News of Ocean Beach and Point Loma – Early August 2021

Local Boy, Kevin, Does Poorly in Recall Survey

Local boy, Kevin Faulconer – who lives “near Point Loma” – didn’t fare too well in a very recent statewide survey. He received 5%. The poll had bad news for Governor Newsom as well. But the extremely small survey group of “545 likely voters” gives both Kevin and Gavin hope. John Cox received 10% and Larry Elder 23%. Who won? Democrat Kevin Plaffrath with 27%. 20% were “undecided.” More than half of likely voters in California say they would vote to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom next month, according to a statewide survey released Wednesday. The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA for The San Diego Union-Tribune, KGTV 10News in San Diego and KABC-TV in Los Angeles, said 51 percent of those asked indicated they would vote to remove Newsom from office. Forty percent of respondents said they would vote no on the recall.

PLHS Yearbooks Ready Thursday, August 5

Point Loma High School yearbooks have arrived and distribution is Thursday, Aug. 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the PLHS cafeteria (thru the drive way entrance behind the 400 building). Wear a mask. Graduated seniors: If the distribution time does not work for your family, email Mrs. Haz before distribution day for alternative pick up. Friends or other family members can also pick up on distribution day. Questions can be directed to ahazewksi@sandi.net.

City Council Approves $2.1 million for public access at Bermuda Avenue

The San Diego City Council Monday, August 2, approved $293 million for critical infrastructure projects across the city, including major road repairs and park improvements. The infrastructure package included $2.1 million to improve public access to the coast at Bermuda Avenue and $940,000 for libraries in Ocean Beach and San Carlos. KPBS

Bee Die-Off in Point Loma From Pesticides?

Beekeeper Hilary Kearney, who manages hives all over San Diego County, including two in La Jolla, and provides workshops and other support for beekeepers, said she has noticed that La Jolla, Del Mar and Point Loma “tend to have more pesticide poisonings” of bees. La Jolla Light

Store Managers at OB People’s Quoted on Changing Mask Guidance

“We want our customers to come in feeling safe, regardless of what their status is of vaccination or not,” shared Sarela Bonilla, store manager for the Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Market, a community cooperative in the heart of Ocean Beach. With every new guidance, Bonilla has said they have responded quickly. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, they have done everything from different checkout lines, to closing certain sections like the bulk and deli, to creating sanitation stations.

“We were expecting and had really good preparations for the June 15 reopening,” said Wynston Estis, the store’s general manager, “but once the mask requirement was eliminated … All of a sudden we were like, ‘Holy moley we have to spring into action yet again.'” 10News

Public Comment Period Ending Soon on NAVWAR Redevelopment Proposals

A U.S. Navy plan to redevelop its 70-acre Naval Information Warfare System Command campus along Interstate 5 is approaching the deadline for public comment: August 12. The effort to reimagine the NAVWAR site has been several years in the making as officials deemed its World War II-era hangars as obsolete and cumbersome for the cybersecurity personnel currently working there. In May, Navy officials presented five different plans for the site and identified a “preferred alternative” featuring some 10,000 homes, two hotels, office space, retail and new military facilities. Public comment on the NAVWAR redevelopment can be accessed here.

Bicyclist Injured in Hit-and-Run on West Mission Bay Drive

Monday night, August 2, a bicyclist sustained injuries after a hit-and-run crash on West Mission Bay Drive near Quivira Road. According to San Diego Police, the incident happened at around 11:00 p.m. in the 1700 block of West Mission Bay Drive near Quivira Road. Reports revealed that a truck ran a red light at the intersection and struck a bicyclist. The truck fled the scene without stopping. First responders rushed the unidentified bicyclist to UC San Diego Medical Center with serious injuries. Meanwhile, officers located the truck involved in the crash several yards away from the scene. However, the authorities couldn’t find the truck driver. Sweet Law Group

Bluefin, Yellowfin, Yellowtail, Dorado and Striped Marlin Biting In Local Offshore Waters

Southern California offshore anglers are continuing to witness the ongoing surge of improvement in the 2021 offshore fishing season. Bluefin tuna and yellowtail have been biting offshore for several months now but anglers are currently starting to see additional warmer water species such as yellowfin tuna, dorado, and striped marlin enter the picture for more variety. The offshore water temperatures have continued to warm and there is now 74-degree water being reported at the 475 Knuckle area outside of the Finger Bank. Bluefin tuna continue to highlight offshore fishing and the massive expanse of ocean where bluefin can be located continues to expand.  Some of the better areas in recent days have been in the region of the 499 Spot, 2 to 6 miles northeast over to southeast of Pyramid Head at San Clemente Island, the 289 Spot, the 312 Spot, the 182 Spot, the area 4 to 20 miles southwest of La Jolla, the 178 Spot and the area 4 to 5 miles west of Point Loma. The Log

So Many Gray Whales Killed Off Point Loma

On February 16, 1856, George P. Tebbets, the third mayor of San Diego, killed a right whale off the coast of Oceanside. In the course of his efforts to profit off some 28 tons of blubber converted into whale oil, he met Alpheus and William Packard, brothers who had moved from Massachusetts to San Diego that same year. That meeting led the Packards, fueled either by brazen stupidity or entrepreneurial genius, to become trailblazers in the San Diego whaling industry.

Gray whales, the whales most often found in San Diego’s waters, travel between their warm calving grounds off the coast of Mexico and their feeding grounds in the cold Arctic. It was this 10,000 mile commute that often left them skewered at the end of harpoons — and so sustained the California whaling industry. In winter and early spring, the whales would make their way along the kelp beds outside the mouth of San Diego Harbor, and this became a favorite spot for whalers to intercept them. San Diego Reader

San Diego Growlers Play LA Aviators Aug.7 at Mission Bay High School

The San Diego Growlers of the American Ultimate Disc League are back at home this Saturday, August 7 to take on the Los Angeles Aviators for the third time this season. Opening pull is at 5pm at Mission Bay High School. The Growlers currently sit in first place in the West Division with a 7-2 record after narrowly edging out a win versus Seattle this past weekend 21-20. All but one of San Diego’s games this season has been decided by four goals or fewer, including three one-goal wins by the Growlers. While they’ve had far from decisive victories, the team has shown a consistent ability to close out games against tough opponents, and with LA coming to town for a SoCal rivalry game, they’ll have extra motivation this week to continue the trend.

Local Crime Blogger

Conviction upheld in slaying of OB man whose body was missing for years

A state appellate panel Wednesday upheld the murder conviction of a man found guilty of stabbing an Ocean Beach resident, then dismembering his body and burying it in Campo. Brian Eleron Hancock was convicted by a San Diego jury last year of killing 68-year-old Peter Bentz at the victim’s apartment on Nov. 21, 2017. The prosecution had long indicated that the victim’s body was believed to be buried somewhere in Campo, and had not been recovered. However, Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dort revealed at Hancock’s sentencing that Bentz’s skull was actually discovered in May 2018, but not positively identified through dental records until just days after the trial began. The information was kept from the jury, and sealed from the public under a gag order, as it was believed its disclosure might taint the jury panel, the prosecutor said. Hancock was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison for the murder, plus an extra eight years and eight months for unrelated burglary and drug possession cases. Fox5

Man Caught on Video in Altercation in OB

A man caught on videotape driving on a sidewalk and smashing into a News 8 vehicle in downtown San Diego is now behind bars, facing felony charges. Just hours before Monday’s hit-and-run incident, witnesses said the same man got into an altercation in Ocean Beach but got away before police arrived on scene. Video of the Ocean Beach incident was posted on Facebook, showing Michael Sewell, 51, arguing with a passerby. Later in the day, Sewell ended up in a standoff with police at Union and W. Cedar streets downtown. 8News

Prelim set in 2019 Thanksgiving stabbings in Midway District

The preliminary hearing for a murder suspect accused of stabbing two people in the Midway District on Thanksgiving morning in 2019 was set for Sept. 15 after his attorney asked for another delay on July 20. Forrest Robert Brantley, 40, is accused of killing Robert Erbe, 55, and attempted murder of Steven Spears, who was stabbed three times in the back on Nov. 28, 2019. Erbe was outside a 7-Eleven store at 3146 Sports Arena Boulevard when he was seen talking to Brantley about borrowing a syringe, according to court records. Brantley handed him a black fabric pouch. Suddenly, Brantley pulled a large hunting knife and cut Erbe’s neck from his jawline to his ear, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. “This is war!” said Brantley after Erbe asked him why he stabbed him, according to witnesses. Store staff called police at 8 a.m. as Erbe lay bleeding. Brantley was seen “calmly walking away,” according to records. Erbe was taken to a hospital where he died. Erbe had previously lived at a sober living facility in Point Loma, but he was kicked out some months earlier. San Diego Community News Group

OB man admits to killing mother during torture, robbery

An Ocean Beach man pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder of his mother and admitted to the special circumstance of torture as the victim was stabbed 45 times. A prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole awaits Daniel Chase McKibben, 38, when he is sentenced for killing Heidi McKibben Green, 59, on May 1, 2019. San Diego Superior Court Judge Eugenia Eyherabide set sentencing for Sept. 13. McKibben remains in jail without bail. McKibben also admitted to another special circumstance of killing his mother during a robbery as some of her possessions were missing. He also admitted to personal use of a knife in a homicide. Deputy District Attorney Kristie Nikoletich said previously the torture charge was based on the victim being stabbed 45 times in the face, neck, and head. She said one stab wound punctured the brain. Peninsula Beacon

Sailor ordered to trial in woman’s murder in Midway motel room

A judge ordered a sailor on July 20 to stand trial for murder in the death of a woman in a Midway District motel room in which the man’s DNA was found on her body. Several crime lab employees testified in the two-day preliminary hearing of Marquise Tyree Wisher, 28, who is charged with strangling Rosa Jaco, 32, on May 4, 2020 in a room at the Good Nite Inn, at 3880 Greenwood St. Jaco is survived by three sons and one girl who are being raised by her mother, Yolanda Jaco, and another relative. Attending the hearing both days were a number of family members including her mother. sdnews.com