March 2014

Increasing San Diego’s Minimum Wage: If You’re Not at the Table, You’re on the Menu

March 21, 2014 by Doug Porter

raiseminwageBy Doug Porter / San Diego Free Press

The ‘Improving Wages and Working Conditions’ measure is set to be introduced at the City Council Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations (EDIR) Committee on Monday morning. In addition to calling for an increase in the minimum wage, the proposed initiative would also guarantee workers up to five earned sick days.

While serving as iMayor, Councilman Todd Gloria made a bold pledge to get a measure before the voters that would raise local minimum wages. He’s now softened that pledge a bit making it clear that the actual amount of any increase is negotiable. And the opening negotiating position for the Chamber of Commerce (and their as yet silent allies) is: Zero.

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A New Vision for Sea World at 50!

March 20, 2014 by Source
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Concerned San Diegans Will Display a Message on SeaWorld’s 50th Anniversary

From Concerned San Diegans

Concerned San Diegans will display a message for A New Vision for SeaWorld on its 50th Anniversary, outside the location where it was founded. March 21, 2014, is the 50th Anniversary of SeaWorld, which started right here in San Diego. San Diegans concerned for the safety and welfare of the captive orcas and their human trainers will once more demonstrate outside the entrance to SeaWorld San Diego.

This Demonstration will be different in showcasing a new vision for Sea World in the 21st Century, based upon Dr. Naomi Rose’s proposal for seaside sanctuaries to which captive marine animal performers can retire and as recently proposed in AB 2140, the Orca Welfare and Safety Act.

WHEN: Noon to 3 pm on Friday, March 21, 2014

WHERE: Sea World Drive at Sea World Way, San Diego

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Celebrate Spring at OB Historical Society’s Wisteria Garden Party – Mar. 22

March 20, 2014 by Staff
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Come Celebrate Spring and the Ocean Beach Historical Society’s 20th Anniversary at the Annual Wisteria Garden Party & Fundraiser.

At the Ocean Beach Historical Society’s 20th Anniversary at

the Annual WISTERIA GARDEN PARTY

Sat., March 22, 1 PM

at 4761 Niagara Ave., OB, 92107

Spend the afternoon in the garden of a historic Wisteria Cottage under the largest wisteria canopy in Ocean Beach.

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Another Medical Marijuana Loss for DA Dumanis

March 20, 2014 by Source
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Jury Verdict- Victory in People v Dennis and Deborah Little

By Terrie Best / San Diego Americans for Safe Access /March 18, 2014

Dennis and Deborah Little were vindicated in Vista court – March 17th, each of one count of possession for sale of marijuana and one of cultivation. The happy moment was shared with several jurors who lingered and hugged the traumatized couple, their attorneys and supporters in the halls outside Judge Munroy’s courtroom.

The Little trial began in earnest when a jury was finally seated, on March 11, last week. It took quite some time for the judge to find and dismiss those potential jurors who said they would be biased – most of those dismissed directed bias toward prosecutions and one hopes it can’t be long before San Diego District Attorney stops bringing sick patients like the Littles to court.

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My Wanderings Around OB

March 20, 2014 by Source
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Editor: The following is the first of what we hope is a regular column by a local, Chuck Cofer, in describing and photographing what he sees in his walking and biking around OB.

By Chuck

Noticed a few interesting items on my morning walk 3-17-14 and thought some OB Rag readers might also find them interesting.

Monday morning I walked to the bottom of the beach stairs at the end of Santa Cruz Avenue. These three men were picking up large amounts of garbage left my weekend revelers. I’m not one to judge a book by its cover but my human instinct told me they did not own property on the cliffs above. I thanked them for their efforts and continued on as they continued to work.

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Tucson: My Hometown as a Basketball Town

March 20, 2014 by Ernie McCray

Arizona ScenesBy Ernie McCray

I just finished a nice read, Tucson a Basketball Town. It was written by Arizona hoop legends, Bob Elliott and Eric Money.

They, in a nice informative way, remind Arizona basketball fans that before Lute Olson came along and took the program to somewhat unbelievable heights that there was an era, in the 70’s, their era, that Tucson became a basketball town.

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Putting Our Financial Well Being Above Our Children’s Ability to Survive a Warming Planet

March 20, 2014 by Source

earth-on-fireBy John Lawrence and Frank Thomas / San Diego Free Press

Each year there are more extreme weather events not only in the US but all over the world. Most scientists agree that, as more carbon dioxide is pumped into the air and the gaseous composition of the atmosphere is changed, extreme weather events are more likely to happen.

As the earth warms due to greenhouse gasses (GHGs), polar and glacier ice melts and more moisture is held in the atmosphere which is deposited in torrents of precipitation.

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March 20th: First Day of Spring Is the Vernal Equinox – Myths Debunked, Truths Revealed

March 20, 2014 by Source
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By Jenna Abate / AccuWeather / March 20, 2014

Springtime is often associated with the ideas of rebirth, regrowth and renewal of the Earth as plants begin to bloom and we all experience a slight taste of the warmer months to come. The first official day of spring is marked annually by the vernal equinox. For 2014, the official start of the equinox is March 20, 2014.

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski defines the Vernal Equinox as when the sun crosses the equator going south to north. ….

In years past, however, the equinox has been rumored to do more than just bring the sun’s rays to the Northern Hemisphere.

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There is Still Time to Enroll in Covered California Health Insurance in San Diego

March 20, 2014 by Staff

The March 31st enrollment deadline for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is approaching. The state of California is handling the insurance exchange and enrollment through Covered California. According to the state’s enrollment statistics in February, San Diego has already surpassed its target, reaching 105% of its goal by the end of December.

That doesn’t mean that everyone who is eligible has enrolled. Kaiser Permanente is hosting two events in San Diego, one on Saturday March 22 and the other on Saturday March 29 to assist people who want to enroll.

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Six Unit Apartment on 4800 Block of Niagara Sold

March 19, 2014 by Staff
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A complex with 6 apartment units in two buildings was just sold on the 4800 block of Niagara Avenue in Ocean Beach.

The units at 4866-4872 Niagara Ave. sold for $1.3 million, cash. The approximately 2,904-square-foot apartments consists of six bedrooms and six bathrooms.

Constructed in 1942, the complex is on a 7,300-square-foot lot and includes four single-car garages.

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More on Inbreeding in San Diego Politics: Haven’t We Met Before?

March 19, 2014 by Source

revolving-door-575By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner

In response to requests I received for the names of people I alluded to in last week’s commentary Too Many Years of Inbreeding Make for a Rotten City San Diego, I’m providing a list of Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s recent appointees, plus a brief description of who they are.

Many names will be familiar to those of you who have been following city affairs over the years. For others, the people on this list may not ring a bell; like the city’s water and sewer pipes they tend to operate beneath the surface. But their organizational interconnectedness and crossovers are readily identifiable by one and all.

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Bicyclist on Midway in Hit and Run

March 19, 2014 by Staff

A bicyclist was injured in a hit and run car accident Monday night in the Midway District. That was March 17th. The unidentified rider was in the 3700 block of Midway Dr about 11 pm when he was struck from behind.

Fleeing the scene, the driver left the 44 year old bicyclist with a head injury and dislocated shoulder. He was taken to a local hospital and is expected to recover.

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The Sound of One Fin Flapping – San Diego’s SeaWorld ‘Debate’

March 18, 2014 by Doug Porter

Orca in a bowlBy Doug Porter / San Diego Free Press

A couple of weeks back Assemblyman Richard Bloom introduced AB 2140, legislation that would put a stop to the practice of using orcas as performers, along with ending captive breeding programs and trafficking of the species in California.

SeaWorld, which has been in major damage control mode since release of the Blackfish documentary last fall, has seized upon this opportunity to bring its story to the media. There has been a virtual blitzkreig of coverage about the many wonderful accomplishments of this salt water-based amusement park.

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19 Applicants For District 2 City Council Appointment

March 18, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
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We have received notice from the San Diego City Clerk’s office that there are 19 applicants in the running for an appointment to represent District 2 on the City Council. OB and Point Loma are in District 2 of course, as are many parts of Mission Beach and PB.

The applicants include OB’s Jane Gawronski – former long-term member of the OB Planning Board and retired educator from SDSU, as well as OB’s Gretchen K Newson, the current president of the OB Town Council. Both Gawronski and Newson have qualified to be considered.

Two other applicants have also been qualified: …

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Ambert, Ruscitti and Wilson Win Seats on OB Planning Board

March 18, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
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The OB Planning Board held its annual election on March 11th – and the results are in (but they are “unofficial” until certified by the Board at their next meeting on April 2nd).

Drew Wilson won in District 2, Peter Ruscitti in District 3, and John Ambert in District 6. Wilson and Ambert ran as write-in candidates and both have been serving on the Board.

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Reader Rant: What to Do With Bad Neighbors in a Good Neighborhood?

March 18, 2014 by Source

By Anonymous Neighbor

Good Neighborhood, Bad Neighbors.

Living in Ocean Beach on and off for twelve years, I have a unique perspective based on my military experience throughout the world. This area is rich in stories and traditions and has developed a distinct reputation. Fairly or not, inhabitants of Ocean Beach are seen by outsiders as eclectic bunch. As a result, inhabitants of Ocean Beach also need to be accepting of the diversity of background and ideas found here.

I became fully aware of this when I became a permanent home owner in the area, married and started a family here. There are wonderful things to see here in OB like …

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Rebel Green and Bacchanalia: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17, 2014 by Jim Miller

st patrickBy Jim Miller

Today lots of people will try to skip out of work early to grab a pint of Guinness at a bar or perhaps find something green to wear whether they are Irish or not. St. Patrick’s Day, for most of us, is just a fun day to party, watch a parade, or listen to some Irish music. For better or worse, even if we aren’t getting drunk, we don’t think that much about it. Nonetheless, there are still some interesting bits of history behind the holiday.

The actual origins of the “Wearing of the Green” are political, dating back to 1798 when Irish soldiers wore green …

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day: Remembering Resistance

March 17, 2014 by Source

By Will Falk /San Diego Free Press

As St. Patrick’s Day nears, I often find myself revisiting scenes from Irish history.

I see Pádraig Pearse dressing himself in the early morning hours of Monday, April 24, 1916.

I see him struggling with the buttons on his shirt as his fingers shake with nerves. I hear him anxiously muttering the opening to the speech he would give on the grey steps of the General Post Office in Dublin just a few hours later, “Irishmen and Irishwomen! In the name of God and of the dead generations from which she receives her old tradition of nationhood…”

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Man Tries to Go Surfing in His Kia in OB

March 17, 2014 by Staff
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The big commotion in south OB on Sunday was caused by a guy who tried to go surfing in his car – a Kia.

Actually, it appears that an unidentified male drove his car down that steep concrete path at the end of Orchard Avenue near Cable Street and through a guardrail into the Pacific. This was about 3:20 pm on Sunday, March 16.

Surfers tried to get the guy out of his car as he was trapped initially.

Finally, a helicopter from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department showed up, and performed the rescue, flying the driver to a local hospital, a fire dispatcher said.

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Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg calls Obama to protest NSA spy programs

March 14, 2014 by Frank Gormlie
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By Brandon Bailey / San Jose Mercury News

Outraged by new revelations about the government’s Internet surveillance programs, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday that he telephoned President Barack Obama personally to complain about “the damage the government is creating for all of our future.”

Zuckerberg’s Wednesday [3/13/14] night phone call — the latest sign of the tech industry’s growing alarm over government spy efforts — came on the heels of a news report that said the National Security Agency has developed a computer program that can install spying software by masquerading as a Facebook network server when a surveillance target attempts to visit the social network.

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta: “I Am Doubling Down On Medical Marijuana”

March 14, 2014 by Source

sanjayguptaweedCannabis prohibition is a “Draconian system where politics override science”

By Paul Armentano / NORML

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is “doubling down” in his advocacy for patients to have legal access to cannabis as a therapeutic agent.

In a commentary featured on the CNN website today, Gupta writes: “I am more convinced than ever that it is irresponsible to not provide the best care we can, care that often may involve marijuana. I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down.”

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San Diego Environmentalists Chartering Buses for Sacramento March 15th Anti-Fracking Protest

March 14, 2014 by Source

no frackingEnvironmental groups are mobilizing statewide for a big rally on March 15th in Sacramento to urge Governor Brown for a moratorium on fracking in California.

Organizers expect the March 15th event to be the largest mobilization against fracking ever seen.More than one hundred fifty environmental organizations will be represented at “Californians Against Fracking.”

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Map Poster of OB from 1887 Now Available from Historical Society

March 14, 2014 by Source
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The Ocean Beach Historical Society is offering 18 x 24 in. posters of this historical 1887 OB MAP with lovely calligraphy, old street names, the railroad lines. Also, locations and names of the beaches, coves, rock formations, sand dunes and springs.

The map’s natural aging, torn edges and stains gives it a wonderful pirate-map quality that transports you back in time when the founder’s vision for O.B.

1887 Map Posters $20 ea. (includes tax). Proceeds go to the Ocean Beach Historical Society …

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Restaurant Review: “Espresso Cucina” in Ocean Beach

March 14, 2014 by Judi Curry
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“Espresso Cucina”
1776 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-224-2227

This restaurant was closed far too long and was missed by many patrons of the area. I am happy to report it has reopened Wednesdays through Mondays.

The restaurant has been cleaned up nicely, and although much the same as the old “Espresso” there are subtle differences in the new surroundings. For one, it looks much cleaner than the old restaurant; it has a little more ambiance than it used to.

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News From Around Ocean Beach and Point Loma

March 13, 2014 by Staff
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Tidbits You May Have Missed

Candidates File to Run in District 2

OB, Point Loma, and much of PB and Mission Beach lie in San Diego City Council District 2. Because former council rep Faulconer has taken the mayor’s seat, there is a vacancy. The filing deadline for candidates is here and we now know who is running.

Even though the election is supposedly “non-partisan”, what ever candidate receives an endorsement from the major parties definitely has an edge up on others seeking the seat. On the Democratic side, Sara Boot has received their stamp of approval. Boot is a federal prosecutor. The Republicans have endorsed Lori Zapf, …

Jellyfish Invade Mission Bay …
….

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Hey San Diego – the Time to Plant is Right Now!

March 13, 2014 by Source

Gardening, America’s New Front Porch

By Susan Taylor

Pea Plant by Hitromilanese

Here in San Diego, the rains have been and gone, we’re back to Daylight savings time and can get to planting. Before anyone dashes off for seeds and/or plant starts, let’s lay a little groundwork.

By groundwork, I mean preparing the soil.

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PETA and the ACLU Sue San Diego Airport for Rejecting Anti-SeaWorld Ad

March 13, 2014 by Source
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From One Green Planet

Not long after California State Assembly member Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) introduced what has been deemed the “Blackfish” bill, a piece of legislation that would ban orca entertainment and performances in California, backlash has already ensued.

SeaWorld, who would be directly affected by the bill, has already released their own statement about the legislation, condemning the “extreme activists” that Bloom is associating with and also asserting that the company follows “responsible” and “sustainable” business practices. (Captivity for profit is responsible and sustainable now? Who knew?)

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Kevin Faulconer: Full Circle in San Diego

March 11, 2014 by Source

Kevin Faulconer District redoBy Gordon Clanton /Del Mar Sandpiper

The March 3 inauguration of Kevin Faulconer as mayor takes San Diego back to where it was before Bob Filner, back to where it always was for as long I have lived in these parts: Moderate Republican mayors whose allegiance is to downtown business interests, always favoring business over labor, big business over small business, development over environment, downtown over other neighborhoods, cronyism over inclusion, plutocracy over democracy.

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Too Many Years of Inbreeding Make for a Rotten City San Diego

March 11, 2014 by Source

InbredBy Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner

To misquote Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Something is rotten in the state of our Denmark …our city. Most likely it’s the result of too many years of inbreeding.

Take a look at appointees to San Diego boards, commissions, committees, and political organizations like United Way, the Chamber of Commerce, and Red Cross. You’ll discover that San Diego is an epicenter of incestuous comings and goings. (Incestuous: repetitive, indiscriminate, unwholesome, unnatural, intimately intertwined, endogamous co-mingling of self-serving individuals)

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Bringing an End to State Sanctioned Sexual Assault, Rape Culture and Law Enforcement Impunity

March 11, 2014 by Source

united logoBy Cathy Mendonça / United Against Police Terror

The San Diego police department’s scandal involving officers accused of preying on women who they came in contact with while in uniform and on duty needs to be addressed.

First, former officer Anthony Arevalos is serving an eight year sentence for molesting female drivers during traffic stops in the Gaslamp quarter from 2009 to 2011. As a result, Chief William Lansdowne implemented changes within the department to help uncover the potential for other rogue officers to go unnoticed.

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