Month: July 2021

By Kathy Blavatt

All photographs by Kathy Blavatt

Up at the top of the hill overlooking Ocean Beach are the “Heights,” sometimes referred to as “Ocean Beach Heights,” other times called “Point Loma Heights,” which depends on who describes the area or what maps and documents they are reading.

This neighborhood above Froude Street is formally in the “Peninsula Community Planning Area.” Many residents feel that the houses’ styles and vibe are much more in tune with Ocean Beach.

Two of the area’s large early homes played essential roles in the local history:

Partnering with a labor law firm, a sexual harassment hotline has been established, training and a Code of Conduct is underway

By Abbie Alford / CBS8 / July 8, 2021

Two months since the Me Too movement erupted in the brewing industry across the country, women’s voices are being heard and the San Diego Brewers Guild is taking action.

What started out as a reckoning in May, with women reporting misogyny, racism, sexism, sexual harassment, and assault by men in breweries across the world including in San Diego has turned into an important message of empowerment.

by Jill Castellano / inewsource / July 1, 2021

Hundreds of California inmates will charge to the front lines of rapidly spreading wildfires this summer, risking injury and death in exchange for shorter sentences and a few dollars a day.

When the flames recede, they will return to their living quarters at one of 35 low security camps, where picnic tables and barbecues once bustled with families — a perk that higher security prisons don’t allow.

Now, the inmates have the grounds to themselves.

There will be a small celebration of Dorrette Jackson’s life held on the Ocean Beach pier on July 9th at 6:30 PM open to any who wish to attend and tell a story or simply share in the moment, hope you can join us. For more information call Eric Jackson @ 619-520-9403

Dorette passed peacefully at her home in Oregon on July 9th 2020, surrounded by friends and family on a beautiful summer day. She is survived by her four children Eric and his wife Chrissy, Kim, Annette and Kyrmet and her grandchildren Kevin, Shelby and Cameron and step-grandchildren Rory and Elena.

By Mark Saunders / ABC10News / June 29, 2021

Airbnb said Monday, June 28, that its crackdown on unauthorized parties in the San Diego area has blocked thousands of potentially risky reservations.

The vacation rental booking company said that since it began its campaign last year, 6,000 people were either blocked or redirected while making potentially risky reservation attempts. That’s compared to 15,000 in Los Angeles and 4,500 in Las Vegas, according to Ben Breit, the head of Trust and Safety Communications for Airbnb.

By Andrea Lopez-Villafana / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 6, 2021

Next week, construction crews will begin striping the road along 30th Street in North Park for the city’s newest protected bikeway project.

Known as the 30th Street Protected Bikeways Mobility Project, it calls for protected bike lanes from Juniper Street to Adams Avenue. It does away with some 450 curb parking spots along the corridor,

By Deborah Sullivan Brennan / San Diego Union-Tribune / July 7, 2021

The exodus of Californians forecast in recent news headlines isn’t likely to happen soon, UC San Diego researchers reported in a survey released Wednesday.

The UC San Diego survey queried more than 3,000 Californians, including 295 who completed the questions in Spanish. It found that nearly two-thirds of residents still believe in the “California Dream” of opportunity and prosperity.

by Ernie McCray

I see so many memes on social media about “fake friends” as opposed to “true friends.”

They’re posted as warnings by folks who apparently aren’t doing well in the friend department.

I usually just glance at them but this one caught my eye the other day: “Pay close attention to those who don’t clap when you win.”

And I found myself saying out loud: “Come on, now. Really?” I should focus on somebody who doesn’t care diddly-squat about me when I’ve got friends who wish the world for me?

OB’s Dog Beach had the most trash during Surfrider’s “Morning After” annual clean-up of beaches on July 5th. It came in at 560 pounds. The OB Pier had 223 pounds. In comparison, Belmont Park weighed in with 317 pounds.

Here’s Surfrider’s report:

Surfrider Volunteers Remove 1,457 Pounds of Trash from San Diego’s beaches after 4th of July Holiday

More than 600 volunteers gathered at six popular beaches yesterday morning to assist with the Surfrider Foundation San Diego’s annual post-Fourth of July “Morning After” beach cleanup series. In only two hours, Surfrider volunteers had recovered more than 1,457 pounds of trash

by Peter Andersen / Times of San Diego / July 6, 2021

Senate Bill 10, which is making its way through the California legislature, is a blatantly anti-democratic measure masquerading as a housing bill. It could affect the voting rights and quality of life for every Californian.

Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, who is now listed as co-author of the bill and is the most powerful state senator in California, is the one person who can fix this bad bill before it becomes law.

Housing continues to be a top priority for policymakers in Sacramento, and rightly so. The health and humanitarian crisis facing the millions of Californians who struggle to afford housing must be addressed.

As of this writing, over 13,140 people have signed the petition to stop SeaWorld’s nightly fireworks. The goal is to reach 15,000. Here is the petition.

From the petition statement:

SeaWorld is damaging the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of San Diegans on a nightly basis,every day for 3 months straight during the summer season alone. They are damaging the overall physical well-being of the citizens of San Diego who live within a 20 mile radius or larger.

The fireworks at SeaWorld constitute animal cruelty.