Month: March 2021

Apparently, the so-called high costs of a recall campaign pushed by Jen Campbell and her supporters are misleading. Campbell and the contra-recall consultants have been propagating the figure of $2 million for any possible recall.

But according to a story by David Garrick in today’s San Diego Union-Tribune, city officials and the County Registrar of Voters are pushing back on that price tag. Campbell & Associates have been claiming their number was based on an email from a Registrar official in February. City and registrar folks are saying that $2 million number was the high end of a “rough cost projection” subject to many variables and many unknowns – known and unknown.

Garrick reports that Liliana Lau, a registrar official, wrote the following in an email to Campbell’s staff on February 8:

“Without the specificity required, there is too broad of a cost range to make an appropriate projection. A rough cost projection based on prior elections that were similar on size is approximately $1.6 million to $2 million.”

By Geoff Page

Board Continues Its Efforts to Mitigate STVR Ordinance

It was apparent at the Ocean Beach Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting March 3rd that the board has no intention of giving up the fight over the short-term vacation rental ordinance promoted by District 2 council member Jennifer Campbell. Most of the meeting was taken up with a lengthy discussion of what to do next since the passage of Campbell’s ordinance by city council.

The OBPB previously put in a lot of effort coming up with a list of recommendations for changes to Campbell’s ordinance. They produced a letter that they shopped around to other planning boards for support, which they mostly found. One glaring exception was the Midway Pacific Highway Planning Group that refused to lend any support.

The list of recommendations was presented to Campbell who ignored them. Campbell was already in disfavor for brokering the “deal” that resulted in the ordinance, and her unwillingness to consider OB’s well thought out suggestions only made that worse.

by Ernie McCray

For being able to basically snatch rebounds and whip outlet passes to start fast breaks and swish the ball through the hoop from all over the place, a space has been made for me, alongside some other guys who could really play, in the “Basketball Ring of Honor” at my alma mater, the U of A.

Just the other day.

And pretty much all I can say is “Wow!”

I’m loving it and how.

And I’ve loved my university and its teams since before I knew what a basketball was.

I became a fan at my mother’s breast as she listened to Arizona Wildcat football and basketball games on the radio, humming soothing lullabies.

I used to pick cotton in Marana on Saturdays so I could pay for a cheap seat in the knothole section at the night’s football game and a butterscotch milkshake at Dairy Queen on my way home from the game.

Did the same thing after track meets, basketball, and baseball games.

By Bob Edwards

It was a sad time last July when Run For Cover bookstore closed its doors on Voltaire Street after almost two years of serving the reading population of Ocean Beach and greater San Diego.

With revenues down 60% due to the pandemic and overhead costs remaining the same, it was just not sustainable to maintain the storefront, according to Peninsula resident and owner Marianne Reiner. Book lovers mourned the loss of OB’s only independent source for new books (other than the intriguing but limited selection of mostly counterculture and graphic books at the Black).

So, it was great when the OB Rag received an email from local resident Elizabeth Burke reminding us that Run For Cover is still in business and serving San Diego’s readers even though they no longer have a brick and mortar presence. Elizabeth suggested we contact Marianne Reiner and get the scoop on what is still going on with Run For Cover.

This reporter spoke with Marianne last weekend. She had a lot to say about how she has adapted to the new ways of doing business in 2021.

There’s a group out there who firmly believe San Diego is heading the wrong way in its current Master Plan for parks. The group – Parks And Recreation Coalition (PARC) – is made up of a network of volunteers who are highly critical of the city’s Parks Master Plan. They’ve been going around lately and giving presentations to local planning boards and other civic groups, called “Parks for All”.

For instance, they’ve given presentations at the Midway planners and the Peninsula planners.

But their point – in a nutshell – is that the master plan – the first one in 50 years – is wrong, and will actually translate into fewer parkland for this growing city. So, here is an introduction of PARC and their concerns – from their powerpoint presentation.

Today, Wednesday, March 3 – the Ocean Beach Planning Board is holding its annual election. There are 3 ways to vote during this pandemic year: by mail, by drop box or online. Here are the details:

Elections

3 Ways to Vote in 2021

By mail: Print and mail your voter registration form and ballot to Ocean Beach Planning Board, 4876 Santa Monica Ave. #133, San Diego, CA 92107. Must be in our mail box by 4 pm, March 3, 2021 to be counted.

By drop box: Print and hand deliver your voter registration form and ballot to the Ocean Beach Business Center, 4876 Santa Monica Ave. Must be in our drop box by 4 pm, March 3, 2021 to be counted.

A “Feel Good” Story

By Judi Curry

I am going to begin this little story by stating that there is nothing deep about this.

Some of you will think it is a complete waste of time to read; a complete waste of time to even publish it. So let me start out by saying that you are correct. If you are looking for something with deep meaning, something that you will learn from, something that you will want to repeat to others, STOP READING now – because this is none of those things.

Rather, this is about a sweet thing that happened this week.

Drop down to the very end of the article and you get this:

Devices like ShotSpotter’s are supposed to have a psychological effect on communities, reminding anyone who comes into the orbit that they’re being monitored for potentially criminal behavior — in this case, for loud noises that might signal a gunshot.

During her questioning of police leaders, then-Councilwoman Lorie Zapf argued that cameras in Ocean Beach, along with signs telling people they’re under surveillance, had helped reduce crime. She wondered if deterrence was the goal with ShotSpotter too.

“Very much so,” Zimmerman responded. “We say that we would prefer to prevent crime instead of responding to crime.”

From the Ocean Beach Green Center

All events are online and free unless stated otherwise.

* Every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Climate Mobilization Coalition Zoom Meeting. March 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th.
* Month of March People’s Budget Panel Events by Community Budget Alliance
* March 3rd – Ocean Beach Planning Board Annual Election;
* March 3rd Wednesday 6 pm – 8 pm Nat Talk Climate Series: A 27-Year Wildflower Journey
* March 3rd Wednesday 4 pm California Outdoor Recreation Town Hall with Special Guest Congressman Mike Levin
* March 3rd Wednesday 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Building Electrification Community Workshop
* March 4th Thursday 6 pm – 7:30 pm Miseducation and Racism in America: A Review of the Education System
* March 4th Thursday 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm Public Comment Training Event by San Diego Green New Deal Alliance
* March 4th Thursday 9 pm Film showing of “The Kitchenistas” on KPBS Filmmakers,

By K-B Gressitt

Having spent half of a Sunday reading the latest news— and everything I couldn’t stomach during the previous week— I find it’s high time for a key revision to the style guides that dictate news reportage.

This is not to disparage the classic or the contemporary. Nope, I keep several of them on my shelf, among them, my old AP Stylebook and Libel Manual, which dominated my newspaper days, Strunk and White’s gem, even Sterling Johnson’s handy analysis of the profane, English as a Second F*cking Language.

Nonetheless, far too much of today’s news reporting is inadequate, and I hold the guides responsible for a small but critical piece of the problem: Formal title standards no longer cut the mustard. It’s time to forsake libel-weary gentility and be honest with readers. We need a new method for presenting the formal titles of news report subjects; we need factual titles that encapsulate the essence of the subject. Think full, but succinct, disclosure.

From Women’s March San Diego

Happy Women’s Herstory Month! It’s been a long road, we know. On behalf of the entire Women’s March San Diego team, we truly hope you and your loved ones are doing okay. We invite you to some upcoming events that honor those who’ve made a path before us, and are helping us navigate the path forward:

Millions of us, longtime activists, new activists, sisters side by side, marched through streets everywhere to guide and inspire a new generation. We broke barriers, we got the vote out, we got more women elected than ever before and you created US, the Women’s March. Despite a global pandemic and an insurrection, we continue onward, fighting for equity — we are not equal, yet.
A woman’s work is never done.