November 2013

Elevated Rates of Thyroid Disease in California Newborn Linked to Fukushima Fallout

November 27, 2013 by Michael Steinberg
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By Michael Steinberg

A new study indicates that rates of a thyroid disease in California newborn spiked after they were exposed to fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

The peer-reviewed study, “Changes in confirmed and borderline cases of congenital hypothyroidism in California as a function of environmental fallout from Fukushima,” appears in the November 2013 issue of the periodical Open Journal of Pediatrics.

In California all babies are tested at birth for congenital hypothyroidism, a rare disease that nevertheless can cause serious growth problems in children if it remains untreated.

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A Quick Update of Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery

November 27, 2013 by Judi Curry
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Yesterday afternoon I received a call from Doug Ledbetter, the Director at Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery asking me if I had been up to see the progress taking place at the cemetery in the past few days.

Last night, and again this morning, I received five calls from readers asking me the same question. This is a quick summary of what I found when I drove to the cemetery at 10:30am on Tuesday, November 26, 2013.

It is 95% better than what I saw the last time I visited my husband.

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Changes in North-West Ocean Beach: Vacant Lot at Voltaire and Abbott Sold, Pat’s Liquor and Cottages Up for Sale

November 27, 2013 by Matthew Wood
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Editor: There are changes afoot in north-west OB, particularly at the corner of Abbott and Voltaire. Here is Matthew Wood’s latest report.

OB Rag Confirms Pat’s Liquor Up for Sale

By Matthew Wood

The long-vacant lot at the southeast corner of Voltaire and Abbott Streets has just been recently sold, which may spark a domino effect of land sales on that corner.

Ray Adams, of Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate, confirmed the two lots had been sold for $635,000. The lots are 2,500 square feet each – 5,000 square feet total – and are zoned for residential housing. The Keen Family Trust was the seller.

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Save the Turkeys!

November 26, 2013 by Source

turkeyOur fast-growing, heavy-breasted birds can’t even mate anymore

By / Otherwords

It’s odd that the most iconic feature of Thanksgiving — the turkey — is likely the most unnatural. It’s got competition, of course, from the jellied cranberry sauce that retains the shape of its can and various food products sold in boxes marked “Just Add Water.”

(Really, is it so hard to mash potatoes yourself, especially given their divine taste and creamy texture after you’ve added in all the cream and butter required?)

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A Tale of Two Cities: North and South of Interstate 8

November 25, 2013 by Frank Gormlie

By Doug Porter

It’s been touted as fact of life in San Diego politics: the electorate south of Interstate 8 votes heavily Democratic while those on the north side votes Republican.

After all, the northern part of San Diego is generally wealthier, older and whiter than the city’s southern half. Even as the GOP’s partisan advantage in the city has disappeared in recent years, the party’s candidates and causes have done well, leading to the general perception that the electorate in the regions favors conservative causes.

A succession of Republican Mayors and a track record for mostly voting with that party’s positions on initiatives re-enforce that perception. It’s a commonly accepted view in news media accounts; a local report on this weeks special election taps National University’s “policy analyst” Vince Vasquez, who says “You see that deep geographic divide among voters. It’s something not going away. If anything its more pronounced,” –

But not everything is as it seems. There are those most recent Democratic wins to be considered.

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What You Don’t Know About Me (As If You Cared)

November 25, 2013 by Frank Gormlie

By Ernie McCray

Shannon and Me in 1983

I like facebook. For me it’s been a nice way to get snippets, sometimes daily, of what’s going on in the lives of both new and old friends: students of mine from over time, some of my children and grandchildren, ex-colleagues, fellow actors and writers and activists – interesting people all.

Occasionally one of them will suggest a game for me to play and I usually don’t take part in such online activities because it’s too easy to spend too much time on social media without the temptation of getting involved in diversionary attractions of any kind.

But lately …

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Redemption Time: Alvarez Beats the Odds and Keeps Hope Alive

November 25, 2013 by Jim Miller

Alvarez megaphone

By Jim Miller

Last Tuesday, fortune favored the bold. David Alvarez defied the pundits and political insiders and beat the prohibitive favorite, Nathan Fletcher, in the race to face Kevin Faulconer in the run-off to be San Diego’s next mayor. This was a seminal moment for San Diego—perhaps the biggest political upset in history of the city.

It just wasn’t supposed to happen.

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Report – Point Loma Democratic Club Meeting: “After the Election”

November 25, 2013 by Judi Curry
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A Report of the Point Loma Democratic Club Meeting, held on November 24, 2013

“After the Election”

By Judi Curry

The Point Loma Democrats tried a new format for their regularly scheduled meeting, Sunday, Nov. 24th. It was, without a doubt, one of the best, if not the best, meeting held this year. It was standing room only.

Three panelists were invited to participate in a “What Now?” discussion of the special election held earlier this week for the mayor of San Diego. The panelists, all well known in their own right were:

  • Wendy Fry, from the NBC 7 I-team;
  • Daniel Munoz, editor of La Prenza, San Diego;
  • Dr. John Warren from the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint,
  • and Andy Cohen, from our very own San Diego Free Press.
  • The moderator was Patrick Schultheis.
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How the Kennedy Tragedy Made Me a Better Teacher

November 22, 2013 by Ernie McCray

Kennedy AF1

By Ernie McCray

On November 22, 1963, I was a twenty-five year old sixth grade teacher enjoying my second year serving students at Perry Elementary. Before recess that day we had gotten the news that the president was shot.

The radio in our classroom verified what we had heard with the words “President John Fitzgerald Kennedy is dead.”

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Man Found Dead in OB Lifeguard Station Restroom

November 22, 2013 by Staff
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It is reported that a man was found deceased in the public restroom of the main lifeguard station in Ocean Beach on Wednesday, November 20. A witness said he still had a needle in his arm.

Yellow police caution tape was up on the restroom.

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America’s Big Lie: Fifty Years of the Cover-Up of the John F Kennedy Assassination

November 21, 2013 by Frank Gormlie
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By Frank Gormlie

Fifty years ago this Friday, the 22nd of November, I walked out of my English class at Point Loma High School and full of disgust threw my brown bag full of lunch away in a trash can. I felt sick to my stomach and couldn’t bare to think ab0ut eating – we had just heard that the President had been shot by someone from an overpass while he was riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas.

Classes were cancelled and we all went home, …

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News and Bits From Around OB, the Peninsula and the Beaches

November 21, 2013 by Frank Gormlie
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Clapper Rails Released Into the Wild in Mission Bay
On Tuesday, the 400th light-footed clapper rail was released into the wild right here in San Diego. Team Clapper Rail released seven captive-bred birds at the Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve in Mission Bay. This is the 12th year the team has hosted a release of the endangered birds. Organizers say it is so important to take care of our environment to preserve the lives it holds.

OB Banning 4332Four Unit Apartment in Ocean Beach on Banning Street Sold for Over $1 Million

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Riding Along With the Crew of the Ocean Beach Fire Department

November 21, 2013 by Matthew Wood
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By Matthew Wood

Growing up in the Ocean Beach area, Ryan Ybarra had a dream in life: To become a fire fighter at the OB Fire House No. 15. He waited for his opportunity, even enduring a hellacious commute from a job at a fire department the Los Angeles area back to his wife and kids in OB.

Finally, about two years ago, a position opened up at the OB station on Voltaire and Ebers and Ybarra grabbed it. Didn’t matter to him that he lost the seniority he had built up. Or that he had to go through training and the department’s probation program. He knew he was home.

“And I’ll probably finish here,” he said with a smile. “As a kid, I always wanted to work in OB. That commute (from L.A.) just about killed me. But it was definitely worth it.”

Ybarra is an engineer on the 12-man crew at OB fire house. The guys were nice enough to give me access to their daily routine, and even ride along in the fire truck to their daily workout regimen.

Here’s a bit about how it works:

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Restaurant Review: “Pure Thai” in Point Loma

November 20, 2013 by Judi Curry
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“Pure Thai”
3704 Voltaire St.
San Diego, CA 92107
619-542-9499
www.purethaisd.com

So many people have recommended the restaurant “Pure Thai” to me in the past few weeks that I can’t begin to tell you how many there were. People that were upset with my review of another Thai restaurant in the Pt. Loma/Ocean Beach area have actually called and asked me to do a review of this new restaurant. Before I do that, I would like to have you read what the owner of the restaurant has posted on his own web page:

“Pure Thai is a new Thai restaurant in Point Loma that was founded on the dream of Apisith Dischan, who grew up in a family that is accustomed to Thai food. His Father was a manager of Food and Beverage for over 30 years at the 5 star Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok. His mother also owned a Thai restaurant in Bangkok. He started cooking as an apprentice cook helper for his mom.

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OB Planning Board Agenda for Nov. 20, 2013 – 2 Projects Up for Review

November 20, 2013 by Frank Gormlie
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The Project Review Committee of the OB Planning Board meets today – Wednesday, November 20th – at 6 pm sharp at the OB Recreation Center, located at 4726 Santa Monica Ave.

There are two projects up for review by the sub-c0mmittee.

The owner applicants of two one-story single family homes at 4706 Del Mar Avenue want to demolish them and construct two two-story residences on the 7,000 square foot lot. The two new units would be, if approved and built, 2836 and 2117 square feet respectively.

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OB Historical Society Presents: “Landscapes Rediscovered” Featuring John DeBeck – Nov. 21

November 20, 2013 by Staff

OB Historical Society Presents:

Landscapes Rediscovered

Featuring John DeBeck

—Thurs., Nov. 21st at 7PM

at P.L. United Methodist Church,

1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., O.B.

John DeBeck, former long-time School Board Member will present a program on the recovered San Diego Unified School District art collection, an extraordinary project he accomplished that benefits historians, school children and all San Diegans.

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Bamboo Bicyclist from OB Lives to Inspire “Earth-Friendly Lifestyles”

November 19, 2013 by Source
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OB Bike Advocate Rode Across Country

By Rob Greenfeld / Special to the OB Rag

This spring I left my comfortable beachside home in sleepy Ocean Beach to wake America up. On April 16th I hopped into a van with a stranger from a Craigslist.com rideshare board, stopped in Santa Cruz to pick up a bamboo bike, and arrived in San Francisco a with a few days to prepare for a 4,700 mile bike ride across the USA.

The journey, coined Off the Grid Across America, was designed to inspire Americans to start living a more earth-friendly lifestyle for themselves, their community, and the earth.

To lead by example I followed a set of rigorous ground rules:

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San Diegans Go to the Polls Today in Special Mayor Election

November 19, 2013 by Staff
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Who will Ocean Beach vote for?

Today’s the day that San Diego voters go to the polls to elect a new mayor in the Special Election.

Just whom will the mainly liberal voters of OB vote for? Will OBceans turn out in sufficient numbers today to offset their conservative relatives up in Point Loma? Will the middle-of-the-road voters overwhelm both sides of the political spectrum?

The four main candidates are, of course, Mike Aguirre, David Alvarez, Kevin Faulconer, and Nathan Fletcher.

Our sisters and brothers over at the San Diego Free Press have put together a number of articles to assist voters in deciphering just which candidate suites them.

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OB Rag’s Feedback on Draft OB Community Plan Update

November 19, 2013 by Frank Gormlie

November 19 – Today – Is Deadline for Comments to City Planner

Today is the deadline for OBceans to get their comments, recommendations, suggestions and ideas about the new Update OB Community Plan to the City planner responsible for OB’s plan.

Here is Teresa Millette: tmillette@sandiego.gov

And here are the OB Rag’s comments (presented at the Nov. 13th Town Hall meeting):

  • The new Plan calls for a 6% increase in residential units by 2030 – that’s 850 new residents. The City anticipates these new residents will be housed in the 3 community commercial districts along Voltaire, Newport and Point Loma Avenue. These figures are based on SANDAG estimates – which are often wrong.
  • The City is trying to place parts of OB into the “City of Villages” concept, but …
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Poster Made While Artist Lived in OB Picked for National Exhibit by Center for Disease Control

November 18, 2013 by Staff
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An artist by the name of Lincoln Cushing once live in Ocean Beach, over on the 4900 block of Brighton Avenue back in the Seventies. In those days, the houses that activists lived in had names, and his was “Vegetable House” – presumably because everyone there was a vegetarian. (This was during the era of “Red House”, “Animal House”, “Cape May Barracks”, etc.)

Lincoln was well known locally for producing politically-charged progressive poster art. He eventually moved to the Bay Area and found kindred spirits in an Oakland print shop that was a workers’ co-op.

Just recently, a poster that Cushing created while living in OB was chosen by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta for an exhibition about public health.

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Parents Take Up Slack Around OB Elementary School Cross-Walk While Waiting on City

November 18, 2013 by Matthew Wood
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Crosswalk Coming to the Mid-Block on Santa Monica Avenue – Eventually

By Matthew Wood

The city is putting in a much-needed crosswalk on Santa Monica Avenue outside Ocean Beach Elementary School, just not as soon as teachers and parents were hoping. In the meantime, a group of concerned fathers have taken up the cause to ensure safety for kids going to and from school.

According to John Ly, a council representative and policy advisor for Councilmember Kevin Faulconer’s office, funding has been secured and the project is set to be completed by the end of the fiscal year, which is June 2014. He said part of the holdup comes from

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Ocean Beach Man Faces Felony Vandalism for Trimming and Cleaning City Bushes and Property by Pier

November 16, 2013 by Matthew Wood
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By Matthew Wood

A longtime Ocean Beach resident is facing up to 16 months in jail and $3,300 fine for a felony vandalism charge he says stems from a simple case of trimming nearby bushes. Problem is, the bushes are on City property – property on strips of land right next to and near the OB Pier.

Vince Adame, who owns three different properties near the end of Niagara Avenue – a couple of cottages from the Pier, says he has been trimming the New Zealand Christmas Bushes and cleaning up the area across the street on property along with a neighbor, who lives in New York. A lot of what Adame does is pick up the debris and garbage left by homeless people who sleep in the canopies provided by the larger bushes. [Ed.: original post erroneously cited Adame as believing property belonged to a neighbor; Adame has known it was city property.]

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Restaurant Review : “Solare” at Liberty Station in Point Loma

November 15, 2013 by Judi Curry
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“Solare”
Liberty Station
2820 Roosevelt Rd.,
San Diego, CA 92106
Phone: 619-270-9670

When a person is given a clean bill of health after months of severe pain, worry, and surgery, the time is ripe to celebrate that freedom, and Mary and I did just that the other night. There were many different restaurants that we could choose from, but the noise level on all of them was just not conducive to a celebratory meal. (Why do restaurants have to be so noisy nowadays? .

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CNN Joins the Cover-Up of the Kennedy Assassination

November 15, 2013 by Frank Gormlie
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By Frank Gormlie

This may not be a surprise to hardcore corporate media watchers, but CNN has joined the ranks of those establishment outlets that are continuing the cover-up of the assassination of John F Kennedy. The news station has jumped on the bandwagon that is making a lot of noise these days due to the 50th anniversary of the President’s murder.

It was a real disappointment however, in viewing CNN’s “The Assassination of President Kennedy” because one of my favorite actors, Tom Hanks, was one of the producers and I was looking for some truth. Alas, it did not come through.

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OBceans Voice Concerns on Ocean Beach Community Plan Update at Town Hall Meeting

November 14, 2013 by Frank Gormlie
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By Frank Gormlie

Last night, Wednesday, November 13th, the OB Planning Board hosted a Town Hall meeting for public comment on the new draft Community Plan Update. And comment they did, as over sixty people filed into the Masonic Center to participate. This is OB, so before it could begin, everyone helped get out the chairs and tables for the set-up.

City staff were on hand as Planning Board chair Tom Gawronski gaveled the meeting to order (a little on the late side as Joe the guy with the key thought it was another night). Gio Ingnolia also helped lead the meeting, as chair of the public resources financing sub-committee. Mindy Pellesier – who is not now on the Board but has been substantially involved with the Update over the last 11 years – joined the Board in front.

As Ray Blavatt and Pat James filmed the event, City planner Teresa explained the upcoming time line for the update as it travels through various levels of approval.

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OB Town Council Needs You to Volunteer for the 34th Ocean Beach Holiday Parade

November 14, 2013 by Source
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From the OB Town Council

The Ocean Beach Town Council (OBTC) is seeking the help of 100 responsible persons who would like to volunteer and help ensure that the 34th Annual Ocean Beach Holiday Parade is a successful and wonderful event for our community.

The Holiday Parade occurs on Saturday, December 7, 2013, and it cannot occur without the dedicated support of our volunteers.

Please CLICK HERE to sign up to Volunteer!

Details:

  • The Parade starts at 5:05 pm (OB Time). All participating volunteers will need to report in to the Ocean Beach Recreation Center, 4726 Santa Monica Ave, Ocean Beach, at 2:00pm sharp on Saturday, December 7th and check in with the OBTC Volunteer Coordinators.
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The Loss of the Only Community Recycling Center in Ocean Beach

November 14, 2013 by Source
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By Colleen Dietzel / Special to the OB Rag

On September 25th Dan Regan was forced to close his Regan Recycling center behind Rite Aid that he has operated for 15 years.

Regan also operated the one on the corner of Sunset Cliffs and Voltaire Street before being forced out by World Oil with high rent.

At the Rite Aid site he was not receiving his handling fee from the State as a CRV center and could no longer stay open. California CRV zones are set up for you to be able to get your 5 to 10 cent deposit back for your beverage containers conveniently and so the beverage retailers don’t have to redeem them in the store.

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How to tell if what you’re reading or watching is still part of the JFK assassination cover-up.

November 14, 2013 by Frank Gormlie

By Frank Gormlie

We’re all fairly aware now that this month is the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination. President John F Kennedy was murdered on November 22, 1963 in Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas.

And boy, we’re being swamped with films, articles, videos and books about the assassination and the subsequent cover up. For example, both the History channel and National Geographic channel are throwing new films at us this month at almost a daily basis.

So, how can you tell if what you’re reading or watching is still part of the Kennedy murder cover-up?

Here’s three simple rules:

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Tonight – Nov. 13: Future of Ocean Beach to Be Decided by New Community Plan – Your Community Needs Your Voice and Participation

November 13, 2013 by Frank Gormlie

Tonight – Wednesday, November 13th – there is a Town Hall meeting, hosted by the OB Planning Board looking for community residents to voice their opinions and thoughts on the new draft Community Plan for the community.

The Planning Board will be there – and so will city staff – all to listen to the people and residents of OB on any and all aspects of the draft plan that has been in the works for over a decade now.

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The OB Rag Is Back!

November 13, 2013 by Frank Gormlie
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We at the OB Rag have been overwhelmed with the responses of readers and supporters from our crisis/ crossroads.

Over the last couple of weeks, people have expressed their desire to see us continue to publish. Some great ideas and observations have come our way.

A number of good folks have begun sending in $10 a month – and in total, we have received nearly $600 in donations – mostly in small donations. Although several individuals and couples have sent us a couple hundred dollars.

This is great. We will continue to publish into 2014 …

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