Summer News From Ocean Beach and Point Loma

OB Street Fair & Chili Cookoff

In case you haven’t heard – When: 10am to 8pm on Saturday, June 24, 2017 and Where: Newport Avenue, from Sunset Cliffs Blvd. to Abbott Street. More than 70,000 visitors are expected to attend, for tasty festival food, art, beachfront entertainment, shopping, and more.  5 stages of continuous music, the community mural project, Artist’s Alley, the beachfront beer garden, the kids’ FunZone, and jam with Rock & Roll San Diego. Entry to the Street Fair is always free!

This year’s Chili Competition features tastings from two categories: amateur and restaurant entrants, each competing for the titles of Hottest Chili, Judges’ Award, and Grand Prize: People’s Choice Award. Put your tastebuds to the test and cast your vote alongside the judges. Chili tasting tickets may be purchased at the Chili Cook-Off booth beginning at 10am Saturday. Tastings can be purchased for $2 per entry, or sample them all (and vote for your favorite) for $20 with the Master Ticket! Chili tasting begins at 11am. Awards will be presented on the Main Stage in the OB Pier parking lot between 2:30pm and 3pm. All proceeds from the Chili Cook-Off benefit the Annual July 4th Fireworks off the OB Pier.

Long-time OB Methodist Church Holds Last Service – OB Historical Society Archives Okay

On Sunday, May 28, the Point Loma United Methodist Church at 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. held its final worship service after 88 years at the same site. The church opened in 1929, adding a new sanctuary in 1951 (the woman who was the first to marry in it is still a parishioner), and it has always been a community fixture. But changing times, and a declining congregation, have teamed to set the Protestant church on a new course, said its current pastor, Melissa Spence. Spence added: Spence adding, “But the church’s congregation has dwindled dramatically. Going through this current merger, the hope is that we can still have a ministry in Ocean Beach.”  The plan is for the congregation to merge with First UMC San Diego in Mission Valley, with the hope that one of the worship services will move to Ocean Beach around the beginning of 2018.  Spence said the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank will be moving into the PLUM site once its vacated in August or September. sdnews.com

Of particular concern to us was the future of the OB Historical Society’s archives, as they had been located in the church’s basement. We were assured that the group’s valuables are good, as they have been moved to the upstairs floor community hall.

Car windows and tires vandalized on Cape May and Muir

OB residents are still trying to fix the damage done to their cars over the weekend. Neighbors on Cape May Avenue say someone smashed at lease three windshields, and others on Muir Avenue say at least five cars had their tires tampered with. “Just a pain in the butt this morning going to work,” David Jimenez said. San Diego Police say so far they have not had anyone file a police report about the damage, but encourage victims to make one. 10News

Missing Pt Loma Woman Found

A Point Loma woman missing from Friday morning June 16th was found safe Sunday, the 18th police said. Jackie Peterman, 67, was missing for more than 48 hours before she was found safe this afternoon, a San Diego Police Department watch commander said. The SDPD received a call from Peterman’s family at 12:40 p.m. saying the missing woman was back home in their care. Details about where Peterman was found weren’t immediately available, but her family told police she was found by trolley security, the watch commander said. Times of San Diego

Cow Records Hildebrand Enjoys the Hippie Mystique of OB – Thanks OB Planning Board

Hildebrand who owns Cow Records, was back in the “news” in an expanded article at San Diego U-T. In it we learn: “Hildebrand worked dozens of jobs before acquiring Cow Records, almost all of them on Newport Avenue. “I feel like I was immersed here since I was young,” he says, recalling his first job right across the street, among an amalgamation of stores called Trader’s Cove at that time. “I had a business (there) where I sold lamps, lamp oils, incense, some candles and candle art,” he says. That was how he spent his summer between ninth and 10th grade. Today, the space is occupied by Jungle Java, a garden-themed coffee shop.

Though the area has evolved around him, according to Hildebrand, the Ocean Beach Planning Board makes efforts to hold on to “a certain old-timey vibe.” “It seems like there’s an effort to hold on to that end-of-the-’60s peace-and-love niceness,” Hildebrand says. “(Hippies are) drawn to Ocean Beach because it has that kind of mystique to it.”

Non-Profit Van Used to Transport Homeless Youth Stolen and Recovered

A van used by a San Diego nonprofit to help transport homeless youth was stolen last week but was recovered overnight, the organization said. The Urban Street Angels said the stolen van was spotted in the Sports Arena area around 12:30 a.m. Four people in the van were stopped by police and arrested. M.G. Perez, a volunteer with the Urban Street Angels, told NBC 7 the van was returned to the nonprofit with “minor damage and in need of a good car wash and cleaning.” The van will be up and running again soon. The van was stolen Wednesday; it had been spotted several times around San Diego before it was finally recovered. The van was spotted Friday afternoon, parked at a gym parking lot in Point Loma.

Urban Street Angels was founded five years ago by Eric Lovett. He said the van had been an important part of what keeps his group running and the theft of it was a big blow to their work. “It was a vehicle that we use to help save and change lives,” said Lovett. “That’s what got me the most, why would you steal from us?”
Lovett started the group when he was feeding homeless in Ocean Beach back in 2012. “I was on the street giving out sandwiches and water and a young man named Steven, he is 19 years old, he said, ‘Thanks for the food but what I really need is a place to live,'” Lovett recounted. He began housing homeless youth in his home, then partnered with people in the community to start the program. Urban Street Angels work with Mission Gathering Christian Church on Polk Street in North Park. Every Tuesday, they house about 30 homeless youth there, and the van is used to transport the youth from Ocean Beach to that center. “We picked them up on Tuesday night, and then we took them back on Wednesday morning,” explained Lovett. Now, the van is back home where it belong.

Short Term Rentals Threaten PB’s Housing Stock

During a PB Town Council meeting, Save San Diego Neighborhoods touted findings on the impact rentals may have on the cost of living in San Diego. The group claims the short-term vacation rentals contribute to San Diego’s housing crunch. According to their research, there are 8,000 properties that are short-term vacation rentals, which means fewer homes for long-term renters.  “We have a housing crisis in San Diego and it’s aggravated by short-term vacation rentals,” said John Thickstun of Save San Diego Neighborhoods.7SanDiego

OB Brewpub Claims Gold and Bronze at Annual Beer Competition

Pizza Port’s Ocean Beach brewpub claimed gold and bronze at the annual California State Fair commercial beer competition: Ocean Beach Gold, American Porter and Stout — A.B.L.E.; Bronze, Session Beer <5% A.B.V. — Guillaume. San Diego beer companies claimed 25 medals in 42 categories of beer , including 11 gold medals and 6 silver. San Diego Reader

Point Loma Fire Station Built in 1943 Demolished – New One to Open Summer 2018

In December of 1942, Station 22 was dedicated at 1055 Catalina Blvd. That station, with a Spanish tile roof and built using lots of brick, cost the city a paltry $7,800. It has been demolished making way for a new facility. The new one-story building will measure 6,180 square feet with bays for two larger, modern engines and perhaps a truck. Dormitories for a captain and five crew members will provide spacious quarters when not on calls or performing other station work. Cost for the new facility: $5.74 million. Construction dates are approximate, but the project is slated to begin soon and conclude next summer. Officials emphasize there will be no interruption of services during construction. Peninsula Beacon

Los Angeles-based artist Roberto Delgado has been granted a public art commission by the city to create a site-specific artwork for the facade. The design will consist of a four-panel mural installation covering the vertical columns on the north face of the station. A city statement notes “Delgado’s colorful and complex artwork for the fire station will chronicle the history and character of the Point Loma neighborhood and its firefighters.” Contemporary and historic photos will be arranged into dynamic overlapping and layered compositions. Photographic imagery ranging from the Old Point Loma Lighthouse to the neighborhood’s past and present firefighters will be transferred to ceramic tiles using a silkscreen and airbrush process and then assembled to create the installation.

Dana Students Handed Bibles

Some parents of children in Point Loma’s Dana Middle School were alarmed this week when strangers handing out Bibles approached their children as they were leaving the school. This was quite disruptive at the school–the kids were talking about it and most of them thought it was creepy,” said Diane de Nelson on Facebook posts about the incident on May 30th. “It’s a low ball / tacky/ cultish maneuver,” added another commenter. Parents said that three men near the school crosswalk were handing out the miniature bibles to children as they walked by. “I told them that marketing their religion to children is inappropriate. One responded that they are within their legal rights, and the other said they weren’t ‘marketing,'” said Bob Smith. San Diego Reader

Brick Thrown Through Galactic Comics

Police are looking for the man who threw multiple bricks through the front door and display window of Galactic comics in Ocean Beach. At around 1 a.m. on June 12, the store’s security system recorded a white male, between 25 and 50-years-old, vandalizing the store. He was wearing a black hat with a teardrop logo on the front, a black hooded sweatshirt and black jeans. Owner David Draize says the video also showed the vandal was with a woman he called “Mikey.” Nothing was stolen, but the damage is estimated to be around $5,000. Draize said the police officers who responded stood guard over his store so no one stole anything until he got there. The man in the video is described as between 25 and 50-years-old, between 5’10” and 6 feet tall and weighing between 140 and 170 pounds.  Anyone with information should call the San Diego Police Department and refer to case number 17-022867. 10News

Mentally Ill Man Who Killed Parents Sentenced to 100 Years

A mentally ill man who fatally shot his parents in their Point Loma home the day after Thanksgiving 2014 was sentenced Friday to 100 years to life in state prison. Peter Haynes, 25, pleaded guilty in March to a pair of first-degree murder charges and personal use of a firearm in the deaths of Dr. David Haynes, 62, and Lissa Haynes, 61. Under the Youthful Offender law, the defendant could request a parole hearing after 25 years behind bars, said Superior Court Judge Laura Halgren.Deputy Public Defender Mignon Hilts said the defendant had a psychotic breakdown and was using drugs just before the murders, but his parents thought they could deal with him at home rather than have him hospitalized. Times of San Diego