Is It Time to Change Name of Cabrillo National Monument? – Ocean Beach and Point Loma News – July 2020

Is It Time to Change Name of Cabrillo National Monument?

Perhaps it’s time for this discussion – should the Cabrillo National Monument name be changed? As we know, there’s a national discussion going on as communities are removing monuments honoring dark periods in American history, such as statues of Confederate leaders. NASCAR and the U.S. military have banned the Confederate flag. This national anti-racist moment could be the time to find another title for Point Loma’s site. Our monument’s namesake, of course, is Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, known for exploring the West Coast of the Americas around 1542, as well as for being a murderous conqueror who enslaved and brutalized the native peoples who lived there. Folks at Cabrillo College up in Santa Cruz County are considering changing theirs. Throughout the state, buildings, several high schools and middle schools, various beaches, and stretches of highway along the coast also bear the name.

New Revelations About 2015 Police Shooting in Midway of Fridoon Nehad

When the board that reviews San Diego Police Department shootings looked into the 2015 shooting of Fridoon Nehad in an alley in the Midway district, it was not allowed to see an outside review of the case, commissioned by then-District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. The review also notes that an assistant SDPD chief refused to let the department’s Internal Affairs investigators speak to him. The review board relies on IA investigations for its reviews. Both revelations came from the review board’s report, which was newly unsealed by a federal judge overseeing a civil lawsuit by Nehad’s family, Sara Libby reports in a new story.

Fridoon Nehad

Nehad was an unarmed, mentally ill man who was killed when Browder shot him, after a 911 caller reported that Nehad was threatening people with a knife. Browder arrived on the scene without turning his police lights on or identifying himself as a police officer, and shot Nehad in fewer than five seconds. He did not turn on his body-worn police camera before engaging Nehad, but the incident was captured on a surveillance camera of a nearby building. In a deposition in the civil case, obtained by Voice of San Diego in 2016, Browder said he was not disciplined or reprimanded for the shooting, and that it did not even come up in any context in his performance review that year. Voice of San Diego   The OB Rag has followed this case for the last 5 years. Here’s one of our latest posts, from 2017.

Former Surfrider Pizza Owner Gina Champion-Cain Pleads Guilty in Massive Ponzi Scheme Case

Local businesswoman Gina Champion-Cain pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to conspiracy, securities fraud and obstruction of justice, in a case connected to a $400 million Ponzi scheme that could land her in jail for up to 15 years. Champion-Cain ran multiple restaurants – including SurfRider Pizza in Ocean Beach – and vacation rentals in San Diego, and was found to have enticed investors by promising to cut high-interest loans to restaurateurs seeking liquor licenses. She instead funneled the money into her own business expenses, including covering payroll, or to pay back previous investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged last year. The liquor license scheme involved over 100 investors and $400 million from 2012 through 2019. U.S. Attorney Bob Brewer called it “by far the largest Ponzi scheme discovered in the district.” An assistant U.S. attorney teased that Champion-Cain’s plea agreement mentions co-conspirators, though no charges have been brought against anyone else yet.

Hit and Run on Fire Hydrant in Point Loma

The driver of a work truck hit a fire hydrant in a Point Loma neighborhood early Sunday morning, July 26, then fled the scene, leaving behind a geyser of water that flooded streets. The incident took place just before 6 a.m. Sunday on the 2800 block of Emerson Street at the entrance to H&M Landing and Point Loma Seafoods. Apparently, the impact from the truck, marked with a “Highway Specialties” company logo and loaded with work equipment knocked the fire hydrant from its base. He then drove off as water flooded the streets in front of the sportfishing docks. It took a public works crew more than a half hour to get the situation under control and shut off the water. The San Diego Harbor Police are investigating the incident as a hit and run.

Arrest Made in Midway District Motel Killing

The San Diego Police Department arrested a man in connection with a homicide that occurred in May. Just after 11:00 p.m. on May 4, 2020, San Diego Police Officers responded to a request for assistance from San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel at a motel at 3800 Greenwood Street in the Midway District. San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel had responded to that location on a medical aid call. As the medics were administering CPR, other people in the area were becoming disruptive and impeding their efforts. Unfortunately, the resuscitative efforts were not successful, and 32 year-old Rosa Jaco of San Diego County was pronounced deceased at the scene. As the medics were treating the woman, they noticed the condition of her body was inconsistent with the information they were being provided. Out of an abundance of caution, investigators from the San Diego Police Homicide Unit were called to the scene to handle the investigation. An autopsy determined the manner of death was homicide. To continue to protect the integrity of the investigation, we are not releasing the cause of death at this time. With the assistance of NCIS, Marquise Tyree Wisher, 27, was arrested without incident and booked into County Jail. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at
(619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.” Crime Voice

PLNU Postpones 2020 Sports

Point Loma Nazarene University has announced it will be postponing its sports program until 2021. Due to the concerns arising from all the challenges surrounding COVID-19, the PacWest Executive Board voted unanimously recently to postpone intercollegiate competition in PacWest fall sports until after Jan. 1, 2021. PacWest fall sports include men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. The action was taken due to rapidly changing information and guidelines from the NCAA. “After months of planning, our conference made the difficult decision to suspend any competition until after Jan. 1,” said Point Loma athletic director Ethan Hamilton. “While disappointing, our attention continues to prioritize the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff as well as our broader campus community. With this reality now in place, we are shifting our focus to provide a vibrant spring. We have been assessing and are developing scheduling options to launch competition for each of our 11 sports as soon as safely possible after the start of the new calendar year.”

While this decision postpones fall 2020 sports competition, institutions will still be allowed to conduct organized team activities at their own discretion, including workouts, practices, strength and conditioning, and access to their athletic training staff, as local, county, and state guidelines permit. Options for moving fall sport competition schedules into the winter/spring are being developed and reviewed.

Soi 30th Opens in OB

Soi 30th, the friendly Thai restaurant that arrived in North Park back in 2017, has just landed in Ocean Beach. The eatery took over a former Subway location on Cable Street with the intention of opening back in April, but the pandemic delayed Soi OB’s debut until now. Chef/owner Khwanta Osanai, who started cooking at a very young age in her native Thailand, is serving the popular Northern Thai specialties from the North Park menu, from curries and salads to noodles and rice dishes, including her signature crispy pork belly, paired with barbecued pork, egg, cucumber and a salty-sweet sauce, and a variety of vegan and vegetarian options. Open daily for takeout from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., the Ocean Beach outpost features menu additions including mushroom larb, nam tok, or waterfall beef salad, and Crying Tiger, a classic Thai dish of steak serve with a spicy dipping sauce. There’s also selection of grilled skewers, including chicken satay, marinated pork, and baby octopus. Eater San Diego

Point Loma Summer Concerts to Return in 2021

Canceled this year on April 16 due to COVID, Point Loma Summer Concerts board reports the same lineup will return in 2021 when the annual summer concert series resumes. Musical acts that will be returning include Elton-The Early Years, Cassie B’s 90 Remix, Mighty Untouchables, 24K Magic, Tribute to Bruno Mars, and Pine Mountain Logs. This year was to have been the 20th season of Point Loma Summer Concerts. The family-friendly concerts have been a huge source of joy, community pride, and community collaboration. For more information, visit plconcerts.org.

Con Pane to Reopen at Liberty Station

Founded in 1999 in Point Loma before moving into Liberty Station, Con Pane Rustic Breads & Cafe shuttered suddenly and seemingly permanently in January due to issues linked to an I-9 immigration audit. “The discovery of a large number of unauthorized workers has so disrupted operations we have had no choice but to close,” said owner Catherine Perez in her farewell message. Con Pane moved from its original building on Rosecrans Street to the 4,000 square-foot Dewey Road bakery and cafe in 2010. The bakery used European methods to produce more than two dozen varieties of bread, which were sold at the bakery and also via wholesale distribution to area markets and restaurants. In comes David & Lesley Cohn of Cohn Restaurant Group, a hospitality company with many San Diego eateries that is known for financially backing several area restaurateurs. Con Pane Rustic Breads & Café will be reopening under the Cohn Restaurant Group family of restaurants, slated to resume business by late September 2020.

Peninsula Planners Elect New Interim Officers – Fred Kosmo Is New Chair

Peninsula Community Planning Board elected new interim officers on July 16. The advisory group’s annual election, typically held in March, was postponed this year due to COVID. Fred Kosmo was elected interim chair. David Dick was elected interim vice chair. Brad Herrin said he might be able to serve as second chair. Mandy Havlik was elected interim secretary. Interim treasurer is Korla Eaquinta. PCPB advises the City on land use-based community goals and development proposals.

Pure Water facility would curb the dumping of treated sewage into coastal waters off Point Loma

San Diego’s oft-delayed Pure Water project – a bid to create a third of the city’s water from recycled sewage – scored a victory in court Friday that could get the $5 billion project back on track. Superior Court Judge Richard Strauss ruled there was no conflict between a state law that prohibits cities from banning union-friendly construction contracts if they want state funding, and a 2012 ballot measure that prohibited the city from requiring those very contracts on city projects. At issue is so-called project labor agreements – deals that generally mean unions guarantee enough workers to finish the job without a strike, in exchange for all workers passing through union halls, with associated fees and benefits for those workers.

The state put conditions on its funding for the project, but didn’t require the city to use its funding to build the project, Strauss ruled, which meant it did not interfere with the California Constitution’s requirement not to interfere with a charter city’s independence, as the Associated General Contractors, a group that represents both union and non-union contractors, had argued. The Associated General Contractors also argued the state law, AB 1290, illegally favored union over non-union contractors, but Strauss ruled against that argument, too. “There are no facts alleged which support the contention that AB 1290, on its face, discriminates against non-union contractors,” Strauss wrote in a tentative ruling. “The plain language of the bill permits any contractor, whether union or non-union, to sign a PLA and submit a bid.” The ruling is a setback for Associated General Contractors, which has for years fought against the state’s efforts to trump local project-labor agreement bans by making state funding contingent on cities waiving, or not having, those provisions. For the city, it could mean it gets back to work on a project as significant as any it has on the books, even if the regular delays have already increased its cost from $3 billion in 2015 to at least $4.8 billion, and maybe as much as $9 billion, as of last February. Voice of San Diego