Month: October 2017

San Diego City Council Approves 18-Acre Christian-Themed Center

On Tuesday, October 17th, the San Diego City Council approved televangelist Morris Cerullo’s $130 – 160 million Legacy International Center project. The Center will replace the former Mission Valley Resort at 875 South Hotel Circle Drive on an 18 acre site at the west end of Mission Valley.

That’s the main headline.

But what the Council also did was approve a mini Disneyland-type of religious theme-park that will promote controversial religious tourism, owned by the head of a extremist Evangelical empire who is outspoken in his opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage,

Is there a boycott going on by the San Diego Mayor’s Office in attending Ocean Beach community meetings?

For at least the last six months, the leaders of both the Ocean Beach Town Council and the Ocean Beach Planning Board have openly complained during their public meetings about the absence of anyone from the Mayor’s Office. I’ve sat through most of these meetings over these 6 months and have heard

A special hearing by the San Diego City Council set for Monday, October 23rd, on deciding policy on short term vacation rentals has been cancelled. The cancellation – or ‘adjournment’ – was basically due to a last-minute memo from the City Attorney’s Office that raised legal questions about elements of the proposed ordinances by various members of the Council.

Mrytle Cole, President of the City Council, issued a Memo on Thursday, October 19th, that stated in part:

It does not appear that the San Diego City Council will be ready to finally make policy on short term vacation rentals at their hearing set for Monday, October 23rd.

Said Councilman David Alvarez, a key player on the issue:

“The breaking news is there won’t be anything done on Monday.”

A front page article in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune quotes Alvaraz as saying he doesn’t see how the Council can move forward on the contentious issue after the City Attorney just released

At a time when many protests over the fact that Target wants to becomes established in Ocean Beach rile the community, I think it is about time that people become aware of how a “little man”, wanting to start a successful business in OB is being met with frustration after frustration.

Just about a year ago I wrote an article about the Surf Check – a dream of Richard Aguirre‘s to own a small business that would enhance the local neighborhood. For those of you that are not aware of the Surf Check it is located on the northwest corner of Sunset Cliffs and Point Loma Avenue.

It was ten years ago this month that the online version of the OB Rag was launched into the ether of the internet. We began publishing October 26-27, 2007 – and we began under fire.

10 years ago a massive fire raged across San Diego County from October 19th through the 27th. Over 346,890 acres were burned, over 1,588 residences were destroyed and there were 7 civilian fatalities.

It resulted in one of the largest mass evacuations in California history – and certainly the largest in Southern California – where 640,000 residents were evacuated.

Blake Herrschaft Says Vacation Rentals Worsen the Housing Crisis

By Blake Herrschaft / Voice of San Diego/ October 16, 2017

If Councilmen Chris Ward, David Alvarez, Scott Sherman and Mark Kersey get their way, up to 10,000 housing units in San Diego could be effectively taken offline, making the housing crisis we’re now facing far worse.

Golden Rule Sails In Peacefully

By Dave Rice /San Diego Reader / Oct. 15, 2017

On Saturday (October 14), Fleet Week was in full swing at San Diego Bay.

Crowds lined the waterfront from Tuna Harbor north along the Embarcadero to watch Navy and Coast Guard vessels and helicopters performing in and over the water. More waited in line to tour Broadway Pier, where sailors sporting sidearms and semiautomatic rifles guarded access to the amphibious transport ship USS Anchorage, troop transports, churro vendors, tanks, bubble tea stands, and pieces of heavy artillery on display.

“Read the Book Before You Fly ‘Em”,
By Karen Scanlon –
Thurs. Oct. 19, 2017 at 7 pm
at P.L. United Methodist Church, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., O.B.

From OBHS:

Point Loma’s Jack Allen Davis, Jr. wanted to fly airplanes. And fly ‘em he did! This high-flying speculator bought and sold World War II surplus aircraft with daring competence. Jack was a local boy who learned to fly at age 14 with Gibbs Flying Service. “Old Bill Gibbs turned me loose on an old Piper Cub,” Jack bragged.

Ambert Calls Project at 2269 Ebers a Violation of Municipal Code

The Chair of the Ocean Beach Planning Board, John Ambert, in a letter to City representatives, described the decaying construction project at Ebers and Greene Streets a “public nuisance” and calls on the City to take action.

Recently, part of the fence that surrounds the site collapsed at 2269 Ebers and exposed the fact that the skeleton of a 3-story building has been lived in.

Ambert – in his letter to Xavier Del Valle (of the Development Services Dept.?) and Conrad Wear, Councilwoman Lorie Zapf’s community rep – says

It appears with the recent installation of a construction fence around it, the “Last Sand Dune of Ocean Beach” will be demolished with the building of a mixed-use project upon its soon-to-disappear sands.

The project at 5040 Santa Monica Avenue includes a 2-story commercial unit in front and 4 residential units behind and above it. The Ocean Beach Planning Board approved it by a vote of 7 to 2 over two years ago

By Murtaza Baxamusa / UrbDeZine

The current leadership at San Diego’s regional transportation agency hates tax, except that they love to spend it.

This double-standard has become increasingly apparent in the recent months, as they are back-filling the shortfall in the local sales tax revenues and increase in project costs with $5 billion from a statewide gas tax that many on the agency’s board vehemently oppose.

With the failure of the local sales tax measure last year, and the gridlock in Washington D.C., the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG – in charge of planning and building transit in the county) is now far more dependent on the passage of transportation taxes by the California legislature.