News from Ocean Beach and Point Loma – Late August 2017

Homeless Man Injured by City Truck

A homeless man was badly injured Saturday, Aug. 26, when a City of San Diego worker in a pick-up truck accidentally ran the man over as he lay on a grassy area in Ocean Beach. The city employee, who’s with the San Diego Parks and Recreation Department, was emptying trash bins and loading his truck at around 9:45 a.m. on a lawn in front of Brighton Avenue and Spray Street. As he worked at the rear of the truck, a homeless man was lying on the grass a few feet away from the vehicle, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said.

The city worker didn’t see the man and, as he got into the truck and drove forward, he ran over him. Police said the victim, who is 55 years old, suffered a broken femur, a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. He was taken to UCSD Medical Center. No one else was hurt in the accident. The investigation is ongoing, with the SDPD trying to determine whether the man was lying on the grass before the worker arrived in his truck, or whether he lay down after the truck parked. According to witnesses, the victim has problems with his vision and may not have seen the truck next to him. 7San Diego A SD Reader article suspects the homeless guy did it intentionally.

OB Hardware Is NOT Closing

Sometimes the OB Rag role is to ferret out the truth behind rumors that are circulating around the village. One of those rumors had the OB Hardware store on Newport Avenue closing by the end of the year. So we went right to the owners and asked. They are not closing I was told in no uncertain but friendly terms.

Is the City Installing Round-abouts on Rosecrans?

There’s more than a rumor out there that the City is planning to install two “round-abouts” – or traffic circles – at intersections on Rosecrans. One is supposed to be coming in at Bessemer and Rosecrans, with the other at Owen and Rosecrans. Some people like round-abouts and others don’t. Some think these will contribute to a traffic mess and will be catastrophic. They urge others to make concerns known to the traffic safety dept by submitting a request here. Others see them as beautiful and have experienced round-abouts contributing to the flow of traffic.

Councilwoman Zapf Dodges Financial Hardship as Hubby Discharged from Chapter 7

Eric Zapf, husband of councilwoman Lorie Zapf, has been discharged from a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy he filed in May of this year. In 2014, the Fourth District Court of Appeal found that Eric Zapf was liable for negligence in a Carlsbad real estate deal. Zapf and his associates were told to pay more than $1 million for their role in a transaction. The sellers of the property, but not Eric Zapf, were found liable for fraud in the deal. On May 12 of this year, Eric Zapf filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy. In the filing, Lorie Zapf was named as a co-debtor. On August 24, bankruptcy judge Laura Taylor lifted a lien against the Zapf home related to the 2014 judgment. The discharge of the Chapter 7 was dated August 15. The lien-holders did not show up in court. For more, see Don Bauder at the SD Reader

Airport Noise Committee Demands Details From Noise Monitoring Study

Despite the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) insistence that there have been no changes to flight paths that would increase airplane noise in La Jolla before March 2017, residents from Bird Rock to The Shores have been reporting that planes are flying closer to the coast and at a lower altitude — since fall 2016. So when the Airport Noise Advisory Committee (ANAC) sub-committee learned airplane-related noise in La Jolla had been monitored and studied for nearly a year, its La Jolla representative, Chris McCann, demanded details of the report be released. At the Aug. 16 ANAC meeting at the Portuguese Hall in Point Loma, noise consultant Paul Dunholter presented the study’s purpose, methodology, next steps and more. Its final results will be presented in October.

The perceived increase in noise comes from changes stemming from the FAA’s Metroplex system, which adjusts flight paths to make airspace more efficient. The FAA reports the projected annual savings with Metroplex are: $7.8 million in fuel costs, 2.7 million gallons of fuel, and 23.3 thousand metric tons of carbon. Reading off a slide, Dunholter said Metroplex was implemented in two phases for San Diego International Airport. The first phase was in November 2016 for Point Loma departures, and the second phase in March 2017 for departure and arrivals procedures for flights near or over Mission Beach and La Jolla. However, noise complaints from La Jolla started to increase in October 2016. La Jolla Light

Yard sign in OB . Photo by Frank Gormlie

Point Loma High Switches on the Lights Amid Continued Controversy

A new era kicked off at Point Loma High School Friday night as the football team played its first game under newly installed LED lights – lights that attracted plenty of controversy from the surrounding neighborhood. The Pointers may have lost their season opener, but for the first time in 93 years, the Point Loma High School football team has its own Friday night lights. “It feels like I am in Texas,” said Ryan Little, a high school senior. Coach Mike Hastings, who has coached the team for 24 years, shares the same feeling. “We’ve always dreamed about it. We’ve always wanted it, but now our community, our school, our alumni gets to enjoy it.” Before the newly installed lights, the team would have play after school, while there was still sunlight. Homecoming was the only night game, but the school would have to rent loud portable lights. …

But as the sun set – angry neighbors were found living in the shadows of the newly bright lights and P.A. system. “This is terrible. The whole neighborhood is pretty upset about it. I mean look at the noise. Look at the parking spaces,” said Angie Poppe, a Point Loma neighbor who opposed the lights. Earlier this year, a judge ruled in favor of the school district after a group of neighbors filed a lawsuit claiming the stadium lights and new P.A. system did not meet environmental standards. “We don’t’ want a tug-of-war with anyone – especially our community,” said Coach Hastings. Even with the new lights installed, the school will only be allowed 18 night events and practice until 7:30 p.m. No outside groups will be allowed to use the stadium at night. CBS8

Different Vibe With Girl Surfers

Carla Verbrugghen and her daughter were at the showers in OB when I meet up with them. Verbrugghen has been surfing since she was twelve years old. “There was a little break in the middle. I went to college, I went to law school, I had kids. But I always kept surfing. These last 11 years I have been surfing almost four or five times a week.” Verbrugghen works for Surf Diva. On this particular day in OB, there are lots of kids out in the water. “If the kids don’t know etiquette, when to go or which direction to go on their wave, then that gets a little scary.” “There are breaks where we are the only two girls, but that’s fine. There’s a different vibe in the water when you get a bunch of girls out there. They cheer each other on.” San Diego Reader

Man Rescued From Fishing Vessel Miles Off Point Loma

The U.S. Coast Guard reported the medical evacuation of a 56-year-old man from a fishing vessel about 55 miles off the shore of Point Loma Thursday, Aug. 24th. The Coast Guard deployed an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to evacuate the man, and he was taken to the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center at approximately 2 p.m., according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The crew of the fishing vessel Intrepid contacted the U.S. Coast Guard because the man, a passenger on the vessel, was having heart attack-like symptoms, according to the report. 7San Diego

Undocumented Migrants Arrested at Sunset Cliffs and Mission Beach

A dozen people suspected of entering the country illegally were arrested early Thursday, Aug. 24, after two small boats reached shore in Mission Beach and Sunset Cliffs. A Coast Guard helicopter crew guided Border Patrol agents to the suspects as they scattered about the beaches. Three people are believed to have escaped. The first panga boat was spotted just west of Belmont Park about 2:20 a.m. by a camera operator at a harbor operations center run by the Coast Guard, the Navy and Harbor police. The Border Patrol was notified soon after.

Smugglers’ boat at Sunset Cliffs. Photo by South OB Girl.

The boat made landfall north of the Mission Beach amusement park, and 10 people dispersed before the boat traveled back south. All of the 10 people were arrested. Minutes later, a second panga boat went ashore just west of the Sunset Cliffs area. Several people ran from the boat when it reached shore near Point Loma Avenue about 2:40 a.m. Two people were arrested. Authorities suspect three people in their group escaped. In total, 11 of the people arrested are Mexican citizens and one is a Guatemalan national. Seven are men and five are women. SD Union-Tribune

Point Loma Plumbing Co. Wins Gold Medal Plumber Fourth Year in a Row

Bill Howe’s plumbing company is honored for the fourth year in a row as coastal areas favorite plumber by readers of the Beach and Bay Press. Bill Howe was the sole service plumber in Point Loma and other coastal cities when he first began his own company AM/PM Sewer and Drains. Since 1980, the company has grown from just Bill Howe to the Bill Howe Family of Companies in San Diego with Plumbing, Heating & Air, and Restoration Divisions. PRWeb

Co-Author of “Afoot and Afield in San Diego County” to Speak at OB Library, Sept. 16th

Now an updated “Afoot and Afield in San Diego County” is in print. Scott Turner, who is the co-author on the fifth edition, hiked every hike in the book, which was over 200, to update each one. He also added 50 new hikes to the book. The fifth edition of the book was published in March.  Scott Turner will speak about the book at a series of events at libraries across the county over the next month: Saturday, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. at the Ocean Beach Branch Library, 4801 Santa Monica Ave., San Diego. KPBS

Raised in Point Loma, Artist Shares His Struggles in Exhibit at Liberty Station

Michael Carini really wants is to have a conversation. Carini – who identifies himself artistically as an “acrylic alchemist” – uses his art to deal with his own life struggles, but his larger hope is that it, too, helps others deal with theirs. “I’m hoping they can find something that can engage them,” Carini said recently during an interview at ArtWalk at Liberty Station. “It isn’t easy living a life where you feel vulnerable all the time. My hope is that in my work, people begin to have a self-awareness and begin to open up a dialogue — for them to know that it’s OK to share our struggles.” That’s the impetus for Carini’s current exhibit, “Reign Upon Sonrise: A Five Year Healing, Meditation and Rebirth,” on display at the Martha Pace Swift Gallery at Liberty Station through Sept. 22. An artist’s reception will be held Friday from 5-8 p.m. as part of Friday Night Liberty at Liberty Station.

“A lot of my work is inspired by struggles,” Carini, 33, said. “I’ve always struggled throughout my life.” He’s battled physical and mental health issues, and in 2012, found himself on the verge of becoming homeless. Thanks to a residency at Alexander Salazar Fine Art, he began to bounce back. San Diego Union-Tribune

Plant Power Seeds in Leucadia

Think fast food drive-thru places are bad? Think again. Ocean Beach-based Plant Power Fast Food has expanded to ever-trendy, and ever-retro-hipped-out Leucadia, and with a twist. Its new location at a former Burger King features a drive-thru window, believed to be the first drive-thru vegan restaurant experience offered by a fully plant-based fast-food restaurant chain in the nation.  Plant Power Fast Food calls itself a “FREE drive-through experience” because the entire menu is cholesterol-free, meat-free, and dairy-free, according to co-founder Zach Vouga. Escondido Grapevine

OB Surf Lodge Part of Syndicate

Social Syndicate, a San Diego-based restaurant and development group, has been revitalizing and designing popular restaurant brands since 2014. Most recently, the company opened its sixth restaurant, OB Surf Lodge in Ocean Beach. Social Syndicate’s five other restaurants include Bootlegger, Wonderland Ocean Pub, The Local, The Local PB and The Rabbit Hole. Social Syndicate also collaborates with Resident Brewery, now available at Petco Park, along with Wonderland Ocean Pub. Times of San Diego

Surfrider Foundation and Volunteering – Int’l Coastal Cleanup Day – Sept. 16

OBcean Lorna Horne says volunteering is good for people’s well-being and urges people to become volunteers; she writes: “The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network, and the San Diego County Chapter is one of the largest and most active chapters in the world. The Surfrider Foundation and San Diego Coastkeeper coordinate beach cleanups three times a month. If you’re interested in getting involved, International Coastal Cleanup Day is coming up on on Saturday, September 16th. You can join Surfrider San Diego at Ocean Beach this year if you’d like to be a part of this international event.” For more San Diego Entertainment Mag.