News from Ocean Beach and Point Loma – Late January 2017

Adriana Toro

Victim of Sunset Cliffs Wave Recent Graduate of LSU

Adriana Toro, the tragic victim of a wave that swept her and a friend off rocks and into the surf at the end of Santa Cruz Avenue, was a recent graduate of Louisiana State University. Toro died at the hospital where she had been taken Saturday night, Jan. 20. Her companion, also hospitalized, is expected to recover.

OB Yoga Festival – Grab your yoga mats and towels

The OB Yoga Festival runs from Friday, January 27th through Monday, January 30th. Yogis, vendors, and wellness providers will be set up all over OB, with check-in taking place at Veterans Plaza (on Abbott and Newport). You can buy tickets on their website for either one day, one class, or the whole weekend. Each ticket sale will be synergistically used to pour back into the health and wellness industry. Wanting to participate but don’t have the money? A few free classes will be held for veterans throughout the event. Additionally, children of ticket-holders as well as dog owners will have a few free options as well. In the vendor area, there will be free talks to attend as well as chiropractic services. All events and sessions have limited space, so they recommend signing up on their website in advance.

Final words from the host: “This event is more than a three day event, it’s an epic energy-shifting event and the intention is that the lives of all of the people of Ocean Beach would be changed for the better. We really have a heart for the community and the goal is to shift the vibrational energy.”
San Diego Entertainer Mag.

OB and Point Loma Residents Say Airplane Noise Getting Worse

Dozens of San Diegans attended the bimonthly San Diego Airport Subcommittee Meeting Wednesday, Jan. 18t to voice their concerns about the airplane noise. “You’re awaken in the morning at 6:30 a.m. with planes going off starting at 6:30 a.m., 6:33 a.m. and often times there are some in the middle of the night,” Point Loma resident Lila Schmidt said. Schmidt said she’s lived in the area for more than 25 years and the noise has gotten worse. As a physician, she said she’s constantly being woken up.
“I told the FAA that if I get claimed against for medical malpractice, I will nail them for me being so sleep deprived because I told them over and over again this is killing us,” Schmidt said.

The Subcommittee is made up of 15 residents from the Point Loma, La Jolla and Ocean Beach area.
In November 2016, the FAA started changing their flight path. They said it’ll improve airspace efficiency.  Representatives from the FAA and the San Diego Airport Authority were at the meeting to hear the concerns. The Airport Authority released this statement to 10News, “Noise concerns are something we take very seriously. The FAA is responsible for controlling flight paths, and we work collaboratively with them and the community to minimize noise impacts as much as possible.” 10News

Slightly Stoopid to Produce Smokable Record

Giving new meaning to their band name, Ocean Beach’s white boy-reggae rockers, Slightly Stoopid, have decided to press their song “Dabbington” onto hashish (cannabis extracted and compressed from the resin glands of a marijuana plant). Yep, they’re actually making a smokable record. According to Consequence of Sound, the first two versions of the record cost $7,000 each to make, but “office potheads” couldn’t help smoking the first one and the audio of the second one wasn’t very good. Perhaps the only redeeming quality of this idea is that the record might be auctioned off for charity — emphasis on the “might.” According to the same Consequence of Sound article, Jon Philips of Silverback Music (who came up with the high-minded scheme) claims it’s a — wait for it — work of art. 7NBC

Bank Robber Hits Midway Area Bank Twice Out of 4 Holdups

An unidentified man who has carried out a spree of armed bank robberies in Linda Vista, Clairemont and the Midway area in recent weeks — two of them on the same day — struck again over the weekend, authorities reported Monday. The thief committed the series of holdups at a Bank of America branch on Ulric Street and a US Bank on Genesee Avenue, both on Dec. 21; at a Wells Fargo on Clairemont Drive on Jan. 5; and at a US Bank on Midway Drive on Jan. 8 and again Sunday, according to San Diego police. During several of the crimes, he had a bag over one of his hands and gestured with it as if he was clutching a concealed gun, prompting investigators to dub him the “Bag Trick Bandit.”

The perpetrator is described as a thin, roughly 6-foot-tall white man in his 30s with “dirty blond” hair, a tattoo on one of his legs and possibly another on his neck. He generally has donned sunglasses and worn a hooded sweatshirt during the heists. Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or contact the agency online at sdcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Times of San Diego

Kilowatt Getting Close

The Kilowatt Brewery Ocean Beach Tasting Room is getting real close to opening, so close that they hosted “a super soft opening for just our family and friends” on Jan. 21st.

New Mexican Restaurant Headed for Liberty Station

Rise and Shine Restaurant Group (Breakfast Republic, Fig Tree Café) announced that it will be opening El Jardin in Liberty Station next year. The Mexican concept’s kitchen will be run by the former chef de cuisine of Little Italy’s Bracero. 7SanDiego

Mother’s Saloon to Offer Acoustic Wed Nights

Ocean Beach’s live music scene continues to expand, with a new weekly acoustic music series at Mother’s Saloon being the latest addition to the calendar. Each Wednesday night will now feature three solo or duo acts booked by local music promoters, Gale Force Productions, sharing the stage at Mother’s. It’s the latest feather in the cap for the Ocean Beach-based company, helmed by Gale Hopping, who in addition to promoting events, recently became social media director for the San Diego Music Awards. sdnews.com

Point Loma Nazarene University Writer’s Symposium Continues

Writer’s Symposium by the Sea continues with one more event on February 21st at 7pm. Earlier events were just held this past weekend. It’s an annual event that brings interviews with cutting edge creators, life stories, examples of great writing and evocative conversation that will inspire the reader and writer alike. This year’s guests include Shauna Niequist, U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinksy and Pullitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder. The evening interviews, conducted by symposium founder Dean Nelson, feature lively conversations about the stories behind the author’s stories. The audience gets to eavesdrop on these exchanges and even interact with the writer during a Q&A session that follows. Specialized afternoon workshops, conducted by published writers, provide tips and insight into the writing process. You are invited to join us and listen in on what some of today’s cutting edge writers have to say! KPBS

OB Named One of Top San Diego Beaches – of Course!

Thrillist, an online travel prop, has listed Ocean Beach as one of the most important beaches in San Diego, calling out OB “The epitome of the city’s hippie culture serves up copious craft brews.” Here is how they describe OB:

Just north of Downtown is San Diego’s home for all things hippie. Ocean Beach is the classic, old-school California beach neighborhood: Much of the architecture hasn’t been updated since the ’70s, VW vans dot the sidewalks, stores selling crystals line the main drag of Newport Ave, barefoot surfers troll the streets looking for the next best wave, and there’s always a rogue guitarist — or five — setting up shop along the beachfront. “OB,” as it’s known to locals, is also home to some of the city’s best beers, burgers, and acai bowls.

Here is where they advise readers to eat and drink:

The neighborhood has recently stepped up its craft beer offerings, now proudly boasting several San Diego craft brewery tasting rooms: Pizza Port, Mike Hess Brewing, OB Brewery, Belching Beaver, Helm’s, and Culture. If you’d like some food to go with all that beer, legendary Hodad’s is always a sure bet for burgers, but locals favor Raglan Public House for its robust burger and beer menus, as well as nice outdoor seating. Oceanfront Wonderland Ocean Pub has a Hawaiian-inspired menu, craft brew-stocked bar, and sprawling, open-air ocean views.

Those looking for more refreshing, healthier options won’t have to venture far: The best acai bowls in San Diego are served at Lazy Hummingbird, as well its sister location, The Nest, which is located in an organic home goods store called Teeter, just off the OB Pier.

OB Fails to Make National Geographic’s “Best 21 Beaches”

However, OB did not make National Geographic’s “Best 21 Beaches”.

4th-Generation Point Loman Appointed Head of NTC Foundation

The NTC Foundation recently announced the appointment of fourth generation Point Loman Lori Fleet-Martin as the board chair. Fleet-Martin, who joined the board in 2010, has been active in the continued development of Arts District Liberty Station and its transformation from Navy Base to Arts and Culture District. Martin replaces Richard Opper, also a Point Loma resident, who will remain on the board. San Diego Community News Group

San Diego River Clean-Up Haul Is 2100 Pounds of Trash

On Jan. 16th, nearly 150 volunteers picked up trash and debris in the San Diego River estuary area near SeaWorld over the weekend as part of the San Diego River Park Foundation’s ninth annual kayak cleanup. San Diego City Councilwoman Lorie Zapf and her aide Conrad Wear paddled a kayak. “Alcohol bottles, aerosol cans, a full bottle of lighter fluid…The number of aerosol cans and lighters were off the charts,” she said. “I wish we could do this more than once a year.”

The weekend event marked the only day kayaks are allowed to be in that part of the river, an estuary that meanders down to Ocean Beach. The area is normally not accessible because it is a protected habitat area, as more than 100 species of birds use the estuary area as a resting place along the Pacific Flyway during their yearly migrations between Alaska and Mexico.  The estuary is a 330-acre wildlife area with habitat for sensitive species, including endangered birds like the Ridgway’s Rail and the California Least Tern that nest in the area.  Ed Henry, past president of the board of directors for the San Diego Audubon Society, oversaw activities to ensure endangered birds were not disturbed. Volunteers worked in teams of two on kayaks or walked along the path and through the rocks above the river collecting debris. Nearly 2,100 pounds of trash — everything from plastic bags to hubcaps to rugs — was cleared out.  Carol Sniegoski of Mission Beach and Kirk Belles of North Park, members of the San Diego Kayaking Club, said the opportunity to paddle out in the area was one they couldn’t pass up. San Diego Union-Tribune

Farmers Market Dreamcatcher Maker Interviewed

Before heading out of O.B. to a gem show in Arizona, Christian Fischer explained how he became a fabricator of dreamcatchers. San Diego Reader

Jensen’s Grand Opening Sat.. Feb 4, 11-2.