Month: April 2022

By Danna Givot

Last December 2021, SANDAG adopted Series 14 projections for population and housing growth through 2050. These projections take into account the latest California Department of Finance population projections. Despite the availability of these updated projections, the Planning Department continues to plan based on outdated, inflated data. This leads to unnecessary, harmful impacts.

For the City as a whole, the new SANDAG Series 14 data projects 132,000 less people living in San Diego in 2050 versus Series 13 numbers. That is 19% population growth versus 28% population growth previously expected. SANDAG Series 14 projections are available by community planning area, where the differences versus Series 13 can be huge.

The College Area is a great example.

CBSNews8 today published a letter from the San Diego International Airport that demanded the City of San Diego cut down five palm trees in Point Loma it had identified as “obstructions.” The letter from Dennis Probst, Vice President – Development for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority to Jay Goldstone, Chief Operating Officer for the city was dated March 25, 2022.

Here’s the letter – but no attachments were provided by the news station:

City of San Diego Senior Public Information officer Anthony Santacroce issued the following statement Monday, April 25, in response to media inquiries:

“The City of San Diego removed five palms on Newport Avenue this morning at the direction of the FAA and the San Diego Airport Authority. The trees removed today presented an urgent threat to flight paths and aviation operations that impact public safety and economic health of San Diego.

By Geoff Page

A long presentation by one of the Midway redevelopment project proposers that the city wants to jettison and more about the homeless were the main points of interest at the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting Wednesday, April 2022.

“Neighborhood Next”

Neighborhood Next is the name of the consortium that made the presentation. They are one of the original seven proposers on the Sports Arena redevelopment project. At the outset, the city declared two proposers to be unresponsive. Just recently, the city again cut the list from five to three proposers. Neighborhood Next was one of the two that were dropped.

OB Rag reporter Geoff Page was on site this morning as city crews removed 5 tall, healthy palm trees on Newport Avenue.

Here is a photo gallery of what he witnessed.

OB Rag reporter Geoff Page just reported that city crews killed 5 palm trees on Newport Avenue near Santa Barbara Avenue.

Under heavy police presence, crews took the chains to the tall, healthy palms. Nearly 2 dozen local residents turned out – and one nearly was arrested. Several TV news stations are also on the scene.

Page believes the crews are done for the day but expects they will be back. Initially, 7 palms were targeted by the city. “No Parking” signs were placed along Newport Avenue between Venice and Guizot over the weekend.

Here is the KUSI report from this morning:

City of San Diego in process of cutting down iconic Ocean Beach palm trees

This is an emergency notice for the people of Point Loma and Ocean Beach for Monday morning, April 25.

Today, the city of San Diego has crews out on Newport Avenue ready to cut down 7 palm trees between Venice and Guizot. “No Parking” signs were placed along the blocks over night.

By 7:30 this morning, a small crowd of residents have gathered to protest the rampage but the crews are guarded by at least 8 police officers. Residents and OB Rag researchers have proved that these palm trees are not a danger to the airport and they are not diseased.

San Diegans have been celebrating “Earth Day” since 1970. What has it gotten us? A large festival in Balboa Park where goer’s leave a mountain of non-biodegradable trash.

It’s a nice day where we celebrate our home base, giving credit to this incredible life form that allows us to live, breathe and flourish. We buy shirts with slogans like “Protect Your Mother” and brands offer discounts and run campaigns for limited edition Earth Day products celebrating nature, animals, and Earth of course.

It’s a nice gesture to the home that has given us everything, without question.

But this day is a joke. It’s too much of a nice, “cute” kind of thing. It’s a celebration of our minuscule efforts in the grand scheme to take care of it.

Restaurant Review

Wild Things Pizza
2163 Abbott Street
Ocean Beach, CA 92107

By Judi Curry

It isn’t often when the owner of a restaurant asks me to do a review of his establishment. In fact, it has only happened two other times. Fortunately, each time the food was good; the service was good, and it was fun to do the review. This restaurant is no different.

It is where the old Surfrider Pizza used to be. That was one of my favorite restaurants but the trouble with it was that I was always cold when I was there because of the open windows and doors. It is no different now, except that Steve and I sat at the far southern end of the building and the windows were not open. If I were to go again – and I am pretty sure I will – I would try to sit in the same location.

Shelter Island has been a resounding success story, especially for what was a shifting shoal that was once considered a navigational hazard.

By Eric DuVall / Point Loma-OB Monthly /April 21, 2022

The course of history seldom runs in a straight line. In fact, history may often be said to meander in one direction for a time until that path is changed. Such corrections are often evident only in retrospect.

The flow of San Diego’s history has been closely tied to both the shifting channels of the mighty San Diego River and the development of our remarkable natural harbor, San Diego Bay. This story has its beginnings at a place and time where and when both of those waterways came together.

In arguably one of the worse decisions of the Biden administration, the Energy Department announced Tuesday, April 19, that it was launching a program to provide up to $6 billion in grants to U.S. nuclear plants to help them keep operating.

All in the name of “clean energy.”

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement:

“U.S. nuclear power plants contribute more than half of our carbon-free electricity, and President Biden is committed to keeping these plants active to reach our clean energy goals.”