News from Ocean Beach and Point Loma – Mid-April 2022

Photo by Charles Landon, 4/10/22

One man died, 3 rescued from capsized panga found in Ocean Beach

Three men were rescued and one was found dead after a suspected smuggling boat overturned near the Ocean Beach pier early Sunday morning, April 10. First responders were called around 12:45 a.m. after the capsized 30-foot panga was spotted. Lifeguard teams searched in the water and on the shore with help from two helicopters for several hours but no other people were found. U.S. Border Patrol was also present at the scene as panga boats are often used to transport undocumented migrants from Mexican waters to the United States.

Two men were rescued from the water, one near the pier and one closer to the parking lot by Dog Beach. Another man managed to make it to shore near the parking lot. All three were transported to a hospital in stable condition. The man who died was found near Dog Beach as well. The search went on longer than usual, because of the amount of water rescurers had to cover, and lasted about three hours. The surf was especially high, making conditions dangerous for boats like the one the men had been traveling in. The total number of people onboard the boat at the time it capsized is unknown. The U.S. Coast Guard was still searching for more of the boat’s passengers after noon on Sunday with a helicopter and a cutter. San Diego Union-Tribune

Lifeguards Needed

Want a job as a lifeguard? Now is the time to apply! Tryouts are scheduled for April 14, 15 and 16, as well as May 13 and 14. Those who can swim 500 meters in under 10 minutes are welcome to apply. To learn more: Click into parenthesis, then click the link. (FOX 5 San Diego) Those who are interested are asked to visit sandiego.gov/bealifeguard

Will San Diego Cancel the SeaWorld Lease?

SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, currently welshing on paying $10 million in back rent to the city, last year came up with a free ticket worth $80 for Ninth District council man and council president Sean Elo-Rivera to attend a SeaWorld reception. Even so, “SeaWorld will not be let off the hook,” Jay Goldstone, the city’s acting Chief Operating Officer, told the Union-Tribune last week regarding the company’s chronic bad debtor status. After months of non-payment, the city told SeaWorld in September that its lease was officially in default, per the paper’s account. In addition to Elo-Rivera, other members of the San Diego council took advantage of their official positions to chow down and enjoy a host of entertainment events, as revealed by their recently filed Statements of Economic Interest, required to be filed each March. The San Diego Reader

Redevelopment Teams Make Their Pitch for the Midway Area

On March 24, all five bidders vying to redevelop the City-owned area around Pechanga Arena made their pitch at a town hall sponsored by Midway-Pacific Highway Community Planning Group. “Tonight is the only public forum where you’ll be able to hear from each of the five bidders being considered by the City for the redevelopment project,” said Cathy Kenton, immediate past Midway-Pacific Highway Community Planning Group chair. “When all five groups have completed their 10-minute presentations, the audience can circulate and ask each of the bidders’ questions at booths.”

“Midway is the center of opportunity for District 2,” said Councilmember Dr. Jennifer Campbell in opening remarks. “It has so many big projects going on like NAVWAR and the old post office’s redevelopment. But nothing is more impactful than our Sports Arena redevelopment. I’m excited to see Midway reach its full potential in becoming a walkable, multi-use, transit-oriented neighborhood with plenty of affordable housing.” Pen Bacon

Jen Campbell on ‘Winning’ the Sports Arena

As part of their effort to interview all the candidates for local positions, the Union-Tribune’s editorial board asked Councilwoman Jen Campbell how she will combat the high cost of housing in San Diego. She acknowledged that costs were way too high and we needed to do more. She said her opponents in the race – Joel Day, Lori Saldaña and Mandy Havlik – have been speaking with a lot of bravado about what they would do on housing “but I actually got things done.”

What things? She cited only the redevelopment of Midway and specifically the Sports Arena land. “I took a lot of heat for authoring Measure E to pave the way for thousands of new affordable homes in the Midway/Sports Arena District, but I never backed down and we won,” she told the paper. The problem is that they didn’t win. The city gambled that it wouldn’t need to do an environmental impact report on what Measure E would do or allow be done and opponents of the project sued and prevailed. Voice of San Diego

New Point Loma Tea Owner in Liberty Station

A changing of the doily at Point Loma Tea in Liberty Station has a former customer replacing the owner who started the business. Sherryann Stevenson, a native of Grenada in the Caribbean and retired military, recently took over for previous owner Cheryl Graf, who has sold the business and retired to Arizona. Over the years the pair found they shared the same passion. “My family always had tea in our house and we drank it on a daily basis,” said Graf, noting she worked in tea, in various capacities, for 20 years. Graf set up her own tea shop in Liberty Station in 2012.

Stevenson intends to carry on the tradition begun by Graf. “The customers here are very friendly,” she noted. “Whenever they walk in the door they smile. That’s the kind of thing I want to continue, carry on that legacy.” POINT LOMA TEA – 2770 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 14, Suite 103; Contact: www.pointlomatea.com, 619-523-2070. sdnews.com

OB business owner believes in ‘seeking justice, improving inequality’ through her company

Alicia Wallace is the co-founder and chief operating officer of All Across Africa, the parent company of KAZI, a San Diego company employing artisans in African countries and selling their handcrafted creations while meeting standards for fair labor and environmentally sustainable practices. Although Alicia Wallace studied global development and earned a degree in economics — initially looking to work her way up the corporate ladder — she’d also spent a number of her younger years volunteering through her church’s international mission trips and with unhoused people in Seattle. SD U-T

Clerk Stabbed by Rubbers Grabber in the Midway

Police located a stabbing suspect in the Midway District Thursday, blocks from where he is accused of attacking a grocery store security guard. The male suspect, according to OnScene.TV, was concealing a box of condoms inside his pants as he moved through the Ralphs on Sports Arena Boulevard. When he allegedly attempted to leave the store with the item, at about 9 a.m., a male security guard tried to stop him. The suspect then allegedly pulled out a knife, stabbed the victim in the stomach and fled. Given a description, San Diego police officers spotted a man matching it east of the store in the Rosecrans Plaza parking lot. The suspect fled from the officers, but they caught up to him and arrested him. OnScene reported that he is a parolee. The victim, who sat on a fire truck being interviewed by officers after the attack, was sent to a local hospital for treatment. Times of San Diego

California’s Recreational Salmon Fishery Opened April 2

California’s recreational salmon fishery opened on April 2 in ocean waters from Point Arena, south to the U.S./Mexico border, with a minimum size limit of 24 inches. Ocean abundance forecasts have increased over the prior year California’s two primary stocks, Sacramento River Fall Chinook, and Klamath River Fall Chinook. However, fishery managers recommended the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) take a precautionary approach to the 2022 ocean salmon seasons. Fisheries have performed better than expected in recent years. However, concerns have been raised for sensitive, non-target stocks of salmon. In addition, fewer fish have returned to the rivers to spawn than expected. These concerns, along with the continued threat of drought and the persistent overfished status of Klamath River Fall Chinook since 2018, prompted the PFMC to approve additional fishery restrictions in 2022. The Log

Point Loma & OB Democrats Endorsement Meeting for Congressional District 50 – April 24

On Sunday April 24, 2022 they return to endorsement considerations — for the newly drawn Congressional District 50.  The new district is 66.0% White, 11.7% Asian, 3.7% Black and 16.7% Latino. And there are three Democratic candidates:

• Scott Peters
• Adam Schindler
• Kylie Taitano

They will have a forum discussion and endorsement consideration, moderated by the chair of the endorsement committee, Deval Zaveri-Tabb. 3:30PM Social time and check-in; 4:00OM Meeting on Zoom; Zoom registration. (Club meetings will remain on Zoom for the foreseeable future.)

Guy in Midway Who Stabbed Police Dog on Trial for Stabbing Another

A man who was on probation for stabbing a San Diego police dog was ordered April 5 to stand trial on felony charges of stabbing another police dog who was sent after him after he pulled a knife outside a business in the Midway District. San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeff Fraser praised the actions of police officers whom he heard in the preliminary hearing of Dedrick Daknell Jones, 36, who is charged with felony assault upon Hondo, a police dog, felony animal cruelty, and brandishing a knife. Fraser revoked the probation for Jones for the earlier case in which he pleaded guilty in 2021 to stabbing Titan, in which the police canine lost six inches of his colon and needed to have 100 stitches to close the wound when he was stabbed at a business also in the Midway District. Titan’s injuries were more severe than what occurred to Hondo.  sdnews.com

Jetski used in attempted smuggling at Point Loma

Two people suspected of attempting to illegally enter the U.S. were seriously hurt Monday, April 4, when they crashed a jet ski into the rocks near Cabrillo National Monument, authorities said.  According to officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, authorities spotted the men on the jet ski around 1 a.m. After reaching the shore in Point Loma, the two men were detained and taken to the hospital.

Woman in Stand-off in Point Loma

A woman was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft Saturday after a 50-minute standoff with police in the Loma Portal neighborhood. At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the San Diego Police Department responded to reports of a Toyota pickup that was stolen from an auto shop in the 3500 block of Rosecrans Street, in the Midway District, said Officer Darius Jamsetjee. A San Diego police helicopter pilot later spotted the pickup parked at a home on Meadowgrove Drive, the officer said.

Police arrived at the scene and the woman refused to exit the truck. For about 50 minutes, police tried to end the standoff by talking her into exiting the truck. About 15 officers were involved in the standoff, along with a K9 unit. At 3:35 p.m., police broke the passenger-side window and fired pepperballs into the truck, Jamsetjee said. The woman then came out of the truck on the driver’s side and surrendered to police without incident. The suspect’s name and age were not immediately available. 10News

Man Hits Pole, Ditches Car and Friends

A driver slammed into a traffic light pole in Ocean Beach late Thursday then took off, leaving the car and two injured passengers behind, San Diego police said. The crash happened about 10:15 p.m. as the driver reached the end of westbound Interstate 8 and was turning onto Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, Officer David O’Brien said. While making a left to head south on Sunset Cliffs, the driver lost control of the car — a Scion XB — and crashed into a traffic light pole. The driver got out of the Scion and left. His two passengers, men aged 32 and 34, sustained minor injuries, the officer said. The driver has not been identified, O’Brien said, and police investigators do not know if alcohol played a role in the crash. SDU-T

More Props for Cow Records in OB

“Crackles and pops?” says Greg Hildebrand. “They’re the most valuable part of vinyl recordings. They give them individuality.” Hildebrand owns one of the better-known havens of hard-to-find LPs in the county, Cow Records in OB, and he doesn’t apologize for vinyl’s lo-tech imperfections. “I like to repeat something David Peele (of The Lower East Side Band) said, which is, ‘Crackles and pops are natural, because there are crackles and pops in life.’ Vinyl is personal. Take The Wailers,” he says of the Northwest rock band. SD Reader