Month: August 2013

A small, single-family house built in 1918 and three adjacent apartment-type units on Santa Monica Avenue in Ocean Beach just sold for over a million and half dollars.

The units are next to the two story Santa Monica mall that contains Shades, Tower Two and other businesses near the end of the 5000 block that runs into Abbott Street.

The nearly century-old house has approximately 772-square-feet, and is a one-bedroom/one-bath house and is at 5063 Santa Monica Ave. It was sold for $675,000, with financing of $328,000 from Flagstar Bank. (assessor’s parcel 448-092-06)

Comparisons between WikiLeaks and Pentagon Papers cases raise serious questions about government and judicial discretion.

By David Gespass/Military Law Task Force

Today, Bradley Manning was sentenced to thirty-five years for the “crime” of revealing the seamy underside of US diplomacy and war-making. The sentence is substantially less than sixty years the prosecution asked for, but greater than what the defense requested. It was predicated on alleged damage done to the US, though it remains unclear what actual damage, aside from embarrassment, occurred.

By Andy Hanshaw / San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

As many of you know, CicloSDias happened on a recent Sunday, and call me biased, but it was a resounding success.

Bikes, joggers, skaters and people of all kinds started walking and rolling around 9:30 a.m. A little after 10 o’clock, councilmembers Marti Emerald and David Alvarez along with County Supervisor Dave Roberts and a few other event speakers addressed the growing crowd at Cherokee Point Elementary School to get attendees excited about this event.

By JEC

August 11th was CicloSDias in San Diego. Sections of 30th and Fern streets were closed to motor vehicles; cross streets were blocked off and traffic monitors helped motorists cross the river of bicycles. Some say not quite a river, more like a creek.

Bicycling in San Diego has some serious advocates, including the San Diego Bike Coalition. They see benefits for San Diegans if we switch to using bikes more often than cars. As a bike rider, I agree with them. The challenge in front of us is how to grow a bicycle culture.

Along 30th Street I saw many fancy bikes with riders dressed in those colorful skin tight outfits. I also saw some unique forms of self-propelled transportation. I was hoping see folks wearing regular clothes as if they were going to school or work – but then it was Sunday plus CicloSDias is only once a year at that.

About a hundred supporters of besieged Mayor Filner held a brief rally and march in the Civic Center Plaza today, and then sponsored a press conference. Most of the speakers were women or were people of color – and most criticized the trial in the press of the mayor that is going on in San Diego’s mainstream media.

Other speakers talked of Filner’s history and record in the civil rights movement, that this was a time of healing and patience.

Organized by immigration activist Enrique Morones and others to demonstrate their push-back against the calls for recall and resign that Filner has had over the last month,

Surf Rider Pizza Celebrates 3 Years in OB

One of the best pizza places in OB is now celebrating its third year in town. Surf Rider Pizza Cafe, at the corner of Abbot and Muir, has wonderful slices and pies, very unique. They also offer wonderful desserts in their show cases. Here is what they say on their website:

Surf Rider Pizza Cafe was founded in August 2010 with the simple goal of bringing great east coast style pizza and grub to San Diego. We also serve “sugary goodness” in our freshly baked treats daily. Expect a great selection, great service, and great food everytime you stop in. We are a block or so from dog beach in O.B., so bring your mutt by after a dip and hang out on our dog friendly patio and enjoy a slice.

Accused OB Sexual Assaulter to Go to Trial

By Jim Miller

Last week I outlined the plight of the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) noting that CCSF had become the “Chicago of Higher Education” as the college and their community allies were engaged in a struggle to stop the loss of its accreditation at the hands of a corrupt commission that was driven by a misguided corporate education reform agenda.

10News is reporting breaking news that Mayor Filner’s lawyers are in mediation right now with attorney Gloria Allred and City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, with a possible resignation deal being brokered according to their sources.

Here is the 10News report:

Two inside, anonymous sources told Team 10 Mayor Bob Filner’s attorneys were in a mediation session Monday morning with City Attorney Jan Goldsmith and LA-based attorney Gloria Allred.

One of Team 10’s sources said the meeting was scheduled for late morning, with no set end time.

Calling for due process for Mayor Bob Filner – and his accusers – a coalition plans to hold a press conference today, Monday, August 19th at noon. It will be held at the Civic Center Plaza.

Declaring that the silent majority will not be silent any longer, organizers are asking “community members of color, veterans, environmentalist, educators, woman’s rights, gays, civil rights, labor, human rights, faith, unions, neighborhoods, immigration” to join them:

“as we stand united in stopping the public mockery of our judicial system. Due Process for mayor and accusers. Let’s get back to business of moving region forward with Mayor Bob Filner.”

This is a proposal to form some type of task force or coalition of Ocean Beach organizations to deal with the problem of the out of control July 4th marshmallow wars.

This proposal is based on several premises:

• The historic tradition has gone out of control, is getting worse each year – as evidenced by this year’s mess and melee. The current state of affairs, as most OBceans would agree, is unacceptable.

• It must change – and it must change over the coming year, as it will not be going away, and next year – unless dealt with – will be worse than this year.

• The marshmallow war tradition is a uniquely Ocean Beach problem. The community, the village, OBceans – must deal with it ourselves. It cannot be left up to politicians.

Update on Point Loma national cemetery – Thursday, August 15th, 2013

It is five days short of one year since I wrote my first article about the deplorable conditions at the Ft. Rosecrans national cemetery.

Over the past year, I have made numerous trips to the cemetery – my husband is interred there – and have been depressed, angry, sickened, etc. by what I have seen. Today I decided to go back and look for the improvements everyone has been talking about.

I am sorry to say that there are virtually no improvements in the section that Bob is resting in. (In fact, knowing Bob, he is probably very angry at what he sees when he looks out his door.)

Rather than just tell you about it – as I have done in the past – I have taken some pictures that will give you an idea of how our servicemen and servicewomen are being treated.

Both sides must set aside their profound differences and look at steps to relieve the worst elements of solitary confinement.

By Tom Hayden / LA Times / August 16, 2013

At least 300 inmates are now several weeks into a fast that could soon lead to organ failure and death for many of them. Events are moving rapidly, but as I write, nothing has been resolved. And, as California corrections chief Jeffrey Beard made clear recently in an Op-Ed for this newspaper, the sides are far apart.

Beard, presumably reflecting Gov. Jerry Brown’s views, paints the strike leaders as dangerous gang leaders who are pressuring inmates into a hunger strike to “restore their ability to terrorize fellow prisoners, prison staff and communities throughout California.” That rhetoric is hardly designed to lead to conflict resolution. On their side, the strikers are demanding an immediate end to what they see as inhumane conditions, including indefinite solitary confinement, which they see as a violation of the 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.