Month: May 2020

George Floyd, the Minneapolis African-American man who told police, “I can’t breathe” multiple times while former Officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on his neck for over 8 minutes before he died, has joined our country’s history, as the latest victim in a lynching of a Black man. But Floyd joins our history at a devastating moment.

It was announced this week that 100,000 Americans have now died due to COVID-19.

Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop – who was caught on a passerby’s phone appearing to have a depraved disregard for Floyd’s life as it drained away before our eyes and the millions around the world who have now seen the video – has been arrested as of today for third-degree murder after parts of Minneapolis – including a police precinct station – burned last night.

The 100,000 Americans who have died in just 4 months,

More COVID-19 Thoughts for These Past Weeks

By Steve Zivolich

The morbidly obese, with a heart condition, in my elder at risk group, liar in chief, wants us to take hydroxychloroquine, mmmmm well, think I will wait for the science.

Pretty cool, due to working at home, I don’t have to wear pants to work.

Just saw a hog farmer say she was distraught about having to euthanize her stock that she cannot sell. Well, what does she think happens when she sells it to the slaughter house? Pass the faken bacon.

Fairouz Restaurant and Gallery
3166 Midway Drive #102
San Diego, CA 92107
619-225-0308

By Judi Curry

One of my very favorite restaurants is going to have their Grand Re-Opening on Monday, June 1st. I am so excited! I met with Al Nashashibi this afternoon and was pleased to see the changes that will be taking place, the new paint, and the concern for maintaining safe distances for the diners.

First of all, something that will change the place entirely is the absence of the buffet. With the new Covet-19 rules in place, it is impossible to still have a buffet and be safe. Tables and chairs will be placed strategically in the area where the buffet used to be.

By Roberto ‘Rob’ Camacho

After closing to the public nearly two months ago, Beat Box Records, located on Logan Avenue in the middle of Barrio Logan’s cultural district is re-opening its doors with modified hours for weekend curbside pickups – as the state loosens restrictions on businesses throughout California.

Since first opening its doors in 2015, Beat Box Records has served as one of San Diego’s premier record shops. Stocked with vintage Funk, Soul, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Oldies records/cassettes, the shop has gained the reputation of carrying rare and obscure music difficult to find anywhere else in the city.

by Ernie McCray

I’ve been getting a few memes on my Facebook feed kind of around the theme that “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.”

Such a sentiment makes me shudder as people right now, who are way overburdened with a situation brought on by a deadly virus, are dying left and right all around us and all around the world.

I’m not religious but I was raised in a home with people who were religious to the bone, two of the truest Christians I’ve ever known: my mother, a soulful gospel piano playing woman who played for our church’s choir, and her father, my grandfather, a man who had sailed several seas and honored his Lord as easily as he breathed.

But their faith was reflected, less on cutesy Bible verses and the like, and more on just being respectful of their fellow human beings and giving way more than they received.

By Barbara Bry

Here’s the story insiders don’t want to be told, but you deserve the facts:

In November 2018, San Diego voters approved Measure G, authorizing sale of the Mission Valley stadium property to San Diego State University.

Measure G set clear guidelines for that sale: The price to be determined by fair market value, SDSU to build a regional river park along with neighborhood parks, trails, and a multi-purpose stadium and SDSU to conduct a comprehensive environmental impact report and perform appropriate mitigation.

Rather than a rushed process, as has occurred on many recent city transactions, there has been over a year of intensive negotiations and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by the city on outside attorneys and consultants.

Join the Ocean Beach Town Council tonight, Wednesday, May 27 as they hold their regular monthly meeting via Facebook Live.

They will be joined by representatives from: Raglan Public House, Dirty Birds Ocean Beach, OB Hardware, OB Playhouse & Theatre Company, Newbreak Ocean Beach and OB Beans Coffee Roasters as they discuss the challenges of re-opening OB for business.

By Anthony Stiegler / Pt. Loma – OB Monthly / May 24, 2020

First and foremost, Quiet Skies San Diego wishes everyone good health and safety during this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

Much has happened in the last several months. Since our last update in February, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has been whipsawed, experiencing a huge reduction in demand for air travel after setting another passenger record in 2019 with 25 million. The airline industry is in serious financial trouble, projecting route cancellations, layoffs and other cost-cutting measures and “right sizing.”

by Blake Fleetwood / Washington Monthly / May 26, 2020

In late March, when every other European country was in a lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Sweden remained the outlier. Instead of imposing strict shelter-in-place orders, officials decided that Swedes could be relied upon to follow sanitation guidelines themselves. Restaurants, shops, and recreational spots stayed open.

After all, Sweden has an excellent national health care system that ranks third in the world (the U.S. clocks in at a dismal 44). And with the Swedes’ low levels of obesity and diabetes, their generally good health and ample supply of hospital beds offer far better odds against COVID-19. But even with these advantages, many Swedes did not stay at home. Sweden’s experiment in waging a lax battle against COVID-19 cost the country dearly.

President Donald Trump will not be unveiling his predecessor Barack Obama’s official White House portrait, a report says. So, taking the cue from others, we are posting one official portrait of Obama (but not the “official White House” one).

NBC first reported that the event to unveil Obama’s official portrait wasn’t currently on the calendar, and may not even occur while Trump is in office, including potentially throughout the duration of a second term if he wins re-election. This would mean “it could be 2025” before Obama’s portrait unveiling happens, the report states, despite Obama leaving office in 2017.

Here’s one portrait of Obama also shared on social media as if it were the portrait scheduled to be unveiled at the White House in 2020.

This painting of Obama was done by Kehinde Wiley and was unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in February 2018. While this an official portrait of Obama, it is not the official White House portrait that would have been unveiled at the White House ceremony in 2020.

Man Fell 50 Feet at Sunset Cliffs

A man fell about 50 feet down a cliff at Sunset Cliffs early Sunday, May24 and had to be rescued by a firefighter helicopter crew,

Point Loma Library Open for Curb-side Pick-Up

Beginning Tuesday, May 26, the San Diego Public Library is offering contact-free pickup service at 11 of its branches beginning Tuesday, including Point Loma’s. There is no word about the OB library. Pickup service will be available from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Patrons with existing holds will be notified by email when their materials are available.

By Peter Wade / Rolling Stone / May 25, 2020

While the U.S. pandemic death toll approaches 100,000, the president left the White House for one of his personal golf courses.

President Trump, who has faced mounting criticism for his administration’s mishandling of the coronavirus crisis and his lack of empathy throughout, decided to leave the White House on Saturday to play golf.