Ocean Beach and Point Loma News – Early August 2019

Cheers to Steve O!

Mayor’s Deadline for Scooter Companies Is Here – Has City Crews Check “Parking Corrals”

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer checked in Monday, July 29 with dockless scooter companies after giving them 10 days to comply with city regulation regarding scooter geofencing and operations. The city is cracking down on its scooter regulations and making sure riders are not able to go above certain speed limits and are parking in the proper areas. After the mayor tweeted and announced the 10-day deadline for the scooter companies, he had crews head out to Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach and Mission Beach to check parking corrals. 10News

4-Way Stop Now at Ebers and Saratoga

In late July the City installed stop signs on Ebers to make the intersection with Saratoga a 4-way stop. In January, the OB Planning Board voted 10 to 2 to support the new stops at the intersection, which is adjacent to a small park and the OB Rec Center. The effort to obtain a 4-way stop was initiated by local parents concerned about the safety of crossing the busy street.

Campaign to Begin for a Bronze Mermaid Next to the Bronze Lifeguard?

Vera the OB Mermaid has important friends. One of them is Claudia Jack, who has ambitious plans for Vera. Claudia’s “long-term goal” is to install a bronze mermaid next to the (bronze) lifeguard at the OB Lifeguard Station, and of course Vera would be the model. If you have any questions about Vera or if you’d like to help Claudia with the campaign – which is not official yet – you may call Claudia Jack at 619-846-6269 or visit OB’s mermaid on Facebook.

Ron Trenton Lifeguard Relay at South Mission Beach – Thursday August 1 at 6pm

For the 66th consecutive year, the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue (SDFD) Lifeguard Services Division will hold the Ron Trenton Memorial Lifeguard Relays. This relay event is an exciting and highly challenging competition among SDFD lifeguards. The relays include 12 legs which demonstrate the variety of rescue techniques used in ocean rescue such as running, swimming, paddle boarding and landline rescue. SDFD’s Lifeguard Services Division is geographically divided into four districts: Southern includes Ocean Beach; central includes Mission and Pacific beaches; northern includes the La Jolla beaches; and the fourth district includes Mission Bay and the Boating Safety Unit. The event is named after veteran lifeguard and longtime northern district team captain, Ronald B. Trenton, who was lost at sea while piloting his private plane from Catalina Island to San Diego in 1997.

Petra de Luna on Voltaire Closing

Neighbors in north OB have noticed Petra de Luna is closed. It just opened its doors at 4689 Voltaire next to ABC Liquor either at the end of 2018 or early this year as a consignment store. Its owner is Yolanda Brionez. That particular tiny storefront is one of the most challenging retail spaces in OB.

Man Jumps Out of the Way But Gets Hit in Midway District

A 29-year-old man who jumped away from his disabled car in the Midway District late Wednesday night July 31 hoping to avoid being hit by an approaching car was hit by the vehicle anyway. He was taken to the hospital after being struck on Pacific Highway near Barnett Avenue around 11:15 p.m. He suffered a brain bleed but his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, police said. Police said the man had been driving north on Pacific Highway when his vehicle broke down in the No. 4 lane. He got out of the car and began pushing it when another westbound vehicle approached. The 49-year-old driver of the second car saw the broken-down vehicle and moved sharply to the left to avoid it, just as the first driver jumped away from his vehicle into the lane. The driver “competely missed” the disabled car but hit the driver. Drugs or alcohol were not factors in the crash. SDU-T

Pickets Greet Target’s Opening

A group of picketers greeted the opening of Target last Sunday, July 28, in a continuing effort by opposition activists to focus the community and potential Target shoppers on local businesses.

Street Vendors May See New Rules

Sidewalk vendors who set up “shop” in Ocean Beach, Mission Beach and PB may soon have to find new places to sell their wares. A City Council committee is considering a new series of regulations in a proposed ordinance that would require food vendors to have county health permits and a food handlers card, and vendors would be blocked from popular areas like Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach, Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, the Mission Beach boardwalk, the La Jolla Shores boardwalk, and the area around Petco Park on Padre game days, plus it would prohibit vendors from selling things like alcohol, drug and tobacco paraphernalia, and weapons. The city economic development committee instructed staff to get more input on the rules from vendors before they go to the full council in September. 10News

OB Playhouse Extends Avenue Q! 

OB Playhouse is thrilled to present the return of Avenue Q! which tells the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York City with big dreams and a small bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q whose residents are raunchy, sweet, real, thoughtful and outrageously entertaining. The Tony® Award-winning best musical is based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx who collaborated on the music, lyrics and book.  Avenue Q has been called a show “like Sesame Street for adults.” While there are endearing puppets, THIS SHOW IS NOT FOR CHILDREN but for mature audiences only. There are adult themes, strong language and clever lyrics and music. The urban fairytale features a Tony® Award-winning score with songs like, “If you Were Gay”, “The Internet is for Porn”, “There’s A Fine, Fine Line”, and “My Girlfriend, Who Lives in Canada”. The show comes to life with actors manipulating rod controlled and live hand puppets.

Margaritaville To Take Over Paradise Point in Mission Bay

Guests at Mission Bay’s Paradise Point resort will next year find themselves wasting away in Margaritaville, as the Jimmy Buffett hotel and restaurant brand will become the new name and face of the 44-acre vacation destination [Ed: which btw sits on public land]. Earlier in July, Pepplebrook Hotel Trust, the publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns Paradise Point Resort & Spa, executed a licensing agreement with Margaritaville Holdings to convert the property to a Margaritaville Island Resort. To assist with the transition, Pebblebrook plans to spend $35 million on an extensive renovation that includes upgrades to the 462 casita-style guestrooms, enhancements to the hotel’s existing five pools, and the addition of attractions that should be inviting for guests and locals alike.

New features could include additional bar and dining concepts, a performance stage and possibly changes to the pool areas. It’s scheduled to open in 2020, although plans are still preliminary, and city and state agency approvals are required. The Maryland-based firm was formed in 2009 and owns 60 hotels, seven in San Diego, with a total of 14,463 guest rooms. It acquired Paradise Point as part of a larger, $5.2 billion transaction to take over the entire portfolio owned by LaSalle Hotel Properties. Real estate tracker CoStar pegs Paradise Point’s individual sticker price as just under $189 million. San Diego Union-Tribune

Drunk Driver Pleads Guilty in Death of OB Man

Lauren Ashley Freeman, 23, has pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the death of Justin Callahan, of Ocean Beach. She faces up to 11 years and eight months in state prison. Callahan, 35, was killed Feb. 26, 2018 and investigators initially believed he got onto a freeway transition ramp the wrong way from Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and collided with Freeman’s Toyota Camry.

The CHP initially thought Callahan was at fault, but they reversed their earlier finding and Freeman was charged in November 2018. A murder charge was dismissed against Freeman by the judge after she pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter; she had already pleaded guilty to drunk driving on July 26. Sentencing was set for Sept. 27 and Freeman remains in jail without bail. Freeman caused the 1:55 a.m. crash by driving the wrong way on a ramp between Interstate 8 and I-5. Freeman’s blood/alcohol level was .28, which is three times the legal limit. Freeman had been drinking in Ocean Beach before the crash and disregarded four warning signs that she was entering the freeway the wrong way. San Diego Community News Group

Man Brandishing Gun-Like Lighter Forces Midway Students to Shelter

Students at a school in the Midway area were forced to seek shelter in a building after reports of a man walking near the campus with a gun and making threats. At around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, San Diego police responded to reports of a man on the EF International Language Campus at 3455 Kenyon Street waving a gun at students and threatening them. Students were rushed into a school building as officers searched the neighborhood for the man. Officers eventually spotted the man and detained him. It was determined that the man had been displaying a lighter that looked like a gun. Police took the man, who was not identified, into custody, and 10News learned the man could still face charges for brandishing a weapon. abc10News

Mission Bay Clean-Up by Scuba Company – August 10

House of Scuba will host the 8th Annual Beach & Jetty Cleanup at Mission Point Park on August 10, from 8am to 12noon. Divers and non-divers alike will come together to do their part to keep the beaches and underwater world clean. A BBQ and raffle provided by House of Scuba will follow the cleanup to celebrate the local dive community and their commitment to be a force for good in protecting ocean health for future generations. Divers and non-divers alike are invited to join in the Cleanup. Divers can take part in the Dive Against Debris® to remove and survey marine debris in the area. Those not diving are encouraged to take part by clean up trash as they walk the beach, snorkel or kayak. A free t-shirt will be provided to all volunteers who register by August 3, 2019. Location: 2600 Bayside Lane, San Diego, California 92109.

Local Businesses in the “News”

• Culture Brewing
• Flavors of East Africa at OB Farmers Market
• Salvation Army in Point Loma
• Boochcraft in OB