Month: April 2020

By Jim Miller

The battle is on in earnest. Last week, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said it out loud: drop dead blue states. More specifically, McConnell took a strong stand against providing any more financial relief to devastated states and local governments in the midst of a pandemic that has caused the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Instead, the Senate leader suggested, states should just consider bankruptcy.

In a moment of remarkable candor, McConnell outlined his view on a rightwing radio show. As the New York Times reported :

“I think this whole business of additional assistance for state and local governments needs to be thoroughly evaluated,” Mr. McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said in an interview with the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “There’s not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations.”

It was the officers’ last day of the complete and full beach closure in Ocean Beach. Hopefully.

There wasn’t anyone on the sand. The parking lots were still closed. It was a warm and beautiful day in Ocean Beach. A day before the beaches were to partially re-open. And OB was keeping on with the restrictions.

OB Rag citizen reporter, Bob Edwards, took in the views at the coast and along the San Diego River. Here’s his pics and comments from today, Sunday, April 26.

There’s a unprecedented and fierce blow-back on a planned protest against the coronavirus restrictions for Sunday in Pacific Beach – a day before many of the restrictions at the beach are to be lifted.

Local residents of PB are telling the organizers and participates to reconsider the use of their community as a stage by outsiders and not to put their neighbors and frontline people, like police officers, at risk by carrying out their protest.

The Pacific Beach Town Council, PB activists and Councilwoman Jen Campbell have all deplored the event, which is scheduled for a key intersection a block from the beach. Brian White, the president of the PB Town Council didn’t mince words when he asked the protesters to stay away:

OB Street Fair 2020 Likely to Be Cancelled

Whether OB’s iconic annual Street Fair will be cancelled this year or not due to the coronavirus situation was supposed to be decided by its main host, the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association Board on Thursday, April 23. But Denny Knox, its executive director told the press, “Our board didn’t take any action today. We’re waiting for the City to notify us we have to cancel.”

Bernie’s Bikes Is Still Open

There was a concern going around OB that Bernie’s Bikes on Cable had closed. But no, it’s open – but with limitations. See the sign on the front door. See this if you’re interested: San Diego bike shops riding high with sudden boom in sales.

Point Loma Summer Concerts Cancelled

The Point Loma Summer Concerts board has decided to postpone the 20th season of the Point Loma Summer Concerts until the summer of 2021.

With Faulconer Opening Sunset Cliffs Park – Too Many Visitors Not Employing Precautions

by Ernie McCray

I had a pretty nice birthday, the other day, my 82nd such day.

I got the day going up on my feet, getting down to a funky beat. I posted it on Facebook for my friends to see, hopefully, as a treat.

Later I celebrated on Zoom with family and friends, got some reading and love making in, greased on some shrimp and grits and lost my soul to a moist super delicious vanilla pound cake.

But, hey, it wasn’t all happy and gay because I clicked on my TV, feeling a need for a brief summary of what’s going on with the coronavirus, and the first images I happened to see was a bunch of European American “patriots” waving “Old Glory” like crazy.

I mean it was a sight to see: grossly misguided misfits open carrying automatic weapons, all pissed off that they’re being told what to do to lessen their chances of losing their lives to a deadly disease. “Don’t tell us to stay off the street! This is the Land of the Free!”

by Bob Edwards

Earlier this week an OB RAG article noted that some San Diego City parks are starting to reopen with activity and physical distancing rules in place.

This reporter checked out Dusty Rhodes Park on Thursday, April 23 and took the accompanying photos.

The entry driveway on Sunset Cliffs Blvd. remains blocked off. Bike and foot traffic are the only ways to access the park at the present time.

Your President just suggested that injecting a person with disinfectant could treat the coronavirus.

“I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute,” Trump said during his coronavirus press briefing on Thursday, April 23. “And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets inside the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”

The question, which Trump offered unprompted, immediately spurred doctors, lawmakers and the makers of Lysol to respond with incredulity and warnings against injecting or otherwise ingesting disinfectants, which are highly toxic. Washington Post

Meanwhile … Protesters Lay “Body Bags” outside Trump Hotel in DC

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican / April 19, 2020

Last year, the Network for Public Education (NPE) published two investigations of the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP).

The first one called “Asleep at the Wheel” came in March. In it they made several claims including that hundreds of millions of dollars had gone to schools that never opened or were shut down.

The authors, Carol Burris and Jeff Bryant, stated, “Therefore, we recommend that Congress end funding for new charter grants coming from CSP.”

Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, harshly criticized the report to Congress saying, “It makes sweeping conclusions without supporting data or methodological rigor.”

San Diego Councilwoman Jen Campbell, we find, is leading the charge to destroy the 30-foot height limit in the Midway District. And she is doing this despite the lack of any mandate from her District 2 community or constituents.

Yes, it is true, Campbell is touting the recent approval of her plan by the Midway planning committee.

But that decision by literally a handful of people who, under the cover of the pandemic, voted without public participation to get onboard her roaring train – is definitely not a mandate. There’s barely a Midway District resident on that committee of business-minded planners. Okay, there aren’t that many residents in the planning area, which also includes the Pacific Highway area. As OB Rag reporter Geoff Page recently described:

The Midway group is made up mostly of business people who own property or businesses in the Midway area. After having attended these meetings for more than three years, this reporter can say that this is a nice group of people, they are not a rapacious group of developers like the Mission Valley planning group. The Midway people have good reason for wanting to see the area improved, anyone who has spent any time there would understand. But, many do have a vested interest in the future development.

A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that Americans overwhelming support stay-at-home orders to slow the coronavirus. Here’s the report:

Americans remain overwhelmingly in favor of stay-at-home orders and other efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a new survey finds, even as small pockets of attention-grabbing protests demanding the lifting of such restrictions emerge nationwide.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds that a majority of Americans say it won’t be safe to lift social distancing guidelines anytime soon, running counter to the choice of a handful of governors who have announced plans to ease within days the public health efforts that have upended daily life and roiled the global economy.

Please join the Ocean Beach Town Council meeting this evening, April 22nd, at 7pm on Facebook Live.

As always, you’ll hear from elected officials, public servants, and the board. Also Assemblymember Todd Gloria – who is running for mayor – will be joining the OBTC on the call.