News and Notices From Ocean Beach and Point Loma

Big surf in OB – 1992 – photo by Albert C Elliott

Stretch of I-8 From OB One of Top 5 for DUI Deaths

The I-8, 4.5 mile stretch from Sunset Cliffs Boulevard to state Route 163 is one of the top 5 sections for DUI deaths. Two of the five crashes here happened on a Saturday. Thursday, Friday and Sunday had one crash each. All happened between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. Total deaths: 6 (two motorcyclists); 6 more injured SDUT

OB Library Hosts Wordsmith Richard Lederer

Please join folks us at the historic OB Library Saturday, October 17, 2:00 to 3:00 pm, to hear wordsmith Richard Lederer. Dr. Lederer is interesting, entertaining, and educational.

Special Meeting of OB Planners – ‘Deviations to the FAR?’ – Wed., Oct 21

There is a “Special Meeting” of the OB Planning Board on Wednesday, October 21st, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. The Board meets at Ocean Beach Recreation Center – 4726 Santa Monica Ave, Ocean Beach CA 92107.

The main item on the short agenda is the Sustainable Building Expedite Program (SBEP). The board will craft a policy regarding deviations to the floor area ratio (F.A.R.) as related to the Sustainable Buildings.

Surfing and Skateboarding to be Official Olympic Sports in Japan in 2020

Surfing and skateboarding look set to be Olympic events at the Tokyo 2020 Games after they were included on a list of five extra sports put forward by organizers. International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre said:

“Tokyo 2020’s announcement is an extraordinary moment for our sport and for the global surfing community. “Surfing has incredible and growing global appeal, particularly amongst young people, and we believe that the dynamic energy of the sport and its fan base around the world would bring many benefits for Tokyo 2020 and the Games.

“Surfing embodies a cool, playful lifestyle that would add a completely new element to the program, helping the Games reach new fans through live action and stunning broadcast opportunities.”

the Guardian

Bitcoms come to OB

On Thursday, October 8, what’s billed as the first Bitcoin ATM in the region came to OB, and there was a launch party late that afternoon at 4796 Niagara Avenue. The Bitcoin ATM is owned by Coinsource.  Beware. This is online, digital currency — called cryptocurrency — hence is subject to hacking. Some speculate with Bitcoins, and the price can be volatile. For many, Bitcoins are a gambling mechanism … There is a black market for Bitcoins, and they can be used for tax-evasion purposes. They are often used for drug sales because they are difficult to trace. There is always the question of whether a merchant will accept them. Scammers sell fake Bitcoins. SD Reader

Point Loma Nazareen student gets unique prosthesis to replace hand lost in accident

A local amputee is one of the first in the world to receive a unique prosthetic device that’s so high tech it’s almost superhero-like.  Moises Aramburo, 23, received the technologically advanced prosthetic that is the first of its kind after losing his hand in an accident. In 2012, the Point Loma Nazarene student was riding a board being towed behind a truck on a flooded street in Mexico.

“The rope that I was holding on to caught under a sewer,” he said. “The tension between the rope and the moving vehicle took off my hand.”

He was flown to a hospital in San Diego where his fingers were attached in a 19-hour surgery but they didn’t survive. A year after the accident, he was fitted for his first prosthesis at the Hangar Clinic in San Diego. But now, he’s been upgraded to this brand new hand by Touch Bionics. The sensors in the silicone handpiece are thinner, the fingers are sleeker.  Aramburo can now write, drive and continue with his hobby of taking beautiful pictures. He also has several grips he can program right into his phone and one of those grips is a special grip for his camera. KUSI

Public Market Set to Open at Liberty Station

Liberty Public Market is set to open in late November at Liberty Station. Since the navy turned over the Liberty Station property in 2000, the McMillin Company has been on a slow but steady march to fill in all the old navy buildings with various types of retail and other uses.

Now comes a big piece, building one, the first building at the old Naval Training Center. It was built in 1923 as a study hall and mess hall and it’s soon to be a public market. Making up that controlled chaos will be more than 30-vendors; a beer bar, a wine bar, baked goods and a meat shop among them. There will also be a restaurant called, appropriately enough, The Mess Hall where the food will be oh-so-fresh. SanDiego6

OBcean Hit by Truck – Needs Help

A local woman, Cara Berger, needs help. She was involved in a “tragic accident” while walking to evening mass at Sacred Heart between 5:30pm and 6:15pm on Sunday, 9-20-15.  She was hit by a large, silver truck near her church in Ocean Beach at the intersection of Newport Ave. and Sunset Cliffs Blvd. Though the driver came to her aid initially, he left without calling authorities and without giving her any information. She’s now trying to find him. She ended up in the hospital with with blunt force trauma and extensive, deep contusions all over the body. Officer Quinn told her that this is Incident No. 15090044612. If you have any info please contact her at caralala621@hotmail.com. Also Cara’s Phone #
619-318-5441.

Pedestrian badly injured by car on Rosecrans St.

A pedestrian was struck by a car and badly injured Saturday night, Oct. 10th on Rosecrans Street in the Midway District, San Diego police said. The accident occurred about 9:10 p.m. near Midway Drive.  A man was walking across Rosecrans and was struck in a northbound lane. The impact knocked him onto the center divider and partly in a northbound lane, police said. The extent of his injuries wasn’t immediately known, but he appeared to have broken both legs and possibly some ribs, police said. The car driver stopped after the accident and was not injured, police said.  SDU-T

New Brewery in the Midway

Opening less than two months ago, Bay City Brewing Co. has rolled out eight different brews. It’s the birthplace of Modern Times Beer on nearby Greenwood Street. Leading the pack in sales is Bay City’s Session IPA.  The menu also includes a sturdy American Stout, an orange-hued Vienna Lager, a Sour Brown and the semi-fruity Experimental Pale Ale. In its short life, the brewery has already distributed kegs to a few local establishments, such as Sessions Public, the 3rd Corner in Ocean Beach and San Diego Beerworks in Solana Beach.  The tasting room, open seven days a week, greets patrons with looming tanks and a spacious L-shaped bar mantled in bleached Douglas fir. Beers are sold in pints, flights and growlers, and food is available on the patio on Fridays and Saturdays from trucks and catering companies.  Bay City Brewing Co. 3760 Hancock St., Suite A (Midway District)  SDNews.com

Shout-Out to OB Warehouse from The Daily Aztec

Fortunately there’s OB Warehouse, which channels San Diego’s quintessential beach-town roots with coffee and breakfast bites in the heart of Ocean Beach.   OB Warehouse serves good eats and a priceless atmosphere that sets a positive tone for the week ahead.  Upon entering the second-floor eatery, patrons are ushered into an open floor plan with floor-to-ceiling windows perfect for eccentric people-watching on Newport Avenue.  If funky vintage decor and laid-back modern style got together and had a restaurant baby, this would be it. Seamlessly placed for all eyes to see is a retro airstream trailer that’s been refurbished as the kitchen entrance and acts as the statement design piece on the floor.

Point Loma Project Is Finally Completed

For well over a decade, the port and the business community have wanted to develop the Point Loma marina and sport fishing areas along North Harbor Drive and around the bend on Scott Street into a pedestrian-friendly retail area.  But traffic and a lack of public parking and just general visitor unawareness were always an impediment, although, two longtime and popular restaurants were fixtures here, Pizza Nova and Point Loma Seafoods.  Over the last year, however, the port spent almost $4 million on what’s known as the North Harbor Drive Realignment Project. The lanes of the busy boulevard were not only realigned, but narrowed to slow down traffic and allowed for the widening of bike lanes.  But as importantly, along with median and landscape improvements, the project allowed for the conversion of a frontage road on the marine side into 130 new public parking spaces.    KUSI

Solana Beach to Ban Styrofoam

It might interest OBceans to know that the Solana Beach City Council is getting set to pass a ban on Polystyrene (Styrofoam). They meet earlier this week to conduct their first reading of a proposed polystyrene food ware ban.  Solana Beach is poised to join 90 other jurisdictions in the state of California athat have enacted impactful policy to eliminate harmful polystyrene based products.

Polystyrene (aka Styrofoam) is one of the most overabundant and unnecessary throw-away packaging, and one of the most costly. Polystyrene food ware containers are made from a non-renewable resource, they don’t biodegrade and are very difficult to recycle. They are a serious and preventable source of marine debris pollution.

Pink Plume in Ocean Tracked

A bi-national team of scientists has spent the past few weeks injecting a bright pink fluorescent dye called rhodamine into the ocean on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, and seeing where it is carried by waves, winds and ocean currents.  This will enable scientists to know how pollution travels. It is known as the CSIDE project, short for Cross Surfzone/Inner-shelf Dye Exchange, and funded by the National Science Foundation. Participating in the project are researchers from the UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Jacobs School of Engineering, as well as the Autonomous University of Baja California, Ensenada-based scientific research institution CICESE, and members of the Tijuana environmental group, Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental.  San Diego Union-Tribune

Lobster Season Begins

October 7th marked the opening day of the commercial lobster season in California. In the weeks and months prior, permit holders are busy building traps, mending lines, and getting their boats ship-shape. his is the first day lobster traps may legally hold bait. A week prior to the opener, traps may be set but without bait and the doors must be wired open. According to the Fish and Wildlife website, the average permit-holder will work between 300 and 700 traps. Depending on the size of the boat, it takes many trips to set all the traps in place.

According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife website, there are currently 181 lobster operator permits in the state. 2014 saw 52 lobster permit holders make landings in San Diego County. Total landings for 2014 for the San Diego area were 272,683 pounds of lobster. In contrast, the Santa Barbara area saw 399,259 pounds landed. State biologists are thinking that the warmer ocean temps we are experiencing statewide will increase this season’s catch because the lobsters will be more active. At least one local fisherman has seen an increase of nearly 80 pounds over last year’s first pull. San Diego Reader

Annual Green Spooktacula – October 24th Saturday 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

The Annual Green Spooktacula is coming back on Saturday, Oct. 24th. After 26 years of environmental, peace, and social justice activism, Our movement centered at the OB Green Store/ Center has received 501(C)(3) federal and tax exempt state approved non-profit status! Come and celebrate with us at our annual Halloween fundraiser event. Music, Speakers, Refreshments, and more! Come in costume as a historical figure for the cause, political villain, or as yourself!  Ocean Beach Green Center 4843 B Voltaire Street, 619-225-1083

San Diego police Ask for Help to Find at-risk 21-year-old from Point Loma.

Chad Coble was last seen Thursday morning after he left his house to run errands.  According to his family, he never came home. Coble didn’t take anything with him except his phone and wallet.  He left his phone charger, laptop and medicine at home.  Coble was last seen wearing a black mesh motorcycle jacket and dark jeans, and a full face black matte helmet.  His motorcycles is a Yamaha FZ09  2014: black with blue rims and gold forks. It has a short fender kit. License plate #21W9885.  He is 21 years old, 6’2”  145 lbs. long brown hair, long beard: brown with some blond in from, blue eyes, glasses small scar on his right cheek.  Anyone with information is encouraged to call San Diego police.  KUSI –

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Lifeguard and Harbor Patrol Blotter reveals