September 2021

14 Ways One LA Designer Created Eco-Friendly ‘Granny Flat’

September 16, 2021 by Source

From LA Times:

Sustainable builder Steve Pallrand, founder and principal designer of the L.A. firm Carbon Shack Design, designed and built an 888-square-foot zero energy accessory dwelling unit, or ADU.

To make sure the systems he puts into place tread lightly on the planet, Pallrand added many eco-friendly solutions: Wood from the dilapidated barn was saved to frame the interior non-structural walls of the ADU. The barn’s redwood siding was reused on half of the house and new redwood siding was added to finish the rest of the exterior. Old roof sheeting was reused as flooring. Board-and-batten barn siding was used to make the cabinets and millwork. The concrete slab was broken up and used as pathways, and when the city forced them to remove a cedar tree for fire access, they used it to create live edge countertops and furnishings in the kitchen.

Pallrand details his strategies for creating environmentally friendly housing that will help fight climate change:

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The ‘Restless Leg Syndrome’

September 16, 2021 by Source

By Edwin Decker / Exclusive to the OB Rag

Hi Ed, I have a condition commonly known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The symptoms of my particular brand of ADHD are . . . excessive fidgeting, impulsiveness, disruptive arguing, interrupting others and inappropriate speech among other things. I get how this can be frustrating for my loved ones, but many of them think that it’s, “All in my head” and that with a little effort I can “get over it.” Any advice?

Sincerely,
ADHD chick

Dear Chick, I must say, in the 21st century, it’s hard to believe everyone isn’t hip to the very real symptoms of ADHD. That’s why I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t a fake question. Apologies if you’re the real deal. The last thing I want is to dismiss you in the manner which your friends and family have. Therefore, I will afford the benefit of the doubt and respond in kind.

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No Excuses Schools: Bad Theory Created by Amateurs

September 16, 2021 by Source

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican

Vanderbilt Professor Joanne Golann recently published Scripting the Moves. It is a book which expands on her research into no-excuses charter schools. Beginning in March of 2012, Golann spent 18-months doing an ethnographic study of a representative school employing the no-excuses approach. She discovered many unintended consequences.

In 2019, the leader of the Ascend Charters, Steven Wilson, wrote,

“And even when No Excuses was best realized at Ascend, its ceaseless structure was doing little to prepare our students to function autonomously in college and beyond.”

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Join OB Historical Society – The Lost and Found Balboa Park Gardens of Kate Sessions – Thurs. Sept. 16

September 16, 2021 by Source

Thurs. Sept. 16- The Lost and Found Balboa Park Gardens of Kate Sessions

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1960 Winter Olympics Site Changes Racist, Sexist Name

September 15, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

Once in a while, a news story about a change comes along that resonates, and here is one that does. I personally have been championing this specific change for some 20 years now. And it has finally happened.

The site of the 1960 Winter Olympics near Lake Tahoe is having its name changed. Its owners have decided that the old name that rhythms with “fall” is offensive to Indigenous women. The new name is Palisades Tahoe. Historically, it’s also been called Olympic Valley.

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Will Horrors of This Century Surpass Those of the Last?

September 15, 2021 by Source

By David Helvarg / The Hill / September 14, 2021

As a journalist covering wars, disasters and the environment, I’ve come to realize the existential threats we now face are not just bad people and governments committing mass murder; it is the ongoing elimination of the natural systems that sustain life on earth. The UN defines genocide as actions intended, “to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

But what if your actions are intended only to maintain the profitability of what until recently, was the largest industrial combine in human history?

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San Diego Group Calls for Moratorium on Zoning Changes in Transit Priority Areas

September 15, 2021 by Source

The local group, Neighbors for a Better San Diego, are calling for an immediate one-year moratorium on zoning changes in “transit priority areas.” And they’ve started a Petition towards that goal.

Here is their statement:

Moratorium on San Diego Zoning Changes in Transit Priority Areas

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The Big Wave Trumps the Big Lie

September 15, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

What a night. The results were in, way faster and better than Democrats could have imagined, while the somewhat stunned newscasters stumbled to keep up the non-existent suspense.

It was all over except the shouting and cheering and booing and lying, in less than an hour.

True, mail-in ballots were counted first; same day and late arrivals are still to come, but nothing will overtake the huge win for Democrats and the “fire bell” in the night for Republicans.

It was all caps at The San Diego U-T:

NEWSOM SURVIVES RECALL ATTEMPT

The lede at the Los Angeles Times:

NEWSOM PREVAILS – Californians overwhelmingly reject Republican-led recall effort

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Coastal Commission Gives Tentative Approval to Airport’s $3B Expansion of Terminal 1: 4X Current Size, 30 Gates and 40M Passengers

September 14, 2021 by Source

The California Coastal Commission has just given the San Diego International Airport the go-ahead to begin construction of the $3 billion “expansion” plan for Terminal 1. The expanded terminal will replace the current Terminal 1, built in 1967.

The tentatively-approved plan calls for the demolition of the existing 336,000-square-foot, 19-gate Terminal 1 building, and replacing it with a structure three times its size and designed to serve 40 million passengers by 2040. The new building will be 1.2 million-square-feet housing 30 gates. The airport’s record level of 25 million passengers was just reached in 2019.

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California Community Colleges a Step Closer to Offering More Baccalaureates

September 14, 2021 by Staff

California lawmakers have passed a bill to expand and make permanent a program that allows a select group of community colleges to offer baccalaureates in specific programs. The measure now heads to the governor.

Currently, 15 community colleges in the state offer bachelor’s degrees in workforce fields with high demand and unmet needs. However, the pilot program is set to expire in 2026. Assembly Bill 927 would make the program permanent and allow up to 30 community colleges to offer similar bachelor’s degree programs.

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OB Woman’s Club Garden-Themed ‘Bring a Friend’ Monthly Meeting – Tuesday, Sept.14

September 14, 2021 by Source

From OB Woman’s Club:

Garden-Themed “Bring a Friend” Monthly Meeting

This is an extra special meeting where we celebrate friendship by encouraging everyone to bring a friend (or more)! Adding to the occasion, this will be a garden-themed evening…we’ll meet in the garden in our favorite garden garb—extra big hats and floral attire welcomed! Can’t wait to see the creative outfits you and your friends come up with!

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Reflections Rising from My History with Arizona Football

September 13, 2021 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

I’d been anticipating the football game between the University of Arizona Wildcats, my hometown team, and the San Diego State Aztecs, my adopted town’s team.

My alma mater got creamed: 38 to 14. Oh, well, if they’ve got to lose to somebody it might as well be to a team I almost love as much as I do them.

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Point Loma Is the ‘Point’

September 13, 2021 by Source

People Outside: Involved Not Terrified

By Colleen O’Connor

Ocean Beach defined itself vis-à-vis its geographical neighbor, Point Loma, with the slogan “O.B. Is Beside the Point.” Clever and apt in an attempt to codify the hyper-activist neighborhood defined more by the 60s than any other San Diego neighborhood.

Point Loma, more often recorded as the Navy’s backyard or the Portuguese fishing fleet, has sometimes been dismissed as staid. Remarkably, that “staid” label has stuck, but ignores the relevance of present-day Point Loma.

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Restaurant Review: Mr. Moto Pizza

September 13, 2021 by Judi Curry

Restaurant Review

Mr. Moto Pizza
1929 Cable St.
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
(619) 981-9777

By Judi Curry

Every now and then a coupon comes in the mail that is worthy of trying at the establishment sending it. The funny thing is that the coupon did not come to me – it came to my friend Steve – who lives on Santa Cruz only 6 blocks away. It was for $10 off one of their pizza’s. I didn’t get one!

Mr. Moto is known for their thin crusts, and we knew this at the time we placed our order.

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DOJ Goes After Texas

September 10, 2021 by Source

‘Clearly unconstitutional’: Merrick Garland reveals DOJ’s strategy to fight the Texas abortion law

By Alex Henderson / Alternet / September 9, 2021

On Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas in response to its draconian new anti-abortion law, which went into effect on September 1.

The Texas law outlaws all abortion in Texas after about six weeks, even in cases of rape or incest.

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Despite Favorable Polls, Democracy Is Still on the California Recall Ballot

September 10, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

Despite recent favorable polls for Governor Newsom, democracy itself is still on the California recall ballot. This is not hyperbole. The very concept of “democracy” is up for grabs.

If Newsom is knocked out in this $276 million process, then the highest candidate could be elected governor with as few as 25% of the vote. This is plainly not democratic. Newsom was originally elected with 62% of the vote in 2018. So, for the “system” to allow a new chief executive for the state with such low support is undemocratic, un-American and not acceptable.

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9 – 11 : Where Were You When …

September 10, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

Twenty years ago, tomorrow Saturday, our world changed.

Some see 9-11 as a generation’s “Pearl Harbor” of December 7, 1941 infamy.

Yet, many of us of different generations certainly remember where we were when the NYC Towers, the Pentagon, a field in Pennsylvania (thanks to a brave contingent on board) were all hit. For the past week, the mainstream media has been running memorials and memories. You couldn’t miss them. So, here is your chance, dear reader, to offer yours. This is an open thread so the comments are for the taking.

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Luigi’s in Ocean Beach Hit With $1200 a Day Code Violations

September 10, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

Restaurant on Newport Ave Has Until September 30 to Comply Without Fines

Luigi’s restaurant at the corner of Newport Avenue and Bacon Street has been hit with potentially $1,200 a day fines for four code violations by the city. The new Ocean Beach restaurant, owned by Luigi Agostini, was notified by the city on August 20 that they were in violation of the following: …

The restaurant was given until September 30 to correct the violations or else it would be subject to a $300 fine for each of the four violations every day until compliance.

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9/11 Changed No Views of Mine About the World

September 9, 2021 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

Recently the UT asked readers to react to where we were on 9/11 and wanted to know what went through our minds that day, and how that changed our view of the world.

I had no response because 9/11 didn’t change my view of the world as much as it validated how I see the world.

My first thought after seeing the second plane crashing into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center was “Oh! Oh! The Pentagon is going to do something real crazy in retaliation for this!” That assumption was based on a lifetime of observing our country when it’s pissed.

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A River Runs Through Point Loma House Designed by Rob Quigley

September 9, 2021 by Dave Rice

By Dave Rice / San Diego Reader / September 8, 2021

Sefton Place is a tiny cul-de-sac tucked into the hills of Point Loma, home to perhaps a half-dozen residences and accessible only by making several turns off any road significant enough to be considered a major thoroughfare. You could live in the neighborhood for a decade or more, walking several miles a day up and down the winding streets, without ever knowing it exists. I did just that, and don’t remember ever encountering it.

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OB Planners Look for Details on Pier Money, Set Time Limits on Beach Parking Lots, and Give Their 2 Cents on Outdoor Dining Spaces

September 8, 2021 by Staff

By Geoff Page

The OB Pier, parking in OB’s beach lots, and outdoor dining – that resulted from COVID – were the main issues taken up at the OB Planning Board’s monthly meeting, September 7, 2021. All pretty serious matters for OB.

Pier – There was a lengthy discussion of the pier mostly focused on a pot of money amounting to $8.4 million coming from Sacramento.

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Fact Check: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Misleading Remarks on the State’s Abortion Law

September 8, 2021 by Source

By Rachel Treisman / NPR / September 8, 2021

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is again under fire for his state’s restrictive new abortion law, after falsely claiming it does not force victims of rape or incest to give birth even though it prohibits abortions at about six weeks — which is before many people even know they’re pregnant.

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UPDATE: Gavin Newsom Retained As Governor

September 8, 2021 by Source

From Ballotpedia updated: September 8, 2021

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was retained in a recall election on September 14, 2021. Based on unofficial results with all precincts partially reporting, 63.9% of voters voted to retain Newsom and 36.1% voted to recall. To see the results of the replacement candidate question, click here. Results will be certified by October 22.[1]

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I Was Euphoric in June. Look Where We Are Now.

September 8, 2021 by Source

By Luke Winkie / New York Times / September 3, 2021

My girlfriend and I wasted no time this spring. As soon as the Moderna vaccination fever left our bodies in May, we gleefully quadruple-booked every empty weekend left on the calendar. The itinerary swelled beyond precedent. Weddings, birthdays, family reunions and no-occasion rooftop hangs gridlocked into one another, evoking a logistical crisis every evening.

I chilled in the cheap seats at Citi Field, sucked in the stale air at the Alamo Drafthouse and drove to both northern and southern Vermont in the span of three weeks. The world was in bloom, and both of us were desperate to witness it firsthand. In retrospect, maybe we should’ve been more aware of the precarity. Only fools underestimate Covid

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Investing in More Nuclear Power Is Not the Solution to Climate Crisis in Southern California

September 8, 2021 by Source

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station has been turned into a nuclear waste dump for the foreseeable future.

By Sarah Mosko / Times of San Diego / September 4, 2021

If you live in Orange or San Diego County, hopefully you’re aware that San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station has been turned into a nuclear waste dump for the foreseeable future. If you live on planet earth, you’re wise to be tracking domestic and foreign moves to increase reliance on nuclear energy.

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‘Granny Flats’ Are Destroying San Diego Neighborhoods

September 8, 2021 by Source

Increases in population density must also consider infrastructure, such as sewer limitations, traffic conditions and water supply.

By Annalisa Berta / San Diego Union-Tribune OpEd / Aug. 31, 2021

Single-family zoning — made popular more than 100 years ago — is challenging, and few would dispute that a thriving city must address the housing needs of all of its residents. Yet cities differ demographically and in how they approach building homes. Like many cities in California, San Diego has a housing shortage that has contributed to skyrocketing rents and home prices. But its response is making matters worse.

At issue is San Diego’s adoption of its accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance

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Scripps Health Sees Record COVID-19 Daily Deaths in San Diego – Nearly All Unvaccinated

September 8, 2021 by Source

Public Service Report

By Matt Hoffman / KPBS / Tuesday, September 7, 2021

One of the region’s largest health care providers is reporting a single-day COVID-19 death record, nearly all among people who were unvaccinated.

“From last Thursday until (Tuesday) morning we’ve had 21 deaths — the highest was on Saturday with 6 deaths,” said Scripps Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ghazala Sharieff. “That is just, I can’t even describe what that feels like knowing that these are all preventable deaths. 92% of our patients are unvaccinated and we didn’t have to be here again.”

From Aug. 1 to Sept 7, there were 70 COVID-19 deaths at Scripps and 67 were those unvaccinated.

As of Tuesday, the hospital system is seeing 162 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, with 51 in the intensive care unit (ICU), Sharieff said.

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Development and the Virtual Reality of Land Use – the Plan Hillcrest, as an Example

September 7, 2021 by Source

By Mat Wahlstrom

Labor Day is the only holiday on our calendar dedicated to celebrate the worker; yet it is those on the lower wage end that most likely had to work yesterday. For these people, it was turned into just another Monday, likely without extra pay to compensate, with maybe a “thank you for your service” at the checkout.

While this disconnect between official recognition versus actually getting a paid day off is still clear, it’s important to examine how the imperatives of capital similarly warp our understanding where the idea of something is proposed as a substitute for the thing itself. When in place of public benefits, we are asked to use our imagination and accept empty gestures instead.

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People Who Make Me Feel a Wonderful World

September 7, 2021 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

As the dental surgeon prepared me for a procedure, a mellow rendition of “What a Wonderful World” played in the background.

On a violin. What a nice sound.

When I awoke the music kept playing in my mind. Evoking memories of Louie, the great Mr. Armstrong, Satchmo, singing this song, capturing so much beauty with lines about “trees of green” and “red roses” and “skies of blue and clouds of white” and “bright blessed days” and “dark sacred nights” and “the colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky.”

As Maria drove us home, I basked in the mood Louie had me in with his images of loveliness.

And I remembered, too, lyrics in the song that spoke to the beauty inherent in human beings, “friends shaking hands saying, ‘How do you do?’”

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Non-Newsom Recall Effort: A Democratic Tsunami that Swamps the GOP?

September 7, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

It could happen. It might happen. Odds are increasing that it will happen.

What began as a Republican “double down” big bet is looking like a “big wave” wipeout.

The Republicans’ strategy of recalling Governor Newsom (amid COVID, fires, homelessness, drought, and MAGA-Trumpian grievances among voters), seemed clever. Even at a cost of taxpayers of $276 million.

The reasoning was sound. It was a gamble with a back-up plan. Even if the recall campaign failed to oust Newsom, the attack ads would be ugly enough to weaken him for a possible defeat in his 2022 re-election fight.

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