Month: November 2013

This is the season of the community plan. A new Update Draft is upon us.

What’s this all about?

Development and urban planning in OB is guided by the community’s blueprint, the OB Precise Plan. After a grassroots fight in OB against the original plan the City offered in the early 1970’s, a new plan that reflected a wider cross-section of the community’s involvement in its direction and implementation, was passed by the City in 1975.

That established the OB Planning Board – which has existed ever since – with the authority to enforce the OB Precise Plan.

The City led the initiative for an “update” of the plan beginning in 2002 and ending just recently. The new Update Draft was presented to the Planning Board on June 5.

By Jim Miller

This just in: it appears that Nathan Fletcher’s claims of inevitability have evaporated as the race to meet Kevin Faulconer in the run off is a dead heat leaning Alvarez heading into the last week. The internal polling in all three camps shows Faulconer having consolidated the Republican vote as Fletcher’s early name ID-fueled lead has collapsed, and Alvarez has continued to steadily trend upwards.

Fiddler’s Green
2760 Shelter Island Dr.
San Diego, CA 92106
619-222-2216

Jim, a friend of mine that lives in Oceanside, has done several reviews of restaurants with me in the past. For the past month or so we have tried to get together but something has always happened to thwart our plans. This evening we were successful and went to Fiddler’s Green, near the entrance to Shelter Island in Point Loma.

It has been many years since I have been to the Fiddler’s Green. It used to be a favorite place of my deceased husband because the owner liked to fish and he and Bob exchanged “fish tales” for many minutes. Since they are not open for lunch Jim and I decided to try the restaurant at its opening of 5:00pm. I had remembered that they had an early bird special – which they still have – as long as you ordered before 6:00pm.

San Diego Free Press reporter Andy Cohen is slated to be among the panelists on Monday, November 11^th at a mayoral forum slated for the Cal Western School of Law starting at 6:30pm.

Sponsored in part by listener sponsored progressive radio station KNSJ (89.1FM), the panelist will also include other members of the local non-mainstream press including San Diego City Beat, La Prensa and Voice of San Diego.

Board Requires Corporate Applicant to Return in 90 Days With Information on Planned Alcohol Sales to Neighborhood

By Stephanie Denton / Special to the OB Rag

The monthly OB Planning Board meeting – Wednesday, Nov. 6th – brought out dozens of locals and it was standing-room only in the meeting room of the OB Rec Center as the Board’s agenda included topics which have caused a stir.

CVS Pharmacy’s Alcohol Permit Application

The hottest topic of the evening was the alcohol permit application by CVS Pharmacy which plans to move into the former Apple Tree Market on 4949 Santa Monica Avenue. After a presentation by the CVS rep and after numerous speakers asked the Board to deny the application, the Board decided to delay their decision and give CVS 90 days in which to present more information regarding alcohol and the neighborhood.

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!

By Kelsey Lynore

Twins

Woo, boy! That angle between Saturn and Mars is in the cards, with a stress on Saturn. So here’s the deal, Gemini — The world is not an either/or proposition. You need not wait to have your options dictated to you by another. Do not ask permission. Instead, why don’t you lay down the law? Just make a proclamation that is in no way based on the vision (or lack thereof) of others, and do it. I mean seriously… mutiny already! There’s no reason why you can’t be calling the shots save for your tendency to let your options be widdled down by others. So don’t ask, just take!

Come inside for the rest ….

Editor: In a comment to an earlier post about the OB Rag’s crossroads, Kathleen Blavatt – a longtime OB and Point Loma activist – submitted the following plea for the establishment of an OB historical green zone. Kathleen is a stalwart with the OB Historical Society.

By Kathleen Blavatt

For about a year I have been throwing out the idea of an Ocean Beach Historical Green Zone (District) going in OB.
It could help Ocean Beach and its institutions financially, promote the good green things happening, show the green history of the area (over 100 years). The resources are already in place. It should be the people that have grown this part of OB into this special place getting together and doing this.

This could help the OB Rag, the Green Store and businesses on the north end of town. The OB RAG is the natural for choice for promoting this idea. The Woman’s Club with there stage and space would be a great starting place for walking and biking tours with green restaurant sampling, events with music/art along the way at the Green Store, Peoples, Jim Bells’, etc. Also include natural and historical sites: Native Park, Tern Nesting, Community Garden, etc.

North Ocean Beach, including the Voltaire Street corridor, is historically the oldest ongoing section of San Diego “Green” businesses, organizations and community spaces. It began in the early 1900’s in Ocean to today where it includes many green establishments, parks and nature preserves.

Collier Park Land Donation

First dedicated to the “children of Ocean Beach” by the turn-of-the-century developer, D.C. Collier Park Land. The land, a large rectangle spanning over the current Nimitz Blvd. was donated in 1909 to San Diego. The entire parcel was divided up in later years. Some parts remains park, a community garden, natural park, open space and ball fields.

Ocean Beach Women’s Club established in 1925

The club planted many of the early trees and shrubs along Ocean Beach streets and currently has a Community Garden outside the clubhouse.

Editor: The following is an interview with OB’s own Kelsey Lynore, a progressive tarot card reader who describes herself politically as a “communitarian anarchist”. Kelsey runs her own tarot blog, The Tarot Nook and is the author of a series here at the OB Rag, entitled “Word to the Wise“.

By Kelsey Lynore

1. What is a Tarot reader?

A Tarot reader is a storyteller who uses a Tarot deck as a narrative constraint.

A Tarot deck is made up of 78 cards — 22 Major Arcana, 16 Court Cards, and the remaining 40 are called Pips or Minor Arcana – which function as a pictorial compendium of human consciousness and experience. The stories are structured according to Tarot spreads — fixed layouts which are chosen in accordance with the needs and concerns of the client. Tarot cards aren’t so cultured on their own, but the spreads socialize them; that’s their artificial structure. So there’s a nature/nurture aspect to this, where a card alone will speak a series of potential meanings, and its position and relation to other cards will dictate which is utilized.

I think Tarot is best understood as one part Rorschach and one part Cut-Up Technique.

Last week we posted an article entitled “After 6 Years – OB Rag Is at a Crossroads“. It was an editorial asking for feedback from our community of readers and supporters – it really was – and is – a cry for help.

The practicalities of maintaining the Rag as a daily platform and source of local news and analysis has just become too challenging for our meager – and present resources. Something has to change if the OB Rag is to publish as it has for over half a decade.

And perhaps there will be a positive change – as the response from our readers and supporters has been wonderful.

There were a lot of comments to the post as many people have weighed in – giving or supporting different ideas on how to keep the online daily going. This is great and many have pledged support – and donations have begun to be accepted by our PayPal account (on our homepage) and PO Box.

Editor’s Note: the author of this post – John Ambert – requested us to take it down as it was mistakenly sent to the OB Rag as an attachment to the agenda of the OBPB that is regularly sent to us as a notice – which we regularly post. We have taken down the – which, by the way, makes a tremendous argument we think to not grant the alcohol selling permit to CVS Pharmacy if they move into the former Apple Tree market.

In addition, there had been an active and thriving discussion on the topic – and we wish to allow that to continue. (John Ambert is a District 1 representative on the OB Planning Board.)

Please check out the discussion in the comments.

Come inside for the full agenda for the Ocean Beach Planning Board’s monthly meeting.