Month: September 2013

Here’s the agenda for the October monthly meeting of the Ocean Beach Planning Board. The Board meets at 6pm sharp at the OB Rec Center, 4726 Santa Monica Ave.

By Judi Curry

Do you really think that you have privacy in your everyday doings? Do you really believe that no one knows when you are doing something you shouldn’t be doing? Do you really think that the good deeds you are doing are not noticed by someone? Do you have any awareness of just how “unprivate” your life is? Not only is “big brother” watching you, but so are his sisters and brothers, and it is a little unnerving.

By John Lawrence

Saturday, Sept. 28, will go down in San Diego history as the day the much awaited central library opened in San Diego.

The opening ceremonies started at 11 a.m. and lasted for about an hour. All sorts of dignitaries were seated on the platform, and many of them spoke. The event was presided over by Mayor pro tem Todd Gloria.

Wednesday, October 2nd at 7pm at DG Wills Book Store
By Jim Miller

San Diego City Works Press is proud to announce the publication of The Encyclopedia of Rebels by local author and UCSD writing teacher, Mel Freilicher. The book plays with the intersections between history, fiction, memoir, fantasy, and mystery. As Pulitzer Prize winning poet Rae Armantrout puts it, “You could call this both an outrageous comedy and a credible look at the world we live in.”

Mel Freilicher will read from his new book this Wednesday, October 2nd, at 7 PM at D.G. Wills Book Store at 7461 Girard Ave in La Jolla as part of the San Diego City College International Book Fair.

Editor: Dear Reader, as you probably know, the OB Rag is part of a “two-blog” strategy to bring progressive online media to Ocean Beach and beyond … including San Diego. We do this with the San Diego Free Press, a daily online journal for the city and county of San Diego. The Free Press is run by a cabal of editors – of which, we editors at the Rag are part of – and holds monthly meetings with its contributors and interested supporters.

Here is a report of the latest monthly meeting of the Free Press by contributor John Anderson:

Notes from the September monthly meeting of SDFP editors and contributors.

By John Anderson

In an attempt to increase the transparency of the conversations at the San Diego Free Press and to encourage a wider variety of voices from across the region we are publishing Inside Freep to let current contributors and readers keep up with items on the agenda for discussion and for future articles. The September monthly contributors meeting for the San Diego Free Press took place Wednesday, September 25, 2013, in North Park from 7 to 9 PM in an undisclosed location hereafter known as The Freep Cave.

By Micaela Porte

When wildlife enthusiasts, researchers and professors met recently at UCSD Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Reserve, they had one thing on their minds: the microscopic parasites that inhabit Mission Bay.

The presentation was delivered by Ryan Hechinger, a UC Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute professor, who stated that trematodes, such as the common flatworm, frequently make their way from marsh bird feces into host organisms, like a horned snail, California Achilles fish and fiddler crab, among others. From there, they perform a key role in the regulation of marsh bio-systems.

Editor: Here is the full text of the Ocean Beach Town Council resolution calling for an end to the 4th of July marshmallow war:

OCEAN BEACH TOWN COUNCIL RESOLUTION:

END the 4th of JULY MARSHMALLOW FIGHT

Whereas, the Ocean Beach Town Council is a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to the betterment and welfare of our community.

Whereas, the Town Council Board of Directors recognizes the annual 4th of July marshmallow fight is a tradition that started as a friendly rivalry between two Ocean Beach families involving a small group of people and no significant property damage.

Whereas, the annual 4th of July marshmallow fight has devolved into a rolling, violent altercation in which some bystanders have been injured and had their property destroyed.

“Beach Community Acupuncture”
4993 Niagara Ave., Suite 206,
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-224-2442

What does a porcupine, a pin cushion and a needle have in common?

That’s a pretty simple question. Of course you know the answer. But here is another question for you: What does a native of Maryland, a degree in English literature, and working in a non-profit domestic violence agency have in common? You don’t know the answer? Let me give you a hint by asking another question.

What does a Master’s fellowship in documentary film making, a developmental director for Alternet.org, and the Managing Director of “Baykids” have in common? A hint about “Baykids.” This is a group of hospitalized kids learning to express themselves through movie making. Does that help?

Hmmm. Well, how about a brief stint in Peace Corps in Vanuatu, Melanesia, a former pet care business owner or the mother of two. Does that help any?

Geez – maybe this will help. A Masters degree in Chinese Medicine; passage of the California acupuncture board exam in 2009, and the sole practitioner of the “Beach Community Acupuncture”.

For some, the Great Recession has been a good deal. Just look at this land speculator who in a year’s time, made over a cool half million dollars by flipping apartments in Ocean Beach.

John Douglas Dudek bought 8 units in the 4700 block of Point Loma Avenue in September 2012 for $1.85 million. He just sold those same units for $2,384,200. That’s over half a million bucks in one year. Nice going for somebody who can afford that.

Isn’t it great to watch as Establishment types roll in the dough, while the rest of us working stiffs have trouble even making our rent or mortgage payments?

The property that has now been sold twice within a year is located at 4746-4756 1/2 Point Loma Ave (assessor’s parcel 448-351-06). It’s a single-story courtyard apartment that includes 8 two-bedroom and one-bath units – which are small, each with 672 square feet. There’s also 8 garages off the alley.

Lack of Community Consensus Could Lead to Worse Problems

At their public monthly meeting – held last night, Sept. 25th – the Ocean Beach Town Council voted to “cancel” the July 4th marshmallow wars.

The Council board passed a resolution that called on the community to end the annual and traditional marshmallow fights held just after the fireworks display on the beach.

Council representative Dave Cieslak told the media:

“Over time the hope is that the marshmallow war starts to taper off and goes away and that people can enjoy the Fourth of 4th of July without worrying about having a marshmallow thrown at their head.”

As part of their resolution, the OBTC will ask the San Diego Police Department to enforce the city’s laws against littering and throwing harmful objects.

The council will also be asking local merchants not to sell marshmallows, marshmallow “guns”, and other items related to the tradition, such as T-shirts. The fireworks will continue.

However, within the pro’s and con’s of the board’s resolution, there are some issues and questions that are left unresolved, despite this vote by the board.

First, we applaud the council’s effort to take some leadership around this sticky issue, as there hasn’t been any leadership or sponsorship taken by neighborhood groups up to now – due to the “organic” nature of the tradition itself, and it has been absolutely a leadership-less yearly event.

By Kelsey Lynore / The Tarot Nook

Each week, Kelsey throws a “What to do?” spread for each of the zodiac signs. The first card is shown and the other two… well, you’ll just have to infer them from the written forecasts. Mind the heads up and have a lovely week!

Rams

You may feel an overwhelming need to take a break this week, Aries. And while I usually encourage my readers to follow their feelings, it would be most unwise to take any sort of downtime right now. Your main creative project is simply too fresh, too new, and too delicate. It will wilt without your care. So, focus on where you’d like this endeavor to be heading and then take full charge to make sure all goes according to your plan. As this project starts to blossom, you may find that the labor itself becomes its own relaxation because the rewards are so stunningly sumptuous. But know this — You are the only one who should be calling the shots right now.