Month: December 2018

Uber and Lyft Unleash 500 Scooters on San Diego

Ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft have unloaded a combined 500 electric scooters on San Diego this week, joining the fray of dockless transportation options on the city’s streets — and they’re undercutting their competitors.

Last night, Wed, Dec. 19, the Project Review Committee of the OB Planning Board gave a commercial project slated for Voltaire a green light to proceed to the next step. The next step is being reviewed by the full board at a future meeting.

The review panel also gave tentative approval to 2 other projects before it and asked the owners of another project to return to the drawing board.

The Project Review Committee is a sub-committee of the Board and gets first crack at reviewing projects that come before the Planning Board, and usually gives a recommendation of thumbs-up or thumbs-down to the full board which carries substantial weight.

By Kathleen Blavatt

About 50 friends of Mel Shapiro’s gathered last Saturday, December 15, to remember him in a wonderful and memorable tribute as he had passed in late November. A handful of OBceans were present at this memorable gathering. There were incredible speakers, tasty food from Hugo’s and it was good to know we still have still a good number of serious, but still fun activists, in town.

The 7-year-old boy seriously injured by a car Tuesday night while looking at Christmas lights with his family in Ocean Beach has been released from the hospital.

Caleb De Leon is in a wheelchair with his leg in a cast now but as of Wednesday, he’s back with his relatives. But he has a metal bar and pins in his leg bone and faces a good period of physical therapy and recovery.

Caleb was visiting San Diego relatives with his family from Arkansas when he was hit by a car on the 4700 block of Newport Avenue just after he had stepped off the curb.

by Bob Edwards

If you have lived in California for any length of time you have probably had your life touched by wildfires. Possibly you lost your own home or you know someone who did. You could have contributed money, food, or clothes to a fellow worker or community member who was affected by a fire.

Certainly when the Santa Ana blows and smoke fills the air you have experienced ash landing on your car, a blood red sunset, or perhaps cancelled school events or exercise classes.

I have lived in California for over sixty years.

The Old Broad Writes …

Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery

Several years ago I wrote a number of articles about the deplorable condition of the Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery. (See here, here, and here.) At about the same time Michael Turko [ed: of the former “Turko Files”] also did a piece about the cemetery and between us the transformation of the grounds was amazing. Doug Ledbetter, the Director at the time of the articles, listened to us and within a year it was again a beautiful place to visit our loved ones.

Here is another one from ACE – Albert C Ellliott – taken mid-day, at Mystery outer reef break, Tuesday, December 18.

ACE says this is one of our local MYSTO spots. It’s hard to see, hard to photograph and hard to surf. I asked him what size of wave he thought it was.

Target – even a so-called “mini-Target” – moving into Ocean Beach has angered many residents and a few businessowners. But OB isn’t the only neighborhood pissed off by the retail giant. Now, they’ve done it to somebody else.

This time the corporate behemoth Target has angered another community – North Park.

Despite community protests, petitions and outcry, Target had a famous dinosaur mural on the corner of University Avenue and Ray Street painted over.

Crews hired by Target were seen on Monday, Dec. 17, spraying over the “Weenasaurus Rex” mural painted on an exterior wall.

A daring rescue by a local lifeguard on Sunday over at Sunset Cliffs has caught the attention of social media.

Lifeguard Kirsten Rich dove into dangerous waters off a cove on Sunday sans wetsuit to rescue a surfer struggling while hanging onto some rocks.

A 7-year old boy was injured early Monday evening on Newport Avenue by a car while he and his family were looking at Christmas lights. The young lad remains hospitalized Tuesday with a serious injury to his left leg.

Just before 6:30 p.m. Monday the boy and his family were walking on the north side of the 4700 block of Newport Avenue looking at the holiday displays on the south side when the as-yet unidentified youngster stepped into the street. The north side of that block borders OB Elementary School and there are many residences across the street with festive and lit displays.

Projects on Cape May, Narragansett, Saratoga and Voltaire Up for Review

The most important sub-committee of the Ocean Beach Planning Board, the Project Review Committee, has a full plate on its agenda with 4 projects to review for its Wednesday night meeting. The panel meets at the OB Recreation Center, 4726 Santa Monica Ave on Dec. 19 at 6pm.

The Project Review Committee has first crack at the projects the Planning Board reviews and usually gives a recommendation to the full board which carries substantial weight. Up for review are the following:

4744 Cape May Ave

This is a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) to construct a new 1,974 square-foot, 3-story residence with decks;