Month: October 2019

By Marjorie Cohn / Truthout / Oct. 23, 2019

Nearly two weeks have passed since Turkey launched its ground and air attack on Rojava, the autonomous region of northeast Syria, following Trump’s sudden removal of 1,000 U.S. troops from the area.

While the United States and Turkey reached a “ceasefire” agreement on October 17, there are ongoing reports of violations of the deal. A U.S. official told CNN that Turkish-backed forces broke the ceasefire on its first day, saying that they were either acting beyond the scope of Turkish control or Turkey “didn’t care what they did.” Two U.S. officials said the ceasefire “is not holding.”

Hey, it’s not even Halloween yet, but your Ocean Beach Town Council is looking for a giant, tall Christmas present. The Town Council is looking for a donated Christmas Tree for the annual display at the foot of Newport Avenue.

Preferably one that is crooked, or bent like a question mark or …. whatever.

If you have one to donate, please

By Geoff Page

The San Diego airport has plans for a great deal of new development and the Peninsula Community Planning Board is not at all pleased with what is being proposed – judging by the comments at the regular monthly meeting Thursday October 17 at the Point Loma Library.

The PCPB’s Airport subcommittee reviewed the new Draft Environmental Impact Report in detail and composed a strong letter with comments that the board voted almost unanimously to support. The lone vote against the letter came from board member Don Sevrens who did not explain his opposition.

By Ken Stone / Times of San Diego / Oct. 21, 2019

Backed by an all-star team of lawyers, Rachel Maddow is asking a San Diego federal judge to throw out the $10 million defamation suit by the owner of One America News Network.

And it could happen as soon as Dec. 16, according to a motion filed Monday that cites California’s anti-SLAPP statute.

MSNBC’s highest-rated host was merely exercising her First Amendment right to express an opinion (“based on undisputed facts”) when she delivered a “single rhetorical flourish” and “colorful rhetorical hyperbole.”

Effective October 22, 2019 at 8:30am, the County’s Department of Environmental Health has issued a water quality Advisory for San Diego River outlet – Dog Beach – in Ocean Beach.

The County says humans [we add “and dogs”] should avoid water contact in the advisory area, as bacteria levels may exceed health standards.

Bacterial exceedance Advisories are issued when monitoring

By Manuela Tobias / The Fresno Bee – Times of San Diego / Oct. 19, 2019

Maximina Molina Sanchez is worried about going hungry this winter. She depends on a food bank in Huron to feed her husband and two kids. But with most agricultural workers out of jobs during the winter, demand is bound to increase, so she worries there won’t be enough food to feed everyone who needs it.

The Sanchez family is among the 22% of people in Fresno County who couldn’t afford the groceries they needed in the past year. Fresno ranks third in the country for food insecurity, according to the Food Research and Action Center.

By Geoff Page

The highlight of the regular monthly meeting of the Midway Pacific Community Planning Group meeting, Wednesday, October 16 was a proposed six month moratorium on the electric scooters that have inundated our communities. This was a citizen lead proposal offered by a fellow named Bill Zent.

The proposal that Zent is looking to gain support for would require cessation of the scooter business for six months that would include removing the scooters from the streets and storing them while the companies and the city work out agreements and rules are set.

Zent’s handout stated that this was to support Council member Barbara Bry’s call for a moratorium, which Bry did call for this summer.

Fear-mongering does none of us any good. We need to talk about the actual evidence

By Eugene Gu / Independent / October 18, 2019 San Francisco

As a physician, I believe the medical community has a solemn responsibility to adhere to facts and evidence over hype and sensationalism. This is especially true when it comes to public health, for it is an integral part of our Hippocratic oath to “first, do no harm.”

Yet it is with great dismay that I’ve seen the medical community in both the mainstream press and on social media resort to fear-mongering and mob-like scapegoating when it comes to the nuanced complexities of the vaping epidemic in the United States. A UCSF Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Tobacco Control even tweeted that those who vape “would be better off just smoking.”

When doctors ignore actual evidence, we exploit our credibility as healers to promote our own agendas — which can ultimately cause great harm to patients.

National Democrats: Angry Moderates Attack Solidarity in Defense of Status Quo

By Jim Miller

It appears to the be the season of the angry moderate.

At least that’s what it looked like at last week’s Democratic presidential debate, as usually smug neoliberals like Joe Biden, Mayor Pete, and Amy Klobuchar took aim at Elizabeth Warren’s and Bernie Sanders’ support of Medicare for All, with Klobuchar calling it a “pipe dream” while both Buttigieg and Biden waved the red flag of higher taxes that some Americans might be asked to pay in order to assure that everyone of us has free healthcare.

Of course, part of this is political, with Biden seemingly on the wane and Buttigieg and Klobuchar seeing an opening in the unapologetically moderate (read neoliberal) lane of the primary race. But the larger issue shouldn’t get lost under the political noise.

What the neoliberals’ attack on Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, the wealth tax and other proposals for bold structural changes reveals is the true nature of the National Democratic Party leadership.

Councilwoman Arriving at 6:30pm

Join your Ocean Beach Town Council for a special public meeting this Wednesday, October 23rd. Doors open early at 6:15pm for coffee and refreshments, with Councilmember Jennifer Campbell arriving at 6:30pm for an informal meet and greet.

The public meeting starts at 7:00pm, during which the Councilmember will be giving an official update and taking a brief Q and A.

Also on deck are updates from our other elected officials’ representatives, news from our local Lifeguards and the SDPD, and info on all the fun activities planned for the upcoming OB Holiday season!

It’s not surprising that Ocean Beach has many murals adorning the walls of businesses around the community. But what is surprising is that Ocean Beach now – with recent additions on People’s facade – has more murals than any other community in San Diego except for Barrio Logan and all its murals at Chicano Park.

Not based on any scientific study – this is art, you understand – this claim to mural fame second to Chicano Park – is based on just driving around the village and counting all the murals. Try it – it’s a trip. OB has a feel, a vibe for art – (and music, beer and drugs) …. – but OB has had a history of murals since the 1970s. Another OB tradition that’s still alive.

Now, there’s different kinds of murals, for sure.