Month: August 2019

Red flags are being raised by neighbors about what is going on at the “rehab” of the Ebers – Greene project.

The most noticeable thing there is the three-layered monstrosity is gone and all that’s left is a concrete slab and part of a section of the wall – and the old house on the lot, of course.

Neighbors could not help but notice workers in the old house – which has asbestos according to long-time observers of the saga of this project. The workers were without masks or other protective gear. Why should they wear anything? Reportedly, the asbestos expert the contractor hired says there’s no asbestos inside the old building.

The plans are to tear into the old place and convert it into a garage off the alley. The other red flag is

Restaurant Review

Casa Castillo
Mexican and Guatemalan Cuisine
3334 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92110
619-432-1922

By Judi Curry

Sometimes you luck out and are in the right place at the right time. This particular night Hugh and I had excellent luck and happened into a new restaurant that has only been opened for a month. Casa Castillo is the name of the restaurant, and it is just opposite Loma Square shopping center, near the car wash.

And – what’s more, the three managers/ owners – Juan, Carlos and Jesus – were there planning their grand opening this Labor Day Weekend. They will be offering 15% off the entire tab; there will be FREE APPETIZERS! And there will be music. The “ribbon cutting ceremony” will take place at 11:00am, and it will be fun for the entire three days. They are open from 8:00am to 9:00pm Sunday-Thursday, and open until 10:00pm on Friday and Saturday evenings!

So what’s on the menu? I had never had “Guatemalan” food so I wanted to sample what was available.

By Geoff Page

The Peninsula Community Planning Board took a stand on Wednesday, August 28, as a result of intense community pressure. The PCPB voted to oppose development on what has been referred to as the Famosa Canyon site on the south side of Famosa Blvd. across from Bill Cleator Park.

The vote came at a special meeting called by the PCPB at the Point Loma Library to discuss just one topic, the San Diego Housing Commission plans to build 78 affordable housing units on that piece of open land. Dedicated PCPB volunteers and community members devoted hours of time and effort during the month of August in five subcommittees discussing the site and collecting community input.

By Cholly

The standing room only meeting of 600 or so concerned citizens at Portuguese Hall Wednesday, Aug. 28, opened with introductions and laudatory remarks by the Port’s chief planner Lesley Nishihira. Nishihira praised the Public Outreach Program of the Port – which it was claimed included “more than 250 interviews with key stakeholders and partner agencies, 13 open houses and community meetings, 36 public board workshops and two online surveys with a combined total of more than 6,300 respondents.”

Introductions included the three attending Port Commissioners:

• Marshall Merrifield, (a former member of Mayor Jerry Sanders’ Economic Advisory Council),
• Ann Moore, (Vice Chair of the Port Commissioners; former City Attorney of Chula Vista), and
• Rear Admiral Garry J. Bonelli, (U.S. Navy SEAL and former executive staff member of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).

Each of the Commissioners was an extremely friendly, polished, finely-honed and exceptionally street-wise orator. Just the type you’d eagerly buy a car from.

At the Ocean Beach Town Council monthly public meeting Wed., Aug. 28, a presentation was made about the impacts to OB when there’s a Census under-count in the community.

The lightly-attended meeting also heard from community residents and political representatives about a myriad of upcoming events and then of issues that confound the neighborhood.

A US Census Dept expert, Alejandro Aguilar, gave a presentation on “The Road to 2020” with details about some history, the importance and Constitutional mandate of the Census.

The most interesting aspect of the presentation was on the “Impact to Ocean Beach”. Apparently, the OB Census “Mail Participation” rate in 2010 was only 78%. Not too good. And an estimated 2,000 OBceans required a follow-up by a Census enumerator that year.

Also troubling was the estimated net undercount of OB people

We’re now in our third day of our annual summer fund-raising campaign and we’ve raised $885 – which is just a smidgen from the half-way point of our goal of $2,000. We do this every year because we do have bills to pay – and obviously we’re not part of the mainstream media.

But we have been the online newspaper for Ocean Beach and Point Loma and now we’re in our 12th year. And we’re funded by our readers and supporters, primarily.

So, dear Reader, we’re asking you to go to the top of the home page and click on the PayPal logo and make a donation. Or you can donate to us the traditional way, by mailing it to us at our post office box (OB Rag, PO Box 7012, Ocean Beach, CA 92167). Besides the 10 Reasons to donate to the OB Rag we posted on Monday, if you still a reason, consider these:

The San Diego Housing Commission is ready to build 78 units of affordable housing units called “workforce housing” on the piece of property at Nimitz and Famosa, called Famosa Canyon by locals.

Yet the same piece of land has been a playground of sorts for generations of local youth – and many neighbors have opposed the idea of developing what appears to be one of the very last portions of open space on the Peninsula.

But who can argue with the need for more affordable housing? Everybody wants more affordable housing. So, what’s the deal?

The deal is the Housing Commission currently controls the land; their goal is to build units on it – and anybody who is against their plan are NIMBYs. Those who oppose that proposition do come from a myriad of stances

The 2020 Census is right around the corner. Our community has to be ready to be counted in order for us to receive our fair share of federal funding and representation.

Join the OB Town Council at their Public meeting on Wednesday, August 28th at 7:00pm and come ready to learn, ask questions, and interact with Alex Aguilar, a Partnerships Specialist from the U.S. Census Bureau.The Ocean Beach Town Council holds it monthly public meeting from 7:00 – 8:30pm. The meeting is held at the Masonic Lodge at 1711 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. Regular speakers include representatives of local, County and State politicians, reps from fire fighters and life guards and law enforcement.

The Tilted Stick bar at 4970 Voltaire in north Ocean Beach is patronized by Vic Tulsie and Laura Lynn Tulsie.

By Colleen O’Connor / Times of San Diego / August 27, 2019

If you think that fights over scooters, Airbnb, height limits, infill development, increased density, traffic congestion, and the homelessness are testy — wait for this one.

Remember the early Barrio Logan community standoff with shipbuilders? … How about Bay Ho’s resistance to running the trolley extension in front of their homes? Or the Campland’s quick 5-year lease extension? Then there are the violations of the Liberty Station lease … the reversal on preservation of the former Navy chapel now to be a restaurant.

Small wonder voters are angry. Any neighborhood resisting is now dubbed a “stranglehold.”

By Deborah Sullivan Brennan/ San Diego Union-Tribune / Aug. 27, 2019

Record high Pacific Ocean temperatures recorded off the West Cost in recent years have receded to near normal, according to a report on the California Current.

That cool shift marks the end of “the blob,” the mass of warm water that dominated the West Coast, and of the El Nino event that followed. It’s unclear, however, what that means for fish and marine mammals, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated in the 2019 ecosystem status report for the California Current Ecosystem.

“The big thing is that a lot of the physical conditions of the ocean here off of our coast are beginning to return to normal,” said

The OB Resister Sisters have struck again