Month: January 2023

By Jake Johnson / Common Dreams / Jan 10, 2023

Republicans who have pledged to use their narrow majority in the House to pursue steep federal spending cuts have sent a clear message in recent days: The bloated Pentagon budget is safe, but Social Security, Medicare, and other key government programs are not.

By Geoff Page

The Ocean Beach Planning Board held its first regular monthly meeting of 2023 on Wednesday, January 4. The board has gone back to Zoom meetings after a few in-person meetings. There were no projects to approve or much else on the agenda. The following is a list of the information that was provided.

Council District 2 representative Manny Ries reported on four things:

• The street vendor ordinance goes into effect on January 13.
• Federal funding increased the OB Library fund by $4 million.
• A pier replacement task force is in place and meets Friday, January 13. It is not open to the public.

It has been confirmed that the City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee will discuss the proposed “Sustainability Development Areas” zoning change at its Thursday, January 12, 2023 meeting.

This ill-conceived proposal would allow high-density, high rise, and multi-unit ADU projects within one mile of an existing or planned bus or trolley stop. The planning department claims — without any evidence and in the face of contradictory facts — one mile is a reasonable “walking, riding, rolling” distance from a residence to a transit stop. (The widely accepted definition of “transit-friendly” development is one-half mile from a major transit stop.)

Why San Diego’s proposed Sustainable Development Areas won’t drive adoption of mass transit.

From Neighbors For a Better San Diego / January 5, 2023

Our research confirms that a one-mile walk far exceeds the distance that people are willing to travel to a transit stop, but that’s how the City of San Diego wants to redefine its (TPA) for transit-oriented development affecting local zoning codes.

They’re even giving it a new name: Sustainable Development Areas (SDAs). Truth is, it’s just a transparent ploy to encourage even more high-rise construction and investor-owned Bonus ADU apartment complexes in residential neighborhoods by expanding transit-oriented development to one-mile walking distance.

By Geoff Page

The UT ran a story on Sunday, January 8, about the OB Pier damage. In the story were three pictures. On close examination, it was apparent that two of the three pictures are of a section of old railing. These pictures show a stanchion that detached from the deck. This was the only part of the old railing to suffer damage.

The third picture piqued this writer’s interest because it showed the new railing, new this year.

This year, about 1,000 feet of rail on the south side was replaced. The stanchions are all new and were all moved back about 18” from the edge of the pier, which was where the old stanchions were. This was done because the edge of the pier is so badly deteriorated. The only way to set the new stanchions in good concrete was to move them in.

The following on point Letter to the Editor today 1-9-23 at the U-T says it all:

By Lisa Mortensen

San Diego does not have a luxury housing shortage. “America’s Finest City” has a shortage of affordable housing.

As long as San Diego’s for-profit developer donors are given carte blanche to build without oversight or proper foresight on what the future holds, the housing shortage will only get worse.

Here is a video by Charles Landon on the damage to the Ocean Beach Pier on Friday, Jan. 6.

Monday, Jan. 9’s U-T reported:

The Ocean Beach pier, damaged in last week’s stormy weather, will stay closed to the public until further notice. It could take weeks for crews to assess the damage and make repairs so it is safe, said San Diego lifeguard Lt. Rick Romero.

“That’s going to be out of commission for a couple of weeks, if not more,” Romero said. “We got hit pretty good. The swell we had was pretty significant, something we haven’t had, as far as size-wise, in a long couple of years.”

The San Diego public needs to see these photos – taken over 100 years ago in January 1916 during the Great Floods of the Rainmaker. (Most of these photos are from the San Diego Historical Society.)

From KPBS

Tom Cooke isn’t just a San Diego surfer.

He’s president of a company called Blueview Footwear that makes biodegradable sneakers. Cooke knows the business of recreational footwear well, having worked for Reef and Vans.

The science behind these shoes comes from Stephen Mayfield, Blueview’s CEO and UC San Diego distinguished professor of molecular biology.

The Regional Task Force on Homelessness has put out a call for more volunteers to participate in the upcoming 2023 Point in Time Count later this month.

The count — scheduled for Jan. 26 — is a federally required activity and a “crucial source of information and funding for homelessness across the county,” the task force said.

At its last meeting of the year in November 2022, the City of San Diego Historical Resources Board designated a Point Loma home at 4505 Long Branch Avenue as an “historic resource.” The home was one of four the Board designated.

In its January-February 2023 newsletter, Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO) reported on the designation: