Month: September 2014

San Diegans Speak Out Against the President’s Unwillingness to Help the Latino Community

By Brent E. Beltrán / San Diego Free Press

Latinos throughout the United States woke up yesterday morning to the news that President Obama had decided not to use his executive powers to push immigration reform forward until after the November election.

For months the President has said he would do whatever he could to implement reforms for millions of undocumented immigrants in the US. He kept the Latino community’s hopes up only to have those hopes crushed in an act of political cowardice.

A Pathetic Attempt to Re-Write History

By Jim Miller

Recently UT-San Diego sat down with San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Jerry Sanders for an interview so he could lay out the Chamber’s “new” aggressive political action plan.

During the course of the interview Sanders was steadfast in his insistence that the Chamber exists to respond to the mythic hegemony of labor in San Diego politics.

For instance, when discussing the perceived need for the recent referendums on affordable housing, the Barrio Logan plan, and the minimum wage and earned sick days ordinance he explained:

Local strikers among thousands walking off their jobs in 150 cities as movement intensifies

From Press Release of Center on Policy Initiatives

Nine San Diego fast-food workers and two community supporters were arrested Thursday morning as part of a national strike calling for wages of $15 an hour and the right to form a union without retaliation.

Dozens of striking workers from 19 restaurants gathered in City Heights, along with about 300 supporters, for a peaceful demonstration in front of a McDonald’s, a Burger King, and a Jack in the Box.

Large Surf, Rip Currents and Large Crowds Expected This Weekend – But Most of the Lifeguards Are Gone

There was big surf and big crowds at the beaches on Labor Day weekend. It was estimated that 574,000 people visited local beaches. Monday, Labor Day itself – was the busiest day, with a reported 227,000 humans on the sand at OB, PB, Mission Beach, and La Jolla beaches.

During the Labor Day weekend,lifeguards made 164 rescues, 182 medical aid calls and 7,823 preventative acts – which are warning people of rip currents and other dangers – when they enter the water to warn swimmers to move to a safer area.

Raglan Teams Up With Cleaner Streets Initiatives, San Diego Coastkeeper and South Coast Surf Shop for “End of Summer OB Beach Cleanup”

By Matthew Wood

Summer’s over, the tourists are gone and it’s time to take back our beach.

That’s the thinking behind Raglan Public House’s second annual End of Summer OB Beach Cleanup on Saturday, September 6.

“It’s a nice thing we can do,” said Raglan manager Mike Zouroudis.

“It’s just nice to have this beach back and a little slower. It’s a great way to get our town back for the next six or seven months.”

Raglan is partnering with the Cleaner Streets Initiatives, San Diego Coastkeeper and South Coast Surf Shop to put on the event, which runs from 9 to 11 a.m. …

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner

Last time we met we figured out how San Diego was begotten. Now it’s time to unravel the purpose of city government and discover what’s it all about when you sort it out…

We’ll start the sorting process with a couple of facts.

Then we’ll go for the jackpot question: why can’t city government be run like a business?

First fact: city government deserves a lot more attention from you and me than it usually gets.

Why? because our elected officials have substantial influence on our everyday lives – more than we give them credit for.

Warnings over e-cigarettes are alarmist – and increasing their use could save many lives, British researchers say.

By Nick Triggle / BBC News

For every million smokers who switch to e-cigarettes over 6,000 lives a year in the UK could be saved, according to the University College London team.

Meanwhile another group of London-based experts has attacked criticism of e-cigarettes as “misleading”.

Last week the World Health Organization called for e-cigarette use to be banned in public places and workplaces.

Gardening is the new front porch in urban America- share yours!

By Susan Taylor

Fall gardening! Yes, I know that it is still over 90 degrees in all parts of the county except along the coast and these high temperatures could last many more weeks. I have been reduced to gardening before 9 a.m. when it really heats up in my La Mesa neighborhood. I’ve been harvesting massive amounts of figs every day, which I’ve eaten right off the Mission fig tree that grew to over 12 feet tall this year and nearly as wide. I’m eating dried figs, cooked up with some sugar and port and frozen. I may have to try Fig Taylors before long.

When I saw the massive number of baby green figs emerge this summer, I asked my sons to drape some bird netting over and around as many branches as they could. When the figs changed from green to soft, luscious and dark purple the netting saved the harvest from the birds and June bugs

Originally published on September 4, 2014

At last night’s meeting, the Ocean Beach Planning Board approved by a wide margin a new development at the intersection of Voltaire Street and Abbott Street. The development includes three 2-story houses with a modern “contemporary design”.

The Board also made two appointments – and now the OB Planning Board is at full strength with 14 Board members – the first time in many years.

The September 3rd monthly meeting of the Board was gaveled to order by Chair Pete Ruscitti. The first thing up was an agenda change and Rucitti did a mea culpa and had to remove Action Item # One – the “condo-ization” of the Quigley Complex at 5151 Long Branch Avenue, due to a noticing problem. It will be heard next month.

During the public comment time, Nicole Burgess got up before the Board and informed the room that there are “rumors” that the City is considering installing a Stop Sign at the corner of Newport and Abbott. Nicole said that a round-about would be better. She added that the City is looking into placing a round-about at the “terrible” intersection of West Pt Loma Avenue and Bacon Street. Burgess is the rep for District 2 on the City Bicycle Coalition.

Latest Installment of Series “Who Runs San Diego?”

By Cory Briggs / A Project of the Democratic Woman’s Club

TOT – this small word may bring to mind a cute little child, a deep-fried mashed potato, or a dash of your favorite adult beverage. But in San Diego, TOT, an acronym for Transient Occupancy Tax, stands for missed opportunities, fiscal irresponsibility, and a shameful abrogation of civic responsibility to the moneyed interest of hoteliers.

The recent implosion of the convention center expansion and what I hope will be the legal rejection of its elder, uglier stepsister, the Tourism Marketing District (TMD) tax, are primers on how the people who run San Diego seek to use your money to line their pockets with the help of a complicit mayor and city council.

By John Lawrence

San Diego’s Mayor Kevin Faulconer recently signed a deal with Illumina Corporation that was supposedly designed to keep the corporation from jumping ship and landing in another state or jurisdiction.

The City of San Diego agreed to rebate $1.5 million in sales and use taxes. In return Illumina promised to keep a number of jobs in San Diego for the term of the agreement. But the deal the City has entered into with Illumina is fishy on several levels.

With revenue of just over $1 billion last year, Illumina sells machines that sequence the human genome. The company leases 6 buildings in San Diego totaling over 560,000 sq. ft. and currently has 1500 employees.

At tonight’s OB Planning Board meeting, the owner-applicant of a set of three, 2-story single family residences that he wishes to build on Abbott Street and Voltaire at their intersection will be looking for approval from the Board.

The OB Rag was given an artist’s rendition of the planned buildings – seen above. The plan is to construct them on that empty lot that has been there for decades, as the lot was recently sold.

OBceans need to study the images and determine whether these planned projects are the right thing for Ocean Beach – do they comply with the small-town character that is so cherished by village residents? Or do they contribute to the growing impulses of gentrification?

If you wish to study the images, the plans and blueprints more, and give your opinion, you need to attend tonight’s meeting at the OB Rec Center, at 6pm sharp.