December 2021

Hope Is What I Hope the New Year Brings

December 30, 2021 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

2021.
Whew! What a year.
Makes you entertain hopes for what the New Year might bring.

And there could be a variety of hopes.
Know what I mean?

And I have hopes for the New Year.

Based on this past year, a year I suspected would be a bit crazy, considering all the sadness and madness we had to tolerate during the previous four years or so, I would hope we never experience anything so bizarre and frightening ever again.

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Latest COVID Charts for San Diego County – Dec.28, 2021

December 30, 2021 by Source


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OB Rainbow on the Rocks

December 29, 2021 by Source

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News Over the Holidays You May Have Missed From Ocean Beach and Point Loma – End of 2021

December 29, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

*** Ocean Beach Apartment Complex Sells for Almost $2.4 Million

*** Local Woman Killed in Wrong-Way Crash at End of I-8

***Maria Senour Re-Elected as Prez of Community College District Board

*** Police Dog Recovering From Stab Wounds in the Midway

***New Shelter Opens in Midway District

*** Man Who Gunned Down Romantic Rival at Pt Loma Gym Pleads Guilty to Murder

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Best 2021 Predictions From Our Different Sides of the Border

December 28, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor & G.L. Goggin

Colleen’s #1 Pick.

1. Don’t cry for Liz Cheney.

Prediction: Liz Cheney is going to be the first Republican female minority leader after Kevin McCarthy is ditched. She sees the future and it isn’t Trumpism. And McCarthy’s quote that “Everybody in the U.S. has some responsibility” for the capital riot has greased his skids.

That prediction still holds and is more viable than ever in 2022. McCarthy has dissension in his ranks; a wobbly and unattractive history courting Trump; and a tsunami of bad events coming to light.

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Your Horoscope for 2022

December 28, 2021 by Source

By Mat Wahlstrom

Good morning, starshine: the earth says it’s time for a prognostication of the year to come! It is written in the stars — or, more precisely, the orbits of the satellites in our solar system. But, I can in full confidence predict that events will transpire and things will happen in 2022, and that many of them will affect you personally.

And by personally, I mean by the random chance of your birth month being shared with a twelfth of everyone else alive — which is why there’s also a handy zodiac guide provided at the end to help understand how each sun sign responds to life’s challenges and windfalls.

So without further ado, here’s what lies ahead!

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Reflections and Predictions by the Widder Curry

December 28, 2021 by Judi Curry

By Judi Curry

As I look back over this past year, I am so dissatisfied with my lack of accomplishments. In the past I have written books, been active in many organizations, attended classes, etc. This year I didn’t write a book, and with only the brief thought of beginning cookbook #4, I let that thought pass. But there are some things that I am thankful for.

I have a new grandchild – number 19 – and she’s adorable. My grandson graduated college with his B.A, and was hired at his first choice here in San Diego.

I met a person that has relieved the loneliness and depression I have suffered from for the past twelve years. I do not have any of the after effects from COVID, and I have had all three shots so if I should be exposed again my case will be milder than if I hadn’t had the injections.

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Sheriff Gore Manipulated Evictions for Politics

December 27, 2021 by Source

By Jeff McDonald / San Diego Union-Tribune / Dec. 26, 2021

Top commanders in the San Diego Sheriff’s Department directed their subordinates to enforce some evictions during the past year while others languished for months, according to documents and a longtime sergeant.

Sgt. David Pocklington, who retired earlier this month after 28 years with the county, said he saw political motivation in the orders given to him and deputies under his command in the Court Services Bureau. Pocklington said he believes the evictions were orchestrated to help Sheriff Bill Gore and Undersheriff Kelly Martinez.

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A Review of New California Laws

December 27, 2021 by Source

California Governor, Gavin Newsom, signed 770 bills into law this year, many of them impacting people’s daily lives and will take effect as soon as Jan. 1, 2022.

Here are a few of the more noteworthy ones:

  • Animal welfare: Proposition 12, approved by voters in 2018, makes the use of metal enclosures that restrict pigs from turning around and cages that prevent hens from opening their wings illegal.
  • Minimum wage: SB 3 requires the minimum wage for all industries employing 26 or more employees to rise to $15, or $14 for those employing 25 or fewer workers.
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Long-Time OB Library Volunteer Passes – Alice Nodes – Funeral Viewing Monday, Dec.27

December 27, 2021 by Source

From Laura Dennison of Friends of OB Library:

One of our dear volunteers, Alice Nodes, passed away last week. Her family will be having a viewing at Beasley-Mitchell Funeral home this Monday, Dec. 27, from 10 am to 2 pm. (Address: 1818 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. 92107).

Matt Beatty, long-time Branch Manager at the OB Library, wrote a beautiful tribute to Alice:

Long time Ocean Beach Library volunteer and Friend of the Library Alice Nodes died peacefully at a care home in Oceanside on December 20th. She was 92 years old.

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Rainbow Over Point Loma on Christmas Eve

December 25, 2021 by Source

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Holidays Are a Time to Remember Our Humanity

December 25, 2021 by Source

Photo by Daniel McGinley,

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San Diego Residents vs. Wave of Granny-Flats

December 22, 2021 by Source

By David Garrick / San Diego Union-Tribune / Dec. 22, 2021

SAN DIEGO — San Diego’s raging battle over granny-flat regulations is headed for a conclusion this winter that seems likely to leave community leaders and resident groups frustrated. Their goal is preserving community and neighborhood character by rolling back some year-old policy changes that have made San Diego’s granny-flat rules among the least restrictive in California.

But the potential for granny flats to help solve the local housing crisis has prompted city planning officials to reject any significant rollbacks. Instead, they are proposing only modest adjustments to regulations governing granny flats, which are also sometimes called casitas or the city’s formal name for them: accessory dwelling units.

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Holiday Wishes with the Unvaccinated in Mind

December 22, 2021 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

So tired
of people on my TV,
especially during the holidays,
going on and on
about why they
“ain’t getting no damn vaccine
for no damn Covid-19!

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Holding the San Diego Housing Commission Accountable for Their Efforts to ‘End’ Homelessness

December 22, 2021 by Source

By Mathew Packard / Voice of San Diego / Dec. 22, 2021

As a not so casual observer of efforts to “end” or even effectively manage the daily impact homelessness is having on our city and on the lives of those experiencing it, I am struck by the pervasive and consistent lack of accountability for those in government responsible.

The San Diego Housing Commission in their 2014 homeless action plan, Housing First, pledged to apply “the power of its federal housing resources to achieve the goal of ending homelessness.” SDHC is a driving force of the national Housing First model (transitioning homeless individuals from the streets directly into permanent housing connected to supportive housing) in the city of San Diego. This year and over more than a decade, the commission has failed to meet this obligation.

Let’s review what the SDHC has done.

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Ocean Beach and Point Loma Pushed Into Newly-Redrawn 50th Congressional District – Darrel Issa’s Former District

December 22, 2021 by Staff

It looks like Ocean Beach and Point Loma will be pushed into the newly-redrawn 50th Congressional District. Ironically, arch-conservative Darrel Issa currently represents the district. Not to worry. He just announced he will be seeking election in the new 48th Congressional District.

OB and the Peninsula are currently in the 52nd District, represented by Democrat Scott Peters. The new 50th includes many of the communities currently represented by Peters, so there is a general assumption he will go for that seat. The new districts take effect with the June 2022 primaries and continue for the next decade.

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City to Place Band-Aid on OB Pier’s ‘Gaping Wound’ to Allow It to Briefly Reopen

December 21, 2021 by Source

By Geoff Page

The City of San Diego sent out a press release titled “City of San Diego to Begin Emergency Repairs on Ocean Beach Pier – PIER EXPECTED TO FULLY REOPEN AFTER REPAIRS ARE COMPLETE” that The Rag has posted in its entirety. The very first line of the press release is wrong.

Either the city is trying to rewrite history or they have paid no attention to the years of information on the pier. The city is being duplicitous or it is showing its incompetence. Here is that sentence:

“Emergency repairs will begin this week on a section of the Ocean Beach Pier to fix damage caused by storm conditions in January 2021.”

The piles that are being repaired were not damaged by the “storm conditions in January 2021,”– they were first noted as damaged in the 2004 Pier report:

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Mayor Gloria to ‘Fight Like Hell’ to Protect His Legacy Over Sports Arena Redevelopment

December 21, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

Mayor Todd Gloria has recently pledged to “fight like hell” to save the Sports Arena redevelopment from Judge Bacal’s axe. Bacal just ruled last week that Measure E — which removed the 30-foot height limit in the Midway District — was illegally place on the ballot by the city council because of a lack of environmental review on buildings over 30 feet.

The lawsuit was brought by the nonprofit group, Save Our Access.
Gloria told KPBS:

“The revitalization of the Midway District is critical to the future of our city — not just for a new sports venue, but again, for the provision of housing that is attainable to low- and middle-income San Diegans.”

Now, don’t forget, dear reader, that Measure E contained no guarantees that affordable housing would be built.

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UCSD Professor: U.S. Close to Second Civil War

December 21, 2021 by Source

Reposted as a Public Service Message

By Ken Stone / Times of San Diego / Dec. 20, 2021

America is close to being at high risk of a civil war, a UC San Diego political scientist said Sunday night on CNN.

“If a second civil war happens in the United States, it’s going to look very different from the first, and it’s going to look more like a siege of terror,” said Professor Barbara F. Walter, whose upcoming book on the subject was quoted Friday in The Washington Post.

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Newspapers Squandered Their Monopoly-Era Profits and Now Blame Google and Facebook

December 21, 2021 by Source

by Chris Jennewein / Times of San Diego / December 20, 2021

Three decades ago, when America’s local newspapers were at their peak, I attended a dinner for publishers at a mid-sized chain. After dinner, the president rose to speak and asked everyone to clap for one publisher whose newspaper had exceeded a 50% profit margin in the previous month.

At a 50% margin, half of every dollar from subscribers and advertisers went directly to the bottom line. Sure, there was depreciation to account for, and some taxes to be paid, but overall that’s a level of profitability that would make a pharmaceutical company blush.

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Trolley Extension Has Already Changed the Lives of UC San Diego Students

December 21, 2021 by Source

By Manu Agni / Op-Ed San Diego Union-Tribune / Dec. 13, 2021

The Mid-Coast Extension of the UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley rolled into campus for the first time just a few weeks ago, but it’s already making a huge impact.

For decades, UC San Diego has been a sleepy hollow for students — up on a mesa in La Jolla, isolated from the rest of San Diego. Since the founding of campus, the way to get up to the mesa was always to meander up La Jolla hills on old roads that date back to the time of Camp Matthews and when “biotech” wasn’t in San Diego’s lexicon. More recently, this has meant spending hours in a car, stuck in crippling traffic congestion, or crawling along on a bus subject to the very same traffic.

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City Pledges Ocean Beach Pier ‘Will Fully Reopen’ After Emergency Repairs Are Completed in Approx. 4 Months

December 20, 2021 by Source

The City of San Diego has just announced that “emergency repairs will begin this week on a section of the Ocean Beach Pier,” and that once the repairs have been completed over the next four months, “the pier will fully reopen for the first time in more than a year.”

Here is the news release, without edit or comment:

City of San Diego to Begin Emergency Repairs on Ocean Beach Pier

PIER EXPECTED TO FULLY REOPEN AFTER REPAIRS ARE COMPLETE

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A Stealth Counter-Coup: Could Liz Cheney and Mitch McConnell Save Democracy? Part I

December 20, 2021 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Yes, unbelievable, but follow the clues.

Oddities in politics are not rare. They just hide in plain sight.

For instance, the new “bromance” between the Machiavellian GOP leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell and President Joe Biden, speak volumes.

Both agree Biden won the election fair and square. Both agree that Trump is not just a menace, but a serious threat to democracy. And both agreed to up the debt ceiling to avoid a default. Both also agree that Trump led, orchestrated, cheered on and caused the Jan. 6th storming of the Capital. McConnell even took to the Senate floor to put that on the record.

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WW II Era Article About Housing Projects in the Midway

December 20, 2021 by Source

Here’s the article in a legible format:

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MTS: It’s Possible to Extend Trolley to Airport and Beaches

December 20, 2021 by Source

New trolley extension to San Diego International Airport would open up future extensions to Point Loma, Liberty Station and beach communities

By Lauryn Schroeder / San Diego Union-Tribune / Dec. 17, 2021

A Metropolitan Transit System study released Thursday, Dec. 16, has determined that the long-desired extension trolley to the San Diego International Airport is possible and can be completed within the next decade. According to a press release issued by the Metropolitan Transit System, or MTS, transportation experts from the international consultancy company Mott MacDonald presented multiple construction options to the MTS board of directors as part of its preliminary feasibility study.

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California Cannabis Companies Warn Gov. Newsom Industry on Verge of Collapse

December 20, 2021 by Source

By Michael Blood / Yahoo News / December 17, 2021

Leading California cannabis companies warned Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday that the state’s legal industry was on the verge of collapse and needed immediate tax cuts and a rapid expansion of retail outlets to steady the shaky marketplace.

The letter signed by more than two dozen executives, industry officials and legalization advocates followed years of complaints that the heavily taxed and regulated industry was unable to compete with the widespread illegal economy, where consumer prices are far lower and sales are double or triple the legal business.

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Is $2,000 a Month for 480 Square Foot ADU ‘Affordable Housing’? San Diego City Thinks So

December 17, 2021 by Source

By Paul Krueger

A new definition of “affordable housing”: $2,000 monthly rent for 480 square foot, 1 bedroom/1 bath ADU.

Building industry consultant admits it’s “absurd, from the stand-point of affordability.”

The permit application for a multi-unit rental complex on a single-family lot confirms that two of the apartments will be reserved for an affordable rental program administered by the San Diego Housing Commission.

In return for that set-aside, the city gave the developer a two-unit “bonus.” Instead of building just four units, he and his investors can cram a total of six rental units on this average-size residential lot in San Diego’s Talmadge neighborhood.

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Taking a Fun Moment with the Colbert Questionert

December 17, 2021 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

Just for fun, on a kickback lazy kind of day, I responded to the 15 questions Stephen Colbert, of the Late Show, likes to ask his guests.

Like what’s the best sandwich? And the answer to that, of course, is a BLT.

Exercise worth it? Yes-siree.

What number is Stephen thinking of? I have no guess because numbers are from zero to infinity.

Apples or oranges? I like both but I’m partial to fruit that sounds crunchy when I take a bite – generally.

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Local Vets for Peace Raising Money for Sleeping Bags for Houseless People in Downtown San Diego

December 17, 2021 by Source

Submitted by Gilbert Field

The “Compassion Campaign” of the San Diego Veterans For Peace is again giving out free sleeping bag sets to the many homeless folks downtown who have no sleeping gear whatsoever. Each set consists of a new Coleman polyester sleeping bag and a nice nylon stuff sack to put it in when the client wakes up each morning.

Three (3) outreach trips took place in the last two weeks and they gave out 60 bag sets to folks who they personally confirmed had nothing at all to sleep under in these colder temperatures. Another outreach trip is scheduled soon, and they hope many, many more trips downtown at night will follow this winter, based on the continued support of the generous folks in San Diego.

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SANDAG Did San Diego a Disservice With New Trolley Line

December 17, 2021 by Source

The new trolley does not go to the beach or La Jolla. What it does do is to impact surrounding neighborhoods.

By Michael Pallamary / Op-Ed San Diego Union-Tribune / December15, 2021

I relocated to San Diego in 1976 to work on what was then a political hot potato — engineering the so-called “Tijuana Trolley.” I moved here because of my expertise as a railroad engineer, in Boston, where I was responsible for the field engineering and layout of many essential elements of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, one of the nation’s oldest rapid transit systems dating back to 1897.

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