Month: October 2019

by Ernie McCray

Trying to help children create a peaceful world is difficult, to say the least. The reason being, I suppose, is because war seems to be the default way human beings have chosen, over time, to solve problems between nations.

Children are groomed to accept armed conflict in such a world.

I mean I grew up in the 40’s running around with my buddies, loudly mouthing the whistling and booming noises of bombs exploding and the rat-a-tat-tat sounds of war we learned how to playfully mimic at the movies on many a Saturday afternoon.

We were grunts and swabbies and jarheads and flyboys all wrapped in one, anchoring aweigh and flying off into the wild blue yonder and storming beaches and rolling those caissons along, practically every day.

Nobody ever said “Hey, haven’t you children ‘play killed’ enough people today?”

By Kathy Blavatt

Halloween seemed the right time to try my scary orange fruit from my Tomato Tree that I started from a seed years ago from Ecuador.

I had eaten the tart fruit raw. I tried some salsa type sauces – not very spicy – in Ecuador made with the fruit, but I wanted to make a main dish from the exotic fruit.

So, I did what most people do these days and jumped on the internet and googled Tomato Tree Fruit. Most of the suggestions of what to do with the fruit included adding sugar and making it sweet or making a curry dish. I opted for the curry.

Keeping Track of the Scooter

The biggest scooter news in San Diego is on several fronts.

First, San Diego Union-Tribune reporter, Joshua E. Smith broke the news several days ago, that scooter ridership has plummeted by over 50% since summer. Here’s his opening:

It might be the change in the seasons, but since the city of San Diego put its rules for dockless e-scooters in place this summer ridership has been plummeting.

The president of the United States was loudly booed at the Washington DC World Series game when he was shown on the Jumbotron- and met with a chorus of chants of “Lock him up! Lock him up!”

Reportedly, the sustained boos and chants were the loudest expression of the fans at the game.

From SanDiegoVille

It was announced more than a year ago that Ocean Beach’s Voltaire Beach House had plans to expand into the neighboring space that previously housed a local caterer for the opening of a 4-lane bowling alley called OB Lanes. After much speculation on whether the project would ever come to fruition, the company took to social media today to announce that OB Lanes is not happening.

Voltaire Beach House is a Nantucket-inspired, open-air bar and restaurant that was opened in January 2017 by restaurateurs David Schiffman, George Somers and Mark Huber – who also have ownership interests in San Diego Double Deuce, Whiskey Girl, The Horn and The Rabbit Hole.

By Jim Miller

California’s burning (again) with Governor Newsom declaring a state of emergency for Los Angeles and Sonoma Counties in the wake of twelve fires raging across the state. Smoke swept throughout the Bay Area and parts north and delayed flights into San Francisco. Schools were closed in the affected regions, and close to two million people suffered through pre-emptive power shut-offs to try avoiding yet more blazes.

In Los Angeles, residents agonized through hellishly hot fall temperatures and respiratory problems while blazes in San Diego county broke out in Valley View and Ramona, reviving traumatic memories of apocalyptic fires past for many. In San Diego county, the damage has been minor so far, but the hot, dry, windy conditions ensure that another firestorm is always just around the corner.

By S. Grace

It’s 6:15 in the morning and freezing in this canyon as I’m fantasizing about that expensive long sleeve dri-fit shirt I bought a while back with the thumb holes in the end of the sleeves. Come to think of it, those running gloves I picked up at Big 5 down off Sports Arena…and could there possibly be a better time than now to actually be wearing them?

Instead my hands are tucked up under my armpits trying to keep my thumbs from freezing solid while all that nice running gear is resting soundly back in OB for those precious last few minutes before the airplanes start rattling the windows at 6:35.

My buddy and I are pacing around the starting gate for the Noble Canyon 50K trail run just outside Pine Valley wondering what it is again that made us think this was such a great idea.

By Eric DuVall

A standing room only crowd at Water’s Edge Faith Community learned some long lost local lore and enjoyed some tall tales as Ocean Beach Historical Society presented The Original Sunset Cliffs Surfers on the evening of October 17.

Local surf pioneers Tom “Lizard” Chapman, Billy Chapman, Jim “Mouse” Robb, Marsh Malcolm, and John Holley reminisced about long gone days, hardly imaginable now, when there were no stairs down, and nobody out. The engaging group detailed the “Surf Wars” of the early 1960s, when restriction of surfing to just a few local beaches, and actual licensing of surfers were seriously being considered by San Diego lawmakers.

By Dr. Jen Campbell

Hello neighbors!

Though it may feel like summer, fall is here. We’ve done a lot of great work for San Diego in my 10+ months on the job, but perhaps the most important issue facing San Diego was the focus of a City Council meeting a few weeks ago. That’s when we got our first look at the new strategic plan to address homelessness.

Fixing our unsheltered crisis has long been a top priority for my office. As a physician, I deeply understand the health risks of homelessness. From veterans living in their cars, young families sleeping on the street to more and more seniors ending up without a roof over their heads. The health ramifications for our unsheltered population are horrifying.

From KPBS

The San Diego City Council’s Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee voted unanimously Wednesday, Oct. 23, to send a draft ballot measure to the full council that, if approved, would establish an independent oversight commission on police practices.

The measure, proposed by Women Occupy San Diego, would dissolve the city’s Community Review Board on Police Practices and replace it with the commission, which would retain independent counsel and have subpoena power to investigate certain cases of misconduct by local law enforcement officers.

During remarks at a shale-energy conference in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Oct. 23, Trump’s said “we’re building a wall in Colorado. … a beautiful wall …”

Here’s the full statement:

by Natallie Rocha / inewsource.org

[inewsource.org answers reader Peter Doft about a construction site on Friars Road: ]

“What’s going on with the portion of Friars Road west of the trolley tracks as you approach Sea World Drive. It’s been under construction for years yet no one is ever working there. A real eyesore.”

You can’t miss what Doft is asking about if you’re on Friars Road between Morena Boulevard and SeaWorld Drive. The road has been cut down to two lanes, with the other lanes used to store heavy equipment and stacks of construction material.

The reason for that “eyesore” Doft sees — the San Diego River Double Track project.