Month: December 2019

In a close vote last Monday, December 16, the San Diego City Council voted to ban scooters and other motorized devices along the boardwalks from Mission Beach to La Jolla. The ban does not include Ocean Beach. It could be argued OB doesn’t really have a “boardwalk” or the one it has is very short.

At any rate, Councilwoman Barbara Bry has been pushing for a ban – and she got four other votes on Monday: Jen Campbell of District 2 – who reportedly strongly supported the proposal – , Monica Montgomery, Vivian Moreno and Mark Kersey. And Council President Georgette Gómez, Chris Ward, Chris Cate and Scott Sherman voted in opposition.

Bry is, of course, running for Mayor; Gomez is running for Susan Davis’ 53rd Congressional seat,

King Tide in Ocean Beach, Saturday, December 22, 2018. Photo by Albert C Elliott, ACE.

OBcean Tracy Dezenzo Appointed to Arts & Culture Commission for District 2

Tracy Dezenzo, who is on the OB Planning Board and is its secretary, was just appointed by the Mayor and Council to the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture to represent District 2.

Point Loma House Gets Hit for Third Time in 15 Years

A driver suspected of being under the influence struck two parked vehicles, a fence and a tree before coming to a stop just feet from the front of a Point Loma home.

By Dr. Jen Campbell

Hello neighbors!

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was standing on stage at Golden Hall, being sworn in to be the next city councilmember for District 2.

It’s been a busy year and a whirlwind experience of listening, learning, and working to be the best representative for our beach and bay communities. I appreciate all your feedback as we work together to make places like Ocean Beach better than ever before. With that said, I’d like to point to a few accomplishments I hope OBecians will be proud of:

Funding for the OB Library Expansion – For years, the need to expand the Ocean Beach Library has been clear. That’s why, at my very first opportunity as a councilmember, I fought to include $500,000 in the city budget

The US Supreme Court on Monday, Dec. 16, upheld protections for people who sleep or camp outdoors, after refusing to hear a case over whether cities could criminalize homelessness.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case leaves in place an appeals court ruling that says the Constitution does not allow cities to prosecute people for sleeping or camping outside unless the city provides shelter for every single unhoused person in their jurisdiction.

The legal decision comes as soaring rents and deepening economic inequality have led homelessness rates to soar in some U.S. cities.[Including San Diego which has the fourth largest population of people who are homeless in the country.]

In only the third time in US history, the House of Representatives – the People’s House – impeached a president, this time the 45th president, Mr. Donald Trump. In a historic vote, the House impeached Trump on two counts, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Articles now go to the Senate for a trial.

Article one, abuse of power, was passed by 230 to 197

By Rosanna Xia / LA Times / Dec. 16, 2019

Waters off the California coast are acidifying twice as fast as the global average, scientists found, threatening major fisheries and sounding the alarm that the ocean can absorb only so much more of the world’s carbon emissions.

A new study led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also made an unexpected connection between acidification and a climate cycle known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation — the same shifting forces that other scientists say have a played a big role in the higher and faster rates of sea level rise hitting California in recent years.

El Niño and La Niña cycles, researchers found, also add stress to these extreme changes in the ocean’s chemistry.

The Ocean Beach Town Council did it again. All month they’ve collected food and toys for their annual Food & Toy drive, and most of last week, OBTC board members and volunteers organized the boxes, the packages, the gifts.

And on Saturday, Dec. 15the, more volunteers arrived to help deliver the food, toys and gifts to over 100 local families and seniors. It all happened at the OB Masonic Center.

Here are pics from the week (from OBTC facebook) including the many volunteers:

The OB Planning Board’s Project Review Committee has two projects to review and will have an update on the Bermuda Beach Access Stair. Development projects that require public review first come before this committee, and then are forwarded to the full board usually with a recommendation. The committee meets Wednesday night, December 18 at 6 pm in the Ocean Beach Recreation Center at 4726 Santa Monica Ave.

Bermuda Beach Access Stair

It’s a public infrastructure project by the city to (finally) replace the existing beach access stairway with frames and wooden treads. The project will also demolish the existing stairway and broken concrete panels.

by Ernie McCray

A high school classmate of mine likes to share his MAGA influenced leanings on my Facebook timeline.

Like the other day he sent me a meme with Colin Kaepernick saying “I’m kneeling to protest injustice against Black men in America!”

In the moment I read that I couldn’t help but glow inside, so grateful for this new generation of freedom fighters.

Then, a cartoon character, Charlie Brown, says “That’s odd. You joined Islam, a religion that still owns black slaves, and you don’t protest against that.”

If things go badly for Trump, Russia is getting ready to offer him asylum – much like they did to the former president of Ukraine when he was forced to flee to Russia in 2014 after the Ukrainian people threw him out. Okay, it was meant mockingly, but one never knows.

Over at the Daily Beast, reporter Julia Davis offered an in-depth look at various instances of Russian state TV’s reporting on Trump, in a post entitled, “Russia’s State TV Calls Trump Their ‘Agent’”. Davis reported on how Russian state TV does not even pretend anymore as they openly call Trump their ‘agent’ — and joke about offering him asylum

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner / Dec. 13, 2019

I know what you’re thinking: we’ve got plenty of time to make up our minds about who to choose to be San Diego’s next mayor. No rush, right? Wrong!

Let’s get the timing straight. The primary election is coming up sooner than you think—the date is March 3, 2020. Then the top two winners will face off in the November 3 general election.

Now, let’s get the candidates straight. The frontrunners for mayor are Barbara Bry and Todd Gloria — both are Democrats. Civic activist Tasha Williamson is also in the running– for some voters she represents a protest statement. There’s also Republican candidate Scott Sherman— he’s the disgruntled candidate who voices cynical disgust for city government

An impeach Trump rally was held in San Diego, Sunday, December 15, in front of the San Diego County Admin Building off Harbor Drive. Reportedly, at least 400 San Diegans joined in the event – to send a message to Congress and the Senate.

The rally was part of the nationwide “Nobody Is Above the Law” protests.

This national mobilization is part of a massive, grassroots effort to ensure Congress holds Donald Trump accountable for using military aid to pressure Ukraine to interfere in our 2020 elections.