Month: June 2020

It now appears that the measure to destroy the 30-foot height limit in the Midway District will appear on the November general election ballot.

Yesterday, June 10, the San Diego City Council’s Rules Committee voted 3 to 2 to endorse a measure that would lift the city’s nearly 50-year old height limit for a 850 acres of the Midway area, land between Interstate 5, Point Loma, Mission Bay Park and San Diego International Airport. The measure the Committee voted on had been sponsored by Councilmembers Dr. Jennifer Campbell – who, of course, represents the Midway area, OB, Point Loma and the rest of District 2 – and Chris Cate. Those of the Committee who voted for the measure include Co

by Ernie McCray

It’s been said
that I preach to the choir
and I pretty much do
day after day,
hour after hour
as the choir
is composed of
my allies,
those who hear
and understand my cries,
eager to eradicate
our country’s
original and everlasting sin:
racism.
Besides who else am I to
preach to other than them?
Yahoos in Klan robes?
Homophobes?
MAGA folks
who bow to a cretin

Until everything’s opened up, or until the OB Town Council continues its “in-person” public meetings, we have to rely on others. Here we are relying on an article by Savanah Duffy of the OB-Point Loma Monthly published on June 4, 2020.

By Savanah Duffy

The reopening of local businesses and other establishments as closures and restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic are eased was a major topic of discussion at the Ocean Beach Town Council’s monthly meeting.

Restaurants were given government approval in May to reopen dine-in service, and retail stores, churches, hair salons and barbershops were allowed to resume in-person services, all with virus-related safety restrictions.

Business leaders gave updates during the May 27 Town Council meeting held via Facebook Live.

Tierrasanta Tipping Point?

By Nat Krieger

“People feel like they don’t have anything to lose. We might die anyway from the virus, so we may as well go all out for justice now.”

Trey is one of about 30 neighborhood folks who have gathered on a traffic island in Tierrasanta in the twilight hours of June 4 to show their support for Black Lives Matter and police reform. An African American about to graduate from Serra High, Trey’s articulation of the ancient wisdom recognizing that confrontations with death can lead to clarity about what counts in life is testament to the reality young people of color are facing as they come of age in this nation.

Trey’s three friends on the island, Mariana, Ezekiel, and Junior all graduated from Serra (just half a block away) last year.

The times have made these young San Diegans grow up fast.

In a letter released Monday, June 8, the Ocean Beach Town Council announced it is taking a stand with Black Lives Matter. The letter, addressed to “The Ocean Beach Community and our friends around the world,” states:

“We recognize that many of our black friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues are abused by the institutions put in place to protect and serve all Americans.”

In a strong message for unity and against injustice, the letter said:

“The Board of Directors of the Ocean Beach Town Council knows that Black Lives Matter. We know that injustice toward some is injustice toward all.”

It stated, “We have a duty to stand with our black neighbors in San Diego and make it abundantly clear that all are welcome here.” It also said the Town Council is “heartened and inspired by the peaceful protests that have taken place in our neighborhood.” It continued:

Beginning today, Tuesday, June 9, the Ocean Beach Pier, beach parking lots and boardwalks reopen.

Social – or physical – distancing still needs to be practiced by beachgoers. This means people should only sit near people whom they live with.

The folks who organized the OB Paddle Out also had a drone in the air. See our pictorial of the historic event.

Join us in a pictorial view of the historic Ocean Beach Paddle Out in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, held Sunday, June 7. We have photos from a number of sources.

First, people started gathering at the foot of Newport on the grass. Many brought signs … and surfboards.

After demands from local elected officials and others, and after a week of peaceful protests, the California National Guard has finally withdrawn from San Diego County.

Two hundred Guard troops were deployed Thursday, June 4, in the county to ostensibly support police officers in La Mesa and sheriff’s deputies across the region. It was a request from Sheriff Bill Gore that brought the Guard here.

Their withdrawal comes a day after San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher requested the National Guard leave the area and two days after the San Diego City Council President, Georgett Gomez, did the same. Both Gomez and Sarah Jacobs are running for Susan Davis’ Congressional seat and both came out against the Guard’s presence.

By Colleen O’Connor

Trump has a woman problem. It started with the massive Women’s March just after his inauguration and hasn’t let up.

In the 2018 midterms, 59% of women overall voted for a Democratic House candidate — with those rates reaching 73% for Latinas and 92% for black women. Even greater numbers today.Facing a 2020 election, Trump keeps getting hammered by women. Even Republican women.

Forget the international stars; German Chancellor, Angela Merkel; who politely declined to attend Trump’s G-7 meeting in Mar-A-Lago or Camp David, due to “pandemic concerns;” rolled her eyes at his comments about his German heritage; and who loomed over him at the G-7 summit in June of last year in a domineering photo that went viral.

Let’s look closer to home for our own female leaders. The women Trump frequently denigrates by Tweet.

By Joni Halpern

Antonin Scalia, the late Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, was fond of reminding people that he and other American children of immigrants were not responsible for slavery. His folks had emigrated from Italy, he said; they had nothing to do with the subjugation of Black people in America.

This was not the only point on which the revered Justice was grossly ignorant, despite his celebrated intellect, but it was a point he shared with many of us white Americans.

For nearly 400 years, with very little interruption, we white people have taken refuge in this and other morally bankrupt justifications for how things have turned out for yesterday’s and today’s Black Americans. And even today, most white Americans allow Black youth and their supporters to march without our visible presence behind them, allowing them to bear the full brunt of rage by police departments desperate to remain as they are, militarized and polarized into an “us-versus-them” idea of their role in our communities.

Police argue they are doing all they can.