News and Notices for Ocean Beach and Point Loma – Mid-October 2019

Liberty Station’s Golf Course Future Could Be in the Hole

Liberty Station’s Loma Club is considered a great golf course in its own unique way. For beginners, the club is the perfect, reasonably priced way to get on the green. For veterans, a no frills way to work on your game. “It’s short, it’s inexpensive, and it’s well kept,” Fred Leipold, an avid Loma Club golfer, told 10News. Lauren Gomez first played at the club when she was just a toddler. Now, she tees off with a scholarship to Pepperdine University in her back pocket. “I know a lot of kids come out here to practice. There’s not a lot of golf courses around here, so it’s really important to Point Loma,” Gomez said.

More than a century of history sits in the club’s soil. At one time, a young Phil Mickelson played tournament at what was then called Sail Ho. Which is why players and locals were shocked to learn the Loma Club put out a notice that it will close in late December. Point Loma residents flooded social media following the news, worried that the same thing could happen in other nearby communities: Golf courses shutting down with plans to fill the land with housing.

“I think somebody’s going to recognize the importance. You really can’t tear this out,” golfer Rick Gomez said. “It’s too perfect.” For the time being, those fears were put to rest, after a spokesperson with Pendulum Property Partners, who owns the Loma Club property, said the site would remain a golf course. The notice was issued after they were unable to reach a new lease deal with the current course operator.

The new tenant will enhance the overall experience at the Loma Club, which has served as a landmark in the Point Loma community since the early 1900’s and will continue to be a vibrant space for years to come.

It’s unclear if the golf course will remain open while the owners seek out a new operator. abc10news

Point Loma Home Target of Passing Cars – Hit Twice Within a Year

A driver crashed into a Point Loma family’s home early Friday morning. It’s the second time this family’s home has been hit by a car in the last year. “It was a huge crash. It was loud. I’ve lived through a lot of things. I’m 63-years-old. I’ve lived through earthquakes; there was an explosion in an apartment complex that I lived through in Las Vegas. This was loud,” said Georgia Martin. They’re probably moving. 7SanDiego

San Diego Music Hall of Fame in OB at Newbreak Church – Oct. 18

The San Diego Music Hall of Fame has a second annual presentation ceremony taking place on Oct. 18 at Newbreak Church. This year’s inductees include the late blues legend Candye Kane, jazz saxophonist Charles McPherson, bluegrass guitarist Walt Richards, trumpeter Bill Caballero, blues guitarist Robin Henkel, and singer Eve Selis. Meanwhile, performers will include Henkel and Selis as well as guitarist Mark Goffeney, The David Sullivan Jazz Group, acoustic hip-hop troubadour Rob Deez and the Candye Kane Alumni Band, featuring pianist Sue Palmer and singer Casey Hensley.

Musician, promoter, and president of the Hall of Fame, Jefferson Jay, considers the creation of this honor to be long overdue. “I love San Diego and the music community here has made a massive positive impact on my life,” he said. “I am hoping this San Diego Music Hall of Fame will help build a deeper appreciation and a greater awareness of those who have lived their lives making sure we all have inspiring music.” For now, the Hall of Fame “currently lives online at sdmhof.com and at our annual event, but I am very open to finding a location when the right opportunity emerges,” Jay said.

Two Roots Brewing Wins Gold Medal for Non-Alcohol Beer

Two Roots Brewing Co. was awarded a gold medal at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition, North America’s largest commercial beer competition. The GABF, presented by the Brewers Association, recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the United States. Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded on October 5 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, in 107 beer categories covering 174 different beer styles (including all subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the country.

Two Roots Brewing Co. was recognized in the Non-Alcoholic beer-style category for its ‘Enough Said’ lager, a crisp pale lager that is firmly rooted in its German traditions. Brewed with Pilsner malt and Hallertau Mittelfruh hops, this clean and refreshing beer is perfect for any occasion. Two Roots Brewing Co.’s non-alcoholic line prides itself in offering consumers an authentic craft beer experience, that is low in calories, vitamin B12 fortified, and electrolyte filled; perfectly incorporated into a healthier, active lifestyle.

Point Loma High Musicians to Benefit from Wine-Tasting at Jensen’s Food – Oct 17

The Point Loma High School music boosters are teaming with a local gourmet grocer to raise funds for the school’s talented student musicians. The group has planned a wine-tasting event in cooperation with Jensen’s Foods that will feature over 70 wines from dozens of wineries. All wines tasted will be offered at special one-day-only prices for those wishing to place orders. The event will be held on Oct. 17 from 5-7 p.m. in the Jensen’s offices located across the parking lot from Jensen’s Foods in the Loma Plaza building. Tickets are currently on sale at Jensen’s of they may be purchased at jensensfoods.com/winetasting.

All funds raised will go directly to the highly successful Pointer music program which includes concert band, winds ensemble, jazz band, orchestra, guitar group, choir and color guard. School district funding pays only for the teacher’s salary and provides no money for instrument purchase or repair, buses for travel to competitions or other costs.

Beyond Bridge Celebration

The Third Annual Beyond Bridge Musical Celebration will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Loma Club in Liberty Station. Attendees will gather to listen to all-acoustic performances from nine bands, participate in a celebrity golf tournament, and raise funds to benefit the Pioneer Foundation, an Ocean Beach organization whose mission statement is to “support individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities to live a fulfilled life and integrate in society through innovative community collaboration.”

The Pioneer Foundation supports the Pioneer Day School, a non-public school with three “campuses” in Ocean Beach, where dedicated teachers create high-quality programs, including music therapy programs, that maximize the potential of kids from all over San Diego who area who are underserved in mainstream public schools.

Point Loma Office Building Is Awarded “Orchid” in Annual Judging

Miller Hull San Diego Studio was awarded an Orchid for interior design in the San Diego County’s annual Orchids and Onions competition.  The studio is located at 4980 N. Harbor Drive. Judges’ comments: The jury agreed that Miller Hull’s new Point Loma office was a resounding success. One juror described the office as a “calming space with a simple design that highlights the beautiful shell of the building and the Bay just beyond the windows.” The contest awards the best in local architecture with an Orchid — and the worst with an Onion. Only five Onions were given this year, so most architects avoided the notorious distinction during the awards ceremony Thursday. The competition is now in its 43rd year, with the goal to make the region a better place to live. It was started by the local American Institute of Architects, but has been handled by the San Diego Architectural Foundation since 2006.

Santa Barbara Coastline Study Has Lessons for Us: More Hot Days, Longer Dry Spells and Higher Sea Levels

To help local coastal and land use managers prepare for a rise in temperatures and sea levels rise, a multidisciplinary team of researchers has synthesized projected changes to the Santa Barbara coast that are expected as a result of the warming climate, as well as options for adaptation. The new study is published in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management. The paper specific to the Santa Barbara area is a joint effort between researchers at UC Santa Barbara, California Sea Grant, U.S. Geological Survey, UMass Amherst, Northeastern University and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Key impacts include:

• • Temperature: The number of extremely hot days will likely double by 2050 and could increase by a factor of 10 by 2090. More frequent and intense heat waves will be detrimental to both health and ecosystems, and increase demand for water and energy for air conditioning.
  • Precipitation: Longer dry spells and more frequent drought will impact water supplies and increase fire vulnerability. Heavy precipitation, when it does occur, will produce floods and erosion.
  • Sea-level rise: More frequent and higher extreme sea levels will lead to flooding, coastal erosion and transformation and/or loss of beach and wetland ecosystems — these vulnerable and diverse coastal ecosystems could suffer great losses by 2050. The study finds that upper beach zones and high marsh habitats disappear first. UC Santa Barbara

Another Study Warns of Low-Lying Flooding, Bluff and Beach Erosion in Future

Another study – “The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate,” released last week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – warns, that as melting ice drives rising seas, coastal communities including San Diego will encounter more frequent and severe flooding. Runoff from melting glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica, along with expansion of the warming ocean water, has doubled the global rate of sea level rise, according to the report. “(High) water levels that used to occur once a century will occur annually or more often in many places, and San Diego happens to be one of them,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a lead author of the report and professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University.

Those effects are most likely to occur in low-lying areas such as Imperial Beach, and ………. Hey how about Ocean Beach and Mission Beach ? – during certain inauspicious conditions, Levin said.

“When high tides interact with storm surge, we know that there’s more coastal flooding,” she said. Nonetheless, much of San Diego’s infrastructure is built at higher elevations, so the region may have a better buffer than areas such as San Francisco, where many buildings are constructed on low-lying stretches of reclaimed land, said Merrifield, professor of oceanography at Scripps. “Coastal flooding is certainly a problem in certain low-lying areas, but San Diego does benefit from having most of the built environment well above sea level,” he said. Although San Diego may be more resilient to flooding than some parts of the state, its more immediate threat is bluff and beach erosion, Merrifield said. SDU-T

Point Loma Bank Robber Doesn’t Get Far

A suspected bank robber with a demand note in his pocket landed under arrest not long after a heist at a bank on Rosecrans Street mid-morning Friday, Oct.4, San Diego police said. About 9:40 a.m., a man showed a demand note to a teller at a U.S. Bank on Rosecrans between Fenelon and Emerson streets, Officer Tony Martinez said. The teller complied, handing over an undisclosed sum of cash. The clean-shaven thief, a white man with short brown hair and clad in khaki shorts, took off with the money. Police in the area soon found and detained a man matching the description of the bank robber, Martinez said. Witnesses identified the man as the thief.  In his pockets, Martinez said, police found a lot of money and a demand note. Martinez said the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was booked in jail on suspicion of bank robbery. SDU-T

Dark Comedy at OB Playhouse & Theatre Co.

‘Heathers the Musical’ – Based on the darkly comic ’80s movie about a high school lorded over by a trio of mean girls, Heathers hits the musical-theater stage, featuring such chipper songs as Prom or Hell? 10.18-11.17. OB Playhouse & Theatre Co., 4944 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach, 619.795.9305, obplayhouse.com

Point Loma High School’s First Great Woman Surfer Honored – Linda Benson

In 1959 Linda Benson was 15, small and blond, and a sophomore at Point Loma High. She lived on Bernard St., Loma Palisades. She was already the West Coast women’s surfboard champion.   Her size and interest in surfing suggests that book and movie “Gidget” might have been written with her in mind. Linda made her competitive debut in the first West Coast Surfing Championships at Huntington Beach and won the women’s title. She went on to win the world championship in Hawaii in November. Benson collected five U.S. women’s surfing championships between 1959-69. The Encinitas resident was inducted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame and was named one of the inaugural members of the San Diego Surfing Hall of Fame in 2019. SDU-T

Receiver in $300M Gina Champion-Cain fraud case uncovers at least $12M to $14M in assets

Receiver’s first report to the court reveals a complex morass of businesses, restaurants and properties in a quest to identify funds that could eventually be returned to investors. A preliminary report by the receiver in the Gina Champion-Cain fraud case reveals a tangled web of more than 60 businesses and properties — many encumbered by debt and high payroll — plus dozens of bank accounts, leaving the enterprise with an initial value of $12 million to $14 million. … Freitag issued the report Thursday, Oct. 4 in connection with her continuing assessment of a now largely defunct business empire that was brought down by a liquor license loan scheme that the Securities and Exchange Commission says defrauded investors of $300 million.

Because the restaurants — The Patio on Lamont, Surf Rider Pizza in Ocean Beach and La Mesa, and Saska’s Steakhouse —have attracted “significant” interest from prospective buyers, Freitag says she believes there is value in allowing them to continue to operate. She also notes that three of the four eateries are in buildings owned by the Champion-Cain companies now in receivership, meaning only one requires rent to be paid to a landlord. In an effort to cut costs, Freitag reports that she has reduced the original bi-weekly payroll of $550,000 for 350 employees (including 70 corporate-level staffers) to $200,000. Lori Weisberg at SD U-T. [Also, for more background, see here and here.]

Correia Students and Urban Corp Take On Famosa Slough

Urban Corps members got paid while earning their high school GED equivalency and the environment got cleansed. That was the trade-off recently when Urban Corps of San Diego County workers recently spent several days restoring Famosa Slough at 4275-4283 W. Point Loma Blvd. “We received a $15,000 grant through SDG&E’s Environmental Champions Initiative to restore the slough along with some Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students from Correia Middle School,” said Lauren Welch, Urban Corps development manager, and grant author. “They put in some new trails, barbed wire, removed invasive plants, cleared brush and provided water-quality improvements: restoration activities.” San Diego Community News Group

Homeless Man Punches Cop in Nose

A 37-year-old homeless man was jailed Wednesday, Oct. 2, after he allegedly punched a San Diego police officer in the nose while being handcuffed in Ocean Beach.Dispatchers received a call around 11:50 p.m. Tuesday from a person who reported a man was sleeping in front of the main doors of the building on the corner of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Cape May Avenue, San Diego police public-affairs Officer Billy Hernandez said. While officers were speaking with the man, he became uncooperative and officers decided to handcuff him while conducting their investigation, Hernandez said.  As officers were handcuffing him, the man punched an officer in the nose, causing it to bleed, he said. The man, whose name was not immediately released, was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of battery on an officer and resisting arrest.

Local Businesses in da newz:

• Belching Beaver
• Mother’s Saloon – a mention
• Culture Brewing Co. a new beer
• Brief review of OB and Point Loma tacos.
• OB Playhouse and Theatre Co.
• Taste of the Himalayas in the Midway