Month: April 2019

By Geoff Page

Opposition to Reduction of Vehicle Lanes a ‘No-Show’ – Were They Properly Notified?

When you see not one, but two, TV stations setting up cameras and the room is full of people, you can be pretty sure that something of interest is happening at a Peninsula Community Planning Board’s meeting. That was the scene for the Thursday, April 18 meeting at the Point Loma Library. The reason for the cameras and all the people deserves its own story; a recounting of what else went on at the meeting will follow.

This issue, to state it very objectively, was about reducing West Point Loma Blvd. from four lanes to two lanes between Nimitz Ave. and Sports Arena Blvd. to create protected bike lanes on each side of the street.

The Ocean Beach Business Center is alive and well and continues to offer a myriad of services to locals and visitors alike.

Chris and Jo Peregoy bought the business in September 2017. Living then in Arizona, they had vacationed in OB for many years and fell in love with the community. They finally made the plunge and took over the storefront at 4876 Santa Monica Ave.

Today, the Peregoys continue the many services offered by the previous owners and have added a few new ones. They offer:

• calendars, postcards, and cards hand drawn and hand blended by local artists,
• Personal mailboxes

by Judi Curry

About a week ago my friend Mary called me in a panic. I could hear the heavy breathing; the fear in her voice. She told me that she was calling me, the only one that she could talk to, because she thought that I might have an answer to her problem.

During almost our entire conversation, she hovered between fear and disbelief. It was an electrifying experience from my side of our talk. This is what happened:

Fundraiser for the Center on Policy Initiatives’ SEJ Summer Fellowship Program – Friday, April 26th

By Jim Miller

In so many ways we are giving this generation of young people a raw deal. Whether it be saddling them with crushing debt if they choose to attend college, allowing economic inequality to hinder their opportunities, or imperiling their future by failing to address the threat of catastrophic climate change, we have done our youth a great disservice.

And this is not just a collective failure of society in general.

The OB Rag is publishing a clarification: The Ocean Beach Business Center is not for sale- the property the business center resides on is for sale but the business center is not. The property is located at 4876 Santa Monica Avenue in Ocean Beach.

The current owners, Chris and Jo Peregoy, are not selling their business and continue to serve the community with a myriad of services.

On Wednesday, April 17, a scary-looking Lancetfish with dagger-like teeth was found at Dog Beach in Ocean Beach. The four-foot-long fish isn’t commonly found on local shores or caught while fishing off the OB Pier.

But there it was. And ACE (Albert C Elliott) was there along with his dog and took these photos.

According to 10News Lancetfish are more typically found in the dark depths of the ocean where they feed on jellyfish, micro plastic, tiny deepwater organisms, and even smaller lancetfish. They’re not very tasty to humans. But …

“despite their place in the ocean’s depths, fisherman may sometimes catch more lancetfish than tuna or mahi. NOAA says the fish is actually the most common bycatch in their fisheries, besides blue sharks.”

by Ernie McCray

I’ve never witnessed
a more beautiful scene:
Eldrick Tont Woods,
“Tiger,”
leaning over
a “gimme,”
gently tapping it in
to a Hallelujah chorus
of cheers
and chants
that came suddenly
like a gust
of wind
and continued
as though
there was no end,
bringing tears to my eyes,

Editordude: Next week on April 23 the San Diego City Council will take up the proposed regulations on scooters and dockless made by Mayor Faulconer. Here is Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell’s (Second District) comments on next week’s Council vote.

“Since my inauguration in December 2018, few issues have been more ubiquitous in our beach and bay communities than scooters. Whether calls, e-mails or conversations in the community, I have heard loud and clear from constituents about the pros and cons of these micro-mobility options.

In February 2019, the Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, a committee that I do not sit on, moved the Mayor’s proposed scooter regulations on to the full council. Now, for the first time since being in office, I will publicly weigh in on this issue when our city’s proposed dockless regulations (scooters, e-bikes, etc.) come to the City Council on April 23rd.

Here is a link to the Mueller Report.

Now that the Mueller Report has been released in redacted form, we now know that Attorney General William P. Barr lied to the American people, both in his previous “letters’ and in his unprecedented press conference held this morning about there being “no evidence” of obstruction of justice by Trump – as well as a number of other significant issues.

Barr has lied about so many things involving the investigation into the Russian sabotaging the US Presidential election of 2016 that the American people have to completely ignore anything he has said or written about the Mueller Report.

I watched 6 and a half hours this morning of Barr’s presser and the subsequent commentary about the Mueller Report – and the ball is clearly now in Congress’ court – which is where Mueller intended his report to be. Barr has completely shown he is Trump’s defense lawyer, not the Attorney General

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner / April 15, 2019

Let’s start with an urban tale about dreams and possibilities. Not long ago in a city far, far away, an international gathering took place and it called itself the Fearless Cities Summit.

And this summit brought together 700 mayors and councilmembers and active citizen groups from far-flung cities and towns around the world. And their plan was to collaborate on creating global networks of solidarity in the cause of human rights, democracy, and the common good. Overblown hype?

By Tony de Garate

When word got out that the Ocean Beach police trailer was going to be removed from its long-standing spot in the parking lot at the foot of Newport Avenue, OB’s most notorious spot for aggressive panhandling, open drug use and violence, some were skeptical when the announced date was April 1.

But it was no hoax. Bert’s Office Trailers brought a giant flatbed and carried away their trailer as advertised, ending a police brick-and-mortar presence that, in all, had lasted nearly five decades in this funky beach community.