For some, the Thanksgiving season is a time for reflection. So, we thought it would be far-out to take a walk down memory lane back to Ocean Beach in November 2014 – 5 years ago.
Fundraiser for Katie Connor Passes $10,000 as She Nears Complete Recovery
A fundraiser for OB hit-and-run victim Katie Connor at Pizza Port surpassed $10,000. Meanwhile doctors are saying that she is near a full recovery. … Katie used to work at Pizza Port in OB, when she was struck October 12th while riding her bike home from work.
The Widder Curry Finishes Her 3rd Cookbook
For the last 2 years, I have been working on my third, and final cookbook. How fitting it is to think that I finished it on the 5th anniversary of my husband’s death and received it today, his 87th birthday.
Gas Prices Down, Solar Energy Production Up
Gas prices have dropped below $4.00 a gallon for the first time in several years. Every one-cent drop in gas prices means a $1 billion annual decline in energy spending by Americans. …Part of the story has to do with the fact that solar energy is getting as cheap as coal and natural gas for the production of electricity.
Just Who Is Mindy Pellissier – “OB Citizen of the Year”?
Mindy Pellissier, Nov. 4, 2014, at Dog Beach Dog Wash.
At their recent annual awards dinner, the OB Town Council presented their “OB Citizen of the Year” award to Mindy Pellissier for her steadfast work on the OB Community Plan update process – a process that she alone has worked on for the last 12 years. Mindy helped guide the Update through the City Council unanimous vote on the Plan last July 29th. Mindy is well known in OB – Mindy was on the OB Planning Board for many years – , and she and her partner, Jane Donley, own and run the famous Dog Beach Dog Wash on Voltaire Street. A ‘do-it-yourself’ dog wash had never been done before in San Diego, when she and Jane opened it nearly 22 years ago.
OB Man Missing Since Halloween – His Body Found a Week Later
UPDATE: Scott Bowles’ body was found floating off South Mission on Friday, a week after he had gone missing. Cause of death unknown. –Now there’s an Ocean Beach man missing. Scott Bowles, 37, who lives in OB, was supposed to pick his daughter up in Julian on Friday, October 31st – Halloween – according to his Bowles’ father, but never showed. His last text message was from that afternoon. Bowles’ car was found parked at his home and his cellphone was inside. Someone had reported him missing, and police went looking. All his stuff was left.
OB Woman’s Club Celebrates 90th Year!
OB Voted for Peters, Point Loma for DeMaio
Not surprisingly, Ocean Beach voters voted for Scott Peters the Democrat incumbent in the 52nd Congressional race this past Tuesday, Nov. 4th. Also not surprisingly, Point Loma voted for Republican Carl DeMaio that same day.
OB Goes Big For San Diego Beer Week
As San Diego Beer Week kicks off tonight, Ocean Beach is quickly becoming a central hub for some of the best events.
Ocean Beach CDC Unveils 3D Models of New Veterans Plaza
At yesterday’s fundraising event for the new OB Veterans Plaza, the lead organization behind the project, the OB Community Development Corporation, rolled out its 3-dimension models of the planned memorial.
Protests and “Blackfish” Force SeaWorld Earnings and Attendance to Drop
Protests at San Diego SeaWorld and the film “BlackFish” have had enormous impact on the earnings and attendance at SeaWorld, both here in San Diego and in Orlando, Florida. SeaWorld’s parent company, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., announced on November 12, that its earnings for the 3rd quarter fell nearly a third – 28 percent – from a year ago. Shares of the company fell 10 percent in morning trading. Key to its earnings, attendance at the theme parks fell 5.6 percent to 8.4 million in the third quarter from 8.9 million in the same period a year ago. SeaWorld cited the attendance drop was due to “negative media attention in California along with a challenging competitive environment, particularly in Florida.”
Round-About Being Considered for West Pt Loma and Bacon in Ocean Beach
Intersection at West Pt Loma and Bacon Street.
The OB Planning Board and City are considering the installation of a round-about or traffic circle at the busy intersection of West Pt Loma Blvd and Bacon Street in northwest Ocean Beach. City engineers have determined that a traffic circle would work at the intersection geometrically. So, the City is okay with the concept. There is a growing positive trend towards placing round abouts in urban areas impacted by traffic.
OB Hostel, July 2014, by Emily Fagan
New OB Hostel Owners’ Upgrades May Include Covering Exterior “OB-esque Hippie Floral Design”
When the Ocean Beach International Hostel was sold last month, OB residents couldn’t help but be a little worried about the future of the neighborhood relic. Fortunately, the business is in the hands of USA Hostels – a company that started in San Diego with a hostel in the Gaslamp District and seems to have the best intentions of the relic on the heart of Newport Avenue in mind.
Visual Review of Proposed Bike Corral in OB
The Ocean Beach Planning Board voted unanimously recently to support the installation of a bicycle corral in OB. The main idea is to install one along Bacon Street, the “bicycle boulevard”. The bike corral takes a street parking space, so Pizza Port – or another like business in a similar situation – would have to give up a space in front of their corner business at Santa Monica and Bacon, if a deal is made with them.
Too Much Salt Delays Ribbon-Cutting at OB Entryway Park
Reporter Tony de Garate in an excellent Nov. 17 piece in the San Diego Reader, has informed us that the much-ballyhooed ribbon-cutting on the Ocean Beach Entryway Project – Park is being delayed – once again.
De Garate reports that “there’s too much salt in the soil” at the planned park at the intersection of West Pt Loma Avenue and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, according to the City, and that the November 20th opening of the new park will have to be pushed back into next year. The city’s latest estimate of the completion date – as of Nov. 1st – is now February 2015.
Lessons Learned from What Was Lost at Sunset Cliffs Park
Sunset Cliffs Park was originally landscaped in 1915 by sporting goods magnate Albert Goodwill Spaulding at the cost of two million dollars. It was to be given to the City of San Diego with the provision that they maintain it. This bequest consisted of landscaped walkways along the cliffs with rustic railings, pebbled steps and stairways, palm thatched shelters with benches, Japanese-style rustic arched bridges, caves with stairway access, even a 15 x 50 foot saltwater swimming pool carved into the natural rock that cleaned itself with every high tide. This was a major tourist attraction of which there are many postcards from the time around today that attest to its popularity.
The city did nothing to maintain the park and the land reverted to the new property owner, developer John P. Mills. In 1924 Mills refurbished the park and gave it back to the city, again with the provision that they maintain it.
Friends of OB Library Install the Bench
It’s finally happened! A brand new bench was just installed in front of the OB Library. The Friends of the OB Library are the responsible group for this venture into making our public facility a better place to be. What’s a library without a bench in front?
With a grant from the OB Town Council and through their own fundraising, the Friends were able to purchase the metal outdoor furniture. This is a great tribute to the community by one of the most wonderful band of local OB lovers.
OB Rag Readers Voted Overwhelmingly to Keep “Hippie Floral” Design on OB Hostel
OB Rag readers who participated in our most recent poll, voted overwhelmingly to keep the current “hippie floral” design on the OB Hostel on Newport Avenue. 67% of our readers want the new owners of the hostel, USA Hostels, to keep current paint job. 22% of those who responded want to see the exterior painted over. Seven per cent had no opinion.
Dog Beach Dog Wash Washes Their 500,000th Dog
It was a big day on Saturday over at the Dog Beach Dog Wash, OB’s iconic dog wash storefront, a really big day – actually a LANDMARK day. At precisely 8:10 a.m., on the 22nd of November, the dog wash folks washed their 500,000th dog. At that moment, GusGus – the dog – and his mom, Chris Uzeta (from Clairemont , was the Dog Wash’s 500,000th dog wash – or the half millionth dog wash!
Midway Construction Project Will See 190 Units on Former Barnard School Land
The San Diego School District sold the property of the former Barnard Elementary School over in the Midway area about 2 years ago. Now, it’s the site of a massive construction project that will when completed host 180 apartment units and 10 townhomes. The project – called the Barnard Apartments – is on 9.5 acres and will be a gated apartment complex. A company called the Monarch Group bought the site at auction for a reported $16.5 million, and plan to have the project completed by January 2016.
The apartments will include one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, as there will be 19 residential buildings. In addition, plans call for a rec building with a fitness center and “teaching kitchen”, and there will be a swimming pool and an artificial-turf dog park. Each apartment will have their own garage space as well.
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