Month: February 2019

After months of feedback from some communities of San Diego, Mayor Kevin Faulconer has adjusted his October proposals for regulating scooters and e-bikes and on Thursday, released the newest version.

The proposed ordinance will be discussed at the City Council’s Feb. 20 Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting, which meets at 2pm in City Hall, 202 C Street, 12th floor.

Here is the summary of what his office describes is included in the new proposed ordinance:

98 Year-Old Betty Morse’s Eviction Dismissed

Just in time for her 99th birthday, Betty Morse – on the brink of losing her Ocean Beach home – won a legal victory to stop her eviction.

OB Pier Repairs Delayed Even More

Poor weather conditions and high surf caused delays in the repair assessment for the iconic Ocean Beach Pier.

Fake Tickets Harass People Who Live in Cars

Just days after the San Diego City Council voted to repeal an ordinance that banned people from living in their vehicles on city streets, fake parking citations have popped up in OB.

East County Man Stabbed Outside Winston’s Is Recovering

An East County man is recovering after he was stabbed outside an Ocean Beach bar for trying to break up a fight.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer and a group of major philanthropists are shelving a plan to remodel Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama after bids for the project came in way over budget last month.

Lisa Halverstadt / Voice of San Diego / February 12, 2019

A controversial plan to clear cars from Balboa Park’s central mesa is on hold.

Philanthropist Irwin Jacobs, who has long championed the Plaza de Panama project, said this week that philanthropists have halted fundraising efforts necessary to get the project to the finish line after three construction bids each came in at least $20 million higher than earlier estimates for the project.

“There is an excellent plan for how to proceed, but the costs are a little too high at this point,” Jacobs said.

Most surveys show Trump would lose in a matchup against a democratic socialist named Bernie Sanders.

By John Nichols / The Nation / Feb. 6, 2019

Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address did not feature a musical soundtrack. But, if it had, surely the orchestral accompaniment would have soared when he got to the line: “We are born free, and we will stay safe. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.”

But, just as surely, the music would have quieted down as the camera shifted to the assured countenance of newly elected US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat who was elected last fall after campaigning as “an educator, organizer, Democratic Socialist, and born-and-raised New Yorker running to champion working families in Congress;

Join the Ocean Beach Town Council and the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club for “A Conversation with Jen Campbell”, our newly elected Councilwoman for the 2nd District.

It’s all happening Friday, February 15th at 7:00 pm at the OB Woman’s Club at 2160 Bacon Street. There will also be light refreshments provided.

Your questions can be submitted

Is there a renaissance happening on Voltaire Street right now? There’s a bunch of new businesses that appear to bring a sense of renewal on this major east-west boulevard that connects Ocean Beach and Point Loma.

Two new eateries – both Italian – are happening on “upper Voltaire” – on the other side of Catalina from OB. Check them out.

Leucadia Pizza Opens

A new pizzeria – Leucadia Pizza Kitchen has opened at 4161 Voltaire Street (where the salad in a jar place was previously, as was another pizza franchise).

“Super High-End” Italian, Cesarina, Opens This Week

On Tuesday, February 6, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to repeal a1983 law that banned people from living inside their vehicles.

The Council vote is partially a response to recent Federal court decisions. There’s the 2014 ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down a similar ordinance in Los Angeles as unconstitutionally vague.

And then there’s the ruling 6 months ago by U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia here in the Southern District of California that ordered the City to stop ticketing people under the law, also stating it was unconstitutional because it’s too vague for enforcement.

Trump sees ‘urgent national crisis’ at border. You decide. Here are U.S.-Mexico border apprehension numbers.

by Shyla Nott & Brandon Quester / inewsource / February 8, 2019

President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass funding for a border wall during his State of the Union address on Tuesday for what he called an “urgent national crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Last week in the State of the Union, Trump unveiled one of the pillars of his re-election campaign in the midst of his speech:

“America will never be a socialist country.”

While this line of attack is clearly a predictable jab at the rising popularity of policy ideas promoted by Democratic Socialists Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez like free college, Medicare for all, and raising taxes on the rich, it also reveals a rising fear on the part of the global elite that a populist left might be far more dangerous to their interests than the current brand of extreme rightwing populism in the United States and elsewhere across the globe.

This is Part 2 of a report on the Wednesday, Feb. 6 meeting of the OB Planning Board (Here’s Part 1.)

The Board approved 2 projects, one on Saratoga and the other on Narragansett, approved Dirty Birds application for an alcohol license but with a condition that they prohibit alcohol sales after 10 pm (See Part 1 and comment), and set their annual elections for March 6.

There was also a presentation about Transit Priority Areas and the push to allow multi-unit housing in those areas (OB is not in one – yet).

Also, right off the bat, the OB planners need to be congratulated for

The Old Broad: Gagging on Porta-Potties on Neighbor’s Construction Site

Have you ever tried to find out an answer to a question from City Hall? I have been trying to find out an answer for two days. Here is the comment and question:

Scenario – there is a house being built next door to me. I am on the alley on the corner of Tivoli and Devonshire. The house being built shares the alley and is on the corner of Granger and Devonshire.

There are two “porta potties” in the construction area right on the alley, behind a makeshift fence. I am not sure how often those porta potties are emptied, but it is too often as far as I am concerned.

At last night’s Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting, after a long discussion with a heady amount of input from community members who showed, the Board approved the liquor license for Dirty Birds, a sports bar and grill moving into the newly constructed OB Plaza. But with a key condition.

The restaurant has to stop serving alcohol at 10 pm. Two of the owners of Dirty Birds present told the audience and Board they would abide by that condition. The condition would be on the ABC-issued license.

It was a lengthy discussion – with the pro’s and con’s of another restaurant serving booze being expressed by a good number of the 40 plus people who crammed into the Community Meeting room at the OB Rec Center – and the Board members themselves, who were split on the issue.