News from Ocean Beach and Point Loma — Late January 2023

Midway Eatery Makes Yelp’s Top 100 Pizza Joints in US

On Monday, Jan. 23, Yelp released their top pizza spots in the United States and Canada, ranking a San Diego restaurant No. 88 out of its Top 100 list in the U.S. That local spot is Cucina Caprese, which can be found at 3545 Midway Drive suite E in the Midway District. Yelp determined the list by identifying businesses in the pizza category, then ranking those spots using a number of factors including the total volume and ratings of reviews.

OB Home and Garden Store Gets Props

Lush flora fills the space at Botanica Home and Garden, a unique shop and garden center in Ocean Beach, at 1909 Cable Street, features interior decor, plants, ceramics, accessories and more recently, vintage clothing. Caitlin Brooks and her husband, James Ellis White, launched Botanica Home and Garden in 2017. With a thriving outdoor garden center, the shop carries a variety of plants from different regions in the world that are grown in California. Succulents, houseplants, air plants and cacti are all part of the store’s blossoming inventory, as are striking species and varieties like Monstera Thai Constellation and Pink Princess philodendron. The shop also features handmade products from Anvil Metal and White’s line of original ceramics. San Diego U-T

28th Annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea at Pt Loma Nazarene – Feb 20-24

The 28th Annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea will feature Pulitzer winning writers William Finnegan, Anthony Doerr, Maria Hinojosa and N. Scott Momaday. Tickets for 2023 now on sale. Use the links below to buy tickets for each award-winning writer. Go here for more.

Poet’s First Novel Set in Beachfront Similar to OB

San Diego poet Marisa Crane’s debut novel, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself, explores these questions, while tackling issues of grief, parenting, and found family. The book debuts Jan. 17. The story exists in an alternate universe where prisons are replaced with a justice system based on surveillance, public humiliation, and shame—people who have harmed others are permanently marked by the shadows of their victims following them, resulting in an underclass of people with extra shadows known as “Shadesters.” The speculative setting stems from a 2014 poem in which Crane wonders whether people would be so casually cruel if the shadows of the people they hurt stayed with them. Crane wrote the novel in 2019, setting the story in a beachfront setting similar to Ocean Beach. San Diego Magazine

10 Reasons Why Smoking Should Be Banned at the Beach

Smoking and beachgoing don’t go together, and they never will. So here’s why sand strips should be tobacco-free spaces. Smokers hardly imagine how non-smokers experience and are affected by their right to puff on a cigarette. Most smokers also think it is perfectly fine to enjoy their habit outdoors, as the smoke will dissipate quickly. Even those who care about other people’s well-being are unaware that cigarette smoke can easily disturb someone ten feet away in an outdoor public space. Only those who don’t smoke know how this is real and simultaneously unpleasant, sickening, and disgusting. SurferToday

OB Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Provided Fentanyl-Laced Pills that Caused Death of Other OB Man

An Ocean Beach resident was sentenced last week to more than 15 years in prison for providing fentanyl-laced pills that led to the death of a 30-year-old man, federal authorities said. Alexander Michael Randise, 29, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last year to a fentanyl distribution charge, stemming from the death of Tyber Joseph Lustig in 2021. The case is the latest example of ongoing efforts by prosecutors and law enforcement to target distributors of illegal drugs — fentanyl in particular — that have led to fatal overdoses. Lustig was born in Long Beach and grew up in Pennsylvania, according to an obituary published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He died in San Diego on Dec. 12, 2021. Randise provided the pills a day earlier that led to Lustig’s overdose, prosecutors said. In a plea agreement, Randise admitted he provided four counterfeit M-30 pills laced with fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. SDU-T

Man Found Deceased in Bushes in Midway District

A man found dead lying in the bushes last week in the Midway District has been identified by the San Diego County Medical’s Examiner Office. The incident occurred last Tuesday evening when a passerby noticed Matthias lying in the bushes next to the Pechanga Sports Arena parking lot in the 3400 block of Sports Arena Boulevard, according to San Diego police. As the passerby went by the same location a second time hours later, they saw the victim was in the same position and attempted to wake the person but got no response. First responders were then called to the scene, where they pronounced Matthias dead due to postmortem changes.

Road Rage Incident Leads to Shot Fired in OB

A man was shot at after exiting Interstate 8 in Ocean Beach Saturday morning, Jan.14, when a BMW driver who was allegedly driving erratically approached his vehicle and started a verbal altercation. Authorities were called to Catalina Court, a residential street in Ocean Beach, around 10:25 a.m. following reports that a road-raged man opened fire on another person after an incident that unfolded in lanes of westbound Interstate 8. CBS8

Surfers Catch Storm Waves in Ocean Beach

Go here at 7SanDiego for a video of surfers catching some of that storm surf near the OB Pier.