the case that had drawn national attention, where Mayor Bob Filner had stated to the media on Friday, June28, that he believed that the city attorney’s prosecution of a protester for chalking anti-bank slogans on city sidewalks outside Bank of America branches is “a stupid case” and a waste of city money.

By Terrie Best / San Diego Americans for Safe Access

On Thursday, June 27, 2013, legal cannabis patient and defendant Tim O’Shea’s jury came out of deliberations hopelessly deadlocked and Judge Charles Rogers declared a mistrial.

The jurors deliberated for approximately 16 hours over the course of the last few days and the waiting game was one of the most brutal I have ever endured. After polling the jurors to confirm the deadlock, Judge Rogers asked for information on the split. It was nine not guilty and three guilty.

The judge had some very poignant words about their service in this difficult case of emerging law and the jury answered back with their own thanks for the obvious respect he showed to them during the trial.

By Jim Miller

In this final installment of Under the Perfect Sun media critique greatest hits, I apply the propaganda model to San Diego’s media scene.

Interestingly, it should be noted that while the local press have largely continued the Filner as disruptive narrative cited here, articles in theNew York Times and Los Angeles Times have recently presented a much prettier picture of Filner as a game changing mayor on multiple fronts. This is surely an embarrassing development in the House of Manchester, but don’t expect that to change the party line.

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 …

Lauren McCauley / Common Dreams

Despite the groundswell of support behind Senator Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) popular student loan proposal, Senate leaders have dismissed the legislation opting instead to let student interest rates double ib Monday – today – [July 1] as they pack their bags for a Fourth of July holiday recess.

Because of Congressional inaction, students will be left in the lurch as federal Stafford loans spike to 6.8 percent.

The Warren bill proposes to tie student loan interest rates to the same “discounted rates” given to big banks from the Federal Reserve, lowering student loan rates to 0.75 percent and saving students thousands of dollars.