News from Ocean Beach and Point Loma – Early July 2018

50 Years Ago – OB Pier Dedicated

It was on July 2, 1966, that the OB Pier was dedicated – see article online at the San Diego Union-Tribune; the pier was a promise made to the community when the fishing bridge between OB and South Mission was dismantled in 1950.

Nati’s Building Denied Historic Designation

An attempt to have recently closed Nati’s Mexican Restaurant building at 1852-1866 Bacon St. in Ocean Beach declared historical failed by a 7-2 vote on June 28 at the City’s Historical Resources Board. The preservation effort was spearheaded by Obecans and Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO). La Jolla attorney and HRB board member Courtney Coyle’s made a motion in favor of historically designating the Nati’s property:

 “… that 1852-1866 Bacon St. be designated as resource that exemplifies a special element of OB’s economic, aesthetic, and social development, with a period of significance of 1955-2018. … The resource also reflects OB’s aesthetic development, illustrated by the artistic arrangement of contemporary style features such as double slant roofs, practical use of materials, and design intent … with the quirky charm and pedestrian scale associated with OB.

The resource reflects the social development of OB as a landmark resource on a prominent and busy corner, relevant both for meet-ups with friends and also as a way finding feature when giving directions. Despite alterations, the resource has sufficient integrity to convey these special elements of OB’s development.”

The motion was defeated. sdnews.com

For more on Nati’s, see this

How to Avoid Fines from Tickets During Fourth of July holiday 

Beachgoers who receive certain types of non-traffic tickets before or on the Fourth of July holiday may be able to avoid convictions and fines through a City Attorney’s Office cleanup program called Instant Justice. Under the program, participants are given an opportunity to pay a $40 fee and complete six hours of community service Thursday to avoid convictions and fines that are typically a minimum of $200, according to the City Attorney’s Office. Offenses covered in the diversion program include those related to glass containers, open alcohol containers, consuming alcohol in public, littering, smoking in parks or letting dogs off leash in public. The program applies to infractions received a maximum of five business days ahead of Thursday at city beaches and parks in Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, La Jolla and Clairemont. Fox5

Prince’s Recycling Closes With Sympathy

Juddi Curry wrote a touching account of the closing of Prince’s Recycling Center behind Stumps for the online Beacon. Here’s part:

I heard that the homeless were causing a problem at the recycling center and that is why it was closed. I tried to find incidents of crime attributed to these people, and was not successful. Homelessness is a problem all over San Diego; it doesn’t matter if there is a recycling center nearby or not. 

I also saw a the suggestion made to the community that they would stop shopping at the local market – Stumps – until the center was gone. That only made me shop at Stumps more, and I never had any encounter with a homeless person.

Swimmer with Heart Attack Rescued by Lifeguards in Mission Bay

A man who suffered a heart attack while swimming in Mission Beach was revived by San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguards. A lifeguard crew was flagged downed by a jetskier who reported a  man was unconscious and lying face down in the water. Lifeguards pulled the unidentified man out of the water onto a platform at the back of their patrol boat, but he didn’t have a pulse. As a team, they systematically pumped the man’s chest for about 10 minutes as the boat sped back to shore, after hooking him up to an Automated External Defibrillator.
The crew was able to restart the man’s heart just before an ambulance and more medics arrived at a dock at Ski Beach Park to transport him to UC San Diego Medical Center. 7SanDiego

Lifeguards Rescued 118

This year, San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguards rescued 118 people as they patrolled beaches with an estimated attendance of 322,000.

Dockless Bikes Are Big Concern

As the boom in dockless bike and scooter sharing in San Diego subsides, the handful of companies behind the disruptive technology are starting to refine where their vehicles can be used. And while skeptical residents and businesses may welcome the companies’ self-imposed limitations, others see the shift as cause for concern. Mobike recently implemented a “core operating area” that covers parts of downtown, Hillcrest, North Park and the Midway District. Users who leave the orange bikes outside that zone can be charged a “bike relocation fee” of $5. The company has also banned parking in Balboa Park, warning riders that violations could affect their future usage of Mobike. KPBS

Rubbish Fire in the Midway

A rubbish fire broke out Monday afternoon, July 2 on the roof of a warehouse in the Midway district. The fire started around 3:10 p.m. at Rush Press in the 3500 block of California Street, near Vine Street, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Crews knocked down the fire by 3:24 p.m. No one was injured. Fox5

A Brief History of Beach Booze Ban

“Once upon a time in San Diego, boozing was permitted on the beach. … For those who partied responsibly in the 80s and 90s, there wasn’t a better time to be alive — especially for twenty somethings. However, as the party years pressed on (and tourists outnumbered locals,) alcohol-induced fights, disorderly conduct, and extreme public intoxication became the norm after the turn of the century. Things really came to a head in 2007, on Labor Day, when SDPD responded to reports of fighting on Oceanfront Walk in Pacific Beach. Cops were pelted with batteries, beer bottles and garbage by the crowd (which had grown to several hundred.) The melee extended onto the beach. Calling for helicopters and backup in riot gear, 17 arrests were made and Mission Blvd was closed for part of the evening. Following the incident, District 2 City Councilman / current San Diego Mayor Kevin Falconer condemned the situation and implemented a one-year trial alcohol ban. A year later, after heated debates from both sides, San Diego voted in favor of Proposition D, permanently banning alcohol from the beach. [Ed: The beach communities did not vote for Prop D.]

“As the alcohol ban went into effect, committed revelers found a loop-hole in the measure that made it legal to drink on floating devices in the water. Thus, Floatopia was born with thousands of party goers consuming adult beverages on rafts, kayaks and other floatation devices. Despite the valiant efforts of the Floatopians, the same complaints surrounding public intoxication resurfaced and the booze ban was extended into the water, 3 miles from San Diego’s shoreline.” For more see Yewonline

Mission Beach Lifeguard & Pro-Surfer Killed in Car Crash Is Mourned

Friends, family and former coworkers are mourning the loss of Chloe Buckley, a Mission Beach lifeguard killed in a fiery crash over the weekend. She was driving on State Route 52 Saturday morning, June 30 when she hit the center divider and her SUV burst into flames. Buckley was also a professional surfer on the ASP World Tour competing in events around the globe. She also once worked at Mitch’s Surf Shop in Solana Beach. A GoFundMe page has been set up in Chloe’s honor. Friends and family have planned a celebration of life for Chloe at Windansea Beach on July 28 to say goodbye. 7SanDiego

Coastkeeper and the Port Educate Local Students on Watershed and Climate Science

San Diego Coastkeeper and the Port of San Diego have launched a new set of bilingual lessons featuring water and climate science, available for use in local schools. The lessons are the latest addition to Coastkeeper’s Water Education For All program, a standards-aligned K-12 science curriculum available free of cost to San Diego area teachers and informal educators. Funded by the Port’s Environmental Fund, the new water and climate lessons guide students in learning about how human activities influence the natural world. By participating in the lessons, students learn how to calculate their personal carbon footprint and plastic usage, and are empowered to develop and implement plans to reduce their impact and share outcomes with their families, friends, and communities. The lesson plan is hands-on, inquiry-based, and standards-aligned to help teachers ensure their students achieve Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

The new lessons were piloted at five local schools in the San Diego Bay watershed, where 598 4-8th grade students received water and climate education and learned about how climate change affects the marine, coastal, and intertidal habitats of San Diego Bay. Two of the five schools completed additional carbon and plastic reduction projects. Pre- and post-lesson evaluations showed increases in student understanding about the causes of rising levels of greenhouse gases, the impacts of human activities on the environment, and steps that can be taken to reduce carbon emissions and decrease plastic use. Teachers interested in utilizing these new water and climate lessons are encouraged to see this, or get in touch with San Diego Coastkeeper Education Manager Sandra Lebrón at slebron@sdcoastkeeper.org o r 619-758-7743 Ext.125.

London Medias Singles Out OB in its Top 10 Best Things to Do in San Diego

We’re not surprised, but here’s why OB may see some more visitors from London: OB is called one of the top 10 …. blah blah blah, you know, like the Gaslamp Quarter, the Inn at Torrey Pines, etc. Here it is:

Ocean Beach has a quirky collection of antique and vintage stores, bars, restaurants, artist studios and eccentric local haunts, most of which can be found on Newport Avenue, the main road through town. Evening Standard

Band at the Beach Music Camp at Point Loma Nazarene

Thirty years ago when she started Band at the Beach Music Camp in her backyard, Point Loma music instructor Dell Schroeder never conceived it would still be around — or be so successful helping students hone their instrumental skills. “I just did it, it was a fluke,” said Schroeder noting post-Prop. 13 education budget cuts slashing music and the arts was her impetus for initiating the summer camp program. “There was no idea it was going to last even one summer. But we did it again, and again, and it just kept on going.” This year for the first time, the Band at the Beach Music Camp will take place in a new location: Point Loma Nazarene College campus overlooking the ocean. The camp offers music students in grades 7-12 an opportunity to explore new music, learn from professional musicians, meet new friends and perform for families at the culmination of the weeklong Point Loma summer camp. San Diego Community News Group

San Diego’s First Jewish Settler, Louis Rose, Was German Immigrant – Named Roseville

California history is filled with Jewish immigrants who made important contributions to the state and to their cities. In San Diego of 1850, our very first Jewish settler, Louis Rose, was an immigrant from Neuhaus-an-der-Oste, Germany. He served as a member of the city board of trustees, and on the first county Board of Supervisors. He helped to establish roads that we still use today. He laid out the portion of Point Loma known as Roseville, and it is for him that Rose Canyon is named. San Diego Jewish World

Point Loma’s Jennings House Comes Back as Cafe

The Jennings House is returning. Built in Point Loma in 1886 by Frank Jennings (San Diego County Sheriff), it has been a residence, a boarding house, a mercantile, a restaurant, a bistro and a coffeehouse. Finally, after more than 20 years as the The Living Room, it is being returned to the original name, replete with daily specials. To kick things off, the last week of The Living Room is June 24-30, and the celebratory week of the return to Jennings House will be July 1-7. It is interesting to note that when Cathy Gallagher, managing partner for Cabrillo Ventures, LLC,  purchased The Living Room in February 2017, they were completely unaware of the history of the building. sdnews.com

Former NewPort Ave Antique vendors Celebrate Grand Opening at New Location

The Newport Avenue Antique center in Ocean Beach closed down earlier this year to make way for a Target Express. Now, the nearly 50 former antique dealers that used the space are celebrating a grand opening party at their new Sports Arena location, Kurtz Street Vintage Marketplace, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. 3602 Kurtz Street, San Diego, California 92110

“Sea Weed” Caught

Jorge Bustamante has discovered Cuban rafts and even a message in a bottle while out on the ocean off the South Florida coast. The last thing he expected to find? A floating brick of marijuana. The underwater photographer came across the bobbing block of “sea weed” while fishing off the coast of Pompano Beach with his parents on Monday. Bustamante’s made the fishy find in the Hillsboro Inlet just a few days before his birthday, he said. 7SanDiego