Month: December 2019

By Colleen O’Connor / Times of San Diego / Dec. 3, 2019

Why is a man worth over $50 billion running for President?

Boredom? More power than a demigod? Ego? Or a hidden agenda?

Maybe some of each, but there is an even better explanation and one that the Democrats should cheer.

Michael Bloomberg wants Donald Trump defeated by someone — anyone. And towards that end he is prepared to self-fund his campaign and torpedo the President with TV, radio, and social media messaging.

No need for mountains of paperwork, accountants and lawyers to keep track of the thousands of names, email accounts, job descriptions and zip codes of large and small donors—as other candidates must do.

by Kathy Blavatt

The season changed as cold weather has arrived.

In November, my husband and I attended a Congress of History San Diego and Imperial County board meeting at Barona Indian Reservation. After the meeting was adjourned, we toured the school and the children’s native garden, which included a lovely mural.

After our visit to the native garden, we headed over to the Barona Museum.

The museum showcases Indian utilitarian and fine artwork displays, maps, and historical displays.

Editordude: Below is the short Preface to the House Intelligence Committee’s Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report. Go here for the full 300 page report.

This report reflects the evidence gathered thus far by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in coordination with the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as part of the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry into Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States.

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free world.

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

As a new decade approaches, I find myself reflecting on the 21st anniversary of my 1998 book, Millstone and Me: Sex, Lies and Radiation in Southeastern Connecticut.

Perhaps the story of this book began with my mother. Midge, as everyone called her, was a nurse, and long before feminism, cell phones and networking, spent significant amounts of time talking with her women friends on the phone.

In our home in the small town of Niantic in shoreline Southeastern Connecticut on Long Island Sound, there wasn’t a whole lot of privacy, and Midge’s conversations were broadcast around the house with little regard for who overheard her.

As time went on and my ears got larger and more curious, I couldn’t help but notice that the topic of cancer was becoming increasingly prominent.

Hello Neighbors!

As we look forward to the holidays (with the gift of rain), there’s clearly a lot to celebrate here in San Diego. I’m proud of the progress that we’ve made so far.

The Biggest SDPD Recruiting Class in 25 Years – Addressing our police force’s recruitment and retention issues have been a high priority for me since coming into office. One big step towards increasing the size of the police department was in the budget we passed, which increased pay, funded a better marketing campaign to recruit officers from other departments and bonuses for those who join. That work is paying off, with more officers on the streets and the largest recruiting class SDPD has seen in 25 years. While there are more spots to fill, more officers means more community policing, safer neighborhoods and increased quality of life.

Clean Power Coming to San Diego – As an alternate to the board of San Diego’s new community choice energy program, I’m seeing firsthand how quickly our region is moving towards a clean energy future.

by Ernie McCray

Late in the morning, on Thanksgiving Day, I turned the television on, thinking, in that moment, of what I’m thankful for: my beautiful children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, my sexy woman, my wonderful friends, my health, my pension, so many things…

The first image I saw when my TV came on was a basketball player, dribbling right at a defender and suddenly, ever so smoothly, with grace, pulled up and sunk a jump shot right in the defender’s face.

That very shot was always money in the bank for me back in my playing days.

And, in the blinking of an eye, I was reminded of something else I’m thankful for: the role basketball has played in my life.

I mean basketball in many ways probably saved my life – from the front end, giving me a kind of spiritual place to go to, a place where I would get caught up in the sound of a ball being bounced smartly on a gym floor, where I could hear my and my teammates’ pounding feet as we hustle down the court to the rhythm of a fast-break being nicely run, on its way to being complete – when all that was going on, old Jim Crow and the other manifestos of racism in America were screened out of my mind much as a dense cloud hides the sun.

by Bob Edwards

Some say that the Holiday Season starts with the trick or treaters. Others say Thanksgiving dinner is the opening event. For this reporter the holidays really kick off with the arrival of the OB Holiday Tree, an event that happened this Tuesday morning in a finely coordinated process perfected over the years by Town Council volunteers, arborists, crane operators, and SD Police Department officers.

Community members and neighbors gathered at 7 am today to observe the harvesting of the 40 foot tree from a home on Muir Street, a few blocks east of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. Three hours later the tree had been cut down, transferred to the foot of Newport on a flatbed truck, and lowered into the concrete-encased vertical steel pipe that lies dormant beneath the sand for eleven months out of each year.

Grown from a live Christmas tree purchased in 1975 and planted about five years later, the tree was donated by a family with deep OB roots who wish to remain anonymous. In high winds the tree was starting to threaten the family’s home as it swayed back and forth so they kindly decided to donate the star pine to the community.

By Geoff Page

The final 2019 meeting of the Midway-Pacific Planning Group was supposed to have been the one on Wednesday, November 20 at the Bay City brewery on Hancock Street. But, the prospect of a special meeting came up when discussion focused on 31 recently recommended Draconian changes to the planning board system.

Possible Future Special Board Meeting on City’s “Improvements” to Community Planning Committees

A special Task Force was assembled by the city to make recommendations for improvements to the planning board system. These recommendations were reviewed by the Ocean Beach Planning Board at their regular monthly meeting November 7, which was detailed in the OB Rag’s November 11 account of the discussion. It did not appear that the Midway group had focused on these 31 recommendations.

When it was pointed out to the Midway group that some of the 31 were very onerous, such as requiring board member to provide private financial information, a definite interest was sparked.

Tuesday, December 3, the Electric Chair – one of OB’s mainstay hair salons – is closed and locked up. A hand-written sign taped on the glass says “Closed Tuesday 12/3/19 – Open on Wednesday 12/4/19“.

Yet over one of the large main windows hangs a banner that boldly states:

“New Ownership – Grand Re-Opening Just Days Away!”

It is that time of year, once again, for the annual OB Holiday Auction – but this year the folks who put it on want you to come on out cuz it’s the 40th Anniversary of one of the major social and festive events of the holidays.

It’s all happenin’ this Thursday, December 5, from 5:30-9 pm at the Sunshine Company, located at 5028 Newport Avenue. Of course, behind it all stands the good citizens of the OB Town Council – and the auction is a major part of the annual OB Food & Toy Drive, which benefits local families and seniors in need during the holidays.

By Melanie Zanona and John Bresnahan / Politico / Dec 2, 2019

GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter will plead guilty in federal court on Tuesday after denying for more than a year that he illegally misused campaign funds.

Hunter told TV station KUSI in San Diego that “Tomorrow, on Tuesday, I’m going to change my plea to guilty.” Hunter said he wanted to avoid a trial “for my kids. I think it would be really tough for them.”

The California Republican didn’t say definitively that he was resigning, but the former Marine officer did mention that “It’s been a privilege to serve in Congress. I think we’ve done a lot of great things for the nation.”