Month: July 2023

By Seth Hall / Op-Ed Voice of San Diego / July 28, 2023

Two important recent events hint at whether San Diego is ready to responsibly handle the use of mass surveillance technology in our city.

The first was a recent agreement between community groups and the San Diego City Council.  Under the leadership of Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, we reached a solution to extend an important deadline for the city of San Diego to review and approve the use of all its existing technology.

By Colleen O’Connor

While waiting for more Trump indictments to drop, hotter weather to arrive, and a cool Blue Moon to appear on August 1st, might I suggest a getaway to an air-
conditioned theater to indulge in two blockbuster movies.

And I do mean indulge. “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” One a doll. The other a physicist. Both icons. Both movies historically accurate (mostly). Both also subversive. And both
monstrous money-makers.

Recalling an Era

By Anne Kegley

Mick (could it be ?) prances onto the stage to a sea of cheering fans. The Rolling Stones took the stage and the crowd went wild. He was just as brash and lean and animated as the original. The band gave a lively rendition of favorite hits.

The Beatles had just given a rocking performance of their great oldies.

Hundreds rallied in Mission Valley on Saturday, July 29, in opposition to Senate Bill 10 and other housing policies of Mayor Gloria and the City Council.

Organized by the group San Diegans for Responsible Growth, up to 350 residents from neighborhoods across San Diego stood along Friar’s Road just outside the northeast section of Fashion Valley most holding signs that disparaged SB10.

Now that Steven Breen is out at the Union-Tribune as its long-time editorial cartoonist, the local daily — recently purchased by a hedge fund — is in dire need of a local artist with the gravitas of taking on issues in a comic way.

So, stand aside!

The OB Rag hereby recommends local boy, Lalo Alvaraz — artist of the award-winning “La Cucaracha” daily cartoon series — for the U-T’s new editorial cartoonist! He is local — went to Helix Charter High and San Diego State University — and he has won awards,

On Thursday, July 27, County officials issued an advisory for the OB Pier at Newport Avenue, advising people to not get in the water because of high bacteria levels, which exceed the state’s health standards. It’s still in effect Friday.

At Dog Beach, the water remains under the same advisory, and has been since June 16.

This Saturday is a day to leave Ocean Beach and Point Loma and join other neighborhoods from around the city in protesting the city’s out-of-wack housing policies.

Hundreds will be gathering Saturday along Friars Road at Ulric Street (Northeast of Fashion Valley Mall) from 11 AM to 1 PM.

The protest is being organized by San Diegans For Responsible Growth in support of responsible growth and against SB 10.

The Ocean Beach Run Club is holding a 26.2-mile full marathon through the community on Saturday, July 29 starting at Dog Beach.

Their Club Instagram post stated:

“If you’d like to be part of the start, arrive at the OB Dog Beach parking lot at 6 a.m. The course is in four sections …”

Here’s the schedule:

KPBS ran a story yesterday about dwindling supplies at OB’s food pantry run by Loaves & Fishes, which is supported by six different churches in the OB-Point Loma area.

People gather and wait for hours at Sunset Cliffs and Saratoga Avenue for food distribution to begin.

But Patrick Swanner, the pantry coordinator for Loaves & Fishes, told KPBS:

“This is the first time since I’ve started that I’ve actually been worried about feeding people.”

by Ernie McCray

Tony Bennett,
a singer for the ages,
is gone
but not the memories
of what he,
with a delivery
that encompassed
an incomparable
style of grace and ease,
could do with a song,
making standards,
old show tunes,
his own,
in ways that made you hum
and sing a song

Tracy Dezenao, a member of the OB Planning Board, grabbed a shot of the banner showing what the new units on Abbott and Muir will look like. Her reaction was “ewwwwww!”

Tracy observed:

This is an example of developers not giving a rats booty about the character of the neighborhood. It’s a big, white, stucco box that is going to stick out like a sore thumb and loom over the properties next to it.

By Anne Kegley

I explored the reef at a little beach this week. A low tide had just passed. In a small cove south of the OB pier, the receding tide uncovered a diverse and richly occupied intertidal zone.

It was 8:30 am, still gray. A biosphere a world away from downtown beach crowds.

Blue-green sea anemones had planted themselves in the sand like paver stones, rinsed by receding waves. It was a marine garden,  decorated with limpets of many colors clinging to the cliff walls.