January 2014

Why does Sierra Club have its knickers all in a knot?

January 30, 2014 by Source

SCCalifLogyVBy Jay Powell / San Diego Free Press

The latest news coming out of the national Sierra Club office- at a time when there are major climate change initiatives underway and the City is about to elect a new Mayor- is just not funny. San Diego and Imperial County members are receiving letters from the chairman of the national Sierra Club, David Scott, informing them that they are considering a formal suspension of the Chapter Executive Committee due to “internal conflicts and divisions.”

In an update report, UT San Diego environmental reporter Deborah Sullivan Brennan outlines some of the recent history of changes …

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What Violence Counts?

January 30, 2014 by Source

Bufo_periglenes2

By Will Falk / San Diego Free Press

More than 100 species went extinct yesterday. They were my kin.

Despite this, I have been hearing people talk about how the world is getting better, how progress is being made, and how we have a bright future.

For example, CJ Werleman recently wrote an article for AlterNet titled “Humanity is Becoming Increasingly Less Violent, with One Exception – Religious Violence.” His opening line declares, “Studies demonstrate the world is becoming less violent, and that human warfare is on the decline.”

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OB Planning Area District 2: “The Heart of OB”

January 30, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
Thumbnail image for OB Planning Area District 2: “The Heart of OB”

A Review of the District – and a Photo Essay

The Ocean Beach Planning Board is holding its annual election on March 11th. In light of our analysis that the Village of OB is at an historic development crossroads, we have begun a series of examinations of the different planning districts within the Ocean Beach Community Plan Area.

We are doing this in hopes that the series will encourage interest in and education about OB’s planning issues, the Planning Board and the election among OBceans. (See the first part of the series on District 1)

District 2 – The Heart of OB

Here, we present a look at District 2 – the virtual center of the community – and indeed it’s soul and heart.

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NSA Spy – the Most Boring Pointless Job in the World?

January 29, 2014 by Marc Snelling
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By Marc Snelling

In the ongoing international debate over NSA spying there are few voices of reason. The NSA would like you to think they are the eye on the pyramid of the great seal. An all-seeing all-knowing department of the most powerful government on earth. A division of James Bonds and Bondettes with the latest gadgetry spying on all manner of digital communication to protect the world from the scariest terrorist de jour.

On the other side of the same coin are the whistle blowers like Edward Snowden. He has now joined the ranks with Julian Assange and the Wikileaks hacktivists. They fancy themselves a gang of revolutionaries striking fear in the heart of evil government ‘leaders’, and corporate CEOs. Digital warriors, exercising their superior-hacking skills to bring nefarious secrets into the light of day. The truth is not nearly as sexy as the media, the NSA, or the hacktivists would have you believe.

In reality NSA spies are cubicle-dwelling keyboard jockeys not tuxedo-wearing international men of mystery.

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Locally-Made Drone Deliberately Brought Down 20 Miles Off Point Loma

January 29, 2014 by Staff
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Border Patrol Drone Ditched Due to Mechanical Problems

Late Monday night, Jan. 27th, a Border Patrol Drone was deliberated crashed into the ocean about 20 miles southwest of Point Loma. Its government operators decided that due to mechanical problems, the un-manned plane could not return to its base at Sierra Vista, Arizona.

The locally-made drone was on a border security mission. US Customs and Border Protection issued a statement Tuesday that read in part:

“The crew determined that the UAS would be unable to return to where it originated in Sierra Vista, Ariz., and put the aircraft down in the water. The cause of the failure is unknown.”

We now know from the Wall Street Journal via CBS8 :

“… the drone’s onboard generator failed, and the backup battery lacked the sufficient power needed to keep it in the air.”

General Atomics Aeronautical, a San Diego-based company, made the drone …

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Ocean Beach Is at a Development Crossroads – Is OB Ready for the Changes and Challenges?

January 28, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
Thumbnail image for Ocean Beach Is at a Development Crossroads – Is OB Ready for the Changes and Challenges?

With the dawning of the new year, it is clear that the beloved community of Ocean Beach is indeed at a crossroads. Across the face of OB bulldozers and dump-trucks can be seen, hammers and saws can be heard. Local residents can attest to all the construction and development that is going on right now throughout the Village of OB.

Here are the more visible signs:

  • There’s the very visible large construction going on at the corner of Abbott and Saratoga as large semis lumber through the streets dumping tons of dirt onto the site.
  • Across from the OB Rec Center, two 2-story condos were recently built, and two more to be built.
  • Over on West Point Loma, more construction has appeared as the third large-framed building takes shape.
  • The busy intersection of Voltaire and Sunset Cliffs is about to become even more busier as World Oil readies to construct their 2 story office and retail building.
  • More construction right outside OB is also taking place at the very visible corner of Voltaire and Catalina.

All this construction is not the only thing going on in OB, what with all the traffic delays and detours these days due to the City’s replacement of aging pipes

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High Bacterial Counts Make OB Waters Unsafe – Everyone Asked to Stay Out till Results Come Back Tuesday

January 28, 2014 by Staff
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Swimmers, surfers and bathers in Ocean Beach are asked not to go into the ocean until test results are compiled today, Tuesday, Jan. 28.

High bacterial levels have been found through routine tests off Dog Beach. Pollutants coming from the San Diego River are being blamed but lifeguards admit they’re not certain what is causing the problem.

Lifeguards also stated that it’s unusual to have such a high bacteria count without it having rained a good deal.

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Environmental Group Sues Feds for Downplaying Harm to Marine Life With Sonar

January 28, 2014 by Source
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Suit alleges National Marine Fisheries Service ignored ‘best available science’ in ruling against ocean wildlife during during sonar military exercises.

See Petition below to stop Navy from harming wildlife

By Louis Sahagun / LA Times / January 27, 2014

The National Marine Fisheries Service violated federal law when it authorized the Navy’s use of sonar in training exercises off Hawaii and California through 2018, an environmental group said in a lawsuit filed Monday.

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Fishing Restrictions in Southern California Marine Sanctuaries Look Like They’re Working

January 28, 2014 by Source
Thumbnail image for Fishing Restrictions in Southern California Marine Sanctuaries Look Like They’re Working

The sanctuaries in SoCal coastal waters were created to curb steep declines in fish and other sea creatures.

By Tony Barboza / LA Times / January 26, 2014

Two years after the creation of marine sanctuaries in more than 350 square miles of Southern California coastal waters, state wildlife officials and environmental groups say the restrictions on fishing are largely being obeyed.

“All of the dire predictions of the collapse of the commercial and sport-fishing industries just aren’t happening,” said California Fish and Game Commission President Michael Sutton. “In general, people are respecting the boundaries.”

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LGBT Leaders to Call for San Diego County Clerk’s Resignation

January 28, 2014 by Doug Porter
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Leaders of the local LGBT community will call for the resignation of County Clerk Earnest Dronenburg on Tuesday, presenting documentation they say proves he overstepped his legal authority, violated his oath of office and imposed his religious views on marriage into his non-partisan office.

Following the US Supreme Court decision that effectively overturned California Proposition 8 (banning same sex marriages) last summer, Dronenburg petitioned the state supreme court to issue a a writ of mandate requesting that the state hold off on issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

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Indigenous People of Michoacán Organize to Defend Themselves Against Drug Cartel

January 28, 2014 by Source

First Statement from the Self-Defense Group of Aquila, Michoacán

aquilamichoacan

Written by The Self-Defense Council of Aquila, Michoacán
Translated by Scott Campbell of Upside Down World

Reposted from San Diego Free Press

Aquila, Michoacán?, January 18, 2014

From the Self-Defense Group of Aquila, Michoacán to the general public:

Today, the residents of the municipal seat of Aquila, tired of the extortions, rapes, killings, kidnappings and all sorts of criminal acts committed by the Knights Templar; given the complete abandonment of the citizenry by the municipal and state governments who for 12 years did not provide the security needed for our people to have a peaceful and dignified life; …

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OB Elementary School Crosswalk on Santa Monica Closer to Reality

January 27, 2014 by Matthew Wood
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OB Elementary Crosswalk Construction Begins – New Streetlight Added to Mid-Block Santa Monica Ave. Crossing

Slowly but surely, the crosswalk outside of Ocean Beach Elementary School on Santa Monica Avenue is coming together.

City workers put up a street light while students were on winter break, a necessity to follow city code. The next step is to put in the actual crosswalk. A discussion about the extent of this will be held at the OB Planning Board meeting on Feb. 5.

In the meantime, Joseph “Moondoggie” Pina and Wayne Simard still have their crew of volunteer crossing guards manning their posts every morning and afternoon.

“It’s coming,” said Pina. “Slowly, but it’s coming.”

They said the volunteers will still be out even after the crosswalk is (finally) built.

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A Good Moral Philosopher Would Go Hungry These Days

January 27, 2014 by Source

sdfp HomelessStreet04.large
Long running disregard for the care of mentally ill exacerbates chronic homelessness, creates public safety dilemma.

By Bob Dorn / San Diego Free Press

Today (ed., January 22) the park rangers moved out the couple living across the street in our dilapidated corner of Balboa Park.

I wasn’t sorry to see them go. I wasn’t happy to see them go. Homelessness long ago became another national shrug. No one’s to blame any more, neither the Republicans nor the Democrats, maybe not even the very wealthy, …

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Mayoral Race Polling, Pensions, and Plutocracy

January 27, 2014 by Jim Miller

yo voteBy Jim Miller

Last week a new poll by Public Policy Polling (PPP) funded by the Democratic Party came out that showed the race to become San Diego’s next mayor a dead heat with Alvarez at 46% and Faulconer just behind with 45%.

In another poll, Latino Decisions and the Latino Victory Project appraised Latino voters on the race and got radically different results than both the earlier Survey USA/UT-SD poll, a Republican Party poll , and the more recent PPP effort showing that Alvarez leads 75%-10% among Latino voters.

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Ocean Beach Smoking News : New Vape Store and Possibly New Pot Dispensary

January 27, 2014 by Matthew Wood
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Vape Store Opens Near Beach

OB has its first storefront dedicated solely to e-cigarettes after the recent opening of Ocean Beach Vape Shoppe and Lounge. The store opened in the beachfront center at Abbott Street and Santa Monica Avenue, tucked away behind Shades Oceanfront Bistro and Tower Two Café.

It’s the second store in San Diego for the owners. Pacific Beach Vape Shoppe, at 1477 Garnet Avenue, has already been open for a few months.

Store manager Rachel Lester said customers can purchase e-cigarette devices, also known as “vapes,” and a number of nicotine-infused flavors.

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Ocean Beach Town Council Starts the New Year – Report on Jan. 22 Meeting

January 24, 2014 by Source

by Lois Lane

The OB Town Council is always a great place for finding out what is going on in OB –with some interesting items occurring before the regular agenda gets started, and all professionally kept on schedule by the President, Gretchen Newsom. The previous meeting was in November when the mayoral candidates spoke; the Wednesday, January 22 Agenda was too packed to report everything. Here are some highlights.

People came prepared for public comments. One woman identified herself as the resident where the purple cow sculpture is in the yard; this served to identify her as she asked the police to ticket people parked in Red Zones.

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Another business falls prey to ‘black hole’ on Voltaire Street in Ocean Beach

January 24, 2014 by Matthew Wood
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Becky Hostetter always had a dream to open her own store.

The lifelong San Diegan and longtime OB resident had been keeping tabs on potential storefront openings in the neighborhood for a while. When the location next to the ABC Liquor store at Voltaire and Ebers opened up over the summer, she jumped on it.

It seemed like a dream location.

”My mother almost bought that building 30 years ago,” Hostetter said. “She tried to get financing but it fell through. My grandmother owned a shop further down on Voltaire.”

Hostetter called her new store Urban Upcycle, which specialized in used furniture that she would refurbish.

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News Around OB and the Peninsula

January 22, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
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OB Pier Closed Tuesday Due to High Surf

It doesn’t happen all that often, but once in a while, the OB Pier is closed by Life Guards due to the dangers of very high surf – surf that was breaking over the pier on Tuesday, Jan. 21st. People crowded around the cliffs and in front of the Pier gate to watch the Pacific’s smashing swells of ponderous surf.

Surfer Rescued by Two Women Lifeguard “Heros”

Channel 10 TV news reported that a surfer was rescued off Sunset Cliffs on Tuesday by two women lifeguards. …

SeaWorld Protest Draws One Hundred

About 100 protesters crammed the front gate to SeaWorld on Sunday, Jan. 19th. For a couple of hours, they ensured any park customers would see their messages. …

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The Story Behind Those Illegal Campaign Contributions in San Diego

January 22, 2014 by Doug Porter
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By Doug Porter / San Diego Free Press

The big story today concerns the dark side of campaign finance. A complaint unsealed in federal court yesterday indicates that law enforcement agencies are building a case around illegal contributions made by Mexican businessman Susumo Azano to candidates in recent San Diego elections.

Ravi Singh, owner of ElectionMall Inc., and retired SDPD detective Ernesto Encinas have already been charged with conspiring to funnel more than $500,000 of illegal contributions to various campaign committees during 2012 and 2013. The candidates’ names are redacted in the federal complaint, which refers to them as c1, c2, c3, and c4

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Six Unit Apartment on 5000 Block of Santa Monica in Ocean Beach Sells for $1.47 Million

January 22, 2014 by Staff
Thumbnail image for Six Unit Apartment on 5000 Block of Santa Monica in Ocean Beach Sells for $1.47 Million

A 6-unit apartment on the 5000 block of Santa Monica Avenue was just sold for $1.465 million.

The units – built in 1951 – are located at 5074-5080 Santa Monica and were sold to Marcia Lynn Matassa, successor trustee of The Mills Trust, 1526 Virginia Road, Fullerton 92831.

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Restaurant Review: Embargo Grill

January 22, 2014 by Judi Curry
Thumbnail image for Restaurant Review: Embargo Grill

Embargo Grill
3960 W. Point Loma Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
619-786-7522

There are so many new restaurants opening up in San Diego that it is hard to decide which one to try out first. Since I was going to meet a young man to interview in Pt. Loma, the Embargo Grill seemed like a good place to try out.

The restaurant is located in the old “Longs” shopping center on the corner of West Point Loma and Midway Ave., where the Soup Plantation, the Halibut Shop, Denny’s, CVS, etc., are located. I hope that the location is not a bad omen, because the restaurant that used to be in the same location, “BGR” was one that I rated highly – at least the first time I was there. The Embargo Grill is in the same place, and unless I am mistaken, even the furnishings are the same.

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It’s All About Love, Isn’t It?

January 21, 2014 by Ernie McCray

flickr.comBy Ernie McCray

Why is it so hard for people to love one another, especially when all it takes is a mere gesture, a smile, a gentle meeting of the eyes, a willingness to listen to our fellow human beings with an open heart?

We much too often blow easy opportunities to express our love. Like the situation in La Jolla with the organizers of the annual La Jolla Christmas Parade. They won’t even consider using an adjective other than Christmas …

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Marjorie Cohn: Will Court Beat Back NSA’s Police State Desires?

January 21, 2014 by Source
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By Marjorie Cohn / Common Dreams

Edward Snowden, who worked for the National Security Agency (NSA), revealed a secret order of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), that requires Verizon to produce on an “ongoing daily basis … all call detail records or ‘telephony metadata’ created by Verizon for communications (i) between the United States and abroad; or (ii) wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls.”

The government has admitted it collects metadata for all of our telephone communications, but says the data collected does not include the content of the calls.

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OB’s “Bone Appetit” Pet Store Moving from Newport to Sunset Cliffs

January 20, 2014 by Matthew Wood
Thumbnail image for OB’s “Bone Appetit” Pet Store Moving from Newport to Sunset Cliffs

Newport Avenue pet shop Bone Appetit is packing up and moving at the end of the month – but only a couple blocks.

The store, which also serves as a cat adoption location, is moving to 1785 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., in the building previously housed by Las Brisas Fabric Care Center, across the street from Olive Tree Market.

“We’re downsizing a bit,” said owner Kelly Patri, who added they will lose about 400 square feet in the new building. “It’ll be cozy, but nice. We can operate in a smaller space.”

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Ocean Beach Planning Board Election Set for March 11th

January 20, 2014 by Staff
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7 Seats Up for Election – One from each District

The date for this year’s annual Ocean Beach Planning Board election has been set: It’s Tuesday, March 11th – so mark your calendars.

The yearly Spring election is for the 2014-2015 term, and polls will only be open for that one day, from 4pm to 7pm and will be held at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center, 4726 Santa Monica Avenue.

Mail-in ballots are available upon request for voters who register in advance.

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“Just what is going on with the Midway Planning Board?”

January 20, 2014 by Judi Curry

At the last meeting of the Midway Planning Board meeting last Wednesday, several people gave power point presentations of what they thought the area might become in the future. It is amazing that there has been little, if any, flack from these presentations.

For example:

1) It appears that the “Salvation Army” and the “Pier One” leases run out in a few years. It is said that Pier One wants to do some building improvements, but with the short time remaining on the lease they do not want to invest money and the City has stopped their negotiations. The City says that they want to wait for the Sports Arena lease to run out and see what might occur there. It is interesting to note that the lease does not run out for 10 years!

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David Alvarez is the Living Embodiment of King’s Dream; Faulconer, Its Antithesis

January 20, 2014 by Jim Miller

mlk basic incomeBy Jim Miller

This year our ritual celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. comes in the midst of a contentious mayoral election. And while some might try to bracket this year’s remembrance off from the ugly fray, that would be a mistake. As I noted in an earlier column on this subject, remembering “a sanitized version of King as a vanilla saint who called on us to just move beyond our differences does a disservice to him and his legacy” because “[o]ur collective remembrance of MLK is most useful when it troubles us.”

And King would be deeply troubled to see where we are today nationally and locally. Yes, the man who said, “one day we must come to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring” would be profoundly disturbed by the fact that we are living in an era of historic economic inequality.

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Activity at Sunset Cliffs Bvld and Voltaire: Preparations for Construction of Sunset Plaza

January 17, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
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Originally published Jan 17, 2014

This is what’s coming to the corner of Sunset Cliffs Bvld and Voltaire Street: Sunset Plaza – brought to you by World Oil.

The old fence was removed. And for a moment, a day, the corner lot stood bare to the world once again.

It used to be the site of a “guerrilla garden” – the Voltaire Park, brought to you by OBGO.

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Ocean Beach Planning Area – District 1 : the Frontline vs. Gentrification

January 17, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
Thumbnail image for Ocean Beach Planning Area – District 1 : the Frontline vs. Gentrification

The annual election to the Ocean Beach Planning Board is coming up in March. The 14-member board approves and monitors development in OB and adheres to the OB Precise Plan as the blueprint.

In looking to heighten interest within the Village of OB for the election and the Planning Board itself, the OB Rag will be examining each of the seven planning districts over the upcoming weeks.

District 1 – Northwest OB

We begin with District 1 – the northwest sector of OB – a very important section of the community.

It’s bordered on the north by Dog Beach, the San Diego River and Robb Field – which makes the district the gateway to two of OB’s parks. It’s the site of the most famous dog-friendly beach park in the city and due to the district’s proximity to the beach, it has a heavy impact from tourists and visitors.

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Raising the Minimum Wage: at the Heart of the Differences Between Faulconer and Alvarez

January 17, 2014 by Doug Porter

By Doug Porter / San Diego Free Press

San Diego iMayor Todd Gloria’s call for increasing the minimum wage during the State of the City address on Wednesday is drawing sharp reaction from the local wannabe plutocracy. What Gloria proposed was putting any such proposal before the voters next November. The very idea scares the crap out of them.

You take it to the bank that these “checkbook” democracy types who see it as their duty to pay signature gatherers to spread misinformation getting their corporate vetoes of city council actions blessed at the ballot box will now act to make sure that a proposal via our elected representatives never makes it before the voters.

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