Month: September 2020

A suspect has been arrested for the fatal shooting near the Ocean Beach lifeguard station last week.

19-year-old Thurs Loo John of San Diego was arrested over the weekend for allegedly gunning down 58-year-old James Chase in the 1900 block of Abbott Street, according to San Diego Police Department Lt. Andra Brown. Chase was found mortally wounded just after 1 am on Tuesday, Sept. 15 by police.

By Geoff Page

As it almost always does, the Peninsula Community Planning Board offered up some controversy again during its regular monthly meeting held on Thursday, September 17. (Because it was conducted on Zoom, it was recorded and can be viewed here – ) This is one definite benefit to on-line meeting forums.

The controversy occurred during discussions of three letters the PCPB’s Traffic subcommittee drafted and wanted the board to approve to send to the city. These three letters contained recommendations that could have directly affected the community, so they are described below along with the actions taken.

The Froude and Voltaire Intersection

The first letter was about the intersection of Froude and Voltaire streets. It is important to state first that this reporter spoke out strongly in opposition to the letter. The reason for this is that this reporter lives very near the intersection, has used it extensively for many years, and thought the letter was misleading and completely incorrect. A little history.

By Colleen Cochran

Over the past few decades, natural open spaces within 20 miles of the San Diego County coast have been largely devoured by development. The city of Santee’s majestic northern Fanita Hills, a 2,600-acre region, has remained intact, although it has been under a land-use siege throughout this period. Santee’s city council seats, which hold the authority to control the destiny of Fanita Hills, have been magnets for building industry contributions, and the windfall of political dollars has created sharp division between Santee residents and their elected officials on the question of whether to develop or conserve the region.

While Santee City Council members might have enabled citizens to weigh in on potential building projects, most of them deviously plotted to squash citizens’ participation. Their goal, in particular, has been to prevent citizens from attaining the power to oppose Fanita Ranch, a massive 3,000-unit housing development slated to be built in the Fanita Hills.

The development will encompass an area a quarter of the size of existent Santee. Only Councilman Stephen Houlahan has not worked to quell citizens’ voices. In fact, he sponsored an initiative that would grant them a say in Santee’s development processes.

By Jim Miller

As the bad news keeps rolling in for ordinary Americans with the pandemic dragging on with no real hope in sight for months at best, and any new economic relief stalled out in Congress with the Republican majority refusing to move on “blue state bailouts,” it is abundantly clear whose interests our leaders in Washington actually care about—not yours. Indeed, the wrecking crew in the White House and the Senate have never been more openly honest about their disdain for the well-being of the majority of Americans.

When it comes to emergency aid for the suffering, the response from the Republicans is resounding: F**** off and die.

Why should they be worried? 200,000 dead and counting? Big whoop. Their real base is doing just fine. As the Guardian reported last week, the rich have never had it better:

The already vast fortunes of America’s 643 billionaires have soared by an average of 29% since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which has at the same time laid waste to tens of millions of jobs around the world.

From Point Loma Association Newsletter

“I thought someone was pounding on my door but my dog didn’t freak out and bark, scary!”
“Scared me to death, thought someone was pounding on my door, dog went crazy barking, then my neighbor called to ask if I heard it!”
“Sounded like someone was banging on our door or wall…freaked me out!”
“Yes, I heard that too…unlike anything I’ve heard before. So strange that I went to the windows to look, but saw nothing.”

By Colleen O’Connor

Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dictated a dying wish to her granddaughter. “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

That was not to be, but now voters can grant that wish. Ginsburg intended to retire in 2016 and allow what she assumed would be the first female President to name her replacement.

Instead, there is a monumental loss; that of Justice Ginsburg herself.

If you were ever privileged enough to hear RBG speak, you witnessed, felt, and understood the strength of her intellect; the power of her convictions; and the drive that propelled her to iconic stature in jurisprudence.

She knew the unfairness firsthand. At Harvard law, she was only one of 9 women in a class of 500. Graduated at top of her class, but no law firm in the City of New York would hire her.

Editordude: The following post by Scott Stephens of Liquid Blue was written for another publication but we decided to publish it as well. He’s very kind. There is a brief bio of Scott at the end.

by Scott Stephens

A legendary local publication has turned 50 this week. The OB People’s Rag was first published on September 17, 1970. OB stands for Ocean Beach, the small, rugged beachfront community which is part of the city proper of San Diego. The “Rag” represented the rebel spirit that OB became known for and led the charge on several progressive social fronts.

OB is different. Many original ’60s hippies still reside here. There is no McDonald’s and very few large corporate retailers. It was in OB that a local food co-op was started (with many of the OB Rag staff involved), which would later evolve into California’s second health food store, Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market in 1972.

You won’t find any high-rise hotels or apartments here either. Newport Avenue, the town’s main street, is the very antithesis of Rodeo Drive.

This is the place – for the OB Rag online party for the 50th anniversary of the first OB Rag, published Sept. 17, 1970.

So join us! Come on in and make comments – post memories, observations, give greetings to friends and most of all send good vibes. We’re doing this for an hour … from 7 to 8 pm.

The party is also happening on OB Rag facebook. We’ll be monitoring both sites …

Meanwhile, peruse the articles about OB Rag and OB history that were posted this week.

Early History of the OB Rag and of Ocean Beach grassroots activism in the first half of the 1970s. The “Save Collier Park” battle, the emergence of the alternatives, the beginning of the anti-development movement …

The very first OB Rag – scanned and unedited – the language is hilarious – so be prepared.

Straight-up with a Twist

By Edwin Decker

Dear SWAT, One of the many complications COVID has brought into my life is that I am drinking at home and arguing on social media more than ever. This is a bad combination because the more I drink, the more aggressive and insulting I become. I tell myself to stop doing it, but once I catch a buzz it’s almost impossible not to engage. Any recommendations on how to quit doing this?

Devon,
San Diego

Dear Devon, indeed, I do have a recommendation. I don’t use Twitter much, but I have certainly done my fair share of FacedBooking. And it has gotten ugly: Angry messages flying back and forth; unfriendings piling up; and scoldings from onlookers who rightfully put me in my place.

“Damn dude, did you really have to tell that guy he was the offspring of a spiny lumpsucker and a retarded fungus beetle? That’s low, even for you.”

So yeah, I too vowed to quit FacedBooking— .

As we continue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Rag, we bring forth some of the early history of the underground newspaper – whose pages reflected what was going on in Ocean Beach in the early 1970’s. From the Save Collier Park campaign to the birth of OB’s “alternatives” to the anti-development movement, the OB Rag reported on the changes OB was going through. A new wave of civic activism and hippie businesspeople.

The volunteer and dedicated staff succeeded in helping to fuel the community organizing in OB during the first half of the seventies, taking on the establishment and giving voice to the burgeoning counter-culture.

The Collier Park Battle

One of the first major issues the OB Rag jumped into wholeheartedly was to join up with a new OB environmental group, OB Ecology Action, and lead a fight to save Collier Park, an urban patch of land in northeastern OB. Ecology Action.

Here it is – the very first OB Rag – the OB People’s Rag – published on September 17th, 1970. Unedited … so brace yourself if you are of tender ears, as of course, the language in the articles was sooo-seventies, a mix of the raw rhetoric and bravado of the campus militant with the casual drawl of the counter-counter, as the staff was a bunch of young twenty-somethings, half still in college and the other half fresh off the campus.

It was four pages – front and back of 2 pages stapled together. We have scanned all four pages – see below – plus we have retyped all of the articles so you don’t have to squint and ruin your eyes. In addition, we have included all of the graphics and most of the hand-drawn headlines.

Online Party Thursday Night, Sept. 17

Our readers and supporters are invited to join OB Ragsters from around the world in an online celebration tonight – Thursday, September 17, from 7 to 8 pm. We’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of the very first OB Rag on September 17, 1970!

The staff of the OB Rag is “hosting” a live, online party