News From Around Ocean Beach, Point Loma and Local Beaches

Toddler girl recovering after being bitten in face by dog on Newport Ave

A toddler  is recovering at Rady Children’s Hospital after being bitten in the face by a dog in Ocean Beach on Saturday, April 5.  The 22-month old girl was walking on the sidewalk with her mom, when she walked over to the dog. She knelt down in the dog’s direction and the dog lunged at the girl and bit her, knocking her to the ground.  Police, firefighters and animal control responded. The owner was cited, but the dog was not taken away.  The child remains hospitalized Sunday in stable condition. She is expected to be OK.

The child is the daughter of Daniel Bille.  (Daniel is the same one who posted a rant recently about dealing with bad neighbors in a good neighborhood.) Daniel reports:

My daughter was bit by a dog on Newport Ave on Saturday afternoon. Stephanie, my wife was there, and I was out of town in Chicago. Both wife and daughter were taken to the hospital.   On the positive side, there were many bystanders and people in the community that acted to help them in a dire time of need. I would like to thank these anonymous people for their heart and helping my family.   On the negative side… well you need to talk to my wife to get a feel for it.

 I am a dog lover. We have two. The owner is from Hillcrest? He said it was ok to pet his two dogs. We know warning signs. none was given before the larger dog bit my daughter. Luckily her eye appears alright but she could have lost it. Parents on the playground have been talking about the event, and word has spread through the community.

 I have large issues with the police response. Four officers were present, non bothered to take my wife’s information as they were taken to the hospital. None tried to contact us until my wife followed up with Animal Control trying to learn if the dog has rabies.

Family says $30,000 in valuables, cash stolen from car parked at SeaWorld

A family vacationing in San Diego from Singapore last Christmas had $30,000 in valuables and cash stolen from their car in the SeaWorld parking lot.  Private investigator Nick Bradley, who is representing the family, said the family contacted him after a San Diego police Investigation turned up nothing.

“They were really disappointed in the system here,” Bradley said. “They really thought here in America — especially here in California — that the police would be able to do far more than what they did.”

Bradley said the family checked out of a La Jolla hotel on Christmas Eve morning, put their luggage into their car and drove to SeaWorld for the day.

“They knew that was the first mistake they made,” said Bradley. “But reason being was that they had checked out of one hotel, came to SeaWorld for the afternoon and then they were on their way to their next hotel, which is the only reason why they had all their luggage with them.”

According to Bradley, someone stole jewelry, computers, credit cards and cash from the family’s car while they were inside the park.  Bradley said those credit cards were used about 30 minutes later at the Target store on Sports Arena Boulevard. Security video shows a woman dressed in black buying a tablet in the electronics section and then several gift cards in the front of the store.

“But the best image that we have is her actually departing from the store, where you see her walking through the exit,” said Bradley. “And then right after Target, they went to Fashion Valley Mall, where they went to two other stores — Nordstrom and Apple.”

Bradley said San Diego police also has the surveillance video, but they haven’t been able to identify the woman.

“They don’t have much to go on and they have hundreds of these cases,” he said.

Bradley approached 10News to get the public’s help in identifying the woman in the video. He said the family really cares most about the jewelry, which are family heirlooms.  10News

Man’s Rope Snaps While Climbing Sunset Cliffs – Rescuers had to airlift the man from the cliffs

A man scaling Sunset Cliffs was injured Wednesday, April 9, after his climbing rope snapped, authorities said. Rescuers were called to Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach just after 4 p.m. to tend to the wounded climber.  Lee Swanson of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said the man sustained a broken leg, among other injuries, during the ill-fated climb.  Emergency crews planned to airlift the man out of the rocky area.

By 4:45 p.m., rescuers had pulled the man from the cliffs. He was transported to UCSD Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries, including a leg wound.  No further details were immediately released. NBC 7 San Diego

Belmont Park getting major makeover

Lori Weisberg at the U-T San Diego reports that Belmont Park is getting a major makeover.  She cites the new restaurants coming in during May, such as the expanded Cannonball now under construction.   In order to take more advantage of its seaside location, changes are coming “as the operators prepare to complete by the end of the year a multimillion-dollar overhaul that will include multiple upgrades, new dining and recreation attractions, and long-overdue expanded restrooms.” Here’s more of her report:

An expanded rooftop restaurant with a glassed-in sushi bar and glass elevator, a ground-floor brewery pub with prime boardwalk patio seating, a new community room with a rooftop observation deck and a 29-foot high zip line are among the high-profile additions that are scheduled to open by this summer. There’s even talk of a new oceanview workout area atop the Belmont Park athletic club.

“The park was turning its back to the water, and we’re really opening it up to that now,” said Brett Miller, CEO of the Pacific Beach hospitality firm Eat Drink Sleep, which is overseeing the food and beverage operations and is also partners in the overall development of the park. “It’s a beachfront amusement park and we want to showcase that to the best of our ability.”

Rancho Santa Fe-based Pacifica Enterprises, a real estate investment firm, in conjunction with Eat Drink Sleep, expect that its investments in the seven-acre park — since taking over in late-2012 — will total roughly $10 million by year’s end.

Ocean Beach Historical Society Presents: The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club Turns 90!

The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club Interim President Melyssa (Mel) Roark and Board Member Mercy Baron, will present the club’s history and plans. 7 – 8:30pm, on April 17, 2014. It will be held at the Pt Loma Methodist Church , 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., OB, CA 92107.

Trial set for two accused in series of  hold-ups in OB, Point Loma and UCSD on Feb. 2

Two men accused in a series of holdups – a couple of incidents that occurred locally – in which a gun was held to the heads of some of the victims, were ordered by a judge on April 8th to  stand trial on robbery and attempted robbery charges. Benjamin Hernandez, 23, and Joseph Andres Garcia, 19, are  charged in the robberies where pedestrians were the victims.

People in Ocean Beach, downtown, Point Loma and the UCSD area were victimized over a four-and-a-half-hour period, with a total of 11 victims, who had cellphones and wallets taken.  There were 7 robberies in all.  One of the men involved is still at large.  Superior Court Judge Louis Hanoian found that enough evidence was presented at the preliminary hearing for Hernandez and Garcia to stand trial. The defendants face 14 years if convicted, but that could be doubled if firearm charges are added.  A Superior Court arraignment was set for April 22. San Diego 6

 5-year-old OB boy discovered Microsoft Xbox “backdoor”

Reporter Michael Chen reports from 10News

A young Ocean Beach boy is in the spotlight after he discovered a back door in to one of the most popular gaming systems in the world.  When 5-year-old Kristoffer Von Hassel is playing his Xbox, his feet don’t touch the ground. But something he did has made the smartest guys at Microsoft pay attention.  “I was like yea!” said Kristoffer.

Just after Christmas, Kristoffer’s parents noticed he was logging into his father’s Xbox Live account and playing games he wasn’t supposed to be.  “I got nervous. I thought he was going to find out,” said Kristoffer.  In video shot soon after, his father, Robert Davies, is heard asking Kristoffer how he was doing it.  A suddenly excited Kristoffer showed Dad that when he typed in a wrong password for his father’s account, it clicked to a password verification screen. By typing in space keys, then hitting enter, Kristoffer was able to get in through a back door.

Kristoffers’ father, who works in computer security, was one proud papa. His first reaction? “How awesome is that!” Davies said. “Just being 5 years old and being able to find a vulnerability and latch onto that. I thought that was pretty cool.”   It’s not the first time Kristoffer has flashed his tech skills. “He’s figured out vulnerabilities 3 or 4 times,” said Davies.  At age 1, Kristoffer got past the toddler lock screen on a cell phone by holding down the home key.  Four years later, he took aim at the Xbox One.  Father and son reported the bug to Microsoft.

“I thought someone was going to steal the Xbox,” said Kristoffer.  Microsoft has come up with a fix and acknowledged Kristopher on their website in a list of security researchers that have helped make Microsoft online services more secure.  In a statement, Microsoft said, “We’re always listening to our customers and thank them for bringing issues to our attention. We take security seriously at Xbox and fixed the issue as soon as we learned about it.”  Kristoffer will receive four games, $50 and a year-long subscription to Xbox Live from Microsoft. He also knows what he now wants to be when he grows up: a gamer. His dad is leaning toward something in computer security.

Dog Beach Clean-up – April 12

Join your fellow dog-lovers and neighbors for the monthly Dog Beach Clean-up. It’s from 9:00am – 11:00am.  You and your friendly dogs are invited to join the Friiends of Dog Beach at their regularly scheduled Dog Beach Clean-Ups. They are held the second Saturday of every month from 9:00-11:00am. They provide the gloves, bags, scoops, brooms and shovels – plus toys and treats for your dogs!

35th Day at the Docks set for waterfront on Sunday, April 13

The 35th annual Day at the Docks, the area’s largest one-day celebration of sportfishing, is Sunday, April 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. along the waterfront of the Point Loma sport boat landings.  It’s the place to be if you want to check out a sport boat for an upcoming trip, learn a new fishing technique or see new gear, learn how to cook your catch or just have an all-day reunion with fellow fishermen. And it’s all free – admission and parking, with shuttles running all day from Shelter Island.

Geared for novice and serious anglers and families, Day at the Docks has something for every family member. There’s a free Kid’s Fishing Adventure, casting contest, knot-tying contest and a section called the Catch, Prep and Cook Center, music and all-day raffles.  Catherine Miller, who will produce her 35th event this year, said the show will feature a smart phone scavenger hunt-trivia game based on things found in the sportfishing fleet, on the docks and among the vendors. Simply download the ap, answer the questions correctly and be entered to win an overnight trip on one of the sport boats.  For more information, check www.sportfishing.org.

 Word to the Wise: Week of April 10, 2014

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!

Earth Day Week Events

• The Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market, 4765 Voltaire St., will raffle two pedal-powered bicycles in doing its part for a cleaner planet. No purchase is necessary, and everybody, not just members, is invited to enter. Members will receive 10 percent off bulk items, excluding coffee and herbs, encouraging bulk purchases with reusable containers and thus cutting down on packaging.

• Blue Dot Refill at 4799 ½ Voltaire St., provides bulk body care, soap, laundry and other household cleaning products to consumers for refill. Brands carried are environmentally safe, popular labels sold at major retailers and natural food markets. Consumers bring in an empty container or purchase a new one on site, refilled in bulk and weighed for purchase by the ounce. The idea is to help reduce single-use plastics.

• Point Loma Nazarene University is taking it to the streets as the school opens its residence halls to faculty, who will invite discussions on sustainability issues between 7 and 8 p.m.
• the annual Creek to Bay Cleanup, set for Saturday, April 26. I Love a Clean San Diego’s signature event. Since the event’s inception in 2003, nearly 45,000 volunteers have helped remove 1.65 million pounds of debris from locations countywide. The group emphasizes that 80 percent of the county’s coastal debris originates from inland locales.