OB’s First EV Charging Station Under Construction
The City just informed Ocean Beach that the community’s first EV charging station starts construction this week and will be completed in approximately 12 days. It is located next to the lifeguard tower to give environmentally-conscious beach commuters a place to top up their zero emissions vehicle when visiting the beach.
The Joint Moves Its Fence
Due to complaints to the City, the OB restaurant, The Joint, has been forced to move its encroachment. The metal fence is being pushed back a few inches on the Newport Avenue side and the arc around the tree on Cable is being redone. It was in early February this year when the OB Rag first raised the issue of 
The Joint’s encroachment into public space. Later that month, we ran a poll on the issue among our readers, and found this:
A clear plurality of respondents to our week long poll on encroachment into public space by an Ocean Beach restaurant agreed that it was “encroachment into the public space” – and agreed that it “must be removed.” 42% of those who took the survey of readers are against The Joint’s newly installed gated outside sitting area.
Then on June 6th, the City did a site inspection which resulted in the eatery’s owner being given a “correction notice“.
And now, it looks like the owners have moved the fence some. The originator of the complaint that we published feels it’s a “hollow victory” and is dissatisfied that the owners didn’t just take the entire fence down.
Ocean Beach Town Council Board Election Results
Here are the results of the recent election to the Board of the OBTC:
- Nate Bazydlo
- Giovanni Ingolia
- Trudy Levenson
- Melanie Laine Williams
- Corey Dylan Bruins
- Andrew Waltz
- Nicole Ueno
All the candidates were re-elected except newbies Corey Bruins and Nicole Ueno. The Board’s officers will be chosen at another meeting of the full panel. Rumor has it that Gretchen Newsom, the current president, will not be running for re-election.
Kilowatt Brewing Still Under Construction
OB’s latest beer tasting room-to-be, Kilowatt Brewing Co., is still under construction. The former site of OB Motorcycle, there is still much to be done before the partners open their new place – which will have seating out to the sidewalk.
When we first spoke to Chris Cavla, one of the partners, back in mid-July he was hoping they’d open by November.
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Former Shades Being Scrapped
As many know, one of OB’s favorite restaurants, Shades, has closed. The owners of Wonderland have taken over the space and will be opening their own establishment at some point in the near future.
Rumors About 7-Eleven
There’s a strong rumor out there among a few OB businesspeople, that Ronnie Shamoun, the owner of the property where there were plans for a 7-Eleven, has now decided against the corporate franchise coming in. Instead, the rumor goes, he will sign a more long-term lease with the current dry cleaning business. Our calls to the Shamoun law office to verify the rumor were not returned.
Status of Jensen’s Move into Old Fresh & Easy
Our roving reporter, South OB Girl, submitted some photos that show us the very latest about Jensen’s move into the former Fresh & Easy.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
All well and good about the charging station, but what about the blue fence? It blocks off access from the sidewalk along the beach to the street, leaving only one way through -for those walking….a narrow entrance/exit right by where surfers and others wash the sand off, then heads right past the bathrooms. When will there be a separate sidewalk that avoids this congestion? One used to be able to go through the driveway past the lifeguard station but now that the electric, blue fence has been put in, this is no longer possible. Any chance the city will put in a sidewalk along the edge of the lifeguard station parking lot so that pedestrians can once again have a pleasant walk? Once again, it seems, the city acted without any consultation with those of us who live here…
Lana, the lifeguards stated that too much foot traffic was impinging on the throughfare there when their vehicles were dispatched for emergencies. The fence was necessary.
I wish they would knock down that wall where the small walk through is that you’re talking about
One local organization is trying to raise a million bucks to put a pathway on the south side of the lifeguard station. It will also include a bum encampment. Some of their dead friends’ names might even be engraved on it.
Bitchin Bravo Hallelujah Hooray Hurrah Whoopee !!!!
All excellent news! Charging stations! Hooray! No 7-11! Hoooooray! The only sad news being that Gretchen will not be seeking another term as OBTC president, a challenging and often unrewarding position that she always handled with grace and professionalism. Those will be big shoes to fill.
Glad the Joint will be in compliance and their actions should send a message to others to comply. On a smaller scale but similar to Sunroad having to remove floors off a building…that was fantastic.
Gretchen did a great job. Hopefully her replacement will be as energized and effective. I hope she replaces Zapf when her time is up!
How much do you want to bet those charging station spots sit there empty?
Nah, I bet they’ll get regular use there. But then they will probably be filled up with Car2Go’s. I drive an electric car and it’s tough to find spots sometimes since they’re becoming a lot more popular. My biggest pet peeve is the Car2Gos always hog up the charging stations. #1stworldproblems
Sorry, you had asked for a bet. Bet you a beer at one of OBs numerous tasting rooms!
I hope you are right.
Now if they would restrict vehicles over 19 feet so the beater motorhomes wouldn’t hog up spots 24/7/365 like it was slab city, that would be great….
Why does this have to be at the beach? This property was deeded to the city for recreational purposes. Is charging electric cars a recreational purpose? What’s wrong with the Newport Parking lot? The police trailer people could keep an eye on things more easily with their surveillance cameras there. There is another motivation.
Seems like the wrong place for a charging station. There are better spots that won’t impinge on already difficult beach parking. Even the pier lot would be better I think. I am all for electric cars So I support the stations just not there. May be I could plug my electric bike in there too. Four spots seems like too many for now.
Just curious who pays for the power. Do they have to deposit credit cards for the power?