Month: March 2018

In a parking lot of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in San Ysidro, 500 San Diegans rallied against President Trump and his wall. Trump was over at the prototypes during part of the rally.

The general theme, “Build Bridges Not Walls”, was highly visible as a variety of faith-based organizations and groups that have mobilized since Trump’s election came together to oppose his policies on the wall, immigration and other issues. Folks from Women’s March, Indivisible, ImpeachTrump mingled with immigrants’ rights groups and Democratic party activists.

Someone once said ‘all politics is local politics.’ This is no truer right now than here in Point Loma, where politics are indeed swirling around the local planning committee’s annual election.

Apparently, false accusations have been spread against some candidates running for seats on the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB). And one of those candidates is Geoff Page – a Point Loma activist, former chair of that planning group, consultant – and a writer / reporter for the OB Rag.

On the surface, the imbroglio surrounds the controversial recycling center at Stump’s Market on Voltaire, and who supports it and who doesn’t. Page and 3 other candidates have been falsely accused by a sitting Board member of supporting the recycling center and who also has sent out emails urging Peninsula voters to not vote for them.

Here is Geoff Page’s response to an email

On the eve of Trump’s visit to San Diego to view wall prototypes at the border, this sign was spotted by over the 163 freeway in San Diego.

Point Loma’s other local community planning committees – other than Ocean Beach – have their annual elections coming up in March.

The Peninsula Community Planning Board holds theirs on March 15th and the Midway Community Planning Group has theirs on March 21st. (The Ocean Beach Planning Board had theirs on March 7th. )

Here are the details:

Peninsula Community Planning Board Elections

The Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) will be holding elections in March 2018 to fill five (5) vacancies. Board terms are three (3) years, with exception of unexpired terms which are filled.

Nuclear Shutdown News for February 2018

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

New Jersey Oyster Creek Nuke “To Shut Down for Good”

On February 2, 2018 the Asbury Park Press, Bruce Springsteen’s hometown newspaper, reported that the New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant is “to shut down for good in October more than a year ahead of schedule-in a surprise announcement by plant owner Exelon.”

The Park Press also reported the nuke plant is the “oldest in the US” and will be 49 years old when it it ceases operations.

Oyster Creek started up at the end of the year in 1969, as Richard Nixon was finishing his first year in office

By Jim Miller

In the early days of the Trump administration, most savvy observers were quick to note that, populist bluster aside, Trump’s policies would be a disaster for America’s already historic level of economic inequality. As economist Charles Ballard wrote in The Hill, “the main thrust of policy proposals from President Trump is to maintain, and even accelerate, the anti-egalitarian policies of recent decades.”

A year later, it’s now abundantly clear that the anti-egalitarian nature of this administration has only poured gasoline on the fire.

Avoid Contact With Water for 72 Hours Following Rain of March 10

There is a General Rain Advisory in effect for all of San Diego’s coastal waters – including, of course, all Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliffs, Point Loma, Mission Bay – all the other beaches.

The water quality advisory is due to contamination by urban runoff following rains that occurred on March 10, 2018.

Swimmers, surfers, and other ocean users are warned

Editor’s Note: The County of San Diego has announced Temporary Area Restrictions in the area near the Border Wall prototypes effective March 9 -16. Via the Times of San Diego, here’s their release directed at people planning to demonstrate during Trump’s visit.

It has been widely advertised that there will be a Presidential visit to San Diego during the second week of March. This visit may prompt individuals and groups with contrasting opinions to gather in the area near the Border Wall Prototype Construction in Otay Mesa.

UPDATE: Contractor Tells OB Rag 51 Torrey Pines Will Be Planted at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park

The OB Rag has just been contacted by Keith Adamek,vice-president of Silverstrand Construction – mentioned below – that the number of Torrey Pines trees they will plant is 51.

Virginia Wilson of Save Peninsula Trees told this reporter that the company working on developing Sunset Cliffs Natural Park had pledged to plant 130 Torrey Pine trees within the park. She had heard this number at the recent meeting of the citizens’ council that oversees the park from a representative of the company, Silverstrand Construction.

The planting of Torrey Pines is mentioned several times in the Master Plan for the Sunset Cliffs park – which is great. OBceans love Torrey Pines – and fight to keep them.

There’s a “Save Bahia Point Park ! -Paddle & Appreciation Day” being put together by some of the beach folks mobilized against mega-hotelier … Evans public land grab at Bahia Point in Mission Bay. It’s happening Saturday, March10th.

From a flier put out:

New Executive Committee Chosen

At last night’s monthly Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting, Blake Herrschaft was elected Chair of the Board, a step up from his former position as vice-chair. And Andrea Schlageter was elected the new vice-chair – whose task mainly is to chair the monthly subcommittee meeting of the Project Review panel. Rounding out the Executive Committee, Craig Klein was selected again as the Treasurer and Dan Dennison the Secretary of the Board.

In community election results, the 4 incumbents who ran were all re-elected; they include Klein, Numan Stotz, Jane Gowronski and Schlageter. John Ambert and Bill Corbin have stepped off the Board. Ambert was chair for 4 years.

Discussion on Dockless Bikes

The main draw for the night’s meeting – evidenced by a packed meeting room and at least 3 television cameras – was a promised discussion or forum on the invasion into OB by bike-share, or dockless bikes.

We were just tooling around the Point in my Nissan Verse, out to Ladera Street to check the stairs, up the road to see what’s happening with the trees and construction of the new park at Point Loma Natural, up Hill Street to inspect the progress of the new Point Loma Fire Station, then north to Voltaire to take in the views of the Upper Voltaire project. And everywhere (not literally) we saw LimeBikes – not in huge groups – but in ones, and twos ….

Ladera Street Stairs Still Accessible Despite Tape

The City of San Diego believes the cliffs around the end of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard at Ladera Street are unsafe.