Month: March 2015

By Ernie McCray

I’ve attended many a wedding in my life, even conducting a few in rhythm and rhyme that got people to say “Hey, that was pretty nice.”

But I have never witnessed a marriage that was as special as the one I showed up for on the last day of this past February.

It was beyond nice. It was magical. Sweet. Soulful. Teary. Poignant. Smiley. Earthy. Inspiring. Cosmic. Fun. Invigorating. Both lighthearted and sincere. A journey “home” proceeded over by the groom’s brother-in-law.

*Man Bitten By Rattler Near Dog Beach A rattle snake bit a 30-year-old man on his right hand in Ocean Beach on Saturday afternoon, March 14th.
*Local “Boomer” Wells As Coach at Pt Loma High School Discovered by the Press

*Man Wins $450K From Settlement of Robb Field Gopher Hole Injury
A San Diego man won a $450,000 settlement this month after injuring his knee on a gopher-infested soccer field in Ocean Beach.

*Midway Area Hit and Run

*Canoe Flips in Mission Bay and Man Drowns
A 52-year-old man died Friday after the canoe he was in flipped in Mission Bay

THIS WEEK’S MEETINGS

By John Lawrence

Many records for snowfall and extreme cold were set in February. Some might think this is a sign of the nonexistence of global warming, but they would be wrong.

Maybe the terminology should be more appropriately “climate change,” but global warming still holds if the average surface air temperature sets records as it did in 2014 despite extreme cold in the northeast US.

It remains to be seen if extreme heat elsewhere in the world will make up for the extreme cold over much of the eastern half of the US in 2015.

Amid the extreme cold and snowfall records in the eastern half of the US, February also set a record for carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. For the first time in February the earth’s average carbon dioxide level was above 400 ppm. Last year, the monthly average didn’t go above that level until April, which was the first month in human history with carbon dioxide levels that high.

On a hot afternoon last Sunday, March 15th, 250 San Diegans rallied and marched – and called on the US government to act on the climate change crisis.

About 150 demonstrators had gathered by 2 pm at the San Diego Civic Center Plaza, as the band the Swamp Critters encouraged them through song to come out and protest. Organized by a loose coalition that involved OB’s People’s Food Store Cooperative and the OB Green Store, as well as the Sierra Club, 350.org, and a couple of Democratic clubs – from Pt Loma and La Jolla, the protest was part of a series the coalition plans leading up to next November.

After a few speakers, the group pushed out of the Plaza, down 3rd Avenue and Broadway, taking the short walk in the streets to the Federal Building. A few police cars escorted the peaceful march the few blocks that then gathered for a second rally. Once in the shade of the massive Federal Building, another band welcomed the crowd. A dozen people got up and danced to the music of Captain Viejo before a few more speakers thanked and exhorted those present to continue the struggle.

By Jim Miller

Just as the folks in the New Democrat Coalition (NDC) were gearing up to marginalize the progressive wing of the Democratic Party leading up to the 2016 election, Elizabeth Warren struck back with what even CNN reported as “a push to kill major trade negotiations” being championed by President Obama and previously supported by Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton

And it’s a very good thing that Warren has elevated the debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to the national media because proponents of this deal have done everything they can to keep the details secret.

Focus on March 18th Public Safety and Livable Neighborhood Committee Meeting

By Anna Daniels / San Diego Free Press
This past October, Reese Jarrett, newly hired President of Civic San Diego (CivicSD), appeared before the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhood Committee of the San Diego City Council. The committee chairwoman, District 9 council member Marti Emerald, directed a number of pointed questions toward CivicSD staff, followed by additional questions from District 4 council member Myrtle Cole.

By the Old OB Hippie

It’s OB Time again. Tagging along with the OB Rag crew on their Borrego Springs R & R sojourn, your old OB hippie discovered some amazing things about our own San Diego desert backyard.

The desert flowers are blooming! After recent rains in the desert, everything is going green and bonkers.

But that’s not all. We were lucky to enjoy the arrival of hundreds of Swainson Hawks, to witness thousands of Sphinx Moth caterpillars, and to appreciate the “Sky Art” of ancient dinosaurs and other animals that once roamed the grassy plains of this area millions of years ago.

Yes, the big news from Borrego is that the flowers are blooming. The storms that blew through OB and the rest of San Diego County over the last couple of weeks also hit the desert and the mountains. Julian, for instance, got 2 and half inches of rain in one day.

Here are the “official” unofficial preliminary results of the 2015 general election of the Ocean Beach Planning Board:

DISTRICT 3
Blake Herrschaft

DISTRICT 4
Andrew Waltz

DISTRICT 6
Thomas Gawronski

These results are unofficial. Per the OB Planning Board Bylaws, election results are not official until certified by an action of the OB Planning Board. This action is expected to occur at the next regular meeting, currently scheduled for April 1, 2015.

San Diego organizers are planning a “People’s Climate Walk and Rally for Mobilization” this Sunday, March 15th. And local OBceans are playing an important role in the event. In concert with demonstrations and rallies across the country, it is –

“a call to the United States Government to immediately commence a national World War II-style mobilization to transition the U.S. from fossil fuels to sustainable energy, including solar, wind and water.”

The Ben-Moshe family has bought yet another Newport Avenue property to add to their generous collection of downtown OB storefronts – this time, it’s the ‘Newport Avenue Antiques’ building, located at 4836 Newport. The Ben-Moshes – through their IAC Management, LLC – purchased the 7,500 square foot parcel for $1.3 million in cash.

The Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) held its annual Candidate Forum on Thursday, March 5, 2015, at the Pt. Loma Library. Their elections will be held on Thursday, March 19 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. also at the library.

As with the Ocean Beach Community Planning Board, the PCPB holds a Candidate Forum a few weeks before the annual March election to give the community an opportunity to meet the people running for the open seats and ask questions. And, as with OB’s forum and as happens with the PCPB every year, the event was sparsely attended.

…And Other Sordid Tales

By Jim Miller

This week a “right to work” bill that will gut the union movement in Wisconsin is likely to hit Governor Scott Walker’s desk and no doubt he will sign it.

While there is much discussion in Democratic circles of how Walker is doing this to position himself even more solidly on the right to please potential Republican primary voters, there is much less discussion about how this latest assault on workers’ rights helps speed the runaway train heading toward plutocracy that is the United States.