News for Ocean Beach and Point Loma – February 2020

Developer at OB Project Continues to  Flaunt Safety Codes for Workers

The workers at the construction “rehab” at Ebers and Greene continue to be forced to work without scaffolding or other safety measures and continue to “live on the edge.” Workers told neighbors the developer can’t afford scaffolding. This is outrageous! says the OB Rag. This public flaunting of the health and safety codes is just not right! Where’s Michael Turko now when you need him?

Lawsuit Filed Against Airport Noise Increase

A group of San Diegans said it is not against a $3 billion expansion planned for the San Diego International Airport, but it is against putting the plan in place before steps are taken to mitigate airport noise, which the group claims causes health issues. Quiet Skies San Diego filed a lawsuit against the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, citing, “Commercial jet noise from the San Diego International Airport causes significant harm to human health, including cardiovascular disease, strokes, heart attacks, stress, metabolic disease like obesity and diabetes, and cognitive deficits.” Quiet Skies San Diego is an association of residents from communities of San Diego, La Jolla, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach and Point Loma.

One part of the expansion plan would be to add 11 gates for more plane departures and arrivals. According to the group, under the plan, there would be 50 landings and takeoffs per hour compared to 36 now, a 38 percent increase. One of the founders, Tony Steigler, said the group is in favor of smart growth, and it does not want to stop the development plan. “So, it’s fine to put in 11 new gates, as long as we have procedures in place to mitigate and reduce the noise.” Steigler points to studies that correlate repetitive jet noise with health issues. “The citizens of San Diego shouldn’t be paying the price for the airport development plan with their health,” he said.

Steigler says there is a solution though. He claims departing planes could fly farther west before turning north or south and arriving planes could fly higher, which he said would help alleviate noise for people in East County. The Federal Aviation Administration did not yet return a call from NBC 7 as to whether that is a viable solution. The FAA implemented NextGen/Metroplex in 2017 that requires planes to fly on a single concentrated path, also known as superhighways in the sky, rather than the previous disbursed flight paths that spread the burden of the noise, according to the lawsuit. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority said it could not comment on pending litigation. A go fund me page is set up to raise money for the legal fight. info@quietskieslajolla.org NBC7SanDiego

Midway Burger King Damaged by Fire

A fire damaged the exterior of a Burger King restaurant in the Midway District early Sunday, Feb. 23. Dispatchers received a 911 call around 3:40 a.m. about a fire at the fast-food eatery on Rosecrans Street and Midway Drive, San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Kerry-Shannon Grieser told OnScene TV. She said fire crews found fire burning on the exterior of the building and potentially intruding into the restaurant. They put out the flames and cut a couple of holes in the roof to ensure the fire hadn’t spread inside. Arson investigators were called to the scene to try to determine what sparked the blaze, she said. SDU-T

Fitness Center in Robb Field Damaged

Apparently the Fitness Center in Robb Field was burgled and the windows were trashed on or around Monday, Feb. 17. (hat tip to Brett.)

OB Mom Songwriter Loves Blacks Nude Beach for Leap Year Day

Luci Lampe, an Ocean Beach-based mom of four, author of “Achieving Sexy,” songwriter/model, and founder of the Sexy Mama Movement, shares her thoughts on trying something new on leap day. “Many of us wish we had more hours in a day, and most have an idea of what we’d do with those extra hours. Lucky for us, every leap year we get a whole extra 24 hours. So how can we take advantage of the extra hours in 2020? Personally, I like to spend time going on new adventures and trying things I’ve been curious about, but maybe a little scared to do. One of those things was visiting Blacks Beach with my husband on his birthday last year, shedding our clothes in favor of our birthday suits. Who doesn’t want to spend their birthday naked with their lover, right?” SDNews.com

SoundDiego Podcast EP1: Slightly Stoopid’s Miles Doughty

“In the debut episode of the SoundDiego Podcast, we are pleased to host none other than Slightly Stoopid’s own Miles Doughty. Doughty, of course, is one of the founders of the beloved Ocean Beach band and sings and plays guitar in the group. Their latest studio album, 2018’s “Everyday Life, Everyday People,” represents the latest in the group’s evolution over the years and finds them mixing rock, reggae, dub, funk, soul, jazz and hip-hop together with more ease than ever before. Be sure to visit them at SlightlyStoopid.com for up-to-date news, music, video, and tour dates.” Soundsandiego

Art Historian and Dean at Nazarene Knows Difference Between Street Art and Graffiti

According to Jim Daichendt, there is a difference between street art and graffiti. While graffiti is about writing letters or words with spray paint and markers, Daichendt said, “street art involves every media that you would see in art school.” Street art is much more accessible to the public while graffiti is usually meant for a different kind of subculture and at times difficult to read, he said. Daichendt is a professor of art history and dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at Point Loma Nazarene University. He has spent most of his academic career studying art, having earned his doctorate in arts research from Columbia University, a master’s degree in Arts in Education from Harvard University and art education from Boston University.

He is also the author of five books, including a book on Shepard Fairey, a graphic artist who founded OBEY Clothing. Daichendt first became interested in street art years ago thanks to some of his students, which eventually led him to investigate street art in Los Angeles “from an academic perspective.” Daichendt is the curator of an exhibit currently on display in the Oceanside Museum of Art. Called “Sidewalk Activism,” the exhibit showcases various forms of street art. Daichendt was asked by the museum to curate the exhibit, and worked with him to settle on a theme of activism for the show. Coast News Group

OB Artist Brings Beach Art to SoCal

San Diego area artists Carol Arêas, Rosie Wertz – who is from Ocean Beach k- and Nadia Quiros spent about 40 minutes playing together on “nature’s sandbox” using rakes, rocks and flowers to create a huge Kawaii-style smiling sun and a kite. Childlike and simple, the artists hoped to depict “the warm and positive nature of the sun and the feeling of being totally in the moment when you’re flying a kite and being a playful kid.” “Always so much love exudes when you share a creative experience with people,” wrote Wertz on her Instagram post of the project.

The beach art was a first for Arêas, an Encinitas resident and founder of The Word Rocks Project. Arêas started Word Rocks nine years ago after she moved to San Diego from Brazil. Feeling lonely and detached from her family and friends, she started sharing rocks painted with colorful and positive messages with her son, Antonio, as a way to feel more connected and put some happiness out in the world. It has now evolved to an Instagram page with 19,000 followers. Encinitas Advocate

Local Girl Scouts Try New Locations for Cookie Sales – Like Hodad’s For Instance

On a recent Saturday, a trio of Point Loma Girl Scout “sister troops” from Warren-Walker School hosted cookie booths at Hodad’s in Ocean Beach, the Liberty Station Vons, and Jensen’s Foods. “It was a busy day — coordinating three troops and three booth locations,” said “cookie dad” volunteer Doug Bowman, who was in charge of cookie activities that weekend. He and his wife Cam Bowman, leader of Brownie Troop 4999 and Junior Troop 4920, have two Girl Scout daughters, Addison and Emma. In addition, Doug and Cam volunteer for Daisy Troop 4856, led by Cam’s mother, Girl Scout alum Judie Clayton. Judie also serves as the cookie booth coordinator for Girl Scouts San Diego’s Point Loma Service Unit.  San Diego Community News Group

Mayor Faulconer Awards 100-Year Old OB Woman

An eruption of cheers surrounded Ocean Beach resident Betty Morse on Thursday, Feb. 20, after Mayor Kevin Faulconer presented her with a special gift for her 100th birthday. The San Diego mayor presented a proclamation that dubbed Feb. 20, 2020 as “Betty Morse Day” in the city. “It talks a little bit about you and your life and your history that we’re all so very, very proud of,” Faulconer said before he revealed a day was named after the birthday girl. 7SanDiego

Murder Trial of Point Loma Husband Accused of Stabbing, then Freezing Spouse’s Body

Matthew Scott Sullivan is accused of killing Elizabeth Sullivan, 32, in 2014 when their marriage disintegrated. A former Point Loma resident stabbed his wife to death, hid her body for two years in a home freezer, then dumped the body in the bay, where it was found in 2016, a prosecutor told a San Diego jury on Friday. Matthew Scott Sullivan’s lawyer countered that Elizabeth Sullivan, 32, was using drugs and occasionally sleeping in a park before disappearing in 2014. The attorney said her self-mutilating habit of cutting herself accounted for the blood-soaked carpeting investigators would later find in her bedroom. The two lawyers gave opening statements in 35-year-old Matthew Sullivan’s murder trial, which is expected to last three to four weeks in San Diego Superior Court. … The trial resumed this week. SD Union-Tribune

Disastrous Palm Weevil Found in Point Loma and PB Palms

It appears a palm weevil infestation that has been moving up from the U.S.-Mexico border has finally found its way to Pacific Beach. The City responded to news of the PB weevil infestation. “The presence of the South American Palm Weevil has increased in San Diego County in the last few years,” said City spokesperson Anthony Santacroce. “Initial instances were found in San Ysidro, in the Tijuana River Valley several years ago. The infestation moved up to Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, Mountain View and surrounding neighborhoods about two years ago. A few finds were in City Heights last year. Downtown and Hillcrest/Mission Hills were next.” Added Santacroce, “More recently, we have found South American Palm Weevil in Point Loma, PB, Mission Valley, and a possible find in La Jolla.”

The South American palm weevil, Rhynchophorus palmarum, has a known distribution in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. This weevil presents an enormous threat to the ornamental and edible date palm industries in California, as well as the state’s urban landscape, which is defined by such palms.  The South American Palm Weevil is a notorious palm pest in its native and invaded ranges. Damage to palm trees results primarily from larval feeding in the heart of the palm. This relatively soft and fleshy growing material is typically found in the crown or top part of the palm tree, and it is responsible for generating new fronds. Heavy larval infestations in this region can result in crown collapse and palm mortality.
sdnews.com

Gracie Philips Band Got Accolades at OB Springboard West

Isaac Steves, a fiddler and accounting major at Cumberland University, recently returned from a whirlwind musical experience in California. Steves, along with Gracie Phillips and Zach Lee, is a member of the folk pop band Gracie Phillips. It recently received accolades in at the Springboard West Music Festival sponsored by music website Reverb Nation at San Diego’s Ocean Beach. Over 3,000 acts applied for the three-day event, and only 40 were selected. Acts came from Australia and South Africa to attend. Steves said that the event is meant to expose independent artists and jumpstart their careers with a focus on getting their original music in films and television. WilsonPost

Would-Be Midway Carjacker Pleads Guilty

A would-be carjacker who didn’t know how to start a high-tech car pleaded guilty Feb. 13 to robbery and attempted carjacking at a Midway Drive store. Surveillance video of the incident showed the robber angrily throwing the victim’s car keys in frustration after he was unable to start a 2013 Chevrolet Volt hybrid vehicle on Jan. 7, 2019. Deputy District Attorney James Koerber said Robert John Bustillos, 40, faces a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison with a plea agreement. San Diego Superior Court Judge Francis Devaney set sentencing for March 23. Bustillos remains in jail without bail. The car’s owner, Juan Sandoval, earlier testified a driver must step on the brake before pushing a button to start it and also have a key fob present in order to operate the vehicle. San Diego Community News Group

Man Thanks OB Lifeguards for Saving Him and His Dog

How would you react if your dog was about to drown in the ocean? A Santee man didn’t think twice and jumped in to save his dog but it was lifeguards that saved both their lives. Steve Neely says he brings his 11-year-old Golden Retriever, Sawyer, to the dog beach in Ocean Beach a few times a week. Last month, while tossing a stick to Sawyer, both friends ended up struggling in the water. The water conditions were brutal, with 8 to 10 feet waves slamming against the shoreline – a present threat of rip currents near the jetty, lifeguards said.

Sawyer was pulled underwater, causing a panicked Neely to dive in to save his beloved friend. Neely was also pulled underwater and struggled to stay afloat. That was when San Diego Lifeguards rushed into action, one going after Neely and several others searching for Sawyer. “By that time Sawyer had really nothing left, and he was struggling barely keeping his head above water,” Connor Robbins, a San Diego Lifeguard said. After spotting Sawyer, lifeguards used a doggie oxygen mask to revive him.

On Friday, Neely met up with the lifeguards to thank them for rescuing him and his dog. “When you hear somebody say that there’s a guardian angel in your life, you kind of take it for granted unless it happens to you. And I have five of them, all right here,” Neely said talking about the lifeguards. He shared with NBC 7 the heartfelt letter he wrote to the lifeguard chief:

“I can’t begin to express adequately what a phenomenal team of professional lifeguards these individuals are and how fortunate I and Sawyer were to have them on duty when this all went down. “I am eternally grateful to all of them and will never forget their bravery. Thank you for having such wonderful professionals under your supervision. Regards, Steve Neely and his best pal, Sawyer.”

Neely says lifeguards never asked for praise, but he can’t stop giving it. Sawyer had to stay at a vet hospital for three days following the rescue, but he’s fine now, as if the rescue never happened. Though lifeguards know it would be tough for a lot of pet owners, they recommend owners not to go after their pet and to call 911 instead in these situations. 7SanDiego