Month: March 2017

At the most recent OB Town Council meeting, a friend who is active in Ocean Beach and an OB Rag supporter, took me aside, and said, “You’re killing me with all the national news.” He was complaining that he felt the OB Rag was straying from its focus on local, OB news and material.

I explained to him that we had to do both, be the source of uber news for the village and the Peninsula and provide news and analysis about what’s going on nationally – especially now in the time of Trump.

Ever since we began trying to be the online newspaper for OB and providing a platform for the community, we’ve experienced a tension between covering really local stuff about OB and Point Loma versus both throwing out our news net for wider issues, more city and county related issues – and being a source for progressive views and analysis on national and international news and goings on.

Trumpcare effectively destroys access to affordable women’s healthcare services

By Lauren McCauley / Common Dreams

Women’s healthcare providers are readying for a fight. Refusing to back down from its commitment to women’s choice, Planned Parenthood is now at risk of losing nearly 40 percent of its funding—and is calling for a massive mobilization to resist the attack on women’s health.

Ahead of the official release of House Republicans’ the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on Monday evening—which guts funding for any healthcare organization that “provides for abortions”—Planned Parenthood reportedly rejected an offer from the White House to stop terminating pregnancies in exchange for the group to continue receiving federal funds for other essential services.

Profits Can Stay In State, Provide Local Funding

By John Lawrence

Alarmed by the corruption and greed of Wall Street, many US cities and states are studying the feasibility of establishing public banks. Public banks are owned by cities, states or other jurisdictions and serve to keep funds local instead of being deposited on Wall Street. The funds are then used to support local economic activities like small business loans and student loans.

Washington state has already cut its ties with Wells Fargo because they funded …

By Ernie McCray

All I can say about the early weeks of Donald J. Trump’s “First 100 Days” is that he has shown himself, in that time, to be an “Enemy of the People” in so many ways.

And there are those of us who keep saying “Give him a chance,” a rather non-nonsensical idea considering how he abuses chances every chance he gets.

He’s had and still has an enviable chance, as the most known person on the planet, with microphones and video cameras at his beck and call, to guide us in a spirit of love, so that we can be the kind of people Americans should be: tolerant people; caring people, people the rest of the world should be able to depend on.

By OB Rag Editors

Can you imagine a day without a woman?

We join with our fellow editors at San Diego Free Press, in the strike for women on International Women’s Day 2017, and will remain “dark” for the day.

Many of the staff and contributors of the OB Rag are women. 50% of the volunteer SDFP editorial board and 50% of SDFP volunteer contributors are women.

Crowd Demands Answers from Issa on Healthcare Bill

By Indivisible San Diego County

More than 430 constituents of Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-49) rallied outside his district office in Vista this morning to demand answers about the newly released GOP health care bill. The Republican legislation was kept secret from the public by its authors, and alarmed citizens with Indivisible 49 turned to their congressman for clarity. They did not get it.

Led by Reverend Beth Johnson of the Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, the voters sent a delegation to meet with Issa’s District Director, Bill Christensen.

Newport Ave Re-Paving Begins Thursday, March 9

The long-anticipated re-paving of Newport Avenue begins Thursday, March 9th. Beginning at 8am, the work crews will re-pave the normally-busy commercial street from Abbott to Sunset Cliffs Blvd. Workers will grind down the old asphalt 3 inches, and then pour in 3 inches of the fresh smelly, gooey, stinking-hot new asphalt (ever worked with it? it’s pretty bad stuff).

Gas Leak Tuesday at Sunset View Elem

Restaurant Review

Voltaire Beach House
4934 Voltaire
San Diego, CA 92107
619-955-8840

In doing a restaurant review, I frequently invite others to join me because the more people reviewing the restaurant the more authentic the review will be.

Today I was fortunate to have two people review the Voltaire Beach House with me that have never done a review before. Rosemarie lives in Pt. Loma, and her friend Bette is visiting from Florida so we agreed to meet at 11:00am – opening time – at the restaurant.

When I arrived at the restaurant a few minutes ahead of Rosemarie and Bette I was greeted by Caleb, one of the men working the bar.

Wednesday, March 8
A Day Without a Woman

A Message From: The Women’s March on Washington

On International Women’s Day, March 8th, women and our allies will act together for equity, justice and the human rights of women and all gender-oppressed people, through a one-day demonstration of economic solidarity.

In the same spirit of love and liberation that inspired the Women’s March, we join together in making March 8th A Day Without a Woman, recognizing the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system…

Anyone, anywhere, can join by making March 8th A Day Without a Woman, in one or all of the following ways:

• Women take the day off, from paid and unpaid labor

• Avoid shopping for one day (with exceptions for small, women- and minority-owned businesses).

• Wear RED in solidarity with A Day Without A Woman

EMERGENCY CALL TO ACTION!!

Donald Trump just signed The Muslim Ban 2.0. He calls it “fantastic”…

It is just as repulsive and as unconstitutional as the first one. We need to come together NOW!! Let us unite together and SEND THE MESSAGE THAT MUSLIMS AND REFUGEES ARE WELCOME HERE!!!

We will be meeting – 6:30pm – at terminal 2! Our theme is NO BAN NO WALL.

Here are more photos from the wonderful “Impeach” and “Resist” event on Saturday, March 4th in Ocean Beach. These are in chronological order, more or less.

Guess what’s coming to Sunset Cliffs? It’s Sunset Cliffs Living– a magazine devoted to Sunset Cliffs!

I just spent a delightful hour with Brenna Vega, a young, Point Loma High School Graduate, (2002) with a vision of bringing the community closer together. (Not only did she go to PLHS, she also went to Loma Portal and Correia.)

After spending time in Los Angeles, New York, and China for the past 7 years, the draw of home brought her back to San Diego where she is fulfilling a dream of a magazine devoted to our community. She deems it a “social magazine for the residents of Sunset Cliffs, and is focusing on the areas of Sunset Cliffs east to Catalina; south to the college; and Sunset Cliffs to the end at Ladera.”